Hello, ITalkToSky here.
The last two chapters fully introduced the premise of the story. Charlotte was made to see the situation for what it was. Armed with otherworldly knowledge, she will fight for a happy future. Not even the void can stop her.
Cleaning up this chapter took a little more time.
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Only after her spirit was galvanized did Charlotte realize how little she possessed. Her martial prowess was prodigious. Taking on suicide missions on a regular basis and living to tell the tale had a distinct advantage. That was pretty much all she could name going for her. Detracting from that, there were always bigger fishes, and she was nowhere near the top.
As an heir apparent to the Duchy of Orléans, one would have assumed that Charlotte was swimming in coins. Unfortunately, Joseph siphoned all the income of the territory to the crown, citing various pretext that boiled down to being on a losing side of the succession war. At the same time, Charlotte was held back from inheriting the title from her clinically insane mother, Duchess Margot, leaving no one capable of opposing this tyranny. This resulted in her seeing not a single coin from the otherwise wealthy territory.
Her father's former allies were also just that, former. They had long been purged. Joseph was very thorough, utilizing the full capability of the secret apparatus to hunt down any thorns in his side. After that bloodbath, the remaining ones fell in line with Joseph's sycophants and vipers.
Her own allies were…nonexistent.
With heavy heart, she finished taking notes on the construction of a thought-driven quill from 58 Simple Artifacts and Their Fabrication. Lunaire highly recommended her to make one, given its function to transcribe thought straight onto the pages. It was a simple construct under the new paradigm of magic. Being more aware of the flow of magic power allowed for more intricate control. Every day, Charlotte strayed further into heresy.
Charlotte wondered where the chamber of commerce was in Tristainia. The recipe required high purity silver, which was not traded commonly in the market. Adding to her mental checklist, she sealed her notebook with a binding spell and stood up.
Not much time remained until the end lunch break. She decided to go on a lap around the school. Strong mind resided in strong body.
On her way out of the library, a commotion caught her attention. At the entrance, a tanned girl with generous bosom stood surrounded by a gaggle of girls. Charlotte instantly recognized the Germanian student. Kirche left quite an impression during the entrance ceremony and not the good kind. They stayed out of each other's ways since their first run in. The redhead seemed to vastly preferred messing with the Valliere and toying with the boys. As for the other girls, Charlotte had an even vaguer impression.
"They came by themselves proffering sweet words, fine wine, and pretty trinkets. 'Kirche, would you do me the honor of joining me for a drink.'" Kirche mockingly lowered her tone to imitate the gruff voice of the various male students, who could not seem to leave her alone. "It has always been like this. I am trouble too, but what can I do but accept their favor."
The girls around her audibly ground their teeth and strained out their words. "Listen here, harlot. This is Tristain. Unlike your barbarian country, we have proper ways. If you can't even understand such a basic courtesy, perhaps you should return from whence you came."
"Ha! If you are so concerned about your darlings, why don't you chain him up to your bedpost?"
Charlotte felt no need to listen any further and left. The girls did not even acknowledge her, which was perfectly acceptable. Their lot was more trouble than they were worth.
The rising tension in the academy finally reached its crescendo on the weekend of the second week. The welcoming ball was the first occasion for the new students to mingle and show off their more fanciful garbs. Especially when the upperclassmen played the host, none wanted to look anything but their best.
Not that the upperclassmen were completely placid either. They were under their own kind of pressure, not wanting to be seen slacking or cutting corners. The boys in particular put their best forward, looking sharp and vibrating with excitement.
Charlotte felt a throbbing pain in her heart. She had always hated balls. It was on such opulent evenings that she lost everything. The only saving grace was the food. She grew up not able to be picky about where and what she ate. So, any opportunity to put food in her stomach was alright in her book.
"Look! Look! That is Pelisson."
"He is so dreamy!"
"Ah~"
"Check that new girl out."
Everywhere she went, these were the common words thrown around. It was a shame. Charlotte came expecting an opportunity to make new friends. She needed to put in the effort to build up her arsenal. Unfortunately, everyone seemed more interested in checking each other out rather than getting to know anyone new. Or at least as far as she noticed.
Writing this whole venue as a lost cause, Charlotte moved toward the balcony. Suddenly, words rang out in her head.
"You know. If I didn't know about this thing, I would be rightly spooked."
"Lunaire?"
"You never want to hear random music start playing in the middle of the dungeon."
"A ball…sorry."
"No worry. I understand you have no control over what get transmitted over. Anyway, what is the occasion."
"Welcoming new student."
"I see."
