Gray Morality
Chapter 10
Till Death Do I Impart
"Spell research is boring."
"You're not helping, Remilia." The disgruntled witch said. Remilia was feeling very restless, since the magician team was doing nothing but combing through old books, which did not seem to be helping from her perspective. Intellectually she knew that it was important and useful, but emotionally, she wanted to do something.
"Can't we, like, build a rocket or something and shoot it off?" Remilia suggested.
"No, we need to go farther than a rocket can reach. If you want to help, go play politics with Yukari and the Yama. The latter will certainly have some input, she always does." Patchouli responded. Remilia sighed, and then left the library. Remilia had plenty of magic firepower, but she wasn't a magician and wasn't one to do studious research. She was one of the more prominent figures in Gensokyo though, so she held influence even without her ability. Patchouli was right too—there were beings in Gensokyo that would have something to say about invading another world. The moon people would be against it on principle, although Remilia could just ignore them, but Yamaxanadu would need to be reasoned with.
Still, Remilia wish she could do something. Talking was not the same as doing. And, she found herself getting surprisingly restless without her maid to keep her company.
…..
Thick ground fog obscured our vision in the early morning light. Miss Louise and I were standing in a clearing behind the palace walls, where Henrietta was supposed to come give us the mission details. But so far it was just the two of us, alone and cold. Why must these people insist on doing everything so early in the damn morning? It's colder than hell, everyone is still tired...we didn't have this problem at the Scarlet Devil Mansion. Luckily, Miss Louise shared my sentiments.
"This weather is unbearable." She said.
"Tell me about it." Derflinger answered in my place. We could barely see more than ten feet in front of us, and the imposing height of the central keep of the Tristain palace was completely out of sight. The minutes dragged on while we waited out in the cold for someone to show up. Finally, a door opened with a loud creak behind us, and we turned around to see Princess Henrietta wander out alone. She was wearing a thick, fur coat over her thicker-than-usual dress to combat the cold. In her gloved hands she held a small wooden box. When she saw us, she waved.
"Good morning, Louise." She said softly.
"Good morning, your highness."
Henrietta breathed into her hands, and the hot air coming from her mouth was visible. "I'll try to be brief so we don't have to stand around here in the cold." She said. "As you already know, your mission is to contact Prince Wales Tudor of Albion, ask him for the letter, and destroy it. Since the country of Albion is currently in active rebellion, Wales is hiding out in a church to the far south, directly southwest of South Gotha."
"Rebellion?" Miss Louise asked.
"Yes. The group 'Reconquista' initiated a coup d'etat, which quickly turned into an entire proletariat rebellion. Half the country wants him dead."
"That's horrible!"
Henrietta didn't respond, and instead opened the small wooden box she had brought. She reached into it and took out a small silver ring with a blue gemstone inlaid into it. "This ring is part of a pair. Wales has the other. Show this to him, and he'll know that you were sent by me."
Miss Louise carefully took the ring out of Henrietta's hands, and inspected it before placing it in a safe place on her person. "Your highness, how exactly are we supposed to...er...get there, exactly?" She said a bit reluctantly. But Henrietta just laughed in response.
"Your ride will be here shortly," she said, and turned her head up to the sky. I didn't understand what she was doing, so I followed her gaze. Then, I heard the sound of wings flapping—it's a sound I am familiar with—which got louder and louder. And then a huge creature materialized from within the fog, landing on the ground with a loud "thud." It was a huge creature that had the body of a lion and the head of an eagle, with two large feathered wings sprouted from its back. I had seen legends of this type of creature before, it was called a griffin. But they didn't exist in Gensokyo or Earth.
The griffin lowered its head, and a rider jumped off. He was a tall man, wearing a blue cowboy hat dressed in simple dark blue robes with a black cloak draped over his mantle. He tipped his feathered cap when he saw us in greeting. How very noble.
"W-Wardes!" Miss Louise exclaimed. Apparently these two know each other.
