"See this? I was awarded this Medal for being the first group to make it into Sax-Gotha and deal with those nasty orcs." Guiche announced, proud as a peacock, showing his Medal of White Hair Soul to his classmates.
"Amazing," one person said, while the rest of the class looked on in admiration.
Guiche glimpsed the nook of the classroom. Montmorency was there. Though all his classmates had gathered around Guiche, Montmorency, on the other hand, rested her elbows on a desk and stared outside the window, looking disinterested. Why didn't she look this way? He wanted her to hear the story… Guiche felt hurt for a moment.
"Great… Guiche, you really commanded the company that lunged first into the city of Saxe-Gotha?"
"It wasn't all that great. My battalion was the best. They were up to the challenge that I gave them. They were knowledgeable and surpassing competent. It was my honor to lead them," Guiche said humbly.
"So cool!" One of the female students said.
"No way, Guiche. Honestly before now we thought that you were just a big mouthed rascal, but now we can recognize our mistake without fail!" one of the young men said.
"Great! Guiche! You are awesome!"
Guiche shook his head as thoughts of a young man on a roof providing his battalion cover,"No...The truly great person was someone who is gone... Who is unrecognized... But I won't forget what I learned from him. He made me what I am now."
"Tell us about how you fought the orcs!" one girl asked.
"I suppose I can tell you the story about the brave army fight against the orcs. You see, the founder saw fit to bless me with a batallion of brave and level headed veterans, who assisted me in planning for the attack." Guiche looked at Montmorency again as he said that. And sighed painfully. The reason was that Montmorency still looked the other way... why was she acting this way? He then raised his voice higher than needed. "When the wall broke, we were the first to move forward. Two fools rode in on their horses, and were knocked back by the giant clubs of the orcs. At that time, I calmly commanded my subordinates from the gun corps. First and second platoon! Load! First Platoon Aim! Fire! Aim for the heads, they they shrug off non fatal damage too easily!" When saying "Fire" Guiche raised and lowered his wand.
"Still, the enemy came! Magic was needed! I rose and started casting - Earth Hand! After this I cried Second Platoon Aim! Fire!" Guiche repeated his motions again. "At this point we had a number orcs down and their courage began to falter. But as they tried to retreat, the grasped orc in the rear of their formation blocked their movements, making them all too easy to hit for my soldiers. The orcs that were left were forced to come to my soldiers, who were firing in waves, or try and flee over the body of their fallen comrade. Neither of the two tactics worked." As Guiche said this with a shrug, he noticed Montmorency stand up and leave the classroom. Guiche ran after just as suddenly as she had left. "Montmorency!" He called after her.
Guiche shouted in a corridor paved with stone. Yet, Montmorency didn't turn around, she just walked away briskly. Feeling anger emanating from her shoulders, Guiche ran up closer.
"Hey, Montmorency! Please wait! Are you upset with me? Stop ignoring me!" Guiche put a hand on Montmorency's shoulder and made her halt. "Here, look at it. A medal! Be happy! You are the girlfriend of someone worthy of an award! As I said, here, you..."
"A medal doesn't make you a man..."After finally turning around, Montmorency declared.
"W-What?"
"Is the reward all that you care about? You left me, that's the problem! You could have been like Zero! What if it had been you who had not come back instead of him? Could you not have written? How was I to know if you were alright? If you still cared about me?" She demanded.
Not expecting such an attack, Guiche flinched. Spoiled by the praises, he could not imagine being blamed this way. "D-Don't you know? As a Royal Army volunteer, I could not write you letters!"
Montmorency, stared at Guiche with cold eyes. Feeling that this anger was different from usual, Guiche become silent. "Even if it was so! That didn't mean you could not contact me! There are some things that are more important than a reward!"
He thought for a while. "For instance?"Because Guiche asked seriously, Montmorency's cheeks turned red.
"Why you are hitting me!" He asked as he raised his arms to ward off the blows.
"Me. M-E." Montmorency shouted as she continued her assault.
"Y-Yes."
