The last day in Albion. In a chapel
"You look marvelous, dear Louise." Wardes commends his 'soon-to-be' wife as he watches her walking into the ceremony wearing a white bride dress. "To be able to marry you is my greatest pleasure."
"T…Thank you sir Wardes…" The girl replies quietly. She feels happy that someone accepts to marry her.
However, she feels like something's wrong.
It's not because of the marriage itself.
It's not because she's not deserved to marry a person like Wardes.
But it's because of the unknown reason why he wanted to marry her at this moment.
Though, the Viscount was very eager to do so, and Louise didn't have any real reasons to deny him… other than her heart was not ready… yet.
"I believe it's time for us to begin." Wales, in his usual proper uniform, speaks.
"Shouldn't we wait for our guest?" Wardes asks, referring to one person that should be in the place.
"He said to me that his appearance might ruin the mood." The Prince chuckles. "I said it would not matter much, but he insisted."
…Was it a right choice?
Listening to the Prince starting the ceremony, I took a look back into my past.
I was a failure as a Valliere, as a Noble, as all of my spells always ended up in explosions. Nobody liked talking to me, no one tried to understand my struggles.
The first one to come to me from the people outside of my family was Princess Henrietta, and from that point I have been her best emotion supporter as she would share her happiness and sadness with me, and I share her my concern and sympathy.
Then Viscount Wardes came, though briefly, to ease my sadness that day… and it seemed that the engagement was guaranteed.
Now… the most unexpected person who managed to look directly through my failures, recognize and ease my past, and bring out my hope and help me recognizing my potentials. A person I never learnt of his name, a person with no identity in this world… the person who opened my eyes…
My 'familiar'. My personal 'servant'. Someone who could put any mages and Nobles in Halkeginia down with his power. In fact, he did send one to hell.
Despite him always show only a face of neutral expression, his actions and words carry weight heavier than any Nobles I have encountered. Despite him saying he is never a Noble or even a mage, his vision of how the world works is wiser than the eldest Noble. Despite him not using magic daily, he shows how magic could be used effectively without following the way we see how it works.
…Maybe because of that, I felt that I needed to make that decision…
"The bride, the third daughter of the de La Valliere family, Louise Francoise Le Blanc de La Valliere. Will you, in the name of the Founder Brimir, honor your beloved, accept him as your husband, this you vow?" Wales' oath brings her back to reality.
And her answer:
"I'm sorry. My apology, Prince Wales, Viscount Wardes." Putting down the bridal veil and holding it with both her hands, Louise closes her eyes to give out that answer, then opens them to look at Wardes' surprised face. "I did have my feelings, I really did. However, because of that, I know that the current me is not deserved to be your wife, yet. There are many things I need to learn before I could step down the way. Until I feel ready, I will find you again and then give you my final answer."
The Viscount's surprise grows even further with how determined the girl before him is to turn this down. He then turns to Wales, who closes the book in his hand and replies with a sad tone: "Viscount, I'm terribly sorry, but this ceremony will have to be withheld. We can't continue if the bride refuses to…"
"It…" Before any words to Wales could come out, Wardes holds it back, then turns to Louise and says: "You are just nervous, dear Louise. You cannot be seriously refuse my offer…"
"I'm sorry. Our current mission is more important. We need to…"
"The world, Louise!" The girl sees it herself, the kindness man from before changes into a feverish beast as he grabs his hands tightly on her shoulders, nearly crushing them. "I WILL rule the world! You are necessary for that!"
Slightly shaken from surprise and fear, Louise pampers: "I… I never want, or need of that…"
"You are necessary for me! Your ability! Your power!" The man frightens the girl even further…
"So THAT is why!" An unknown voice shouts up from behind a column, causing everyone else to turn to the direction of the voice. "Damn, can ANYTHING get past your eyes, partner?"
"…Derflinger?" The Void mage recognizes the voice and calls out the name. And if the sword is there… "…Wisdom?"
