“Duke, our scouts sent words: Elsos is under siege,” Nestor declared as soon as he arrived in Kamil’s study.
“And?”
“They are doing remarkably well. But that was to be expected.”
Karsten Egra was a man of many faults but he did excel in warfare. Cezary expected him to do well and he was correct in his assessment.
I did send the adventurers their way… Not sure what they could do but we will see…
Duman’s group had departed Ceres with their own airship some days ago. He did instruct them to reach Elsos first, but it was not an order but a request. Whatever they would do was entirely at their discretion.
Good luck, brother. Just come back alive, and you will be a hero.
“Is Lord Karsten entirely isolated? Is anyone sending any reinforcements to him?”
Aaron had just arrived just as he said so.
“Elsos is under attack, I heard,” he said upon entering.
“Words travel faster, I see,” Kamil remarked.
Then Cezary arrived as well. It became a full blown war council. Kamil repeated what he said just before everyone else arrived.
“Is Lord Karsten entirely isolated? Is anyone sending any reinforcements to him?”
“Legally, unless the new king allows, no one is permitted to send any reinforcements,” Cezary said, and Aaron nodded along in agreement.
“He is the king’s own father. Surely, he would permit them to send reinforcements?”
“Doubtful,” Aaron added. “In royal families or any noble families for that matter, sons consider their fathers to be enemies rather than friends. In some extreme cases, sons will scheme against their fathers in order to take their seats earlier or even climb up the ladder of succession by eliminating their own brothers.”
Fucking nobles.
“Lord Weber, are you implying that King Leonhard will blissfully ignore his own father’s plight?”
“For him, Lord Karsten’s death will be welcome news,” Cezary said. “His death will cement his seat by getting rid of a potential spearhead figure that could rally against him.”
FUCKING NOBLES!
Standing up at once, Kamil smashed both of his fists on to the table. Nestor startled, looking surprised, although Aaron and Cezary remained calm.
“Fuck this shit. I am fucking done sitting around like an idiot!” He declared and pointed at Nestor.
“Sir Vogel, send messengers to Lux and Dido. Inform Lord Fenchel and Lord Flissing my intention to amass an army.”
Nestor immediately glanced at Cezary, hoping for him to rein him in and stop. However, to his surprise, he did not respond. Instead, he had a crooked grin on his face.
Therefore, Nestor was forced to retort on his own, “Duke, we have no authority to -”
“Like I fucking care,” Kamil interjected him boldly. “Forget the bureaucracy. I am in command and I will order however I see fit. A king who does nothing in the time of need is not a king but a coward.” Then he looked at Cezary. “Sir Waszak, inform Captain Raem to gather a thousand men. I am going there.”
Leaning forward, Cezary placed his palm on his left chest. “As you wish, Duke.” He showed no objection in spite of having advised him to wait previously.
“Lord Weber, do you have any objections?” Kamil asked him who had been silent thus far.
“I do. However, it seems you’ve held on long enough. It must have been burning inside you for some time. In fact, your eyes are glowing green, and there are wind elementals visible in the room.”
Indeed, tens of wind elementals were flying around the room, especially around Kamil. Nestor looked around upon being told and was quite surprised by the development.
“And Sir Waszak?”
“You are in fact correct regarding one aspect: bureaucracy. It works when it does. But it’s not really working now, is it?”
“We. Must. Do. Something,” Kamil said, his voice slightly shaking and pointing his index finger onto his desk repeatedly. “We cannot just sit here and do god damned nothing. I will not continue to sit here, sipping tea and watch the world crumble right before my eyes.”
“The dragons are not active, however,” Cezary shot back. “Any efforts you make now could well be in vain.”
“We know nothing much about the Age of Darkness for certain. We have clues here and there, but nothing is clear,” he argued.
Taking a deep breath, he declared, “Everyone, before I continue, I want all of you present here to swear an oath of secrecy. If you cannot swear to it, leave now.”
None of them moved.
“Very well,” he continued. “I am a betrayer of the wheel. What that means is that I was allowed to be reborn with my past memories intact.”
Aaron and Nestor’s eyes opened widely although Cezary didn’t seem shocked at all as if he knew.
“I’ve met the Gods. The God of Life and the God of Death, they both do exist and they handle our souls like toys.”
“Ohh…, so the book was true,” Aaron remarked in awe.
“Yes, they will judge us when we die, well, except for me.”
“Why not you?” Aaron asked.
“A betrayer of the wheel is allowed to be reborn at the price of his own soul. I had to sacrifice my right to be reborn in order to retain my memories.”
“Why did you want to retain your memories?” Nestor asked.
“Because I wanted to kill the one who murdered my family in the reunification war.”
Aaron’s eyes opened wider and he took a step back in shock. “The king…!” He uttered. He was one of the few who knew what really happened during the reunification war.