"Aren't you my knight? Haven't you told me, that if there would be a war you would stay near, protecting me? Remember?"
"Ye-Yes." Guiche stood upright and nodded, he had said that when he had first started showing her his favor...
"Since you left with the boys, dreadful things happened in the Academy! Meanwhile, you were going crazy attacking enemies for medals!"
Guiche nodded glumly. Upon returning he heard the story of the mercenary attack.
"Because you were not here, we almost died! The man who took us hostage was frightening, and you weren't here! If only I was more skillful in water magic…" Montmorency closed her eyes, recalling that time. If she had been more powerful she could have countered the man's flames... But no, they had to rely on Zero again...The Zero who had not come back.
Guiche quietly lowered his head at her reaction.
"I, I will study more. As a member of the Montmorency house that negotiated with the Water Spirit for generations… I will ask for help to train more. If I were better at using the element of water... Maybe I wouldn't be so useless...Furthermore, that child lost her important person. So be a little more considerate. Is this really a time for joy? Even you should not be so happy."
Guiche remembered. There was a rumor that Louise's familiar Zero fought alone against Albion's army and allowed them to retreat from Rosais. Shaken, Louise met many times with the generals, but even though she made lots of noise, the escaping fleet would not turn back for the familiar. Moreover, the warship commanders just laughed at that rumor. They thought it was impossible for a single person to stop an army. You cannot stop an army of that size all alone. As for the Albion army's delay, they said that there had to be another reason. It was blamed on their poor army management. They also thought that the familiar boy just simply ran away despite his constant bluster. All the people around Louise kept on saying that. Guiche knew that they were wrong though, he knew that Zero was the type of person to stand and fight. He would never run, except towards the battles. He had fought alongside him. A god of destruction indeed... Thinking back to what the officers had said, of an army that was four-hundred thousand strong was impossible...But even if you assume he confronted an army of 70,000 – there was no way he would still be alive...
However, Louise was not content with such an opinion and kept denying it. Once the fleet returned, the news about Albion's army surrendering to Gallia raised the confusion to the maximum. They stopped worrying about the rumors of the boy who stopped Albion's army, thinking it to be a madman's story. After all, besides Zero, there were many people missing or killed.
As a result, after returning to the Academy of Magic Louise became severely depressed and hadn't talked to anyone except for Roll. She had even attacked Axl on one occasion... As if her mind was somewhere else, she shut herself in her dormitory room and did not leave.
Zero's fate was also part of the rumors in the Academy. Anyhow, right now Zero was famous in the academy for two things: for being a "legendary familiar" and for being the one that "should be credited for everything".
Montmorency, who also heard these rumors, was worrying about Louise who had shut herself in and had not left her room. "At the very least I want to comfort her. I'll pay her a sympathy visit for now."
"Now you're talking. Montmorency, you are very kind."Guiche gushed,"I knew there was a reason I swore an oath to you."
"I am not really kind. You know, until now, though we are in a war… Even though it was a war, I never really fought in a war... This is the least I can do..."
"My dear Montmorency, do not speak so. While I was in battle I'll admit..."Guiche trailed off,"I was afraid. I was so afraid that there were times I couldn't hold my wand I was trembling so badly..."
"What?" Montmorency asked, gasping at this sudden honesty.
"But I realized that I had something worth coming back to. Someone really..." He looked into her eyes. "Someone worth fighting for..."
Montmorency shook her head as her face tinged pink."I am like 'water' in so many different ways. I will fight my way ... I only wish I were stronger." Through the window, Montmorency looked up at the sky and muttered. "I can't allow this sadness to exist. I cannot cure it if I feel sorry for myself."
***Break***
And so the war between the Holy Republic of Albion and the Tristain-Germania alliance ended with the ringing bells of the Advent Festival.
Due to Zero's sacrifice, all the Allied Forces withdrew safely, while Gallia's fleet left the alliance and entered the war, blowing up the command base in Rosais with Cromwell, and causing Albion's army that was stationed there to surrender.
