To Adam Hazard: Glad you like him. Though, I hope you still like him after this chapter...
"So this is miss Valliere's mansion…" Siesta says in astonishment as the carriages go through the main gate of the Valliere's territory. "Mister Wisdom, have you been to a mansion like this before?"
"…Some. Not my taste." The familiar replies, as he takes a look out behind, through the glasses, and sees his mistress and her sister, Eleonore, sitting properly in their place. However, he sees a small tint of pink on both Louise's cheeks before of how her sister 'abuses' her. He decides not to say anything, since it's not life-threatening at all, just one of the ways people prefer to 'talk' with the others.
It's been a week of training with the Musketeer Force. It was just a normal, early morning, as he and his mistress woke up and dressed up to do some morning exercises before heading for breakfast. However, when Louise opened the door, her sister just happened to arrive just in time and started forcing his mistress to pack up and leave. Of course, he was planning to intervene, but Louise quickly told him to not to through Telepathy, so he just quietly helped her gathering things into a bag. Then, during the way to the carriage, Eleonore pulled Siesta with her without any permissions from the Headmaster. Wisdom immediately sent a Telepathy call to Old Osmond, though he told him to not be worried and let him deal with the problem.
Upon arrival, he walks out and quickly heads to his mistress' carriage and opens the door so that both ladies can walk out. He receives a nod of thanks from Louise, and a small glance of acknowledgement from the older sister, and he doesn't mind as he returns and starts unpacking things with Siesta. The duo then start following the Valliere daughters into the mansion.
Entering the main hall, Wisdom sees two lines of servants waiting for their arrivals, and they immediately greet the ladies of Valliere upon their appearances. Awaiting them before the stairs is a woman who looks like a gentle, adult version of her mistress. Speaking of it, Louise greets the woman, Cattleya, with a happier tone than when she met Eleonore, and she rushes out and gives her second sister a tight hug. Further conversation is out of his ears as Wisdom focuses his attentions on the servants and analyzes in his mind if any of them could be a threat to the sisters. Of course, the glares cause the servants of the mansion to flinch, though it lasts only for a few seconds.
After putting the packages to the sisters' rooms, he then heads to the dining room, where the girls and madam Valliere are already sitting in the table as the servants are serving them dinner (the travel took two whole days). Wisdom uses that moment to walk next to a servant who stands at the wall behind Louise and stands in his 'standby' position. When the servants have done serving, they retreat and leave the ladies there. Then, the only sound in the whole room is the sound of knives and forks emitting during the dinner time.
Nearly the end of the dinner, Louise speaks up: "Um, mother, about…"
"Mother! Tell Louise for me!" Eleonore interrupts. "She should stay home from now on! I bet she's an outcast at school, too."
"I'm no longer the same girl I used to be!" Slamming her knuckles on the table, Louise yells back. "I have been helping Princess Henrietta as we speak!"
"With what? Your zero talent?"
"I…"
'My mistress, you have to stop right there.'
'Why? Obviously she didn't know about my…'
'How is that possible? Madam Valliere knew, then why didn't your sisters? Something doesn't add up here.'
'…Are you…'
"Mother! You should get her a groom already! The second-born son of the Albert family would be ideal."
That comment from Eleonore snaps Louise out of the Telepathy and she shouts back at her: "Why does it have to turn out that way? Why don't YOU get married first? Your engagement with Count Burgundy…"
That's a seriously bad move from me.
After I said that, Big Sis Eleonore was very angry as she shouted about how it got dissolved. Even the servants around had the 'It happened again' faces, so it might have been brought up more than one time.
Thankfully, Mother stopped us and ordered us to finish our meal. She then said about continuing the conversation in the next day. We silently followed the order and sat back down.
Though, MAYBE she knew, so before we continued the meal, she said 'Don't stumble during a talk'. Guess I need to learn more to control normal conversation and Telepathy at the same time.
But, Wisdom's suspicion did bring up something weird. Why didn't she talk to my sisters about her first meeting with Wisdom? Shouldn't this be prevented if they knew that I am far better than before?
Nighttime
"I know you are there." Karin Valliere says, as she stands in an empty hall. "Come out."
As ordered, Wisdom emits himself out of her shadow and stands behind her. His right hand is grabbing on Derflinger's handle. "Is there any particular reasons that both of your daughters didn't know?"
"I decided to not tell them." Turning herself back to him, the woman stares directly at his eyes. "Like your reasons of not directly speaking in that time."
"…That aside, you could tell them that my mistress is doing better."
"Do you remember my challenge to you?"
