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Disclaimer: I don’t own Trapped in a dating sim: The world of otome games is tough for mobs. 

CHAPTER I.

Angelica Rapha Redgrave could only sob, tears ran down her cheeks in the confines of her bedroom. 

How was she being replaced by that harlot with the body of a child?!

She couldn't understand how his majesty Julius failed to see through that Marie’s plot, it was so painfully obvious for her and everyone else.

That upstart never even pretended to be anything else, all Marie Fou Lafan was a harlot only seducing the prince and his friends to climb the social ladder, she wanted the crown of the queen… and she was well on her path to get it.

To her shame she fell for her provocations, and before she knew it she made the worst mistake of her life.

She never intended to challenge the woman, truly, but the midget kept pushing the correct buttons and before she knew it she was facing a duel with no champion of her own while Lafan had the heirs of the most prestigious houses as her own champions.

And no one was stupid enough to oppose Crown Prince Julius Rapha Holfort. Just her.

Her followers turned their heads away from her, she was all alone as Greg Fou Seberg pointed with relish.

Another tear rolled down her face. 

Without any help she had turned to a relative of hers in the staff to send a message to her father, she needed a champion to represent her interests in the academy. Seeking help from outside was not allowed, but she is the daughter of a duke, and she’ll be damned if she didn’t make that count.

She hasn't left her bedroom in over a week, she has gotten any instructions from her father yet and the day of the duel is Tomorrow.

she was understandably angsty.

Someone knows her door and she cautiously walks to it, there hasn't been any attempt to invade her room but the idiots that call themselves Prince’s Julious followers have already sprayed some insults in her walls.

Since whoever knocked bothered to announce their presence it’s unlikely they meant harm to her, she is still not letting her guard drop though, she makes herself presentable to the best of her abilities before slowly opening the door.

Standing outside is her father, Vince Rapha Redgrave, looking as regal as ever and his face is stern as she expected.

She respectfully opens her door completely and performs a curtsy as etiquette demands and then greets the duke with a “Father” in a  whisper.

Stepping aside she allows her Father to enter her room and only then she notices the two knights that accompany him.

with a signal from her father they both enter the room and proceed to close and block the only entrance to the room with their bodies.

One of the knights she recognizes, corpulent with black grizzly hair and a mustache, his name is Robert Fou Harris, he has been in her family's  service for as long as she remembers.

The other though, she does not recognize, he is much less corpulent than Robert and considerably younger, probably as young as her… black hair and eyes and an attempt at a  polite smile.

“Angie” her father starts, “Do you know what you’ve done?” he said sternly.

“I do father” Angelica does not meet her father’s eye as she answers the question, it was a foolish mistake unbecoming of someone that has been groomed to be the next queen.

“Have you at least found a proxy?” Vincent asked a bit harsher this time.

Angelica shook her head, “No” she said, she didn’t waste any time when it was made evident that a large number of the students were just rejoicing in her disgrace “My followers abandoned me”.

“As expected” the duke said resigned “they’ll be given a fitting punishment”

Angelica’s lips formed a little smile for the first time since the challenge was issued.

There was silence for a moment, it was uncomfortable for both highborn nobles and even the two by the door looked like they would rather be standing guard from the outside.

“Father, will you lend me a hand?” finally she asked, that was her only hope, those five were exceptional but a more experienced knight could probably defeat them.

“Robert Fou Harris will be acting as your champion…” the duke didn’t look pleased as expected but something in his voice just unsettled his daughter. She should be smiling, one of her father’s strongest was to be her representative, but she knew there was something else that her father was not telling just yet “Angelica, Robert is going to be winning a couple of the matches, but he will not claim victory in your name”

She was feeling despair violently invading her being once again as her face paled. She was being denied her chance at a fair fight by her own father. she wanted to rebel, she wanted to yell, to scream! but she was raised to be the next  queen, and she could understand why her father took that decision, even in victory she would be judged unworthy and thus she was no longer the next queen but just an obstacle to the crown prince.

“But if we win his majesty would have to cut all contact with that Lafan girl!” she yelled anyway, even if it was futile she wanted to at least try, Robert Fou Harris has won every tourney her father organized among his vassals, he was strong enough to claim victory, she just has to believe that! “SirHarris can win it all can’t he?!”

Her Father lowered his head just a tiny bit before saying “Normally he would have a nice chance in achieving victory… But he is unwell after a training accident”

So SirHarris was not in condition to fight at his best… “Why not make it a five on five duel then!!” it was supposed to be a question but she made it sound like an order instead, and her father did not like that. With a glare he made her feel like she was a little girl again.

“The Redgrave name has been dragged into the mud already, I won't allow it to be tarnished even further with such an action!” As her father spoke the harsh tone he stared with diminished, taking a deep breath he then explained “Do you know of any knight that would be willing to face that prince? That would mean the end of him and his house!”

“What will happen to me then?” she resigned to her fate, maybe she will be asked to take her own life and put an end to all this misery.

“You will be given to Baron Leon Fou Bartfort here as a bride to pacify the crown” the duke said as he signaled to the young knight guarding the door, said knight’s eyes widened and his jaw fell open upon hearing this.

A/N: Hello everyone, I’ve been working on this fic for some time now, I wanted to finish it before publishing it.

But my track record is less than Ideal.

Fans of Unbound may already have guessed that fic is long dead, I’m sorry to disappoint you all.

Fans of The waiting game… I would like to continue it but to be honest I have no idea how to do it, I may retake it one day, but my inspiration for it has been lacking.

As for this fic I’m currently writing the Principality’s invasion arc, the second to last arc I have planned for this fic so this may be the first fic I ever finish so cheers!

Please Read And Review.

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CHAPTER II.

“My Lord!?” the now named Leon Fou Bartfor asked in surprise, so he didn’t know beforehand? At least he was around her age; she supposed she could have been sent to be the wife of some other baron over 20 years old to make the apology more sincere. She had, however indirectly, endangered a member of the Royal family.

That was more than reason enough for the Crown to gather all the other noble Houses and attack her family, House Redgrave is strong, and they have their own vassals, but against the unified forces of the rest of the kingdom they stood little chance, It was even possible for their own vassals would turn their back on them.

It has happened before, various rebellious Houses simply eradicated by the Crown, and their neighbors would be happy to scavenge anything they left behind. There is a lot to take from her House.

She was to be her family’s escape goat, her marriage to a man far below her station would be their way to dissociate her actions be that of her as an individual that did not represent them as a whole. 

“I did promise you a Wife suitable to your skill if you won the tourney, boy. Now leave the room and stand guard outside” he ordered calmly and the baron looked like he wanted to protest but obeyed the order anyway.

This was news to Angelica, Not the Tournament, there were so many knights at her father’s territory all the time that they tended to become bored without any conflict, the easiest way to entertain them was to have them fight each other, that helped to establish a pecking order that made hierarchy easier to accept. That young man winning had to be a hard pill to swallow for the veteran knights, she had never seen a young knight get past the best sixteen in the tournament, ever.

But still…

The lowest of the low, barely considered a true noble, Barons were worth a Día a dozen.

This time Angélica could not stop the tears, she cried.

"Listen Angie, I'm not doing this to punish you.." Vincent tried to explain.

"No, you are doing this to reward Baron Bartfort!" She spoke with venom in her voice. She knew she was being unreasonable, she lost her value to her family the moment she let her anger manage her, but it wasn't as if she had anything else to lose either.

"You are underestimating your own value, how much I love you, and finally the skills of the young man standing outside" the Duke cut her tirade, with a calm comforting voice "No matter what, you are my beloved daughter" he said with a tenderness she couldn't refute "When the Queen approached us with the engagement proposal, I was happy, it was a wonderful opportunity" he explained "but I still had my reservations, Julius Rapha Holtfort could become any kind of man at that age, and that boy has disappointed me, fooled by a girl like that!" The anger in the Duke's voice was palpable, taking a deep breath he continued “you may be held accountable for the break up in the contract, but the blame it’s all on Julius”.

That admission did little to comfort Angelica, she was meant to suffer the consequences of her prince’s misconduct. “Then, why will I be punished?!” 

“As I said before, I’ll marry you to the Baron as a reward for him” Angelica’s father paused for a second making sure he has all of her attention “not for winning the Tourney but for his overall skill set. You must not know this but Leon Fou Bartfort is the third Son of Balcus Fou Bartfort, his mother is the man’s concubine…”.

She could only laugh bitterly as she said “So he is illegitimate?” that was the cherry on top wasn’t it?!

“... and yet he parted on an adventure some ten or so months ago. Before he could start in the academy, he was forced to go because he needed an escape from a disadvantageous engagement with a woman over fifty, he put his life on the line and succeeded, he was just given his rank after he conquered an undiscovered dungeon, and brought with him a new floating island”  the Duke made a pause once again, his daughter was raised on stories of adventurers. Adventurers founded the Kingdom and its roots are the success of said group, she had an admiration for them.

Angelica was impressed, the feat her father just mentioned was supposed to be impossible in modern times, yet the young man outside had managed the impossible, was that the kind of man she would be bonded to?

It was too good to be true, honestly.

“Before this… incident was known to me…” the duke said cautiously “Baron Leon Fou Bartfort approached me with a recommendation letter from his father looking to pledge himself to House Redgrave, with a floating island, an Airship that can only be described as a Lost Item and an armor that fell into that classification as well, in exchange for a wife from our faction” he smiled thinking how wise that movement was considering the alternatives.

Angelica was confused, weren’t men expected to enter the academy to look for a bride? Was her future husband too late in having his achievements acknowledged? He couldn't secure entrance to the academy in time? 

Probably.

 Then he decided to test his luck with House Redgrave?

“Had this not happened I would have probably matched him with Cornelia” he said with a chuckle which earned the blonde girl ire, Cornelia was hers , she has always been her maid and her father planned on just giving her away…

“But to tell you the truth, that felt like a waste after witnessing his talent and grit inside, not his armor, but one we lent him, he is why Robert over there is not at his peak performance today.

Angelica turned her head to look at the grizzly knight and the man nodded his head to confirm that he was hurt because of the young man standing outside. She bobbed her head towards the knight asking for his opinion “ How strong is the good Baron?”

Clearing his throat Robert said “I was in the frontlines in the last war with the principality, I saw what the Black knight can do in a battle, I would have died to his sword if not for the Masked knight, when I dueled Lord Bartfort I saw someone who could match the Masked Knight who stopped Vandel Him Zenden!”

Angelica felt a shiver in her spine, the Black Knight of the Principality was used by parents in the kingdom to scare their children, and she was no exception, so she felt a jolt of fear for the man outside her room, but also admiration for him and relief… yes relief, Angelica Rapha Redgrave hadn't lost all of her value for her family.

She would not ever be queen now, but she would be the link between the House Redgrave and such an imposing warrior, her children would not be abandoned by her father’s house, she was not really abandoned!!

For the first time in what felt like an eternity she felt herself relax.

The knight had no reason to lie to her, and even if his estimation was exaggerated Baron Bartfort was still stronger than any other knight in her father’s ranks. Strong enough for her father to desire a direct blood tie.

“Will I have to keep attending the academy?” she asked, that would be most unpleasant, no matter how strong, her future husband was still a mere Baron, and she would still have all her new enemies and will be representing the newest House in the kingdom. In other words she would be an easy target.

“No, you will move with Leon and help him manage his territory” her father said with a sad smile “hopefully you will be with child within a year”.

Now that was a bomb in its own right, that was practically an order too!

Trying to control her blush was just a waste of effort.

Her father stood up and embraced her.

“I wanted to have my little girl at my side at least a couple of years more” he said his voice trembling with emotion for the first time in ages, and Angelica felt loved by her family once more, she was not a worthless woman as she once feared, she was still an asset, even if it was just as a…

“I’m sorry dad!” she said putting her arms around him, this was all her fault, if she had just managed to make Prince Julius fall in love with her this wouldn’t have happened, or if she had only kept the Lafan girl away…

“It’s ok, Angie, everything will be alright”.

0x0

After some time had passed and they could recompose themselves they invited the young Baron back inside.

“You must have questions,” her father, the duke said.

“Why? I’m only a Baron!” he was dumbfounded, of course normally she would be outside his reach, an unattainable figure. 

“I did said I’ll choose your wife based on your skill, didn't I?” her father said sternly “you stand head and shoulders above Knights twice your age Leon Fou Bartfort, but to be precise, this is both a reward to you and a punishment to my daughter” she cringed when she heard her father pronounce those words, even though he said this wasn’t a punishment it was part of the front House Redgrave will put to the rest of the kingdom, a way to hide Leon from the world until it was necessary to reveal him.

Her father is a Duke whose political power just collapsed and the Crown could very well keep attacking him to make him a more manageable opposition.

If the Crown pushes too hard, House Redgrave will rebel and use Baron Bartfort to topple the destroy and supplant Holfort House, and become the new Royal House themselves.

“I’m not that strong!” the Baron protested to her surprise, she expected him to rejoice in his strength and thank her father.

“Hearing you say that is why I won’t have you represent my daughter in the upcoming duel” said with a smile.

 “You don’t know the level a bo… a man your age should be”  this time Sir Rober Fou Harris spoke out of turn in a frustrated and chastising tone, her Father nodded approvingly towards his most loyal knight.

“You could hurt or kill any of those Heirs to the founding Houses, that would be a lot of trouble even if it was an accident during an official duel!” the knight continued, “You don’t know how to hold back Lord Bartfort, there are two other knights I considered strong that are in a worse condition than me back in our Lord’s territory because you don’t know your own strength!”.

“I would have to forfeit to Prince Julious” The Baron said as an excuse, she smiled at that, her new… fiance was at least intelligent enough to recognize how bad of an idea dueling the Crown Prince was.

It would still tear her heart apart to have to watch Prince Julious get hurt, she wanted to hate the Prince so much, she even wanted vengeance… something that was out of reach for her right now and probably forever.

Unless of course the Crown pushed the Redgraves to rebellion.

The bloodshed on both sides made that outcome the worst possible case but her heart still wanted war.

“But my territory is just an empty island right now Lord Redgrave, I cannot provide your daughter with even shelter right now!” Leon said desperately, it didn’t sound good to her either.

“I’ll provide with the money for a modest housing for you to start, the rest will be on you, but don’t worry, my daughter was raised to be the next queen, with her administrative skills you will have a competent partner” said her father while looking contrite, the start to her new life wouldn’t be a pleasant one, but she will endure.

