"Ah, that was fun," Katarina sighed in the carriage. "Everyone was so nice! Also, we all agree: parrying is stupid."

"You're still doing parrying lessons," Maria said, leaning back in her seat and just… relaxing. Being out of the presence of the Head Auditor was so nice… she hadn't realized how good her life was… how many non-taxable blessings she had…

"Awwww!"

"Should I tell your cousin you don't want to see her anymore?"

"…I'll learn to parry…"

A Matthew Romani Interlude

Matthew sighed as she relaxed in the carriage her aunt had loaned her to attend the party. It had been her first party in the capital, and she had been surprised to be invited, especially when she had never met the knight in question. However, it had turned out that Aunt Mili and Lady Cett knew one another, and Katarina's friend Lady Sophia—a very nice young woman with excellent taste in books—had had some sort of dealing with Lord Cett. Most people would have thought they were being pitied, with so many people working to get them included in the guest list, but Matthew had been invited to enough parties by way of 'mother knows someone who knows someone who knows someone' degrees of separation that she was used to it. it was the invitations that came after that was important. Getting a second and third and more invitations meant you'd presented well, and could begin to get invited to other parties on your own merit.

Matthew had been surprised people had even known who she was beyond 'the eldest niece of Duchess Claes', but apparently the story of her spar with Dame Maria had spread, with the knights who had seen them corresponding to their friends of a new shield-centric build. People she'd spoken had actually looked disappointed when they'd realized she'd left Protector at home, and she'd received several invitations to Covenant Houses to spar and demonstrate her build.

However, the most interesting thing at the party was the demonstration of the new weapons Lord Cett had apparently commissioned from Lady Sophia and Dame Maria. Matthew had seen one—or something like it, at least—under Dame Maria's coat sometimes, but she'd never used it, and after the demonstration she'd understood why. Their demonstration of it as 'a hand-held greatarrow launcher' had only been slightly exaggerated. It wasn't as effective as a greatbow over long distances, and it didn't launch a whole greatarrow, but their comparative demonstration had shown that at close range, its impact was certainly closer to a greatbow's than a heavy crossbow's or an Avelyn's, the weapon to which to could be most closely compared.

It also finally explained to Matthew just what exactly that other manufactory in Dame Maria's lands was about. She hadn't exactly investigated, but she'd noticed large amounts of raw metal going in and no weapons coming out. Not swords, not shields, not basic plate armor… And yet it was guarded by knights of the Royal Guard.

She hadn't been the only one interested in the demonstration. Dame Vardan had practicality salivated at the weapon, and a lot of people were interested in it as a distance weapon. Most knights usually wished they could fight their opponent at a distance, which was why Fire Magic wielders who pretended at pyromancy were so reviled and envied, but the weapons available to them were universally regarded as 'too weak'. With the right technique and experience, anyone could manage a one-strike killing blow with any melee weapon. Even Matthew was reasonably certain she could manage either a decapitation or head-crushing strike with her shield, if she were pushed. But ranged weapons… even at close range, it was a rare crossbow accurate enough to send an arrow through an armor joint, never mind an eye slit. People could barely manage headshots with crossbows, and it took truly abnormal dedication, even for a knight, to make them a viable weapon instead of something to soften up an opponent before they got close. And while greatbows were lethal… they were greatbows. Using them while standing at the wrong place would get you killed with your own recoil.

These new weapons, however…

Compact. Great force. Tolerable recoil. Little in the way of arrow drop at effective ranges. Durable mostly-metal construction, and no awkward projections like you got from attempts to make metal crossbows. It could be carried loaded without needing to fear the arrow—the shot? Was the term, right?—falling off. And judging from Dame Maria's demonstration, it was possible to teach yourself to reload it VERY quickly. Trying to be fast with a bow risked it snapping on your arm. Trying to be fast with a greatbow risked breaking your arm. Trying to be fast with a crossbow was possible, but you had to be really good to make it count… as with most weapons.

Next time, she'd talk to Dame Maria about it. While she could throw her shield… well, getting it back was problematic.

But those were thoughts for another day. As the carriage passed through the gates of the Claes estate, and she caught sight of the lights from the manor's windows. It wasn't quite like coming back home… but it was close enough.

Her maid Mary was waiting for her at the front door. "Good evening my lady," she said cheerfully. Mary was always cheerful. "You're just in time for dinner." Meaning she had time to take a bath and change into a dinner dress. As expected, Aunt Mili kept a more formal house than what Matthew was use to back home, but her father and dear aunt Henriette had made sure she was properly packed with the correct wear, as well as the proper etiquette for it, which wasn't all that different from those times she'd dined at one of her friend's manors.