“Yes, it’s Lord Karsten now.”
“Yet you saved him,” Cezary remarked with a crooked grin.
“Yes, I have. Either way, there is something more important. Only a betrayer of the wheel can mortally harm the dragons. And that is why I have to go.”
“You know that how?” Aaron asked.
“The elementals have shown me memories of the past. The key to survive the Age of Darkness is a betrayer of the wheel. Only when he puts the two dragons to their eternal sleep, will it end.”
“Can there be only one betrayer of the wheel?” Cezary asked curiously.
“I don’t think so. From what I’ve seen, there were two betrayers of the wheel at the same time during a previous Age of Darkness. One from Siwen and the other from Estana.”
“Kozma Rajmund and Florent Mazet….,” Aaron mumbled in understanding and then asked aloud, “Does that mean it is possible that there is another betrayer of the wheel out there?”
“It is my understanding that the Gods do not initiate the Age of Darkness without at least one betrayer of the wheel. If there is one, he or she should have shown himself, like myself. He would have become someone of note by now.”
Both Aaron and Cezary began to scratch their chins at once in deep thoughts.
“So, who were you at the reunification war?” Cezary questioned out of blue, and Kamil took a moment to answer. In the end, he decided to come clean.
The beans are out now. No need to play it hard.
“I was a hunter in the village of Broon. My wife and two sons were killed, and I was also killed while trying to exact revenge,” he replied with a solemn look.”
“Broon… Not many would be aware of the village,” Aaron said.
“So, that is why you went berserk upon meeting Gregor,” Cezary added.
Kamil crossed his fingers on his desk, sitting down. “Yes,” he admitted easily. “He was one of my two targets. I waited years for such an opportunity. I wasn’t going to miss it.”
“But you saved Lord Karsten, why?”
He downcast his eyes. “I felt like I had to. I can’t exactly explain why.”
He really did want to put him down with his own hands. He reincarnated for that precise moment. Yet, he ended up saving him instead. And the reality was that, while he did feel an insurmountable amount of guilt and sorrow for saving him at that moment, he had little regrets afterwards because he felt it was the right decision. Thus far, it proved to be the correct one. Karsten abdicated his throne to his son and chose to defend Elsos at all cost. By choosing to defend a small keep, it made sure that it would be defended well. Cezary, beaming a bright smile, leaned forward deeply with his palm on his chest.
“Duke, you chose to be reborn in order to exact your revenge. Yet, at the very moment of the completion of your goal, you chose to do the exact opposite. I dare say that it was for the sake of mankind whether you realize it or not. You chose to help us instead of going for your own goal which you had the full right to. You are a hero. I am deeply honored to serve you.”
Aaron and Nestor nodded in agreement. Cezary continued.
“I shall, in my best-ever abilities, assist you in your new quest. Those two flying lizards, they’ve got what’s coming after them. I will personally send letters to all lords who I think will side with us. King Leonhard can rot where the sun doesn’t shine.” Then he joked, “Perhaps I can finally marry a bitch after all before too late, my king.”
If Kamil would assemble an army of his own from lords he knew who were mostly the Kingdom of Egra, his actions would directly weaken King Leonhard’s authority. Those who would choose to join Kamil’s call would essentially declare themselves free of King Leonhard’s authority, which was basically defecting.
“Do you think the lords will answer to the call?” Aaron asked with a bemused expression, clearly aware of what Cezary was trying to do.
“Would the Weber join the cause?” He asked.
“I would but only because I know the full story.”
“Then we expose the Duke’s true identity!” He declared aloud while swirling around like a dancer.
Oh, shit. That side of him came out again… It’s been a while for sure.
Cezary had a tendency to act all melodramatic when he became overly excited.
Shaking his head, he muttered, “Sir Waszak, did I not ask you to swear an oath of secrecy a moment ago?”
“Certainly, thus I shall expose your identity discreetly.”
That’s doesn’t even … Fuck this. Nevermind.
He was sure that Cezary wouldn’t blatantly expose his true identity because he always followed orders. The issue with him was that he didn’t follow it to the letter and would almost always exploit his orders to a degree.
“Duke, my success in convincing lords will depend on you declaring yourself a king,” Cezary declared with a serious face.
“A king?!” Kamil stood up from his desk once again. “That’s absurd!”
“If you wish me to keep my mouth shut about you being a betrayer of the wheel, this is the alternative. The lords won’t side with you unless you are some of a greater authority.”
“Sir Waszak speaks truthfully,” Aaron added. Nestor could only gulp loudly in this sudden development. He wasn’t against the idea because it would propel him to become someone who could only ever dream of.
“But I don’t have the -”
Cezary interjected, “You do, Duke. You are of the Fenchel. The Fenchel house is prestigious enough to embrace kinghood.”