“I… I guess there is only one thing left for me to do right now” said the Baron with resignation “I thought i had prepared myself for this bu… but here goes nothing!” he said while clapping his cheeks trying to give himself courage probably…

Then he walked towards her and kneeled respectfully in front of her “Lady Angelica Rapha Redgrave…” Here the Baron took a deep breath; he wasn’t going to propose to her was he? That would be entirely too embarrassing. “Would you do me the honor of becoming My Wife?”

By the Saintess, the moron actually dared to propose to her… even knowing she had no say in the matter.

It was sweet to be honest, and she appreciated the gesture.

“I do” she said trying to not sound dejected, powerful or not, this was still just their first meeting, and she was sure there was still some love for Prince Julious that survived the talk with her father, and it would do no good to offend her new partner in life.

A/N: Here is the second chapter, I hope you all enjoy it.

Don’t forget to leave a review.

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Chapter Text

CHAPTER IV.

Olivia was probably just having a nightmare.

There was no way she was in the same room as Duke Redgrave, his daughter and two of his House’s knights.

Yes, she was probably just asleep…

Master Lucas had probably been just a figment of her imagination and this was just a long, long, long dream.

Maybe she was lucky and she was in some kind of a coma having a nightmare all this time… after discretely pinching her arm she decided she was not asleep.

Because there was no way the Duke wasn’t speaking to his daughter as if they were preparing for a rebellion sometime in the near future! Because it was the condition to avoid the rebellion was bullshit!

“If the prince matures and treats with them due respect we will still be at his service”

Yeah right, the same Prince that tried to humiliate his daughter because she didn’t turn a blind eye to some girl stealing him away from her!

She wasn’t an expert in romance despite having read every romantic novel she could get her hands on…

Or maybe it was the nobility that was all screwed up!

The young man… Baron Leon Fou Bartfort, was Angelica’s new fiance! as far as she knew the engagement with the prince wasn’t annulled yet and the Duke already gave her hand in marriage to another man. 

Until a few months ago she believed in Predestined Love , with how often it happened in her books she found it entirely plausible that a fair, lowborn maiden could belong to a long forgotten noble family that would make it acceptable to marry the Prince of the story!

Such a concept was probably used as often as possible to have noble girls like Angelica to accept who their partner would be once their parents choose a husband for them!

Seriously, the Duke’s daughter was supposed to be in love with the Prince last week and now she was going to marry a Baron!

Nobles were crazy and dangerous, and she wanted out of the academy just to be away from them.

But it was just her luck that one of the followers of the daughter of a Count ordered her to bring her a drink for said daughter of a Count and that set her on the path of the most hated person on the arena right now: the daughter of a Duke!

If it wasn’t for the tuition fee she would have to pay if she dropped out of the academy she would have left a long time ago!

She had no friends and suffered bullying on a daily basis for things she had no control over, like being born a commoner or not following some unwritten rules no one ever told her about!

“Are those four really strong?” The Baron’s question caught her attention.

Admittedly, she was not following the nobles' talk, but… Did he have something in his eyes? 

Even she could tell that they were really strong, stronger than anyone their age at least since they were no match for the veteran knight inside the room.

She just wanted to go home…

“I hope you understand why our Lord has such high hopes for you!” said the veteran knight

“So everyone else is even weaker than those guys?” Said the Baron, apparently astonished by the weakness of the academy students!

Was this the plot of a Romance novel? 

Now the Duke’s daughter's new fiance is a peerless warrior!

And why was she dragged here and everyone was going to ignore her?! 

Maybe she could slip out unnoticed if things are like this?

It’s worth trying at least.

But of course no sooner she thought of moving and the Duke turned his attention to her.

“I allowed you to bring this… person here, Angie and Leon, I hope there is a reason beyond wanting her as a concubine” concubine?!

No,no, no!

At least let it be because of something like her magic!

“Do you really think so low of me my Lord?” the Baron asked while Angelica just pouted… she didn’t think nobles could pout.

“It’s too early to dismiss such possibilities” the Duke said seriously… Like, really! Didn’t he just admit that he doesn't know what kind of man he is going to marry his own daughter?!

If she was so busy being terrified she would be feeling bad for… Angelica.

“That isn’t out of the question though” Angelica said as if it was something normal, what is wrong with her?! Wasn’t she so jealous of the Prince for the exact same reason?

“Well, she is pretty but I wouldn’t touch a hair of her if she doesn’t want me to” said the Baron making the situation a little bit less terrifying.

It still is a terribly scary situation.

“Why would you so readily allow it Angie? the Duke asked… It was irritating that no one had yet addressed her directly, they were talking about her future!

“She can use Holy Magic” said Angelica much to her relief. or was it a secret disappointment she didn’t belong to a long forgotten powerful House? 

No it was definitely a relief, however, she was still at risk of becoming a concubine!

the Duke and his daughter stared at each other's eyes for a moment as if having a silent conversation.

“You should try to seduce her” the Duke just proved her theory that all nobility are crazy with that statement alone!

“I have no idea how to do that!” the Baron said resigned and looking quite miserable, she almost pitied him, almost.

“Oh, and you proposing yesterday was just a formality?” teased Angelica… the daughter of the Duke had a tinge of something dangerous in her voice.

Well at least the young man had some romance in him.

“It was an advice my mother gave me” the young man admitted scratching his cheek with his index finger “she said it would help me make a good impression”

“Admitting that just makes you look foolish” Angelica chastised her intended.

“She also told me that being honest would help me have a relationship like the one she has with my father” The Baron said with a lot more confidence.

“Doesn’t your father have a concubine though, Leon?” Angelica asked coldly.

“He does, and she is my mother” Leon said with a genuine smile “His wife is a parasite that leeches off my Father’s territory to live in debauchery here in the capital!” he continued his smile turning in contempt. “I don’t want anything to do with a woman Like Zola Fou Bartort!” and by the end of his statement anger was clear in his voice.

So even nobles can have hardships in their lives?

“It happens often with low rank nobility,” the Duke said with a sigh “Her only real use would be if your father’s territory was sieged by air pirates”

“It’s not usual for pirates to loot lands without any value!” argued Leon “My father couldn’t pay for my tuition fee to send me to the academy, and Zola thought it would be a wonderful idea to marry me to one of her acquaintances: an old hag over fifty years old! All of her husbands died in the army by the way!” Olivia could feel the hatred in his voice accompanied by the littlest bit of fear.

She couldn’t avoid her jaw dropping at that callous statement. 

Was that what happened to the offsprings of noblemen concubines?!

She would never ever want that for her children! There was no way she would want to be any noble concubine… she just wanted out of here!

“Be at ease, girl” the Duke spoke again, he had his eyes on her the whole time it seemed. “Leon himself escaped that fate by becoming an adventurer with a loan from his father. It is his success as an adventurer that gained him the rank of Baron and eventually the hand of my daughter” he smiled “Do you believe he would allow any offspring of him to suffer the way he did? 

“N… not him” she replied softly, it really sounded like Baron Leon wouldn’t allow it but, she couldn’t help as her eyes wandered to Angelica… would she do it?

In the Holfort kingdom the women had more power than the men, if she ordered any children Baron Leon had would be sold just like that Zola woman had tried with Leon.

Angelica noticed her eyes and shook her head “I wouldn’t do something so horrible like that” she defended herself calmly “I won’t live in the capital either, this marriage might as well be  exile for me, you know?”

She wasn't quite sure if she understood everything Angelica implied by that, besides it wasn’t like she was really going to be mister Leon’s concubine!

She just met the young man, and a couple of crazy nobles decided she would!

Seriously, just let her get out of the academy already.

“With Leon’s battle prowess, and Angie’s administrative skills your future would be secure” added the Duke.

“My lord please, you are scaring her” Leon said respectfully, he was right of course, nobility scared her, the higher rank the noble the more terrifying they were “this whole concubine thing is just… a suggestion, right?”

What a kind way to say he doesn’t have any choice either! 

“I… I can’t accept it, I’m here as a scholarship student, if I don’t graduate from the academy I'll be in a huge debt!” she argued hoping that they would say something like: Oh! It can be helped then, maybe once you graduate. Of course by then they would have forgotten about her and she would be free.

“Paying off your debt would be no problem for me” Of course the Duke was richer than she could imagine. Why was she such an optimistic person!

“I want to… to learn Magic.” she tried to reason, she would be denied, she was sure, but she had to at least try.

“Indeed it would be good for our House if you learned how to garner your Holy Magic my dear, so you would be given a tutor and all the books you need to master your gift” so, she really was trapped in this arrangement?

“I accept then” she said with a resigned tone “wi… with one condition thought” she dared to say it! “I wan… I want to drop out of the academy and continue learning in… in my lord's territory” she hoped she wouldn’t be rebuked too harshly.

“You don’t like the academy huh?” Asked her possible new lord? lover? master?

“The nobles here don’t like me, they are cruel and evil!” she said in desperation, two nobles seemed more manageable than a whole school full of them!

“That is because you don’t know any of the unwritten rules, or follow proper etiquette” Said Angelica “You never even presented a gift to me as everyone else in the first year did” she explained. Was she supposed to bribe her to be left alone? Was Angelica the one responsible for all her suffering?

She eyed the noble woman cautiously, was this a good idea?

Of course it wasn't! But was it related?

“Don’t misunderstand, I’m not behind your harassment!”  So she noticed huh? “Listen, I was not interested in you before today, I had other matters to attend to… It just wasn’t me!” Yeah, Angelica was an entity too far above her to notice or cause her struggles.

“So if she bribed you she would have been left alone?” Asked Leon with a straight face.

“Olivia was it? listen, I have a proposition” Angelica ignored her fiance’s inconvenient words, she would listen, not like she really has another choice “I can guarantee that you would be left alone for the rest of the year in the academy, in exchange, you would report to me anything of interest that happens, after that you would be allowed to drop and live in our territory”

She could only hold her head in desperation, she didn’t want to, she hated the academy!

“If it’s a spy you want, I have an older sister attending the academy in the second year” Leon said to her relief.

“Student’s of different years don’t intermingle” Angelica stated, “Your sister would not have all the information a first year student would have” no, no no! Please just let her drop out. 

“That’s what the rest of your followers are for, My sister would notice anything really important that happens around the Prince, I’m sure she already has an ear on the ground for it” Leon insisted.

“Very well!” Angelica said resignedly, “You are that desperate to have her, don’t you?” she said with a snarl, wow! She was jealous of her? or maybe she was possessive? 

“If you think that’s the case why not have her live in her parents house until the start of the new term, then she will join us in our territory and continue learning there, that would give her time to rest from her bad times here in the academy.”

She could live with that. 

“The academy must have been terrible for her, she looks worse than I feel” said Angelica with some pity in her voice and that made her realize she had sometime during their talk become a tangled mess, she had managed to tangle her hair worse than when she was a small child, she could see the wet spots her tears left in the skirt of her uniform, and most likely her eyes were red and swollen too…

She tried to tidy herself the best she could without a comb or mirror… Was that a snot running down her nose into her lips?

She had to have a handkerchief somewhere in her shirt’s pocket!

“Here” the Baron had a handkerchief in his hand and was offering it to her not looking directly at her.

She could only offer a meek “Thank you” for his kindness. She cleaned herself with the rather normal piece of cloth.

“Well! That was adorable!” said the Duke after keeping silent for the last few minutes “I hope you two can keep moving forward like that!”

0x0

Jenna Fou Bartfort, was walking the hallways of the girls dormitory, she is a student coursing the second year of the academy, rather successfully if she said so herself.

But today she was forced to reevaluate her life because of a certain someone.

She had at least three male students at her beck and call at all times.

She was in the process of taking a Viscount Heir away from her best friend and was currently having a spat with her over that matter.

And most importantly: She had seen her missing younger brother for the first time in what? half a year? no, it was definitely longer than that! 

The moron never even wrote to mom and their mom was worried sick.

Because he left there were other unpleasant things going on in her father’s House.

Like Zola planning to engage their youngest brother, Collin, to an old hag…

And Leon had just abandoned their family.

The moron was looking healthy and he was at the direct service of the Duke, so he must have done something right.

She was happy for him, really, but she also planned to give him a piece of her mind at the first chance she gets!

And as the cherry on top, the followers of the Atlee girl were herding everyone to their rooms. and even if she wanted to go eat dessert at the academy’s cafe with the Dia she got from selling a few cheap jewels some boy offered to her she couldn’t go against those followers. 

It was better to just let them deal with whatever they were doing than being in their way.

Of course, once she entered her somewhat unkempt room she realized that she was those guys' target!

Sitting in her bed with an uninterested expression was none other than the most hated girl in the school. the daughter of the Duke: Angelica Rapha Redgrave and at her side leaning on her wall was her younger brother Leon, and the jerk smiled at her and waved his hand as if they saw each other this morning!

She would rip him a new one if she wasn’t terrified of the girl in her bed!

Disowned or not she was still the daughter of the second most powerful man in the kingdom!

“Yo, Jenna!” Leon greeted her, his annoying smile getting wider when he noticed her shock. She would call him a bastard if he couldn’t throw the insult right back at her.

Their mother was the mistress of their father making them both bastards to anyone who cared to notice.

“Don’t you Yo, Jenna! me, what are you doing here!” she asked in a low voice full of contempt, she was relieved he was alive but that didn’t mean she forgave him for everything that he caused!

The idiot had made their father plunge further in debt to finance himself as an “adventurer” and now here he was, the bodyguard of a Duke and hadn't repaid a single Dia back to their family.

Worse, what business does Angelica have here with her!?

She took a couple of steps towards her wayward brother and tried to slap him!

But he caught her hand with his rather easily and didn’t let her go, then all of a sudden Angelica was staring at her really close with an angry expression on her… The Duke’s daughter slapped her instead!

She could only glare at the highborn girl for this, she knew that she was physically and politically defenseless with her and her brother here, and she had no way to retaliate, her brother was strong, she knew that but he never dared to raise a hand against her in the past, that was why she dared to try to slap him in the first place.

“What are you doing here!?” she asked, her voice still low despite her wrath.

“I thought it would be a good idea to invite you and your older brother to the ceremony, we are about to become kin just so you know…” Angelica was the one who replied with a false sweet tone that sent chills down her spine.

Becoming kin with Angelica would mean she would marry into House Bartfort! Who was she marrying? No, she didn’t even have to think about it, it was rather obvious.

The most likely option is Leon, as the third son of a Baron! He was perfect to pacify the Crown.

“Aren’t you going to congratulate me, sister?” she tried not to laugh but this was way too rich! Angelica was to be married off to a title-less man, the Duke is a cruel man!