Now back home, Matthew was able to carry her shield on her arm instead of on her back as they walked the halls, Mary a silent but comforting presence at her side. As expected, the house bustled with activity as servants bustled about. The bath had already been prepared, and Matthew bathed quickly. It was a far cry from the long, luxurious baths ladies were expected to indulge in, but she was a knight, and this was a knight's bath: quick, systematic, and through, more an act of weapon maintenance than indulgence, with her only luxury the warmth of the water. She was finished, dried and clothed well ahead of time, and indulged herself waiting for dinner by enjoying one of Mary's footrubs. Back when she'd worn heels, they'd been a necessity. Now, after a day in boots, they were merely a pleasure.

Finally, it was time for dinner.

Matthew still couldn't help but feel the dining room looked so lonely, especially now that cousin Katarina was gone. There was just her aunt, her husband the duke—she was still getting used to calling him Uncle Luigi—and cousin Keith. She was used to having much more in the way of family company during meals, with so many sisters, cousins, aunts and uncles about. Still, Aunt Mili was clearly trying to keep her from being lonely, even if the way she did reminded Matthew so vividly of Olga she sometimes wanted to cry, and certainly explained several spontaneous bouts of crying mother, Aunt Sheryl and Uncle Henry had suddenly burst into in her youth when Olga had done something thoughtful.

"How was your party, dear Matthew?" Aunt Mili said as they had dinner.

"Ah, it was great, auntie," Matthew said. "Lady Cett, Dame Maria and Cousin Katarina send you their regards."

"Katarina does?" Aunt Mili said, looking a bit doubtful.

"Her exact words were 'tell everyone I miss them and love them lots and lots'," Matthew said.

Uncle Luigi chuckled. "Ah, that sounds more like our daughter."

"Yes, her just sending 'her regards' was admittedly confusing," Aunt Mili said.

"How was big sister?" Cousin Keith asked. "Was she all right? She wasn't exhausted, was she? Has she been getting enough sleep?"

"She was as well as ever," Matthew assured him. Cousin Keith was always so concerned for Cousin Katarina. Though Matthew supposed she could understand, given how Katarina had looked after she'd gone through her Fuming. "She made friends with several squires at the party."

Now why did that make the blood drain from Cousin Keith's face?

"That's my daughter, all right," Uncle Luigi said proudly. "What did she do this time?" For some reason, Aunt Mili looked both curious and bracing herself for the worst.

"She talked to the squires about her training, and how she was learning parrying," Matthew said, recalling the overheard snippets of conversation with amusement. Honestly, she couldn't find it find it in her to be offended. There were two kinds of people in the world: those who could parry, and those who screamed to the empty sky that parrying was a myth like the element of lightning, and that those who could parry were employing some sort of trickery to mock them. Except for the very rare exceptions, squires tended to be in the latter. "By the end of it, they were all sighing over unreasonable training expectations and how…"

Aunt Mili clearly didn't completely understand, but she seemed genuinely delighted at the story of how Katarina managed to socialize with her peers instead of just eating at the buffet, which was apparently what she usually did at parties. Matthew would have called it exaggeration but… well, it was Cousin Katarina.

Why was Cousin Keith still pale and scared-looking though?

"Cousin Keith?" Matthew asked in concern. "Are you feeling all right? "

"Ah, I'm just concerned whether Katarina might have offended someone without meaning to," he said. "I mean, the knights present might not appreciate having their training regiments questioned like that."

Ah, so that's what it was. "Don't worry Cousin Keith," Matthew told him earnestly. "It's traditional for squires to complain about their training among themselves, especially when the training is parrying." Some of the other knights eavesdropping had actually looked nostalgic at the complaints, and one had agreed bucklers were a scam perpetuated by the armament industry. "The strongest bonds are forged in the suffering over parrying."

"Strongest bonds… like, romantic bonds?" Cousin Keith said.

Now Matthew rolled her eyes. "Oh, cousin Keith, don't tell me you believe those silly rumors. No, knighthood training isn't a marriage meeting service where you can form a romantic dyad through shared suffering, nor is it constant endless torture. These are bonds of comradeship as everyone learns to git gud together. Besides, some of the old traditions are meant for discouraging distractions like romance, and Dame Maria takes a very traditionalist view of her training." Her completely ignorance of proper shield use notwithstanding. 'Engender passivity' indeed… HA!

