Hm, not much interaction on the last chapter. I guess it's because it's not really a character-focused chapter, and it doesn't center on most of the fic's main characters. Anyway, enjoy this not-really-character-focused chapter that doesn't center on the fic's main characters!

The Golden Deer had managed to get an audience with Count Gloucester, admittedly largely thanks to Lorenz. At the moment they were trying to talk him out of making a foolish power play, but he was being stubborn.

Lord Acheron wasn't really helping either. "So the Archbishop had a baby, Emperor Edelgard imprisoned her in a secret location to protect them both from a completely different group of the former's enemies, Prince Dimitri is alive and has allied himself with Edelgard against this same group of enemies, who were in fact the driving force behind the war and are led by a villain who killed and stole the identity of Lord Arundel shortly before masterminding both the Insurrection of the Seven and the Tragedy of Duscur, and Edelgard chose to negotiate a peace agreement with children instead of the actual nobles ruling the Alliance?" Acheron asked, as if that last bit was more ridiculous than everything else put together. "Oh, apologies, children and a washed-up abdicant with a gambling problem," he corrected, nodding at Balthus.

"Washed-up?" Balthus protested. "Buddy, I'm the mighty King of Grappling. You want to see washed-up, look in a mirror."

"Setting aside the discussion of who's washed-up and who isn't," Clause said before a fight could break out, "What we reported was accurate." The Deer had naturally omitted any details regarding Rhea's heritage, but they had reported everything else as accurately as reasonably possible. "Father, Lords Ordelia, Acheron, the war between the Empire and the Church is over. There is no point to this rebellion, so put an end to it."

"I am afraid I cannot do that," Count Gloucester said. "As the leader of a rebellion against the Alliance, I cannot afford to stand down. The price of losing, the costs to House Gloucester and its allies, would be more than I am willing to pay."

"So you'll sacrifice innocent people for your greed?" Leonie snarled. "You rotten excuse for a-"

"Leonie," Lorenz cut her off. "Allow me to handle this." Facing his father, he removed one of his gloves. "That is something I cannot accept. As heir to House Gloucester, I challenge you for the Lordship." He tossed the glove at his father.

"I accept," Count Gloucester agreed. "Name the terms of the duel."

"The duel shall take place at noon tomorrow at the Myrddin river," Lorenz continued. "No champions shall be fielded, only you and I shall take part. Steel lances shall be the only permitted weapons, and the duel shall be to first blood. Are these terms acceptable?"

"They are," Count Gloucester agreed. "I will be there."

As the Deer left the meeting, Leonie fumed with anger. "I can't believe that bastard! Forcing you to fight him just to stop this war!"

"It's truly not as bad as it sounds," Lorenz assured her.

"How is it not as bad as it sounds?" Leonie demanded.

"It is not as bad as it sounds because my father's weapon of choice is an axe. He rarely uses a lance." Lorenz smirked as he said this.

Leonie seemed ready to chew him out, only to realize the implication. "He's expecting to lose."

"Exactly."

Leonie seemed to be satisfied, but Raphael wasn't. "I don't get it. If he wants to lose, then why go to all this trouble? Why not just call the rebellion off?"

"Alliance politics," Claude explained. "If Count Gloucester just calls off his rebellion, he'll look weak to the other Alliance nobles."

"And, he and the other pro-Empire nobles will have to pay the rest of the Alliance off to get them to forgive him," Hilda added. "House Gloucester may even have to give up its status as one of the Alliance's ruling families."

"But if Lorenz wins the duel, because he wasn't involved in the rebellion, he can call it off and not have to pay anything," Lysithea concluded. "In fact, he'll walk away from the rebellion with a good amount of political capital. Having ended his father's rebellion and having been part of the peace negotiations for the larger war, House Gloucester will probably end up with more respect than it had before, rather than less."

Raphael tried to think this over. "I don't get any of this. I'm just a guy training to be a knight."

"It's fine," Lorenz assured. "To simplify the situation, as long as I show up to the fight tomorrow, everything will work out well."

"You sure it'll be that simple?" Raphael asked. "Maybe he agreed to use a lance because he's secretly awesome with one."

"It should be no trouble at all," Lorenz told him. "Even if my father is hiding a talent with lances, my sparring partner apprenticed under the Blade Breaker." He smiled at Leonie as he said this, and she smiled back. "I am sure I have nothing to worry about."

"Except," Claude said, "Maybe Count Gloucester didn't come up with this plan himself. Maybe one of Thales's minions had a hand in it." He looked at Lorenz. "They might try to sabotage you somehow."

Everyone's confident expressions turned sour. "I trust you have a plan?" Lorenz asked.

"I always have a plan," Claude replied with a nod.

The day of the duel, Count Gloucester had set up a tournament ground on a hill overlooking the Great Bridge of Myrddin. "Well, someone clearly loves attention," Manuela observed. "Do you need anything before your match?"

"I would enjoy a cup of tea, if that's all right. Ignatz, would you please brew some?"

