Deirdre Fou Roseblade wasn't really paying attention to all the goings-on around her. It made her feel a bit bad because she was currently with her family as they made their regular inspections of their lands and people. It had been a long standing tradition for the Roseblade house to make time throughout the year in order to personally check in on the territory they held and those who lived there. Their family were once commoners themselves, until her forebearers proved their excellence to the crown through accomplishments as Adventurers.
Despite being distinguished, their house never forgot their roots and endeavored to have good relations with the commoners they governed over. After all, if their house could rise up and earn greatness, it was not out of the realm of possibility that another family under their rule could one day do the same.
The rather unorthodox approach of governance resulted in a much more positive relationship between them and their people. Their productivity and loyalty spoke for the effectiveness of this policy. Although, an odd result of this was that the various villagers knew them even better than their actual peers at court. To the point where she and her older sister were actually treated by village elders as their own grandchildren.
"What's wrong little Deirdre? Thinking about your man?" One such elder teased her after being caught spacing out. Her thinking about Nicks? Well, perhaps at another time, but not at that moment!
All she had in her head recently were the various strategies that she and Leon had been developing on how to subdue a much larger foe. Specifically, the Getter Robo D2 that they had been facing in the simulator back in the Academy. Both of them were learning more and more about their foe through their respective failures. It was a process Leon liked to refer to as 'Labbing'. Control even provided an invisible drone to stay with her so they could still communicate and the like, she was sure that it was floating around the room at that present moment.
It still did not change the fact that she was anxious to try out some ideas that they came up with over the break.
"It is a bit too soon to consider Nicks as 'her man' in my opinion." And with those words from her dear sister, Deirdre's focus immediately centered on the current conversation. Their parents were busy speaking with the various suppliers and distributors in this village, so the two of them were left with an elder for the moment. She was an old woman who actually spent a bit of time helping raise them when they were both still toddlers, hence they were both still doted on.
"Ah, so the argument on which one of you would be the wife and which would be the concubine is still ongoing then." The casually delivered words caused a shock between her and Dorothea that neither of them expected. The elder simply snorted and waved her hand at the two of them. "Oh, don't look at me like that. I was once young as well, I know how things can sometimes work between nobles. Men who are rarely satisfied with just one woman."
"No, it's not that. It's more about you implying that we can both have Nicks." Her older sister thankfully pointed out the reason why they were so surprised. The elder merely raised her eyebrow and tilted her head.
"Can't you? The only real issue would be the official titles, I believe." Not at all! There were absolutely more concerns than that!
"But both of us being with the same man would cause problems in securing ties with other houses through marriage." Her sister continued to argue but the elder actually just laughed at her face in response.
"Dorothea, if you were really concerned about such a thing, you'd already be married and with child." Well, that certainly shut her up. The elder then gave both of them a much gentler smile before continuing. "Besides, your house has always ever prioritized the happiness of the family over politics."
Neither of them could deny that. The philosophy of happiness and contentment resulting in excellence and productivity extended to their family as well. She knew of relatives who actually married commoners out of love, despite their chance to marry into other noble houses instead.
"If your parents were against the two of you loving the same man, then they would have already talked to both of you about it and drawn the line." The two of them looked at each other with widened eyes. That was certainly a good point. She assumed that their parents were just waiting for them to settle the matter between themselves, but was she wrong about that?
"But then, what of succession?" Deirdre suddenly asked before she could stop herself.
"Don't ask me, I'm just an old commoner woman." The elder reminded them before waving them off as if she wasn't the one who started this whole discussion to begin with. "That's something better spent talking about with each other, your parents, and your man."
Such a solution would be a rather convenient way to circumvent their current issue regarding Nicks. Despite their love rivalry, both her and Dorothea also genuinely wanted each other to find happiness in life. If they could both be with Nicks, then would that not solve everything?
Well, not entirely considering how competitive they could be.
"I shall bravely take the burden and responsibility of being the wife then. You may relax and enjoy the life of being Nicks' concubine." Dorothea suddenly declared with closed eyes and a solemn nod, as if she was undertaking a great challenge. Oh, was that how she was planning on starting this?
