Biggest thanks for Ace-Triad for fixing my SPAG problems, and Angel Wraith for beta-reading the chapter and providing feed backs.
Special credit given to grandyud from Melty Melromarc Squad subreddit. Who suggested the relationship between Malty and Metly felt unnatural due to their lack of scenes together. Which inspired me to write the flash back scene from the start of this chapter.
As always, I will blabber some more in my end note.
Cross posted on AO3, for anyone who prefer that site.
She doesn't like reading over the historical record written by the chroniclers. The language they used is dry and concise, not as interesting as those novels that her big sister enjoyed so much. But Mother likes it when she reads and memorizes them, and Father looks happy too when she can recite some of the past events that's either similar to what's happening to them now, or related to what's happening. So she read them anyway to make her parents happy. She doesn't like stabbing the animals Mother's knights brought back to death either. Sure... they look mean, and scary, not at all like the cute, fluffy looking birds they kept in their stables. But they are also clearly in a lot of pain with their wounds still dripping blood. It felt cruel, and Big Sister doesn't do it either. But again, that's what mother tells her to do, so she does them without any question.
Because that's what being a good daughter does in the end... isn't it? Obey her parents, especially her mother who is in charge of the entire nation? But Big Sister doesn't do any of the things, does it make big sister a bad daughter? Father praises Big Sister as much as herself, and Big Sister is the one who reads her bedtime stories most of the time. So she doesn't like to think Big Sister Malty is being a bad daughter.
The door to my mother's library is pushed open with a loud crack. Melty immediately looks up. From the sound alone, she knows it's Big Sister Malty. She's the only one who would throw away any sense of decorum and barge into a public space without any care of who, or what she might have interrupted. And she always admired Big Sister for her unflappable confidence. Actually... Sir Zellus also does it, but the vice captain of the royal guards has very little reason to visit the palace unless he's summoned specifically by Mother, or Father.
The younger princess wasn't wrong in her assumption, as she immediately noticed the passionate red of Big Sister Malty's hair. As brilliant as the fire she conjures up. Her elder sister is followed by the usual two of her knights. Big Sister Malty turns her head towards her, and her eyes are narrowed for a briefest moment. "You are cramped up in the library, reading historical records? Come with me. The weather is good, we'll do something fun today."
Big Sister Malty didn't give her time to refuse, not that Melty wants to refuse either. She strides her way over to Melty, and pulls the younger princess away from her books. Honestly, she would have followed if Big Sister Malty simply asked her to. But that too is something Melty admired her Big Sister. She was forceful, never doubted her own decisions, and would always jump right into action rather than wait. As they exit their castle palace from the side door, Melty wonders if Big Sister Malty is going to have some tea with her in their garden. But they simply stride their way out of the garden, and walk towards the back of the castle. This is of course, where Mother and Father keep their filorial herds. "Did Mother's steed give birth to a new cluster of eggs?"
"No. You are six already, Melty. You are old enough to go meet, or even ride some of the adult birds." Big Sister immediately gives a negative answer to her question. Deep down, Melty feels more than a little excited. Mother doesn't let her anywhere near the adult birds, and only let her play with the baby chicks if she does her study well. She likes the cute, silly little birds... but they all grow up eventually and she has to say goodbye to the friends she makes. So the chance to see them, maybe even to pet the adult birdies feels like an adventure. She might have even played with some of them when they were young!
But to ride them? Would she even be able to stay on them? What if she falls, and hurts herself? Before she had a chance to decline for the admittedly enticing suggestion, big sister Malty had already kicked her way into the stable. Not too long after, she brings out a filorial covered with feathers as pure and puffy looking like the cloud in the sky. Now that she is standing right next to an adult filorial, they look even taller than when she peered at them from a distance. She can't do anything other than look up dumbfoundedly at such a majestic animal. The bird bends its long neck down, and begins to gently nibble and groom Melty's hair.
"Why are you staring at them? They are meant to be rode on, not looked at." Once again, big sister Malty wraps her arms under Melty's arms, takes her out of the beak of the bird and hoists her up the saddle of the white filorial. The ground looks so far from where she is sitting, Melty immediately clenches onto the reins of the bird, and closes her legs like her life depends on it.
"You need to relax just a little with your shoulders and your hands. Grabbing too tightly, you'll end up letting go of the rein the first time we bump into something because your fingers would have nowhere to go other than the opposite direction." Melty felt her big sister jumping onto the saddle behind her. She looks around, and sees the two knights following them also got on their own steed. Before she fully realizes what's going on, she feels her body darting forward. "Now we ride, giddy up!"
Melty's scared scream mixes with Big Sister Malty's wild laughter as their steed charges its way through the palace garden, out of the inner gate and onto the main street. The people, who were minding their business from before, start to run and even jump to the side of the road. She can't bear to see her people, or even herself gets hurt if big sister loses her control and collides into someone, so all Melty can do is close her eyes and hold onto the rein for dear life. But even as she tries to shut herself from the outside world, she can still hear big sister Malty yelling at the people to make room. "Make way for the princesses, you lowly commoner! I'm taking my little sister for her first ride on the plains!"