"Ah, little Louise, my beautiful fiance." The man called Wardes said, and embraced Miss Louise in an energetic hug. Did he just say what I think he said?
"You're going to be escorting us?" Miss Louise asked in hope.
Wardes smiled and patted her head. "Yes. It's so good to see you again."
"You too..." Miss Louise blushed, and then ended the hug. Wardes led her close to the griffin, and helped her climb up on top of it. It didn't look very easy, and I wondered to myself how Wardes managed to do it by himself. But I didn't have to wonder long, because I saw him use the base of the wing as a foothold to propel himself up, grabbing onto the fur and then climbing over onto its back. It was an acrobatic performance. He then began to check the packs and reins to make sure everything was secure.
A brilliant job, Wardes. You managed to completely ignore me. Most people at least notice the maids, whether its a passing glance or just in the corner of their eye, but he didn't even acknowledge my presence at all. Are they not bringing me?
"Ah, wait, my familiar..." Miss Louise sputtered as Wardes seemed almost ready to take off. At least my own master can remember me. Wardes looked confused when Miss Louise pointed at me.
"You mean your maid?"
"Nnnooo...she's my familiar..." Miss Louise admitted. Wardes laughed, but not maliciously.
"Ah, my little Louise, what an interesting one you are to summon a human familiar."
Wardes adjusted his and Miss Louise's positions on the griffin to allow me room to get on. It was really large, larger even than Tabitha's dragon, so three people was no sweat for it to handle. I approached, and climbed on when Wardes gestured for me to do so. It was easy enough for me to mimic what he did earlier, although maybe not quite as gracefully as he could. The seating arrangement was Miss Louise in front, Wardes in the middle and me in back. There were straps and leather loops to hold onto during flight, and a deadline in case the unthinkable happens and someone falls off. Soon after we were all secure, Wardes gave a command to the griffin and we shot off into the air.
Although I could fly by my own power, there was something fundamentally different about riding atop a griffin than just hovering in the air. Perhaps it was because it wasn't magic that was keeping us afloat, but the heavy beats of a creature's wings. Nothing mystical about it, just the physical motions of a powerful animal. With every flap of its wings, I could feel the raw, physical power that this griffin held as we rose higher and higher into the sky. Strangely, there was no wind rushing by our faces, even when we reached a high speed.
The flight was very fun at the beginning, but after an hour I grew accustomed to it. Miss Louise had began to chat up Wardes to catch up, so she must have felt the same as me. I was disinterested in the conversation at first, but then Miss Louise brought me up and all of my deeds since I came here to Halkeginia. Hearing them all said at once kind of hurt—there really was a lot of violence there—but Wardes didn't seem to react in any visible way. Wardes, I found out, was the captain of Henrietta's "Griffin Knights," an elite squadron who mainly did recon and whatnot for the kingdom.
We were pretty high up in the air, and I really got a feel for just how large Halkeginia really was. There were forests surrounded by mountains, which on the other side had more forests and more mountains. There were wide, open plains and farmland that stretched for miles. Sure, I had seen all of it in Gensokyo, but not nearly on this scale. Every so often we would pass by a city or town, and the thought that each one held so many people was staggering.
I looked ahead, and saw something in the sky. It wasn't just big, it was massive. Wardes smiled. "Behold, Albion." He said extravagantly, and outstretched his hand. As we got closer and closer, I realized what it was. In the sky was an entire landmass. It was like an island in the sky. It was still too far away to make out clearly, but there was something else that caught my attention: what was below it.
"Miss Louise," I said, "what is that on the ground?" I pointed towards the ground under Albion. Miss Louise looked back at me, then followed my finger to where I was pointing. She scrunched her eyebrows.
"You mean the ocean?"
"What is that?"
Miss Louise raised her eyebrows at me as if to say, "are you kidding?" I shrugged my shoulders. "It's water." Miss Louise said. "It's an ocean—a large body of water."