"Certainly." Ignatz went to Lorenz's tent and set up a tea kettle, just as Claude had planned. Then he left the tent to find an outhouse, leaving the kettle seemingly alone.

Sure enough, the bait was taken. A young boy, probably twelve or thirteen, entered the tent and tried to put something in the teakettle, only for Shamir, who had been hiding in the tent, to catch him.

After Gustave had volunteered to go with the Blue Lions to Faerghus and protect them, Shamir had volunteered to do the same for the Deer. She had said something about wanting to be proactive and not just stand around waiting for news, but if she was being honest with herself, she mostly just wanted to avoid Catherine. She did owe a debt to Rhea, but after this campaign, it would be paid in full, and she missed Dagda. Garreg Mach was many things to her, but it wasn't home, and it probably never would be.

But every time Shamir thought of telling Catherine that she wanted to go back to Dagda, she couldn't bring herself to do it.

Shamir put that thought out of her mind. Better to focus on this kid. He tried to stab her with a knife, but she caught his wrist. She then whistled sharply, and Claude, Balthus, and Marianne came running.

Balthus pulled up a chair. "Have a seat, pal." He forcefully made the kid sit down as Shamir tied up his wrists.

Claude took a look at the packet that had been in the kid's hand. "Thinking about drugging a competitor? For shame." He shook his head in mock-sadness.

The kid stared hatefully at him. "You won't get anything out of me! I can withstand whatever horrible torture you can try!" Despite this, his face belied his nervousness.

"We aren't going to torture you," Marianne assured him.

"Lies! I know what you primitives are like! You have minds for nothing but violence and destruction! You're trying to trick me! But it won't work! I won't give you anything!" The kid was clearly oblivious to the fact that he had already revealed his true nature. Claude quietly wondered if this kid had been properly trained. "Then again, perhaps his masters were banking on him not being suspected because of his age."

"No one's getting tortured," Claude assured. "In fact, we're going to let you go."

"Wait, what?" the kid asked, mentally trying to find the trick.

"Let's introduce ourselves. I'm Claude, this is Marianne, that's Shamir, and the big guy is Balthus."

The kid still seemed suspicious, but he couldn't think of any way they would use his name against him. "Servius."

"Okay, Servius," Claude said calmly. "Here's how this is going to go. Shamir is going to untie you. Then you can leave. But before you go, I want you to think about how this failure will look for you."

"What do you mean?" Servius asked.

"I mean, your superior. Does he tolerate failure?" Claude asked. "I know Thales doesn't. He had an assassin back before the Battle of Garreg Mach, named Kronya. He wanted her to kill one of his enemies. She tried, but she failed, and he had his man Solon kill her. Then, when Solon failed to kill the enemy, he chose to die rather than face Thales. If your superior had to report failure back to Thales, I think he'd put the blame on you to save his own skin."

"Demosthenes wouldn't do such a thing!" Servius protested.

"Would he?" Claude asked. "Are you sure? What happened to his other subordinates who failed him?"

Servius seemed like he was about to protest again, but he seemingly began to have doubts. Claude continued, "If you give him up, you can spin this however you want for Thales. Let Demosthenes take the fall instead of you."

Servius nodded. "Very well. Demosthenes's cover identity is Sir Jason Irons, Lord Gloucester's battlemaster."

"Good choice," Claude said. "Shamir, if you would?"

"Sure," Shamir untied Servius and let him go.

After Servius exited the tent, Shamir said, "He was lying."

"Of course he was lying," Claude answered. "Tail him for a while, then let him lose you." Shamir nodded and followed Servius out of the tent.

On the field, it was almost noon and the duel was about to begin. "You've got this, Lorenz. Be patient and don't let your guard down, and I know you'll beat him," Manuela assured.

Lorenz nodded. Two years ago, he would have lost this fight, he was sure of it. He had been arrogant and brash. Hell, during the mock battle, he had left a perfectly good defensive position to charge five people with only Ignatz backing him! "But that was the old Lorenz Hellman Gloucester. I know better now."

He was so focused that he barely noticed Sir Irons ask him if he wished to withdraw his challenge. He refused, naturally, and Irons declared the duel's beginning.

Instantly Lorenz noticed something about his father's movements. "I have seen my father compete in tournaments. This is not how he moves."

Of course it could have just been that his father moved differently with a different weapon. There were significant functional differences between fighting with an axe and fighting with a lance. But even so...

He decided to test the waters with a quick exchange. He made a quick feint to his left, but Count Gloucester saw through the ruse and didn't react. He then tried a real strike to his right, which Count Gloucester dodged and countered with a strike of his own. Lorenz avoided the strike just as well.

"He's fighting to win," Lorenz realized. He was sure he could win anyway, but this would make it a bit harder.

For a few more minutes, the two cautiously traded blows, neither able to draw blood on the other. Lorenz suddenly realized something. "Why are his eyes dark? Father doesn't have dark eyes!"