"…When the cat is out of the bag." Now he understands. He retracts his hand back and puts both his arms behind his back. "My apology for suspecting you being an imposter in the dinner."
"I could tell. Though you need to teach her more about faking a conversation in mind." Turning her face around and looking up to the moons, she replies.
"Nothing is perfect." Standing in the same position, Wisdom then changes the subject: "However… that reason is not enough. I know you are a busy woman, but you can make an excuse to fight in the Palace, not in your territory since it is a better excuse of a 'coincidence' than this."
"…No wonder my daughter named you Wisdom." The woman nods. "Yes, I do want to ask you something. However, I would like to give it a test to see if you can find that out."
"…You want to see if I'm fit to continue protecting my mistress." That conclusion from Wisdom earns him another nod. "You won't be disappointed. Goodnight, madam Valliere."
"I won't hold back." Almost walking out of the hearing field, he then hears the woman's last warning.
"I won't hope otherwise."
…
"So, are you going to use me tomorrow?" Derf asks as Wisdom returns to his room and leans him on a wall.
"…Maybe not. If this is serious, then I need to use my own weapons so I might not break you in accident."
"Heh, I will be fine. I'm just a sword anyway."
"You have a feeling, so it's not fine."
"Like you?"
"…Yes, like me, like my mistress, like any other sentient beings." He then thinks of something. "…Is it possible for me to change your appearance… completely?"
"You are asking an old sword, partner." Derf crackles. "Do you seriously think that my current form looks exactly the same as my prime from?"
"…Do you mind if I…"
"Of course not. Just warn me if you plan to melt me."
"…It doesn't need to come that way." Derf then feels the element that fixes his handle before starting to spread in a thin layer over his own structure. "Like I have said, this element self-regenerates, and it also means that it can fix whatever damage you got from before… and it can change your look on my demand."
"Well… if you think it's the best. Give me an awesome design if you can."
"…You ask for it." The familiar then calls out his futon and tucks himself in. "Goodnight, Derflinger."
"Goodnight, partner."
…
The next morning
Due to the fact that he's Louise's familiar, Wisdom's not required to help the work in the mansion. Though, he's not one to sit still in one place for too long if it's not for meditation. After his usual exercises, he then asks the servants where he could find madam Valliere. After hearing the direction, he thanks them and heads to the balcony…
During the walk, Louise suddenly runs pass him without him managing to give her a proper 'Good morning' greeting. Thinking that she's just in the middle of something, he decides to not call her back and instead heads to the destination he's aiming to.
However, before entering the balcony, he was expecting her to casually enjoy her breakfast. Instead, he finds her rubbing her nose bridge in annoyance, with the eldest sister mumbling something while drinking her teacup, and the second sister wearing a worried expression.
"…It appears that I arrived in a bad time."
Upon hearing the voice of the familiar, Karin looks up. "…I commend you for your enthusiasm. However, we just got through some… unpleasant conversation…"
"How could she lower herself like that?" Eleonore's words become louder. "To think that she would look for a person with that status…"
"…I see." Calmly walking to the table, he picks up the teapot and fills the ladies' teacup up. "I believe it's something to do with my mistress."
"Who else could it be?" The eldest sister grunts. "Familiar, did she go out with someone in the Academy?"
"…I humbly ask you to specify it." He doesn't like both the tone of the girl and the detail of the conversation. "By 'go out' you mean having night parties with her friends, then there were a few occasions…"
"Is she dating any commoners?" Eleonore decides to be blunt immediately.
"…No. I believe no servants there would dare asking her for something trivial, much less of asking for a date."
Taking a sip of tea to calm herself down, Karin continues the question: "What about in the capital? Not just commoners, but anyone."
"My 'reputation' is not something to be taken lightly of, madam Valliere."
"Reputation?" Cattleya asks in confusion.
Not answering that question, Karin asks Wisdom: "Have you ever heard her talking about love?"
"Not after we found out Wardes is a traitor."
"…What happens if you find out that she has found another one to love?"
At this point, Wisdom knows that the woman is testing his reaction. Though, he doesn't understand why she keeps continuing this conversation. Of course, to not be impolite, he answers: "Not my concern. Married or not, I will stay on her side until our contract is over."
"Even until either of you die."
"Until either of us die." Wisdom confirms.
"Mister Familiar…" He turns to Cattleya who's having a small smile. "As Louise's older sister, I thank you for your service in protecting her."
"It's nothing, lady Cattleya. She called me to protect her, I'm just fulfilling my duty…"
"Partner, are you that dense?"
