Jilk-ed Lovers/ Et Tu, Bartfort?

The silence that filled the arena was truly awe-inspiring in its own right. Everyone was on the edge of their seats, not even complaining about the almost sure prospect of losing all their money from their bets against me. I wondered for a moment if my showmanship had been a little too over the top before deciding that it didn't matter if it was: Sure, it might've been a little excessive in the short-term, but certainly a little extra razzle-dazzle wouldn't hurt my future goals.

"...And why should I oblige such a request?" asked Jilk, clearly trying to figure out what I was playing at. "This is a dueling ground, not a debate hall."

"Because it's the only thing stopping me from utterly obliterating you and the Prince like I did your comrades," I replied simply. "That, and you may wish to take heed of what I have to say."

"...I will listen since the Prince has spoken favorably on your judgment and wisdom," conceded Jilk. "Any attempts at subterfuge will not be tolerated-"

"-Any attempts at subterfuge would be unnecessary, as I have previously noted," I interrupted, letting my frustration at the man for how he treated Clarice to build. "Why did you not talk to Clarice this entire semester, Jilk?"

"...I'm surprised that you're asking me why, Leon, considering what you're doing right now," replied Jilk. "Are you not playing the villain in this scenario in order to do the most good that you can?"

…I honestly had no words. For a good few minutes I simply seethed. The bastard knew exactly what he was doing. And he thought he was doing it to be the good guy. In my mind, I could see a pair of broken green eyes, dulled by sadness…

"...Are you fucking kidding me?!" I yelled. "Of all the moronic reasoning that you could have come up with, that's the reason you pick?!"

"But it's the truth-" protested Jilk.

"And it's no less stupid for being the truth!" I interrupted, well and truly incensed. "In fact, I say that makes it even worse! Did you even have a plan on how you were going to break the news to Clarice?!"

"I had a letter drafted-" began Jilk, but I could hear a touch of uncertainty in his voice.

"Don't you dare tell me that you were going to break a ten year engagement with a 'Dear Jane' letter!" I seethed.

"And how would you have suggested ending our engagement without breaking her heart, hmm?!" shouted Jilk. "What miraculous method could you have presented that wouldn't have hurt her?! Or am I to have remained at her side in a sham of a marriage while she breaks her heart every single day watching me pine away for Marie?! No, Bartfort, I may be a twisted man, but even I'm not that cruel! Making her hate me was the only way to allow her to let me go!"

"...And what would she suffer through as a result of your methods, Jilk?" I growled. "I don't deny that there was no way to avoid breaking her heart, and I will recognize that we as humans cannot control who we do and do not love, but there was a right way to do it and you chose the 'easy' way instead. …You want to know how she and I first met, Jilk?"

"...I'm sure Angelica made some sort of introduction-" began Jilk, clearly bewildered by my change in tone.

"Livia found her crying her eyes out over you in a bathroom stall, ready to drown her sorrows in whatever hedonistic delights she could once her tears were dry enough to leave that room," I interrupted. "She would have stained her honor, shamed her followers and family, and it would have all been your fault."

"...No, you must be mistaken-" denied Jilk.

"There's no mistake, Jilk," I replied bitterly. "I've seen the unfinished contract forms for demihuman servants. I helped her burn them when I convinced her to abandon that line of thought."

"But Clarice would never-" argued Jilk in spite of the doubt slipping into his tone.

"The Clarice you knew would never, but the girl who held those contracts was not the same Clarice, now was she?" I spat. "Oh wait, how could you have known that since you haven't said a single word to her this entire semester?!"

"Jilk…" murmured Julius in disbelief.

"...It wasn't supposed to be like this," sighed Jilk. "I would have been the villainous cad and she would have moved on-"

"And what would she have become, Jilk?" I shot back. "To hell with her reputation and family name, what would have become of her kindness and compassion? Her warm smile? Her joyful laugh that sounds like bells ringing? You're not wrong that I would understand playing the villain when necessary, but only when it does the greatest good with the least amount of harm. This is not a time where that would be true."

"...So then, Leon," asked Jilk quietly. "How would you have done it? How would you have told one of the kindest women that you've ever known that you are so broken and twisted inside that you couldn't return their feelings, even after having what was broken fixed by another?"

"Are those words true?" I countered. "If so, that's where I'd start. I'm not going to sugarcoat it, Jilk; you'd have broken her heart either way. But by facing it head-on, you'd have given her closure. She would be able to move on, rather than cling to the bitterness and sorrow of losing you without even an explanation why."

"...You are remarkably wise, Leon," replied Jilk. "I regret that we haven't spoken more before now… Still, I cannot allow you to fight Prince Julius while I remain standing."

"Then let's settle this how the ancient gunslingers of the Old World used to," I replied, holstering my Armor pistol at my side. "You have an Armor Pistol, yes?"

"...I do," replied Jilk, walking to the edge of the arena and swapping his massive manarifle for a manapistol and holstering it at his side the same way I holstered mine. "How do we proceed?"

"Julius will count down, and on his signal, we draw and fire," I explained. "If you hit me before I disable your armor, I'll surrender the duel."

"...You would simply walk away from this duel?" asked Jilk incredulously. "What about Angelica and Clarice?"

"Jilk, remember that I never fight unless I'm sure I can win," I laughed. "Besides, even if you do win, my goal will still be accomplished. Tell me, Jilk; are you the sort of man to still do nothing about Clarice after everything that I told you?"

"...Your point is well taken, but what about Angelica?" replied Jilk.

"Would you allow your best friend to make the same mistake that you made?" I countered. "Moreover, do you believe that Julius would want to make such a mistake after hearing my words?"

"...You truly have thought of everything," laughed Jilk. "Very well, then. Julius, if you would?"

