The (Alleged) Villainess' Dad 6 - (Original Otome, VillainessDad!Reincarnator)
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Delilah Martesy was not having a fun time. She hadn't been enjoying any 'goodness' in a while, truth be told.
After her expulsion, she had to lie a bit to her mother in regard to what had to her return, and then she had to explain why three boys had decided to tag along with her and... well, try to sleep in her room. She could see why her mother could be worried about it, but Delilah was not an idiot, and if they tried to enter her room, they would sleep in the cold wooden floor.
She had not missed her bed- a shabby piece of comfort that her mother had 'wasted many coins' onto just so her 'precious treasure' could sleep somewhere comfortable. Except it was itchy, and too small for her frame. If only her new mother could be smarter and have a better job- how come all the 'hope' for a 'better life' had to linger within her hands?
Still, Delilah didn't have a plan as she came back home. She just went along with the lie that 'she had been framed' and thus 'removed from the Academy for her own safety'. And, for a while, that lie didn't amount to much. Yet, the small village she lived in had a tight community. Gossiping was never malicious, but it did exist. And the usual 'telephone game' started to roll a small 'insignificant snowball' into a mighty avalance that, slowly but suddenly, caught her off-guard.
She had not been told that 'Knight' (Augie Pascalus), her 'Nerd' (Francois Jeaniemas), and her 'Spy' (Jerome Buremont) had started to explain the horrible treatment she went through during her tenure at the Royal Academy. The whispering grew louder until the chatting became a bit more prominent. After all, the badmouthing was first aimed at Meryall, but then shifted to her father, and then the king as they all agreed that 'the royal family was afraid of Delilah'.
A month into her return, and everyone was treating her with utmost respect. She had food without needing to pay, she had wine whenever she wished to 'taste' the quality of the wineries, and she even had some masses at the local holy site dedicated to her.
The reincarnation of the Saintess, that was what they called her. And while Delilah felt this was moving faster than expected, she rolled with it. The praises, the preaching, the blessings. Her home was now elevated as she had to do the barest minimum to secure herself a comfy life but-
All had to come to a strange 'closure'. And the closure of this bold development was the 'escalation' it created: three carriages soon came to her hometown and, leading those, was none other than her prince. That had confused her since Pirte had been put under 'protection' by the king, so for him to be there-
"I managed to escape! I couldn't bear being away from you any further, and I have been shunned by my own parents! Nay, it is clear Meryall and her father led a conspiracy against our kingdom, and have removed me because of my dreams of reforming Malica in a good place for our pesants!"
This was... good? At least, that was her thought when he said this, but Pirte brought in some of his loyal guards that had been confined too and had been responsible for freeing him and- and then he started to give intense speeches about 'a revolution'.
Now, Delilah was not good in politics, and she barely listened to any of those back in her previous life, but... when one used the term 'revolution' with the means of violence- it was clear things were getting out of hands. But trying to tell Pirte to step down from such an ambition was met with a rebellious scoff.
"I understand your concerns, my dear, but destiny is on our side. We have some of the strongest warriors by our sides, we have Augie, Francois, and Jerome- they may not have their families by their sides, but they have loyal friends too. We shall make our dream a reality! I, the Great King, and you, my beloved Saintess."
...
I don't like where this is going...
Sadly for Delilah, her great recovery was soon to become her last mistake.
Elena de Malica had just gotten a week into the palace that she was suddenly summoned to take part to a meeting about a new crisis... involving her brother.
The girl was sided by two guards that she had personally picked from a list of known officers and that she had the opportunity to test in their views and capacities. She trusted them in both being strong when needed but also careful on 'acting without thinking'. Alas, her time at the palace had been far too brief for her to be hurled into a potential trouble, and she was most miffed that it came along a day where she had planned to train under Fiall.
The prime minister stood up to his reputation just fine. Not only was he a good listener and a good problem-solver, but he seemed to have grasped the right way to give her education without being either too practical or too theoretical with his lessons. Magic was something odd for Elena, a girl born with a curse that made her own brand of spellcrafting unpleasant to use. It was less about the effects it had on others, rather the 'cost' it had on her: her magic would bleed when used, and it would cause her to feel a sharp pain within her mind.
The few times she tried, the pain was so much that she fell asleep due to mental exhaustion. And as she grew up without having to deal with this sort of concern, Elena had been a bit nervous to try and learn once more. Luckily for her, Fiall seemed to have spotted the core issue of that curse, and handed her a few vials she had to drink after each practice.