Something was wrong, and Lorenz didn't know what it was.

Servius had lost the woman tailing him, and he quickly ran back to the meeting point before she could pick his trail back up. Demosthenes, still in his disguise as the physician he had replaced, was too busy to notice him. But his aide, Pericles, did. "Report."

"I attempted to drug the Gloucester heir's tea, but I was caught—"

He was cut off by an arrow slamming into Demosthenes's head. Both Agarthans turned to see Ignatz with his bow in his hands. "Good work, Servius."

"Servius? You betrayed us?" Pericles asked, infuriated.

"No, I—" he didn't get to finish his sentence as Pericles made his return to Shambhala.

Suddenly, on the field, the strange color left Count Gloucester's eyes, and his stance became less strong.

Lorenz took advantage and scored a cut to the back of his father's hand.

"First blood has been drawn!" Sir Irons announced. "Lorenz Hellman Gloucester is victorious!"

The spectators cheered wildly. One they had quieted down, Count Gloucester smiled and nodded at his son. "Kneel."

Lorenz obliged, and Count Gloucester asked for Thyrsus to be brought to him. "No, do not knight me with Thyrsus," Lorenz insisted. "I cannot explain my reasons now, but I do not wish to be knighted with Thyrsus."

Count Gloucester frowned in confusion, but accepted it. "Ah, I see. Then hand me your lance. That one will serve."

Lorenz handed his father the lance, and Count Gloucester tapped both of Lorenz's shoulders with the flat of the blade. "Rise, Count Lorenz Hellman Gloucester VI."

Lorenz rose to his feet, to the sound of thunderous applause.

"I'm proud of you, son," Count Gloucester said quietly.

Servius kicked and screamed so badly that Ignatz had to get Hilda to help drag him back to Claude. "You better be grateful for this," Hilda told him.

"You! You tricked me!" Servius accused.

"Your double standards are showing," Claude deadpanned.

"Shut up! I'll kill you! I—"

"Are you sure you want to do that?" Claude asked. "Because you can't go back to Shambhala. Not now. They think you sold Demosthenes out to save your own skin. Even if you kill me, you'll have the reputation of either a coward or a self-serving backstabber. And neither of those will be good for your future.

"Fortunately, I like to think I'm not a total hard-ass, and I'm not all that hung-up on things like 'courage' or 'honor.' If we get through this, I'll set you up with a nice retirement package. Gold, a place to live, a new name and face. What do you say, kid?"

Servius hesitated. "What about your allies? The Flame Emperor, the storm prince, and the spawn of the Fell Star?"

"Edelgard, Dimitri, and Rhea will accept it. You're just a kid, after all. And even if they don't, I know some people in Almyra who can give you a hand."

Servius sighed. "What are my orders, commander?"

Claude smiled. "Good choice."

Nemesis snarled ragefully. "I will slaughter them all myself!"

"Patience, Nemesis," Thales said. "Worry not, I have a plan."

"Every one of your plans has fallen through!" Nemesis shouted. "We should strike now! Bleed them until they break!"

"We don't have the numbers, Nemesis," Thales reminded him. "Perhaps we could fight a defensive war against them. But even then, our odds would be poor. Better to let the Almyrans soften them up first."

"The Almyrans?" Nemesis asked. "What do the wyvern-fuckers have to do with this?"

"They were my original backup plan," Thales told him. "Claude von Riegan, Grand Duke Riegan's heir? He is in truth Crown Prince Khalid of Almyra. I had one of my agents a letter reporting that he had been murdered by Alliance nobles."

Nemesis's eyes widened in understanding. "The Almyrans would surely seek retribution."

"Exactly," Thales confirmed. "Of course, there is the slight problem that Prince Khalid still lives."

"A problem I will gladly correct," Nemesis said. "Do you have an army for me?"

"As a matter of fact, I do," Thales confirmed. "One led by your old friend Maurice, in fact."

"Demonic Beasts. And you can control them?"

"I can. Or, at least, their controller can," Thales confirmed.

"Good." Nemesis turned to leave. "Get me a horse. I'll bring you the Riegan boy's head within a fortnight."

Thales smiled. He did so love it when a plan came together. Except...there was the slight problem that the Empire could reinforce the Alliance before the Almyrans could sufficiently entrench their forces.

Oh well, this was the sort of emergency that called for the use of the Javelins of Light. Enbarr was shielded, similarly to Garreg Mach, so the hope of eliminating all of his foes with one fell swoop would have failed even if Seiros (he had been surprised to learn that the Archbishop was Seiros; he knew she looked similar, but she didn't act much like his memory of Seiros, so he had assumed she was her daughter or something) had not been well-equipped to counter the Javelins. But now he had a target that would serve his purpose. One that was dragon-free.

He walked to the targeting platform and launched one Javelin. He only had nine, eight now, so he needed to conserve them. But one would do.

Not long afterward, the javelin struck the Great Bridge of Myrddin, destroying it completely.