Claiming Lord Rhinestadt was a patient man was tantamount to admitting you were a fool. Time waits for no man because it is too busy trying to keep up with Lord Rhinestadt’s schedule. Needless to say, the minor delay that was caused by my collapse of exhaustion and blood loss did little to get me into his good graces. I say minor, because after I collapsed I did not get the bed I was hoping for; instead I was rushed to the barracks’ clinic, where they bandaged my wounds, pumped some sort of cocktail of painkillers and adrenaline into my twelve year old body and sent me off to Rhinestadt’s office, semi-conscious and as high as a kite. The knight who had stopped me on the way out was kind enough to accompany me the whole way, plying me with instructions on etiquette in the presence of Lord Rhinestadt as we went. I recognized her from the written exam trial; she was the stout and powerful woman with greying hairs, who had failed to introduce herself at the time.
But before I could ask her name, we were standing before the ornate black wooden doors that guarded the Lord’s study. The knight gave three abrupt knocks on the door, then stood back.
“Enter,” came a low voice I recognized.
The knight opened the door and entered, gesturing to me to wait as she did.
“Sir, I’ve brought the candidate.”
“Bring her in,” came the reply, and I was given permission to follow.
I had seen this study before, playing The Monster’s Daughter, but no images could ever capture the sheer ostentatious nature of the room. The ceiling stretched nearly three stories up, two of which were lined with untouched books on ivory black shelves. A red carpet covered a checkered marble floor, at the end of which sat an enormous oak desk before a floor to ceiling window. It wasn’t the sort of display of wealth one would find in a palace; no, this was wealth designed to intimidate the visitor, to grind them into the dirt and remind them how worthless they were.
I couldn’t help but swallow as I followed the knight to the desk, my usual bravado sent on vacation by the cocktail of drugs they had given me earlier. My back ached as spots filled my vision, sweat pouring down my brow as I confronted the man I sought to destroy.
Rhinestadt was seated behind his desk, barely sparing me a glance as he poured over his documents.
“This one?” he questioned, still looking at the papers in his hand.
“Yessir. I believe she’s our best option.”
“Why?” His questions were brief and efficient.
“Because she saw right through the Trials. She’ll likely be a valuable asset if we keep her.”
“And a dangerous one if we don’t,” he replied, finally tossing down the paper to give us his attention. I swallowed again as he turned his dark eyes onto me; his presence was so intense that I almost wished he had kept ignoring me.
“You, girl. What do you want?”
“Huh?” The question was so direct that I couldn’t help but startle.
“Are you here to make me repeat myself?”
“Ah-nosir,” I recovered, bowing and scraping. “If possible, I’d like to serve you Lord Rhinestadt. You once saved my life and I-”
“Don’t give me trite bullshit like that. Answer my questions truthfully and to the point, or else I’ll have your corpse in the river by morning.”
The harsh words cut into me like a hot knife, filling me with fear. This wasn’t a game or a dream to aspire to anymore; I had caught his attention, and if I didn’t satisfy him now then he would not hesitate to eliminate me. The corpse of a powerless commoner would hardly raise any eyebrows; only the grief of my family would be left behind. Yet I couldn’t be honest with him either.
I took a deep breath, taking the time to close my eyes and steady my heart as much as I could. When I reopened them, I returned Rhinestadt’s icy gaze with one of my own.
“Power,” I answered. “I want power to wield over others. I want the strength to fight for myself and my own.”
He met my gaze unflinchingly; of course he did. But this time I didn’t back down - at least, not right away. This was a power game; one where I proved my strength of will as above all others except Rhinestadt. I knew he was the sort of man who fancied himself a minor god. Not literally; he acknowledged his own mortality, but he was the sort of fellow who believed he was at the top for a reason. Nevermind the fact he was born into one of the most powerful families in the Empire; no, he thought he was in power through the strength of his will and character. Well, admittedly both were quite strong, but every dictator thought that strength was all that mattered; as long as it did not challenge their own.
What I needed to prove was that I was strong enough to work for him, but not strong enough to challenge his authority.
I counted under my breath, five, six, seven - I broke my gaze on the eighth count, dropping them to the side like I was shy.
Rhinestadt let slip a wicked grin.
“Haha - an honest answer for once. I can respect a desire like that.” As quick as it came, his smile was gone, replaced by the usual scowl. “Be careful though girl. Ambition is good, but only so far. Around here, a big head is one ripe to be trimmed.”
“Yessir.”
“So, how did she do in the trials?” he asked, turning to the knight.
“She scored two hundred and twenty three: forty-six for shooting, ninety-five for writing, zero for riding and eighty-two for the obstacle course.”
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Rhinestadt quirked an eyebrow. “Average for a noble. Why did you choose her?”
“She failed to enter the tournament, so she deliberately baited Edward Decathy into a duel and defeated him.”
“Hmm.” Rhinestadt’s cool glare peered over me as he picked up another document on his table. “Edward Decathy was promising… but to be defeated by a commoner…”
“I believe this girl deliberately took advantage of Edward’s foolishness to prove herself. At the very least, she proved her determination and skill in dishonourable combat.”
I blushed, ashamed my scheme was so easily exposed. Rhinestadt kept his gaze on the document before him as he continued to question the knight.
“And so you believe she is suitable for the Ravens.”
“Yes, my liege.”
“But she has familial connections.”
The knight paused. “That can be dealt with.”