"Not at all, dear sister. I am more than up to the challenge of supporting the love of our lives as his wife. You are more than welcome to assist us as his concubine." Deirdre challenged as both of them leaned toward each other, neither backing down even for a moment. Despite their words, both of them were smiling and had laughter in their eyes.
It seemed that matching collars were in their future after all.
After their enlightening discussion, the two of them joined their parents and spent more time going around the village. It was always a pleasure to talk and catch up with their citizens. Deirdre couldn't understand why more nobles didn't do this. There was almost no real downside to it and the chance to find rare talent among the common folk was always a good thing for all involved.
Unfortunately, fate decided to interrupt the good cheer as the village warning bells rang and shouts started erupting from beyond the settlement.
"What is happening?!" Her father called out over the tolling bells. Just as he spoke, a man came running toward them. The sheer terror in his face made it obvious what the cause was.
"Giant monster attack! There are so many of them!" His hoarse yell only confirmed it. The villagers started to clamor in panic even while her parents looked up to the skies.
"What of the army patrols?" Her mother asked. There were supposed to be regular army patrols around inhabited islands due to the rise in monster attacks all over Holfort.
"The ones that were supposed to be here never showed up! We thought that they would just be late but they're not here!" One of the other elders answered as everyone started to understand their dire situation. Giant monsters were approaching and the village did not have any form of military presence. Even with her family here, there was no way they could fight several large monsters on foot by themselves while keeping the people safe.
Their parents immediately sprung into action and began coordinating an evacuation, Dorothea quickly instructing that the children be gathered together immediately. Unfortunately, the distant roars made it clear that it may have been already too late. She was proud of their people that, despite their obvious fear, they still had the presence of mind not to panic.
"Control." Deirdre called out and the drone quickly became visible at her side. Control immediately made it known that they were listening in on the whole thing.
I have already deployed Roze Getter from the Nagare the moment the first bells rang. It will arrive shortly.
"So quickly?" Not that she was complaining!
Do not underestimate a Getter Robo's speed if it does not have to take the pilot's safety into consideration.
"Deirdre! What are you still doing here?" Her father asked after running to her. He then turned in surprise at the presence of Control. "That sphere."
Roze Getter is inbound. It will arrive in the next seven seconds.
Knowing what that meant, he turned to her in slight worry. "You're going to fight?"
"Of course. I am a Roseblade." The sound of the sky being sliced open punctuated her declaration. She looked up and beheld her Getter Robo lowering itself from the sky, much to the shock of the villagers. "Continue with the evacuation in case any monsters get past me!"
She didn't wait for her father's answer as she was already running to where Roze Getter landed. She quickly jumped up the offered hand and climbed inside the cockpit. Control's voice came from all around her with a warning.
Please observe caution while maneuvering without your pilot suit. The effects of sudden movement will be more pronounced and you may suffer from discomfort or even injury if you are not careful.
She nodded as the screens finished lighting up. "Noted. Thank you, Control."
Several Armor sized airborne and ground based monsters detected.
She turned Roze Getter in the direction that the indicators were pointing at and confirmed what Control said.
Gigantic wolves with bull horns, chimeras, and four-armed bears on the ground.
Giant sharks, squids, and crabs in the skies.
There weren't as many as the Mechasaurus she had once faced in the simulator. This was good for the sake of the village behind her.
"Control, I shall use the magic converter!" Deirdre declared, placing both hands on two specific levers. She concentrated and let the spell she had in mind flow through her and into Roze Getter.
After but a moment, she felt it begin.
Magic thrummed all around her. Her Getter's power was resonating with her own magic. She absolutely did not understand the underlying mechanics of it, but she knew that Getter Energy was being converted into magic somehow.
She never felt so powerful before! It was a feeling like no other!
Deirdre beheld the monsters threatening her family and her people and decided to deal with the ones in the sky first.
"Take this! Roooooose Twisteeeeeer!" The emitters on Roze Getter's forearms, where Black Getter's Getter Razor would have been, discharged a constant stream of pink light. Her Getter's cape flapped from the wind generated from the effect. Roze Getter then crouched down before leaping into the sky, arms forward as the entire Getter Robo started spinning. With her magic being amplified to a degree that should be impossible, Deirdre turned Roze Getter into a tornado of destruction that shredded the airborne monsters.