And true enough, the person walks out of the shadow and shows himself in front of everyone. The girl sees that he's still the same as she sees him last night, with an addition of some thin sword strapped on his left hip.
"I have been keeping eyes close on you since the very beginning of the journey, Viscount Wardes." The familiar starts his analysis. "While most people would ignore it based on how I serve my mistress, you are the first one to 'care' about my proposal of never finishing the summoning ritual and told Madam Valliere about it."
"…" Wardes says nothing, as he slowly reaches his right hand towards his weapon…
"Of course, my first assumption is just that you were worried about Louise's situation. And I have thought that way after you introduced yourself as her fiancé. However…" Taking one step forward, Wisdom continues: "After I listened to my mistress' story the night in Port City, my suspicion raised. Why did you disappear out of her life, not pay anytime till now to talk with her about her problems, and suddenly appear just to ask her to marry you? I know a lot of loving couples, and even more breaking ones, that I know that behavior CANNOT start from true feeling of love."
The grip on his weapon tightens, as Wardes glares at the familiar dangerously.
"The final nail to confirm my theory, is when I found out you were with Fouquet when she hired the mercenaries to ambush us three nights ago." Slowly pulling out the thin sword with his right hand and Derflinger out of his sheath with his left hand, Wisdom then points both them down to the sides and asks: "Do you have anything to counter that logic?"
Louise is slowly backing away from Viscount as she starts preparing the shield spell in her mind. Wales also reaches his hand towards his wand and prepares to pull it out…
"HAHAHAHA!" The mad Noble then covers his face with his left hand and laughs, sending slight shiver down Louise's spine. Then, he stops and grins evilly to the familiar. "Fouquet did warn me about you, but I didn't really expect you to actually see through my schemes." Dropping down his left hand, he then continues: "I guess one of my goals is now foiled."
"…One?" Louise asks back.
"First, it's to obtain possession of you, young Louise." He glares at the girl once before adding: "Second goal is to obtain the letter from Wales that Henrietta wrote to him. And third…"
Before anyone could blink, Wales starts chanting a spell and points his wand towards the traitor, but the Viscount is faster as he aims his weapon towards the Prince's heart…
…
'My apology for not telling you sooner, my mistress. I need to make sure that I didn't just make a wrong accusation.'
'…This… Viscount… is this the real him? I… All the times…'
'For all we know, he's using you now. What happened in your past didn't matter to the current problem.'
'…And I thought that he did actually care for me… I'm such a fool…'
'Fool or not, we need to stop him from killing Prince Wales… Permission to show it.'
'…Do whatever you need to. I will help.'
…
Before he could achieve his third goal, which is to kill the Prince, Wardes' attack is blocked by Louise's signature shield, causing him to flinch back in surprise. Wales nearly finishes his spell, and plans to use the moment of the Viscount's surprise to attack back. However, a black armor knight suddenly appears out of nowhere and punches Wardes' chest and sends him fly away a few feet.
"…Of course, no wonder I couldn't feel it." Louise immediately understands what 'it' means. "That armor is made out of your magic, Wisdom."
"Correct, my mistress." To Wales' further surprise, the armor starts opening itself, revealing an empty space inside of it. Wisdom takes Wardes' grunting of pain as a sight of safety to walk towards the armor and wear it on him in a second.
"…You can use magic?" Wales asks in disbelief. "I thought you are just a commoner?"
"Neither my mistress nor I ever confirmed that I can't use magic. That's your assumptions." Wisdom replies, before focusing on the recovering Wardes. "It's three against one. Give up."
"…Either Fouquet purposely hid it, or she truly didn't know about your capability of using magic." Drawing his wand-sword out, Wardes then points them towards the group. "You might be smart, but you are no match for my skills as a Griffin knight."
"How about we put that to the test?" The traitor immediately puts his sword in defense, just in time for Wisdom to teleport right in front of him and slam his swords down to Wardes', causing the floor to crack up due to the force.