I didn't respond, and stared at it. The ocean. There was no such thing as an "ocean" in Gensokyo, the largest body of water was the Misty Lake. Unless you count the Sanzu River, but arguably that doesn't count. But even that wasn't comparable to what I saw before me. It wasn't just a large lake or anything—the water literally spread to the horizon in all directions. It trumped all of the sights I saw on the way here, just nothing but water for as far as my eyes could see. Just...just how large was this place?
My wonder must have caught Miss Louise's eye, because she smirked condescendingly. But she turned back ahead to look at Albion, which was growing and growing as we got closer. I realized it wasn't just a floating island. It was an entire continent. There were forests and mountains and lakes and rivers of its own. Miss Louise instructed Wardes on where to fly, and he decided to come in from the southern side. It would mean we wouldn't fly over the actual continent as much, and we wouldn't pass over any cities. But it was still an amazing sight to see.
We soon landed in a clearing on Albion soil, surrounded by trees. In the center of the clearing was an old, decrepit church with boarded up windows. All three of us dismounted from the griffin and put our feet back on solid ground. If I hadn't witnessed how we got here, I would never guess we were actually floating in the air. It felt exactly how it did standing in Tristain. Wardes started to adjust several things on his griffin's harness while Miss Louise headed towards the church. I followed her, and Wardes caught up after a minute.
The front of the church had some inscription near the wooden double-doors, but I couldn't read it. Wardes knocked loudly three times on the door, and stood back. Miss Louise and I stood at his side. After a moment, a guard in full plated armor and face mask emerged with a thick spear in his right hand.
"Who are you?" The guard demanded.
"I am Louise Francoise le Blanc de la Valliere, and I am here to see the prince of Albion. I have an important message."
"The prince is not here. Go away." The guard replied immediately, and moved to shut the door.
"I was told by Princess Henrietta herself that he was here." Miss Louise shot back. The guard stopped.
"H-Henrietta...?" He muttered to himself.
"Stand aside guard, my business is not with you." Miss Louise yelled. "I demand to see Prince Wales."
The guard was less than amused. "Prove it then. That you really were sent here by Henrietta."
"I don't have to prove anything to you" Miss Louise said, and pointed her finger in the guard's face. On it was the ring that Henrietta had given to Miss Louise as proof of our authenticity. Miss Louise must have put it on her own finger to keep it safe, and honestly I can't imagine a better place to put it. It glistened and caught the sun's rays, which the guard seemed to notice. Since it was right in his face, and all.
"Ah, thats-!" The guard exclaimed, and then set his spear down against the wall. He removed his glove, and revealed his hand which bore a similar ring except the gemstone was green instead of blue. Miss Louise was confused, but before she could move the guard touched his ring to hers. When they connected, a bright glow came from them both that illuminated all of us in a strange, white light. The guard seemed satisfied, and began to remove his helmet. He was boyish, with short blonde hair and smooth features.
"I am Prince Wales Tudor of Albion. I am pleased to make your acquaintance, Miss Valliere." He said, and bowed. Miss Louise was flustered.
"Uwawa~ I'm sorry for my rudeness." She said quickly and bowed lower. But Wales just laughed it off.
"Come, let us discuss your message." He said, and gestured for us to follow him into the church. When we entered, I saw six other soldiers in full plate standing by on alert. Miss Louise gestured for us to wait in the main area while she followed Wales into the back room. I lowered my head at her request, and then went to go sit in one of the pews. The soldiers eyed me at first, but then their attention was drawn away. I must not register as much of a threat. Wardes sat down beside me.
"So, you're Louise's familiar." He said flatly.
"Yes. I am Izayoi Sakuya."
"Are you really as strong as little Louise claims you are, or are you just a trickster or thief?"