"...Three…" counted Julius.

I narrowed my eyes as I stared down Jilk in his bright green Armor.

"Two…"

My hand twitched above my pistol as a bead of sweat traced down my cheek.

"One…"

I exhaled.

"Go!" shouted Julius.

I drew my pistol in a single fluid motion and fired three times. Jilk's pistol wasn't even halfway aimed when my first shot hit him in the shoulder, causing the arm to drop away. My second shot tore through the other arm just above the elbow moments later. My third and final shot punched a hole clean through the Armor's head, causing the frame to fall backward and collapse in a heap. Silence prevailed through the audience, until it was broken by a single set of hands. Jilk was laughing and applauding as he climbed out of the broken Armor unit.

"Well played, Leon!" called out Jilk. "Well played indeed!"

"You made a valiant effort, Jilk, and I salute you," I acknowledged with a nod before turning to Julius. "And now I have words for you as well."

"What possible sin could I have committed?" asked Julius in irritation. "I will grant that Jilk needed guidance, but what mistake have I made that could call for your intervention like this? Leon, I respect your judgment a great deal, but I have not blindsided Angelica with my love for Marie."

"No, to have blindsided her, she would have needed to believe that she had your affections in the first place," I shot back.

"It was an arranged marriage from our childhood," argued Julius. "It was an obligation, and nothing more!"

"But it could have been so much more, Julius!" I countered. "She loved you, mind, body, and soul!"

"She loved the Prince," scoffed Julius. "She didn't see me as Marie did. By the Gods, you knew me better the day that you made those meat skewers in the courtyard!"

"That was luck and teriyaki!" I shot back again. "The only reason that I was able to provide the wisdom and advice you seem to admire me for is because you weren't putting on a facade!"

"You both claim that she loved me, but how is that possible when she didn't even truly know me?!" shouted Julius.

"When was she ever given the chance or the opportunity to know who you really are?!" I shouted back. "Do you think that true love makes you psychic, Julius?! Do you think it makes you omnipotent?!"

"Marie knew me better than I knew myself!" snapped Julius. "I found a love bound by the Red String of Fate itself when I found Marie! And now you insist that I must honor a sham of an engagement that I had no say in?! That's unfair!"

"Don't presume to tell me what's 'fair' and 'unfair', Julius Rapha Holfort!" I snapped, finally losing my patience. "What's 'unfair' would be to see yourself or your brother married off to a woman three times your age with the expectation that you will die in war so she can profit from your death once she tires of using you for her amusement! 'Unfair' would be to dedicate your heart and soul into hosting a tea party and then to be used as a 'way to pass the time' before your guest scampers off to see another man! 'Unfair' would be constantly being told that your worth is only determined by your looks, your wealth, and your status rather than the strength of your character and actions! 'Unfair' would be to see someone, who has been blessed in a way that most men at this godforsaken academy can only dream of, toss those blessings aside and call them 'unfair' as he only focuses on his own burdens! The only 'unfair' circumstance that I can see with you is that you have been unfairly blessed and you can't even see it! Let every man in the audience that knows what I'm talking about cry out! Let your voice be heard!"

All at once, hundreds of voices rose up from the crowd to cry out in agreement. Even though I'd expected a strong reaction to my words, I was still taken aback by the force of the crowd. I guess not even the prospect of losing money because of my actions could dampen their enthusiasm at someone finally speaking that unspoken truth.

"...Forgive me, Leon," relented Julius. "You are right that my position, for however much I don't want it, has given me blessings that I have foolishly not acknowledged. Still, that does not change the love that I feel for Marie."

Well, at least he wasn't a total numbskull. Still, we were back to the same argument as before. I took a deep breath to settle myself before continuing. I needed to approach this from a different tact.

"...Look, Julius, I do kind of get it," I sighed. "Like I said to Jilk, you can't help who you do or don't fall in love with. But why didn't you even try with Angelica? Why didn't you even try to speak to her as someone other than the Prince? Why didn't you take her with you when you snuck down to the marketplace to buy cheap meat skewers? Why didn't you let her in?"

"Because she was just like every other noble I ever met before," growled Julius. "All she cared about were the rules and etiquette of the court! What could have possibly-"

"Did you know that she loves adventuring?" I interrupted.

"...What?" asked Julius, confused. "What are you talking about?"

"When she was younger, she had dreams of standing at your side on an airship into the great unknown," I explained. "Or using her fire magic to light the way for you in some unexplored dungeon. Or helping prepare a fresh kill for dinner before camping out beneath the stars."

"That's… That's ridiculous," dismissed Julius, but I could tell he was shaken. "How would you know-"

"The same way that I learned that you have a passion for cooking," I interrupted. "I talked to her, just like you and I talked out in the courtyard. Not as 'Lady Redgrave', but simply as Angelica. What infuriates me is that you could have had that closeness with her, but you simply didn't try!"

"...You have a point, but I fear it's a moot one after all these years," conceded Julius.

"Because you love Marie?" I argued. "Julius, for that reason alone, my point is probably the most important thing that you could remember in all of this!"

"But… Marie and I are already in love?" replied Julius, confused.

"And what happens when you change and grow as people, hmm?" I shot back. "Will you simply believe that Marie can read your mind and then be bitter and disappointed when she can't? Will you then look for the next girl who can simply know your every intention-"

"I would never-" shouted Julius.

"Then you need to be able to sit down and talk!" I bellowed back, before reigning back my anger. "...If you really want a love that will last, that is one of the most important things you can learn to do. You either grow together, or you will grow apart."