"Your mana is fighting back against you. It is a sickness that makes your body fight back against your own spellcasting, thinking it as an hostile interaction rather than one from yourself. Thus... your mana drains faster and it 'bleeds' as you say. These potions shall keep you from exhausting yourself too extensively."
The potency of the vials' liquid was indeed optimal, and it allowed her to learn magic with lessened discomfort. It was still unsavory, but she knew this was better than nothing. Magic was important, especially since most of the strongest entities relied on it to some extent.
As Elena finally arrived to the meeting room, she took a look at the various ministers around, some looking far more furious than the rest - she had been told that the source of this trouble, the girl that had led to her return to the palace as the crown princess after the ousting of her brother, was now trying to raise the banners of rebellion with the help of her brother and her other 'lovers', these three boys being heirs to other noble houses.
The King had a grim look as he tried to avoid the glances from those nobles whose honor had been tarnished, while the Queen was... sad, but overall not too fazed by the situation. Truth be told, Elena would have thought her to be the primary cause of Pirte's escape, but she was notified that the true culprits were a traitorous clique of the capital's garrison that had aligned with the Shunned Prince, freeing him and then taking him to his 'beloved'.
It was, however, Fiall that had the oddest of looks. He had a smile on his face. It wasn't a happy smile for the chaos, it wasn't a happy smile for the turmoil this event was bound to cast, but rather a happy smile to 'finally deal with this issue for good'.
Elena knew this much not from a mere glance- she had been told beforehand by the prime minister himself that he had grown to loathe this 'Martesy girl' for what she did with his daughter, so it made sense that the man could use this chance to make things right. As she finally got closer to the table, everyone stopped to greet the princess.
"Lady Elena," The closest noble bowed his head, and she did the same, keeping quiet as she didn't know who was this man and his rank within the government.
More nobles greeted her with 'Lady Elena', and she nodded at them all, until she got to sit by the empty chair on her father's left side. The eyes of those looking at her held two different feelings: some were curious about what kind of person she was deep down despite her unusual air and magic, but there was quite a displeased minority that found her 'dress' to be unbecoming. Alas, she had not been told of any obligatory law that forced her to wear a skirt, and her current outfit, which was more of an uniform really, was deemed a proper outfit even in such an environment.
And yes, Elena tried to put on some skirts, but the feeling the fabric had on her legs was just too unpleasant and distracting for her to endure for hours.
"Father."
"Daughter," Gert greeted curtly, while her mother... offered a silent smile and then it was Fiall's turn.
"Lady Elena, I am glad that you could make it here safely, and I wish to warn you this meeting may include some unsavory topics."
"Lord Prime Minister, I thank you for the concern but... in my role as Crown Princess, I need to know what is going on with this matter."
He offered a kind look, yet that vanished as he turned to the rest of the nobles.
"And with this, I wish to begin this extraordinary session of the Royal Council. I wish to thank you all for making it there with haste, as we are truly dealing with a crisis tied to the previous session- Prince Pirte, together with Delilah Martesy, Augie Pascalus, Jerome Buremont and Francois Jeaniemas have proclaimed a rival government to the one of His Majesty, King Gert de Malica," The Prime Minister listed out, the grumbling loud over such a troublesome news. To think that her brother would take this path... how far deep in his delusions did he fall? "And as of a few days ago, he also rallied the peasantry with the promise of more rights for land-owning, for taxes, and for political positions."
More grumblings ensued, this time the nobles were getting touched a lot more than with the trouble of a civil war. One thing was a change of a dynastic branch with another, another was instead having their own control mellowed and given away to their own subjects. There was some good idea within the concept of these reforms, but the radical application was just going to anger so many people and trouble the land for long years.
"Lastly, and this is something I am sure that the Lord of the Faith is aware too, the Prince has declared Delilah Martesy as the 'Reincarnated Saintess' or the Second Saintess, Helveta II," Fiall added before turning his stare to an unusual figure in that table of nobles, the thin old man wearing a religious purple garb with a red hat over his white hair. "I would like to inquire about the Lord of the Faith's official stance on the matter, Lord Bishop Federbacke."
The Bishop stood up with a calm demeanor. "The Lord of the Faith, Lord Pinius IV, has decreed Delilah Martesy and Pirte de Malica as heretics of the worst kind," Federbacke paused, his eyes scanning the other members of the council. "He has, however, refrained from extending this sentence to the other noble heirs out of concern that they were led astray by these two figures."
Elena saw her mother's posture grow stiff at this condemnation, and she couldn't blame her. While the Order of Saint Helveta was fairly regulated as the State Religion of Malica, the power of excommunications was quite immense in the minds of the people. It was so rarely-used as a response, that the move was to be seen as a categorical opposition at what had just occurred: her brother could not be spared from a strong punishment in regard to his current crime.
