Louise smiled as Utsuho nestled into her makeshift nest and immediately fell asleep. It was amazing how quickly her familiar could drop off, but the raven always seemed so content with whatever shuteye she could get.

It was a technique she occasionally wished she had. Right now her mind was spinning, trying to figure out how to manage the problems to come. A fight against an unknown army, with her allies vastly outnumbered. She'd have to write down questions for Momiji to answer. Or at least things she needed to ask.

She looked over at Siesta. The woman was reading again. At first Louise thought it might be another spellbook, but the title on the spine quickly dispelled that notion. She was pretty sure no mystic tome was titled "The Duchess' Handmaid."

Louise coughed to get the other woman's attention. "Another romance?"

Siesta started, but quickly relaxed and nodded. "Yes." She blushed a little. "Another one by Satori I think. I liked the last book."

Heat flashed through Louise's cheeks. That book had been something else. Possibly the most... vivid storytelling she'd read.

Well it would help get her mind off the problems ahead she decided. It wasn't because she really wanted to read the romance scenes. No no no. Just a minor distraction. "Do you have any others? I'd like to read one as well."

"Um," Siesta blushed. "I only brought this one, but I'm just starting it. We could read it together."

Louise hesitated a moment, but she really did want to clear her head. "Sure." She sat on the bed next to Siesta and took hold of one side of the book.

It started off quickly with a maid joining a new household after a marriage between two noble houses. This one seemed to make more sense then the ninja story. At least that's what Louise was thinking until the Duchess asked to learn cooking from the maid and showed up wearing an apron. Only an apron.

She was blushing furiously as the scene proceeded to get even racier from there. Her cheeks were burning up, and she couldn't help but notice how close Siesta was. The woman's own soft heat pressing against her side.

Louise had to do something to break the tension. "Um, you can turn the page when you're done."

"Ah!" Seista shivered, blushing just as much as Louise was. "Of course!" As she did she said, "But to think, the legendary naked apron was real and not just something my cousin made up."

So it was a common seduction technique in that world? Would that even work for a real woman? An image of Kirche in the outfit flashed through Louise's mind and she shook her head to try to clear it. "No no no."

"Eh?" Siesta looked over at her.

Louise coughed and tried to think up a good lie. "Uh, just thinking it wouldn't work for me."

Siesta blinked, then turned back to the book blushing brightly. "It... probably would. If you pulled it very tight."

For the first time in her life, Louise finally understood what it meant to have her head 'swimming'. Did that mean Siesta had imagined her in that outfit? And what would Siesta look like? And-! And-!

Somehow they finished the chapter without passing out, but Louise did not sleep easy that night.

At least she wasn't worried about politics.

Momiji closed her eyes and hummed in thought as Louise finished her description of the situation. "I see. Your allies have already begun their last stand.

"And now we get to the unfortunate part of war. You can't win this battle without political assistance. If you improved the situation would your country be willing to send military support?" Momiji folded her hands.

"Actually I think I have one way we can win," Louise said. "I think if we kill Cromwell and break the army there's a chance."

Momiji grinned. "Interesting. What makes you say that?"

Louise grimaced. "Well I've been thinking about all the stuff Satori's been teaching me about ruling. All the alliances and the balance of power. And Cromwell hasn't done any of that. He can't have done it. There's not enough time. So he's gotta be a weak point, right?"

"Killing the leader and hoping that will collapse their power base?" Momiji smirked. "Not always a bad idea, but sometimes killing Nobunaga just gets you Hideyoshi."

"But it would buy us time right?" Louise sighed. "I know that fifty nobles can't win a war. They can't rule a country. But if we buy some time, maybe they can change that. Get some allies and turn the war around."

Momiji started setting up a new set of figures on the map of Albion Louise had brought. "It's a long shot, but perhaps your best shot at victory. And something Utsuho can do. Now, let's discuss supply via ship, since you'll need to understand that if you succeed."

Louise stared at the notes she'd been taking down. The numbers were terrible. Not just because they were hard, but because the amounts required were just mind boggling. "One ship for each regiment, increased by one for every three days travel..."

"What are those?" Guiche asked.

"Looking up what it would take to fund a military expedition in Albion. Assuming we have access to a port," Louise muttered.

Guiche looked at her like she'd grown another head. "What?"

Wardes turned as well. "Isn't that getting a bit ahead of ourselves?"