"...Thank you, Leon," replied Julius, with a surprising degree of warmth. "I think it's time we end this now, in the only way it can end…"

"...Fair enough," I replied as I let the rest of my anger dissipate, drawing a sword for the first time with my Armor. "I trust you to keep your word, so let me give this a fitting end…"

I took my stance with the blade, gripping it in both hands as I waited for Julius to step into my trap. Julius sprang forward as we exchanged a flurry of blows and I pretended to be caught on the back foot. After luring him in, I pressed back on the offensive, striking his shield arm hard enough to knock away the shield. As I pressed my advantage and kept Julius completely on the defensive, I then purposely overextended one of my attacks, giving Julius the perfect opportunity for a disarming strike on my arm. He took the bait, going for a sundering strike, but finding only air as I let go of my blade and pulled my hand back just as Julius's strike reached me, passing beneath my arm without any damage. Catching my blade before it could start dropping to the ground, I then performed a sundering strike to Julius's wrists, cutting off his Armor's hands as I caught hold of his sword in my free hand. Julius dropped to his knees even as he began to laugh.

"We never stood a chance against you, did we Leon?" laughed Julius. "You even told us from the start, but I didn't fully believe it. You have us outmatched in every possible way."

"For now," I replied as I leveled both swords at the neck of Julius's Armor. "If you want, I can promise to drag you up to that level, kicking and screaming the entire way."

"I look forward to it," replied Julius moments before I beheaded his Armor in a single swift strike from both blades.

As Julius's headless Armor fell to the floor of the arena, the crowd remained deathly silent. No cheers, jeers, or outraged shouts rose from the audience, and I had to admit that I found myself disappointed. I approached the balcony where Angelica, Clarice, and Livia watched with bated breath and gave a symbolic presentation of Julius's sword, laying it down on the ground before the balcony before leaving the field.

Somewhere behind me, I could hear the referee call the match in my favor, and the crowd exploded into a wall of sound. Sheer pandemonium ensued as the tension that had been building for the past twenty minutes finally boiled over and snapped. The medics rushed to get Julius off the field, in spite of his insistence that he could walk just fine. Angelica was no longer up in her balcony, clearly moving to speak with Julius as soon as the medics gave him a clean bill of health. I dismounted from the Arroganz, setting the Return to Base protocol to send it back to the Razor's Crest. As I left the Arena's hangar, Livia and Clarice were waiting in the corridor.

"You were amazing, Leon!" gushed Livia with stars in her eyes as she caught me in a running tackle-hug.

"The Arroganz did its job well," I deflected with a tired smile as I caught Livia.

"Don't sell yourself short, or I'll get Angie to remind you of your worth the hard way, Leon," smirked Clarice before taking on a far gentler smile. "I can't begin to thank you enough for what you've done. I still have some things to talk out with Jilk, but I feel far better than I have in months."

"Happy to help, Clarice," I replied sincerely before yawning. "...I think I may catch a quick nap while you and Angelica talk with your ex-fiances. Not really sure why, but I feel really tired all of a sudden."

"You've definitely earned it," smiled Clarice. "We're still gathering for tea later this evening?"

"As long as I wake up in time and you three are up for it," I replied with a smile. "Until then, best of luck with Jilk."

Angelica fidgeted as she sat by Julius's bedside, trying to find the words she so desperately wanted to say as they traitorously caught in her throat. They'd barely said more than a few words to each other since she arrived ten minutes ago, and all she could do was silently scream at herself to say anything at all instead of wasting this opportunity that Leon had earned for her.

"I'm glad to see that you are unharmed," began Angelica stiffly before kicking herself.

"The only thing injured from that ordeal is my pride, and I daresay it was in need of a rather thorough bruising," smiled Julius as he gave a rueful laugh. "For his bluntness in dressing down Jilk and myself, he was surprisingly gentle when he pounded us into the dirt."

"That is a rather apt description of the man," laughed Angelica. "Blunt, yet surprisingly gentle, with a dash of infuriating determination."

The two took a moment to laugh as they thought of their mutual friend who had risked so much for both their sakes before descending into a comfortable silence.

"...I owe you, first and foremost, an apology, Angelica," began Julius, his expression taking a more somber tone. "It's no exaggeration to say that I've been a terrible fool for the entire time you've known me, and I have made you suffer for it."

"I could have tried having a heart-to-heart like this with you sooner as well," replied Angelica with a rueful smile. "...Still, I imagine that your feelings haven't changed…"

"...They haven't…" confirmed Julius. "...I'm sorry."

"...I expected that," replied Angelica with a light sob, the tears starting in earnest now. "Still, why must you push me away, Julius? As the King, you could have taken a mistress or even several mistresses if you wanted Marie. So why couldn't I be with you as well?"

"...Because I refuse to be like my father," sighed Julius.

"...What do you mean that you refuse to be like him?" asked Angelica warily. "In what way would being like your father be such a terrible thing?"

"My father carries on with an endless parade of lovers that are easily half his age or even as young as third year Academy students," explained Julius. "All the while, my mother drowns in the administrative work that he purposefully shirks so that he can 'swoop in' and rescue her from, but she bears both his infidelity and negligence in silence."

"Gods, Julius…" gasped Angelica. "Surely he doesn't have that many lovers!"

"I lost count after one hundred fifty different women by the time I reached age eight," grimaced Julius. "What strains belief is that I only have one half-brother and my mother has yet to take any sort of lover yet, even after all these years…"

"Your Highne- Julius…" amended Angelica as she continued to speak. "You cannot know that you would go that far. A mistress or two would not be an endless parade of lovers-"

"Would you still be fine with it knowing that the man you love with all your heart and soul loves another woman and only barely tolerates you?" countered Julius. "No, Angelica, I'd resigned myself to being unhappily married and following my mother's example to spare you from facing my mother's fate of broken-hearted loneliness. In my bitterness, I resented everything that I thought you stood for as a result, never realizing that if I'd opened up a little bit more, I might have found contentment at the very least. I thought that I would stand firm in spite of the resentment, thought that I would be safe from losing my way as I'd be surrounded by the vapid, power-hungry Gulls that would squawk around me-"

"You heard that description from Leon, didn't you?" giggled Angelica even as she wiped away more tears. "I remember I couldn't stop laughing when he shared that observation with me."