I smiled and turned to him. "In my home world we sort people into six different classes depending on how strong they are. I'm in the second-to-highest class. If I were to translate it into your system, I guess I would be pentagon? In any case I'm sure I could take on a few of your so-called square-class magicians in a fair fight."
"And in an unfair fight?"
"Anyone."
"A confident answer." He said, and then turned to look at the altar. The relationship between the magic of Halkeginia and the magic of Gensokyo, however, was probably not so easy to relate. It's not that Gensokyo has inherently stronger magic than Halkeginia. The two systems just are not very compatible. In Gensokyo, fighting is all about danmaku. Manipulating hundreds of bullets at once and creating patterns and fields to trap your enemies. In Halkeginia though, magical fights seem to be based around the four different elements in a complex rock-paper-scissors type organization. From what I could understand, in any case. Regardless, without Reimu's spellcard rules to bind me I was likely the most dangerous assassin ever to appear in Halkeginia.
Eventually, Miss Louise emerged from the back room with an envelop in her hand, Wales following behind her. According to the princess, we were to destroy that letter immediately. I was curious what Miss Louise would do, and was kind of disappointed when all she did was rip it up. She definitely did rip it up good though. Wardes chuckled, and pointed his wand at the scraps of paper, which promptly burst into flames. Miss Louise blushed a little. "That was easy." She said.
Wardes and I stood up from the pew, and approached Miss Louise. Wardes was the first to reach her, and to my surprise he got down on one knee. "Little Louise," he said, "let's get married. Today, right now."
"W-W-W-What?" Miss Louise sputtered, her face going beet red.
"I'm sure the crown prince would be happy to wed us, right here." Wardes said, and Wales smiled in the background. I made sure not to get near this little scene, and stood a few yards away from the two of them.
Miss Louise put her hands on her cheeks. "B-But it's too early. To fast, I, er,...uwahh..."
Wardes smiled. "The world is moving much faster than it used to, little Louise. I want you to be my bride before events try to conspire to tear us apart."
"It's so...sudden though..." Miss Louise said quietly. I could see her thinking about it, and her eyes shifted back and fourth while she thought. Eventually they fixated on me. I smiled and gave a subtle nod, but did not utter any words of encouragement. It would be the best move for Miss Louise to get a husband, since I plan on leaving soon. Having a husband to lean on instead of me is just fine, that's their purpose after all.
Miss Louise put her arms behind her back and turned her head to the side. "...okay..." She murmured, the blush on her face even more red than before.
"Ah, wonderful." Wardes said while I smiled peacefully.
"Well, it looks like we're having a surprise wedding, everyone!" Wales shouted loud enough so all the guards could hear. They all cheered loudly, the thought of a wedding reinvigorating them.
…..
"Wow, I look..." Miss Louise said, but didn't finish. I had taken Miss Louise aside so that I could make her look presentable. We didn't have a change of clothes for her, but I could still do her hair, apply some make-up and a couple other touch-ups. I am very skilled at hairdressing and cosmetics, not only because as a maid I have to keep my appearance perfect, but also because I get to do it for my mistress every day. No one else in the mansion ever takes me up on that offer though, for their own reasons.
Even though Wales was the prince of a country currently in a full-scale rebellion, I suppose technically he is still the leader and thus has the authority to wed two people. I escorted Miss Louise into the church to begin the ceremony, where we found Wardes and Wales waiting in front of the alter. The contingent of guards were all sitting in the pews as the audience, although they still wore their armor. Wales, on the other hand, had removed his own armor and donned a much more presentable robe. I walked Miss Louise down the aisle (her father not being present), and then let her go and retreated to one of the pews in the front row. She stood opposite to Wardes, and they turned to each other.
Wales cleared his throat. "Today, we are here to join these two souls in holy matrimony, to intertwine their destinies with one another for the rest of time. It is with great privilege that I am able to stand before you two. Even when times are terrible, when the country is in ruins and the people are in chaos, we can take a moment to sit down and realize what is truly important. Because it does not matter if the entire world crumbles around us, as long as we are connected through love, nothing can hurt us."
