I'm actually quite happy that I was able to get this chapter out earlier than my usual schedule, since I thankfully had some free time this week to write. Not sure if the next chapter will be nearly as fast, but I will try.
Big thanks to Qinlongfei for beta reading this chapter and giving important critique.
With that said, let's get this chapter started!
Chapter 54: Moon Raven
Eclair was surprised by how easily she managed to fall asleep last night. It almost felt impossible at the time with the whirlwind of emotions she was dealing with and the intense fear about the coming morning about what she was going to do. But when she drifted off to sleep, she felt strangely at peace for the briefest of moments, that when she woke up this would all turn out to just be nothing more than a scary nightmare. That her father and Uncle Reichnott was still alive, and there to guide her through this time of turmoil and catastrophe.
But when she opened her eyes again this morning, the reality set in about what had happened yesterday wasn't some terrible nightmare she had. It was real, all too real.
Uncle Reichnott was really dead. The same Uncle Reichnott who taught her the basics of etiquette, all the rules and manners that a proper noble lady should be knowledgeable about. She remembers being bored to tears back in those calm days that she never truly appreciated, wanting to focus more on her sword training than listen to Uncle Reichnott harp on about proper dinning etiquette and how to address people for the thousandth time.
She had found it annoying at the time. She would deal with it forever if it meant he would be here again to do it.
But he was gone from this world forever, the kind eyes that showed her that honor and justice could still prevail in Melromarc never to open again. And in a few hours, Eclair is going to have to tell Cute that he is dead.
She lied down on her bed for what felt like hours, just staring at the ceiling of her room before she willed herself to get up. Eclair lets out a sigh as she thinks about the day she has ahead of her, Asla told her last night that he would take care of the organizing the escort party to Reichnott county, so all she needed to do was look presentable and not like a worthless excuse for a knight and noble that failed to protect her people. Easy.
Eclair almost goes for her regular knight armor when she remembers that she is meeting with Cute to inform her about her father's death, and as such needs to look the part of a noble for an official meeting like this. Eclair almost chose to forgo noble etiquette and just wear whatever she wants, she was going to inform a young girl that her father was dead, not go to stuffy ball. But she knew Uncle Reichnott well enough to know that he would want her to look presentable even in the face of a tragedy like this. He was always a bit of a stickler for presentability in attire and manners.
So in honor of his wishes, Eclair searched through her closet for a few minutes, finding a suitable enough dress that was a mix of yellow and pink that she thinks she wore once to a ball. Good enough.
As Eclair got dressed and ready, she pondered over how she was going to tell Cute about the news that Uncle Reichnott was gone. She had spent most of last night worrying about it, and she still hadn't really come to an answer. Eclair had imagined every single way Cute would react to the news and none of it was good. She imagined Cute breaking down, sobbing, denying that it was true or maybe even hitting Eclair for her failure. Eclair would let herself be hit in that last scenario, it was the least she could endure after she failed to save Cute's father.
She tried to think about what she could possibly say to comfort Cute in any of those scenarios, but they all felt hollow. Uncle Reichnott had been tortured, mutilated and his body was left on display by the bandits as a mockery to them all. Eclair didn't even have a full body to bring back and bury, and that was meant to be a mercy considering how brutalized Uncle Reichnott's body was. A 'traditional' funeral would be out of the question, somehow bringing an urn of ashes would be more respectful and merciful for Cute.
She tries to think of her own father and how she dealt with his death, but it was than she realized that she didn't really have a good answer for that either. Its only been about two months since father died, but it feels like years to Eclair and the wound still feels both old and fresh at the same time. Like an old wound that still aches and tears you up inside.
Eclair never really got the time to properly grieve him, not counting what time she spent stewing in the royal castle's private hospital. Eclair had come to terms with her father's death, he had died defending their people in Port Harp to his very last breath. There was sadness, yes, but she could also take some measure of comfort in knowing what his last moments were. What can she possibly say to Cute when her father's last moments were likely spent begging for mercy as he was tortured and strung up like a puppet as one final insult to them all.
Maybe there isn't anything she can say and she hates it.
After a few minutes of getting dressed and combing her hair a bit to look as presentable as possible, Eclair looked herself in the mirror. She thought that she looked the part of a noble lady, yet under the pretty dress she feels like an imposter who isn't worthy to be called as such and it didn't feel natural in the slightest. Like a little girl trying too hard to fit into her parents shoes and failing as a result.
A knock on her door stopped her bitter thoughts, as she stood up straight to greet whoever it was." Come in."
Lucatiel was the one who emerged with a concerned look on her face. The dark spots on her eyes showed that she didn't seem to get much sleep last night, but was still holding strong. " My Lady? I came to check on you, we are ready to depart now for Reichnott County."
Eclair suppressed a flinch at hearing the name of her uncle, as she tried to maintain her calm expression. " Understood. Let's get underway then." Eclair said in as calm a voice as she could manage.
