"I'm giving you a heads up, but the brat will be arriving tomorrow," Agnes's voice cut through the noise of clashing steel. To give myself credit, I didn't allow myself to be distracted by her words, even if they did confuse me. The brat? I doubt she was referring to the crown princess, so Henrietta's sister hadn't left the grounds, to my knowledge. Though with magic involved, it would be hard to tell.
Did it have something to do with the delivery from a few days ago? Henrietta got something, and she'd been excited ever since.
"You're going to have to be a bit more specific than that," I responded, parrying a swift strike from Agnes's blade. Agnes scowled, rarely a good sign in my experience.
"Louise de la Valliere. She's an old playmate of the Princess, and her family is close friends with the Royal line," Agnes maintained her annoyed expression. That was interesting. Sure, I had a small sample size to work with at the moment, but Agnes's dislike of most nobles seemed more and more rational. Outside of Henrietta, and Wardes, most nobles I'd had the displeasure of meeting were a combination of lazy, horny, dismissive, or assassins.
Well, a single assassin, but an assassin count larger than zero was still too many assassins.
And I still wasn't too sure about Wardes, either. The man had too much silver hair to be around my age. Of course, I doubt you could reach a position like Captian of the Griffin Knights without some measure of vetting.
Of course, the problem was in the name. Valliere. I tried to keep my head out of political posturing and power wrangling as much as possible, but even I knew that family name. Duchess de la Valliere, otherwise known as the strongest mage to exist in the modern age, if the stories were to be believed.
If there was a powerful mover and shaker that nearly commanded the same amount of respect as the royal family, if not possibly more, the Valliere family was the place to look. Of course, as I understood it, they were incredibly loyal to the royal family. And if they let their children play together, it was hard to imagine that not being true.
But I didn't have a whole lot more information on this sadly, though it seemed like I might get a bit more. But the fact Agnes was outright willing to call her a brat was, not a good sign. But it wasn't like Henrietta was in earshot, either. So did she not know that her bodyguard did not approve of her friend?
"So what's her deal, exactly? I don't know much about the movers and shakers around here, after all," I dodged, weaving out of the way of Agnes's thrust.
"Louise is the third daughter of the Valliere's. And she keeps making my job of keeping the Princess safe more difficult," ah, so this was a bit more than Agnes's standard distaste for nobles. "She's always sending up these cures, or spells for Henrietta to try. This means Henrietta has to try them, which either means something explodes, or she's vanishing into the woods for hours, or trying to collect all sorts of dangerous ingredients. And I have to go after her, making sure that whatever Louise has suggested this time doesn't get her hurt, or worse. And then, when it fails, which up until she summoned you, it always did, I'd have to deal with the damage done. Because she was trying to fix something that wasn't broken in the first place."
Oh, it was a bit more complicated than that. How exactly do I process this? Other than having the name of who exactly to blame for getting me summoned. It wasn't like there was a whole lot I could do on that particular front, as by all accounts she was Henrietta's friend, but I had my means.
All seriousness aside, it did seem like Louise wanted to help her friend. At least, that was my read on the situation. And that was worthy of praise. The number of nobles I'd met that would be willing to go to such lengths was considerably small.
Or in other words, didn't exist. But that didn't change the fact that Agnes wouldn't exactly be wrong. Such things would likely be dangerous. And given it was her job specifically to keep Henrietta safe? Louise's attempts to help would likely compromise said safety, even if Louise's intentions were good.
Though I was only getting Agnes's side of the story, at the same time, I believed it. It did sound like something a person would do, if simply because they didn't think things through. After all, stupidity was a general human trait, and it cared not for our imaginary boundaries.
"That seems complicated," I said. "Does she not know how risky the things she's asking for are, or is just too excited to realize what's happening?"
"Does it make a difference?" Agnes snapped back, blade blurring as I blocked several strikes. Which was a good point. What difference was there between malice, intended or otherwise, and stupidity?
Sure, intent does matter, to an extent, but Agnes would have had to deal with this, repeatedly. She would have had to deal with the fallout of failure, repeatedly, while Louise was, wherever she was.
Where exactly had this friend been this whole time, anyway? Henrietta had mentioned her a few times, but I'd never seen her myself.
"Fair enough," I parried another strike, keeping pace to the best of my abilities.
"Enough about Louise though. I've heard that the Viscount has his eye on you. Any reason why?" Agnes asked, nearly making me stumble. Was this an attempt to distract me, an honest attempt at conversation, or both?
"Wardes? I haven't noticed anything too different," I answered honestly, though I knew exactly the grapevine Agnes was referring to. "He's been asking some of the other maids about me, I know that much. I don't think it's anything romantic, like many rumors suggest though, if that's what you're asking."