"Slow down, Big Sister Malty! You are going way too fast..." Melty can't tell where they are anymore. She lost all sense of time, or how far they were riding. All she feels is the screaming around them slowly die down, almost like they are left behind. The younger princess hoped they didn't actually hurt anyone.
"You can open your eyes now. There's no point in taking a joy ride if you don't see where you are going." Big sister Malty's seems to be talking to her once again. For a few seconds, Melty still has her eyes tightly closed, refusing to open them up and see what might have happened in front of her. But slowly, she begins to get curious as she hesitantly opens her eyelids. One side first, until she opens both of her eyes wide and sees the azure sky seems to merge with the verdant plain, forest, and mountain in the distance as they disappear behind her just as quickly. From her high perch on their big bird steed, nothing is blocking her view in front of them. "You'll be a queen one day. That means you'll be riding in front of your people. And this. This is what you will be seeing."
It was the most beautiful sight Melty ever witnessed.
Chapter 3: Past Regrets
"Are you okay, my princess?" Melty feels like someone gently poking at her on the shoulder, she turns her head, and sees Mutsu looking at her with worry in his eyes. He worries too much, but maybe it's not undeserved with what happened right after the Third Wave.
"I'm fine, Mutsu. I was... thinking about a happier time when my life isn't so... difficult." Melty holds her hand up and brushes away Mutsu's concern. She turns to look at the 'main' table where Spear Hero Motoyasu is sitting with Katarina Claes. Usually, Iris would be right beside him. But this time, the ones Master Motoyasu is meeting are more closely related to Katarina. Besides them, Barn and Keith also sit on the side of their table. No doubt giving their advice. Before them, Lord Seliph and Lord Leif stand a little distance away from their table, each holding the scroll of parchment that contains the names of those directly applied to join the retinue of the Spear Hero.
Melty finds the situation kind of funny. Lord Seliph and Lord Leif are much like Keith and Barn, whose family estates and fiefdoms are located in northern and southern Melromarc respectively. It seems like Master Motoyasu's group is starting to divide up into the north and the south.
"I'm sure the list will only grow once, or rather, if we return from Cal Mira Island." Barn leans his head in towards the parchment already in front of his face. He looks up, and gives the two Crusader Block lords a respectful nod. "But looking at the list we already have, we probably have the most qualified people so far. Aside from the sworn swords of our families, all of our applicants are warriors and knights who are currently serving the crusader families."
"Aren't we getting ahead of ourselves?" Keith turns his head towards his adopted elder sister Katarina. Melty noticed how even when he was talking with the Spear Hero, he would always look at Katarina first. It's nice to see that family, even adopted ones stick so close together. "How do we even know the Spear Hero will stay with us after the Hero Conference is over? All of you still remembered how our king didn't exactly have legal right, and had to break the covenant to summon all of the cardinal heroes together, right? I wouldn't be surprised if the other nations take all four of them away. What'll happen to those who pledge to serve the heroes then? Will we be willing to have them follow the heroes to the other nations, and even further weaken our own defenses right after that disaster of a Third wave, and our civil war with the Three Heroes' Church."
The atmosphere inside their tent wasn't boisterous to begin with. If it was, Melty was pretty sure she wouldn't have drifted away in her daydream. But it becomes much more quiet, and heavy after Keith pointed out the gutter beak in the tent. All four cardinal heroes leaving Melromarc was an outcome that nobody had wanted to think about. But it is still possible, even the most likely outcome. What'll happen to her, and Mutsu if Motoyasu is gone? The Spear Hero slams his hands on the table and pushes himself up, his brown twisted together into a knot. "I promised Iris I would take care of her when I gave her the ring. I promised the king I'll take care of Princess Melty, and I promised Bertia's father I'll take care of her. I might have not made any personal promise to Katarina with her family, or herself but I would take care of her no different from the other ladies. What will those fuckers do if I refuse to leave you all? Knock me out from behind, bond me up and throw me in a carriage?! I'll teleport, or run myself back to all of you if they dared!"
The four young lords all stare at Motoyasu while staying completely silent. Then they begin to quickly, and furiously exchange looks with each other next followed by some faint movement of their heads. Before the four of them came to a conclusion, Melty suddenly heard an irritating sound of low whistling and scratching that seemed to shoot up into the sky. She stays completely still for one brief moment, before she pulls at Mutsu's hand and drags him behind her out of the tent. The crown princess of Melromarc looks up at the sky, and sees the cloud piercer arrow rising high into the sky. "Change into a bird, Mutsu! Big Sister Malty needs help!"
"Yes, my princess." Mutsu's body changed from a tall, young man into a giant bird with a puff of smoke and a sound of thunder crack. Melty immediately throws herself onto Mutsu's back, and gives his body a gentle kick to beckon him forward. She can barely hear the alert sound of Motoyasu calling for her and Mutsu behind her, and the princess' mind had already flown to where her sister might be. What could have already happened to her big sister if one of the Shield Demon's lackeys had called for reinforcements? Would they put even the barest effort in defending her sister, who to them is nothing more than an accessory to their king? She doesn't know, and is too afraid to find out.
o(-_-)o[T]
The Siltvelt raiders charged into the clearing while loudly yelling and screaming their battle cries. And then they collectively froze on the spot while looking at the scene. No doubt, they expected some fierce danger for their king to even make Kael'thas call for reinforcements in the first place. But instead, they walk into the aftermath of what looks like a very quick, and VERY one sided battle where the foes to their king lie vanquished on the ground with most of their head literally buried in the dirt. And there's barely a scratch on their king.