"Was it Leon?" smiled Julius. "I first heard it when Greg suggested that Jilk draw a caricature of it, but it certainly sounds like a 'Leon' observation. But I digress: I never thought that I would have anything more than my resentment and bitterness. I never thought that I'd find happiness, or joy, or-..."

"...Or 'love', right?" finished Angelica with a sad smile. "You do love her, yes?"

"...Yes," confirmed Julius. "I'm sorry, Angelica…"

"...I think I knew from the start, but I didn't want to believe it," whispered Angelica. "I wanted it to be simply a childish whim on your part, a conniving manipulation on her part, or even a horrible misunderstanding on my part, but deep down I knew that you'd never looked at anyone the way that you look at her."

"...I did try to fight it at first," admitted Julius. "I didn't want to have hope of being happy for myself just to have it ripped away, but I couldn't help but be drawn in by her. She had no expectations for me but to be myself and be happy."

"So you have no fears that it's all an act or manipulation, then," continued Angelica. "That was my biggest fear throughout this ordeal; that one day you would wake up, used for your position and heartbroken, so please forgive my question-"

At this, Julius began to laugh, honestly and sincerely, which put her mind at ease.

"Gods, if Marie was trying to manipulate me, she certainly has a very strange method," chuckled Julius. "No, I have absolute faith that she's sincere in her emotions because of three separate incidents during our relationship. First, I'm sure you heard from Leon that she slapped me in the face for being rude, not knowing of my status, yes?"

"...No, I don't believe he mentioned that," blinked Angelica before letting out a brief laugh. "I suppose I can see why you weren't suspicious of her, at least at first, but you said there were more incidents?"

"Yes, the second incident was shortly after I decided that I wanted to be with her as more than a friend," explained Julius. "I had taken her to an expensive cafe, and she asked me if it was within my monthly budget."

"Not a question that someone who was simply looking to use you would ask," nodded Angelica. "Of course, I'm sure that it was well within your budget-"

"I was honestly confused by her question," admitted Julius as he sheepishly rubbed the back of his neck.

"Julius!" exclaimed Angelica, horrified by her now ex-fiance's naivety and vulnerability to being taken advantage of.

"I know, I know, I was a fool then," placated Julius. "In many ways, I still probably am, but in spite of that, she didn't take advantage of my foolish nature. In fact, she practically dragged me out of that cafe by my collar and proceeded to drill the importance of budgeting and resource allocation for the next three hours until I was able to draft budgets for different scenarios unassisted. Mother was actually quite impressed when I showed her mine."

"...Well, I'm certainly glad that she is practical and level-headed," replied Angelica with a sigh. "And what was the third incident?"

"She came running in here even before the medics had even finished looking me over, frantic to confirm that I wasn't hurt, and then she proceeded to scold me like a disobedient schoolboy for not surrendering the duel as soon as it became apparent that Leon had us all outmatched, before finally babbling on and on about how she saved enough for a small skiff for all of us to sail off together into the unknown if we were disinherited. She only stopped rambling when I held her and told her everything would work out fine."

"...And you're fine that she loves the other heirs as well?" asked Angelica carefully.

"She loves us all equally and brings out the best in us," confirmed Julius. "Forgive my assumption, but I imagine that you feel much the same way about Clarice and Olivia in regards to Leon."

"...I'm not sure exactly what I feel for Leon at this point," replied Angelica, her blush betraying the lie for what it was, but then she continued forward honestly. "However, you are correct that I do not mind Livia and Clarice being a part of it."

"Do you honestly not know what you feel for Leon?" asked Julius skeptically.

"...No, I do know what I feel, but I'm loath to admit it aloud for the first time so soon," replied Angelica ruefully. "There's a strong mix of attraction and affection toward him, but I'm unsure of whether it's simply idle infatuation or something deeper, but I won't call it love until I'm sure."

"A reasonable precaution," replied Julius before stopping with a wince. "...Sorry, that was insensitive-"

"It's fine," reassured Angelica with a smile. "It was honest, and certainly not wrong. Either way, it's a moot point unless one of us does something to close the gap in status between us…"

"Certainly the prestige of winning a five-on-one Armor battle will help with that?" frowned Julius in confusion.

"...Julius, for daring to fight the Crown Prince and the Founding Heirs of the Kingdom, Leon will be extremely lucky to escape with his life, much less his rank," explained Angelica sadly.

"What?!" exclaimed Julius as he quickly sat upright. "But we were the ones in the wrong! He was simply doing what was right and just!"

"But it wasn't his place to do so, and he caused the five of you bodily harm-" began Angelica.

"And whose place would it be, Angelica?!" argued Julius. "The tutors that failed to teach me how to be a Man before they taught me how to be a Prince?! My father, who can't see beyond his own bedchamber?! My dearest mother, overwhelmed by the work and responsibilities of running the Kingdom by herself?! My friends, who had no more insight than I did?! If it wasn't for Leon dragging me kicking and screaming from my own ignorance, it may never have happened!"

"But the injuries you sustained-"

"Are no worse than what I've incurred during my own training during the school year!" interrupted Julius before he regained control. "I assume that Leon has some form of plan to escape this injustice?"

"He hasn't given details as such, but it is Leon…" replied Angelica. "I know he bet an obscene amount of money on himself, and I know he was planning on speaking with my father and Minister Atlee, so I assume that he will ask for a boon with the winnings as suitable compensation."