Wales paused a moment, and then turned to Wardes. "Viscount Jean-Jacques Francis of Wardes, under our great Founder Brimir, do you take this woman to be your bride? Through famine, through war, through great harvest and times of peace, through valiant struggles and through crippling despair, do you agree to take this woman under your protection until the day you die?
"I do." Wardes said loudly and proudly. Wales nodded, and turned back to Miss Louise.
"Louise Francoise le Blanc de la Valliere, third daughter of the Duke of La Valliere, under the our great Founder Brimir, do you take this man to be your husband? Through famine, through war, through great harvest and times of peace, through valiant struggles and through crippling despair, do you agree to take this man and support him, love him and cherish him until the day you die?"
"I-I...do..." Miss Louise said, barely able to get over her embarrassment to say what may end up being the most important two words of her life. Wales nodded again.
"Then, as the Crown Prince Wales Tudor of Albion, I am proud to pronounce you man and wife." As Wales said these words, the crowd all ceremonially raised their spears and swords. Wardes leaned down towards Miss Louise, gently held her head in his hand and gave her a loving kiss. The room erupted into applause, and the guards laughed and shouted in happiness. This was a much-needed event to raise their spirits and morale. The newlyweds ended their kiss, and turned to the rest of the crowd.
"Break out the wine!" Wardes shouted, and the crowd cheered. Wine and food was served to all the guests, although unfortunately there was no cake. The festivities lasted for about an hour before sunset approached and everyone needed to get back to their regularly scheduled duties. Wales offered us to stay the night in the church, and Miss Louise and Wardes accepted.
…..
I sat on the edge of the windowsill outside of the church, staring at the moons as they slowly crept across the sky. It was past midnight, Miss Louise and Wardes having long since gone to bed. They had been given their own private room, and although I was offered one I didn't need it. It would be incredibly foolish to simply go to sleep in the middle of enemy territory with a full-scale rebellion taking place. To keep myself rested I slept in stopped-time, but this left an entire night to loiter. In fact, it is on rare occasion that I ever sleep in real-time. Back at the mansion I was too busy to do so, and I don't trust Halkeginia enough to leave myself so vulnerable.
"That was a fun party." Derflinger said in a quiet voice. I twirled him around in my hands to stave off the boredom.
"Yeah..." I said quietly, and kept staring at the moons.
"It's a nice view."
I set Derflinger down on the windowsill next to me. It was one of those large church windows, and there was plenty of room to lounge. I considered laying down on the roof, but from my current perch I could see Miss Louise's room through the window. We were in a dangerous country after all, it seems pertinent to keep an eye on Miss Louise even if she won't let me in the room.
I fiddled with the chain leash, which caused Derflinger to speak up. "You seem a bit down. Did you want to get married too? Because I know this handsome, rugged knife who-"
"That's not it." I rolled my eyes, and Derf chuckled. But he was right that I was a tad depressed. "I...don't understand Miss Louise. I have this collar, yet I feel that doesn't really want me anymore."
"I thought that's what you wanted. To get out of here as soon as possible and leave her behind."
"Well, yes, but it's still not a good feeling. To be unwanted." I said. A maid is supposed to be out of the way. They can be mistreated, neglected, ignored, and a thousand other things that would be disrespectful to anyone else. But not unwanted. At the end of the day, the master should actually want the maid to be their maid. But with this collar around my neck I was clearly nothing but a hindrance to Miss Louise. And now that she's married, my worth is...really slipping.
"Bah, you just wanted to quit instead of being fired." Derflinger said callously. Before he could go on, a cold breeze blew past and ruffled my skirt. The cold doesn't bother me so much, although I might have to go back inside if the temperature drops too much lower. I fixed my skirt, and took a glance into the church. Standing in front of the altar was the figure of Prince Wales. It was hard to make out at first, but it was definitely him.