“Your father is a cruel man, sister in law!” She said with mirth

“And you are a dumb girl” Said Angelica right back to her, she was really really mad at her, she will most likely outrank her in the kingdom hierarchy soon enough and she still has the guts to talk to her like this! “I had my father’s followers gather some information about you, and let me tell you: you are not as impressive as you think, you are just a gullible little girl that’s blind to the reality of the kingdom!”

“I’ll still outrank you soon enough!” She said trying to show a calmness she doesn't feel, if Angelica’s father still supported her in any way, it very well could mean that her outranking Angelica would mean nothing in the grand scheme of things!

“And what would that reality be huh?!” she asked ironically.

“There are less men than women in the kingdom.” Ha! So that was it? she knew that already, and they were all inferior to women.

“She doesn’t get it,” Leon said softly to Angelica.

“Doesn’t matter anyway” Said the blonde “We do have a job for you though” she said pulling out a purse full of Dia.

Well, that changed things, she wanted that money to buy herself a personal servant!

“What is it?” she asked eager to get her hands on the Dia Angelica had with her.

“It’s simple, just keep an ear out for any rumor about the Prince and his friends” said the blonde handing the purse full of Dia to her.

She took them gladly, it was heavy, there were even silver coins in here! 

Jenna looked with pity at her younger brother, so his future wife wanted to keep an eye on her former fiance? 

So that means Angelica will be abandoning the academy to live in the Bartort territory?

It was not her business though, as long as she gets paid that is.

“Our wedding is tomorrow, in Duke’s Redgrave mansion, be at the gates of the academy tomorrow with Nicks at noon” Said Leon as he walked to the door and exited her room, his blonde fiancee behind him telling him to mind his manners.

That was strange… the world is a funny place if you consider how much of a joke the life of the former most powerful girl in the academy had become.

0x0

After delivering the second wedding invitation to Leon’s older brother she had discretely dragged him to a particular room where an acquaintance of hers resided.

After their visit to his sister she noticed a lack of manners on her new man that she did not like, she knew that as the third son of a Baron Leon was likely never taught proper manners but she sought to rectify that as soon as possible.

And after an awkward explanation the teacher of etiquette agreed to give Leon a crash course on how to entertain a tea party…

To say Leon liked the concept would be an understatement!

He even asked Lucas if he was allowed to call him master.

It was kinda cute seeing a man with the kind of combat skills to impress her father so excited for this kind of thing.

She couldn’t help but giggle when he tried to imitate the teacher standing straighter and trying to talk with a more even, refined tone.

She felt amused when at the end of the lesson he tried his best to entertain her to the best of his meager but enthusiastic efforts.

A/N: Longest chapter to date, hope you read and enjoy,

Olivia has her first scene in this chapter, she is in a bad spot, mistreated with no one to give her the time of day she was offered an opportunity she cannot refuse.

Her integration in the dynamic of the fic is just that of someone who was simply claimed by a higher ranked individual, this kind of confirms some of her worst fears and at the same time she gets an offer to get out of the toxic academic environment she is in right now.

Chapter Text

CHAPTER V.

Nicks world was upside down right now. 

The Brother he thought dead was alive and to be married today! 

Leon never even put a foot in the academy before all of this mess and now he walked out with a beautiful bride of his own!

That made him feel more pathetic than Leon having enough achievements to get the title of Baron.

The brat was always so bad with people that he thought that no matter what he would at least get a wife before him!

And his little brother saw fit to rub it in his face with glee.

The gods were cruel.

Now he was standing in the gate of the academy with his uniform just ironed and his best attempt to comb his hair into something respectable, Jenna at his side looking as pristine as she could manage… which was way more than he could. She too was likely to land a husband this year from what she told him.

There was also another girl with them, the scholarship student looking nervously from side to side as if waiting for someone.

Most other students that had planned to leave had already left so it was only the three of them here.

Well… seeing as both his younger siblings were likely to beat him to get married and he had like two and half years before he was considered undesirable he might as well try his luck with her. She was pretty and would probably get knighted when she graduated… he hoped so at least.

“Hello, I’m Nicks Fou Bartfart, second son of Baron Balcus Fou Bartfort. Pleased to make your acquaintance” he said as kindly as possible.

The girl’s eyes widened when he said his name and she went from looking shy to a look of nervousness.

“Ar… are you Baron Bartfort’s brother?” she asked, avoiding eye contact.

“He said son, not brother. Are you deaf peasant?!” Nicks wanted to cry, it was just like Jenna to scare the first new girl he had the courage to talk to in weeks!

“You should be nicer, Jenna!” He reprimanded his little sister. It was his duty as the older sibling to discipline her in the absence of their parents.

“Why though, she is just a commoner” his sister refused to acknowledge the need to apologize due to the difference in their status… typical.

“I’m sorry for her behavior” he said gently, maybe he still has a chance!

“Our father is the baron not our brother!” Jenna once again butted in, she seemed in the mood to lord over their… no, not their nobility, just her own.

“I’m sorry!” The scholarship student apologized frantically, much to Jennas enjoyment. “I thought you were related to Baron Leon Fou Bartfort!” she said, trying to explain that she has confused us for another barony family…even if he was pretty much sure that there wasn’t any other family in the kingdom with their name, it was only them and their brother,,,

He facepalmed so hard anyone not involved would assume someone was slapped just now!

Leon is now an independent Baron, so he is indeed the brother of Baron Bartfort!

“Eh!? Are you okay?” he scared the scholarship student, just great.

“What is wrong with you?” asked Jeena him, probably more ashamed by his conduct than worried for his well being.

“Yes, I’m alright, yes we are Leon’s siblings…” he ignored Jennas outburst at his words and continued “I’m sorry about the misunderstanding” he apologized for not understanding her in the first place.

“Leon is not a Baron!” insisted Jenna behind him.

“He was just promoted from what he told me yesterday… I thought he was kidding until he showed me his papers…” yea it’s not that he didn’t believe in his younger brother, but being promoted is something hardly believable in the first place, the House Bartfort is still struggling with the taxes they have as a barony to even think of being promoted.

And in one stroke of luck he was promoted and apparently has the land to back his new rank as well.

“He never even told me he was promoted!” Jenna said in disbelief, she wasn’t even given the chance to doubt their brother… how typical of him… Leon is a man that values his brothers more than sisters but he hadn't noticed just how little he valued Jenna if he forgot to tell her that.

If what he told him was true then his father only found out about a month back and was asked to keep it to himself because… Zola.

As an independent knight Leon had nothing to fear from her but he wanted to repay his debt to their father without Zola stealing the money for herself.

According to Leon that money would be used to fix the infrastructure of the territory, such as the roads and the harbor.

“Hmph!” Jenna was not happy about being kept in the dark about this. 

“Are you going to attend Leon’s wedding miss…?” he asked, leaving out her name hoping that the scholarship student would introduce herself… 

“I’m Olivia, n…nice to meet you” she said, attempting a curtsy. “Yes I’m invited” 

“How come!?” Jenna asked aggressively, what is wrong with that girl! she wasn’t like this when they were kids!

“I… I, I’m Mister Leon’s…!”

“You are the moron’s what? Lover, concubine, mistress?” Jenna asked again, seeing Miss Olivia stutter, unable to form a coherent sentence.

The blonde girl could only blush furiously and nod while looking at her shoes.

Him and Jenna? 

They were both speechless and gaping like a fish out of water.

He didn’t know how this was possible at all… He couldn’t help but wonder what his younger brother was doing all the time he was gone?!

0x0x0

Mylene Rapha Holfort felt a pang of pain in her chest as she witnessed this wedding come to a close.

Infiltrating this party was not difficult, although with how things developed, this was probably the last time she will be setting foot here as a guest.

The ceremony was discreet, this was not a celebration, this was a mournful event, there were not many people here, she could spot a few nobles that were at House Redgrave’s service mainly, there was also the Atlee girl in a corner looking subdued.

This may very well become her future one day.

Mylene knew that her fiance, Jilk, is among the ones who fell in love with this Marie character. And after witnessing Angelica’s punishment she doubts the girl would have any ideas about opposing her fiance’s dalliances, because her son would no doubt intervene to save his foster brother from an unwanted fate… They were at that age after all.

Another notable individual was the blonde girl surrounded by retainers, she was looking rather bored, she was here probably at her father’s insistence, Dorothea Fou Roseblade was an infamous young woman whose notoriety reached even the palace, she dared to turn down the son of Marquis Framptom son’s marriage proposal, it was clear that her presence here was just a sign that her House supports the Duke.

Mylene returned her eyes towards the main actors of this event. She immediately focused on Angelica.

The young woman she once mentored so she could become the next Queen was embracing her older brother Gilbert, an embrace that they may never repeat for appearances sake..

The young man who she was forced to marry was talking cheerfully with another young man that resembled him, a girl with brown hair in a long ponytail and another girl that shyly looked at the floor.

The second girl was his concubine… his sister may have thought that she was whispering but she was sure that everyone attending had heard that bit, even her could in her private balcony.

She knew of him of course, but only about his accomplishments, she was impressed by them and even signed his nobility titles.

How she regretted doing that. The scumbag dared to bring his mistress to his wedding with Angie!

This marriage was pushed on both groom and bride, she could hardly blame him for having a prior relationship… but by bringing his woman here he’s hurt both of the young women.

The blonde girl had the decency to try to avoid offending the bride’s family at least, she kept her head down and tried to not draw attention to herself. She could not see her face but her clothes suggested she was of peasant origins.

Probably a starstruck girl that fell for the dashing adventurer and eloped with him…

That young man made her own husband, the King, look respectable in comparison!

Angelica acted as if nothing had happened and ignored the other woman with aplomb as she accepted the last of the congratulations . That girl loved her stupid son, suffered a crushing rejection but looked regal even in absolute defeat… She would have made such a fine Queen…

“You dared to show up, Mylene!” The voice that called her belonged to none other than Duke Vincent Rapha Redgrave, there was no trace of kindness left in his voice.

She couldn’t blame him.

After what her son Julius pulled with Angelica he had every right to be angry… but.

“Angie looks beautiful” she replied calmly, she was still this country’s Queen and needed to keep bothersome lords at bay “The groom thought, is just a thug!” She hoped to keep things civil with the Redgraves and this was a suitable punishment for Angelica’s indiscretions.

Mylene knew of course that the gi… woman, acted within her rights to defend her relationship, but she had cornered herself with the challenge and had to be censured.

“I’ve done my part as a father” Vince said with just the tiniest bit of anger leaking through his voice “Have you and his Majesty done your parental duties?”

He was, of course, asking if Julius was punished for his dalliances.

Being honest, it was Julius who cheated, it was Julius who acted out but… “The prince will be confined to his chambers until he has to go back to the academy” she said trying to make it sound harsh, but both of them knew it couldn’t even be considered a slap in the wrist.

She turned around and walked out of the room. She couldn’t even let her former friend have the last word, she knows that from now on they’ll be on opposite sides and she must be on guard with him.

After today Redgrave House may become an even bigger threat than the Fanos Principality in the future.

Exiting the building she catches a glimpse of Angelica boarding a carriage that will get her to her exile with the man she now calls her husband.

She wished she could at least say goodbye to the woman she considered a daughter.

Instead she will have some keep track of her until she arrives at her new home.

She was too valuable as a potential hostage.

0x0x0

“Greetings Master” , a floating round object with a red eye, greeted them inside a room in her family’s airship. It was quite a curious sight to see for Angelica.

It floated closer to her and hovered around her as if inspecting her, she didn’t quite know how to react. Then the… round thing  did the same to Olivia who looked close to having a panic attack just from meeting this thing.

“That’s enough Luxion, You are making them uncomfortable if you haven’t noticed!” Her new husband said with authority, apparently this thing… This Luxion was an entity known to him.

“Perhaps they feel this way because the Master forgot to mention my existence!” the entity now known as Luxion said in his artificial voice as if he was hurt to not have his presence being explained beforehand. 

And given this Luxion’s uniqueness she could get behind the feeling whole heartedly.

“I have to agree with… Luxion this time my Lord husband” she said as if experimenting with the foreign name for the thing that called her Husband: Master. The creature was probably a familiar that Leon found while he was out conquering dungeons.

“You are right I guess” her husband didn’t appear to want to introduce the entity for whatever reason but did so anyway “This is the AI Luxion, a familiar I found in a Dungeon” he nodded and looked satisfied by that rather lackluster explanation.

“Is that all?” Olivia spoke for the first time that day and she was as disappointed as herself with the lack of detail.

“Yep that’s all there is to it!” and Leon wanted to keep things that way… it was getting annoying!”

“Oh! Master you are not going to regale Your wife and…” Luxion said before turning towards Olivia as if to confirm her relation with Leon, the girl defaulted to look shy and stare at the floor before whispering concubine soft enough that she wasn’t sure the familiar could have heard it or not, the creature however managed to hear her answer and continued speaking “Concubine with the tale of how I had you in my clutches ready to die until you started to babble nonsense?!” She and Olivia took a step back after hearing the artificial voice reveal that it had the man with them at death's door.

“Yes! I remember perfectly, but remind me Luxion: Who was the idiot, who was the incompetent that got distracted and defeated by that nonsense babble?!” Leon said while putting himself eye to eye with his familiar.

“You surprised me Master, your insane scheme to procure a mate from the Duke succeeded!” The white and red sphere said as if unwilling to admit defeat and looking intently at both herself and Olivia. “And you got two, I’m pleased to see you took my suggestion seriously.” The creature seemed to draw pleasure by putting its master, her husband, in this uncomfortable situation.

“Your name is Luxion isn’t it?” she asked, feeling safer after that little exchange between master and familiar, this was a subjugated enemy.

“It is correct, Mistress Angelica” it replied matter of factly. 

“You acknowledge me as your mistress because I married your Master, is that correct?” she wanted to be sure, there were tales of familiars betraying their masters exploiting the wording of their contracts.

“You are not yet registered but once that is done you’ll be able to give me orders in the absence of my Master” that was relieving information. “She” the creature said nodding towards Olivia “Will be registered as third in command too” Luxion follows a chain of command? with Leon at the top herself as second and Olivia as third?

“Hopefully you won’t be registering anyone else” she told Leon who just nodded absentmindedly .

“I don’t plan on marrying again or getting any more concubines… Unless of course sometime down the line Angelica approves Olivia as a second wife instead… but you would be the only two women  I’ll be taking” that was certainly a good idea, more concubines would become a hindrance for her.

“N.. no I’m fine without being re… registered!” Olivia said she had pressed her back against the wall and was looking around…  there was something wrong with that girl.