Louise then notices something from above them with her subtle Aura Tracking, so she immediately casts another shield around her and Wales. And her intuition is correct as Wardes' Griffin slams down its claws on her shield, trying to break it with its strength. Wales, recovered from his shock over the new truth, fires his spell towards the ride, causing it to fly away while trying to find another way to attack them again.
Back to Wardes. He can't find any openings to counter Wisdom's crazy dual-wielding unending slashes. Even if he manages to chant anything and let it out, those attacks are quickly deflected away. And the worst part is: the familiar is NOT aiming at any of his vital points. It means that he's going to wear him out so he couldn't fight back when he can interrogate him after this, and has no intentions of letting him die easily. And if he's right, the armor the familiar is wearing somewhat boosts his speed and strength. So either he needs to end it fast, or…
Pushing Wisdom away with a Wind Blast, Wardes quickly whistles, calling his ride back to him. Not noticing what the whistle is for, the familiar thinks it was just some sorts of spells, so he just crosses his swords and plans to go in again before finding out that the Griffin is rushing towards him from behind. Thanks to the armor, even when he's pushed aside and fallen to the floor, Wisdom doesn't get hurt too badly from the slam of the Griffin.
Quickly standing up, the familiar sees the owner of the ride already on the Griffin's back, and they're already out of his normal reach. The traitor then tips his head and says: "Reconquista knows your existence, Familiar of the Void Mage. We will come find you and kill you for opposing our causes."
Wales fires out another Wind Spell towards the traitor, but the griffin quickly flies up carrying its owner out of the danger, then escapes through the broken window near the roof of the chapel.
"…" Sheathing the swords back, Wisdom lets the thin one disappear while keeping Derflinger on the back. The helmet then disappears, quickly followed by the entire armor as he walks towards the other two in the building. "My mistress, Prince Wales, are you hurt?"
"Slightly drained, but I'm okay." Louise replies. "That griffin hits hard."
"Thanks to both of you, I'm alive." Wales then says sadly. "Unfortunately, this is where we part ways. I need to return to…"
"Change of plans, Your Highness. We're bringing you back to Tristain."
That sudden exclamation from the familiar surprises both Nobles as Louise asks back: "Wait a second Wisdom! I thought you said we shouldn't intervene?"
"That's what my first plan. However, circumstances change."
"Other than the Viscount turned out to be a traitor…"
"Why did Wardes need you to die BEFORE the certain death in battle, Your Highness?" The familiar asks back. "While I could understand if the King is assassinated, why targeting ONLY you? Especially when Reconquista WILL eliminate any Loyalists they encounter. Also, his first goal is to take my mistress away. He knew her power and wanted it for either himself, or Reconquista, or both. And that's not a good sign at all."
"…You believe that there's a hidden scheme from them?" Taking a small moment to connect the dot, Wales asks the question.
"Well, he has confessed, hasn't he?" Louise shakes her head trying to get rid of the murderous face of Wardes.
"Not enough to justify his actions. 'World domination' might be indeed Reconquista's ideal…"
"It is, mister Wisdom."
"However, he said 'I' instead of 'We'. It means that he has his own plans aside from helping Reconquista."
"Whatever it is, it won't be good for this little miss' homeland." Derflinger speaks up.
"Then we have to warn Princess and Her Highness as soon as possible!" Louise exclaims out loud.
"My apology to ask, but how?" Prince Wales is doubtful at how they're going to escape the floating island. "The Eagle must have departed already, and your way out is, well…"
"…" Glancing towards Louise…
"It's time for the world to know what you are capable of anyway." Louise knows that look too well. "Just make sure that you don't taint that new reputation you are going to earn."
"…Understood. And thank you for your permission, my mistress."
…
Tristain's Palace. Throne room
"You are sighing way more often now." Queen Marianne says to her daughter as the young lady does the action again. "I know that you are worried, but don't let it affect your duty."