"That's good, at least. You are fairly close in age, after all. So it's not a surprise such rumors are being told, and the Viscount is single as well," Agnes said as I nearly sputtered.
"Close to my age? Just how old do you think I am?" I shot back, launching a flurry of thrusts of my own.
"How old do you think he is? He's in his twenties like you are unless you're admitting that's old," Agnes teased, snickering all the while. Twenties? Really? How was someone that much of a silver fox in their twenties? How much stress did you have to be under to go gray at such a young age?
"I've never seen anyone going gray at such a young age. Read about it happening a few times historically, but never seen it for myself," I said, keeping up with her strikes. "And don't think I missed the dig at my age."
"You're the one who commented about twenties being old," Agnes wasn't going to let that go anytime soon, it would seem. It made for good needling material.
Part of what she was trying to teach me. While it wasn't as useful against more skilled mages, keeping them talking over casting spells was important. Getting under their skin, needling and ribbing them, and even just back-and-forth banter could be useful in disrupting concentration.
"You know it's impolite to tease a lady about their age, right?" My words were enough to force Agnes back a little way, taken by surprise. Though she recovered quickly, blocking a series of strikes.
"I thought it was impolite to ask a woman her age, not tease her on what she has chosen to reveal," Agnes grinned, as I scowled. I didn't have a good comeback for that.
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Louise looked out over the cityscape. From this high up, it looked like one of her mother's old maps. She could see everything. All the little streets, the winding alleyways, all the hidden paths one could take through the city. She hadn't gotten a few of the capital like this for some time now.
It was a wonderful feeling. It would be good to see Princess Henrietta after all this time. She enjoyed their letters, honestly, but there was nothing that compared with meeting the Princess face to face.
There was much to talk about, but the summoning of her own familiar and victory at the show felt small compared to Princess Henrietta's exploits. After all, such feats were to be expected from Louise de la Valliere.
But those who were in the know about Princess Henrietta's condition expected nothing of her. And while Louise knew better, it was good to have proof that nobody should have doubted the Princess in the first place.
Even if her friend's secrecy on the matter concerned her. They usually told each other just about everything, so the fact she wasn't willing to reveal anything in writing was odd. Though such letters could be intercepted. Even with the ink and magic used to keep such letters' contents a secret, it was far from foolproof, no matter how few knew the spell.
It would make sense to keep the information private, depending on how important such information was. But what exactly could it be that Princess Henrietta had summoned to warrant such secrecy? Even something powerful, like a dragon, wouldn't require, any of this to be necessary. So what had she summoned? A Ryhme Dragon, perhaps? Such were supposed to be extinct, but it wouldn't be impossible for some to remain, hidden away in unexplored corners of the world. And not having people looking to kill the Princess's family because they stupidly wanted magical reagents would be a logical explanation.
But could that be it? Louise frowned, even as her elevation became lower and lower, escorted in by two Griffion Knights. Not an unexpected experience. Air security around the capital was tight, even under the best of times, and with the rebellion in Albion, the situation certainly was not under the best of times.
The homeland of the former king was ripping itself to pieces. And the Royal Family was losing. Reports were hard to come by, but the picture was not a pleasant one, with their forces slowly being pushed back toward their last bastion. Rumor even had it that they wanted to export this new ideology through force. Tristian would be their first target, as the defeat of the Royal line would leave Tristian without its ally.
Though in truth, the alliance had been in the process of breaking down for the past two years now. There was a reason that Tristian was looking toward both Germania and Gallia for an alliance. Neither were minor military powers by any stretch, but both had come to share a rivalry for the past few years. Given their long land border, both nations were looking for an opportunity. And Tristian sitting between the two made an ideal ally to have.
Which meant tying Tristian to one of two powers that might be willing to go to war with one another in the future. Or dealing with war from Albion on their own, then possibly having to deal with the remaining two powers trying to force the issue while Tristian had been weakened fighting Albion.
Tristian's situation wasn't great, so she needed to prepare herself as much as possible. She had to be there to keep Princess Henrietta safe.
Cyciona touched down on the ground, claws scratching against the stone floor.
"It's good to see that the rumors coming out of the Academy were correct after all," a familiar voice rang out. "Though I shouldn't be surprised."
"Viscount Wardes," Louise bowed deeply, before smiling. "It is good to see you again."
A former student of her mother, Viscount Wales was a family friend. She didn't get to see him much nowadays, as he was naturally busy with his duties, and her studies. Louise would admit that she used to have a crush on the man, back when she was much, much younger. But she didn't get to interact with him much when she was a child, and that was ages ago.
