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Side Story 18: Plotting under the moonlight. [Release Version]
🕑 Added 2020-09-03 00:17:42 +0000 UTC“Don’t you think that was a bit too reckless, Dear?” a woman in a beautiful dress questioned the man sitting in front of her, fluttering her long blond hair around as she shook her head in exasperation, as she remembered today’s events. “The moment we guessed her identity, we should have changed how we engaged her. I didn’t think you were foolish enough to ignore her ‘aura.’”
“Nonsense. We both have met the royal family before, so I know as well as you do the fell of a royal’s aura. It is a gift given by the gods, and I felt her aura the moment she walked into my office,” the man answered in frustration, massaging his temple as a butler silently settled two cups filled with tea on the table between the couple.
Count Andre Helvas and Countess Marianne Helvas - those were the two participants in this discussion, having retreated back to Count Helvas’ office once dinner was done. In the aristocratic society of Artorias, the noble rank of “Count” served as the midway between the lower and higher noble houses. To become a count or countess meant you have become worthy within the eyes of all aristocrats.
Wealth, influence, and history; those were the key traits for any count house in either world. However, due to the presence of mana and skills in Peolynca, Artorias works with a hierarchical system that values high mana capacities and quality profile statuses from every noble as they were responsible for the majority of the military and magical advancements. Despite their long history and wealth, counts were not considered exceptional by nobles of a higher rank.
“However, as a noble of the Kingdom and a loyal vassal of Lord Duke Greenveil, I have a responsibility to assess any potential threats entering our lands. In hindsight, I shouldn’t have been that aggressive, but I only felt hints of her royal aura. I thought her [Noble Aura] was the cause and ignored my instincts here, until her outburst. I had to make sure,” Count Helvas informed his wife while sipping the tea, expressionless. “I admit, I underestimated her mental resilience. She showed the grace and elegance any family would teach their daughter, but she was entirely lacking when it came to negotiations. She didn’t even know the basics. I had thought her timidity and need for secrecy was enough leverage.”
Countess Helvas squinted her eyes, turning her usual calm façade into a frown. “Unbelievable, have you forgotten that massive [Prayer] circle hovering in the air? Andre, your talents lie with the sword and pen, but even you must acknowledge that girl’s immense magical talent. Both the spies and the village chief reported she was the only priestess at the sermon, which means she made a magic circle large enough to surround the entire congregation of villagers unaided. That is a feat for multiple priests, yet she was entirely unperturbed after the cast.”
[Prayer] was a spell created by the church to not only strengthen the faith of the faithful but also act as a powerful, large-scale buffing spell for military needs. Numerous priests would pour their mana into the initial construction of the magic circle as the faithful sang along with the spell chant. Due to [Prayer]’s ability to sap mana from people under it to fuel its cast, the difficulty of casting this custom spell decreases the more people were gathered underneath it.
Priests usually do not create such a large magic circle due to the extraordinary mana cost would be, and if the amount of mana siphoned wasn’t enough, the priests must spend even more mana to finish the cast. The spell would stay modest in size, only enough to encompass those involved, and no one else. In that sense, if a larger magic circle were needed, then either more priests had to participate as casters, or an extraordinarily powerful priest would need to cast the [Prayer] spell.
“My time at the Church of Aurena not only gave me an opportunity to learn holy magic, but also provided me access to information on how [Prayer] actually worked,” Countess Helvas explained. “Normal villagers barely have any mana, so most of the work must be done by the clergymen themselves. Considering how taxing casting the spell is and how most priests and shrine maidens aren’t talented holy mages, it should be obvious why priests rarely visit farming villages. That girl was able to create such an impressive magic circle on her own and in consecutive weeks. Do you understand now?”
“Your words are always harsh when you scold somebody, Marianne,” Count Helvas said with a suppressed laugh, smiling as he watched his wife’s frown. “Do not belittle my intelligence. I was able to work that information out for myself. It would do me no good to not understand, especially when my wife herself is an accomplished mage. I tried my hand on swiping a few of her scales and I was burnt. I admit, my gambit failed and that’s that.”
Countess Helvas glared at her husband with rage, before heaving a deep sigh as she reluctantly gave up under the gaze of her partner’s firm eyes, “You have always been like this. Why am I working myself up? House Helvas has always been notorious for their foolish recklessness, gambling with anything in the pursuit of profit. Honestly, the nobles of the Greenveil Duchy are all impossible. You all act more like merchants than nobles.”
“House Greenveil is one of the two ducal houses focused on economic merits. Greenveil duchy has always put more focus on agriculture and mercantilism. That is how we are, Marianne,” Count Helvas spread his arms, flaunting himself before his wife as he leaned against the sofa. “I know a noblewoman from the Morgiana duchy wouldn’t understand our mindset, but we’ve been together for years now. I presumed it wasn’t a surprise anymore. After all, wasn’t this attitude of mine the reason why you fell in love with me in the first place? You initially hated the idea of us marrying when our fathers arranged it, ha ha ha!”