It did not matter that they tried to bite at her.
It did not matter that they tried to restrain her.
It did not matter that they tried to smash her.
Roze Getter tore through them all.
The attack eventually ran its course and she came to a stop just as the monsters on the ground were finished being showered with the fading remains of the ones she had just killed.
"Huuuuurrrggghhh!" Deirdre groaned out as she desperately kept her mouth shut to prevent herself from throwing up all over the cockpit. With a disgusted grunt, she swallowed everything back down and made a mental note to ask for a lot of water once this was all done.
I warned you about the ill effects of fighting without a pilot suit.
"Yes, I should have taken your advice more seriously." She said with a nod, trying to ignore the gross feeling in her mouth. "We shall use more conventional means then."
Control thankfully chose not to comment that she could have used any number of other spells instead.
"Double Tomahaaaaaawk!" Deirdre found herself loving the extra weight and heft that the larger battle axe-like tomahawks had. Each swing punched through her foes much more easily than the normal tomahawks that Black Getter wielded. The tradeoff, she quickly discovered, was that they were much more unwieldy and tended to get stuck in things she wasn't intending.
Thunk!
Such as the ground.
She needed more practice in using them.
Despite having to be more conscious about her swings, the ground monsters didn't prove any more challenging than the ones in the sky.
Jaws filled with sharp teeth? Chopped off.
Claws that could crush Armors with ease? Chopped off.
Tails that discharged corrosive venom? Chopped off.
It did matter how fast, or how many, or how aggressive they were. They all fell to the swings of her tomahawks.
Deirdre was starting to miss her enemies in the simulator, the ones in the real world were too easy to defeat!
I noticed that you decided against using Getter Beam on the monsters.
"Ah, I didn't want to cause problems for the villagers by causing melted gashes all over the ground." She quickly explained to Control after finishing off the last of the monsters. "The holes made by the tomahawks would be easier to fill in and smooth out."
A good point. Rather considerate of you.
"Of course, these people are under my family's rule and protection." She proudly stated while returning the tomahawks back to storage. Deirdre then returned to the village to see everyone at the entrance cheering and waving at Roze Getter.
It seemed they realized that they were no longer in imminent danger and chose to witness the monster extermination instead.
"Our people!" Her voice came out of Roze Getter's external speakers. With her Getter Robo's arms spread wide, Deirdre made her triumph known. "Roseblade stands before you, victorious!"
The villagers' cheers intensified.
…
Serge Sara Rault wondered when his life started spiraling out of control.
Who was he kidding? It started the second he involved himself with people from the Kingdom of Holfort! If he hadn't met Julius, Jilk, Chris, Brad, and Greg, then his life would have still had a sense of stability! Things would have still been the same! Everything would have still made sense! No Noelle teasing him! No Louise clinging to him! No Hertrude cornering him!
He would have been back in the Republic and-
"And what, Serge? Be miserable and alone, hating everything and everyone?" He asked his reflection in the bathroom mirror. It was a brand new day and he was almost getting used to all the changes in his life so far. That was until a literal princess decided that he was prime boyfriend material for some damned reason and riled up both his friend and his sister.
He couldn't deny it anymore. His life had turned into a trashy romance play. He would have said book, if he actually read trashy romance books.
As he changed into a fresh set of clothes, he thought back to the time he had been spending with Noelle and Louise. At first, he just assumed that they were both just being friendly even though they still couldn't get along with each other. With the self realization that it was something more, he understood that he had actually been going out on dates with them this whole time.
Why the hell didn't anyone else tell him?!
Add the Fanoss Princess to the mix and things got even more complicated!
Louise was Serge's First Love when he was younger. He would freely admit that she had just become more beautiful as she grew into the woman she now was. No, it still felt weird that he wasn't weirded out at the possibility of having a romantic relationship with his adopted sister. Their dad was going to freak out when they came back from the summer break.
Noelle was Serge's First Friend who was actually from Alzer. Her smile and positivity was just incredibly infectious that he couldn't help but become happy around her. He knew that the name Beltre was just a front and that she was actually a Lespinasse, spared by their father along with her twin sister. Yet another thing his dad was probably going to freak out about.