"I am glad to hear the quick and harsh condemnation, Lord Bishop. With that being said, we need to now focus on the main issue at hand: while not many of the towns and cities will fully embrace this heresy, there is no doubt that some ambitious small organizations will see this as a sign of weakness. In this regard, as a first step, I suggest isolating the towns that have already pledged their support for Pirte's claim, and establish a campaign to quarantine the rebellious provinces."
Despite having been told by Fiall how some votes would take a slower approach, Elena was stunned by the swift resolution on the matter, further reaffirming how focused these people were on the crisis itself.
"Next up, lords and ladies, is the matter of the 'approach' to use. We will start debating what best option we have in handling the matter at once."
And this is where the known chaos of the council was made evident to Elena. She had thought that she would have to speak on the matter, but some nobles offered some similar ideas to hers, and others opposed those altogether. In the end, two major camps formed- one supported a military solution, but the Minister of the Army and the one for the Navy opposed the idea on the matter that mobilizing troops to handle the internal problem would galvanize the rebels' cause and make them martyrs, while also weakening the security at the border, a worrisome picture knowing of the northern threat presented by the Piltica-Liminia Federation.
While the Iron Shogunate was also a very pragmatic neighbor, they wouldn't have the means to mobilize with haste and send their army to claim more land- not without upsetting their religious leaders in the process. The same didn't extend to the Federal Empire, their hunger for new land having led to around ten wars against Malica, with the latest coinciding to just thirty years ago. The hatred still existed, and no effort had been made by either nation to fix this.
So no, using the army would do more harm than good.
Next up was a diplomatic option and- no, just no.
"We are not going to negotiate with rebels. They have sworn to 'execute the corrupt loyal family' and to 'defile the vile sister that claimed Pirte's birthright'."
Ah... wait what?!
Elena frowned harshly at this, having not been told that there have been threats levied against the royal family- and her in the specific. Part of her wanted to genuine snap at this but she took notice of Fiall as he was looking back at her and offering her a tense look.
She hesitated, and pulled back.
"Hence why negotiations shall not be entertained. We do not dabble with this sort of scum."
The intense debate concluded that a partial rehabilitation of the town's militia was necessary, so the order to create temporary militia forces in the various settlements of the kingdoms was voted upon and then sent to the various governors around the kingdom.
The entire meeting then devolved into a lenghty continuation of debates. Elena remained quiet, but so were her parents. The King listened, the Queen looked aside as she thought of other matters. It was odd for this sort of matter to not require the royal input, but Elena understood that there was a 'degree of guilt' within her parents to not levy any question, opinion, or even suggestion on what to do.
She would be freed from that hours-long meeting only around the late afternoon, her lower back aching at having to sit for that long on such a sturdy chair. Still, she was glad to find Fiall finishing chatting with a noble lady before approaching him and-
"Our lesson can be forwarded to tomorrow," He assured, and Elena felt glad of that mercy, but it wasn't the only thing that troubled her.
"Thank you, Fiall. But... if I may ask, should I personally do something on what's going on? I don't mean in regard to the crisis itself but... my parents-"
"You wish to help them through this, yes?"
The girl nodded, glad that he could pick up on her own lack of social skills and correctly guess what was in her mind.
"I suggest you wait for tomorrow. Today both your parents have been told that your brother, their firstborn, has betrayed them and is leading a rebellion that could culminate with their deaths if we were to lose."
"...We can't lose."
"In a fair fight? No," Fiall confirmed without hesitation, yet a troubled look flashed on his face. "But I do have to admit I share some worries in regard to our borders' security. The Federal Empire has not lost its bellicose attitude, and I have heard their current ruler is a bit of a 'military genius' from the words of diplomats."
"...How can they tell without him facing a war?" Elena asked, puzzled by this 'praise'.
"They can't. Not yet at least."
Her eyes widened at what he was suggesting, and the princess nodded again at Fiall. "I see, well... I will take my leave then."
"Run along, Elena. These days will be a bit more tense but... right now, there's nothing to worry about."
No one can, however, say if that was going to stay true through the entire crisis or not.
AN
Elena is not a genius. I had thought about having her interact with the council, but I felt that would have been too forced. She is a military 'genius' deep down, but she has no skills or experience in handling social-related events like this one. She could have offered some ideas, but she hardly has the means to verbally emphasize on her points yet. She will grow up, but for now she is training and studying.
And before anyone asks, no, Delilah's hometown is not Barendal. But it is close enough that Meryall will pick up that something's up before being warned by her father via letter.