I'm too sexy for my shirt. Too sexy for shirt, so sexy, yeah. Huh? Are you watching me get too sexy? Uh...you are probably telling me I'm lying. If so, thank you. Cause saying the verse is very odd...so very odd.
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Chapter 39: Disagreements With The Duke
"That's done." Yuudai says proud of himself.
He had just tossed the bottle of wine out the window...he shouldn't be proud, but he just wants to get to sleep. The teen is walking back to his storage closet of a room until he hears the sound of footsteps. Doubting there are ghosts here, he turns to the direction of the footsteps to find Eléonore a few feet away. The two lock eyes.
"You shouldn't be out of your bed after such a long travel." She tells him. Her words puts him on edge since she sounds so calm.
He brushes it off opting to try being nice. "I know I should. I just had to look for a bathroom in this maze you call a home." He replies scratching the back of his head.
She grabs her whip on her hip causing him to notice she is still in uniform she had on earlier. "I believe I owe you a whipping. Are you going to make this hard or accept it?" She questions as a cruel glint shines in her eyes.
Yuudai sighs not in the mood for this. "I honestly don't want to deal with this right now. I'm just going to go to sleep and I'll let you attempt to do whatever you like afterwards or something." He tells her walking away.
The sound of the whip cracking makes him move to the side evading the whip in time. It hits the air as he turns to her. She is glaring at him. "I don't care if you're tired. You must be disciplined."
"I don't care who or what you are. If you pick a fight with me, I'll knock you out." Yuudai threatens. The two continue to glare at each other for a few minutes without either one moving.
Eléonore clicks her tongue. "We'll finish this later." She states turning away.
Without a word, Yuudai turns around to walk to his room. He makes it to his room shutting the door after walking in. The black haired teen lays on his bed sighing as the stress starts to leave his body. The relief stops leaving him once he hear his door open.
"Yuudai...are you still awake?" The voice of Louie asks shyly.
He turns his head to her. "For now." He replies. "What brings you to my humble little closet?"
Louise smiles at that. He still has that strange humor he refuses to get rid of. "I can't sleep." She tells him.
"Seems to be a common theme in this castle." Yuudai mutters. "Am I right to assume you want the presence of someone that isn't your family?" She nods in confirmation. She really doesn't want to admit it out loud to him. "Come on over then."
She walks on over sitting on the bed. "You are being very cooperative. Why?" She asks.
"When you are dealing with a drunk and a girl with a whip, it becomes much easier to just accept what happens next." He answers looking at the ceiling now.
"That reminds me...thank you for standing up for me." Louise thanks him. "I know you didn't have to."
Yuudai chuckles confusing Louise. "It kind of reminds me of my first words to Guiche in this world." He says.
She thinks back to it remembering him embarrassing the blond boy in front of the whole class. "I guess. It's obvious you didn't care at the time, but you did stand up for me in a way." She admits quietly.
"I've been your familiar for a long time now. I have grown to think of you as a good friend. Probably more like my family." Yuudai tells her making her blush.
"Y-you think of me as family?" She asks stuttering a little bit.
"Of course. We've argued, made up, had fun and got in trouble together so many times." He explains smiling. He then puts a hand to his chin. "I feel like we had a similar conversation before." Louise shrugs. She then cuddles next to Yuudai closing her eyes. He closes his eyes soon after. This is a moment where the noble sleeps in a closet...Harry Potter (Is it bad I thought of doing some Harry Potter fanfiction?).
Later In The Morning
"I think I am remembering why I never get involved with people's family problems." Yuudai mutters walking into the dining area behind Louise. She had been summoned by her father apparently.
Louise ignores his comment in favor for thinking of her meeting with her father. His word might as well be law in her home. She doesn't want to have to go behind his back to go fight for Henrietta, but she will if she has to.
Once the two arrive, she sits beside her older sister. Yuudai stands behind Louise unwilling to deal with any stress from anyone this early. It is only dawn outside. He and Eléonore look at each other with disinterest.