"And you believe it will be enough?" asked Julius.

"...I think he has a good chance of not being executed," hedged Angelica. "So long as he's alive, he'll find a way."

"...He will be fine," confirmed Julius as a light of determination flared in his eyes. "I know he will."

My eyes snapped open at the violent pounding at my door. I still wore my armor from the arena, having fallen asleep as soon as I sat down at my desk to rest my eyes for a moment. A quick glance at the clock showed it to only be ninety minutes after the duel had ended. I went to the door without a word, readying my wrist blade and putting a hand on my sidearm. Livia, Clarice, and Angie would not pound on the door like that, not even in an emergency; they'd contact Luxion or use one of the spare keys I made in case of an emergency. Likewise, the academy administration would have a key to let themselves in. Whoever was outside that door was not a friend of mine and in no way did I want to speak with them. Upon finding a fuming Marie at the door, I relaxed slightly, taking my hand away from my pistol and re-engaging the safeties on my wrist blades. I could settle for being half-right.

"Miss Lafan, how kind of you to take me up on my invitation to talk at last," I quipped.

"What the hell are you doing?" grumbled Marie as she stomped into the room.

"I could be asking you the same question," I replied coolly. "Tell me, have you considered the repercussions of your actions?"

"What's there to consider?" scoffed Marie. "So I'm replacing the scheming little pretty girl and taking the five most desirable men in the kingdom as my own! I'm making them happy, aren't I? What's the difference if it's me or the scholarship g-"

"Olivia," I corrected firmly, to which Marie raised an eyebrow. "Her name is Olivia, and you will refer to her as such."

"Fine, 'Olivia', whatever," huffed Marie. "Still, what difference does it make? A girl with healing powers falls in love with the five capture targets and lives happily ever after. That's all there is, right? I can do healing magic. Why can't it be me?"

"...Tell me, this, 'Marie': Are you familiar with the Butterfly Effect?" I asked, feeling my pulse rising in my ears.

"Sure," shrugged Marie. "That's that whole thing where a single small change, like a flap of a butterfly's wings, can lead to vastly different outcomes. But what the hell does that have to do with anything?! I still have healing magic! I have all the lines memorized backwards and forwards! All the variables are the same!"

"...Okay, so you still think this is all a game," I sighed, changing tactics like I had when her lover refused to listen. "Alright, let's go ahead and approach it from that angle. Riddle me this: What would happen in the game if you tripped every single Romance Flag within the first in-game year, and you didn't boost the Capture Targets or the Protagonists' stats to Endgame levels?"

"Pff, are you kidding me?" smirked Marie. "Fanoss and the Black Knight would ream your ass without mercy. What kind of idiot would-"

At that moment, the penny finally dropped. I could see the light fade in Marie's eyes and the blood drain from her face as the depths of her folly were laid bare before her. She may have been short-sighted, but she clearly wasn't an idiot. She collapsed into the chair, her expression completely unreadable as we remained in silence. Before I could say a word, Marie looked up with an empty, bitter smile as tears rolled down her face.

"...I just can't win, can I?" whispered Marie as tears slid down her face. "This is my punishment for my sins in my past life, isn't it? I killed my brother, I failed my daughter, I married an asshole loser in my last life; I should have just accepted my fate and taken my punishment in this life-"

"Whoa, hang on a second, slow down!" I interrupted before she could slide down a self-destructive path. "Let's just talk this through and put our heads together, okay? Look, I knew that you had a strategy and purpose for doing what you were doing, so let's just talk things through and course-correct, okay?"

For a moment, Marie said nothing, but slowly she nodded, drying her eyes with a handkerchief. At this point, my entire plan for this conversation had gone out the window. Clearly, Marie was carrying some Old World baggage and would need some help sorting through that mess, but right now, her current plans and motivations were the top priority to sort out.

"Look, I'm not trying to be a jerk, okay?" I explained gently. "I'll admit that I was angry about the side effects of your actions, but mostly I want to understand why you've shaken things up so much. We both got a second chance when we reincarnated here, and I want to use mine to live better than I did in my previous life, so when my time is done here, I can die saying that I lived well in spite of my regrets. So tell me, Marie: What's your motivation?"

"...How much research have you done about me?" asked Marie carefully.

"Only as far as your actions here at school and what I've been able to observe of you directly," I replied simply. "If things had become more desperate, I'll admit that I had considered invading your privacy more in order to make sure we all didn't die, but I'm not going to jump immediately to that. Given what I have been able to piece together, I can tell the Lafan family are not good people."

"That would be putting it lightly," smiled Marie bitterly again. "They've illegally borrowed massive loans in my name, just because they cannot borrow more in their own names, and I have no other hope of paying them back. I'm at my limit, Bartfort. If I don't get beyond their reach, I'm a dead woman."

"So you not only hoped to gather the combined wealth of the Prince and his entourage, but you also planned to become the Saintess so that they'd no longer be able to interfere?" I asked, and Marie nodded. "I mean, it's not a bad plan, if you ignore the collateral damage you'd cause, but there's one flaw that I can see right away: What's to stop them from borrowing even more money in your name after you become the Saintess?"

Marie's face fell instantly at the realization, trying to find some way that the position of Saintess and Future Queen would stop her New World family from continuing to mess with her life, before finally dropping her face to the table and groaning.

"...Shit…" swore Marie. "...How could I be so stupid?"

"From the sounds of it, you were desperate, not stupid," I argued. "Besides, you didn't have anyone to bounce ideas off of before, right?"

"And you did?" frowned Marie.

"...Hey, Luxion, stop lurking and introduce yourself," I grinned as Luxion faded into view.