An “Arcanuess” was the rank above “Count”. Compared to the latter, an arcanuess house was usually younger and less wealthy; instead, they valued strength and ability over everything else. These nobles originally gained their rank through past achievements that led to the founding or elevation of their house. A feat the houses above them had to respect. An arcanuess, compared to a count, would commonly outpower the latter not only with magic but also with martial prowess.
For a noble, going down a rank wasn’t diserable but sometimes it was necessary for the good of the house. Children, even if the parents loved them, were necessary to form bonds with other noble houses, as nothing could cement a lasting relationship more than a marriage. Each house needed an heir, but the rest of the children were potential bargaining chips.
Countess Helvas’s face reddened as she opened up her fan, hiding her smile as she responded. “Hmph, my father ‘traded’ me for your house’s wealth; I understood the reason behind it but you cannot blame me for despising the idea. Especially when my husband-to-be was inadequate with magic, only being able to gain his heir status with his sword arm. My younger self would chide me for giving up my hatred and having my heart stolen by you, somebody who hasn’t mastered the four advance casting skills yet despite his age.”
Both husband and wife began laughing as they reminisced their childhood, adolescence, and then eventual marriage. Considering this wasn’t the original intent of the discussion, how they lost track of it and entered their own rose-colored world, Barathan, the head butler, coughed, interrupting the two.
“Ahem,” Count Helvas composed himself. “What is your opinion on her, Marianne? We know she’s a princess with incredible magical abilities and that she’s from either Loatryx or Kargryx. Aside from her race, what do you think of her from the perspective of a mage and a woman?”
Countess Helvas snapped her fan together, gave the question a short thought, and answered with confidence, “I think we can believe she’s not a proper priestess or shrine maiden of the church of Aurena. I do not know how the dragonewts give thanks to Goddess Aurena, but I can see some indecisiveness behind her words. When I was still a temporary priestess, I learned the difference between official and temporary clergy members. The way they form their words to put Goddess Aurena on a pedestal, elevating her to the image of a head goddess is infamous amongst the other elemental mages. Princess Hestia simply said what she assumed was correct at any given moment.”
“Mhm, I see, the reports did mention her dislike for being treated as a priestess,” Count Helvas nodded. “As a mage, would you be able to defeat her in the worst case?”
Marianne shook her head at the question, tapping her lips with a finger, “Even if I could, I wouldn’t start a duel with her in the first place. That is why I was enraged at your mistake from before. If the girl were less sensible, we could have had a devastating incident today, Andre.”
“Yes, I see that now. I apologize for endangering our house, you, and our children,” Count Helvas bowed to his wife. “I assumed she was less attached to the wind elf, considering the reports always mentioned Princess Hestia leaving her behind at their home.”
“She is a young girl in a foreign country, and she has already admitted to coming to the kingdom through the Belzac forest. Battles forge strong bonds, as you can see with the two of us,” Marianne responded. “If you truly wanted to profit from her acquaintance then you should have been less greedy. While the production secrets of yeast, floral shampoo, and others would reduce the cost of these luxury items for us nobles, I would have preferred to maintain a good relationship with her. Ellaine and I enjoyed her cake quite a lot, and I can guess the same will be for the other noble ladies, too.”
Count Helvas let out a sigh as he began to frown. “I see…Barathan, inform the two adventurer guilds in Firwood to anticipate her arrival there. Joining either the mercenary or hunter guild will give her the least trouble, after all. I shall also inform Lord Marquess Sirius and Lord Duke Greenveil about this so we can prepare what I promised Princess Hestia. Also, inform all servants and attendants about her and to treat her with the same respect they would a greifnoble. I would also like to keep Ellaine here and have her serve as Princess Hestia’s lady-in-waiting until we can find a better solution.”
Countess Helvas widened her eyes at his last sentence, questioning her husband with a tint of disbelief, “Andre, what are you saying?! Ellaine has only recently become an adult. The God Thanking Festival at the capital will mark her first appearance in noble society as an adult! She is a noble lady! Have you any idea what it would mean for her reputation if she were to miss her first appearance?!”
Compared to Earth where a child becomes an adult at the age of 18, the humans on Peolynca consider 15 the entrance to adulthood.
“I do. I also know as a man that I shouldn’t interfere with the noblewomen faction. It isn’t my place,” Count Helvas answered. “However, who are we to assign to her? Are you suggesting we leave an unknown factor, a foreign mage with enough mana to rival a greifnoble freely wander around our land without any supervision? Her wolfkin retainer easily captured our spies, Barathan or a male servant cannot accompany them everywhere as they are men, any knights are redundant, and assigning a female servant will be suspicious. Barathan, report.”
“Yes, my Lord,” Barathan bowed before replying. “The elf, Tasianna, seems hostile towards anybody entering their home. The village chief has also noted that she has never let anybody inside the house when Princess Hestia isn’t around, and this became apparent when I tested them. They do not require any protection and any servant we assign to them will most likely have a hard time with the elf around. I agree that a noble companion would be the wisest option.”
