Author note: This chapter is a little shorter than the previous one, but I hope you enjoy reading it! Also: More details on when Arc 2 is happening is at the end of this chapter!
32. Unpredictable
Winter came. It was just as cold and snowy as Arganan predicted.
Unfortunately, it also meant that it was super-icy, and hard to move around in. The former Count almost slipped on his way to work, several times, managing to hold himself up with his cane or with the help of anyone passing by him. He feared breaking a metal limb again, especially since he was still in debt. At this point, he'd only paid off half of the thirty-thousand G debt, which wasn't bad given that he'd done this in approximately two seasons so far, and sure, Calista paid for all medical-related expenses, but he still didn't want to have another thing to worry about.
Besides, he already broke metal limbs at least twice since he arrived in Selphia, all those months and seasons ago. He did not want them breaking a third time too soon.
Business at Illuminata's shop was slow, so Arganan was let-go early today. Hoping for a nice, warm meal, he trudged his way through the snow and into Porcoline's restaurant.
"Greetings, Arganan~!" Porcoline's sing-song voice was easily heard. "Is there something you'd like to order?"
"Any recommendations for something to warm one up quickly?" Arganan asked. Margaret was quick to lead Arganan to a table to sit, just as Porcoline beamed.
"Oh, yes! One Royal Curry, coming right up!"
As much as Arganan guessed this might hurt his own finances, he just really needed to warm up right now. A chuckle left Margaret as she looked towards him, eyes twinkling with amusement.
"Are you sure you want to try the Royal Curry? How much of a spice tolerance do you have?"
"Depends." Arganan quipped, looking up at her. "How spicy is it?"
"Very."
Uh oh. Well, so much for warming up… "At least I'll be warm afterwards, right?" Surely it can't be that bad. Arganan guessed. She's just teasing.
"That's fair." Margaret admitted, just as Dylas spoke up from the kitchen.
"Margaret? A little help here!? Porco's gonna eat the curry if I don't get it away from him!"
"Coming!" Margaret called, before looking towards Arganan with a sheepish . "I'll be right back with your meal." With that, she rushed off. Arganan just couldn't help but wonder how Margaret managed to keep Porcoline in line. Same with Dylas…how did that man deal with Porcoline's monstrous appetite?
Arganan decided that was not a mystery he wanted to investigate today, as the Royal Curry was soon delivered to him. He could certainly smell the spice wafting from the clearly bubbling dish, and he wondered, for a moment, if he'd regret eating it.
"So, what happened, Arganan?"
"It's official. I regret eating it, and I'm never eating Royal Curry again."
Frey stared at him as she offered him another glass of water. After the disastrous reaction to eating the Royal Curry, Arganan virtually fled to Frey's castle to hide from the shame and humiliation he put upon himself. Frey was gracious enough to sit him down on one of the various chairs she had in her room (she was in the middle of reorganizing her things) and fetch him a glass of water and a pitcher to refill it. "What happened after you ate it?" She asked.
Arganan grimaced, feeling his stomach churn. The spice lingered in his mouth, threatening to flare up in heat again, and he shook his head, taking a few more sips of water. "I felt like my mouth was on fire. Margaret helped with the water ready, but…"
He shuddered, taking another sip, wondering if his tastebuds just died. "I don't think I'm trying that one again."
"Well," A sheepish chuckle escaped her as she watched him finish his cup of water, "I'm just glad that you came out of it without your mouth on literal fire. Apparently Doug's face went red when he tried eating that curry."
"How do you know that?"
Frey couldn't help but laugh, shoulders shaking a little as she did. "Vishnal and I were on a lunch date when we saw Doug and Dylas daring each other to add extra peppers in a Royal Curry-eating contest they made up on the spot. It was hilarious!"
Arganan couldn't help but imagine Doug's face turning red, while Dylas had tears in his eyes from the spice as both of them tried to eat extra-spicy Royal Curry as fast as they could. "That certainly sounds like something they would do. Speaking of you and Vishnal," He looked her in the eye, "How are you both doing with your new relationship?"
"Uh," A soft blush came to her cheeks, "I-it's been going well. Really well. He's trying to work on cooking better dishes for me as gifts, but…most of them have been inedible so far…"
"I guess cooking really isn't his forte." Arganan managed, remember how Vishnal ranted to him about how terrible of a cook he was. "Sorry to hear that. But everything else is well, otherwise?"
"I think so." She nodded. "I hope so." A sigh left her, and she slumped down in her own seat, beside him. "I'm just…Vishnal brought it up earlier, and I know this is something we'll have to face at some point, but…I know that he and I are of different social standings. What will others think? What if it interferes with our livelihoods in the future?"
"If it helps, I've seen and been through that same situation before." Arganan managed, trying to make eye contact with her. "Did I ever mention to you that my niece and my nephew-in-law were of different social standings?"
"I don't think so." She looked up at him. "Your niece is the Countess now, right? But what about your nephew in law?"
"He was a mercenary." Arganan could still remember Zael's face, despite all the time he spent apart from him, Calista, and the rest of Lazulis at this point. "His friend, Dagran, led the group of mercenaries that he was a part of. As far as I understand, he and Calista met when Calista tried to run away from the castle, the night before her engagement ball to Lord Jirall of House Rambaldt."