With overwhelming difference in numbers and with the Emperor being blown up, Albion's army had lost their will to fight. Moreover, the Allied Forces' revolters returned to themselves, as if waking up from a long dream, and went against Albion's army again. Because of all this confusion, Albion's army surrendered without a fight.
Gallia's army settled in Rosais, stopping a war for now to clean up the mess…
Thus a war which lasted for eight months was ended by an active intervention by the kingdom of Gallia. Two weeks had passed since the Holy Republic of Albion's fall…The Allied Forces were officially disbanded and the temporary officers from the Academy of Magic students returned to the school one after another.
Those who had military achievements and those who didn't returned with pride. They fought in fierce battles, and accomplished their duty even if there were no fabulous military results. Because Academy of Magic's students, with a few exceptions, were used as the army's back-up, there were almost no casualties and no military achievements either. Due to that, those students that were militarily successful were head-and-shoulders above the rest and their popularity skyrocketed.
***Break***
That Evening…
Driven from Louise's room, Guiche, feeling a little down, strode down the hall. Not many people walked here, in Vestri Courtyard. When you thought about i thought… It was here where Zero and I met and dueled, he thought. At that time, Zero stood up to me. He may not have known it, but he helped me see what was truly important that day... The next thing that caught his eye was the remains of a camp fire... It had been when he was driven out by Louise, he set up out here for a while. Guiche also recalled how he and Zero drank all night. He still couldn't believe that the man could drink so much without any effect. That's the Zero burned into his memory… Somehow, his eyes turned moist. Guiche felt sad. Montmorency was wrong... She really didn't understand at all...Because he was sad he made so much noise back in the classroom. Zero. Except Louise, no one believed… that he fought against Albion's army and stopped it. But for a man who had stood up to an army. A man who never betrayed his ideals... A man who had taught him everything...This may be not so impossible after all. Guiche scrubbed below his eyes. "Though you were just a commoner, you were one I would gladly call my friend." Wiping off his tears, he noticed someone moving in the shadows.
He saw a motion out of the corner of his eye. "Beldandy!" It was his familiar!"Where were you…?" Guiche knelt down and began to pat his beloved familiar."After all, you also miss him?" The huge mole rubbed his nose against Guiche. Somehow, his round eyes looked sad."I see, so you were sad…." Guiche held Beldandy in his embrace for a while… then he slowly stood up.
"Zero, I think you are a hero. Therefore there is something I have to do. Beldandy! Make a big pile of soil!"
The giant mole nodded and began to grub up earth with severe power. In front of Guiche a mountain of soil rose.
"I am an earth element user. Therefore I'll show my respect with this soil. I'll make a huge statue, so that you'll be remembered for the hero you are." Guiche cast a spell upon the pile of soil and turned the soil turned into clay. Moving his hands carefully, thinking before each movement, Guiche started making the statue. "Zero was a great guy. So he deserves a great statue, at least five meters tall. Because you could not use magic… I will make this statue with my bare hands as well. That's my respect to you Zero. Not as a noble... But as Guiche. Be happy, at least some of us listened to you!"
***Break***
Though Guiche and Montmorency grieved at heart… The one who mourned the most was Louise.
In her room, Louise was sitting on the bed, hugging her knees. Dressed in usual school attire, she wore a strange looking hat on her head.
It was the sweater she gave as a gift to Zero. It looked similar to a rather avant-garde art piece. Even though no matter how hard she pushed, she couldn't get her head through the collar, she still felt more comfortable when wearing it.
Next to Louise was Derflinger, Zero's only true possession...Louise stared at the sword. She remembered how, on the first day when Zero came, he showed her his saber...It was just like him, elegant, deadly, and full of light... When thinking so, the back of her eyelids became hot again. One by one, different thoughts, scenes, actions… were revived in her heart. Louise looked down at the pendant on her neck. Held back tears started rolling down her cheeks. Zero… he always defended me. Like this pendant hanging on my neck, he was always near, he became my shield. When I was almost crushed by Fouquet's golem. When I was almost killed by Wardes. When I faced a huge battleship. When Henrietta, who was deceived by the enemy and forgot herself, cast the Tornado of Water. And… when I was ordered to hold back the enemy back till death… Zero, with his sword unsheathed, stood in front of me. Legendary Gandálfr, just as his name suggests, became my shield. But did I treat Zero kindly? No, I was always a stubborn, selfish, hard-to-please idiot. "Idiot." Tears were burning in her eyes. "I was just caring about myself. Such an ungrateful, selfish, not cute me should have been left and you should have lived..."Louise did not try to wipe away the falling tears, and quietly whispered to herself.