Looking at Leon she could see that he could see it as well, but the expression on his face told her that he didn’t know what to do about it.

They have taken Olivia in as Leon’s concubine upon discovering she could use Holy magic, it was obvious that she could become an asset and was too valuable to leave alone. But they might have been too forceful in their approach. She remember Leon was clear about not touching her if she was unwilling which back then made him look better to her eyes,

But maybe from her perspective…? Of course! she has no reason to trust him, now that she was publicly acknowledged as his concubine she feels that he may not keep his word.

“Luxion, are there any disadvantages or dangers that come with one’s registration in your chain of command?” she asked

“There are no such things, this is a procedure necessary to control my spare bodies” the familiar answered.

She was interested in what these spare bodies were exactly but it could probably wait, right now she had something to do.

“Listen, Olivia, I need to explain you something” she said, the blonde commoner directed her full attention “Leon is a Baron, independent of his father’s House, we are a new branch of House Bartfort” she said gently, and paused for a moment, the girl nodded but was waiting for her to continue before making any judgment. 

“That means that I’m the new Baroness Bartfort, the second most important person in our House, and that makes you the third person in importance, it means that you are Important to us” she waited for Olivia’s reaction.

“But in the academy everyone kept telling me I was wo…worthless!” she  protested.

“The academy is a petty little world full of lies!” she all but yelled, she had her own complaints with the academy, but that didn’t make what she just said any less true.

“That’s basically the same my older brother, Nicks told me about the academy” Leon agreed, having never attended that was the best he could do to help, she smiled at him. “That's one of the reasons I delayed presenting my lands and treasure to the guild. So I could be late to enroll. That place was awful enough to visit, I don’t imagine myself living there for the whole year!” Angelica looked at him surprised, did he just admit to cheating the system to avoid the academy? what had his brother told him he was so repulsed by it.

“It is an awful place,” Olivia said, agreeing with both of them. How bad was it for the commoner?

“So I was in the right, pledging myself to House Redgrave in exchange for a bride!” Leon said looking at Luxion with an I told you expression on his face.

“You even got the one you were aiming to Master, congratulations!” Luxion complimented Leon, but in doing so he revealed something that she couldn’t ignore.

“You asked for my hand in exchange for your allegiance!?” That was too absurd to even contemplate.

“Mister Leon, is that true?” Olivia asked excitedly at the prospect… 

Angelica didn’t know what to think of this revelation!

“To become a priest one must aim to become the pope!” Leon raised his hands in surrender, but then glared at Luxion, they really had a unique relationship.

“Then you knew Lady Angelica from before!” Olivia seemed in higher spirits now that the topic was switched to romance.

“I heard Zola’s daughter talk about… “ Leon hesitated for a moment when the time to say her name came. “Angelica once or twice when I was a kid, she was always jealous” he said with a terribly wide smile, no that was no smile, that was a smirk.

“Then you heard from me from your half sister?” She knew little about Leon’s family; they had no achievements to their name, but she knew the names of his father: Barcus, and his legal wife, a woman named Zola.

“With how much her kids look like that Elf servant of hers, I doubt we are related at all!” Those were heavy words, but there was the fact that there was no way elves or other demi humans could produce a child with a human woman.

“So you believe that your Father’s titles and land will go to a bastard?” Leon was far from the first to complain about this, legitimate or not such claims were the cause of much inner struggle in the world in general, not only the kingdom.

“I’m sure of it, But I have no way to prove it to the crown,” her husband said resigned.

“We are getting off topic here” Angelica interjected, it would be all too nice to be able to prove that this Zola woman had given birth to bastards, that would be a quick way to take control of her father in law’s land, but as Leon said, there was no way to prove it.

“Oh yes! We were talking about how I was smart enough to avoid the academy weren’t we?!” Both herself and Olivia glared at him with varying intensity. 

“First and foremost, Olivia, outside the academy we will be surrounded by my father’s vassals so we won’t face any kind of harassment from our peers, you have nothing to fear” she tried to reassure the commoner girl, guessing what was the cause of her near terror for the nobility she had came in contact with.

“Second, Leon, are you getting any kind of formal education?” this was important, she just hoped he wasn’t the typical warrior who thought it was offensive to use one’s head.

“Tsk, yes, My liege arranged for a tutor, although we will be paying her from our own funds” he didn’t look particularly bothered by it other than the funds part, and that she could agree with, she had no idea what they had at their disposal yet.

“Very good, I hope you give your best!” She tried to intimidate him with her eyes only, it worked for her all the time with her followers, well former followers now, it however didn’t have the same effect on her Husband, he looked rather amused by her attempt, that was kind of unexpected.

“I’ll learn don't you worry” he said with resignation, At least he knew and accepted this was something he had to do.

“Don’t trust him Mistress Angelica, Master is the type that needs constant incentives to operate!” Luxion interjected, making her husband go pale for a second before  retaliating.

“You aren’t insinuating that I’m planning to slack off, are you Luxion?”

“I remember when you committed to train every morning and how I had to wake you up every day and see that you do it!” 

Before the two of them could start their squabble again someone knocked the door and interrupted them.

“My lord Dinner is ready” someone called from outside, this was a good time to stop and eat as any and she was hungry too.

“Come in,” Leon said, changing his attitude immediately.

The door opened and a maid she recognized as her personal maid: Cordelia Fou Easton entered with other two she didn’t recognize.

They were carrying trays full of delicious looking food. She couldn’t recognize the dishes but they smelled good, so she was satisfied.

Her new family settled down on their seats and then the maids put the plates on a small table prepared for the three of them.

“Will you be staying with us Cordelia?” She asked the maid, she knew she had no right over her now that she was officially outside of her father’s protection, but she had always had Cordelia at her side.  

“If your Lord husband will have me, I’ll gladly stay at your side Miss… Mistress Angelica” Angelica looked between Leon and Cordelia back and forth.

“Are you the only one that’ll be coming?” Leon asked, it was a sensible question as far as Angelica was concerned.

“Yes, only I, my lord. The rest do not wish to abandon the service of the Duke” she said and the other two maids lowered their heads but said nothing else.

“Seems reasonable, Angelica, Olivia and me will be under your care” Leon said and she felt a relief in her heart, at least her oldest friend would be staying with her. “What’s your name?” 

“My name is Cordelia Fou Easton my lord Leon…” Cordelia looked at Olivia and then at Angelica asking how she should refer to herm Angelica mouthed mistress “Mistress Olivia”

Olivia looked like she was about to panic after hearing the Maid’s call her Mistress.

“You are a commoner no longer Olivia” Angelica told Olivia “From now on you are the esteemed Lover of this House lord” 

Chapter Text

CHAPTER VI.

Olivia took another bite of her food more preoccupied with thoughts about her new station in life than the food itself.

She was apparently elevated from a commoner to a not quite nobility status by accepting to become mister Leon’s lover. Or was it because Angelica decided to acknowledge her position? 

In the academy women had higher status than men so the later seemed more likely.

However: The academy is a petty little world full of lies!

After all she experimented in that hellish school and has been told here she couldn’t discern what was her station in life anymore.

At least she was being treated nicer by the two nobles and even the maid with Fou in her name referred to her as mistress.

“Is it time to retire to your cabin My lord?” The Fou named maid asked, she still had plenty of food to chew so she didn’t want to go to sleep just yet, besides no one was glaring at her here, this was the most peaceful meal she has gotten in weeks!

“I… I think it’s a good idea my lord” Lady Angelica said, her eyes avoiding looking at mister Leon directly, she had a pink tint in her cheeks… why was she acting shy? and she was breathing deeply, there was a pronounced swelling in her chest every time she inhaled… Mister Leon was the same.

“I… Let’s go!” Mister Leon said, standing up and grabbing Lady Angelica’s hand in a hurry.

 They both left without another word.

She looked at her plate suspiciously, she was not stupid, she had read about love potions in the library when… well she had her reasons!

She stared accusingly at the head maid.

Said maid could only smile smugly.

Then they really… “Is there something in my food as well?” she asked a bit scared and demanding because she doesn’t trust the nobility.

“No, Mistress Olivia” the maid said sincerely, she still didn’t believe her, she decided to stop eating and pushed her plate away from her.

“We did nothing to it, Mistress!” another Maid said more nervously, that only made her more suspicious of them.

“I swear!” the last maid said in a familiar tone of voice. it was the same she used when she tried to pacify a rowdy noble girl!

Letting out a long sigh the maid explained “It is traditional to encourage sex in political marriages like this one, I understand you are of common birth?

A proverbial candle lit up above Olivia’s head and she blushed. then just nodded to answer the noble birth maid.

“We would like to ask you to use an anti conception spell at least until Lady Angelica has given birth once please.”

Again she nodded and looked at her plate longingly, and decided to trust the logic behind the maid’s ploy, and even if she was wrong, the maid probably only drugged her with some anticonceptives.

“I hope we can become friends now that I’ll be at your service Mistress Olivia” the head maid said, much to her confusion.

“Friends?” She asked, she would love to but… “Don’t you resent me for my position as Mister Leon’s concubine?” she thought it was logical to be hated by nobility, she knew that the newly married noble couple wanted her for her healing magic, and that they wanted children with the same magic… and after the academy… Suffice to say the academy was the stick and their kindness was the carrot, her children would be of noble birth, she had met illegitimate girls in the academy that were treated as normal nobility back then.

Her own pragmatism bothered her but she just wanted an escape and she was willing to pay the price, in all honesty, if only things were as they appeared, it wouldn't be much of a sacrifice at all.

“I certainly don’t, Mistress Olivia, as I understand you had a prior relationship with Lord Leon?” The Maid surprised her by asking that question.

She tried to say something but a finger in the Maid’s lips told her to stop.

“Yes, as I was told, by Lady Angelica, you met Lord Leon while he was looking for fortune when he stayed in your hometown to rest and he was infatuated with you, right?

She nodded and looked curiously at the head maid, why was this tale necessary? She just nodded though.

“It must have been quite the shock to see him again in the arena!”

Again she nodded as the maid told her their official love story… It was amusing in an ironic way.

“It must have felt good to be allowed to be with him again” she nodded again hoping this was all there was to this tale, the simpler the better.

“In the past Barons used to have multiple lovers that would act as trusted retainers as well as a source of spares. Our new House is in a unique position, we are the first new House or branche House in the last hundred years”

Then that was it? “We are weak then, so weak that we need all the help we can get?” she asked, that was what the maid was telling her.

“We appear to be weak Mistress Olivia” This time it was Luxion’s artificial voice responding, he was hovering at her side. “Master is strong enough to guarantee protection from neighboring Houses and air pirates”

“But we still need help and the Duke cant provide any more than he already has” the maid insisted “We have no trade partners and no crops in our Lord’s land, this ship will be our shelter until a suitable estate can be build!”

“I’ll do my part too!” said Olivia, she never feared hard work, she relished it in fact.

It was through hard work that she survived in the academy, and the environment here was way better than what she had grown used to the last six months.

“Well said Mistress!” The maid said with conviction. “I’m sure Lady Angelica, who was trained to be the next Queen will work just as hard!” 

Just then, a very, very loud feminine moan was heard through the thin walls of the ship.

Olivia and all the maids could only blush.

Lady Angelica was already working hard!

0x0

Luxion, the artificial intelligence, could not describe his current status as happy.

But he was hopeful. 

It was free to act outside the base it was confined to for thousands of years. 

It all started with a new human invading his base like so many others before him, but there was something different about him, his way of fighting had an amateurish resemblance to the old human tactics, not to mention that he seemed to have a keen intuition without the use of new human magic.

After confronting him and somehow losing his primary sentinel body to this new human and threatening with self destruction, he discovered something that defied all accumulated knowledge of the old humanity.

The new human was rambling in Japanese , a language that had no place in today’s world, and this… being was claiming to have been reborn, a spiritual concept that described a recycling of souls.

And worse, he was claiming that this world followed the plot of an ancient dating sim game orientated to girls, an Otome game in the words of this strange being.

Then Luxion decided that this… human, was too valuable to be allowed to die.

With haste he accepted the registration of Leon Fou Bartfort as his new Master and proceeded to explore this new and abominable world he resided in, he needed knowledge to test this impossibility.

Forty eight hours later master woke up and he questioned him, things about this Otome Game plot, about things that would be unlikely to be moved, lost relics and the like, starting with a bracelet that was supposed to be part of a set to be worn by the protagonist, a hidden ship cataloged as a Lost Item below the palace in the capital that could only be open by a couple in love and a unique system that he wasted no time in finding and copying and improving, the rest of his knowledge could be be attributed to common information available to the general population.

The worst was that Luxion’s mere existence was a damning argument in favor of this Unknown Event being real.

After the titanic labor of assimilating this event Luxion proposed a theory: Was Master the only reincarnator in existence?

There are no records of this happening even once before, but Master has proven to satisfaction that he could be the first.

Master proposed the chances being too slim to be taken seriously.

Luxion countered that it was likely that the conditions in the world probably were favorable to such events.

After a long debate, Luxion’s surprisingly cautious Master decided to prepare for the worst case scenario while avoiding interaction with the main cast of said game as long as possible.

And yes, the existence of Prince Julius Rapha Holfort, his foster brother Jilk Fia Marmoria, and his friends Chris Fia Arclight, Greg Fou Seber and Brad Fou Field was confirmed by his stealth drones.

Finding the one named Olivia was proving to be time consuming since her origins were not relevant for the game’s plot according to Master.

Angelica Rapha Redgrave on the other hand was easily identifiable and more importantly, easy to track and the plot of the game presented an opportunity for both Leon and Luxion himself.

Master somehow carried genes of the old humanity within himself.

Master needed a wife of suitable rank to procreate and fit into the new human society.

Angelica was supposed to lose in the end and be married off to a Baron somewhere in the borders of the kingdom.

Such rank was easily attainable and there were measures to ensure the Master could become that lucky Baron and still have enough time to avoid the catastrophe with his help if this Olivia failed to do it herself.

For Luxion, the fact that his master could successfully breed was a window to recreate old humanity.

A slower option than his preferred Genocidal Route but with advantages for the planet's disfigured ecosystem.

Luxion also encouraged taking more mates.

After some planning it was decided to delay his Master’s promotion to Baron so he could escape attending to the academy where the Otome Game would take place, mainly to avoid interfering with important events, and they will use the time in what Leon annoyingly described as training montage (during that time Luxion was forced to play certain songs to keep master entertained and motivated), collecting a suitable floating island near the House Redgrave territory and plotting how to secure Master’s younger brother from the the same fate he had risked life and limb to avoid, preserving another specimen that could have Old Human’s genes was a worthy cause in his eye.