"I know." Henrietta replies, though her voice is filled with distress. "I should have just told someone else to do it…"
"And risking the chance of that person to be a traitor?" The Queen is not approved of the plan. "Having Viscount Wardes is already putting it to the stretch…"
"He is Louise's fiancé, mother. Both her parents have approved of him, and…"
A spell cycle suddenly appears in the middle of the room, causing everyone to be on high alarm as some of the guards start standing in front of the Queen and the Princess to protect them while the others point their weapons at the cycle. The Nobles and servants back away from the cycle although the formers draw out their wands and also point at the same direction as the guards…
A few seconds later, three figures appear, and the cycle disappears…
"…Are we already in Tristain?" One of them speaks up in surprise. "You have a very powerful familiar, miss Valliere."
"Thank you for your kind words, Prince Wales… Um…" The girl notices that the weapons are pointing at them, and manages to see that they are Tristain's guards. "Uh, we have returned from a mission Princess Henrietta has…"
"Wales?" Not believing her own eyes, the Princess calls out the name of the person standing right before her naked eyes.
Once finding out who just called for him, the Prince flashes out his happy smile and replies with open arms: "It's me, my dear cousin. You have sent me quite impressive emissaries."
"WALES!" Shouting his name again, Henrietta quickly runs down from her throne and towards the group, and the guards stand aside to clear a way for her. The cousins then give each other a tight hug, both being happy that they are now able to see each other again. "Wales… I'm so glad that you are here…"
"I am as well, dear Henrietta." The two then loosen their hug a bit so they can look at each other's face, and Wales quickly wipes the tears on Henrietta's face away. "Tears don't really fit you, dear."
"That goes to you too." The Princess replies back, seeing that the Prince of Albion's tears are also trying to pour out as well. The two then release each other and she turns her attention back to Louise and Wisdom, the latter is pinching his nose-bridge, and bows down to them while gratefully saying: "I can't thank you all enough for saving him…" However, she then notices that there is one person missing. "Where is Viscount Wardes? Is he…"
"…It appears that there are still more problems in Tristain, Your Highness." Louise kneels down and replies, fully implying about Viscount's status.
"…It can't be…" Henrietta's face pales, realizing the horrible danger she did on the group. "I pushed everyone into…"
"It's water under the bridge now, Your Highness." The familiar interrupts, not planning to dwell into the matter any further. "What matters now is that Tristain needs to prepare for the upcoming war. Reconquista is hiding some trump cards, and there's no doubts that they're going to target this nation very soon." He then remembers one thing: "Your Highness, about the marriage…"
"We have decided to stop it." Queen Marianne walks down and joins the conversation, as everyone relaxes. "Thanks to your warning, we did a double check on the possible consequences the event could cause. Of course, we're still trying to negotiate with them about the alliance. We owe you our thanks."
"You owe me nothing." Wisdom shakes his head. "Sooner or later you would find that out easily. Besides, I did stir up your nation's situation, so you can count this as my redemption."
"A little side note, who did you learn how to use magic from?" Wales asks curiously, though that makes other Nobles widen their eyes in surprise. "And your sword fighting can give Wardes a hard time to counter."
"That's something I can't explain quickly. 'Do or die', that's my first principle."
"I was surprised that my daughter told me the 'Mage Killer' can actually use magic." The Queen comments. "However, it's in the past now."
"…Of course." Wisdom suddenly says it, confusing everyone due to how out-of-context it is.
"What is it?" Louise asks in worry.
"…I just remember something, but it's best not saying it out loud." The familiar then bows to the Loyalists and says: "If there is nothing else urgent, then I would like to ask for my mistress and me to leave."
"Oh that won't do." Princess Henrietta smiles up. "It was me who gave you two the mission, and you accomplished with better results than we expected. Giving you two rewards is a must."
"We did the mission without caring about rewards, Your Highness! There's no need to concern yourself about such small trivia!" Louise quickly kneels down and replies, though maybe her best reward would be seeing her friend smile…
"…I share the same sentiment with my mistress." Wisdom adds. "Of course, if you truly feel we deserve it, then we would gladly take it. However…" He then turns to Wales: "Does the name Matilda ring any bells, Your Highness?"