"I find myself agreeing, Miss Valliere. It has been quite some time," Viscount Wardes bowed slightly. "I trust that your flight was, uneventful."
"It was quite a pleasant one, thank you," Louise smiled, petting the scales of her wind dragon.
"I trust that you are here to visit the Princess?" Viscount Wardes said calmly.
"Indeed. It has been far too long since we've seen one another face to face," Louise nodded.
"Well, we will have to confiscate your wand-sword, Miss Valliere. Due to recent events, security measures have been increased," Viscount Wardes words made Louise scowl, even as she complied with the order. She wasn't going to fault the guards for doing their job. But Henrietta had not mentioned any incident recently.
"I have not heard about anything about an incident," Louise looked around.
"It's being kept, quiet, at the moment, until we get more information out of who exactly it was that hired the individual in question. He's proving to be, uncooperative so far," Wardes said as he placed the weapon in storage.
"You'd think he wouldn't have that much professionalism, given how he lost to a commoner," one of the knights spoke. Louise raised her eyebrow.
"What do you mean, lost to a commoner?" Louise asked, even before she could fully understand the words that were being said. The knight in question immediately recognized his error, covering his mouth with his hand, but it was much too late, as Viscount Wardes sent the man a glare.
"I'm not at liberty to share all the details, but there was a break-in by an unknown hostile party, quite possibly backed by Albion's Rebels or other such agents. One of the maids stumbled across the situation through blind luck and managed to resolve it," Viscount Wardes continued to share a glare at the man, as the man in question tried to hide within his armor. "Though I request that you keep this secret. Henrietta, or the maid in question, Aimee, might be willing to tell you more."
"I understand," Louise nodded, even as her mind connected the dots. Break-in would be an under exaggeration. If violence would be necessary, the perpetrator was unlikely to be a petty crook. Even Fouquet would be stupid to rob the Royal Palace. That put assassination on the table, something that made her blood boil.
But one of the maids solved the problem? She'd believe it in a heartbeat if she had been told Agnes was the responsible party. She hated the woman, but Agnes was a skilled duelist and an intelligent fighter. She may not like Agnes but only a fool would underestimate someone just simply because they were a commoner. But someone who was completely untrained?
That was a different story entirely. An untrained commoner would have provided as much resistance as an untrained noble, simple as that.
"I do hope she received recognition for her service to the crown and country," Louise finally spoke, after careful processing. It was abnormal, certainly, but it was a better outcome than the worst-case scenario.
"I do believe she will, though there is much talk about how such will manifest," Wardes statement was vague. Perhaps she would have to seek out this Aimee if she had time. But Henrietta came first and foremost.
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"You requested my presence, Princess Henrietta?" I knocked lightly on the door. It was not often that Henrietta made requests for specific maids, but thanks to Agnes's heads up, I figured out what I was in for.
"Come in!" Henrietta's voice did little to hide her excitement. I opened the door, slipping through with ease. Only for one thing to become apparent.
Whatever was in the water? Cut both ways.
This had to be Louise. Agnes mentioned pink hair very excessively. But I wasn't expecting someone this short. She was tiny in all respects. Frankly, I'd call her childlike. She looked like a child, and yet she was supposed to be Henrietta's age?
And her outfit! It looks as if someone tried to combine a schoolgirl uniform with leather armor. And unlike Saber's dress armor, it didn't work all that well.
"You wished to speak with me, Princess?" I bowed slightly. I had no idea how Louise would react to me speaking as I usually did, so I cranked up my formality to the max.
"Of course! Aimee, this is my best friend, Louise!" Henrietta gestured to the small girl, as a faint blush dusted her checks. Then she looked at me, her eyes narrowed, as if she realized something.
"So, you're Aimee," she looked as if she was sizing me up. Trying to understand who I was and what I was capable of. "You're the one who dealt with the unfortunate accident?"
I felt heat rise in my face. The story had taken off like wildfire, with each iteration becoming more and more outlandish. What was, in reality, me successfully playing for time, and getting a few good hits in, had blown up into a straight-up one VS one, final destination, with Wardes interference being a form of mercy for the poor bastard.
The reality of the situation couldn't have been further from the truth, just a significant amount of blind flailing that managed to accomplish just enough for someone else to pull my ass out of the fire instead.
"I had a significant degree of help in the matter, despite what the rumors might say," a deep blush appeared on my face. Wardes deserved most of the credit. He wasn't to my knowledge, playing up his role in things, but he certainly wasn't downplaying mine, which was the problem. I was kind of hoping he would take a bit of the heat for me, by trying to take the glory for himself.