She was escorted to the front of Silver Keep by Lucatiel and when they arrived, Eclair could see that Asla and a squad of her men were already waiting there with a personal carriage and steeds ready. Eclair felt another spike of guilt hit her at the idea that Asla and her men had probably been waiting for Chief God knows how long for their Lady to arrive, and she had been taking her sweet time getting ready because she was wallowing in her self-pity and guilt.
Asla and her knights don't look the least bit annoyed at how long they had been waiting, instead they all had solemn looks on their faces. Eclair noticed that Asla held the urn that contained the ashes of Uncle Reichnott and it made her chest tighten at the sight of it.
The Shield Hero, Bow Hero and some of the members of their respective parties were present to see her off. Eclair glanced at the First Princess who seemed to have a mix of a sad and guilty look on her face. Eclair didn't know why the Princess seemed to be feeling guilt, perhaps she feels that this is her fault for the death of one of the noble lords under her family's rule. But it wasn't the Princess's fault or any of the heroes...
This was her fault and it was her burden to carry.
" I'll carry the ashes in the carriage." Eclair said softly as she approached Asla. He looked both concerned and surprised at the request, and Eclair had a pretty good guess as to why.
But she needed to do this. For herself, for Uncle, and for Cute.
" My lady, are you-"
" I'm sure. Just...give them to me." Eclair needed all her willpower to keep her voice from cracking. Asla shared a look with Lucatiel before handing the urn over to Eclair.
The Lady Seatto gently held it in her hand, looking down at the urn that contained the ashes of the man that was once her uncle. She took a deep breath as she boarded the carriage without another word and setting it down onto the seat next to her, doing her best to avoid staring at it as the carriage began to move. She was alone in the carriage with nothing but the urn on her left, which gave her plenty of time to think about all this.
The ride to Reichnott County was smooth and there didn't seem to be any threat of them being attacked by bandits on the way there, but the duration of the ride felt torturously long to Eclair. As each passing minute meant that she was getting closer to breaking the truth about what had happened yesterday, and she is still no closer to figuring out what she can say. Should she start with a formal greeting or is this far too personal to uphold professional decorum? Then again, Eclair did go through the trouble of getting dressed but that was more out of respect for Uncle Reichnott than professionalism on her part.
A thousand questions and scenarios ran through her head and each one just made her more worried than the last about what was going to happen.
She had lost men in the field before to Siltvelt raiding parties, bandits, and monsters. She had gone through the motions of losing her men and grieving for them. Father had taught her long ago that no matter how hard one tries, they can never save everybody, no matter how valiantly you fought or defended. Accepting the loss of their men was sadly a reality that they had to face whether they liked it or not.
Eclair was well aware of this reality, but that didn't mean she hated it any less. And this wasn't just a knight that was under her command who had fallen, this was Uncle Reichnott, somebody she had grown up looking up to and caring for like family.
Eclair glanced over at the urn seated next to her, she had kept a hand on it to make sure it didn't spill onto the floor of the carriage, even if the ride itself hadn't been particularly bumpy. The Lady Seatto let out a breath as she gently picked up the urn and held it in both hands, looking down at the container that held the ashes of someone she knew as family.
" I'm so sorry uncle..." Eclair apologized, knowing the pointlessness of her words. Words that would never be heard by the one person she wanted them to reach. Words and apologies never brought back the dead.
But as she gently ran her hands across the urn, it felt oddly comforting in a way, like Uncle Reichnott was still there with her. Right by her side as she was about to do one of the hardest things in her life.
All of a sudden the carriage came to a complete stop and Eclair knew that her time was up.
The door to the carriage opened and Eclair took a deep breath as she stepped off, looking up at the sky to see the clouds moving and telltale signs of rain about to come. Eclair wondered if this was the Chief God's way of mocking her for her failure, the oncoming weather fitting the storm that was raging in Eclair's heart as she stepped up to the front of Reichnott manor. She had handed off the ashes of Uncle Reichnott to Asla for a moment to greet the welcoming reception.
Like last time, there was a welcoming reception of guards and servants who bowed their heads in respect to her visit. But they all had worried looks on their faces for their missing lord, which just served to make Eclair feel worse than she already was about the news that she was about to break.
And like last time, there was a young girl with pink hair who ran out of the manor with her bodyguard trailing behind her to greet the Lady Seatto.
" Eclair! I heard that you had arrived, its so good to see you again!" Cute didn't miss a beat, as she instantly went up to the Lady Seatto and hugged her. Eclair stiffened at the contact, but it was not unwelcome as she hugged Cute back.
" Its good to see you too Cute..." Eclair tried to keep her voice steady, but it was getting harder by the minute as Cute pulled back from the hug.
" Eclair, do you know where my father is? He left to go speak with big sis Weiss at her camp yesterday, but he hasn't been back yet." Cute had a concerned look on her face, as she looked up at Eclair with those hopeful eyes." I'm getting really worried about him, I waited all night but he never came back."
And there it was. The moment of truth where Eclair would have to shatter Cute's hopes that her father was fine.
All she needed to do was say it. Just say the few words that would send it all crashing down. Just try not to mention the fact that her father had been tortured to death and had his limbs hacked off, than it should all be fine.