Yet, Malty's mind can't be at ease despite how easily Ms. Mala put down the Faubley inquisitors. She still remembers the identity of her former personal maid. As the strongest white tiger fighter of her generation, her defect to Melromarc's side would have caused Siltvelt great shame. What would Kael'thas, a prince from a Siltvelt's great clan do now that he had witnessed Mala in action? With the way the phoenix prince locked his stare at Mala, he definitely suspected her identity. That would be much worse than the boneheaded upstart inquisitor who got in over her head. Malty leans her mouth closer to Naofumi's ear and whispers. "Be ready for anything, Master Naofumi. Kael'thas might start something."
Naofumi shifts his face slightly to give her a glance from the side of her eye, and then back to look at the staredown between Kael'thas and Mala without saying anything. But with his own head giving a faint bobbing nod, the Shield Hero clearly took her warning. The fact that he hasn't dispelled his [Crown Shield] despite its constant drain on his stamina is also a promising sign.
"What appears to be the threat, Prince Sunstrider?" Nazgrel gets off his massive warg and steps forward. The raiders line up behind him are as quiet as possible for the rowdy, prideland beastmen and their giant wolf steeds, which means they might still attract every gutter beak that's nested in the forest to their locations. If that's the case... Well, at least Naofumi would be getting some extra experience points and go up a level or two for the trouble. Nazgrel casts a glance down at the still twitching, and struggling Faubley inquisitors on the ground. "You appear to have already vanquished your foe in the time we spend to rally and come to your aid."
"Should we tie them up, or something? Like we did to Porter's group?" Raphtalia leans closer to Malty and Naofumi to make a soft suggestion.
"Good idea, Raphtalia! Anyone bought ropes?" Malty looks around at the blank faces of her fellow Shield Hero party members.
"Guess we'll cut ropes from the [Rope Shield] again. But I'm not sure I want to switch out [Crown Shield] just yet..." Naofumi looks down at the red, carapace-like shield on his arm. Malty has to agree with him. With the commotion they caused, they should be expecting a stampede of beak-things soon.
"Keep the [Crown Shield], Master Naofumi. We might have attracted the attention of all the strong predator monsters from the forest. These inquisitors are insignificant, not worth the effort to get bond and gagged. Mala beat them by herself, and you have your Siltvelt bodyguards now." Of course, said bodyguard might turn against him depending on what Prince Kael'thas say about Ms. Mala. Even more reason to keep his strongest shield out for now with how much Naofumi needs to concentrate to bring it out in the first place. Sure, he can kill them all with a snap of his fingers with their slave seals, but who knows what might happen if he does that. Would mother be emboldened to take her away to send her to King Egbert seeing Naofumi's new weakness? Who knows at this point. Better safe than sorry.
"I overestimated the abilities of our foes. But it's always better to be extra cautious and request aid to protect our king from the start, than being unable to find an opening to call reinforcements because we underestimate our foes. When it comes to our king's safety, nothing should be spared." Kael'thas tears his eyes away from Mala, but Malty can tell he is still keeping her inside his peripheral vision. He is most definitely onto her real identity even if he surprisingly didn't call it out now he has all of his forces with him. But perhaps that's also because he only has five hundred to call upon, while the queen's personal procession alone is over a thousand.
"Aye, that is true." The big boarman nods his head as he turns to glare at the beaten Faubley inquisitors. Some of them begin to pull their heads out of the mud now, and they help their black armored leader like they are pulling out a turnip. The psychotic cunt doesn't look so smug now that clumps and spots of mud are sticking in her hair and on her face. "What should we do to these man-animals who dared to offend and try to harm our king?"
"DEATH to his enemies!" The raiders all pull out their large cleavers, as they scream towards the sky with the howls of their direwolf steeds. If the gutter beaks in the forest haven't noticed them, they certainly do now. As for the declaration of their death from the Pridelander raiders. Some of the Faubley inquisitors clearly look unnerved with their eyes furiously darting through the faces of the cheering beastmen, but not their female leader. In fact, the student of Emon simply scowled even harder than before.
"HAVE AT THEE! I will not let anyone hurt my big sister~!" Among all the tension, a single puffy, gray feathered monarch filorial charged in. On top of Mutsu, Melty is waving her gemstone encrusted (which serve much more than embellish purpose. It's well known that high-grade gems are a great conductor and catalyst for casting spells) sword wand in a way that shows everyone that she clearly has no idea how to actually use it as a weapon, rather than a spell casting catalyst. She nearly fell off her steed/fiance when she saw the scene in the clearing, and pulled up a handful of feathers from poor Mutsu's neck. She jumps off Mutsu's back and throws herself into Malty. "OH! Big sister Malty, you are okay!"