His voice was replaced by mechanical clicking. It was the telltale sign when he started tinkering with the strange device responsible for their connection.
"Any progress?"
"With this thing? Still mapping the mana path." Charlotte found it bizarre to hear head scratching when she wasn't the one doing it. "It is going slow. I try not to alter anything unknowingly."
"Mmn."
"Well, don't let me disturb your evening."
Making instant mockery of that sentiment, squeals and gasps reverberated the halls. Charlotte turned around. It was quite a striking view.
At the center of attention was Kirche. If her risqué gown left little to the imagination before, there certainly was not any left to it anymore. Strips of fabric from her shredded gown swirled gently down near her feet. The peaks, the valleys, and everywhere in between drew in eyes from all rounds. The men practically drooled as she shuffled uncertainly.
Respectably, without a hint of duress, Kirche sashayed over to a sofa next to the window and sat down. Crossing her legs unhurriedly, she muttered, "it got colder."
"Care to share what festivity is happening over there?"
"A student. Stripped."
"Stripped? Like naked? Spells?"
"Mmn."
"The school just started, didn't it?"
"…"
"Unwelcoming reminder is unwelcomed. Kids are as vicious as ever. What kind of grudge did she caused for someone to do such a thing?"
"Popular among boys."
A choking noise came through the link, followed by a violent bout of coughing. It took a while for Lunaire to collect himself. "Wow, just wow."
More so that Lunaire realized at the time, the audacity of this act belonged to a different class entirely. It was not just the severity of the prank but also to whom it happened to. Despite her carefree and flighty attitude, Kirche was not just any Kirche. No, her full name was Kirche Augusta Frederica von Anhalt-Zerbst, the daughter of a Grand Duke of Anhalt-Zerbst. Charlotte did not know of the circumstances behind the girl studying in Tristain, but it did not matter. An Anhalt-Zerbst could not be humiliated so. If a whiff of this got out, heads would roll.
"Is the girl alright?"
"…"
"I hope it does not become a trauma for her."
The more likely scenarios were that this affair would end up being much more traumatic to the one causing it. Kirche basically had carte blanche for this insult. Charlotte sighed inwardly. She could do without this drama in her life. Even being the bystander drained her considerably.
"You…the method of revenge you thought of is really clever."
"Huh?"
Charlotte's taciturn and mute nature was somewhat infamous at this point. However, ever since the connection, she found herself more vocal. There was no facial expression and other nonverbal cue to go on when talking to Lunaire. She was forced to say 'yes' instead of just nodding. She had to make a little noise to indicate assent or disagreement. Every time either of them went silent, the other often wondered whether it was just a pause or an end of conversation. Bit by bit, she had grown used to opening her lips for once.
Kirche threw herself down on the chair next to her. "Is it that unforgivable that I made fun of your name?"
"…" Charlotte tilted her head and stared blankly at the incensed redhead. So much knowledge was crammed into her little noggin that minor events seemed like a blur in her memory.
Oblivious to her confusion, Kirche threw a piece of shredded fabric at Charlotte's face. "This is very expensive."
"…"
"I will make you suffer the same humiliation. You best be prepared."
"It wasn't me."
"Stop acting. You excel at wind magic, right? I hated the wind originally, but now I despise it. Sneaking around like snake, how despicable!"
Charlotte's thought churned for a solution. She needed allies, not to make an enemy out of a high imperial noble's daughter. Her silence was not taken well.
"Still playing dumb," Kirche spoke evenly, but storm was brewing in her eyes. "Oh, it matters not. I will make sure you remember what you did soon enough."
The redhead stood up when Charlotte mustered a reply. "I did not do it."
Kirche scoffed and did not deign to reply.
The academy dorm came with modest furniture. The new occupants were quick to replace them with more opulent ones brought with them from home. Charlotte was not one of them. She came here with nothing but two crates of her favorite collections of books. Apart from an extra bookshelf requisitioned from the groundkeeper, her room was nothing but standard.
Not anymore.
At the end of the day and expecting another productive night, Charlotte found her room missing two bookshelves. Where they stood, a pile of ash remained. She stared blankly for a moment. A stifling sensation rose in her chest.
These books were her companions in the darkest time, her sanctuary, her solace. Charlotte bent down to pick up the remains of one. It crumbled into flakes and fell from her fingertips. Such a wretched end for a steadfast ally.
Standing back up, Charlotte caught a glimpse of red hair on her bed. The stark whiteness of her bed, curiously spared from the flame, made it stand out. She picked it up gently and held it up to her eyes. The glossy silk-like hair was striking. Her anger flared but petered out as quickly as it came. Charlotte grew pensive.