That was what she told herself but her mouth refused to open, as if it had been sewn shut in the past few seconds.
" Eclair what's wrong? You look pale." Cute said, giving her a worried look. Did she look pale? She was sure that her skin wasn't pale before she left the Keep.
She glanced over at the several other guards and servants present, and they were all looking at her in expectation. S-She couldn't do this. This was a mistake, she wasn't ready for this.
Eclair was about to turn tail and run back into the carriage when she felt a hand touch her shoulder and she turned her head to see Lucatiel giving her a look of support. Asla had also stepped up to support his sister with his own look of encouragement to her. No words were said between them, but they understood each other well enough to know what it would mean.
We will bear this burden with you, my Lady.
That was just the push she needed for what came next.
Eclair took a deep breath to center herself as her mouth finally obeyed her mind and spoke.
" I'm...I'm sorry Cute, but your father is dead."
There was a moment of silence and varying responses from those present. The guards and servants gasped or had their mouth hung open in shock at what they just heard. Jean looked horrified at the news and his face had turned pale. But Cute's was the one that took the cake for her, her eyes had widened and she took a step back in shock at what she had just heard.
" W-W-What did you say?" Cute's voice sounded terrified, as if she hadn't heard Eclair right.
" Uncle Reic- Your father is dead. He was killed yesterday when he was visiting the Schnee Mining Camp." Eclair pushed herself to say these words, no matter how much they hurt her or Cute.
" No...no...NO! That can't be true! You're lying! My father would never just...he wouldn't just leave me like that!" " Cute denied what Eclair was saying. She wouldn't want to believe it either.
Eclair closed her eyes and took a deep breath before speaking again." I'm sorry Cute but...we confirmed his death yesterday, we have his ashes with us."
Eclair gestured towards Asla who took a step forward with the urn that contained Uncle Reichnott's ashes, and that seemed to break whatever denial Cute had brought up to protect herself.
" M-My father is... he really is...Chief God, no!" Cute cried out as she grasped the side of her head as tears started to fall.
It hurt Eclair to see Cute like this, but as her breath became quicker, her expression shifted to one of anger.
" Who did it?! Who killed my father Eclair!?" Cute demanded with fury on her face and tears in her eyes.
Eclair hesitated on whether or not to tell Cute the truth, but a part of her knew that trying to hide it would just do more harm than good." The Hound Lord's men attacked the camp, your father fled and they ambushed him, we went to rescue him but-"
" I'LL KILL THEM! I'll kill every last one of them myself if I have to!" Cute shouted at the top of her lungs, rageful sorrow in her voice as she seemed to have tried to push past Eclair to do just that right away.
" My lady please-" Jean stepped up to try and stop his charge from running off on a suicide mission, but his hand was slapped away by Cute.
" Don't touch me!"
" Cute please stop! Your father wouldn't have wanted this!" Eclair easily stepped up in his place, grabbing to Cute by the arms to stop her, as she tried to console her.
" Those animals took my father Eclair, they deserve to die! " Cute said with nothing but pure disdain in her voice mixed with sorrow, as her rage seem to turn to Eclair now. " Why didn't you protect him Eclair!? You're the one who's supposed to protect us!" Cute shouted as she started banging her fist against Eclair's chest. It didn't really hurt considering the level difference, but it still hit Eclair on an emotional level.
It was another reminder of her failure to protect her people.
Eclair didn't reply right away as Cute's punches against her softened and she broke down entirely into a mess of sobs and tears.
" I'm sorry Cute, I'm so sorry..." Eclair muttered as she held Cute in her arms, as the rain started to come down and she escorted her back inside.
Mein's POV
The rain was coming down heavily with the wind blowing so hard it moved some of the trees slightly and creating a barrier of water that made it difficult to see past more than a few meters. The weather feeling cruelly fitting for what had just happened yesterday and the general mood of the Keep.
At the moment, she was standing near the entrance to the Keep with Ake, just looking out over the distance which wasn't very far considering that the rain was obstructing their view for the most part. But Mein found it almost comforting in an odd sort of way, she hadn't expected to run into Ake here but it was convenient for her and the two maintained a mutual silence between them for a few minutes since her arrival.
" They've been gone for almost two hours." Ake remarked all of a sudden, giving her a side eyed look. " Should we alert the heroes about it? Make sure they are alright and everything? "
The knight's suggestion was a bit surprising considering his distaste for the nobility in general, but he did seem to have a genuine respect for Eclair and House Seatto at least. Perhaps because they are widely known as one of the most honorable noble houses in Melromarc alongside House Arc, of course. It would seem that Ake's distaste for nobility was not irrational or directed towards every single noble. Just the assholes like Consevatie and Rabier.
Regardless, his suggestion did make Mein think about it for a moment and it was a legitimate concern. The Hound Lord and his men have clearly shown to be bold enough to be willing to openly attack high ranking members of the nobility here in the north and they had already staged an attack here not too long ago. The possibility of them launching another attack on the still recovering Lady Seatto was not out of the question...