In order for someone to declare himself a king, it was similar to entering the nobility. People had to acknowledge his claim. However, the requirements were different. For a person to become a noble, someone of a higher authority had to grant a title and acknowledge him as a noble, and then more people of similar authority had to agree. However, since there was no one higher than a king, proclaiming to be a king required support of other lords instead and then a certain amount of prestige was required. The latter requirement could be ignored in times of rebellion and such. But having adequate prestige would make the transition smoother. Cezary was indeed correct that the Fenchel was prestigious enough to proclaim themselves as royalty. The house was the oldest noble house within the Kingdom of Egra and had always ruled Lux as their capital. Meanwhile, Kamil remained speechless with his mouth agape because he couldn’t argue Cezary’s point. He was thinking of himself as a lowly hunter from a remote village, but that was not true. He was the first son of Villa Fenchel and the rightful Duke of Ceres. He had noble blood and enough prestige to make himself a king as long as there was enough support.
“Additionally,” Cezary added gleefully with a cheeky smile on his face. “Your first wife is the first daughter of the Flissing, and your second wife is the crown princess of Estana. Pray tell, my king. How can you object to embracing your kinghood? In my eyes, you already are a king; you meet all the requirements.”
The Flissing was also prestigious enough to embrace kinghood as well.
That fucker… The dude is good.
Aaron began to clap slowly all of the sudden, shattering the brief silence in the room. “Well spoken, Sir Waszak. Well spoken. I can’t even argue.” Nestor rushed to clap as well. Then he kneeled down slowly first, declaring renewal of his vassalage.
“I am honored to serve you, King Fenchel.”
Queen Flora, huh… It has a nice rhythm.
At that moment, his mind was made up.
“Sir Waszak, go ahead. I trust that you have a plan.”
“Plans, my king. Fear not, I never fail,” he declared aloud with a proud face. He was the kind of guy who’d fall upwards even if he did fail.
Using airships, Cezary sent messengers donning crimson cloaks to numerous settlements. The crimson cloak was often used by a king to send utmost important messages to his vassals. By using them, he was essentially telling the receivers about Kamil’s intention without actually saying anything. It could be argued that anyone who would agree to receive such a messenger was consenting to the defection. This was his trick to force those who agreed to meet the messenger mistakenly to join Kamil. At the same time, he noted that anyone falling for such a cheap trick wasn’t worth a vassal. For the first five days, there was no response whatsoever which made Kamil worry a bit. On the sixth day, however, an airship carrying a reply arrived; it was from Dido, the Flissing. Nestor handed a sealed letter carefully to Kamil in his study. Gulping, he removed the wax and started reading it.
“The… The Flissing is fully behind me. They’ve pledged support,” he declared, his hands shaking slightly. “They are mobilizing their troops.”
“Congratulations,” said Aaron. “The Flissing’s support is the biggest one although it was somewhat expected that they’d side with you.”
Indeed, while the Flissing used to be fully loyal to the Egra, their relationship gradually eroded due to Lillian’s shenanigans and the subsequent painful divorce process. Add in the fact that the new king, Leonhard, was proving to be rather timid and extremely selfish, Baptiste had enough. And a day later, another airship arrived, carrying another letter. It was from Harga.
“Lord Noah Harga also supports my cause,” Kamil declared. “But he has refused to join the army due to being surrounded by possible enemies.”
“Understandable,” said Aaron. However, once those two positive letters arrived, it became quiet. Having the support of two landed lords wasn’t enough. Kamil wanted Lux Fenchel’s support specifically. If Edmund supported him, the Kingdom of Egra was as good as dead.
“Lord Edmund is the tipping point,” Cezary said. “If he joins you, it will create a domino effect.”
“I was thinking of talking to him in person.”
“That is probably the only way to convince him. If he hasn’t sent a letter of support by now, he is refusing.”
“Should I be worried about Ceres being attacked?”
It was a valid concern because he signaled his intent to form a kingdom with support from Egra lords. It was as good as declaring war.
“There is a possibility that King Leonhard is mobilizing his troops. My scout has not found any evidence but he is looking at Keviel only. He could be using another lord to tackle you unexpectedly.”
“So, I can’t mobilize my own troops and join the Flissing.”
“Not at the moment, no. You are going to need Lord Edmund’s support. If not, you will want support from the lord of Altzell at the least.”
Constant Egra was the lord of the former capital and he was hanging onto his seat despite being over 70 years old. He was the de facto leader of the opposition within the Kingdom of Egra. It was a well-known fact that he loathed Karsten after losing the reunification war to him. However, that didn’t mean he’d join Kamil since he would want to return to being a king. Either way, if Constant would join his side, it would also create a domino effect albeit weaker.