Sure, rumors would have been spread, but without someone like him to give them credibility they would eventually die out. But no. The good Viscount was taking as much credit as he felt was due, which left me holding a non-insignificant part of the credit. And with that type of push, came attention. As much as I didn't want said attention.
Thankfully, no award had materialized. Yet. As much as I knew that the cat was out of the bag, I didn't exactly take kindly to the fact that it was going to be spotted this soon. I was probably spiking the Cardinal's blood pressure, which wasn't exactly great either. Sure, magic was a thing, and that probably could help matters, but that didn't change that he was already balding. The additional stress on top of ruling a nation? Not exactly what I needed.
"Regardless. You've helped Princess Henrietta, and no matter how things went, have done the Kingdom of Tristian no small service," Louise spoke calmly as if she was still measuring me up. "For that, I'm quite thankful. It is nice that you have such a loyal maid, Henrietta."
"That wasn't what I wanted to talk to you about," Henrietta's face had a faint painting of red on it. "Remember how I told you that I summoned my familiar?"
I frowned. Was she, about to tell Louise? Was that, a good idea? Henrietta knew her for longer, and that made her a better judge of Louise's character than myself, but at the same time, that type of connection could lead to blind spots. Things that we were willing to ignore about your friend, just simply because they were your friend.
"Aimee, it's fine. I trust Louise more than anyone else in the world. She will keep this a secret," Henrietta said sternly, picking up on my tell of nervousness. Louise looked between the two of us, a puzzled look on her face. "I summoned Aimee as my familiar."
Louise's face went through a range of expressions from surprise, to shock, before landing on one particular expression. Curiosity.
"I know, it sounds crazy, but it's true," Henrietta was already preemptively protesting.
"Henrietta, I believe you. You, out of all people, would never deceive me," Louise said, as her eyes narrowed in towards me, piercing, like a bird of prey. "It's just that something like that has never happened before. It's a very special event, possibly the first time."
"Can I look at it? Your familiar rune, I mean," Louise's eyes sparkled as if enchanted by an unseen force. I knew the look. The hunger for knowledge. I wordlessly removed the glove from my left hand, Louise quickly snatching the offending limb. Her fingers were a lot smaller than mine, as she looked at the back of my hand with such intensity I thought lasers would shoot out of them.
"I've never seen runes like these before," Louise continued to stare at my hand, as even Henrietta looked closer, joining her shorter friend. "More runes are fairly simple things. But this? I don't recognize it, but it almost looks like some form of langue, if you ask me."
I looked down at the mark branded on the back of my hand. Louise was right. They kind of did look like some form of written script. Though I didn't have the foggiest, either. It looked vaguely, Nordic, maybe? Maybe I was thinking of the wrong culture there.
"Any idea what it does?" Louise asked, looking up at me.
"When I'm holding onto a weapon of some sort, it helps me fight better. It's like I know what to do with a weapon, and know how to act," I said, as Louise scratched her chin.
"I've never heard of a rune that grants powers like that," Louise seemed to be lost in thought. "I could try digging at the Academy library. It might have some information that could prove helpful."
"Thank you! I've been trying to do some digging here, but I haven't found anything so far," Henrietta pouted, as I took the opportunity to slip my glove back on. Sure, Louise had seen it, but there was no reason to create even more risk. "Do you know anything about travel from other worlds, too? I haven't found much luck on that, either."
"Other?" Louise said softly, looking back over towards me, before wincing slightly. "My condolences. On that front, one of my teachers might be of some assistance. Professor Colbert. He's been looking for something described as a metal dragon, that was supposed to have been from another world."
"A metal dragon? That sounds ridiculous," Henrietta said, though she sounded a bit nervous.
"Do you have an idea when this metal dragon first appeared?" I asked, scratching my chin. Sure, the idea of a metal dragon seemed ridiculous, because it was, but what about some time of aircraft? Something people called a metal dragon or a metal bird because that was the only thing that could explain what they were seeing.
"I'm not exactly sure," Louise frowned. "I'd have to ask about it. Why?"
"My home has several vehicles that someone from this one would likely call a metal dragon or metal bird. They are in the grand scheme of things, a fairly modern invention, around in the past century or so," I frowned. "If I knew what era it came from, I could figure out if our two worlds had a synchronized flow of time."
"But would you be able to fly it?" Henrietta asked, giving me a look.
"If it's a civilian aircraft, that's pretty unlikely. If it's a military warplane?" I looked down at my left hand.
"Then there is a decent chance I can."
A knock came on the door. "Princess, I have what you requested."
Agnes slipped her way through the door, carrying a bag.
"Aimee. You're here as well. Good. I have a bit of a surprise for you."