Owing to the heretical teachings, Charlotte was introduced to one of the most fundamental skills of a magician. The first step to learning magic was to be able to sense magic. In this area, Halkeginian teachings paled in comparison. It was like seeing color for the first time. One simple byproduct of such skill was the ability to gauge the strength of a mage.
"Who is it?"
"It is me." Charlotte answered evenly.
In a heartbeat, the door swung open, revealing a tanned girl clad in purple nightgown. Kirche wore a cruel smile. Oddly, Charlotte found this refreshing. Misguided as it was, her malice was justified. It was quite rare for those harboring ill intention toward her to have a just cause backing it up.
"Finally, let's us settle this then."
Instead of words, Charlotte offered up the remnant of a burnt book binding. She fished the most intact one from the ash pile. The opposing pair of brown eyes glared at it and shook her head.
"I didn't do this."
"Of course not. Triangle-class mage would leave no remain."
"Then why…"
Charlotte reached into her robe and pulled out a few strands of red hair. As expected, Kirche instantly recognized what was growing on top of her head. A look dawned on her.
"What a headache."
"A setup."
"Hmm, I wonder. While there is something fishy going on, it doesn't completely clear your name."
Faster than Kirche could react, she felt a gush of wind brushing past her skin. It left her relatively unmolested, apart from ruffled hair. The same could not be said about her room. Thunderous bang was heard behind her as a massive gale ripped open the dresser door and sent small trinkets flying.
"…I see, another triangle."
Even without a developed mana sense, those powerful enough to be considered a Triangle-class and above gained the ability to sense the power used against them. Charlotte did not recall anything of noticeable caliber used the night before, so this demonstration would be sufficient.
"How unpleasant." Kirche spat as if she bit on a bug. "It seems that I have been played."
"It's alright."
"I want to apologize. In my anger, my words were harsh and undeserved."
Charlotte shook her head. "Not necessary."
"I want to apologize anyway, Tabitha."
It was the spur of the moment. But it felt right. Charlotte looked up to meet the gaze of the buxom girl head on.
"Charlotte."
"Pardon?"
"My name is Charlotte."
"O-oh, I see. Charlotte, is it? That is a cute name."
"Mmn." Lunaire said the same as well. Even if it was just lip service, the corners of her lips rose a little.
"You are cuter when you smile like this." Kirche's smile took on a conspiratorial tint. "Now, what say we get some payback? You gave a good pretext by trashing my room already."
A cold light shimmered in Charlotte's eyes even as her smile widened. She appreciated those quick on the uptake. Tapping her staff against the floor, the sound dampening spell around them unraveled. Raising her voice, Charlotte stated flatly.
"Vestri Court. Now."
"Good."
The chair beside her clatter as the buxom redhead threw herself on it. Kirche slovenly draped herself on the table, barely avoiding the inkwell. Charlotte nodded to her in acknowledgement. She intended to return to her transcribing, but a thought crossed her mind. Kirche was not a bad choice for an ally. Despite her outgoing nature unnerving her sometimes, she was not bad-natured. Her family was also powerful. It was a good idea to build some relation. The issue was how.
"You let them off lightly."
It was the first thing to mind. Regardless of intentions, they have damaged Kirche's reputation and marriage prospects. This was not something that a Grand Ducal family should or would take lying down. Anhalt-Zerbst was an Imperial noble, so they could not demand the heads of Tristain aristocrats' children. But if they pushed the issue, this would have been a diplomatic incident.
"It doesn't matter. I came here to avoid trouble at home too, so it is best not to get them involved."
Charlotte knew better than to pry too deeply into her family baggage. Still, it was prudent to remind her. "The scandal cannot be contained forever."
Kirche shrugged nonchalantly. "When the time comes, the time comes. And besides, I taught them a lesson that they won't forget."
Nor would the rest of the school. Not only were De Lorraine, Charente, and their lackeys hung upside down half-naked on the tower, but they would also be sporting a rather conspicuous bald look for the rest of the year. Kirche's flame was both precise and left no ashes behind.
"More importantly, Charlotte, next Void Day, let's go to Tristainia together. Maybe we could get you some new books!"
"Mmn."
One step at a time.
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And there it is.
This was how Tabitha and Kirche became friends in canon. The outcome is similar in the story, but with the change happening, Charlotte is more conscious of the political implications and the benefits that Zerbst can bring to the table. Germanian are practical-minded people. Not tied down by tradition, surely, they can be of use to our little heretic.