“Not going to be easy, either way, huh,” he said while rubbing the bridge of his nose.
“True. If I were you, I’d choose to convince Lord Edmund since you two share blood.”’
Edmund was indeed the logical choice. However -
“What would he want? He has everything he wants now.”
He wanted a son and he got it. He expanded his domain as well. There was nothing he would desperately want.
“There is something he does want; It is peace,” Cezary said.
“Peace?”
“He cannot afford to die now when his successor is a toddler. If he gets killed, there is a good chance that Lux will fall into your hands. Your influence is too strong.”
“Wouldn’t that mean he would want to get rid of me?”
“Or you could make it clear in writing that you have no intention of receiving Lux.”
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Kamil left Lux on amicable terms. Precisely because of his mutual departure, he was still Edmund’s successor on paper. Should he pass away, his wife, Loukia would certainly install her son as the successor. However, whether others within the Lux family would agree was a different matter. There was a decent chance of objections and suggesting Kamil instead or even outright remove Loukia who would have little power to hang onto her seat without Edmund. Additionally, Kamil was living simply too close to them. He may have left but he never really left in the eyes of others within Lux. With the airship, it was only half a day's travel.
“Would that be really enough to convince him?”
Cezary shrugged. “Maybe. But it would be one of his prime concerns. You will also need to convince his wife who is betting everything on her son succeeding him.”
He shut his eyes and rubbed his temple with a frown. “And what the hell would she want?”
“I feel she will be easier to convince than Lord Edmund actually.”
His eyes opened at once. “I beg your pardon? How so?”
“Her primary concern is shared with Lord Edmund. But I figure she will be easier because she might want something else that is perhaps as important.”
“Sir Waszak, out with it. What else would she want?”
“Restoring the Mesurii’s name and perhaps restoring the family itself. I do believe a few were able to sneak out of the house arrest before their executions because that always happens. They must be out there. Kindly remind her that, if Lux Fenchel joins you, the Mesurii would no longer be considered traitors. She can openly search for them or even post public posts.”
Ludwig tried his damndest to save his family. He ultimately failed, and the whole Mesurii was executed when soldiers were given an order to storm their manor and cut down everyone, including staff and children. However, it wasn’t inconceivable that a few could have escaped.
Cezary added, “Lord Ludwig’s act in his last moments reinforces my belief that some did survive. I feel like he was artificially earning time for others to get away as far as possible. And Lady Loukia may very well be aware of the fact.”
“Her son carries the blood of the Mesurii. She may be counting on her son to carry on the family.”
“Very unlikely. Without a doubt, she will raise her son as a Fenchel. If she had another child, she might have an option to raise that one as a Mesurii, but I doubt she will be able to conceive another child at her age. Even if she does, she could very well perish from complications from birth. She has to survive to have any possibility of the recovery of the Mesurii. I wager she knows it as well.”
Kamil folded his arms and complained, “Politics, it induces headaches.”
“Thankfully, it is very much predictable.”
Once it was decided to convince Edmund, it was as simple as Kamil flying to Lux. It was Cezary’s suggestion to go alone and get out if required. It was to be low key, thus he simply departed Ceres via flight from the balcony of the manor.
“Elementals, get me there faster!”
His eyes began to glow in green, shielding his eyes from fierce winds, and he started to accelerate at a speed that was clearly faster than an airship. In fact, he arrived in Lux in just ten minutes.
“Huh.”
He saw gates firmly closed and also saw soldiers lined up on top of walls. In other words, the city had entered a defensive stance. In his memories, the walls of Lux were mostly neglected since there hadn’t been any threat to the city for generations.
“I see.”
On a closer inspection, he could see that the walls were still largely neglected, but they had apparently patched up here and there.
The repair would have taken a considerable amount of time, meaning Edmund saw this development a long time ago.
In fact, not long ago Kamil left Lux, he started to repair the walls. It wasn’t exactly his idea, however. Loukia became afraid of him, and it was her idea that convinced Edmund that it was perhaps time to prepare for the worst. Edmund, having fallen to Kamil’s wordplay a few times already, had little reasons for objections. Flying close to a gate, he spotted Theo Ros on top of a gate. He hadn’t changed much and was standing with his spear upright.
“Sir Ros!” He shouted to reach out while spotting at once.
“Duke,” Theo showed his respect briefly with a nod. “I am afraid your entry is not permitted.”
“I request an audience with your lord!”
“If I deny your request?”
Elementals, show up.
Thousands of wind elementals appeared around him, covering a considerable portion of the sky with translucent green butterflies. It was an impressive sight and was also a fearsome one to the defenders of Lux. Physical weapons did little to no damage to elementals.
“Your empty threats do not enthrall fear,” Theo rebuked in spite of soldiers around him looking clearly afraid and agitated.