I held my finger up to my mouth to hush Derflinger so I could hear him better. He was praying. I watched him for about a minute or so, and realized he had no idea I was here. It was a bit strange to see the glorious figure from earlier today in the light of the moon. He seemed so humble.
A door creaked open, and I shot my eyes towards Miss Louise's room. From it Wardes emerged fully clothed with a rapier at his hip. That was strange, was he keeping guard the same as me? Maybe he will be a good husband for Miss Louise after all, if he's that wary.
"Good evening, your highness." Wardes said to Wales. Wales stood up from his prayers and turned towards his new guest. Neither of them had noticed me spying on them, and in the silent night their voices were clearly audible.
"Good evening, viscount. It's quite late." Wales said softly.
"Yes, I couldn't sleep. Beautiful night though." Wardes said as he approached the altar. Wales nodded, but then looked down and sighed.
"How did this happen..." Wales said out loud, although the question was rhetoric. Wardes answered anyways.
"The desires of the people are hard to understand."
Wales did not say anything, or if he did I couldn't hear it. Wales' own country had turned on him and wanted him dead. Perhaps the death of the prince would be best for the kingdom, but the death of the man would be best for no one. Such a happy and proud ruler is now a criminal. A depressing state indeed.
"What can I do to save this country?"
"Honestly, your highness." Wardes said. "There's nothing you can do."
I stopped time immediately.
Because I know. I have experience. I've killed a lot of people, and because of it a lot of people have tried to kill me. So I know how to tell when someone has steeled themselves to do the unthinkable and take a life. The inflections in their voice and the expressions on their face are always the same. I didn't understand why I sensed that from Wardes' last statement, but I acted on reflex when I did.
I watched the frozen scene in stopped time. Wardes and Wales standing next to each other, one about to kill the other. It can't be a mistake, my senses would not lead me astray. But what should I do? If I wanted to I could easily end this murder before it starts, here in my world of gray both of them are completely at my mercy. I should...
I should...
...do nothing. I rubbed the collar at my neck and stared at the chains in my hands. I must do nothing. Nothing but watch. As I have been ordered to do. So I gave myself a good vantage point, and hesitantly resumed time.
"What do you-" Wales said, but was cut off. I would have missed it if I wasn't expecting it, and Wardes' movement was so quick, so practiced, that an untrained eye wouldn't have caught it. But in the light of the moon, I saw Wardes unhook his blade from his waist, twist it and then thrust it right into Wales' stomach. The entire action had taken less than one second. The blood spurted out from Wales' abdomen, and dripped off the blade.
"Y...you.." Wales gasped for air. "Y...you're...Recon...quista..."
Wardes withdrew his sword from the body of the crown prince, and began to wipe the blood off of it. Wales collapsed to the ground, wheezing. He was too weak to shout for help, and I could see the pool of blood widen around him with each passing second. He twitched and struggled, but after a minute his movement ceased. Wardes had stood by and watched him die, making sure that he was truly dead. He didn't laugh, or taunt, or smile. But he didn't cry or run away either. It was a cold, emotionless assassination.
Wardes turned away and hooked the blade back onto his belt. He started to walk away, back to his room, but-
"Was Wales the only target of your malice, or should I be worried for Miss Louise's safety?" I said loud enough to be heard from one of the pews. I had quickly scurried over here in stopped time to confront the husband-of-my-master. Wardes immediately tensed up, put his hand to the hilt of his sword and turned towards me. I took a few steps out of the shadows. Derflinger sighed loudly at my rash action.
"The familiar." Wardes said through gritted teeth. "You were watching?"
"Yes."
"Then why shouldn't I kill you too?"
I shrugged. "You won't be able to, but it hardly matters. Miss Louise has ordered me to do nothing without her, well, orders, and so I am simply watching. Although if you have hurt her in any way, don't expect to live past the next ten seconds."