Hertrude was Serge's First Admirer that didn't back down because of his name and status. The sheer focus, confidence, and certainty in her words and actions was something he personally admired. He didn't really know Hertrude that well yet, but he had a feeling that she would fix that issue even without his input. His dad may freak out about that, he wasn't really sure yet.
Serge found that he didn't mind their company at all, and that scared him more than he wanted to admit. He knew that he was a fuck up. He had been wasting his life since he was a kid thinking that everyone hated him and hating them in return. He let the voice in his head that always made him angry over nothing win every single time.
Who's to say that he wouldn't fuck up a potential relationship with any of those women too?
That terror drove him to seek advice from the one person who would know a thing or two about his dilemma.
"So what do you think I should do?" He felt a bit bad interrupting Leon while he was working in his office, but he didn't have anyone else to turn to. Sure he could have asked Marie, but something about her just always rubbed him the wrong way. He had no idea what the boys saw in that girl.
"Still weird to see this from the other side." Leon muttered after blinking at him a few times.
I hope the perspective lets you be more appreciative of certain things.
"The hell are you two on about?" Both the man and the floating orb turned to each other and then back to him.
Don't worry about it.
"What Control said," Leon added with a nod before clearing his throat. "But more importantly, I don't really have any real advice that could probably help you."
That was complete bullshit! "You have three lovers!"
"Who are all very lovely and, more importantly, very different people from the girls you are talking about." Serge grumbled but couldn't deny that Leon was right.
"Honestly, I'd just give you the same advice I got myself and wish you luck." He then perked up and leaned forward in great interest. He'd take pretty much anything at this point!
"And what advice is that?" He asked with bated breath.
"Decide for yourself what you want out of this and make your choice based on that. And make sure that you adhere to these three things: Trust, Communication, and Understanding." Leon sounded pretty proud of his words, but Serge didn't share his confidence at all.
"All that seems way too general." He pointed out, to which Leon just shrugged.
"Aside from Hertrude, who acts way differently around you than she normally does with us, you know those girls better than I do." Damn, that was a good point.
He slumped in his seat and looked up at the ceiling. "That doesn't help as much as I hoped it would."
"Sorry to say that girls don't come with an instruction guide. If they did, then it would have saved me so much headache last year." He and Leon shared a chuckle at that.
Man, if only.
Leon then looked at him more seriously and gave him something to really think about. "Serge, before you decide to do anything, make sure that it is what you really want. It might hurt them more if you are just forcing yourself just to try to make them happy."
A few days later, Serge found himself walking back to the manor after some target practice with the shotgun he got from Serge's grandfather. It was a surprisingly quiet day for him, with everyone doing their own thing. His ears perked up when he heard familiar voices as he passed by the manor's main tea room. The door was ajar and he saw that Louise was having tea with Leon.
"Leon was so excited and promised that he would protect me if he became the Sacred Tree Guardian." His sister animatedly said. Serge immediately understood who she was talking about, and it wasn't the Leon she was having tea with.
"Sounds like he was a great kid. I would have liked to meet him." Said Leon told her with a nod.
Louise sighed and looked down at her cup of tea. "I'm sure the two of you would have gotten along well."
There was a moment of silence between them and Serge was about to walk away when Louise spoke up again.
"I must confess, I had originally wished that you would have taken my Leon's place when I first saw you months ago." He felt his heart clench at the admission, even Leon looked pretty surprised. "When you and Marie spoke during our tea party and I saw your face, it was like everything was falling into place again."
"Do you feel the same way now?" Serge could hear the hesitation and caution in Leon's voice.
His sister shook her head and gave him a sad smile. "All I can feel when I look at you now is a dull ache in my heart. I can't let myself stay like this."
"Move forward then," Leon told her before shrugging. "I mean, you have Serge now right?"
The smile he saw Louise give took his breath away. "Yes, I do. Having him in that place in my heart sounds wonderful."
Serge couldn't breathe, he couldn't think, he couldn't do anything but quickly walk back to his room and lock the door. Through ragged breaths, all he could hear was his hammering heartbeat, all he could feel was the heat from his face, all he could think of was that smile on Louise's face and if Noelle and Hertrude could smile like that too.
"I am so fucked."