The thundering of the rain interrupted her thoughts briefly, but it allowed her to figure out why the bandits wouldn't dare attack them again now, especially in harsh weather like this. Thomas had taught her that weather can both be your friend or your worst enemy depending on what your objective is. Rain is wonderful when you're being tracked and need to cover your tracks, but its a nightmare when you're the hunter of the situation. From a battle perspective, rain can be good to provide cover for a surprise attack, but its a double edged sword in that regard, as it makes it difficult to fight when you're being bombarded by water and you can barely see anything.
" No, they should be fine. They had a full knight escort with them and I doubt the bandits would be so bold to attack again so soon in weather like this." Mein shot that suggestion down, though there was still the underlying fear that the bandits would still be arrogant enough to attempt an attack.
Maybe Eclair should have taken either Naofumi or Itsuki with her for extra protection, but she knew that the Eclair likely would have rejected the offer anyway for the same reason she rejected Mein's offer last night. This was a personal matter between her and Cute, and she...she didn't have any place in this situation.
" True, Eclair is probably just busy comforting Cute. I doubt she's taking it well." Ake shrugged but had a sympathetic look on his face.
Mein flinched as she conjured up the image of Cute crying in Eclair's arm, as she called out for her dead father and never get an answer. She could feel her chest tighten in response to the image and it reminded her too much of her own experience with Thomas.
Mein shook her head, she can't focus on that right now, not when she has something else equally important to take care of.
" Enough about that, I need your help with something. Get Naofumi and come to my room, I'll get Raphtalia." Mein asked as she refocused.
" What's with the sudden urgency?" Ake raised an eyebrow at her.
" Let's just say me and Raphtalia found something yesterday, that the entire group should know about." Mein said, not wanting to say anymore and run the risk of being overheard.
Ake gave her a look." Should I get Filo and Jun then?"
" No, this doesn't concern them." Mein was starting to get annoyed by this." Look, just get Naofumi and I'll explain everything later."
" Fine." Ake grunted as he moved from his spot to go get Naofumi.
It didn't take long for Mein to collect Raphtalia from her room, which is where she had been since yesterday. The poor girl was still reeling from the information that her supposedly dead friend has actually been alive this entire time and is working with the bandits that they are trying to destroy. Mein doesn't blame Raphtalia for still not quite recovering from that information, Outsider knows that was not something any of them could have prepared for.
Within a few minutes, they were all assembled in Mein's room. Ake leaning up against the wall by the door, Raphtalia sitting in the chair next to a standing Mein while Naofumi sat on the bed.
" Mein, what's this about? Ake said you wanted to talk but didn't mention what it was about." Naofumi immediately asked once the door to the room was shut.
" Hang on." Mein said as she activated Dark Vision to ensure that there weren't any passersby or listeners on their conversation. The guest rooms weren't exactly soundproof here at the Keep, so she needed to be sure. After a good minute of confirming that they didn't have any eavesdroppers, Mein turned to the rest of them. " Let me start this off by saying that nothing said here leaves this room. Understand?"
Naofumi and Ake seemed surprised at the level of secrecy. The two of them shared a look before Naofumi nodded." I mean sure? I don't mind keeping whatever is said here to myself but I don't get what would be so-
" Keel is alive." Mein interrupted him, just wanting to get it over with as soon as possible.
As expected, there were varying degrees of reactions between the two. Ake was taken aback by this, but he seemed to recover quickly as he processed the information. Naofumi on the other hand was the opposite and a lot more shocked by this news if the widened eyes and agape mouth was any indication.
" W-What do you mean Keel is alive? That's not possible, we confirmed his death back at Lute Mine. We found his body back there!" Naofumi said in a state of disbelief. She wouldn't believe it either if she hadn't seen it with her own eyes.
" I...we met Keel during the attack on the Schnee Mining camp yesterday, and he was definitely alive." Mein shot down that denial. She racked her memories for what happened back at the Lute Mine, she did recall finding the body of a dog boy that was missing his upper half. But that just made her realize that they never actually confirmed that body was Keel, they just assumed it was him." And we did find a body back in Lute but...that one was missing his upper-half, so we never actually confirmed it was him-"
" Her." Raphtalia's small voice interrupted Mein's explanation.
All eyes turned to the little raccoon, who seemed a bit surprised at the sudden attention but kept her head up. " Sorry Raphtalia, what did you say?" Mein asked.
" Keel is...Keel is a girl. You've been calling her a boy all this time." Raphtalia said almost quietly." I know she looks more like a boy and acts like one, but she is a girl."
Well, that is new information that I did not know about.
" Alright...well shelfing that info for a minute, you said you met Keel during the battle yesterday? Does that mean she was..." Ake trailed off, not wanting to finish that line.
" Yes, Keel is one of the bandits that helped attack the camp yesterday." Mein confirmed his suspicion with a sigh. Raphtalia flinched at the reminder that her friend has joined the side of their enemies.
" Shit...holy shit!" Naofumi exclaimed in shock" Keel has been alive this whole time when we thought she was dead. And she's been working with the bandits too? How did we not know this!?"