Malty is very aware that most people's attention is on her now. She feels a little embarrassed by Melty's very unroyal behavior of publicly showing affection and worry towards her. She wonders if that's how the spirit of Balmus felt at his last moment when he saw the devoted loyalty his children showed him. The princess turned slave moves her hand over, and gently ruffles Melty's hair. "Don't worry about me, Melty. Your big sister is strong. I survived the hunt from the Three Heroes' Church. It takes more than some two-coppers worth, nobody of a Faubley inquisitor to end me."
The Spear Hero also charged into the clearing, followed by Katarina Claes, Keith, Barn, Seliph and Leif. All of them on monarch filorials raised by Motoyasu. Their tense shoulders visibly relaxed when they saw that Princess Melty is only tightly hugging Malty and clearly unharmed.
"What is the meaning of this? Why had my chosen heir openly charged into danger and nobody tried to stop her?!" Malty could almost feel her own ears bleed as her mother barges into the scene as both her knights, and followers of the other heroes all show up behind the queen. All of sudden, the clearing they had been fighting monsters in is growing very crowded with the influx of warriors. She turns to look at Motoyasu, and the Spear Hero is looking down at the ground in a look of shame. So he does feel sorry about somehow letting Melty charge in front of himself.
"It's not Master Motoyasu's fault, Mother!" Melty jumps away from Malty with a startle. She has finally realized the trouble her impulsive action caused the hero who was supposed to look after her. "I got worried for Big Sister Malty, and I rode out with Mutsu before Master Motoyasu, or anyone else could have done anything to stop me."
"He should have taught his son better than to enable you into dangerous situations. I will make sure to have a good, stern talk with both your fiance, and his father on what's acceptable behavior afterwards. As for the meantime..." Once again, Malty fights back the urge to roll her eyes at her mother's action. It's not like she would actually punish the Spear Hero after all this bluster considering his support is important to ensure the legitimacy of Melty's current political position. The queen of Melromarc turns to look at the Faubley inquisitor next. For a brief second, Malty wonders if her mother will throw Naofumi under the carriage once again to wash her own hands clean from the international incident. "You are the former apprentice of Inquisitor Emon. Were you not, young lady? What is the meaning of your action? Why did you pick a fight with one of the four Cardinal Heroes on my land? Last time I checked, the inquisition still had no power over the heroes unless they did something catastrophically damaging to the world."
"If you don't consider perpetuating slavery as catastrophic damage, your priority is clearly not right, Your Majesty." The foolhardy inquisitor spits out her words in the most brazen way possible. She turns her head and glares at Naofumi, who is currently looking at the tip of his foot once again. "But I am not the one who started this fight. The Shield Demon is the one who threatened my life just like my late mentor. I was merely exercising my right as an inquisitor for self defense against an out of control, renegade hero."
"Oh, FUCK YOU! You don't get to pin this on me when you were clearly trying to pick a bone with me from the start. Just like your self-righteous hypocrite of a mentor!" Naofumi jumps on his feet while throwing his arm forward at the shameless inquisitor. If not for Raphtalia holding him back, he might have ran up to the woman and attacked her. Honestly, Malty has to agree with Naofumi's sentiment. The audacity of this woman trying to put the blame on them when she was clearly only looking for excuses to harm them. "I didn't put a hand on you! You are the one who told the fuckers following you to attack me when I told you to piss off!"
"I can speak for my king that he very much told the truth. This group of Faubley inquisitors came out of the forest, and started throwing accusations and taunts at my king for no reason. That's why he lost his temper, and told these thugs from Faubley to get lost before they get hurt. If that deserves retribution, there will be a lot more wars between our nations." Kael'thas turns his head towards the Melromarc queen as he voices his displeasure. "I suggest we make an example of these brutes before they have a chance to do something worse. They started this fight, and they were handily beaten. They should have no complaints about being killed as a consequence."
"No. We do not unlawfully execute members from our ally in Melromarc like a bunch of savages." Mother metaphorically turns her nose at Kael'thas' suggestion. She makes a thinly veiled dig at Siltvelt's well known barbarism. "We shall take them prisoners, and give them to Faubley at the Hero Conference with evidence of their crimes. King Egbert, and Faubley dignitaries will be the one that decides their rightful punishment."
"Really. I wonder if you would be singing the same tune if they tried to openly murder you." The phoenix prince, despite technically being a slave to the Shield Hero, simply scoffs at Queen Mirellia's response. "I seemed to remember one of your knights was ready to murder your fellow lords when they rightfully criticized your mistakes. But I supposed that's what the civilized people do in this world. Grovel to a superior foe, while bullying and threatening to murder their subordinate in an effort to keep your crown."
The leader of (not so) glorious Melromarc and the highest ranking noble of (not so) venerated Siltvelt get into a glaring contest. Their respective subordinates also have their hands on the hilt of their weapons. And Malty is the only one to realize that the Faubley inquisitor is reaching for the axe she dropped on the ground. The princess turned slave readies her weapon to defend herself, or more likely Naofumi. Thankfully, Mala was also on alert and the crippled former maid kicked the weapon out of the Faubley inquisitor's reach. As everyone turns their head towards the downed Faubley inquisitors once again, a wave of loud shrieks can be heard coming from the deeper part of the forest. The warriors gathered the clearing, who were only readying their weapons from before pulling them out and getting into a fighting stance. Just like Malty predicted, the gutter beaks have definitely been attracted. Earth begins to shake, trees in the distance begin to wave and fall as a stampede of monsters charge towards them.