“Fire!”
Some of the elementals began shooting green translucent arrows. The soldiers on walls ducked as they saw the magical arrows shooting down upon them.
I am not gonna waste any more time! The time for bureaucracy and being a nice guy is over!
Once smoke was cleared, the heavily damaged wall was revealed. In fact, some parts of it had already cracked and crumbled down. With widened eyes, Theo stared at a large crack not far from him.
“Sir Ros, I ask you again: I request an audience. If refused the second time, I will simply level this city.”
However, Theo did not falter still. “Surely, you jes-”
Even more elementals appeared. The whole sky they could see was covered with wind elementals. Additionally, large flaming salamanders were crawling out of the ground that were the size of elephants. The flaming lizards faced directly at the wall, ready to fire.
“Try me, Sir Ros,” Kamil warned gravely.
He realized that it was not an empty threat. “You’ve changed. What made you change?”
“I don’t have fucking time to waste here!” He replied with a shout. “If you don’t walk with me, then you are going to be my enemy. In that case, I will end all of you here. Try. Me.”
The two men would glare at each other for a moment before Theo suddenly swung his spear, casting a swift spell incarnation.
“Elementals of fire, heed my call. Grant me powers to best the enemy in front of me: Fireball!”
However, there was no response.
“What…?” Baffled, his eyes were full of doubt. His magic or rather his request to fire elemental was overruled because of Kamil’s presence. In other words, fire elementals bowed before him and blatantly ignored Theo’s request for a fireball.
At the same time, Kamil raised his arm and struck down at once, shouting “Fireball!”
Two salamanders near Theo’s location conjured huge balls of fire and threw them in his way. He ducked in haste, but the whole gate was blown away violently along with nearby soldiers. Kamil knew that he was Rose’s elder brother but he couldn’t let that stop him when the whole world was at stake. Theo Ros was blown away along with tens of soldiers.
“Bring your lord to me! Or your city will be gone!” He demanded once more, and this time the soldiers abandoned their posts and fled in every which way. It didn’t take long for Edmund to appear, franked by Loukia. He would stare at the destruction with widened eyes and then look up at Kamil for a brief moment before proceeding to walk past the destroyed gate. Only Loukia followed him. Unexpectedly, he kneeled down immediately and his wife followed suit.
“I surrender,” he declared with his eyes downcast. He showed little emotions in doing so as if he was fully prepared for this scenario.
Kamil descended slowly and touched down not far from Edmund.
“What do you mean, surrender? I’ve come here to talk.”
“Talk? Look what you’ve done. This is not someone who has come here to talk.”
“Right back at you. You’ve specifically instructed Sir Ros to refuse me.” Having said that, he looked around to see whether Theo survived the explosion. He couldn’t spot him in the immediate vicinity.
If he was killed, so be it.
“I hate to say that you are a blessing and a curse to me,” Edmund lamented, still kneeled.
“You started it. I never wanted to become a noble in the first place. Your desperate quest to acquire a son was the seed of chaos within you.”
Edmund admitted as he bit his lips, “I cannot… deny that.”
He had a feeling that he would have ended up becoming who he was whether he was adopted by Edmund or not. If it wasn’t him, it could have been another noble. If not, he would have become an adventurer, earning enough fame to be, again, adopted into nobility. The journey would have been different, but the end result would have been the same.
“I will put in writing to disqualify myself in the succession of Lux,” he declared, which shocked Edmund and subsequently Loukia. “I have absolutely no intention of ruining my cousin’s life.”
“Do you mean that?” Edmund sought assurance. It was the top priority for him. Nothing else mattered more.
“I swear to the God of Life and Death. My cousin will rule Lux after you.”
By stating “my cousin” instead of saying Edmund’s son, he reinforced the idea that he cared a good deal about the well-being of his family. He wasn’t lying, either. He greatly and deeply cared about those around him. How his parents fared ever since he came to power was a testament to his belief.
“Thank you.” It was Loukia who responded before her husband could.
“There is one more thing, Lady Fenchel. You two may raise your heads.”
“Yes?” She looked up, curiously.
“Milady, you no longer have to worry about not being able to seek out remaining Mesurii members. You don’t belong to the Kingdom of Egra anymore. They are no longer traitors.”
Her eyes widened. “How could you …”
“Know?” Kamil finished the sentence for her. “I value my family. I value them very much. I also witnessed Lord Ludwig’s courageous end. The old man did absolutely everything in his powers to save his family. His efforts were NOT in vain, Lady Fenchel, for I am here and granting you the authority to seek out remaining Mesurii survivors.”
She broke down in tears. Covering her mouth, she started to sob silently. Tears of joy rolled down her cheeks.
‘Thank you.’ Ludwig’s voice sounded in his head.