"As long as you are certain that is not an error in doing so," replied Luxion as Marie blinked slowly. "Greetings, Miss Marie. I am the AI known as 'Luxion'. I have dedicated myself to helping the remnants of the Old Humans, which currently includes Master and yourself. In the interest of full disclosure, I had initially advocated for a full background check on your details, but Master overruled my recommendation as he stated that it would be 'immoral' and 'cruel' to expose your secrets."

"...He's the Pay-to-Win item, isn't he?" asked Marie, connecting the dots.

"I mean, that's what you'd know him as, but Luxion is simply Luxion," I replied. "I sought him out to escape some bad circumstances myself. Zola Bartfort was going to force me into what basically was a life insurance scam marriage, so I used my achievements with Luxion to fund my way into the academy. It's thanks to him that Belmont runs half as well as it does-"

"You started Belmont Tea Company?!" exclaimed Marie. "You cheeky bastard! You've got to be absolutely rolling in wealth by now! And you still bet on yourself in the duel?!"

"The Belmont profits are the 'Oh Shit' fund, mostly," I replied, waving it off. "Basically for any situation that would make us say 'Oh shit' and can only be resolved with obscene quantities of money. Such as your personal debt situation. Speaking of which, when we've concluded here, with your permission, I will have Luxion settle every outstanding debt that you have, quietly of course, and we'll find a way to prevent the Lafans from racking up more."

Marie's jaw dropped as she tried to process the reasoning behind my actions. After a minute of her confusion, I decided to clarify it for her.

"I'm helping you for two reasons: First, we're going to be working together to avert disaster, so I need you to remain focused on the task at hand, not on some bullshit at home," I explained simply. "Second, the last several months were the biggest pain in my ass because of the bullshit that the Lafans were putting you through. Remove the need for your plans, and the pain in my ass gets cut down to a fourth. Plus, it'd be a dick move to leave you hanging in the wind."

"...What do you want in return?" asked Marie carefully.

"Your honest help in averting disaster, as well as any info that you may have on this world from your previous life," I replied simply. "I died shortly after the first game was released, so I have no idea if there's a sequel we should be worried about."

"Two sequels, actually, as far as I know," replied Marie. "Second one is in another country, the Alzer Republic, and then the third one returns to Holfort."

"...I don't suppose you wrote down anything at all from those games when you first reincarnated?" I asked with little hope.

"A journal would have been 'wasted' on me, so I wasn't allowed," replied Marie sadly. "My memories of the games are really good since-... well, since I played them a lot. Still, that was over ten years ago to me…"

"...Fuck…" I swore. "OK, you're away from them now, so I want you to keep a journal of everything that you can remember, but before that, we need as much info as you can provide right away. Luxion, I want one of your drones to help Marie transcribe whatever she can remember immediately to compile with our records. Marie, Luxion will provide you with comms to reach us if you do remember more later on."

"As you say, Master," replied Luxion.

"Are you sure that's all you want from me?" asked Marie cautiously. "I'm really getting the better end of this deal, and this is a lot of trouble to go through just to remove a single 'obstacle'."

"Just tell me one more thing," I replied. "Julius and the others; do you actually feel anything for them, or were they simply a means to an end?"

"...You know, I don't really know, but I think I might," smiled Marie gently. "I spent a lot of time playing that game and the sequels, but I kept going back to the first game. And then your influence made Julius that much better. It felt… more real, I think. He really is passionate about cooking, and he does have a fair bit of talent for it. I'd panicked initially since I thought that I'd forgotten some sort of extra flag, but I eventually decided that it must have been cut content and just… went with it."

"And the others?" I asked.

"Yes, them as well," smiled Marie. "Jilk actually saw Julius in the kitchen and decided that he wanted to pick up a hobby as well, so he started drawing, which really surprised me. You already know Brad and Greg pretty well, so I'm sure you've also seen their good sides. And Chris… Well, I know that the two of you haven't exactly seen eye-to-eye, but he's very dedicated and diligent."

"Yeah, I suppose that's the upside of having a stick up his ass," I snorted. "Don't get me wrong, I respect his abilities and strength of character, but he's going to break one day if he doesn't learn to bend."

"He's getting better every day," countered Marie with a fond smile.

"Maybe so, but he still needs to be more flexible in his thinking, especially if we're to survive the Endgame events," I replied before gently redirecting Marie as her expression turned guilty. "Hey, none of that now, okay? You were trying to escape the Lafans, and you were trying to do it on your own. Yes, you made a mistake, but we're going to fix that together, alright?"

"...Assuming my mistake hasn't gotten you kicked out of the Academy…" winced Marie. "...Or worse…"

"Well, there's a reason why I bet on myself to win, and now that I've proven my battlefield prowess, there's only one thing left to do," I replied with a grin.

"What's that?"

"Grovel shamelessly…"

"And so, it is with great humility that I ask your assistance in cleaning up this matter," I bowed to Duke Vincent Rapha Redgrave. "Frankly, I don't give a damn about my titles and my wealth, but to have the other members of my family suffer for actions that I alone took would be unconscionable."

Angelica and I had arrived at the Redgrave Estate the day after the match, wheelbarrow of platinum coins in tow, in the hopes of getting Duke Redgrave's help in sweeping this incident aside. In spite of her efforts to hide it, I could tell that Angelica was a bundle of nerves as she made the official introduction, clearly desperately hoping that her father could help me pull through this situation with my life, if not my reputation, intact. I was not as nervous as Angelica since I had an escape plan for myself and my family if needed, but I couldn't shake the ridiculous feeling of meeting the girlfriend's parents for the first time.

…Stop it, Leon. Don't be ridiculous. Get a hold of yourself.