"Guess I didn't bring out my Saiga for nothing after all! [Meteor Shield]!" Naofumi quickly utilizes his strongest shield art to lend protection for their ground. He sounds halfway between excited and exasperated between the fine mess that everyone had a part to play.
Very soon, everyone in the forest is spread out, in either small groups of five to a dozen fighting against dozens upon dozens, possibly over a hundred gutter beaks. Malty once again ends up hiding behind her own group, although not for the lack of want to help out. She knows that her fire magic is too volatile in a forest and would just as likely damage her own allies as their enemies. While her water magic still isn't strong enough to affect a large monster like a gutter beak. The best she can do in this situation is to stay calm, observe the fight around her and cast appropriate spells on someone who needs assistance to not lose a limb, or their lives to the lovingly named 'adventurer killer'. From the corner of her eyes, she sees the female Faubley inquisitor being dragged away by her own men from the fighting. She screams and kicks all the way, like a spoiled brat not getting their prized present. Well, good riddance. It's a shame they can't make good on Kael'thas' suggestion. But it's probably better they don't kill a Faubley inquisitor and risk starting another incident with the strongest nation.
The fight against the beak continues around Malty. The stink of blood, mud, and rotting meat begin to assault her nose but they are quickly replaced by the smell of smoke... wait. Smoke?! Was someone stupid enough to start a fire in a forest?! And sure enough, the princess turned slave can feel heat on her body, she whips around on her heel, and to her horror discovers that half of the forest is lit up to the point that even the sky appears to be dyed in orange. Shout that sounds way more panicked than when the herds of beak things came out of the forest. "FIRE! Someone started a FIRE!"
"I can fix it!" "I'll help!" Two voices cried out among the group of fighting men. Malty doesn't recognize the first one aside from it clearly sounds female, and dainty in the way that suggests a well sheltered and young noble girl. But she is very intimate with the second one, for it belongs to Melty. Before Malty had a chance to warn the two clearly powerful (but inexperienced) mages on the danger of their action, a wave of water was already crashing towards the wild forest fire.
"Naofumi! Barrier now!" Malty didn't have time to consider adding honorifics as she screams at the Shield Hero for dear life. Naofumi immediately jumps into action pushing both hands forward. An emerald [Meteor Shield], and a golden miracle [Barrier] came into existence at the same time in front of the group they were fighting with. His defense goes up just in time, as they are immediately assaulted by a gust of white steam that Malty could almost feel the heat of even behind the protective weapon arts and spells used by Naofumi. Not everyone is as lucky as them, as screams that sound like people are being cooked alive can be heard all around. While knowing the effect that Melty, and that unknown mage from some noble family (by Malty's estimation anyways) unknowingly caused by the forest fire, it might not be far from the truth.
As the wave of steam blows past them, Malty gets a chance to survey the land around them. The previously verdant forest is now in a sorry shape, where the trees have been turned into burnt up husks or charcoals, and the other side looks like it's been assaulted by a very hot and dry hurricane. lying on the ravaged land are countless numbers of fighters from their group who aren't lucky enough to get behind some kind of magical protection. Some of them twitching, others... don't. Casualties from a self-inflicted magical accident born out of sheer idiocy than anything else. Malty swings her head around, desperately trying to locate Melty as her younger sister ran off when the beak things came out of the forest.
Thankfully, Malty managed to spot Melty standing right behind the Spear Hero. It seems like Motoyasu managed to keep her from harm. The physical kind, at the very least. Her little sister's body is shaking like a dried, withered leaf against the winter gust. Her eyes unfocused as she peers around for all the people on the ground. Needless to say, the newly ascended crown princess of House Melromarc is unnerved at how many of her own people she managed to hurt... if not outright killed.
"YOU! You traitorous WITCH! Do you resent your queen mother so much for rightfully taking away your royal status, you attempted to murder her in cold blood?!" Malty's mind is too distracted for her to immediately realize that Sir Palmer is the one throwing the accusation, or the accusation was leveled at her until the tip of an arming sword was shoved right in front of her nose. She's quickly pushed behind as Naofumi stands protectively over her. "Tell me why I shouldn't strike you down as you stand, Witch!"
"Are you kidding me? I specifically did not use my fire magic, or my water magic because I knew something like this would happen! Both of these!" Malty knew she should not get into a verbal spat with mother's honor guard. She is an idiot who would pick a fight with the spirit of a dead saint. But she is also a knight who directly serves the queen, and has the queen's favor thanks to her undying devotion while Malty is now a slave. A property of someone who is already maligned by her queen. A fight between Palmer and herself would end up badly for her, and even for Naofumi. But she had never been good at burying the hatchet with someone, especially when she is unfairly accused of things she didn't even commit.
"Malty is telling the truth! I was standing right beside her this whole time, and she didn't start using her fire magic. Heck, she only used water magic when she saw someone in trouble!" Naofumi is also fiercely defending her almost non-existent honor. From the way his shoulder shakes, it's clear he is getting very emotional. Perhaps Palmer's accusation of Malty trying to openly commit regicide and kinslaying reminded Naofumi of how he himself was almost falsely accused of a serious crime.