“Lord Fenchel, mobilize your troops and join Lord Flissing at Dido. This is an order.”
“As you wish.”
“We will talk later when it is more appropriate.”
Kamil ascended into the sky at once and began searching for Theo or his body. It didn’t take long. He was found in a vegetable field. Seeing his badly twisted body, Kamil realized that he wasn’t going to make it. He descended down right next to him and kneeled down. Theo was still alive, and his eyes were tracking him. His spine was shattered, and he had massive internal bleeding. He was fading fast.
“Sir Ros, my apologies,” he told him sincerely.
Theo coughed blood before being able to speak. “Don’t be …” His voice was husky and weak and his breathing was really irregular, which was one of signs of impending death. “I did … my duty… and … so did … you …”
He wasn’t going to feel sorry indeed. He had to do what needed to be done in a short amount of time. If there was more time, he would have taken a sorter approach, and Theo wouldn’t have been involved in the crossfire. He held onto his bloody hands tightly. The two men sensed that there were no hard feelings between them.
“Any last words or wishes? You are married, are you not? Any last words for her?”
Theo tried to grin but instead his face was full of painful expressions.
“Never liked …. the woman … Glad that … we are … childless. In a way …, I am glad… She … can … someone … else… I will go… my … way …”
He was apparently not very happy with his arranged marriage at all to a point that he was glad that they were childless.
“Sir Ros, your sister, Rose Ros. Any last word for her?”
“Is she … doing well?” He really labored to speak, and Kamil noticed that his eyes just went mucky; his end was really near.
“She had a child recently, about a year old now. It’s a she.”
“......” There was no immediate response from him.
“Sir Ros?”
“.... Happy?”
Kamil had to assume that he was asking whether she was happy with her marriage and he felt duty-bound that he had to answer him earnestly.
“I do not know. But I do not think that she is unhappy. At least, to my eyes, the couple gets along well.” Then he snickered. “I get a distinct feeling that she controls the household.” He had a reason to believe so. There had been on more than one occasion where Nestor was silently overruled by Rose in conversations. He felt that it was a sign of a functioning marriage where they were close enough that each had roles in social situations; Rose called the shots and Nestor followed.
This time, Theo beamed a broad smile, and that was the end of him. His face became loose, and any remaining strength in his body left. Kamil couldn’t resist tears gathering in his eyes as he closed Theo’s eyes slowly.
“Rest in peace, Theo Ros,” he said solemnly and then muttered, “God damn it…”
Taking a deep breath, he stood up. He could feel that farmers were peeking from their homes nearby. He looked up at the sky which was half clouded and half clear.
“I do not regret my actions, but it really does ache my heart…”
Once the news spread that the Fenchel and the Flissing had switched their allegiances, it was pretty much over for Leonhard Egra who had lost the two most powerful houses that were also the most loyal. However, instead of more lords pledging to support Kamil, Constant Egra, the lord of Altzell and a former king himself declared that he was creating his own petty kingdom. This made lords having to choose between Constant and Kamil as soon as possible. Tobias Sprengen, the lord of Larok was quick to make a decision that it was better to pledge his vassalage to Kamil since he’d be surrounded by Lux and Valet, ruled by Edmund and Noah respectively. Another interesting development was that Fadin, the once-abandoned, city had also submitted to Kamil instead. Since the city was lordless, it would be granted to someone else, Cezary, Nestor, and Raem were prime candidates. The other lords pledged their support to Constant Egra, and he proclaimed his new kingdom to be Egra, taking the country’s name from Leonhard Egra who reluctantly renamed his kingdom to Egria. Reeva and Tantan did not declare support for either for the time being. Reeva was actually too insignificant to matter, and Tantan was understood to have continued to support Leonhard Egra. Neither settlement was in danger of being attacked since they were insignificant. In fact, it was safe to say that they were waiting for the eventual winner between Egra and Ceres.
image [https://imagizer.imageshack.com/img924/1698/Nlgj7I.jpg]
“A … queen?” Flora was flabbergasted at the sudden development. She simply could not believe it. It was safe to say that she never expected to become a queen. Heiga took it much easier since she was going to be a queen of Estana at one point anyway.
“Yes, you are a queen now,” said Heiga proudly and joyously. “I am going to be a queen also. We will be sister queens!”
“I, I am not even sure what to think.”
“Nothing changes. Just take it easy.”
“That, I shall.”
They were in Flora’s study at a round table, having Macomaco tea. Avina was standing in a corner with her hand on the hilt of a sword on her belt, continuously scanning for any possible intruder.
“By the way, I have something to tell you,” Flora said. “I haven’t told the Duke yet because it’s not yet fully confirmed.”
“Oh?”
“I may be pregnant.”