"Louise is fine." Wardes said. He didn't draw his weapon or move to attack, so at least he gave me the respect a proper opponent deserves and treated me as a threat. I double-checked his claim by freezing time and going to check on Miss Louise myself. I couldn't very well check her breathing or pulse in stopped time, but she didn't have any puncture wounds and was snug under the covers so she's probably alive.
"Good." I said as I resumed time, standing exactly where I was beforehand. Neither of us made a move, and just stood there in the moonlight staring at one another. Wales' bloody corpse at our feet.
After a long while, Wardes finally spoke up. "What do you want?" He asked.
"It's simple." I said. "I can predict exactly what is going to happen over the next few hours. You could say I've seen it firsthand, even. Someone will find that body and figure out a blade was struck through it. The blame will, naturally, fall directly on me. My track record is...not good."
"Ha, I get it. You don't want me to frame you." Wardes said.
"Precisely. And I will not speak about the truth in return."
"Tough. You're the perfect person to take the fall. As you said, your past speaks for itself. And who is everyone going to believe? Me, or you?"
I sighed. I was afraid of this. I took a few steps to the left, and Wardes gripped the hilt of his blade. I can only see two options at this point, either Wardes will agree to my bargain and everyone can continue on as usual, or he can not. The only solution I can think of in the latter case is to...
"It doesn't matter." I said. "Because if you frame me, you will die. And anyone you tell will die, and anyone they tell will die. I will kill every last person in this entire church or elsewhere and bury the truth forever, if you try to frame me."
Wardes narrowed his gaze, with a glint of fear. Miss Louise had described how I killed Kirche and Tabitha. How it was instantaneous. Wardes had the intelligence to realize he didn't understand how I fought, and shouldn't take unnecessary risks. When your enemies don't know how strong you are is the best time to bargain.
"You are a strange person." He said, but didn't loosen the grip on his weapon.
"Excuse me?"
"You don't care about anyone here. Not even Louise, despite your apparent concern over her safety. But I could see it in your eyes, you really did mean what you just said. It's like you're just playing the part of a concerned familiar, willing to burn the act at a moment's notice if it becomes inconvenient. But then why bother with this ultimatum in the first place?"
"Miss Louise told me not to take actions without her explicit-"
"No." Wardes cut me off. "That's not it. I just told you that wasn't it. What's the actual reason you don't just do whatever the hell you want?"
"..."
Why don't I just kill him? Because some little magician wannabe told me so? To protect my reputation as a maid of the Scarlet Devil Mansion? To get back home? None of these reasons are truly sufficient. I put my hand over my mouth as I thought, and sat down on one of the pews. If Wardes tried to take advantage of the apparent opening, my dilemma would be solved for me. But he did not.
I see no reason why I need to keep up the charade. Miss Patchouli will surely be able to find me with her magic, and Remilia could probably manipulate fate to drag me back in due time regardless of what actions I took here. So why bother bowing to Miss Louise?
"..."
"..."
"..."
"...she's cute."
"What?"
"I like Miss Louise's cute sleeping face." I said.
"HA." Derfligner shouted from my waist, breaking the mood. "Nice priorities, partner."
"S-Seriously?" Wardes stuttered on that one.
I smiled, and took off my glove to reveal the familiar runes that rested upon the back of my hand. "You're right, I don't care. I am a horrible person who murders humans without a second thought. If you knew the true extent of what I've done, you might try to slay me out of irrational anger. But I still like Miss Louise. I like her soft hair. Her attempts to display dominance are cute. She's a hard worker. I'll kill her without a second thought of it serves my true mistress in some way, but not on my own. I'd prefer her alive, if possible."
I would prefer her alive, if possible. I don't think any other human has earned that respect from me. Reimu, possibly, and perhaps Marisa. But their power hardly puts them in the same class of existence as other humans.
"We've talked for far too long." Wardes said suddenly. "I will take you up on your offer, but this bargain does go both ways. If you ever claim you saw me kill Wales, I will turn around and claim it was you."