" Naofumi please!" Mein was quick to place her hands on his shoulder and look him in the eyes to calm him down. " I understand that this is sudden and I apologize for telling you like this, but please keep your voice down."
The last thing they need was a passing guard overhearing their conversations. There were a lot of demi-humans in this Keep who had pretty good hearing and they couldn't be too careful.
" Okay, I think I've calmed down a bit..." Naofumi took a deep breath before continuing with a worried expression." So what do we do?"
Mein dreaded that question because it was the one she didn't have an answer to.
The better question they should be asking is what can they do? Keel is working as a bandit for one of the most notorious bandit lords ever seen so far in Melromarc and is a direct accomplice to Lord Reichnott's death. That's not even taking into the account the number of villages Keel has assisted in attacking with her new bandit buddies, which have resulted in many innocent lives lost. A quick death via the gallows or the executioners axe was the 'best case' scenario considering Keel's list of crimes for working under the Hound Lord.
They could try to leverage Naofumi's Hero status, maybe even get some kind of deal for Keel as part of their reward for bringing down the Hound Lord. But that's one big gamble considering the mess that Reichnott's death is going to cause in the north and the fact that Keel assisted in the diversionary force that gave the bandits the opportunity to torture and kill Reichnott. The northern lords are going to want blood and that meant every single bandit who was part of this is going to meet the executioners axe. They simply don't have that power to get Keel that sort of deal, not after what she's done.
" I'm not sure there's not much we can do really." Ake voiced out Mein's internal thoughts with a troubled look on her face." Keel being a bandit doesn't really give us many options. I'm not sure we could even argue for leniency on behalf of Keel, considering the Hound Lord's crew have been attacking multiple villages in different territories. After Reichnott's death..."
Death is the only option left for Keel. That part was left unsaid by Ake, but Mein could tell that his thought process went.
" T-T-They're going to kill Keel?" Raphtalia stammered, clearly fearful over the possibility that her recently discovered alive friend would die and she would be forced to mourn again.
" No! Of course not, Raphtalia. Nobody's going to be killing Keel on my watch." Mein lied as easy as breathing, but it was all she could do to shield Raphtalia from the cold hard reality of the situation.
" Is there really nothing we can do? I mean, I know that Keel is working for the bandits but she's still just a kid, not much older than Raphtalia really." Naofumi said with a look of distaste as he spoke about the bandits." They probably got in her head and convinced them that they were the good guys or something. She doesn't deserve to die for falling in with the wrong crowd, there has to be something we can do!" Naofumi said desparately, as he tried to think of someway to save Keel. " Can't we...I don't know argue for a reduced sentence or something on Keel's behalf? I mean, I don't know what the standard sentence is for being a bandit but a few years in prison is preferrable to death."
Mein shared a look with Ake, both of them realizing how Naofumi's suggestion couldn't work for a multitude of reasons. Though Mein did find the Shield Hero's suggestion interesting, did that mean Naofumi came from a world where nations could afford to keep criminals locked up for long-term imprisonment as a form of punishment?
She didn't get long to ponder on it as Ake spoke up to explain." I'm sorry to say Sir Naofumi, but we don't really have anything in the way of long term imprisonment in Melromarc. Yes, jails do exist in some of the bigger cities but those are usually for people who break more minor crimes like thievery or something. More serious crimes like rape, murder or banditry are met with the death sentence." Ake didn't mince words as he shot down Naofumi's suggestion with facts. " The 'lightest' sentence one can maybe get for being a bandit is indentured service, where they work off their crimes to the city through manual labor and can eventually be released. But considering that Keel is a demi-human and we're in the north, she's more likely to be sold back into the slave trade by some corrupt guards within the week."
Both Raphtalia and Naofumi flinched at the thought of Keel being resold back into slavery, the thought being an obvious sore point for the both of them.
But Ake's words did spark an idea in Mein's head about something that they could do. It reminded her of one other solution that they could turn to that would mean Keel wouldn't die or spend the rest of her life in a cell. It was one that she learned from when she was still in a relationship with Jaune and learned quite a bit about his family.
Whether Naofumi will accept it or not will be the real question.
" There is...one other solution we could do that would keep Keel alive and out of prison." Mein spoke up, which made all eyes turn to her. Raphtalia looking hopeful at whatever suggestion she was about to give. " Provided that we can capture her, we could 'recruit' Keel back into the party to work off her sentence in service to a Cardinal Hero. It would keep her head off the chopping block and out of a cell."
" Wait, we can do that? Is that even legal?" Naofumi asked with a raised eyebrow.
" Yes, it is perfectly legal for us to do so, nobles of Melromarc have done so during times of crisis. Archduke Wales recruited common criminals to fight against the Siltvelt occupation during the Great War as means of working off their sentence to the Crown." Mein explained, remembering learning about the history of Jaune's father from the Archduke himself who was quite friendly with her when she was still being courted by his son. She never would have thought that information would come back to help her like this.
" T-That's great! We could save Keel and get her back in the party." Naofumi instantly agreed and Mein felt a wave of relief for not having to explain what she really means by 'recruit'.
