“Where there was little motivation and support, development stagnates. Yet should it be accompanied with copious motivation and support, even a period of time as short as a year might well show results that many would have found hard to believe had they not seen it with their own eyes.” - Aristides Flagellus, Philosopher from the First Elmaiya Empire.

“That’s all you need? Consider it done!” said Duchess Melania Nunez of Algenvarr after Aideen explained what she needed to her in the Duchess’ office. A year after the first time they met, the middle-aged Duchess had become healthier than she had ever been, as the close call with death from the assassination attempt and the months of weakness that followed sparked a desire in her to never feel so weak and helpless ever again. “I’ll have my secretary draft a letter and have it signed by dinnertime.”

“Many thanks, Your Grace,” replied Aideen. Her return to Algenverr was far smoother than she expected, as she met a knight who remembered her shortly after she reached the queue to enter the city, who brought her in immediately. The knight even escorted her straight to the Ducal manor, apparently on standing orders from the Duchess.

“Think nothing of it. This is but a mere pittance compared to the grace you had shown us a year ago,” replied the Duchess with a shake of her head. Both the Duke and the Duchess had felt greatly indebted to her since she healed them back then. “If there’s anything within our power you need, just name it and it is yours.”

“At the moment, the letter of introduction will be all I need, but thank you for the offer,” replied Aideen as she walked alongside the Duchess through the manor. The Duchess had asked politely if she wanted to join her in some exercise, and Aideen had not refused. She had planned to spend a month or two in civilized lands first before another foray into the uncharted areas anyway.

Melania led her to the training grounds behind the manor that was usually used by the family’s private knights. There Aideen saw Clarissa, as well as another two youngsters who looked similar enough to be her siblings, practicing with some veteran knights watching over them.

Unlike in Dvergarder where the one who took up the Ducal title was almost always a knight themselves, Algenverr had no such tradition. That said, as people who grew up on the borderlands, they trained their children in self defense as well, simply because it was likely something those children would need in their lives sooner or later.

Aideen went and said hi to the young heir to the Duchy, who welcomed her politely while she introduced her younger brother and sister in turn. From what she saw, the three youngsters were reasonably skilled, if inexperienced. Their studies were more in statesmanship and politics, rather than warfare and combat, but after the assassination attempt on their parents all of them actively took up extra lessons in self-defense as a precaution.

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The Duchess herself went and changed into more relaxed outfits suitable for physical activity, and began her workout as she picked up a pair of heavy maces from the rack and went through some routines with them.

It was quite a contrast, the Duchess from Aideen’s memories almost a year ago and today’s Duchess. Back then she was a rather frail-looking middle-aged woman who was mostly confined to the wheelchair due to the weakening of her muscles after the coma she had been in, who looked as if she would topple over from the slightest nudge.

Currently, the Duchess looked fitter than her three children, the muscles on her arms bulging with exertion as she practiced with the heavy weapons, solid muscles that would have not looked out of place on a veteran warrior. The middle-aged woman looked as if she could wrestle bears nowadays, which was a drastic transformation from how she was a year ago.

After they worked out for a good while, the Duchess had Clarissa take Aideen to see a new building she had not recalled the last time she had been in town. The building was a rather large one, styled similarly to a chapel in shape but without the usual icons of worship around.

In the large hall Clarissa brought her to discreetly listen to an ongoing lecture. The hall itself was full, every seat taken and many even standing in the back just to listen as the old healer Aideen remembered from a year ago lectured on the things she taught him way back then to the enraptured audience, his voice full of passion as he went through the lecture in great detail.

“Has he been doing that for long?” Aideen asked Clarissa after they left a short while later. She knew that the old man was the best healer in the Duchy, and previously employed directly by the Ducal family. She had asked him to spread the knowledge back then, but had not expected such an enthusiastic crowd to gather.

“Half a year now I think,” replied Clarissa after she pondered for a short moment. “He had resigned as our family physician not long after you left, as he said he wanted to spread the knowledge on your behalf. Mother was supportive of the idea and funded that lecture hall while she helped him spread the word at the same time. You’ve seen the results just not.”

“I had not expected it to be that popular, I admit,” said Aideen with a slight smile.

“Well, most of the healers we do have here tend to be either young, idealistic, or both. Ones too weak for the Unburdened to care much about or those who abhorred their practices,” explained Clarissa with an understanding nod. “The majority of the best healers signed on with the Unburdened, most of their own free will, so we had always lacked highly skilled healers in comparison to the Centrals. Then Asclepius went and preached knowledge that most others would have held tight to their chest until they died.”

“No real surprise that so many came to learn, really,” added the young Ducal heir.

“If he’s going about this publicly like this, make sure you have some people guarding him,” warned Aideen who was all too familiar with how far people might go to preserve what they felt were their benefits. “He’s likely going to be a target for assassins as well at this rate.”

“Oh, we know. Mother had long ordered increased security everywhere. We’ve already arrested at least half a dozen suspected assassins over this past year,” said Clarissa with a smile of her own. “Let’s just say that none of us were keen to have a repeat of that incident either.”