"A mutually beneficial arrangement." I said, and retreated back outside. Wardes went back to join the sleeping Miss Louise, and I resumed my post through the rest of the moonlit night.
…..
Reconquista, to reconquer. To take back what is rightfully yours from your oppressors. A fitting name for the organization who instigated the Albion rebellion, in honor of their noble goal to kill all the nobles. While all of the citizens who were rebelling united under the flag of the Reconquista, at its core Reconquista was only made up of a select few. They were mostly fallen nobles from broken families, still able to use magic but unable to grasp the true power and wealth an aristocrat has.
Albion did not have a strong military, and since it was located on top of a floating landmass, didn't need one. They had an impeccable anti-air defense, but other than that were completely powerless against ground troops. So the civilian rebellion had caught the government off guard. A combination of brilliant orchestration on Reconquista's part coupled with a completely unsuspecting aristocracy caused the chaos to spread rapidly and secured Reconquista's victory. The common people had raided the nobles' mansions, looting anything of value and destroying everything else. Many fled, but the aristocrats too foolish to run away were killed without remorse. Tens of thousands were dead, and the country was reduced to anarchy.
The core group of Reconquista planned to put a Mr. Cromwell in charge to restore order. Under his rule, the country of Albion would be a better place, where commoners can live free from the oppression of the nobles. But Reconquista didn't really plan that far ahead. They were too focused on actually getting Cromwell into power in the first place.
Fouquet pondered this, and the results of her actions. She had been recruited into Reconquista just recently, but her strong magic was a valuable asset. She had also brought the Staff of Destruction, but by the Founder could not figure out how to operate it. So she had to go around and stir up trouble in Albion during the rebellion. Between her and other members, all of the royal family had been killed except for Wales, who managed to escape. But he had been in hiding for weeks, and was as good as dead as far as the country was concerned.
"What's troubling you, Matilda?" A priestly man said, walking into the dimly-lit room Fouquet was staying in.
"Don't call me that, Cromwell." She said. The man shrugged, but didn't respond. "It's these documents that trouble me. They look like invasion plans for Tristain." Fouquet answered.
"There is a very good reason why those plans look like invasion plans for Tristain." Cromwell said. Fouquet looked at him dubiously. "They are invasion plans for Tristain." He finished.
"And why do we have invasion plans for Tristain? Our goal was to take Albion."
"No." Cromwell said. "Our goal is to destroy the aristocracy. The entire aristocracy. By attacking Tristain right out of the gate, we'll show the world we mean business."
"I didn't sign up for this." Fouquet said as she slammed her hands down on the table. The papers ruffled and a map fell to the ground.
"Then run away. After we clean up this mess we made here in Albion." Cromwell said, and reached to pick up the map on the floor. "Speaking of which, the prince should be taken care of by now..."
…..
The church got quite a wake-up call as the sun rose above the horizon, and penetrated through the boarded up windows.
"Prince Wales has been murdered!"
I casually stood to the side of the church as Miss Louise ran out of her room in serious concern, with Wardes following in fake concern. She gasped when she saw the body, and froze in place. But it wasn't sadness I saw on her face, it was fear. Wardes approached, and put his arms around her to pull her closer. She fell into his chest and averted her eyes from the corpse.
The guards rallied and did their best to conduct an investigation. But there was little motivation, the deed had been done. The incident was hand waved as an assassination attempt by Reconquista, and there was no more to it than that.
The three of us kept mostly silent except for simple statements as we flew back to the capital. Princess Henrietta had to be informed, and although Wardes' offered to do so, Miss Louise insisted it be her. Wardes and I stood in silence as the princess herself wept for her dead lover, and ran away to her chambers. Miss Louise ran after her, leaving Wardes and I alone together. But we did not acknowledge each other in any way. Wardes and I would stay true to our words and the truth of what happened here would never see the light of day.