" You do realize that if we capture Keel and get her back in the party, we will have to put a slave seal on her as part of the agreement right?" That relief quickly washed away when Ake chimed and told Naofumi what she really meant. Mein sent a glare towards the knight for putting her in this position, to which he responded with a shrug." What? He's going to find out anyway, might as well get it out of the way."
Mein couldn't say he was wrong, but she at least wanted to put it off a little bit.
" We'll have to slap a slave seal on Keel?" Naofumi's voice sounded horrified at the prospect, Raphtalia herself shifted uncomfortably at the idea. Mein couldn't blame them for it, as it meant using a tool of obedience and oppression that has definitely left its mark on Raphtalia.
Mein took a deep breath as she tried to explain." Yes, that is the standard practice when nobles take criminals under their wing to have them pay off their crimes through servitude."
" You say its standard practice but...can't we just not do it? I mean, can't we just keep a close eye on Keel and make sure she doesn't run off again?" Naofumi tried to suggest and Mein immediately saw how that was a bad idea for a multitude of reasons.
" If you don't want to make it look legitimate and that we're not just looking for a legal loophole to avoid executing Keel, than yes, we can't really avoid this." Ake easily shot that idea down from a legal perspective.
" Ake is right. We need to be realistic here with ourselves Naofumi, Keel has spent quite a while with those bandits and she's obviously loyal to them. We can't just recruit her into the party and expect her to immediately play nice." Mein agreed with the knight as she tackled the other side of the problem, much to Naofumi's discomfort. " I'd rather not spend every night worrying about Keel trying to slit our throats in our sleep or running off in the dead of night."
Naofumi didn't reply back to that, a conflicted look on his face as Mein tried to make the prospect seem less terrible. " Look we won't keep Keel under the slave seal forever, just long enough until we can ensure that she's not going to immediately stab us in the back or run off again."
" But we would still be enslaving Keel all over again...it feels wrong." Naofumi replied with a bitter voice at their very few options.
" Essentially, yes..." Mein sighed, knowing that Naofumi would take some issue with this. But she had to make him see the cold hard reality of it all." I don't like it anymore than you do Naofumi, especially after what Raphtalia went through. But what other option do we really have at this point? We can't negotiate for Keel to get off with just a slap on the wrist and she has committed actual crimes working under the Hound Lord, this way she'll at least work off her sentence under our care instead of the whims of whatever captain she ends up with."
Naofumi didn't respond to that, choosing to stay silent as he seemed to ponder over her suggestion. He didn't try to retort her points, perhaps deep down he knew that their options were limited and this was the only 'good' one that they had at the moment. It was bitter medicine to swallow but Mein knew that she couldn't mince her words if she wanted to get Naofumi on board with this.
" That's operating under the assumption that Keel wants to be 'saved' at all." Ake's voice cut through the silence, making all eyes turn to him. The knight crossed his arms as he spoke." We are wasting time talking about how to save Keel when we don't even know if she wants to change. For all we know, she could be fully convinced by the bandits that she's fighting for a good cause and would rather die than be enslaved again. Who can really say?"
Nobody rose to question Ake's brutally honest opinion and Mein hated to admit that he had a point. They had no way of knowing what Keel was thinking or if she even wanted to work with them again. Would they be 'saving' Keel because it was the right thing to do or because she's Raphtalia's best friend and they don't want to traumatize the poor girl more?
She didn't know.
After a moment of silence, Naofumi stood up with a sigh. " I-I need some time to think about this, let's just shelve this discussion for now, okay?"
Mein wanted to pursue the matter further, but she knew that pressing it was just going to make Naofumi even less receptive to it. So she decided to let Naofumi leave, with Ake giving her a look that said he agreed with her.
" I-Is Keel going to be okay?" Raphtalia asked, looking up to her with those hopeful eyes.
" Yes, don't worry Raphtalia we'll figure something out, everything is going to be okay." Mein gave a comforting smile as she gently patted Raphtalia on the head.
The rain was still coming down hard but Mein knew that it was just a prelude to the storm that was coming for them all.
Hound Lord's POV
The first thing that greeted him when he opened his eyes was the feeling of a massive headache from last night. The old man had always told them that things like alcohol or recreational plants dulled the senses and left you too out of it to properly function. For the most part, he listened to that advice and always made sure to not go overboard on the drink. He lived by the rules and lessons the old man imparted to them years ago much more closely than any of the others did.
But even he couldn't deny the urge to celebrate with the others after their first major victory of killing one of the northern noble fools. So far, they had been merely picking at the edges of these pretentious assholes lands, but now they had actually managed to kill one of them just like the boss did in the old days. They had been seen as nothing more than a regular nuisance, but now the northern bastards would see them as a real threat.
And that warranted some good celebration at their base, good food and barrels of ale were brought out. The base being quite lively and he couldn't resist the temptation of celebration of music and dancing that happened. It was a good time to be alive.
But everything had a cost and in this case, the night of heavy drinking left him with a severe headache that made him wish he was dead.