Luxion felt vindicated when another possible Reincarnation event  was detected within the academy no less: Marie Fou Lafan.

A female with a sub-developed body successfully displaced the protagonist, and seduced the Prince and his entourage.

This event that his master called any percent harem route forced their hand and they rushed to achieve the rank of baron and pledge their fealty to Duke Redgrave just in time to capture Angelica.

It was fortunate that Master’s paranoia exceeded his laziness, with Luxion’s help Master became what he privately called: A game over with extra steps for fake protagonists . Surprisingly, the Master prevailed in a test of worth designed to humble him so there was no need to inflate his ego any further by telling him what he thought of him.

Amusingly the other reincarnated individual was stealing the protagonist role, and becoming a pseudo protagonist, it was a shame that they would be unable to capture this Lafan girl, A female that probably carries genes of the old humanity is no small temptation for Luxion.

All the hours spent simulating Knight Armor combat gave Master a definitive advantage that simulated the talent of a prodigy, which made Master even more of a challenge to deal with.

However, with his newly mastered combat skill coupled with the Armor Arroganz he made for Leon specifically, there was little any new human could do to stop him. Luxion would know after gathering info on the Fanos Principality’s Black knight for simulation purposes.

The Plan succeeded and in what Master would consider a stroke of luck, they even obtained the game's true protagonist as a secondary mate.

 Now they entered a more passive stage of their scheme, they would have to increase the strength they could show to the governmental body that ruled this country in a believable way.

He presented himself as master’s familiar even if he couldn’t stand being associated with magic.

They have a woman trained to rule this Kingdom at their side , so with administrative efficiency covered, Master was cynical enough to point out that Angelica’s beauty and former status would attract the attention more prominent Noble Houses, and consequently merchants once they manage a  successful crop and other more touristic projects such as the Hot Spring baths he will have him build, he will build two of them: one for tourists and a private one within the estate with special minerals with medicinal effects including skin and hair care… Master ability to draw pleasure from scamming new humans was something refreshing, and could be cultivated with a bit of reverse psychology.

Publicly Luxion will display ten spare bodies in the form of labor bots, additionally for now his new mates and the one staff member will be told that each one of his Mistresses will be granted their own Luxion avatar that will double as way to issue orders to said labor bots and provide with long distance communication.

As per Master’s agreement the primitive Redgrave ship arrived at Olivia's hometown so she could spend a period of time resting from the academy induced stress. 

Olivia was pleased to have the Avatar stay with her, apparently: it was cute. Left unsaid was that she seemed eager to escape all of the noise the newly married couple made with their sexual activities.

Drugging Master was a good idea, Luxion could already see infants with Old Human genes plotting the end of the new humans!

It would be two more days of travel before they arrived at Master's father’s territory where the Airship Partner was awaiting for them.

A/N: Hello everyone, Luxion is here with a scene fresh out of the oven!

I think this should put to rest the doubts of who the leon of this story is.

Yes, this time Leon decided to skip the academy to become the Poor, or Ugly Baron Angelica was supposed to marry in what I think was the epilogue for the Game.

With Luxion’s help that would have been easy and Leon would have been able to live his dream!

Evidently, Marie threw a wrench on his plans and now a better trained and more focused Leon is married to the Villainess and has taken the true protagonist of this world as his concubine!

As you can see Luxion provided the main point of divergence from canon just by being more skeptical and checking his facts before completely believing Leon.

See you guys in Wednesday! 

Chapter Text

A/N: I edited the chapter, specifically the first scene with Angelica and Zola's, I do recommend reading them again, Thank you reading.

CHAPTER VII.

Angelica woke up feeling a hand move from her belly to her breast, something not unusual the last five days she has been traveling with her husband.

She never expected to be this sexually active, sure they were given love potions the first time but after that it was all their initiative, no matter how much Leon wanted to believe the contrary, she already knew that was her father's plan from the very start.

She knew her father wanted her pregnant as soon as possible, their Houses wouldn't be truly bonded until they had a child to make that union tangible. In her opinion it was fortunate the initial process was so fun!

Someone knocked the door energetically "My lord, my lady, we will be arriving at the Bartforts territory in one hour!" It was Cordelia with good news!

She had grown tired of this ship and cabin; the short day they had spent at Olivia's hometown introducing themselves to the girl's parents and recruiting young people to reside and work at their own land was not enough of a reprieve, she was looking forward to being able to explore Leon's land.

She tried to turn around but Leon's arm kept her in place. a kiss on the nape of her neck and Leon whispering "We have time for a quick one" told her they would be there fashionably late.

With a mighty push she got above her husband, she hasn't decided what she liked the best, being on top or the bottom

0x0

Fortunately the crew somehow knew they had to stall for time and she had time to look presentable to her new family.

Seriously Cordelia, stop blushing, you're making it worse! they weren't that loud!

As they disembarked she could see a man with black hair and a painfully old suit accompanied by a woman with a nice but simple dress and Leon's siblings she met at their wedding as well as a younger girl and a mini Leon that was simply adorable.

This was her new political family, she had to meet them to observe the niceties that noble society still imposed on her.

Who knows, this could be a template for how their land would look in ten years so it was something to look forward to.

"Dad! mom! Leon hurried and greeted his parents with a wave of his hand, she grabbed his arm before he could rush down the plank.

He just smiled and composed himself enough to walk her properly to his parents.

They waved back with strained smiles, this must still be hard to swallow for them.

After the formal greetings were exchanged we were led to their estate, it was more impressive than what I expected. According to Leon, Zola would have nothing less for her visits.

Zola was Balcus Fou Bartfor legal wife, but neither she nor her offsprings were present in the barony, she was curious to see them, apparently they were actually bastards according to Leon.

0x0

Olivia was helping her mom and dad to pack up their belongings.

In a totally unsurprising yet unexpected turn of events, both of them agreed to move to the land of her Lord when offered the chance.

She was a bit sad to have fulfilled her hometown expectations to have come back as the concubine of a low ranking Noble Lord…

They mockingly said: She was fast at least.

She didn't expect to be glad to leave this place for good, but the old folks were insufferable with their taunts and glares.

A few of the younger villagers were eager to go to this newly discovered land and forge a future for themselves.

Three young couples had immediately agreed when Lady Angelica explained that they would need hands to handle the crops and there was no small number of other villagers debating if it was how good of an idea it was to leave their homes.

It would be hard to start, they all agreed and had no complaints about it.

How fertile this new land was? That was a much contested point, perhaps other explorers saw the island and decided it had no value, some said.

Others argued that the crown would have inspected the island and judged it worthy of a Baron.

The optimistic ones could be found in the tavern debating what they would grow in their personal patch of land they would be receiving in exchange for their services if they decided to go.

The pessimistic ones in the next table were complaining how they would have to defend from air pirates coming to steal the initial investment.

They had asked Lord Leon what they had in the form of defenses , and he had boasted that he was strong enough to win a tourney in the Duke's palace and that each man that agreed to join him would get a gun and rounds to defend themselves and their families. And on top of that his airship Partner.

But given Lord Leon's youth many thought he was just a rowdy boy trying to impress his women.

Some of the women had asked her if their potential Lord was really strong or if he was all bark and no bite.

She was honest, she never saw him fight, but he did win a tourney in the Duke's palace beating many of his best men, including a knight that defeated the three heirs of High noble houses before he was defeated by the fourth one and the accumulated damage.

To her irritation many of the women started gushing about the prince who was famous for his skill and good looks.

It was sad many of them didn't even know what he looked like, she had almost tripped over him on the first day if not for the Lafan girl… that was perhaps the one act of kindness the menace had done for her.

She knew she would have never survived tripping over the prince.

Even then she was so mean while doing it.

She was confident that there were at least twenty people ready to leave when her Lord came back to pick her up in his own airship, the Lost Item: Partner, it had a good name for a ship, but she could hardly imagine a seven hundred long meter warship. The scale was beyond her imagination. In the Capital she saw four hundred long meter luxury ships that were simply massive.

The ship the House Redgrave loaned them was a three hundred meter long warship and it was big enough to give some people hope for their continued safety.

Her parents are simple farmers, and she did feel bad for them, having to uproot in their forties, it must not be a pleasant experience. But they would do so just to be with her and support her, given all she has told them about how she came to be a Baron's concubine they wanted to be close to support her.

"Mistress Olivia there is another group of villagers coming this way" Luxy alerted her, it was sweet of Mister Leon to lend him this Avatar so she could contact them in an emergency, and to act as her assistant.

Sighing she went to greet a new group that would probably ask the same questions as the last group, she could write down a paper and put it in the tavern, it would save her time.

CHAPTER VIII.

Angelica knows her way in a negotiation, and while the Main House Bartfort was the one House they could trust implicitly that may not remain true for much longer.

Rutart Fou Bartfort was a fickle man, little more than a puppet to his mother, worse, one that may not even be a true Bartfort, looking at the pictures that Luxion has showed him of the man in question and looking at Balcus Fou Bartfort just made her more certain that the heir to the barony was the product of adultery.

There was no legal way to prove it though and before she married Leon House Bartfort stood much too lose if there was a conflict with Zola, her old House would intervene on her behalf.

Before, if no action was taken they would lose everything, including their title, lands and even bloodline by letting a bastard take it all.

It took two weeks and much talking and some harsh words but Balcus finally decided to name his second son Nicks as the heir of the barony.

With her knowledge about the kingdom's innerworkings, forging a document that would officialize the new Heir and tie Zola's hands was a piece of cake, getting the document to be recognized was a different matter.

The document basically disgraced Rutart for not marrying before twenty years old as he was supposed and failing to even familiarize himself with the barony's lands.

There were rumors about a rogue organization whose objective is to undermine viscounts and lower nobility's men and commit fraud using the lives of third and younger sons to get compensation for deaths in battle.

The fact that Leon's youngest brother Colin was in such a perilous process was the deciding factor because it implied that Zola was at least in contact with them, Angelica thought she was a member.

Some bribes will ensure the document reaches its target and does its job… if only she could still lean on her father's name that Dia could have been saved.

Her new political family was odd to her eyes, so relaxed in their daily life affairs that if she didn't know better she would think she was in the home of some commoners.

They had accepted her with open arms and a smile, even Leon's older sister, Jenna had taken a liking to her after advising her on some fashion trends and what was in vogue in the palace.

Both of Leon's younger siblings had taken to calling her Big Sister.

She was doing well in fitting in, even if she didn't think she belonged here, she still had feelings for the Prince and it made her feel disgusted with herself.

Leon was comprehensive of the matter and said he didn't resent her for it but it only made her feel worse.

Luce, Leon's mother, had told her that it would pass with time. She was trying, she really was but it was hard.

The time to collect Olivia was closing fast and Luxion had reported that thirty persons in Olivia's hometown had agreed to move to Leon's territory.

It was such a relief to have more hands helping now, in the beginning it was only Leon and her, Olivia was an even bigger stroke of luck than they had first realized and Cordelia…

Well her maid decided to make one more sacrifice and will only be with them for two more years as she is to be wedded to Leon's older brother Nicks.

They could hardly accuse Rutart of anything if Nicks wasn't already a better candidate and the best way to prove just that is by securing a fiancee for him.

She had planned to pressure the daughter of a local knight but her oldest friend volunteered herself for the task.

It was funny how hard both Nicks and Cordelia had blushed but Cordelia had explained that she viewed it as a chance to be related to her in a more meaningful way.

The main Bartfor House will be switching to Leon's House in a few years and thanks to Cordelia they would eliminate the meddlings of another family altogether.

By the end of the fourth week an airship transporting Zola and her offspring arrived.

The official wife was livid and had cornered Balcus in his office to try and force him to reinstate her son as Heir.

They had even locked the door to not be interrupted… It was funny to think that they assumed that would stop a third year student!

The door was thorn out of its hinges by Leon, she was with him of course, and so were Nicks and Cordelia, who was with her but expertly maneuvered herself to stand to the older true Bartfort's side just a step behind him, ready to play the supporting fiancee when her time comes.

Zola was screeching at the nerve we all had for barging in in such a way the young blond man she supposed was Rutart looked at the door that Leon tossed at the side of the office completely cowed, the blonde younger woman that surely was Merce was hiding behind her mother, the last member of the visiting party was an elf looking at them hatefully.

The four of them walked unimpeded to stand behind Balcus who was sitting in his chair looking furious and glaring slightly at Leon for the stunt with the door, that only made the scene even better in her eyes, it demeaned Zola and her children, it was as if the patriarch thought the door was more important than them. It was a true statement.

"How dare you come in like that?!" self important noble ladies were so predictable, next she will notice Leon…

"So you are alive you ungrateful child!" she said with disdain looking at Leon who was working in the fields alongside Nicks and the people of the barony so they looked like complete peasants right now.

Score! Angelica chanted in her head, next Zola will notice her and Cordelia who was dressed in her maid uniform, she will make a greedy comment about herself needing more servants too.

"Who are these women? If you can hire a new maid we need some more as well in the capital" she said while looking smug.

Doing her best not to laugh Angelica decided not to keep her inner game or she won't be able to resist and will burst out laughing.

"Yes, Zola, my son Leon is alive" Balcus said calmly with a satisfied smile "This are his wife Angelica Fou Bartfort" he said looking at her and Leon at his left before turning to his right at Nicks and Cordelia "and this is Cordelia Fou Easton, Nicks' fiancee."

Those words made Zola's jaw drop.

For low ranking ladies of Zola's age having a son married was something they took pride in, so her and Cordelia's presence was a slap in the face.

She soon recognized her though, there must have been a scandal in the capital of course, the daughter of such an esteemed family sent off to marry some poor upstart of a baron in the boonies… Leon's name probably was never mentioned in the woman's circle.

The future former matriarch of House Bartfort sent her a predatory smile.

"Well, well, well! If it isn't the esteemed daughter of Duke Redgrave?" Zola taunted her, thinking she had control of the situation. " How does it feel dear? To lose your man, your status and your father's protection?" Her words did nothing to her, this woman was a fly and she spent the last few weeks weaving her web.

Welcome! She thought!

"I'm doing well" she said, lifting her nose slightly, "however you should mind your tone Baroness, might I remind you that you are about to be crushed by the family you betrayed?" Angelica said in a sweet tone of voice, low ranking ladies hated to be called by their titles, it reminded them how truly weak they are.

Zola closed her fan and allowed them to see her cruel smile "Might I remind you that this is my household, that the knave you married is under my authority, that everything he possesses is mine?! And that includes you!" She walked several steps forward with absolute confidence and moved her hand to the side no doubt preparing to strike her to show her her place but when she was just a step away Leon slapped her with the back of his hand hard enough to knock her to the floor.