"Tell me, Lord Bartfort," began Duke Redgrave, steepling his fingers. "You could have avoided all of this if you had remained silent like your peers. Why didn't you?"

"...Well, I could give a lot of answers to that question, and most of them would even be true," I smiled ruefully. "I could say that it was for the kingdom, to prevent the Prince from being deceived by that gremlin of a woman, or I could say that it was for the sake of those five idiots, to prepare them for an impossible fight I can see brewing on the horizon if things continue to degrade with Fanoss, but none of those reasons are what went through my mind that night when I stood at your daughter's side."

"Then what would have compelled you to throw it all away at that moment?" asked Gilbert Rapha Redgrave, Angie's older brother. "You could have been a Viscount in a single generation if you'd simply remained silent. Why didn't you?"

"...I really hated to see the pain in Angie's eyes as her heart broke," I explained finally. "I don't know if Angie told you, but I'd already tried to find whatever peaceful resolution that I could before the duel was declared. I watched her suffer in silence for weeks prior to that moment, until she could take no more. I wasn't going to allow her to stand alone after that."

"You would go so far for my daughter?" asked Vincent, raising an eyebrow.

"Well, one good turn deserves another," I explained quickly. "She showed herself to be a truly wonderful woman when she took our mutual friend Livia under her wing, in spite of her status as a commoner, and she even took me to task when she was worried that I was attempting to take advantage of Livia, only having spent an afternoon with the girl. She sprinted across the campus of the school as soon as my Familiar mentioned that Clarice, a friend that she'd only just started to reconnect with, was in distress, kicking in the door to my tea room. In the face of such acts of compassion, how could I do any less?"

"...You are quite the remarkable man, Lord Bartfort," replied Duke Redgrave. "You've certainly impressed me, a feat not easily achieved, so it pains me to say what I have to say next. ...I'm sorry Lord Bartfort, but I'm afraid that for me to help you out of this mess will be actually quite impossible."

"...I understand," I sighed as I slumped in my seat.

"Yes, I'm afraid that even with all my power, I cannot clean up a mess which has already been cleaned," replied the Duke with a smile.

"Of course, forgive my presumption- wait what now?" I began before the Duke's statement caught up with my brain. "Already cleaned up? But who-"

"I believe you referred to them as 'the five idiots'," chuckled Duke Redgrave, clearly quite amused by this turn of events. "Prince Julius demanded that you be commended for your actions that day, admitting that he'd been 'an absolute fool' and taking full responsibility for this entire mess. If that alone had not been enough, the other four made similar statements to their houses. Even the Arclight heir spoke well of you, saying that you were everything that a knight should aspire to be despite your crass and uncouth nature. The Seberg heir even threatened to follow you into exile if you weren't forgiven."

"Hamasaywa?" I articulated in my state of shock.

"Indeed," grinned Duke Redgrave. "I'll admit that my reaction was much the same as yours upon hearing the news. You apparently made quite the impression on those boys. There will certainly be quite the mess to clean up, but the Bartfort name will be kept out of it."

"...I… I honestly don't know what to say," I blinked, dumbfounded. "Thank you for informing me of this turn of events, and I apologize for troubling you unnecessarily, Your Grace…"

"Of course, Lord Bartfort," replied Duke Redgrave, smiling before taking on a more serious expression. "On that note, I was hoping to ask a favor of you, if I could."

"Of course, how may I help?" I immediately asked.

"While the Bartfort Family will be relatively untouched by this mess, the Redgrave Family most certainly will not," explained Duke Redgrave with a frown. "Even though I feel that Angie is more than capable of dealing with fallout, it would be preferable if she didn't have to."

"Especially while dealing with a broken heart, of course," I nodded.

"I've also spoken with Bernard Fia Atlee, and while Clarice will not be at the heart of this mess like Angie will, Bernard would also be grateful if you could host her as well."

"Certainly," I replied without hesitation. "Clarice is truly wonderful, and I imagine Angie and Livia would be quite put out if I didn't invite her as well."

"I imagine they would be," chuckled Duke Redgrave.

I left with a quick bow and made my way down the hall to the drawing room where I knew Angelica would be waiting with her personal maid, Cordelia Fou Easton. Angelica still seemed tense, in spite of her best efforts to control her expression. Normally, I'd flirt with Angelica to distract her from her tension, but that just seemed like a bad idea with the woman who essentially raised her standing right there. Maybe… Yeah, humor would be a good way to turn this around. I'll just use the same joke Angelica's dad used. I kept my expression neutral as Angelica approached me.

"Well?" asked Angelica hesitantly. "What did he say?"

"I'm afraid that your father has told me that not even the king himself could clear this mess up now," I sighed sadly, winding up to pass along the joke her father played on me.

"...What?" whispered Angelica. "He really said that?"

"Well, not in so many words," I replied quickly before elaborating. "He actually said to help me 'out of this mess will be actually quite impossible' since-"

Angelica was running down the hall before I could deliver the punchline. I didn't even have time to open my mouth to stop her before she'd turned down the hall and out of sight. …That was the exact opposite of what I intended… Fuck… Cordelia turned to me with a flat look before adjusting her glasses.

"...And just what reason did His Grace provide for this task being 'quite impossible'?" asked Cordelia pointedly, clearly unamused at Angelica's distress.

"...He said he 'cannot clean up a mess which has already been cleaned'..." I winced, knowing that my reputation with Miss Easton had taken a major hit for upsetting Angelica like this. "...In my defense, I intended to let her off the hook with the next few words."

"...I hope you realize that you will absolutely deserve whatever Her Grace responds with…" stated Cordelia flatly. "The only reason why I have not taken on this duty myself is that Miss Angelica appears to care for you for some unfathomable reason."