" Uggghhhhh..." He let out a groan of discomfort as he gathered what willpower he had left to push himself up from the bed and get ready for the day ahead. He could hear the rain coming down hard outside which meant it would be a somewhat slow day today. His movements were a bit sluggish than normal, but he managed to get dressed without much problem despite taking longer than normal.
He took a seat at his table as he rubbed his eyelids to try and nurse the headache away. He had a long day ahead of him with planning more against the northern dickheads and their eventual counterattack against them. He got himself a glass of water and downed it in a single go helping relieve some of the headache a bit, but not by much.
Despite the massive headache he was dealing with, his sensitive ears picked up the sound of movement in his room and it wasn't just a simple rat that was scurrying about. But he didn't instantly go for his knife that he always kept on his side, because he knew that if this person could sneak into his personal quarters without being detected than he would have been dead already before his ears could even sense them.
And there was only one person who could do that.
Of course, he just had to fucking show up on one of the worst hangover of my life.
He let out a sigh as he decided to greet his mysterious visitor." What do you want Towair?"
Just as he spoke up, a man dressed in light armor with black feathers woven into his clothing stepped out of one of the dark corners of the room, emerging as if he was part of the shadow itself. He didn't really care much for what happened outside of Melromarc, but even he could recognize one of the famed Raven Lords of Siltvelt, among the four heads that led the Raven Order.
Towair the Deceiver, wielder of the Moon Talon. And his group's main benefactor.
" What? Can I not drop in and congratulate my favorite agent in Melromarc?" Towair's voice was deep and silky smooth as he approached with a smile, it just made his words sound more condescending than anything.
He took it in stride and just rolled his eyes at the Raven Lord, not realizing that hurt his headache even more. That resulted in him resting his head against the table." Unless you brought the cure for hangovers, please leave me to suffer in peace."
" Well, I was going to bring some fine Siltvelt wine but it seems you boys and girls already celebrated heartily last night." Towair said with a smile, but he could tell that it was fake from a mile away.
" Cut the crap Towair and just get to whatever you really came here to talk to me about." He was well aware that Towair was leagues above him in terms of power, even with his tricks, the level difference and power granted to the Raven by the Moon Talon was too great. But he wasn't going to just be a pawn in this assholes game and bow his head like a good puppy. He had a lifetime of doing that, he was not going to return to.
" Straight to business. That's what I always liked about you, always quicker on the uptake than most." Towair smiled." In all seriousness, I did come to congratulate you on your most recent victory against the northern lords. But fair warning, the death of one of their own is going to light a fire under the asses of many of the man-animal lords and they are going to start taking more serious measures on hunting you down. I suspect they might even start clamping down on the local demi-human and beastman in the region."
" Good. Its about damn time we were taken seriously." He smirked at the Raven Lord. " As for the northern jackasses... for all their pompous attitude and money, they are as predictable as they came in what they will do."
" You don't seem too overly concerned over the lives of your fellow beastmen and demi's." Towair's voice wasn't so much judging as it was curiosity.
" Regrettable short term suffering for long term gain. Our people have always been quietly oppressed here in the north, but having it on full display should give many the push they need to join our ranks at long last." He did feel some measure of guilt for the suffering the northern lords were likely to inflict on the demi's and beastmen in the region. But if they were to ever fight for their right to live than it had to be now. " Do you have that next shipment of weapons and armor I requested?"
" All ready and prepped for you. My arm contacts in the underworld still owe me plenty of favors and smugglers who are indebted to me."
" I'll work out details later but have your men escort the weapons to various cities where my men are stationed on standby." He felt a rush of excitement as the plan came together." I'm about to turn that fire into a raging inferno to burn all these lords to a crisp."
" Brilliant strategy as always, my boy." Towair congratulated in a faux tone of care. " There is one other matter I wanted to discuss with you though..."
He already had a good idea of what he was going to ask about." The Shield?"
" Yes, the Shield Hero. Venerated Siltvelt's True Immortal God King." Towair spoke in such an overexaggerated tone that he was certain it was fake.
" I'm familiar. He's working out of the Seatto Keep with the Bow who is currently also hunting me. One of the heroes hunting my group was bad enough, two could be a disaster." He let out a groan as he realized how much of a headache this was going to be to deal with as Towair nodded in agreement. " I know the Shield is a pretty big deal back in the homelands, I don't suppose you and your Ravens could discreetly take the Shield out of Melromarc or something? Having the Shield in your back pocket would give you a lot of political clout, wouldn't it?"
" Tempting but it comes with its own set of risks." Towair mused out loud. " The Shield Hero may only be King of our people in name while the Four Saintly Beasts Great Clan hold all the real power, but even he holds some sway over Siltvelt to some extent. I wouldn't be surprised if old Arryan or one of my fellow Raven Lords tried to use this to strike against me. Not to mention, if our capture of the shield failed and our little collaboration was brought to light, than you're going to have a lot more than just a few pissy lords to contend with."
He couldn't deny that Towair had a point, they needed to be careful with how much heat they were attracting.
" Maybe we could-" He was interrupted when he heard a knock on his door, disrupting his conversation with Towair.