Really, it was a lot more than that, and romance wasn't uncommon, but the untrained could believe the silliest things…

"Ah, speaking of Dame Maria, I just remembered," Matthew declared. "She sent me something to give you, Cousin Keith. Come by my room later and I'll give it to you."

"Oh, is it a cake?" Uncle Luigi said, eyes suddenly shining brightly. "Keith, could it be a cake?"

"I shouldn't think so…" Cousin Keith said. "I haven't done any Earth Magic favors for her lately…"

"Maybe you should offer to?" Uncle Luigi suggested.

"I don't think it's a cake," Matthew said. "It's smaller than that."

"Perhaps it's a small cake? Or a cupcake?"

Keith sighed for some reason, while Aunt Mili looked amused. "I'll go with you after dinner," he promised her.

Matthew checked the party purse she'd carried with her shield to the party. "Ah!" she said. "Here it is!" She withdrew a small woken basket covered with a cloth. "She said to consume it within four days."

"Thank you, Matthew," Keith said, smiling a little as he accepted the basket and peeking under the cloth. "As I thought. Cookies." He seemed to debate with himself. "Would you like one?"

Matthew waved aside the offer. "Thank you Cousin Keith, but Dame Maria gave me my own. I must say, her cooks make wonderful cookies. I've never tasted anything like this before."

"Oh, it's not her cook," Keith said. "I can already tell by the smell, but Maria baked these herself."

Matthew blinked in surprise. "Really?"

"Definitely. Only Maria-made cookies smell this good. Her cooks try, but they're not as good as her," Keith explained, taking a cookie for himself and taking a bite. "Yu, those are certainly Maria cookies."

"Huh. A knight who makes cookies…" Matthew shook her head. "Things certainly are different near the capital, no offense, cousin Keith."

A strange look came over his face. "You know you don't have to call me cousin, right?" Keith said. "I don't know if anyone told you, but I'm actually adopted from a cadet branch of the Claes family."

"Oh, I know, Cousin Keith," Matthew said. "Aunt Mili explained it to me."

"Then… why…?"

Matthew titled her head, then went over to her bed and sat down, patting the spot next to her. Hesitantly, Keith sat down.

"Have I told you about my cousin, Watson?" Matthew said.

"I think you mentioned him in passing…" Keith said slowly.

Matthew nodded. "He's Aunt Sheryl and Aunt Henriette's son."

"Your… aunts?"

"Yes. Aunt Sheryl helped raise him since he was a toddler," Matthew said. "When he said 'mama' for the first time, it was to her. I've called him Cousin Watson all my life, and he's called me Cousin Matthew."

"Aunt Sheryl… you mean Sherringford Adeth?" Keith said.

Matthew nodded. "People will say he's another man's child, but they're wrong. Cousin Watson is Aunt Sheryl's child. He said so." She smiled at the still-confused Keith. "Aunt Mili calls you her son. Uncle Luigi calls you his son. Cousin Katarina calls you her beloved little brother." A blush finally broke through his confusion at that. "And my cousin's brother is my cousin. So you're Cousin Keith. Understand?"

"Not… really?" Keith said.

Matthew gave him a patient smile. "I know it must be hard like that, since we've only recently met, but family is family. So, even though you're probably used to thinking of only Aunt Mili and Uncle Luigi and Cousin Katarina as your family, because we've never visited… but we've been getting to know each other, Cousin Keith. And you seem like a very nice person, just like Katarina said. And you're Aunt Mili's son. So that makes you my cousin." She paused. "Please?"

Keith… was giving her a very strange look. "Are you any good with an axe?" he said abruptly.

Matthew nodded. "Uncle Henry taught me, back when I was a squire. Why?"

"Just… remembering something," Keith said. "So, I'm 'Cousin Keith'? Just like that? That's all it takes?"

"Just like that," Matthew assured. "That's all it takes."

"Even though I'm adopted?"

Matthew smiled. "Who's your mother, Cousin Keith?"

For a moment, he was silent, eyes staring at nothing. Then he smiled. A small smile, but there was… comprehension.

"Yeah," he said. "You're right… Cousin Matthew."

Matthew nodded. "Do you want to spar tomorrow?" she offered. "I know you normally do it with Maria or Katarina, but…"

Keith looked at her and nodded sharply. "Sure, why not? Maybe I'll finally manage to land a hit this time." Then he paused, as if remembering something. He sighed heavily. "I'm not going to land a hit, am I?"

"I could let you?" Matthew offered.

"I'd say I don't need your pity hits… but sure, thanks. But make me earn it?"

"All right, Cousin Keith."

"…Cousin Matthew…"

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