"...Yeah, I'm called the 'Bartfort Bastard' for a reason beyond the circumstances of my birth…" I sighed. "I knew she was stressed about this meeting, but I didn't realize she was quite so wound up. She's so dignified and confident that it's easy to forget that she's… well, passionate and impetuous…"

"...Those are words that I, as her personal maid of many years, would use to describe her greatest failing," observed Cordelia guardedly. "Others would describe her as 'impulsive' or 'reckless'."

"They certainly might, but I won't," I argued. "They may be flaws for nobility in the political quagmire of this kingdom, but I see those as some of her greatest strengths."

"...You may yet be good for Her Grace," mused Cordelia.

"Why thank you-" I began, smiling.

"You'll still accept whatever punishment Miss Angie decides upon," smirked Cordelia.

"...Dammit."

"So, what do you make of him?" asked Duke Redgrave, turning to Gilbert.

"He doesn't hide his thoughts and feelings very well," replied Gilbert. "If I were to sum him up in one sentence, I would say he's honest to a fault, but I fear that would be a gross oversimplification of the man."

"You're absolutely right that he lacks guile and even in some cases tact, but did you notice one of the reasons he mentioned as potential justification for his actions?" asked Duke Redgrave.

"You mean his casual mention of the Principality?" clarified Gilbert. "Yes, it seems that he's somehow noticed the downturn in relations that we've observed, but… that suggests that he has more resources than a typical student would…"

"Given that he's the owner of Belmont Tea Company, I should think that he does," chuckled Duke Redgrave.

"Wait, he owns Belmont?!" exclaimed Gilbert. "Then why wouldn't he use that as a bargaining chip in this whole mess?!"

"He's clearly not a half-wit," mused Duke Redgrave. "Angie would never have given him a second look if he were. No, there's clearly something that he's concerned about and anticipates needing such large resources for. The good news is that we can be reasonably certain that his intentions are noble. If they weren't, he'd have simply taken what he wanted by force already. In any case, I would say that we should bind him to our faction as soon as possible-"

The door to the study flew open with a crash as Angelica stormed into the room with a desperate and wild look in her eye. A prominent dark shoeprint stood out from the white paint of the door, and splinters from the door jam rained onto the carpet. Gilbert and Duke Redgrave stared in stunned silence as Angelica approached quickly.

"Father!" exclaimed Angelica. "I beg that you reconsider and help Leon! Please! It was entirely my fault he was placed in such a position-"

"Oh dear," smiled Duke Redgrave as Gilbert stifled his own laughter behind his hand. "It seems that Lord Bartfort took a liking to my joke earlier."

"Father, this isn't the time for jokes!" shouted Angelica. "Leon-"

"-will be perfectly fine, Angie…" laughed Duke Redgrave. "The Prince and his friends have already cleared up Bartfort's part in the mess."

"...Come again?" blinked Angelica before catching on. "…oh, that absolutely infuriating man…"

"Goodness, dearest sister," laughed Gilbert. "I don't think I've ever seen you quite so… lively… before. He must mean a great deal to you…"

"That man has the potential to be the greatest hero the kingdom has ever known, and he risked throwing it all away for my sake!" retorted Angelica indignantly. "Of course I am going to be concerned for his well-being!"

"Angie, you've been concerned about many things in the past, but never once have you kicked in the door to my study," chuckled Duke Redgrave with a pointed look, to which Angelica blushed heavily and looked away. "So tell me honestly, Angie: how do you feel about Lord Bartfort?"

"...He's… different," began Angelica carefully. "He's blunt, but fair in his judgements and observations, and he holds very little back. He's exceedingly kind, even though he pretends not to be- no… actually I think he doesn't even believe that he is kind. He's only my age, but he speaks with wisdom far beyond his years. He may only be a provisional Baron now, but I can see him rising far beyond that within his lifetime, much to his chagrin…"

"Does he not desire power and status?" asked Gilbert with a frown.

"Not in the slightest," smiled Angelica. "He desires happiness, and he holds no illusions that rank or power will necessarily grant him either."

"You don't simply mean 'creature comforts' when you say that he desires happiness, do you?" clarified Duke Redgrave.

"No, I don't," replied Angelica. "He wants to marry someone that he can truly share his life with, including his taste for adventuring. A kind woman with a sharp blade and a sharper mind, someone he can trust his life to, in every sense, and someone who will rely upon him in return."

"In other words, his ideal wife would be very similar to you, wouldn't she?" teased Gilbert with a knowing grin.

"...I can't say that I'd given it much thought, but I suppose she would be…" blushed Angelica.

"Would you like for it to be you, Angie?" asked Duke Redgrave pointedly.

"...Father, are you serious?" choked Angelica as her heart leapt.

"I know that you're not in a position to make a choice like that yet, so I will not ask you to decide now," explained Duke Redgrave. "However, you are absolutely correct that the young Lord Bartfort is set to become the greatest man that the Kingdom has ever known, whether he wants to or not. Between what you've told me and what I've seen of the man personally, it would be wise to bind him to our faction as quickly as possible, and he appears to be quite fond of you, to put it mildly."

"...Thank you for understanding why I cannot answer you now, Father," bowed Angelica. "I will try to have an answer for you before the end of the school year."

"See that you do," nodded Duke Redgrave. "Now, you'll be spending the next few weeks at Lord Bartfort's estate while things calm down in the Capital. We'll send word to you and Clarice once you are able to return."

"Of course, Father," replied Angelica with a smile. "We'll be sure to not dishonor our Houses while we are there."

"Well, that's good," smirked Gilbert. "One 'Bartfort Bastard' is plenty, and I'm not prepared to be an uncle yet…"

"GIL!" shrieked Angelica as her brother and father roared with laughter.