Corvina passed the time on the road by reading. She didn’t feel any particular need to stare out the window in amazement at the passing farms the way Helen was doing. And reading was more productive anyway.

She was reading another romance novel.

This one was called The Wall and The Flower and she had it hidden in a book jacket that read Wars of the Wyernwolf Dynasty.

The Wall and The Flower was about a gruff guard captain who always stood guard at one particular part of the city wall and a shy girl who lived on a farm just outside of that part of the city wall.

The two of them had gotten into a big fight in the middle of the story, but within two chapters they were all lovey-dovey again as if nothing had even happened and they never really addressed or solved any of the problems that had arisen during their fight. Corvina found it infuriating. How could they just move on like that, like nothing happened? Neither of them even apologized. That didn’t seem right.

“Are you excited to see the Saintess again?” asked Helen, who evidently had grown bored of the farmlands.

Corvina shrugged. “It hasn’t even been two days since we last saw each other.”

“True, but I’m still excited to see Agis again,” said Helen with a wistful sigh.

“Do you like him, then?” asked Corvina, putting her book down. “Like, like him, like him?”

Oh goddess, why did I have to put it like that? thought Corvina, blushing.

“Probably,” said Helen. “I think he’s cute anyway.”

“Oh,” said Corvina.

There was a long silence during which Helen and Corvina both watched the landscape go by out the window.

“Do you plan on… doing anything about it?” asked Corvina.

Helen shrugged. “Maybe at some point. I’m kind of happy with how things are right now, though. He’s just fun to spend time with.”

“Oh,” said Corvina.

Another long silence.

“What if… you were… not really happy with the way things were currently,” said Corvina. “What if you started feeling all… itchy and irritated whenever you thought about him?”

Helen tapped her chin, giving it a lot of thought. “I think it depends on what type of itchy and irritated you mean. If I was annoyed because he was too close to me or I didn’t like him anymore I’d probably stop being friends with him. But if I was annoyed because I felt like I wasn’t as close to him as I wanted to be… well, at that point I’d have to tell him how I felt, I guess. See how it goes.”

Corvina furrowed her brow. She didn’t like that answer.

They rode the rest of the way in relative silence. They stopped twice at small villages to change to fresh horses. This allowed them to make such good time that they actually arrived in Longren before sunset, despite setting out late.

The Tulin estate was on the outskirts of the city. It had extensive and well-manicured gardens, as was fitting for a Marquess, and as they rode down the long lane to the main house they actually passed by the imperial army barracks. That was also fitting, since Marquess Ormen Tulin was the commander of the imperial army in the region.

The mansion itself was larger even than Corvina’s downtown estate, but the style of architecture was… eccentric by the standards of the city. The whole building was painted in various bright shades of green and yellow.

The whole household had turned out to greet them. The main family of the estate stood in front of what must have been all of their servants.

“Welcome, Lady Corvina,” said Marquess Tulin, bowing deeply when Corvina stepped out of her carriage. “It is an honor to greet the flower of the Empire.

Marquess Ormen Tulin was a mild looking man with drooping brown eyes, fair skin, and short pink hair.

Justine Rafort, Ormen’s wife in all but the strictly legal sense, stood by his side. She had dark skin and tightly curled hair cropped short. She nodded at Corvina. “Welcome,” she repeated with a warm smile.

The final member of the family was Liza Tulinmal, Belle’s nine year-old sister. She had dark skin and hair the same texture as her mother’s, but her hair was pink like her father’s. It was kept in two tight buns on either side of her head.

Liza started jumping up and down in excitement the moment she saw Corvina, and when she couldn’t resist anymore she threw herself at Corvina to hug her. Corvina was getting a lot of hugs today. “Welcome!” she shouted. “How was your trip here? Was it okay? I hate riding in carriages. Mama said it takes all day in a carriage to get from here to the city. Yuck. Is my sister doing okay? How about her fiance? I’ve never met him but I really, really want to.”

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“Whoa there, my girl,” said Ormen, pulling his daughter off Corvina. “Show a bit of respect. Don’t you know our guest is a very important person?”

“It’s okay,” said Corvina. She leaned down so she could look Liza in the eyes and said, “Belle is thriving in the city, and her fiance is a very nice man who treats her well.”

“Good!” said Liza. “Is he handsome?”

“Very,” said Corvina.

“I’m so jealous.”

“You’ll meet someone yourself one day,” said Corvina. “When you’ve grown up a bit more.”

“Why don’t we all go inside?” suggested Justine. “You must be in need of refreshment after your long journey. We have supper prepared it you’d like some.”

“Of course,” said Corvina. “Although I might like to clean up a bit first.”

“Of course,” said Justine. “Just one more thing before you go in.”

“What is it?” asked Corvina.

Justine glanced down at the small sword that was strapped to the waist of Corvina’s dress. “I’m not comfortable with weapons in my home,” said Justine.