Just to be a hundred percent sure, a noble woman generally did not declare to be pregnant until she missed at least two periods. At the moment, she missed her first one. And, due to the fact that she was a woman who suffered barely any ill symptoms from pregnancy, it was quite hard to tell. Happiness filled Heiga’s eyes at once.
“Congratulations, sister!”
Avina smiled in the distance in her silent agreement. Heiga grabbed a cookie joyfully and threw it into her mouth. As she chewed and swallowed it, her face soon became pale.
“Um…” She soon covered her mouth and dashed out of the room, eventually vomiting in a toilet. Blinking her eyes a few times, Flora was clueless as to what was going on. She ate the cookie before, and it was fine. It couldn’t have been poisoned.
“Milady, the princess may be pregnant as well,” Avina declared, and Flora’s eyes went wide. Hegia slept with Kamil just once, and that was enough. The reality was that their marriage date was carefully chosen to give Heiga the best chance to get pregnant.
“I don’t recall vomiting,” she remarked, taking a cookie into her mouth.
“You never did. Consider yourself very lucky, Milady. You never showed any symptoms other than increasing appetite and made my job extra hard. I could never tell whether you were pregnant. It looks like the princess is quite the opposite.”
Indeed, Heiga was about to go through literal hellish months.
“What do you think about the Duke becoming a king, Avina?”
“You deserve to be a queen, Milady!” She replied strongly. “After all you’ve been through, this is your just reward!”
“What will become of the Flissing?”
“From what I’ve heard, your father was the first one to pledge his support. The Flissing will be rightfully rewarded. Your father will receive at least one settlement. The Flissing will rule three settlements.”
A lord ruling three cities wouldn’t remain as a mere lord. Baptiste would become a petty king himself. Flora smiled at last.
“I did good, didn’t I?”
“Yes, you did, my queen!” Avina kneeled down. “You chose the right man.”
The reality was that it was Baptiste who chose Kamil, but it was just a minor detail, for Avina at least.
“I really hope that the baby in my belly is a son this time,” she said while caressing her abdomen.
“It will be a son, Milady. I can feel it.”
The two women were in an uplifting mood, and nobody could blame them for feeling so. However, when Kamil arrived back in Ceres, his face was heavy.
“Darling?” Flora opened her arms toward him who literally fell into her chest. “What’s wrong?”
He soon burst into a cry. “I killed a dear friend today to make this work,” he told her in her chest. She embraced his head with both of her arms, and the couple slowly collapsed to the ground. Theo’s death weighed heavily on him, for he had known him for many years. Never in a million years did he think that he would end him. When he eventually told her who he killed, she was able to piece it together because she remembered that Theo was Rose Ros’ elder brother. She realized swiftly the weight of his deed.
“My dear husband,” she told him softly. “I know you. You wouldn’t have done it unless it was absolutely necessary. Did he curse you in his last moments?”
“No…, but -”
She interjected him at once, “He did his job, and so did you. It was just a series of unfortunate circumstances.”
“I just don’t know what to tell Lady Vogel…”
“Leave that to me. It should be the wife’s job to inform another wife about sad news.”
He eventually fell asleep in her chest due to exhaustion, and she beckoned others to help her to carry him to his bed. After putting him to the bed, she did plan to call Rose Ros to inform her about her brother’s death. However, Avina objected adamantly, telling her that she did not know the full event that led to Theo’s demise.
“Just informing her that her brother was killed is not enough, Milady,” she added. Since Kamil visited Lux alone, there was no one else in Ceres who witnessed the event, either. Therefore, they had to wait until Kamil would wake up, and he did wake up a few hours later.
“Lady Vogel,” said Kamil behind his desk. Flora was standing next to him this time. She had not informed him about her pregnancy yet because it was too soon. Rose sensed that something was amiss due to the fact that she was summoned alone without her husband and that Flora was standing next to the Duke. She realized instinctively that she was about to hear bad news. She simply didn’t know what.
“Thank you for coming today.”
Rose leaned forward and showed respect. She was wearing a robe as usual. Ever since she arrived in Ceres and married Nestor, she rarely wore a dress. Taking a deep breath, Kamil continued.
“The reason for today’s summon… Well, there is good news and bad news. Which would you like to hear first?”
Reluctantly, she replied, “Bad news first please.”
“Very well.” He, then, cleared his throat. “Your brother, Theo Ros, was killed in action yesterday.”
Her eyes went wide at once. “Killed in action? Killed by who?”
“It was I.”
She took a step back, speechless. And Kamil explained what happened exactly.
“He fulfilled his duty and so did I. I talked to him in his last moments.”
“What… did he tell you?”
“He told me that he was very unhappy with his marriage and that he was glad that they were childless. Finally, he really hoped that you were happy in your marriage.” After a brief silence, he asked, “Are you?”