"Well we need to start preparing now," Louise said finishing the numbers. "It's going to hit the state budget hard, and it'd be better to start asking for taxes now instead of begging money to repay the loans later."

"Surely it can't be that expensive," Guiche protested, looking at the numbers. "That's more than the worth of the royal jewels!"

"Hm?" Wardes peered down and Louise held up the numbers so he could see them more clearly. "My my Louise. Your tutor is very skilled. It seems you're only off by a few ten thousand. You're assuming we'll have to defend our supplies from the dragon knights aren't you?"

Louise nodded. "Of course. They have to know that's our weak point."

"But conducting an invasion of Albion is impossible unless they've been defeated," Wardes said with a grin. "We wouldn't be able to land the troops to begin with." He shrugged. "Perhaps with some trickery it might be done, but it would be better to use that cunning to eliminate the knights. If for no other reason then because it does complicate our supplies immensely."

"I see." Louise looked over the numbers. Yes that would make things easier.

"It still seems very expensive," Siesta said quietly as she fiddled with one of her tinctures.

Guiche snorted. "Very expensive doesn't begin to cover it! That's all the earnings of my family's land for twenty years! There's no way a war is that costly! Is there?"

Wardes slowed the carriage as he pulled on his mustache. "No she's right. Wars are quite expensive. Especially wars against a continent you can only reach via ship." He smiled softly at Louise. "I'm impressed though. The calculations I've seen are the product of many experienced campaigners putting their heads together. You've done the work of ten men in but a few hours. I'd like to see your notes when we rest for the evening."

"Of course!" Louise beamed at the praise.

Suddenly Utsuho perked up. She cawed a few times, then paused. After a moment she cocked her head to look at Louise. "There's a lot of armed men ahead. They're waiting in ambush."

"Eh?" Louise started. "An ambush?" Everyone turned to her in surprise.

Utsuho bobbed her head. "The local crows are all worried about their nests. There's at least twenty of them. Another three cho ahead. Uh, three hundred meters."

"What are you talking about Louise?" Wardes was looking over the forest carefully. "There's no one here."

"Utsuho says the crows further ahead see a group of men. About twenty, armed." Louise drew her wand. "I don't know how they got past our guards though."

Siesta shook her head grimly. "Mercenaries."

"With the defeat of the royals there's going to be a lot of bands of former soldiers out looking for easy money," Wardes agreed. "Prepare yourselves."

He started the wagon moving again. Louise peered into the woods, trying to get a bead on the bandits. Her heart beat fast as they crawled forwards.

A whistle from the trees broke the painful wait. Men broke out of the treeline, crossbows and muskets raised. Louise waited for them to start shouting commands.

And then they fired.

"Stasis!" Louise yelled, pointing her wand at the men. The bullets and arrows froze, stuck in the morass of air. Wardes' sword wand cut through the air tearing through the projectiles Louise missed. Two shield golems rose up, making sure nothing got through.

Utsuho flapped her wings. "I guess we're blowing them up now."

Before Louise could respond, fire and ice rained from the sky. The mercenaries screamed, broke, and ran as a dragon swooped down. Syphid cooed happily making two more passes that completely routed the mercenaries. Next to Louise Count Wardes put away his wand, eyebrow twitching in annoyance.

The danger gone Sylphid landed next to them. And then Louise's face was pressed into two soft, tanned breasts. "Louise~! How could you leave me behind like that?"

A steady hand pulled her away from the soft imprisonment. Count Wardes peered at Kirche, eyes narrowed. "Who are you, and why are you being so familiar with my fiance?"

"Fiance?" Kirche blinked a few times, then looked back and forth between the count and Louise. Finally she moved over to whisper in Louise's ear, "So you think he'd be interested in a threesome?"

"Where did that come from?!" Louise sputtered.

Kirche smiled smugly. "Well I've decided if I have to choose, I'd pick you, so I need to determine if he's a rival or a fellow."

Louise took some small comfort that everyone else was just as convinced Kirche was out of her mind. Count Wardes was just staring at this point, while Guiche was... probably thinking of things he shouldn't be. Siesta was blushing and Utsuho was just shaking her beak. The only person not visibly reacting was Tabitha. And that was just Tabitha.

In the end the only logical thing to do was ignore all this mess.

Who's an idiot? I'm an idiot. I totally forgot I had a half chapter that I hadn't posted from... way back before writers block killed me. It's setup but hopefully amusing setup. So yeah, enjoy.