That causes the ladies of Valliere to look around to find the source of the voice. Wisdom quickly confirms them by pointing towards the sword with his free hand and explains: "That's Derflinger, a talking sword." He then says to the sword: "First, don't scare people like that. Second, I don't believe she would find a second love that soon after the whole incident with the traitor. Third, the forge is ready anytime."
That last sentence is clearly a death threat to the sword, but Derf doesn't care, because what he said is truth and not just a tease. "Partner, you can't avoid that forever. You know it is happening."
"…It's not about avoiding…"
"Do I seriously need to list out? You obliterated everything to protect your little miss' reputation, including hiding your relationship with her to avoid causing her troubles in that Count's problem." That causes the ladies to stop drinking and listen to Derf's rant. "You even accepted Death if things went wrong so she's not involved. You did your best in that Exhibition even when that performance was not your strong point. Oh yeah, almost forgot: SHE IS THE FIRST ONE TO SEE YOU SMILE! Wasn't that the most OBVIOUS flag that you…"
"Enough, Derf."
"Hey, I'm not finished…"
"I know what love is, Derflinger." That totally shuts the sword up. Wisdom then places the teapot down on the table and pulls the sword out of the scabbard. He grabs the tip of the blade with two fingers and looks at his reflection on the blade. "I know she might have some feelings to me after the kindness I showed her…"
"Oh Brimir!" Eleonore exclaims. "Little Louise is having a familiar in her mind!"
"WHAT!?" Wisdom doesn't need to turn to see who it is, because the next sentence is pretty much self-explained. "My youngest daughter wants to marry a commoner!? I'm not accepting that!"
"…Doesn't mean that I have the same feelings as hers. Besides, even if she does tell me her feelings, I will have to finish my own battle first before answering them."
"Like I would let that happen! Find Louise and lock her in her room!" The Duke of Valliere orders his servants, who quickly comply and run away. He then points his wand towards Wisdom's back and says: "You are lucky that you are my daughter's familiar. I will give you one chance to walk away and forget about…"
"You believe you can defeat the infamous 'Mage Killer'. Laughable." The revelation from the familiar shocks everyone but Karin. He then sheathes Derf back and looks at the Duchess and says: "My apology, but our duel must be postponed until my mistress feels better."
"…Don't make me regret letting you go." To the others' surprise and the Duke's horror, the Duchess nods. "However…"
"She's near the lake in the courtyard." Wisdom answers even before the question is out. "She told me parts of her past when we were on the mission to Albion."
"…Then she trusts you more than I thought. Go."
"Wife! Why did you…" Centurion says in a little panic, but he immediately points his wand back to Wisdom who calmly walks to the edge of the balcony with his front facing the gate of the mansion. "Stop right there! You have nowhere to run!"
"This is our first meeting, so your mistake is understandable." That's all Wisdom says before he jumps out of the balcony, then starts summoning glyphs that support him in jumping in the air, and he heads out to find his mistress.
The Duke and the daughters watch in surprise at the familiar's feat, then turns to the Duchess who calmly takes another sip before saying: "Like he said to me before: Assumption without solid evidences is always false."
…
Landing on the grass ground, Wisdom walks to the only small boat in the pond. Looking into it, he sees a white blanket which covers something under it. Knowing who it is, he calmly walks into the boat and sits in it, not shaking the boat too much. He then asks: "My mistress, the others are looking for you, and your father wanted you to be locked in your own room. What do you want to do now?"
At first, there is no reactions from the girl. He waits patiently for her next order…
Then, the blanket is flipped aside by the girl herself, as she sits up and looks at Wisdom with a teary face. Her body then starts shivering as she talks: "My family… my mother… she said nothing to them… they knew nothing of Void… they still thought I'm still the same girl as before… then… they talked about finding me a new groom… and… and…" She can't finish what she wants to say next, because it's directly related to Wisdom.
"…I see." Combining his conversation with madam Valliere and his mistress' confession, Wisdom has a clear picture of what's going on with this family. Though, one thing doesn't add up, but that's a different matter. He then grabs the paddles and starts moving the boat away from the land. "I can keep us away from the others for a while. You can speak what you want out from your heart."
Though, the next few minutes is filled with silence, except for the rowing sounds. The girl can only watch her familiar constantly watch where he is rowing to and make sure that they won't be caught. She is both hurtful and embarrassed about her conversation with her family… she seriously wants to dig a hole to hide herself in, but since she's not an Earth mage…
"Hey little miss. Do you love my partner here?" Deciding to break up the tension, Derf speaks up.
That causes the girl's face to burn up, and she shouts: "What are you talking about, you stupid sword!?"