Rhinehardt stopped to consider this as I couldn’t stop my mouth from opening in shock. The Ravens were Lord Rhinestadt’s top secret special forces. They were the ones who did the worst of his dirty work: assassinations, torture, and kidnapping. The only reason I knew about them was thanks to my knowledge of the game: Edward Decathy was trained in their techniques before becoming Violette’s bodyguard. But to actually become a member, one was required to have no connections whatsoever; familial, social, romantic - nothing. That meant-
But before I could finish the thought, Rhinehardt shook his head.
“No, she’s too old. It will only encourage disloyalty. Perhaps enlisting her into the regular knight corps would be best after all…”
“May I speak frankly, my liege-”
I was cut off as the knight cuffed me in the side of my head.
“Speak only when spoken to!”
“Let her speak,” interrupted Rhinehardt as an amused look flashed in his eyes. “Let’s see what sort of fantasies she has about her future.”
I plucked up my courage and voiced my most honest statement of the day.
“I-if I may, my lord, I believe I am most suitable to serve you as a bodyguard.”
“A bodyguard?!” For the first time since I had met him, Rhinehardt actually let out a laugh. “A measly little squid like you, protecting me?”
“Not you, my liege. Your daughter.”
At this Rhinehardt paused, suspicion in his eyes. “Why would you want to do that?”
I paused for a moment, thinking seriously.
“Lady Violette is the next official heir to the Duchy. If I serve as her personal guard, it will give me the power I want when she grows older. As her influence grows, so will mine. If you grant me that power, I promise to act as an informant for you on Lady Violette; what she writes in her diary, if she tries to sneak out; even what she confides in her close friends with-”
I stopped as Rhinehardt held up a hand. “I grow tired of that disrespectful mouth of yours. I hardly need a spy for my own daughter; nothing in this household happens without me knowing.”
I doubt you know what the maids say when they clean up your chamberpot, I thought to myself, but held my tongue.
“But perhaps… A commoner would be fitting for that half-breed,” muttered Rhinehardt under his breath. My nails broke my skin as I clenched my fist while doing my best to pretend to not understand. I could practically hear his thought process myself: Here is an ambitious little girl with big ideas and the potential to back it up. She could be useful, but dangerous if those ideas get a little too big. But if I attach her to that useless daughter of mine, her ambitions will only lead to a dead end while I can still make use of her abilities. Either way, I lose nothing, she gains nothing, and it might make Violette easier to control. I win!
“Hmm… very well. But know this: I will not afford a change of heart on this matter. From now until the end of your life, you will be Violette’s guard whether she fails or succeeds.”
The words I had so desperately wanted to hear for the last two years finally came. I had done it - but I couldn’t relax just yet.
“Ah- but before you get excited, I have one more question. What are your thoughts on the Empress?”
Yet again, his words caught me off guard. My mind raced through my memories of the game as I tried to figure out his intentions… Why was he asking such an odd question? The Empress was a distant figure in the game; she only appeared at obscure points in the game as the mother of the male lead, and barely spoke a word. Rhinehardt was going to arrange an engagement between Violette and the Prince in a few years time - that must mean they had a positive relationship, right? Perhaps he was testing my loyalty to the Crown… so should I positively?
Sweat poured down my brow as I tried to figure out what Rhinestadt was probing at. The wrong answer could send me into the river - perhaps I should play it safe, and praise her. I opened my mouth-
Wait. Waitwaitwaitwaitwait.
A scene from the game flashed in my mind; a romantic encounter between the Heroine and the Prince. One where they sat in a garden, and the Prince complained about his poor relationship with his mother… it was an important turning point in their relationship, where the Prince finally opened up his heart to the Heroine and she began to heal his emotional scars… or some such trite bullshit.
As the scene flashed through my mind, several things suddenly clicked into place: Rhinestadt’s eagerness to engage his daughter to the heir to the throne, the fact that he was the only Duke with his own private army, his own secret service - I swallowed as everything suddenly made sense. Of course this man wouldn’t be satisfied with just one piece of the pie - he’d want the whole thing. He was a political powerhouse in his own right, one that the Empress would have had a hard time suppressing during her past reformations… and Violette was at the centre of his schemes to seize control of the throne.
I allowed a look of confusion to pass over my face, like I was nothing but a dumb commoner ignorant of Imperial politics.
“The Empress…? Isn’t she one of those weird people with antlers? Not human? I dunno… doesn’t seem right for the Empire to be ruled over by a non-human…”
“Half-human. Careful girl, your words would be considered treason in the Imperial capital,” warned Rhinestadt, but his tone was not harsh.
“Sorry, my liege.”
He waved a hand, dismissing my half-hearted apology.
“It’s fine. Very well, I’ve made my decision. I’ll assign Violette her own full guard. Choose the remaining members from the new recruits, Cassandra; let’s say Edward and Marianne to start,” he said, nodding to the knight. “As for the girl… I am placing her directly under your command. Since you chose her, take responsibility. Give her extra training from the Ravens, but she’ll be enlisted as a regular knight.”
Knight Cassandra gave an abrupt salute. “Understood, my liege.”
“Then leave me,” dismissed Rhinehardt with a wave. I bowed and thanked him, before turning to follow Cassandra out of the room. But just as I reached the door, he called out again.
“One more thing girl.”
I turned back to see him holding up a sheet of paper. My face whitened as I realized what it was: a leaflet advertising the tailor where my mother worked.
“Ambition is an admirable trait… but make sure I never have to remind you where you truly belong,” he said, holding the pamphlet up to the candle. It caught quickly, burning a strange green colour as the ink on the page was set alight.
An overwhelming sensation of dread settled over me as I realized what he was implying. All I could do was nod hurriedly and scurry away into the night, chased by a growing sense of guilt. I had accomplished my goal - but in doing so I had also balanced the lives of my loved ones on a knife’s edge.