Leon had a bittersweet smile on his face, he didn't enjoy the act of violence he just committed but there was no denying he felt vindicated after Zola finally got what she deserved.

Zola took a few moments to process the events of the last ten seconds.

"BEAT HIM BLACK AND BLUE!" she ordered her elf personal servant pointing her fan at the knave, she had a trickle of blood rolling down her lips.

"You won't!" the man she married said as magic circles appeared around his arms and legs signifying he just casted one of Holtfort's adventurer's favorite spells that strengthened his body, to his right His oldest son did the same and the maid grabbed and aimed a small concealed firearm at her servant's head, to Balcus left Leon was already wielding a short sword and the Duke's daughter had fire burning at the fingertips of an extended arm.

The threat was clear and the elf took a step back and raised both hands in surrender. Her precious lover knew that even with all his natural advantages he would be no match for the scum that was threatening them.

"HAVE YOU LOST YOUR MIND BALCUS!?" For Zola this was out of the realm of reality, she was the madam of this House, her will is law, her every whim is to be fulfilled, otherwise she would destroy this pathetic territory and its inhabitants. "You better apologize or else…!" she calmed and stood up waiting for the man to grovel at her feet as was the natural order of the world.

"Or else what?" her husband once again defied her, she had almost forgotten what she was supposed to do in this case but she did remember, she needed to go back to the capital and ask the Forest to kill her husband, his concubine and her children!

BANG, BANG, BANG!

Three bullets shot past her feet and impacted the floor right on her and her children's path.

Three armored men appeared blocking the office's exit, guns smoking and with them was Luce, Balcus concubine, the woman he flaunted in front of her.

She looked as pathetic as ever dressed like a peasant with her hair undone; she was the perfect image of a farmer as she walked past them until she was at Balcus' side.

The symbolism of this wasn't lost on her, she was facing a united front, her husband, his concubine, their children and their women were taking control of the territory away from her!

The Blonde brat looked like she was enjoying the show, the knave by now has probably painted her as the cause of all of his life's problems… As if! If he just did as he was told none of this would have happened!

Zola did nothing wrong! That's just the way this world works.

"Why are you doing this!?" Zola questioned desperately, she had come here to reinstate her son as Heir of the barony as was his right and instead had found the knave that had escaped his duty to her alongside the disgraced daughter of a Duke and a rebellious husband.

"You failed to raise a proper Heir" Balcus told her as if that explained everything, but Zola couldn't accept such simple words.

"I failed you say? can't you see Rutart standing right there!" She replied nonplused, her son was an adult now, waiting for his father to drop dead so he could sell the territory and give her the life of luxury she deserved!

"What I see is a manchild that can't take care of himself, much less this territory and its people!" The fool said that as if that had any relevance.

"Like that was necessary, just let your bastards do it for him!" the ones born to break their backs working for her were always supposed to be that woman's children.

"That is what I intend to do…" Balcus said again without changing his expression, Zola was not used to looking him in the face, before today he always kept his head down. "But we will skip the middleman, Nicks will inherit the territory and become my Heir" she couldn't believe how conceited that man was.

"I won't allow it, I won't allow it!" Zola yelled, no matter how much Balcus liked to play pretend he couldn't. "Once I'm back at the capital you'll regret this!"

She'll get a group of mercenaries to ravage this land for this impertinence!

"Mother is right, father, you can't do this to us!" Rutart, her child finally came into her defense, he'll set him and those bastards straight!

"So you finally speak" Balcus still used the same calm voice that was driving her into madness "Took you being disinherited and a couple of death threats and you still hide behind your mother's skirts? Had you reacted more like Leon, who decisively defended his wife I would have reconsidered but you have yet to show me anything that would make me change my mind. From now on you'll stay here to work the fields with the serfs, you worthless child!" Balcus couldn't be serious! She looked at her son and waited for him to do something, anything!

Instead Rutart could only look ahead at the menacing presence of the rural nobles and be cowed into obedience!

"Shut up you moron! Merce, Rutart, we are leaving this slump!" Zola once again made for the door but the three armored men didn't bulge at all!

She'll get them killed, every last person in this floating Island is dead!

"You still believe you can just leave Baroness? how naive" the knave's wife smiled sweetly at her while looking out of the office's window… where a massive warship was towing her comfortable airship away from the harbor!

She was being kidnaped in her own floating island!

Quickly composing herself she glared at the harlot "So you still have a ship like that huh? It'll be a nice prize for my friends once they come to collect me" that'll be the day, she'll drive her nails deep into her skin and scar her pretty face so bad that men in the slumps won't be paying one dia to use her!

"No, Baroness, that is my husband's airship and if you think the forest will notice the absence of a missing withering tree you are sorely mistaken!"

Those words finally did it, those were the words used to ridicule the disgraced members of the organization, Balcus might be the puppet, but the puppeteer was that harlot.

"James, you have yet to find a wife right?" Balcus continued as if he was never interrupted, as if she didn't matter.

"N..no milord, I'm still looking" the youngest of the armored men replied and this time Zola fell to her knees, that dog pretended to give away her precious daughter!?

Anger boiled inside her and she stood up ready to charge and kill that dog herself!

BANG, BANG!

The whore in the maid dress stopped her with two shots at her feet!

"Let's not be hasty Baroness, we are almost done here" The blonde bitch was enjoying this too much, she noticed that at some point that brat, Leon, had moved to envelope her waist with his arms affectionately.

"Why do you keep using that damned title!?" she spat, yes, that was her actual title but in her heart she was meant to be a marquise or a duchess.

"Oh, I'm just getting used to the sound of it, you know? I'm a Baroness now too" the Duke's daughter leaned back and raised a hand to caress Leon's cheek in a caring manner that drove her crazy!

"Have you gone mad?!" she asked in disbelief, here was the daughter of a duke flaunting a rank she felt ashamed to have.

"You really know nothing about nobility, don't you Zola?" Those words were the drop that filled the bucket and she charged at the blonde but this time the bitch charged at her as well!

For a moment Zola didn't knew what happened to her, she felt numb and no matter how hard she inhaled only a small amount of air got to her lungs there was a pressure around there throat, blurred vision cleared to reveal the indifferent face of Angelica Fou Bartfot, the pressure she felt before diminished and she could now breath, now she could realize that the pressure was the Duke's daughter hand holding her standing up when her own legs failed her.

All her standing, all her posture, all of her strength amounted to nothing in front of her, Zola just realized that everything was stolen from her by this little bitch.

"That's enough Angelica" Balcus concubine ordered the high lady turned Baroness as if this monster would listen to her when she had so blatantly destroyed her. She could feel the tears coming out of her eyes.

And just like that she was let go, so suddenly that her legs couldn't support her due to the surprise of her release, she fell on hands and knees and started to cough to alleviate the soreness in her throat.

She could only wonder why she listened to that woman when she herself was treated like trash?

"Edward, take her to the cellar, she will be staying there until we can build a cabin in the back to keep her in!" Balcus ordered, she was a prisoner guilty of opposing the new Madam and her family was torn apart just for inconveniencing the daughter of a Duke.

Real nobles are terrifying!

Chapter Text

A/N: Hey everybody, guess what? 

Today it’s my Birthday, so to celebrate I’m publishing one chapter early, Enjoy!

CHAPTER IX.

Jenna felt today was going to be as bad as yesterday when she woke up.

Like they ever were since her brother arrived at the estate to introduce his wife to the family. Angelica had immediately gained her mom’s favor just by being told she married Leon and while her dad was more cautious her polite and respectful words had eventually won over him as well.

She even convinced dad to make Nicks the Heir of his title and territory and offered her own maid as her older brother's fiancee.

She knew that it wouldn’t be for long and she pitied Nicks for getting his hopes up, but when Lady Zola heard what had been happening here from her contacts in the capital all this charade would be over.

And today was the day, she could see the barony’s best ship arrive and dock at the harbor, she hurried to her dad’s office to greet the fancy part of the family and see her role model put everything straight but instead she saw Rutart being dragged kicking and screaming by one of dad’s knight, a crying Merce being gently guided away by James a good looking, young knight at her family’s service.

Lady Zola’s elf servant was unconscious and being dragged by another knight as if he was just a sack of potatoes.

“I’ll treat you right, you don’t have anything to worry about, I promise. Mother will teach you everything you need to know, don’t cry please” the youngest knight whispered to Merce.

Jenna knew she couldn’t have heard right, Big Sis Merce couldn’t have been given to marry a simple knight could she?

She rushed to the office where she thought she would find Lady Zola scolding dad for being foolish, instead she found her walking in front of another knight, she was disheveled had tears running down her eyes ruining her otherwise perfect make up, her face a mask of desperation and her eyes looking down at the floor.

Her stupid brother ran past her with a giggling Angelica running at his side.

She wanted to help Lady Zola out of her depression but first she needed to find out what had happened to leave her in that state.

“Nicks, please make sure Colin is far away before those two can get to it!” Mom told her older brother with fond irritation, Jenna could get behind that order, Angelica might be a proper highborn Lady, but she moaned and screamed, like a lot!” so either she was really sensible or that stupid brother of hers… 

“Dad! What happened!” she demanded, this was not how things were supposed to go.

“If I may, Lord Balcus?” it was the maid… Cordelia, her brother’s intended person who volunteered after Nicks ran out of the office to make sure their littlest sibling's ears were spared the coming… storm.

Jenna let herself be guided to a small living room away from Leon’s room  to her relief.

“What happened?” She asked again, this time in a whisper.

“As Lady Angelica would put it: Zola was crushed by the family she betrayed” Cordelia told her but she just wasn’t in the mood for word games.

“What do you mean Lady Zola betrayed father?” she could only look at the floor, she could honestly find no fault on her step mother.

“Isn’t that elf slave proof enough?” Cordelia asked as if stating the obvious.

Jenna shook her head, no.

“As noble ladies we have right to have lovers of lesser species, there isn’t even risk of pregnancy so there is no risk”

“Count’s daughters and higher have no love slaves” Cordelia said matter of factly.

But it changed nothing in her eyes, besides “The Offrey’s daughter has three”

Cordelia scoffed “They aren’t nobles as far as House Redgrave is concerned!”

“All of my friends do have slaves!” she explained, well at least the cool ones.

“Daughters of Viscounts and Barons live in their own little bubble” her future sister in law said gaining a glare from her, Jenna was included in that remark as the daughter of a Baron.

“Why did dad do this?” she asked again,Zola had that elf slave for as long as she remembered but it never bothered dad enough to do this!

“Zola’s real crime” Jenna couldn’t stand the lack of respect from the maid when she failed to use a more respectful way to address her role model, but Cordelia continued without correcting herself of apologizing “was her failure to raise her children properly”

Jenna stared at Cordelia shocked, Rutart was the perfect picture of a knight and a gentleman and Merce was a perfect Lady. What fault was she referring to?

“While Merce’s upbringing could be tolerated had she married immediately after the academy, Rutart’s could not, he is twenty years old, unmarried and unable to work the territory” 

“That’s what Nicks is here isn’t it? so he could manage the crops and people!” She had always known that Nicks would take care of everything.

“Then Rutart is unnecessary, that… man planned to live his life as a parasite, and was removed because he became a liability to House Bartfort” Cordelia explained again, but…

“Why is our House so important all of a sudden?” it never seemed to matter before, so why now?

“It was always the most important thing, but that woman never let it show, if I had to guess her priorities were her own comfort first, his children second, whatever was left for your sister and you while your younger brothers were just something to be sold off to the highest bidder"

And didn't that describe exactly how things were before? Leon was sold so he had to buy himself back and Colin was being announced as the next item in an auction…

After a while Cordelia continued "Do you know why Lady Angelica accepted your brother so readily?"

Jenna shook her head, that was a riddle she had no idea how to solve.

"It is because she sees Lord Leon as an asset for House Redgrave" 

That didn't make any sense at all.

"Why?, Leon and her are just a branch of our family's House right now!"

"You know that the highest echelon of nobility in the kingdom are descendants of adventurers, Lady Angelica grew up with stories of her father's adventures looking for new lands and uncharted dungeons… Lord Leon is an adventurer that accomplished all that with a small boat and found a number of Lost Items and even if you doubt it he really defeated experienced knights with a spare armor, it's no small feat!"

"She fell for Leon because of his achievements then?"

That made sense to her.

But Cordelia shook her head "As much as Lady Angelica respects Lord Leon, she doesn't love him, she accepted him because her father wanted a strong blood tie with your brother. This is her way to be of use to her old House"

"Then Lady Angelica is only…" if this were one of her friends in the academy she would have been blunt, but this was the future matriarch of her branch of the Bartfot House she was talking to, of course she would be polite about it, but she still wanted to know if Angelica was only doing it to get pregnant.

"The first time, it was," Cordelia said and blushed a little.

"But now…?" So Angelica was simply enjoying the sex?

"I think that feeling so desired after the fall out with his highness has helped her".

That was the start of a beautiful friendship.

0x0

When Luxion announced that the airship Partner had taken off and would arrive in only one day she felt a pressure in her chest.

Olivia’s vacation was coming to an end. A rather large group of people had gathered in the outskirts of the town and were looking upwards with anticipation, not everyone would be coming but they were curiously  waiting for this mysterious Lost Item to arrive and within it their new Lord.

“Partner should be within eyesight range right now.” Luxions mechanical voice announced to her and she relayed the message.

After a bit of searching someone finally spotted it “Over there!”

A gray spot in the sky growing bigger and bigger with every passing moment, she could feel her mom gently holding her arm and her father putting a hand on her shoulder.

That’s right , this time she won’t be alone, these nobles were kinder and there were only two of them and they even appreciated her talents.

Everything will be alright.

As time passed by the spot in the sky took form and Partner’s imposing shape was soon at full display, “She’s beautiful” she said in an awed voice and many of her companions agreed with her.

“She has only two cannons though” Someone pointed out.

“So what?! I don’t think anyone is crazy enough to attack a ship that big!”

People started talking about how imposing it was and other such things and soon a gate on it’s side opened and three smaller airships exited the main ship and descended approaching them, Partner was not to land and instead they will board it using this Mini-Partners.

Baron Leon, Lady Angelica, Miss Cordelia and another gentleman she recognized as her lord’s older brother exited one of the small ships, disembarked and approached them, the  group that had accepted to go with them approached them as well.