"Please, it's obvious at this point. Your family pretty much confirmed it earlier on."
The red gets even darker, and her body is shaking in place. She can't say it, not in front of him! "They got it all wrong! I did… did…" She wants to say 'not', but it's obviously not what she truly feels.
"Remind me to ask Professor Colbert to burn you when we return, Derflinger."
"Hey hey! I am NOT teasing her! I'm just stating facts!"
Ignoring the sword's angry rant, Wisdom pulls back the paddles and puts them into the boat, then uses his magic to stable the boat in one place of the lake. He fixes his position and starts speaking to Louise: "My mistress, it's because of me that your mother didn't tell anything to your family's other members. She wanted to challenged me again in order to find out if I am fit to protect you or not."
"But… even if she wanted to… she could just at least…"
"I know, my mistress. I did ask the same thing to madam Valliere last night, and she held everything back until the challenge is over. Also… you know how sensitive our information about your power is."
The girl nods, sadly but understandably, and she starts wiping the tears out of her face. "…Thank you for asking her… my parents are not some normal Nobles that could be talked back so easily…"
"Well, partner was threatened to be killed by your father, little miss."
"It was for your safety, my mistress. I have seen abusive family before, and I know yours are not, my mistress. Your parents and eldest sister might act harsh, but they all want the best for you."
"I know… Big Sis Cattleya said the same to me last night…" Louise timidly nods. "She talked with me to compensate for the lost time… then… she mentioned you…"
"…"
"Girls talk, partner." That earns Derf a glare. "Just saying."
Fiddling with her fingers in embarrassment, Louise then asks: "Wisdom… I know that I have just summoned you for a short time… what do you… think of me?"
"…I believe I have already told you enough. My opinion hasn't changed. However, I can say I can understand more about how and why you acted the way you were in the first few days you summoned me."
"Then… if I said it now, that I…" She stops there and shyly looks at his eyes to see if he understands. And he nods. "Then… do you believe it?"
"…You are not the first one." Wisdom confesses. "And no, I didn't mean miss Zerbst. My previous master's friends are mostly female, and they always teased me about getting a girlfriend. Of course, given how I serve you till now, you know it's not going to happen."
"…Yes, I can see that."
"…My apology. I should be comforting you now, and yet…" Shaking his head to clear his thoughts, Wisdom then gives Louise advices. "My mistress, about your current feeling to me and to everyone else… I want you to keep it like a treasure. Make sure you only give it out when you believe it's time. With the current situation, your mind is conflicted of thoughts and outside's opinions. Without a clear mind, you won't be able to make right decisions."
Another moment of silence occurs…
"That's not how to comfort people, Wisdom." Louise says, but this time her lip curls up into a small smile. "But I guess it is, coming from you." Wiping the last tear out of her face, she says with a happy tone: "Thank you very much, Wisdom."
"I'm just doing my work." Seeing that his mistress' mood returns to normal, Wisdom grabs the paddles and moves the boat back to the solid ground.
"…About a reward." The familiar is currently looking at his back so he doesn't notice Louise slowly lean towards him…
"Like I said before, my mistress, you don't need to…"
However, a wet feeling on his right cheek stops him from talking. He quickly turns back to see Louise backing away while hiding her lip under her hand with her face turning away from embarrassment. "I know you didn't want the ritual to accidentally be finished… so that's at least I can do."
"Slick move, little miss!" Derflinger crackles, causing the redness on the girl's face to be darker. "So partner, what is your response?"
"…Thank you, my mistress." To no one's surprise, Wisdom replies back with his monotone while continuing guiding the boat.
"Spoilsport partner."
It seems that I'm losing this fight.
No, it wasn't even a fight to begin with. It's just myself denying the possibilities that he always foresees before anyone else.
My brothers-in-arm… They have chosen their paths quite easily. They accepted their jobs with no problems, accepted their inner thoughts and characteristics without a doubt.
But… I couldn't do the same.
I. COULD. NOT. ACCEPT. HIM.
I could NOT accept his STUPID IDEALS, his UNREALISITC FANTASY, his IMPOSSIBLE CHOICES, and his VERY SOUL.
I. COULD. NOT. ACCEPT. HIM.
I could NOT accept his SUCCESSION, his ACCOMPLISHMENT, his POWER, and his IMPOSSIBLE EXISTENCE.
I. WILL. NEVER. ACCEPT. HIM.
EVEN. IF. I. AM. ON. THE. WRONG. SIDE. OF. THIS. FIGHT.
I. WILL. REJECT. MY. OWN. EXISTENCE. IF. NECESSARY.