"Because I believe in you..." a voice seemed to drift out of her memories.
"Even though you said that dying for honor was nonsense… you did not come home with me." Her blaming words against Zero were now returning back at her. Her own words became a spear that scooped the wound in Louise's heart deeper. "Though you said you would always protect me, you left me all alone." Louise muttered staring at the silent sword. "Without you, I cannot even fall asleep." Hugging her knees, Louise continued to sob.
***Break***
In the capital of Tristain, in the work room of Tristainia's Royal Palace, Henrietta sat on a chair with a discouraged look on her face.
Part of the army revolted in Albion; the deaths of General De Poitiers and Marquis Handenburg, commander of the Germanian army; a complete rout of the army… and a withdrawal request.
When the report came from the Chief of the General Staff Wimpffen, every one in the royal palace, including Henrietta and Mazarin, were confused. Was that a fake report by an enemy? They doubted its validity.
To withdraw or continue to fight? It was Cardinal Mazarin who brought the conference together.
"This is the Royal Palace and not a battlefield," his words silenced the ministers that did not want to withdraw. However… The withdrawal became insignificant in the end. The Gallian fleet that appeared suddenly and forced the Albion army to surrender. After that, not long ago, Gallia sent a special envoy to Tristain, who informed them that they were requested to attend a conference held to decide Albion's future... Though Tristain's Royal Palace was pleased with Gallia's attitude, there were no peace treaties with Gallia. Henrietta took in her hands the letter that had been sent by Gallia's ambassador.
"Halkeginia's disturbing turn towards Republicanism has been stopped; Gallia's Royal government feels that all Halkeginia nations should build up closer relationship with each other from now on…" And the preamble continued.
However, though words caught her eyes they lost their meaning in her head. Henrietta's heart felt like a cave. A deep, cold, dark hole, in which one could fall. Even if you look into it, you still could not see the end - a hollow hole. Cromwell, whom she hated so much, died. Albion's noble faction had been destroyed , so why now was there no satisfaction? "Why?"She said to no one in particular.
"Death is simple. Killing is simple. Living after the fact is the hard part," Zero's voice said.
Henrietta's eyes teared up as she remembered her conversation with her chosen Knight. Even then, he was right..."The noble faction that killed my beloved Wales is no more. The men who had cheated me are dead… And?" Did anything change? Nothing changed at all. Henrietta buried her face in her hands. She could not do anything about the overflow of feelings that drowned her like a floodwater.
Though someone knocked against the door… Henrietta was not able to answer. The door opened and when Cardinal Mazarin entered, Henrietta remained sitting under the desk with her face buried.
"Are you tired?" Mazarin muttered.
As if seeing him for the first time, Henrietta looked up slowly and nodded."Yes. But it's all right."
"Shouldn't you be happy? First of all, the war ended. Even though the whole army is broken, even though we only won thanks to unexpected help - a victory is still a victory. No matter how many times we thank Gallia, it would still not be enough."
"Is that so?" Henrietta said, staring into space.
Mazarin, worried about Henrietta, continued speaking. "However, we cannot be careless, Your Majesty. We still should be ready for war, despite Gallia's sudden intervention. Their motives are still unclear."
"Is that so?" Henrietta answered lifelessly.
Mazarin placed a bunch of papers next to Henrietta's elbows.
"…Documents?"She asked quietly.
"Yes. By all means, these are documents that Her Majesty should have a look at."
"Can it wait? Right now…"
"No, now. You can't afford not to look through them."
"I leave everything to your discretion. Cardinal, you know better. I won't have to worry…"
"Look through them."His voice was hard for the first time in weeks.