“It is good to see you again Miss Olivia, I hope your time here was agreeable” Lord Leon said, holding her hand and lifting it until he kissed the back of her hand making her blush like a tomato.

Have they decided to put up a show? Lady Angelica didn’t look jealous at all, in fact she looked radiant. She decided to act along and she gave a curtsy.

“It was my Lord, these are your new vassals” As she said this she moved to the side to let the Baron see around twenty adults and various children looking at them with rapt attention.

After they were done with the formalities they were lifted to Partner by the smaller ships, once there they were greeted by the people that followed the Baron from his father’s territory, there were around thirty people whom happily greeted them and then started mingling with their fellow pioneers all of them talking how it is like to work alongside a Bartfort.

They ate and drank until night getting to know each other before they were shown to a large room with small beds they would be sharing while she and her parents kept following the nobles to their own cabins.

Her parents knew of course that while she was acknowledged as Baron Leon’s concubine they were not actually lovers just yet so they were relieved when they were allowed to share her cabin with her.

The next day while Miss Cordelia was showing her around looking for the ship’s library which was filled wit text books on magic she noticed she had an engagement ring in her finger and had her tell her the romantic tale of how it was convenient for them to marry her and Lord Nicks, who was Lord Leon’s brother and the new Hair to the old Bartfort barony…

“Do nobles even have a sense of romance?”  She asked, forgetting how the poor lads would dive into dungeons to risk life and limb to present gifts to the girls they fancied…

“Don't’ be like that… Olivia, we will be sisters in law, isn’t that something to be happy?

The noble's pragmatism was something to be admired but it deeply hurt the romantic in her.

The trip to the library was calm and they gossiped about the brothers Leon and Nicks, she had described her new fiance as a good man that puts family first, and that he doesn’t envy his younger brother's success, but feels bothered because people might expect the same from him, but he lacked ambition and had accepted fully to become the branch House down the line.

Miss Cordelia valiantly avoided calling Lord Leon and Lady Angelica as horny teenagers with license to fuck as much as she could, but did a wonderful job of describing them as that precisely.

It was a good thing Partner was so massive because they had places far away from the master’s cabin, even if these were sound insulated rooms.

Alarms sounded everywhere inside Partner alongside Luxion’s Voice warning them of air pirates coming for them.

Her Luxion avatar appeared beside her and guided them to safety.

After a few minutes she arrived at the ship’s bridge where a worried Lady Angelica was intently watching a screen, she could see two pirate airships deploying various armors to board them and in another screen they could see Partners deck and a black, fatty and somewhat cute, black knight armor ready to intercept.

The black armor, “Arroganz'' as Luxion called it, was equipped with a strange carabin and a sword, it took off to combat their assailants, it was Lord Leon’s personal Knight Armor.

It was impossibly fast and powerful, felling one foe after another with precise shots and slashes all the pirate’s crashed on the deck without damaging it but shaking the ship slightly.

“Pirate’s ships retreating” Luxion’s voice announced to her relief, they had won! “Deploying missiles…'' Another screen followed these missiles as they flew towards their enemies and punched through its white barriers “Impact successful…” White flags raised in the enemy's deck after a few seconds “Pirate ships have surrendered.  All available hands take your weapons and prepare to capture the enemy vessels.”

At some point Miss Cordelia had moved to comfort Lady Angelica who was breathing rapidly but had a smile on her face.

“I knew he was supposed to be strong,” the blonde lady said while looking at the screen, where Arroganz stood vigilant in the deck of one of the pirate ships, she knew that Lord Leon was supposed to be strong too, but… “But this is beyond what I expected!” Lady Angelica was noticeably shaken but happy.

Chapter Text

CHAPTER X.

After the men departed to capture the pirate ships Olivia excused herself to look for her mother, unlike herself, her mother had no idea what happened during the battle , and her husband just went to board the enemy, without knowing what an overwhelming Impression their Lord left on the pirates.

She could not even imagine what her mother would be thinking right now.

Lady Angelica stayed at the bridge talking to Lord Leon, it was cute seeing this side of her, not the daughter of the Duke she saw from afar in the academy but the newly wedded Baroness anxious to welcome her husband after a battle.

After witnessing that rather extreme change of attitude she had to reconsider her own stance regarding predestined love.

Was Lord Leon Lady Angelica true fated love and the Prince was simply in the way of true love?

If that is true, then what is her role in their story? 

No. What was their role in her story?

Shaking her head she decided that looking at things from the perspective of a romance novel was wrong, she enrolled in the academy thinking she could study magic and maybe find love the same way the protagonist of her books inevitably did.

That was a terrible mistake on her part, that was what every girl in the academy was doing, the academy was not a place to learn, but a place to find a partner and, from a certain point of view, it is a contest, a contest she entered woefully unprepared.

She assumed she was the protagonist, that everyone else in the academy were playing roles in her story, that was why in the beginning she was so prideful.

It didn’t take long for the academy to beat that idea out of her.

She definitely wasn’t the protagonist of a romance novel.

But even secondary characters can find happiness, and she was bonded to a peerless warrior,

She could not avoid smiling a little, she was a hopeless romantic!

“Livia!” her mother called her once she entered the big room where their people were bunkering during the trip.

Her mother and many other women and children approached her, they were eager to know what happened, and she was all too happy to tell them how Lord Leon defeated the pirates alone!

0x0x0

Soon they arrived at their destination, according to Miss Angelica it was too big to belong to a Baron but too small to be the territory of a Viscount.

There was a harbor already built and they docked Partner and the two pirate ships… former pirate ships.

People were cheering and admiring their Lord’s new ships and armors with renewed vigor.

She knew that people she brought with her were worried about their safety but after such a crushing victory such worries seemed to have evaporated.

The pirate attack was not a crisis, but an opportunity! 

The newborn branch of House Bartfort now had three more ships and five Armors, Even Olivia herself could’t stop from smiling looking at the loot that had, in the armors case, literally fallen on them.

They contemplated those trophies that once threatened to destroy them.

They contemplated those machines that were now another layer of defense,

They contemplated these symbols of their Lord’s strength.

They contemplated and kept contemplating because no one was coming to give them any instructions or to  guide them to their shelters.

“The fuck do we do now!?” Someone yelled once it was clear that no one was coming for them.

And everyone was looking at her waiting for orders and they were all staring at her, even the older children had impatiently looked at her… even her parents!

Why?! 

She is only sixteen years old and this is her first time here as well! 

“Mistress Olivia, mistress Olivia come with me please!” Just in time Miss Cordelia came in to save her from the uncomfortable situation, she urged the maid to walk faster just to escape that uncomfortable situation. 

Soon they were walking inside the Partner possibly towards the Lords of the House.

“Something happened?” She asked, it didn’t look like Lord Leon was injured during the battle, but that was always a concern.

“We made a miscalculation,” Miss Cordelia said with remorse. “Today Lord Leon killed for the first time and he is taking it quite badly!”

“Huh?” Olivia didn’t know how to react to that information, and Miss Cordelia wouldn’t say anything else about it and just kept walking until they arrived at a cabin where all the nobles in the group were present.

Lord Leon was sitting on his bed with cheeks wet from fresh tears and his eyes lost in the wall in front of him and hugging Lady Angelica tightly while the noble born girl kept whispering soothing things to his ear with a serene face and returning his embrace with gusto.

Lord Nicks was leaning towards his younger brother with a half full glass of wine in his left  hand, and another full one in his right hand.

It was strange to see Lord Leon looking so vulnerable when a few minutes ago her image of him was that of an invincible knight.  Yet here he was needing comfort from the consequences of his own talent.

“You should drink some, it’ll help you relax” said Lord Nicks offering the glass once again at the Younger Bartfort.

“It’s okay they were just some air pirate scum. '' Lady Angelica repeated it like a mantra but it wasn’t working and Lord Leon’s only reaction seemed to be tightening his hold on his wife briefly.

She turned to look at Miss Cordelia to question her as to why she brought her here, this was such an intimate scene she felt like an intruder.

Her friend smiled guiltily and whispered to her ear so only she could hear “They are your family now too, we should try to help.”

Olivia was astonished, she was Lord Leon’s concubine in name only, but they have hardly spoken more than twice ever since all this mess started.

She could only shake her head slightly. 

She was not part of this impromptu family, it looked like in the weeks they were away Lady Angelica had truly fallen for their Lord, and she felt happy for them but there is no way she could be of help right now, she doesn't know the first thing to say at this moment.

But Miss Cordelia insisted “Can you at least try, please?” The desire to help she had was so clear, and she herself wanted to help, this was perhaps a pivotal moment in her life, for good or ill, she was part of this family, she should help in any way she could.

Hesitantly she motioned Lord Nicks to give her the glass of wine he was offering to her Lord and after a second he gave her the glass, she took half of it to give herself the valor to say what she wanted.

“My Lord, do you know that you had no choice but to kill those pirates right?” she asked  and tried to get the glass to his lips and he reluctantly drank from it as a new set of tears rolled from his eyes down to his chin.

“I was trying to capture them, hand them over to the palace, have them execute them.!” Lord Leon explained with a trembling voice.

She remembered the day she met him for the first time, and how that knight scolded him for not knowing his own strength or how to hold back and now she understood that it was true. He had gone too hard against weak opponents and had unwittingly killed them.

“They would have been summarily executed anyway, once they attacked us their lives were forfeit” Lady Angelica explained but if she was looking at her instead of Lord Leon, she wanted her to know that so she could help hammer the point.

“I still would…” Lord Leon was searching for arguments but was coming short so she used the lul in his speech to try a different approach.

“You understand that, right my Lord?” She asked and he only nodded in agreement so she continued “Then you probably just need some time to accept that you did the right thing…” she could have said what would have happened to their people had he not done this but it would only give him more things to think about when all he needed was time to process what he had done.

She used all the bravery the sip of wine had given her to embrace the side of her Lord that Lady Angelica was not occupying and push him gently until the three of them were lying on the bed, she made eye contact with the other blonde and she could see approval for her action in them.

“Let’s rest for now My Lor… Leon” this time it was Lady Angelica speaking in a more intimate manner, claiming ownership of the man they were embracing, but at the same time holding her own hand to keep her calm.

Olivia smiled in return, they were together in this, Lady Angelica's words weren’t a claim of exclusivity but a show of kindness for the man that protected them all.

“Cordelia, would you please inform the people of the situation? But find a way to make this not look bad please.”  Lord Nicks requested of his fiancee with a kind smile, he didn’t want to leave his brother just yet, even if he was in good company.

“Pft, I’ll make this look good!” Uncharacteristically Miss Cordelia snorted and went on her way to inform the people of the situation and give them instructions for the rest of the day.

0x0x0

Duncan stared at the young woman dressed up as a maid smiling at him as if she was crazy.

Because she must be! 

She couldn’t seriously expect him to say all that she just told him, right?

The woman, Cordelia, dragged him to a pair of stacked boxes and loudly clapped her hands and spoke loudly enough to be heard by everyone present "Everyone! Please listen!" And repeated it thrice to be sure she had everyone's attention and then motioned for them to pay attention to him!

Miss Cordelia, as his little girl referred to the maid, had presented herself as Cordelia Fou Easton, maid of Lady Angelica and future sister in law of Lord Leon and in the fifth most important person in the floating island behind his own daughter.

“He… Hello Everyone!” He yelled, unable to simply project his voice like the maid and worst, stuttering in front of his wife who was standing alongside Miss Cordelia with a teasing smile, his Dear Octavia wouldn’t let him live after this. “Many of you already know my name, but I’m Duncan and I’m apparently the village Elder” because when the next oldest guy in the Village is some guy in his late twenties you look ancient when you are in your mid forties according to Miss Cordelia.

“So you’re up there ‘cause you’re old?” Someone near the front teased, he was a young good looking knight and to his side was a gorgeous woman a little bit older than him, seriously, she could compare to Lady Angelica with that dignified air and hair curls, but she was not nearly as imposing as the red eyed beauty, especially with how simple her dress was compared to the Baroness. The lad was part of the scheme as was the woman.

“Well, that and because my Daughter is our Lord’s Mistress” He replied, it still bothered but not as much as when Livia first told him her situation, after today’s… massacre, and how the young Lord reacted to it he felt much more comfortable accepting his girl’s position within the island. “What’s your name lad?” he asked. They wanted to make this more relaxed in preparation for the news he was about to deliver.

“Nice to meet you Honorable Elder, My name is James, Knight of the Kingdom Lower Ninth Rank, and this is my wife,” the young knight presented signaled at the blonde beauty at his right and the woman did a perfect curtsy, it was perfect as far as he could tell at least “Merce Fou Bartfort” that started murmurs among the crowd, but the lad continued quickly “She is our Lord’s half sisters” that revelation calmed the raising gossip, for now at least “My family has been at the service of House Bartfort for five generations, since before they were give the title of Baron” that last bit gained some Ohs! And Ahs! From the crowd not from Bartfort territory.

Duncan knew the full story behind her thanks to Miss Cordelia, the woman was the legitimate daughter of Balcus Fou Bartfort but his legal wife dalliances in the capital and failure to raise their legitimate children had gained the his contempt and that of Lord Leon and in punishment they put the woman under house arrest, her son lost his status as heir to Lord Nicks and finally this woman was married to a knight loyal to the House. It was agreed by even the woman that it would be the best to let people think she was an illegitimate, but acknowledged daughter rather than admit she was disinherited.

Young women immediately surrounded the noble lady full of questions and the girl and she shined with the attention.

“Nice to meet you both!” Duncan gained back the attention of the crowd and then proceeded to explain their situation, how taking a human life for the first time had affected the Baron, how today the young man will rest with his family, how today they’ll party outside the Partner and tomorrow they’ll start in earnest.

The news was well received except for some unwanted comments.

  Yes, Livia is included in his family Mario! Har har! very funny Anastasia but no, there is no bun in the oven and yes I’m sure, fucking morons came here just to make these jokes I swear!

0x0x0

THE FALL OF THE SKYSHARKS PIRATES.

by Alan Fia Spencer.

It is common knowledge that the borders of our nation have been suffering from constant pirate raids the last decade and the nobles posted there seem incapable of subjugating these criminal elements even with the support King Roland has been giving.

I have been personally monitoring this situation for a long time through the reports the Palace receives monthly and I have so far been disappointed with the poor performance of our border nobility.

However in what many are calling beginner’s luck Baron Leon Fou Bartfort managed to exterminate the SkySharks pirates!

These scum have been harassing the borders for over ten years, much of their crew perished in the battle with the recently promoted noble, rumors say the newest Baron of the kingdom was fortunate enough to encounter the crew when they were having mechanical problems and did not waste his chance to lay waste to them.