"Why would I take the word of a lowly slave? As for you, Shield Hero." Palmer leans slightly back. The nasal sneer she lets out clues in on Malty that she is most definitely not ready to accept their explanation, or backing down. Malty steals a glance at her own mother, and sees that she is hiding her face behind her fan, letting the scene unfold and watching. "I still haven't forgotten how you started more than one insurrection during the Three Heroes' Church's coup. Or how your colleagues kidnapped Princess Melty right under my nose. All of you are perfectly willing to break our law for your own goals. You have no honest reputation that should make people take your words at their face value! Your words are more worthless than dirt!"
"STOP! I know who caused the fire!" Suddenly, Eclair runs over while dragging a young woman behind her over. Said young woman has curly pink hair, wearing a set of dainty looking white dress that's heavily soiled by dirt and soot and... was that a silver tiara on her head? Everything about her screams a sheltered aristocrat that by no means, was ready for the life of a marching army (because that's exactly what the queen's procession is). Eclair pushes the woman forward, a deep frown on her face. "Want to explain yourself, Lady Flare Consevatie?"
Malty wonders if she imagined something, but she saw Naofumi's face twitch a little as his eyes settled on the pink haired woman. She'll remember asking about it in private.
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm SORRY!" The dainty young lady began to fire words out of her mouth faster than the repeater musket used by those Shiltfreeden Shives firing out bullets. Her eyes darted from one person to another without any focus. She is clearly still panicking. "I heard all those stories about how a beak thing would cut your arms and legs off with a single beak snap, so I panicked and started throwing my spell at them. Before I knew it... the fire had started. So I tried to put it out with a wave of water."
"I'm... I'm responsible for it too... I helped Flare with that big water splash." Melty's voice can also be heard a little bit further away. Malty turns her face around to look at her younger sister, and sees both Mutsu and Motoyasu pulling her into a group hug to comfort her.
"Some mistakes have to be accounted for, and allowed for those with less experience fighting. But do try to make yourself ready, before going into another fight like this, or worse, fighting in the Wave, Lady Consevatie." Mother speaks up before Sir Palmer has another chance to spout out her unfiltered vitriol. Because of course, she would forgive the daughter of her own lackey. Mother turns around, and starts ordering all the healers around to help those who are harmed by this dumb accident. Palmer follows right behind, like a good lackey does.
"Wait! Are you going to apologize to Malty for wrongly accusing her?!" Naofumi takes a step forward as he glares dagger at Palmer's back. The Shield Hero is decidedly much more angry at this situation than Malty is feeling right now.
"I don't apologize to a lowly slave. Shield Hero." Palmer only turns her face halfway as she sneers back at Naofumi. "Better watch your pet witch closely, before she actually does commit a crime that'll drag you down with her. I'll be sure to deliver the punishment myself."
"WHY YOU LITTLE-!" With a clip, [Crown Shield] detaches from Naofumi's arm as it curls up into a wrecking flail once again. Malty quickly reaches her arm out to grab Naofumi's shoulder before the Shield Hero does something that both her... and himself would regret later.
"She's not worth it! Master Naofumi." Malty immediately leans into the Shield Hero's ear in an effort to smooth out his temper. "Don't try to attack her. She technically didn't say anything wrong. Not by our law anyway. If you attack her, it'll only give the queen more reason to prosecute you. Don't worry about me. I expected this when I pledged myself as your slave."
"Screw this fucked up world! Screw the systems!" Naofumi takes a few deep breaths. He waves his hand, and finally dispels his Saiga and lets his shield return to its default state. He takes a step back, and spits on the ground. "Someone needs to teach that knight some manners. If she keeps this up, I'm going to be pushed to actually commit regicide one of these days."
Malty doesn't feel like scolding the Shield Hero for his complaint. She completely understands Naofumi's feeling, even if she will never take such drastic action knowing the severe consequences both to herself, and to her nation. The Shield Hero probably knows it too, and he is merely spitting some nasty comment out to release his anger. Giving his shoulder one last comforting shake, Malty walks over to the shaking noble girl. She can see the girl twitching as the princess turned slave speaks. "This idiot - She's part of our retinue, Eclair?"
"AH! Yes. Lady Flare Consevatie. She applied directly for a position under Lord Naofumi. I accepted her because her magical potential is almost as good as Malty." Eclair also nearly jumps on her feet as she turns to look at Naofumi. Completely forgetting his instruction of dropping honorifics when speaking to him. Or maybe she is only keeping up the appearance because they are in public and have countless people around them. "I mentioned to you the night before we departed that we have some applicants that came from families that have wronged you before."
"...Consevatie?" Raphtalia's nose twitches at the mention of this single word, her eyebrows begin to twist together. Normally, Malty would raise her own eyes a little at the clear animosity emanating from someone like Raphtalia. But in this case, she would be more worried if she isn't openly showing a grudge at that particular family. The younger brother of their head of family kept... and likely tortured her friend and her, resulting in her friend's death. And the son of Lord Grima forced her into slavery once again, likely having some unwanted advances on her (Malty shudders if anything worse came from that fuckboy) and held Firo's life over her head. Considering Raphtalia's action towards Fuckboy when he was condemned, she would worry that her surrogate daughter is bottling her negative emotions back in. Malty opens her arms to pull Raphtalia into a sideway hug to make sure she feels okay.