Henrietta shook her head. "I am sorry. Honestly, I am tired."
"Look through them!" Mazarin repeated his words in a stronger tone.
Not used to such determination from a thin middle-aged man, Henrietta took one in her hands. From top to bottom names were written do these names mean?"…this?"
Mazarin said in a stony voice."It is the list of names of those that died in action during the war."
Henrietta became speechless.
"Nobles, commoners, officers, soldiers…regardless of rank, all names are listed."
"Oh…" Henrietta said, covering her face.
"You Majesty, do you know why they died?"
Henrietta shook her head."…I don't know."
"You don't know? No, you do know. They died in the name of Your Majesty and the homeland."
Henrietta hung her head in shame.
Mazarin spoke in an icy tone as he tapped the documents in question,"To some of our ministers, this was just a 'war diplomacy', officers and soldiers just the number figures of loss and gain. It may not be a mistake altogether, but these figures had families, lives and loved ones. But they all believed in something." Mazarin jabbed his finger into the paper."The Crown is the one who decides to start a war. You can send officers and their men to death, but you cannot forget them. This list of names you have to honor. This list of names you have to protect."
Henrietta began to weep. Crying like a child, she buried her face into Mazarin's legs. "How many times will I burn in the flames of hell? Tell me. This sinful repenting queen is at your feet, spokesman of God, Cardinal. Oh, I am honest. During this war my heart was only driven by revenge. I was obsessed with it and did not care even if had to sell my soul to the devil to get revenge. However, even if you sell your soul... there's nothing after. Not even regret. Just a hollow. A deep, endless hollow."
The cardinal couldn't speak. Had he pushed her too far?
"I… I did not notice how foolish I was. I have lost myself in love, and brought mages to their deaths, even unleashed a frightening spell at a friend. I did not notice. Even while starting a doubtful war, I did not notice. Though I used dear friends as a means for my revenge, I did not notice. And only when that revenge ended… I noticed. I noticed that nothing had changed at all." Henrietta muttered. "Please tell me. What… should I do? If you cut my throat would my crime disappear?"
Mazarin pushed Henrietta away. She looked up like a frightened child. "I am not the one to judge, Your Majesty. You are not the one to judge as well, Your Majesty. That's only God's, in the name of the Founder, majestic prerogative. The burden may be hard, may be heavy, but do not try to throw it off. No matter how long the sleepless night continues, do not forget it. Because they died for Your Majesty and for the homeland. It may be just a royal ornament, but they died for this ornament. Death and crime will never disappear. The sadness will not heal. It will quietly sit behind and watch Your Majesty."
Henrietta's heart turned stone cold, denying any interference as she read through the list of names… and muttered."I never was… to be ruler."
"There are no unexpected kings." Then Mazarin bowed deeply and left the room.
Bereaved, Henrietta was quiet for a while. She was motionless. Messengers of the night, two moons started to shine and illuminated the room… with much effort, Henrietta looked up.
Through Henrietta's window… the two moons watched.
Tears dried on her cheeks. "Well… nothing left. Not even tears come." After that, Henrietta called the page and asked to bring the Minister of Finance. Once the Minister of Finance ran over, Henrietta blandly reported.
"This bedroom… No, the Royal Palace of the Royal family, sell everything here for money."
"What? You can't be serious your majesty!" Objected the minster.
"Everything. All right? Leave only a small amount of clothes. All furniture, the bed, the desk and the dressing table too…"
Puzzled, the Minister of Finance said, "Bed? B-But where will Your Majesty sleep?"
"Bring a pile of hay. It will do."
The Minister of Finance became speechless. A queen sleeping on the floor was unheard of.
"Please give the money that you receive from selling those things to the families of war victims. Nobles, commoners – it does not matter. Distribute it equally."
"B-But…"
"The treasury is in a difficult state? I know."Henrietta said as she removed all of her jewels.
The Minister of Finance eyes were wide open in shock as he was handed the jewels one by one. Upon reaching her wedding finger, Henrietta noticed the Ruby of Wind, Wales's keepsake. She closed her eyes for a moment and then removed and handed it to the finances minister. "Sell this one as well."