"Make this easier and meet me outside later." She tells him firmly.
"If it makes things less stressful, then sure." Yuudai replies. Hearing this, Louise starts to think that the two like each other. She then reasons that out since the two haven't shown anything besides hate towards to each other.
After their short words to each other, the table becomes silent. "Damn that bird brained idiot!" The duke shouts seeming to let his anger out through his words. Yuudai raises an eyebrow. Definitely gave his attitude to Louise through genetics.
"What is the matter?" His wife asks.
"After calling me all the way to Tristania, I was wondering what he was going to say to me. 'Organize one army corps,' he said! Don't joke around with me!" He tells her still angry.
"Did you do it?" She questions.
"Like hell I would! I already retired from military service! Why doesn't he command the soldier that took my place and let me stay with my family! Moreover, I'm against this war!" He replies shouting.
"Didn't the Cardinal's official notice state that right now, the fatherland has to unite in order to defeat our bitter enemy? A rumor that the La Vallière family is treacherous will spread, which will affect our social life as well." She reasons with him.
"You shouldn't call a bird-brained idiot like that a 'Cardinal'. 'Idiot' is more than enough. Even more, to take advantage of such a young queen." He states.
Yuudai sighs silently. "Did I really follow Blanc here to listen to her father complain?" Yuudai asks himself.
The table then becomes silent making Yuudai think everyone somehow heard him. He watches Louise steel herself for the question of hers. "There is something I'd like to inquire of father." Louise says.
"Formalities with your own family. Such a rich people thing." Yuudai says under his breath.
Her father eyes her intently. "Of course it's fine, but before that, won't you give your father, who you haven't seen in a while, a little kiss, Louise?" He says letting go of his anger for a regal tone.
Yuudai suppresses his urge to laugh. This earns a glare from Louise. She stands up walking to her father. Louise then gives him a peck on the cheek.
"Why is father against my decision to join the war?" She asks emotionlessly.
"Because this war is a huge mistake." He answers with conviction.
"It is a war against Albion, who invaded us in the first place. What is wrong with ambushing them?" She questions honestly curious.
"Attacking them from the side isn't something I would call an 'ambush.' Look here." He instructs her. The duke manipulates the plate and food on it and started explaining to Louise. "The thing you call an 'ambush' is having a military force so overwhelming that it can succeed from the first time. The enemy's army is about fifty thousand. Our army, together with Germania's, is sixty thousand."
Moving the knives and forks, with the help of the meat's fragments, the Duke created a simulation of the war. "Doesn't our army have ten thousand more men?" She reasons seeing no problems.
"If the attacking army was three times as big as the defending army, it would be a certain victory. Because their sky forces have been organized and they have good positions, with this number it will become a difficult battle." He explains to his daughter.
"He has a very good point." Yuudai comments. He gets a nod of agreement from both of Louise's sisters.
"Our siege is excellent. We will blockade that annoying continent from the sky and then just wait until it runs out of resources. If we do that, eventually they'll come asking for peace. The conclusion of the war will come just like that, just like blending white and black. However, what are you going to do if the ambush fails? The possibility for that isn't small." He continues explaining.
"I hope I'm not stuck in this mansion the rest life." Yuudai says to himself quietly.
"I hope so too." Eléonore agrees again.
"Because of the victory at Tarbes we've grown overconfident. Overconfidence leads to negligence. To make matters worse, taking the Academy of Magic's pupils along as officers? I can only say that that is stupid. What can kids do? In war, you know, you can't say you are strong enough just because you have greater numbers. Ambushing is an act that means you have absolute confidence that you will achieve victory from the first attempt. There is no way I'd let my daughter enter such a war." He continues to tell Louise.
"I take offense to that." Yuudai states to himself again. "I shot those fire breathing lizards myself and he craps all over my achievement."
"What?" Her father questions making freeze. "What is that supposed to mean?"