"Are you sure it's a good idea to let somebody from her family into the retinue, Lady Eclair?" Malty gave Lady Seaetto a hard look, despite technically being on a higher station than her now, Eclair looks nervous from the serious look she was given.
"I felt that it was only fair that she'd be given a fair chance and...her magical potential was simply too good to pass up. There weren't many mages that applied, not someone as powerful as Malty anyway." Eclair weakly defended but it was clear that it wasn't convincing either Malty or Raphtalia. Still, her words did get Malty's attention if nothing else. As powerful as herself? Well, Lady Flare certainly peaked her interest now. "And we were a bit desperate for every potentially good candidates "
"We need to give everyone a chance, Raphtalia. There is a... probably slim chance that she isn't like her family." Naofumi replied in added defense of Eclair's decision even as he runs his hand over Raphtalia's back to comfort her. But once again, Malty noticed a strange tone from Naofumi's voice. Especially the way he took a brief pause when commenting about the possibility of Flare being different from her family. It almost sounds like he's trying to convince himself more than anyone else. Which begs the question... Why would he do that? As the Shield Hero, he has the final say on who gets into his retinue or not without fearing any official backlash. Personal grudges and slights notwithstanding. Chief God alone knows how many wars, small and big, were caused by these. Was Naofumi aware of this, or did he simply try to convince himself out of principle like his staunch rejection of slavery till Malty's own life was involved?
"It's not just the fact that she could be like her family that's the problem, the issue is that this'll bring us into contact with Consevatie family...and Raphtalia's former owner like it or not." Malty was fully aware that House Consevatie's likely going try to salvage what little reputation they have left thanks to Fuckboy, by sucking up to the heroes. While the Vulture himself is rather reclusive in the noble circles due to his reputation, it is still cause for some worry.
"I hadn't even thought about that." Naofumi was taken aback by that, it was clear that he hadn't thought about the deeper implication of having this Consevatie idiot in the party.
"We can...try to limit our contact with House Consevatie as much as possible if that is an issue " Eclair suggested.
"That's probably for the best...look, it's better for us to have her with us than risk her going off to do her own thing like Fuckboy." Naofumi explained in greater detail. Hmm... that does make sense. The Shield Hero also turns towards Raphtalia again as he gently moves his own hand through her hair, careful not to brush against her ears. His stare, and his words makes the clearly pampered little noble 'princess' gulp. "This screw up doesn't count. She clearly had no idea what she was doing and wasn't prepared by her family. But if she did something like this again, or worse... done something directly to cause you a problem. She's out."
"I'll make sure to metaphorically beat the stupid out of her head, if you let me. I am the mage of our group after all, and Eclair did mention her potential is similar to mine. I will make sure to get very intimate with this little lady so she knows what she's doing with her magic. Like Uncle Aldrecht did with me after I had my own magical accident." Malty grins at the wench from House Consevatie, and something in her face must have looked predatory to the clearly unnerved little dainty lady. If she was merely gulping at Naofumi's thinly veiled threat from before, her eyes are now dilating while her body is shaking like a leaf. Good. She clearly understood her own severe... not so much as a mistake as utter idiocy. Malty will make sure she is either open to learning from the experience, or die trying. As what would Lord Grima say if his daughter had some unfortunate 'accident'. Well, there's a reason why there are much less mages than there are fighters, thieves or even clerics. He can't prove anything.
"Yes. It makes sense." Naofumi bobs his head as he rubs his chin, clearly thinking over Malty's suggestion much harder than herself. He turns his head to look at her next. "If you are teaching this Lady Consevatie, wouldn't it make sense we gather all the magic users from my friend's group as well? Making it a big magic learning session? I might even attend myself. I've been focusing on my miracle magic, not this wizardry magic. Because you know... all I need is to think very hard on using Miracles."
Malty is pretty sure that for most clerics and priests, using Miracles requires much more than simply 'think very hard'. Then again, Naofumi is a hero, connected to their very world by the testimony of their current Avatar of Alaya. It makes sense that Miracle magics come easy to him. As for his suggestion, she has to admit there's value for this kind of magic session. While there is an actual uniform system in place to teach how to do magic unlike the anarchic old time, it is still well known that older, or even masters of magic, still tend to hoard their specific understanding of magic theories like a dragon treats its treasures, rather than sharing it with the public. It should benefit her own understanding of magic if they can get all the mages, even some of the sorcerers in their collective group to sit down, and share their own theories.
The princess turns to look at Kael'thas who walks towards them. He is also one of the unharmed individuals, aside from there being a small layer of warm wetness covering his face and cloth. "Do you mind sharing the insight of your Siltvelt Animism with a bigger group?"
"Normally it is not a branch of knowledge to be openly shared with people who are eager to become our enemies." Prince Kael'thas' reply is noticeably clipped, but he gives a look at the Shield Hero, and gives a replacement that sounds, and looks like he's giving his firstborn away. "But seeing how we are dealing with the greater crisis of the Wave of Catastrophe. I am willing to share some of my people's collective knowledge if my king demands it."