"Wait, Calista was already engaged?" Frey's eyes widened at that.
"At the time, yes." He admitted. "An arranged marriage. She wasn't happy with it. And honestly, I hated Jirall, too, but we had to arrange this with them to gain more power and influence in the Empire. It's a complicated matter, but that was what happened. Eventually, the potential to have Zael's power of the Outsider in my hands became a higher priority over having Jirall marry Calista…so I arranged for Zael to have a knighthood and marry Calista, if he swore fealty to me. It didn't work."
He fell silent, gauging Frey's reaction. If she was upset, she certainly didn't show it, but her smile did fade to a thinner line. "I didn't realize politics could be so complicated."
"It's a big power play." Arganan admitted to her. "I'm sure you've already been stuck in some of that as is, given how you suddenly had to rule Selphia in the first place. Are you okay?"
"I'm fine." Frey took a deep breath, leaning against the back of her chair. "I'm okay. Arthur's been helping me a lot with communicating with the rest of Norad. There's a lot I've learned in the past year while trying to help Venti all this time. Now that Venti isn't in danger like she previously was, and all the Guardians are freed, I've been spending more time adapting to the political side of ruling. Like communicating with places like Lazulis, for instance."
Her gaze then snapped at Arganan as she swallowed. "I don't know how you managed all of it, back when you were Count. As far as I know from studying up on Lazulis, it has a pretty unique history. And a lot of complications. It's the 'sword arm' of the Empire, and yet it also functions mostly independently, as if it were its own nation."
Arganan nodded in agreement. "That is true. Because of Lazulis being a whole island that's physically separate from the continent where the rest of the Empire is located, there is a bit more flexibility in who governs what. I'm sure Calista is more than aware of that too, at this point. But that's also a reason why we have to stay in the rest of the Empire's good side – if we did anything drastic, like attempt to be independent of the Empire, we'd be crushed by the rest of the Empire entirely. And I doubt the peace treaty with the Gurak helped much."
"Surely the peace treaty helped." Frey argued, frowning. "I mean, it's always good if a war ends, right? Especially if Lazulis didn't lose the war?"
"That is also true." He admitted, putting his glass of water down on the nearest table. "But the rest of the Empire doesn't…get along with the Gurak, too well. History and all that, you see."
"Oh." She swallowed. "That must be a lot for Calista to handle."
"It probably is." A part of him did worry about how she was doing, dealing with all of that. "But she's one of the strongest people I know. And without me in her way, I don't think she'll be hindered by much as Countess of Lazulis. She has the Gurak on her side due to the peace treaty, so it's not like the Empire can intimidate her into starting another war again so easily. But true peace with the Gurak and humans will take a long time. Possibly longer than her reign as Countess. I just hope she understands that."
Too many political moves made at once could be risky, after all. He knew that well from his own experience, trying to get Zael on his side, trying to move in to massacre all the Gurak, and so on.
"At least you have the chance to talk to her, right?" Frey pointed out. "Leon mentioned to me, a while back, that he received a letter from her to you by accident, and that he gave it back to you after he read it himself."
"Ah, yes. That." Arganan couldn't help but sigh, leaning back in his seat. "I just hope he doesn't read my mail again without asking."
A brief chuckle escaped Frey at that. "I'm sure he won't. I know he can be mischievous, but he seems like a good person otherwise. And given how he used to be a Dragon Priest, I think it'll be helpful to all of us and Venti."
Arganan raised a brow. Leon, a priest? He filed a couple questions about that in the back of his mind, to ask Leon about later. "Dragon Priest? Does that explain why he goes around mostly shirtless still, despite it being winter?"
She shrugged. "I think that's more a style choice on his end, more than anything."
"I see." Given the unpredictability of the former Guardian, that did seem like a Leon-type of thing to do. "Well, I do think the knowledge he might have will be useful. Especially if Ventuswill ends up in grave conditions like she previously did."
"Agreed." She took a deep breath, looking Frey in the eye. "And…I don't know how long you'll be here, or what Calista plans once she comes. But…I just want you to know that I'm here for you if need help, okay?"
He knew she had a point. He didn't know how long Calista planned on keeping him here. If it was forever, though…he honestly wouldn't mind. With friends like Frey, and this whole community being so good to him, and especially after all they went through in the past seasons, he wouldn't mind staying here. At the same time, though, he did miss Lazulis. Even if it had changed a lot since he left, it was still where he once lived.
Arganan offered her a soft smile. "Thank you, Frey. And feel free to ask me for help, too." Just like the past, when they first met in the spring and started on their new journeys – his, with no longer being a noble, and hers, navigating her amnesia and being a Princess. Even as Spring was approaching once more, Arganan felt a bit more prepared for what could come next, and a lot of that was thanks to Frey. He was grateful, to have her around.
Little did he know that he wouldn't be prepared for what would come next, in the spring.
Author note: Arc 2 of Rune Factory 4 will officially start next chapter, and we zoom back to the main plot at hand! I hope you all enjoy reading what will come next!