“I understand,” said Corvina. “But I’m afraid that, as I’m not traveling with any guards on this occasion, I feel it necessary not to keep a weapon on my person, as a means of self defense.”

Corvina and Justine continued to smile at each other for a moment longer.

“I understand,” said Justine. “In that case I ask that you keep it on your person at all times and never draw it except in extreme circumstances. You must understand I’m concerned about safety with a child in the house.”

“Of course,” said Corvina. “Perfectly reasonable.”

“Albrecht?” said Justine.

A man dressed as a butler stepped forward.

“Show Lady Corvina and her maid to her room please.”

“Of course, madame,” said Albrecht.

The interior of the mansion was just as eccentric as the outside. Corvina wasn’t sure how it was possible to actually fill a house of this size with strange knick knacks, but somehow the Tulin family had managed it. And mixed in with all the porcelain frogs and wooden carvings of fairies were countless potted plants of every possible variety.

After settling in a bit and going down for supper, Corvina decided to ask about their design choices.

“Oh, I used to travel a lot when I was younger and I enjoyed collecting things from the places I went,” said Ormen. “And my wife’s always been fond of plants.”

“I used to own the largest flower shop in Longren,” said Justine, with a small smile. “Well, I say flower shop but it was really more of a nursery. We sold all sorts of plants.”

“Used to?” asked Corvina.

“I sold the shop when I moved in with Ormen,” said Justine, taking a bite of her salmon. “I couldn’t manage a store and an estate at the same time. Plants are just my hobby now.”

“I like plants and random stuff!” said Liza. “So I think this house is the best. I don’t get why Belle even wanted to leave.”

“She wanted to try to improve things for our family, honey,” said Justine, patting her daughter on the head. “She’s working very hard so that even the people in the capital city will recognize our family as legitimate.”

“Who even cares what they think, though?” said Liza, picking grumpily at her food.

After that, the conversation turned back to lighter topics. Despite having tried to act like the voice of reason earlier, Ormen was at least as excitable and talkative as his youngest daughter. By the time the meal was over, Corvina was exhausted. After traveling for most of the day she really didn’t have the energy for this kind of socializing. And, well, she had a lot on her mind. She didn’t really have mental space to spare for detailed information on the latest popular lawn games.

So after supper, when Ormen suggested they retire to the drawing room for after-dinner coffee, Corvina politely declined.

“I think I’d better turn in for the night, if that’s alright,” she said.

“Oh, yes, of course,” said Ormen. “We’ll have plenty of time for coffee another night.”

Just then, Albrecht entered the room. “Excuse me, there’s a visitor here for the Lady Corvina,” he said.

Corvina’s whole body tensed.

“Who is it?” asked Corvina.

“It’s the Saintess of Coris,” said Albrecht. “And attendant.”

“Oh, do you want to greet your guests in the drawing room?” asked Ormen. “We could have coffee sent up to you.”

“Yes, okay, fine,” said Corvina. “Thank you very much.”

Corvina wasn’t mentally prepared to meet Anne again so soon. She had thought she’d have another night at least to try to sort out her thoughts and feelings. Were they just going to pick up fighting where they’d left off? Corvina wasn’t sure she knew how to resolve the problem yet. Should she just agree Anne was right to put an end to the fight, like Nia said?

But when Anne entered the room, all thoughts flew from Corvina’s mind and she was just… happy to see Anne again. Even with Eva in tow.

Corvina exhaled, feeling a strange sense of relief.

Except Anne looked upset about something.

“Corvina, it’s good to see you!” Anne said, giving her a hug. Corvina liked this hug. But then Anne shoved a piece of paper at her. “I’m afraid we’ve got a problem, though.”

Corvina took the paper.

In neat, square handwriting was written this message:

Dear Saintess,

I greet and recognize you as a royal half-sister of the Forest. I regret that we have not yet had an opportunity to meet in-person, although our brother Agis speaks highly of you.

I thank you for your previous correspondence, but in regards to your request for cooperation, I must politely decline. I can understand your motivations in this matter, however the motivations of your allies are somewhat more difficult to discern with any certainty, and therein lies the problem.

Lady Corvina is not only a royal child of the Wyernwolf Empire, our enemies in a war of needless aggression, but she is also a notorious master schemer. Tales of her deviousness have reached even our isolated woods, and I confess an intense personal dislike of schemes and their masters. I’m sure you have your reasons for calling her ally, but I see no reason to follow suit.

I would not normally allow personal feelings to interfere with strategic decision-making, but I believe in this case my personal feelings and my best tactical judgment are in perfect alignment.

I simply see no benefit in cooperating with this matter.

I wish you the best of luck with all noble goals you pursue. And I hope, dear sister, that we may one day meet under favorable circumstances.

Yours sincerely,

Prince Elyon of the Sacred Forest

Corvina set the paper down in front of her.

“Well, shit,” said Corvina.