"Please do. I think we need all the help we are going to get." The Shield Hero gives one final nod to Kael'thas, before he walks away to join the rest of the healers. His sworn Shield Yatsuhashi trailing behind him. Kael'thas also walks away, back to his own people. And the phoenix prince begins to place down... what looks like a small bundle of fires on the ground not unlike what you would find in a camp. Just without the wood piles underneath. Malty isn't sure how this is supposed to help anyone. But then she noticed how the beastman raiders, and dire wolves twitching and whimpering on the ground have visibly stopped their painful groans almost like something soothed them. Is this the difference between what Kael'thas said to be 'dead fire' from her wizardry magic, and what she assumed to be 'living fire' used by his own branch.
"You. You will follow me from now on. Don't do anything I don't tell you to." Malty narrows her eyes to glare at Lady Flare once again, making the little Consevatie 'princess' shiver in her dainty little dress. Good to know she can still put the fear in someone even without her royal status. She walks over to Melty next, and sees her younger sister still looks as shaken as when she first saw how her own action hurt so many people despite Motoyasu and Mutsu's best efforts to comfort her. Malty slightly bends her head down, looking closer at her younger sister while calling out. "Are you okay, Melty?"
"I... I hurt people, Big Sister. A lot of people... I only wanted to help..." Melty's eye slowly moves up to meet Malty's, she quickly averts her gaze once again. Her voice sounds as scared as a small animal spotting a large predator. She seems to suddenly realize something, as she begins to furiously struggle within Motoyasu and Mutsu's embrace. "Get, get away from me! I might hurt all of you!"
"Melty Quelaan Melromarc! Calm yourself down!" Malty takes a step till she is right in Melty's face. Her hands close in on her younger sister's cheeks, to force the despondent girl looking at her, rather than focus on her own sense of guilt. "When your magic is strong from multiple bloodlines, having magical accidents that hurt other people is nothing new. You want to know why our mother doesn't like me? It's because before you were born, I lost control of my own magic. And I killed my nanny because of it. Katarina's personal maid, Ann, lived to tell the tale if you don't believe me. Her back still carries the scar my fire caused. Do you want me to stay away from you? Because my magic, much more dangerous than yours, could hurt you?"
"What? No!" Melty's flailing stops as she stares at Malty in the eyes. "You had an accident before. But you never hurt me, Big Sister Malty. I'm not afraid of you."
"Yes. That is what happens with our magic. Your water magic isn't as volatile as my fire magic, but all of them are by wild and dangerous by definition. That's why Uncle Aldrecht, my magic teacher always emphasizes that our power is always only as powerful as our control of it. He helped me learn how to control my own magic." Malty pointedly left out that her teacher was now dead before once again, she tossed away her own self-control for a false sense of power during her travels. "Now that he's gone... I'll make sure to teach you what Uncle Aldrecht once taught me. Both the theories, and the discipline. So you won't end up hurting someone by accident when all you wanted was to help. There's nothing to fear about our magic, and fear itself only makes it worse. Be cautious, be constantly aware of what damage you could do. And then learn to control it so you don't let it loose."
"Yes, Big Sister. I would like that." Seeing Melty finally calm down, Malty releases her hands and takes a step back. She noticed how the two protectors of Melty also released their hold on Melty.
"What you did is good, Princess Malty. Families should stick together." Malty has to blink a couple of times when she sees the almost distant look on Motoyasu's face. Since when was the hopelessly idiotic Spear Hero the one with secrets? He shakes it away quickly and changes his expression back to the usual goofy smile again. "I'll trust Melty to you. You'll do a good job."
The Spear Hero's trust in her would have been thoroughly misplaced at the start of her journey with Naofumi, so was the Shield Hero's for that matter. But as much as her mother might think otherwise, she really does only want the best for Melty right now, her eventual ascension to the throne notwithstanding. But none of them likely have much, if any choice with the upcoming Hero Conference paused at Cal Mira Island. There are bigger monsters than Mother, and her dubious protection as the supreme leader of Melromarc would mean much to them.
End Note:
'Now there's two of them' seemed to be the unintentional theme with this chapter. There's Sir Palmer, and Inquisitor Kyre... and of course, Malty and Flare.
XD
We get another flashback scene between the two Melromarc princesses, this time from Melty's perspective. I'll leave all of you to decide for yourself if Malty was genuinely pretending to be a good sister to Melty to keep up the appearance, and she's merely done the iresponsible thing of taking a six years old for a joy ride without any safety precaution due to negligence... or if she's really trying to get Melty killed through an accident.
And yes. Malty had joined forces with Flare of all people. The strawman evil princesses to excuse the psycho male lead has to look out for each other. No, there isn't some deeper meaning behind introducing Flare into this story, or any real planning before hand. I saw some topic people posted of Melty Melromarc Squad subreddit with Malty and posing Flare together, and decided to do it for real for my story. Although personally, I would always put Malty together with Noriko Tatsumiya from [Dungeon Seeker], and Yuri Neuer from [Shilling of the Author's Pet].
Yes, that's what I'm calling the story Iris Amelia came from. Because that's an infinitely more fitting title than the actual one.