"Really?" he asked incredulously. He knew just what that ruby was...
"Yes. This one as well…" She pointed at the Founder's portrait, to which she prayed to during the war. For hundreds, thousands of years, this portrait watched over the royal families.
"But, however…"
"Now, what the homeland needs is not prayers to God but gold. You disagree?"
The Minister of Finance violently shook his head.
But before the man left, Henrietta called him to stop. "I am sorry. Please come back for a moment."
"Thank goodness! You snapped out of this!" The nervous man sighed in relief.
Henrietta reached for something from the Minister of Finance's treasury tray.
It was a crown. In their haste, neither of them had noticed it being placed upon the tray.
"Without it, no one would ever admit someone as foolish as I could be the Queen." Henrietta said, self mockingly.
After the Minister of Finance left, grateful that he was not needed anymore, Henrietta began to look through the list of names. Of course, she could not remember them all.
But she wanted to engrave them firmly in her mind. Their lives and ideals hid behind these names. She thought about begging for forgiveness, but stopped.
By the time she had finished reading through the list, dawn had begun to break.
Henrietta took the last piece in her hand. And held her breath once she saw the name at the very end. An unusual name, that she had heard before, was written there. Tears ran down her face as she realized the true horror of her sins...She supposed, that after all tears could come... She spoke that unusual name one more time..."Knight-Captain Zero Wily."
"Don't worry about him." A voice came from behind her.
Looking up with shock she turned suddenly and looked at a young man with spiky auburn hair and a cross scar on his forehead. "Who are you? How did you get here?" She reached for her wand as she asked this.
"Don't worry." The young man smiled at her comfortingly. "I'm simply doing a duty by my friend. My name is Axl. I've worked with Zero and X extensively, for a very, very long time."
Henrietta looked at him, her eyes wide. "So you have come to seek revenge upon me for sending your friend to his death then? It is what one as wretched as I deserves... I will not fight you."
"Death? Jeez, do none of you know him? You think a little thing like an oversized army is gonna kill him? Yeah right. And doing my duty by my friend meaning kill a young girl who's been pushed into a position of power way before she's ready? Now I'm not sure if you're stupid or just out of your mind with grief. Anyhow, I was watching that whole exchange with your treasury minster a while back. Get that ring back. Make sure you give it to Louise... She'll need it. She is a void user after all."
"What, who exactly are you. How do you know about Louise?" Henrietta demanded pointing her wand at the young man again.
"Zero knew. I fought alongside him for over a century. You honestly think that we'd keep important information from each other?" Axl asked in a deadpan.
"You... You're a reploid then..." She asked dumbfounded. "Do you really think that Zero is alive?"
"I've seen him with his legs torn off and only one arm, half his torso missing and... And he still managed to win that fight. Zero's like the damned black knight! Everything's a fucking flesh wound. He'll gnaw your kneecaps off if it comes down to it." Axl said, laughing.
"How can you laugh?" Henrietta demanded.
"Because I know the truth. He's still alive. And just like every time he's going to show up and save the day and get the freaking tsundere catgirl." Axl finished sourly making a face.
"The what?" Henrietta's head tilted trying to understand half of what he was saying.
"Bah, you wouldn't get them. Cultural references from home...Beat yourself up over those names but... Don't count Zero out. Trust me on this. Even if its the end of the world, Zero will still survive... Unfortunately for him." Axl said, then moved to the window and quietly jumped out.
Henrietta ran to the window but when she looked out she saw no trace of the young man who had been in her room...Wait, if he had heard the conversation with the trade minister... Just how long had he been there?
***Author's notes***
Aww... Zero would be so proud of Guiche. If ya know. He could remember him. Then would come the mandatory common sense enhancing duels with Zero where he treats every noble like Guiche and brings about world peace, and true common sense.
I will say that it is unlikely that Tiffania used the ring on Fouquet. She would have had to be out of Albion, outside of the village. This is unlikely at best.