Louise looks to Yuudai with wide and worries eyes. She can't say anything in fear of her family speaking against her. Yuudai calms himself telling himself this guy is just another human being the same as him. There is truth in that thought. He lays his eyes on the duke.
"I laid waste to those dragons myself." Yuudai tells him having the guy narrow his eyes on Yuudai. "Everything you have said is very true and not much room for argument, but when someone as skilled I am gets his skills crapped on, it feels like I should've let them at you all."
The duke stands up surprising the family. The duke walks to the teen boy. The two stare each other down. "You are saying that YOU killed the majority of Albion's men at Tarbes?"
Yuudai doesn't back down. "I had a friend that lived there and I'd be damned if I let her and her village get massacred." He replies. A tense silence ensues.
"How do I know you aren't lying?" He questions not believing him.
"All it takes is a quick trip to the academy. Ask Colbert about Yuudai's zero fighter." Yuudai answers without hesitation.
"No matter." The duke says walking away. "Learn to watch your tongue, commoner. Breakfast is finished." He gives Louise a stern look. "Louise. From here on out you are under house arrest. You won't be allowed to leave this castle until the war is over."
"Wait!" Louise shouts.
His look on her turns a bit more annoyed. "What? I told you that the talk is over."
"Louise...you..." Eleonore pulls on Louise's shirt sleeve. Cattleya watches Louise worriedly.
"To the Princess...no, to her majesty, I am a necessity." She admits proudly.
"What do you mean when you say that she needs you? Your ability with magic is..." Her father trails off. It is a topic that isn't much discussed for a few reasons.
"Right now, I can't say." Louise hesitates, but she brings up a triumphant face nonetheless. "I am no longer the me from the past!"
"Louise! What are you saying to Father?!" Eléonore questions with an intense voice.
"Big Sister, you be quiet! Right now, I'm leading a conversation!" She orders her acting like herself again. All the family members are very surprised by Louise's attitude. The Louise from the past would never go up against her sister in such a manner.
This brings a smile to Yuudai's face. "There is the Blanc that I have come to know." He says proud of her. His smile then drops. "Now she's going to say something stupid." He sighs knowing this to be true. She always says something stupid once she finally blows.
"I have always been treated like an idiot. I always felt regret when I was being compared to my sisters and was told that I have no talent in Magic. Now it's different. I was clearly told by Her Majesty that I am necessary to her." She tells him. With those words, the color of the duke's eyes change.
He turned towards Louise, went down on his knee and peered into his daughter's eyes. "You have finally realized what your dominant Element is?" He asks looking for any deceit in her eyes. She nods not exactly lying yet. "Which of the four?"
It is then Yuudai knows she's going to lie. He knows she doesn't want them to know that it's void yet. That and he isn't giving her that choice.
"Fire." She states hiding the lie deep in her head.
For a little while, the duke gazes at Louise's face then he slowly nodded. "You have the same element as your grandfather. In that case, it's only natural that you would be attracted to war. It's a sinful element. Truly, an element covered in sin." He says knowing that very well. "What a honorable thing. A terribly honorable thing. However, as I thought, there is no way for me to recognize this."
"Father!" She shouts feeling irritation rise inside her.
"Jerome, prepare me pen and paper. I will report to her majesty myself." He tells his butler. The butler nods leaving to prepare. "You have to choose a son in law for me." He states.
Yuudai walks to in between Louise and her father. Her eyes widen seeing him stand up to her father again. "This is where I am going to have to tell you to shove your forced marriage up your ass." Yuudai tells the duke in a displeased tone. The entire room freezes dropping in temperature. This is the reason why he doesn't involve himself in family matters. He doesn't let his friends be forced into anything.
End
That's all folks! I hope you liked this! I really do.
I used a lot of lines from the original light novel, if you couldn't tell. I am changing quite a bit though, having Yuudai stand up to the duke. What are your thoughts on it?
Anyway, without much else to say, thanks for reading, favoriting, following, reviewing and have a great day/night/morning!