He let out a sigh as he turned to Towair." Do you mind?"
" By all means, duty calls. We'll continue this discussion later." Towair slinked back into the shadows as he went to answer the door.
The one interrupting his discussion turned out to be Maya. " What is it Maya?"
" Sorry for the interruption boss, but we got something here that we think you should get a look at." Maya gestured for him to follow her and resisting the urge to sigh, he mustered whatever strength he had to walk with his cat demi friend.
" What's going on?"
" One of the newbies from the distraction group yesterday said that she had some pretty good intel for us on the Shield." Maya started walking at a faster pace, much to his continued suffering. Maya was on watch yesterday along with a few others who drew the short straw so she didn't indulge much in the festivities, so that left more able than most compared to him." Come on, you better hear it yourself."
After a few minutes of walking with Maya, he was led to the mess hall where he could see that many of his friends were already there getting their grub for the day. And he was escorted to one of the tables in the corner where he could see a new face among his men. The newbie in question was a dog demi-human that had a bored look on his face as he quietly ate his breakfast.
" Her name's Keel, she was from our recruitment operation back in capital." Maya whispered to him as they got close.
" The one that got compromised a while back? Shit..." His group was pretty strict about letting newbies in for obvious reasons, but he couldn't deny that they needed the extra hands if they wanted to make some more moves. So he let in some of the newbies that were recruited from their recruitment operations in the south. There was a lot of security and secrecy that needed to be done to ensure that the location of their base wasn't revealed.
Wait, her? That's a girl?
He didn't get long to ponder on it, as Keel noticed their presence and stood up to greet them. He took the initiate and spoke up first. " Are you the rookie that wanted to see me?"
Keel was a bit flustered at suddenly seeing him." U-Uh yeah boss, sorry for bothering you on short notice, I didn't say anything last night because everybody was celebrating and I didn't want to ruin it-"
He held up a hand before Keel could ramble further." Its alright, just take a breath and tell us what you know. You said you had info on the Shield?" He sat down with Keel and Maya, as the former caught her breath.
" Right...well, you know how I used to be a slave before I got recruited and sent here? Well, my 'master' used to be the Shield Hero himself." Keel said with distaste and anger in her voice. And her info instantly got him interested." He bought me and my friend Raphtalia out of the 'kindness of his heart' and because he felt sorry for us. I didn't buy it for a second and after his red headed bitch of a companion yelled at me and Raphtalia, I took the chance to grab Raphtalia and book it later that night. We spent a few days living rough before we heard about someplace that would help us and that's how I got sent here."
Keel face turned sad as she recounted her tale." We were told that it would be safer to split us up, so I went ahead of Raphtalia to the main operation in that mine place. But Raphtalia never reached it before we had to leave and then I heard the place had gotten attacked by something. I thought Raphtalia was dead." Keel's expression turned to one of anger. " But yesterday I saw Raphtalia again! She was alive and still a slave under the Shield, she didn't even have one of her arms! Those bastards must have been abusing her the whole time and I didn't even know."
" You couldn't have known kid." Maya comforted Keel with a hand on her shoulder.
" I should have known... but that doesn't matter. I need to save her boss, she's my friend and all I got left in this world." Keel looked at him desperately.
He took a moment to think about all this information. He hadn't expected one of their own to have been a slave to one of the heroes, though he can't say he's surprised. Scumbags in power always end up using the slavery system, either for their own gain or for their sadistic pleasure. From what Keel told about this Raphtalia, it was the latter. But this was a boon in its own right, as it meant that they had somebody who knew the Shield, at least somewhat.
" Well Keel, this is pretty interesting info. And don't worry, we'll rescue your friend from those bastards." A smile creeped onto his face." Now what can you tell me about the Shield's party?"
" Plenty boss." Keel smirked back as she started talking.
And a plan formulated in his head for how he was going to win this war.
So a lot of stuff happened in this chapter, but let's start from the beginning with Eclair dealing with her guilt about failing to protect Reichnott to breaking the news to Cute. I hope I managed to get the emotional outburst right so it didn't feel overplayed. Reichnott may have been too one-note for me to write, but I have quite a few ideas for where to go with Cute from here.
The Keel situation is messy as hell and I want to keep it messy. The cast aren't going to find a convenient solution out of his one easy.
So for those of you who have read Qin's story Ambition of the Red Princess, the Hound Lord is basically Abby's stand-in but with my own personal additions to make him different. And he wouldn't be complete without a certain Raven Lord using him as a means to deal damage to Melromarc in the most efficient way possible. To be honest, I actually wondered if anybody guessed that Towair is the one that has been funding the Hound Lord's operation from the start.
But as we see here, they have a somewhat different relationship compared to Abby in Qin's story, where she's a glorified lapdog to Towair who is only loyal to keep her power. The Hound Lord by comparison gets treated as a somewhat equal partner to him due to his competence and ability to deal damage to Melromarc, even if Towair couldn't give two figs about him personally.
And of course, things escalate when Keel spills the beans about Naofumi's party. This will go well( Not).
:P
With that said, I will see you all in the next one.
Angel Out.