“We cannot have Jonathan stay behind because he is my heir. His role will be to build new relationships as the future head of the house, so our options are limited,” Count Helvas answered with a matter-of-fact tone, calming his enraged wife down. “I know it is important for her, but this is a duty far more important than a ball at the capital. Imagine what would happen if Princess Hestia were to get into trouble due to her ignorance of our culture and rules. She’s a foreigner, after all. Besides, Ellaine will benefit a lot if she manages to befriend her.”
From the standpoint of the count, Hestia wasn’t just a princess but also a mage with an unknown amount of power. The display of her sheer amount of mana was already an indicator that this wasn’t a carefree princess entering another kingdom’s borders but a magician and warrior with strength enough to threaten the status quo of the land.
Her retainers also were a large concern for him. He knew about the difficulty of the Belzac forest and how it was known as a C ranked monster-infested area, meaning that Hestia’s party were strong enough to pass through it unharmed. Nobody who heard this could consider the trio as anything but upper C rank in adventurer terms.
“Marianne, our daughter is a noble, and as a noble she has the responsibility to defend her land. I might have failed with my initial impression, but I do believe she is a kindhearted person, especially from what the reports have said,” Count Helvas argued, remembering the reports he received from his spies and chief Colwyn.
Mages in society had many options available when it came to a profession. They could join the mages guild as an associate, become adventurers, or even join the workforce by offering up their services. In any case, as not every citizen could become a mage, the service of a mage was needed for certain projects or just to accelerate procedures.
Although Hestia was neither a mage guild associate nor an actual priestess, she was fully allowed to demand payment from Colwyn or Count Helvas himself for all she has done, from constructing the foundations of the houses and hunting wild G and F rank monsters in the village’s vicinity, to her sermons and granting white graces.
But she chose not to do any of them. She rejected payment, simply taking goods and a place at the village to stay over winter. Count Helvas, who expected to pay a good amount of money for the village’s reconstruction, earnestly thought it would’ve been impossible for him to leave Carine village before the God Thanking Festival at the capital. Without Hestia’s presence as a priestess giving sermons and [Prayer]s, there was the chance that the village would still be in turmoil.
I might have felt a bit…insulted, when she denied my first proposal, but I shouldn’t have let that get to me considering how large the debt I have to repay, Count Helvas complained to himself.
“Ellaine is my daughter and this is my land. Although they might find her presence an annoyance, they cannot order her to remove herself, as Princess Hestia has no royal authority within our lands,” Count Helvas explained. “This will give them a chance to hopefully bond and a way for me to repay my debt. If Princess Hestia is smart, she will take this opportunity to learn about our land and culture. All mages seek knowledge, correct Marianne? Praise Istari for that fact.”
With a deep sigh, Countess Helvas gave up on objecting, having accepted her husband's arguments, albeit begrudgingly. “There will be a chance in summer,” she whispered before she thought of an excuse good enough to prevent her daughter from facing the social repercussion of her husband’s plan.
“Barathan, call Ellaine to my office once she finishes breakfast. I will inform her about everything then.”
And with the discussion done, the couple returned to their private chambers, musing about their days of youth and how their love blossomed on the battlefield. Plotting and scheming weren’t their favorite activities, but they had their responsibilities as nobles. They could only hope their future with the mysterious princess will be bright.
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“…Tch.”
In the dusk of night, a lone silhouette could be identified at the bottom of a grand canyon, staring at the rubble in front of him. His golden hair and yellow skin tone shone through the night, unsuitable for stealth for how conspicuous it was. Two jagged horns grew from his forehead, rising upward like two long stakes, sharp enough to pierce through flesh. A long, thin spiked tail extended from his bottom, devoid of any fur as it swung around from its owner’s emotions.
“I have come back, expecting progress from my investment, and what do I find? The only entranceway destroyed from a collapsed ridge and multiple grimgarians killed by three wyverns. Fantastic,” the man with a demon-like appearance spoke out in anger, tapping his feet restlessly as he stood. “This will set us back until late spring or early summer. Fantastic, absolutely fantastic. Sigh, if I were a demonkin of wrath, I believe I would destroy this mountain to create a path, but I’m not barbaric enough to do something so conspicuous. The grimgarians will fight the Artorians, not I.”
Swiping his hair backwards, he flaunted himself in the darkness, disregarding the fact nobody was looking at him. He gave out a sly smile as a devious idea suddenly sprang into his mind, “Well, can’t do anything about it. Greenveil duchy will survive for a bit longer then, but they’ll eventually fall. Hmph, the sea option will be enough after I get some tamers to do their magic on a few beasts, and conquering that harbor will give the army easy access to reinforcements. The grimgarians will take down the Lecartiglio duchy first, while mayhem and chaos will strike the other duchies.”
He then looked up in the sky, smirking as he showed off his carnivorous fangs, proudly exclaiming, “Hope you six will have fun watching us destroy everything you love. On the fact that I am a demonkin of pride, I will make you grovel onto the ground before our gods, pretenders!”
A devilish laugh erupted from his mouth as he slowly waltzed back into the darkness, bringing with him carnage and destruction as his voice echoed through the night, an omen for the future.