“I am,” she replied promptly and then added, “Brother told me repeatedly how dissatisfied he was when he was forced to wed a woman he had never met. I had a feeling that he was seeing another woman. I was hoping that he’d eventually get over it. But to see him talk like that in his last moment… He must have been really unhappy.” Tears gathered in her eyes. “Poor Theo… At least, he is free now.”
… He may have pushed for his death then…
He glanced at Flora who had very sympathetic eyes pointed at Rose who was sobbing a bit. His marriage worked out somehow, but he couldn’t imagine being stuck with a woman he could not get comfortable with. It would have been literal hell since a divorce was almost impossible.
“Lady Vogel, the good news is that Sir Vogel is to be awarded Fadin. An official announcement will be made in due time.”
She continued to sob subtly regardless. It took a while for her to calm down. “Nestor will be overjoyed. He probably never imagined becoming a landed noble when he decided to serve you.”
Nestor joined Kamil because he was pushed out by his family to reduce money spent on feeding extra mouths. For him to become a landed noble would be as good as sticking a middle finger to them. It would be certain that he would become the head of the Vogel house soon. Now, originally the city was to be awarded to either Cezary or Raem because those two were the longest serving vassals. However, due to Theo’s death, Kamil decided to grant the city to Nestor instead partially as an apology. In a way, Theo gave his parting gift to Rose by giving her husband a city.
“I would like to be excused, Duke.”
“Of course, please accept my apology.”
“There is no need. As you said, both of you were fulfilling duties.” Having said that, she bowed, turned around, and left the study. As soon as she was gone, Flora walked behind him and started to massage his shoulders gently.
“Thank you for the good work,” she said.
“I am sorry about the commotion earlier.”
She shook her head. “No, that’s what a wife is for.”
“By the way, where is the princess? I haven’t seen her in a while.”
“Um, she is … kind of ill, so she’s in her bed right now.”
“What? Should I pay a visit?”
“Perhaps…, not? She’s very embarrassed right now.”
“Pardon? What’s going on? Ill and embarrassed?”
“Yeah, because she found out that she got pregnant.”
Kamil blinked his eyes in confusion. “What?” He raised his voice. Flora was aware that he slept with her just once on the wedding night. Therefore, his confusion made the perfect sense; he probably didn’t think she’d get pregnant after just one night.
“And so am I,” she declared. She couldn’t wait to tell him in the end.
“You are…?” He stood up at once and faced her. “You sure?”
“Pretty sure. Women don’t tend to miss their periods otherwise.”
“Congrats!” He gave her a warm hug.
“Please pay a visit to the princess,” she told him in his arms. “She stays with me most of the time. Otherwise, she is pretty much alone. She is your wife whether you like it or not.”
“I shall do that.”
When he did visit her, however, she covered her face with a pillow and screamed in her bed.
“Um, what is wrong…?” Confused, he asked.
“Nothing’s wrong …” Her muffled voice sounded beyond the pillow. “I am just embarrassed to see you.”
Until she became pregnant, it didn’t quite dawn on her that she was married because she was able to do everything she used to do and then more because she found Wiara’s all women squad. She did enjoy hanging out with women with similar lifestyles, which was something she never imagined possible during her days in Estana. She had always been alone as a female warrior.
“Well, I am a bit confused. I have no idea what you are embarrassed about. We are married, and you became pregnant. Nothing is wrong about that.”
If anything, you should be happy. Your job is half way done.
She did signal her intention of never sleeping with him once she had two children. The reality was that Heiga felt defeated by being knocked out so easily after just one night. It also reminded her that she was, after all, a woman.
“Your father will be overjoyed,” he added.
“Oh, he will. He might even cry.” She finally put the pillow aside. Lo and behold, her face was deeply red indeed; she did look really embarrassed.
A funny girl. She is interesting in her own way, alright.
He chucked. There was a maid in a corner, and he beckoned her to bring a chair and he sat down next to her bed.
“What are you doing now?”
“Look, whether we like it or not, we are married. That is an indisputable fact, is it not?”
“I … don’t know where you are going, but it's true. I cannot deny that.”
“And I assume you will leave once you have your children.”
She gave it a moment before answering, “True. That is my plan.”
“Then enjoy your stay here while it lasts. Let’s get along. Treat me as your husband, and I will treat you back equally. Give and take, a simple concept but an important one.”
Her redness on her face began to subside progressively as she gave a thought to his statement.
“You speak sensibly and bring up an interesting point. I agree.”
“Good then.” He leaned forward and touched her forehead. “Looks like your fever is gone, Heiga. I will see you later.”
This was the first time he ever addressed her by her name. Until this moment, he had always called her “princess”.
“I, I will see you later, Du-, no, I mean, husband.”
Grinning, he stood up and left her room.