Good for you Lord Leon, it would have been foolish to waste such a chance the way the rest of the border nobles constantly do.

We, the journalist from Holfort Gazette congratulate you for seizing your chance.

Leon Fou Bartfort? Where has he heard that name before?

With little effort Jilk managed to recall who, exactly, the man was.

He was the man the Duke married Angelica off with.

Perhaps it’s a good idea to keep an eye on the man.

The Duke has been acting rude towards His Highness Prince Julius and he has little doubt that Vince Rapha Redgrave is planning to become a nuisance to the crown. 

Who knows, this may be a chance for him to protect Julius interest and maybe even impress Marie at the same time!

He already put Marie’s family in their place and kindly told them to stop borrowing money with Marie’s name… Or else!

A/N: Happy Sunday everybody.

Yep, Leon accidentally killed all of the Pirates that he faced directly and was deeply affected when he learned of this, and unlike canon, he doesn’t have to grit his teeth and keep fighting.

I hope you liked and see you on Wednesday!

Chapter Text

CHAPTER XI.

After that first eventful day at Leon's territory things proceeded smoothly with young and enthusiastic people hard at labor under Angelica's efficient management and making use of the ten robots Luxion called spare bodies the new Branch of House Bartfort blossomed in just under three months with a medium sized estate built hastily by bots working day and night for the Baron's family while the villagers focused on their own town nearby with planned space for drinking water and even sewage in the future, Farm lands designated for various crops for food and others for industry, and once the bots finished with the estate they, under Angelica's suggestion and Leon's approval, the bots helped with the town 's infrastructure such as stone roads and even a central plaza with greenery that would make an excellent spot for celebrations.

Olivia's magic tutor had arrived within the first month they settled and lived with them in their estate, she was an old woman with thick glasses and stern character but she blended easily enough with her environment and was marveled with Olivia's potential as a Holy Magic user, she constantly attempted to steal her away to the temple but she was always politely but firmly refused by her, Angelica, Leon, Cordelia and Nicks.

Nicks dropped out of the academy to help his younger brother to settle with the blessing of his father who thought it was a wondrous idea to have Nicks officially there to learn from practice when they start a new settlement on their Main House territory, extra officially Balcus wanted his oldest to get to know his future bride.

Their supplies were holding well and soon every villager had a house for their families and a steady job.

Meanwhile Leon kept with his training as Duke Vince Redgrave wanted but he also made time to work the fields at least twice a week much to the delight and irritation of the farmers that got to know their lord much more closely.

In the evenings Leon hosted Tea parties for Angie and Livia as they insisted to be called, after a while of knowing each other and enjoying being pampered by Leon they did not grow jealous of each other but instead became fast friends, something Leon attributed to Olivias' protagonist charisma.

In truth, it was because Angelica didn't see Olivia as a threat, she noticed that Olivia was happy with being a concubine in name only.

In fact Olivia encouraged their relationship, even if Angelica could see that she was growing curious about the sexual aspect of their relationship, it was only natural, Olivia was a beautiful sixteen year old girl bonded to her husband and she was not allowed to seek a lover of her own.

Olivia was secretly anticipating her own turn in their Lord's bed, she knew, and if she was honest she was glad she was being patient, Angelica was raised knowing her husband would have other women, and that the best she could hope was to control his other lovers.

In that aspect Olivia was the ideal concubine from her point of view.

And with Cordelia trying her best to build her own relationship with Nicks the only other company she kept constantly was Olivia, and she was proving to be quite the conversationalist, their interest aligned for the most part, both of them were interested in uncharted dungeons, Angelica because of the possible treasures hidden inside and Olivia because her curiosity about how the ancient humans lived.

Livia grew fond of Leon too and privately accepted that she was happier here under his protection than any other time in her life.

One day, Angie announced in front of the whole village that she was pregnant, without warning Leon first which made him almost faint in front of all of his followers much to her delight.

Leon's Hot Springs, a project he had been working in secret with Luxion became a reality six months after building the settlement, the first one in the Estate as was known for the villagers, and a second larger but simpler one in the outskirts of the town.

At some point Livia became too curious to not ask for sex herself and with Angie's pregnancy confirmed and her explicit approval she became Leon's Mistress for real, although they took measures to avoid impregnating her so they wouldn't have two babies being born too close in age, that could be disastrous if both babies were males.

Angelica didn't want any doubts about her firstborn being the Heir of Leon's title and territory, and she desperately wanted to have a baby boy, that would be the ideal outcome, even her father would be pleased, Angelica's sister in law has yet to carry a pregnancy to term, and it frankly scared her, what if she was the same?

Sometimes she even dreamed about her brother failing to produce a Heir and having her son to be the new Redgrave Duke… it was silly, she loved her brother and she wanted him to finally have his Heir, but such ideas often came on their own.

Angie even said that she wouldn't mind giving the permission to allow Livia to become Leon's second wife, of course her exact words were sister-wife, however that would be only if Olivia's own firstborn was a girl, otherwise that would put her son's inheritance at risk.

Still, Angelica and Oliva got along so well that Leon sometimes joked about having them cheat on him with each other.

Livia was a beloved figure for the villagers, as a kind woman that would sometimes heal the wounded and treat the ill.

Many neighbors, vassals of Angie's father visited within the year, to "pay respects" they were impressed by their progress in such a short time.

The daughter of Count Atlee was one of the first visitors, she was quite depressed when she arrived, her fiance, Jilk, the Prince's foster brother had just annulled their engagement.

She was received with open arms by the ruling family, her father had sent gifts with her, some really fancy dresses for Angelica, and an airbike for Leon as well as a handsome sum of Dia to pay for her Daughter expenses.

For Clarice, it was bittersweet to see the woman who already dealt with what she was going through right now to be so happy, she could see that love was slowly growing among the Baron's family, and that gave her hope for the future, that and the good company of the women of House Bartfort was a calming balm for her ailing heart.

Soon their Fancy outdoor baths had become popular with the surrounding lord's concubines who visited them as often as twice a month and even a couple of wives came from the capital to see what all the fuss was about and left impressed with them.

There were rumors that the baths had properties that made one's hair silkier and skin fairer, it was of course Leon who started said rumors, and they were true to a certain extent because the local woman who were exposed to the thermal waters often enough were living proof of that, but the true treasure was the hot springs in the Estate, hence why the Baron's family exhibited the most results, even Livia's old bat magic instructor had less wrinkles!

With the tourists came small time merchants and more people soliciting residence in the territory.

When Clarice had to leave she was in a better place emotionally than when she arrived, she was on her way to make a full recovery.

Once she was gone Luxion modified the Airbike the Count gifted his master, it was now an accessory for Arroganz that would increase it's speed and power by quite a bit, but it increased the stress of the pilot so it would be used as a last resort…

All in all people were saying that they did the work of fifteen years in less than one and with Angie's pregnancy showing they decided to take a trip in the Partner.

0x0x0

One of the traditions of Holfort academy is a field trip to various locations within the kingdom, all of them were far from each other and you could never go to all of them because you are only three years in the academy-

The royal entourage all wanted to take the woman they loved to the place of their choice and brought the matter to her attention thinking that was the perfect way to invite her to go with them, instead, Marie proposed to not tell her the place they had chosen but to let fate determine who she would be going with.

And Jilk was in heaven, or he would be if only had not lost Lovely in the middle of this festival, it was just his luck to have won the fate lottery and he ended up in the same ship as Marie, but his good luck ran out once they started to explore the Island's town.

He was worried for her safety, she had no followers with her, and even her personal servant lost sight of her in the sea of people that disembarked from their luxury ship.

He was wandering the festival trying to find his beloved when he saw a girl that caught his attention, not because of her beauty, but because of who she is.

Lately the Duke has been speaking openly against Julius, calling him an immature fool who thinks with his lower head, and even declared he was unfit to rule, even though his words were clearly just a way to get back at his Highness for the crime of daring to follow his heart some people still listened!

Was Julius supposed to accept to live tied to such a harpy for the sake of politics?

He has seen what following that path leads to, and he doesn't want that for his Highness.

As he got closer to her he felt his rage grow inside of him, not only Angelica never apologized for insulting Marie, she was also the one behind her father's maneuvering to block Julius from ascending to the throne!

And here she was, enjoying her life in a festival with a smile on her face while Julius was suffering the attacks from her father.

When he was just a few meters away from her he noticed her swollen belly and he knew that she was pregnant.

This was too good an opportunity to pass up, and in the current circumstances, he could take her in to pressure her father into compliance, and if he was wrong about the Duke caring for herm, it wouldn't be that much of a loss.

He would do anything for Julius.

Anything.

0x0x0

Angelica walked alongside her family, her Husband and sister-wife, her future brother in law and her loyal friend.

This place was so different from the rest of the kingdom, the architecture, the people, the clothes.

This yukata looked nice but was uncomfortable for her at least.

She felt tired often and her ankles ache, but she would be lying if she said it wasn't nice to have Leon and Livia doting on her.

Besides she'll soon be a mother, she was so curious about the gender of her baby but there was no reliable way to know.

People liked to guess anyway, everyone back home says: it's a girl, even Livia's tutor said it was a girl… as if she was the authority in such matters.

The streets of this town had beautiful trees with pink leaves that gave the town such a lively feeling. Perhaps they could get a few saplings to take back home and plant them in the central plaza? They would look lovely!

Leon and Nicks were looking for a wandering vendor that supposedly has some really potent amulets for sale, the official motive of this whole trip, Leon could be really superstitious sometimes.

Cordelia was looking for some food at her behest and Livia was helping a lost little girl to find her parents and she was alone enjoying her seat and the sights of the town and people going around in their business and generally having fun.

She was content with resting her feet and besides, even if she can't see him, there was an avatar of Luxion with her at all times to make sure she is safe.

When someone noticed her resting in a public bench they smiled at her, there were people her age going around, some familiar faces here and there, she was sure those were students of the Holtfort Academy that had come here on a school trip, probably came here in a luxury cruiser as was standard for them.

Angelica found that she didn't envied them in the least, she was here as well, with her family, that stumble was not the end of his life, merely the start of a new chapter.

"Angelica!" hearing her name she looked for the person who called her, that was not a voice she was familiar with, but it wasn't the voice of a stranger either.

Soon an academy student with long green hair approached her with a glare, it was Jilk FIa Marmoria, one of the prince's friends and foster brother… discreetly she signaled to Luxion to call for help.

With reinforcements coming even if he was glaring at her she maintained her composure, there was no reason to panic so she greeted him "Lord Marmoria" without standing, concessions had to be made when one was with a child, even Highlords agreed on that.

"You have some nerve!" she looked at him not really comprehending what she did to gain his contempt, she hasn't seen him in months after all.

"I'm afraid I don't know what you are talking about" truly she had no idea what the lordling was saying.

"Are you going to pretend you are not behind all the opposition his Highness Prince Julius is facing!" Jilk said even more enraged than before.

Sighing she put the tip of her fingers on her forehead and said "I've been exiled from the capital, I have no power to inconvenience the prince anymore" honestly? It was probably her dads doing, Julius lost his biggest supporter when he rejected her, and there was no going back, not now, not ever. She touched her swollen belly and smiled thinking of her first child. It was Livia's turn next and she wanted to see her all bothered because of her weight. She liked fatty things, not when she was the fatty.

"After seeing you smile like that there is no way I would ever believe you!" He got uncomfortably close to her after saying that.

"Don't get any closer!" She warned, she had a handgun in her person, but in her current condition she would prefer to avoid any physical conflict.

"You are coming with me!" He said in a serene tone of voice that betrayed his intentions to kidnap her.

"And why exactly would you do with me?" She tried stalling for time, she hoped Leon was close by.

"I would make the Duke stop his foolishness of course" This person was dangerous, saying such a thing with a serene smile, he grabbed her arm and gently tried to get her to her feet.

Of course she resisted, loudly.

"UNHAND ME!" every person on the street turned around curious and immediately glared at Jilk, she hoped it was enough to spook him.

A few men started walking towards her, with determined faces. She knew that they wouldn't be able to get him to go away because he was a noble, but she needed time.

"Go away, she's my concubine!" Jilk lied knowing that was the easiest way to make these people lose interest. And it worked once he used his magic to summon his family's crest and that was enough to disperse the crowd much to her dismay. Even denying it wouldn't help her.

She glared at him though, the nerve he had calling her his concubine!

"That's a bold claim you just made you stupid Lordling!" When Jilk got distracted by the sudden shout she freed herself and ran towards the voice.

Soon she was in Leon's arms, while Nicks stepped forward covering her with his body, there was a masked man with a wooden box strapped on back standing behind them as well.

"You call me, Jilk Fia Marmoria, a Liar then?!" Jilk refused to drop the act, probably not knowing who they were and still thinking he could use his name to intimidate them.

She had to push Leon back before he could run towards Jilk, a physical conflict would do them no good in the long run.

"How else should I call the man that claims my wife as his concubine?!" that finally cracked Jilk's mask, the crowd that hadn't dispersed all rallied behind Leon and nicks after seeing her reaction it was clear who was lying.

"So, you are the ugly Baron they married her off to?" That filth dared to insult her Leon?

"Tell me Lordling, why shouldn't I just kill you for trying to kidnap my wife?" Asked Leon with a cold rage she had never seen before. It was sexy.

"As if you could" Jilk drew a hidden weapon from behind his pants and aimed it at them.

Angelica was getting worried, this could end with a fight and a stray bullet… her baby!

"Just let´s go, my Lord, he isn't worth it!" she told Leon out loud, but she was telling everyone there, the bastard was ranked high enough as the future assistant to the king to get away with it, and they weren't ready for a war just yet.

CLICK

The sound of another firearm getting ready to be fired made Jilk froze and them to smile.

Behind Jilk was Cornelia holding him at gunpoint.

"Should I pull the trigger, my Lord?!" she has never seen her friend so mad before! She could see her finger ready to pull the trigger the second anyone gave her the order, it didn't matter if it was Leon, Nicks or someone from the crowd watching us, she would kill Jilk if ordered too.

"You've heard Angie, he is not worth it…" she sighed in relief, Leon was listening to her "You, green! Put your weapon on the floor and kick it here, I don't trust you to not shoot me in the back!" she smiled at him, that was a wise thing to do. "Slowly, If he makes any sudden movement kill him!"

Angelica watched her husband with interest, his intuition was something to fear, he was an expert swordsman but he was an even better marksman, he worked hard everyday to cover his flaws. Perhaps he's thought what he'd do if he was ever caught in a situation like this?

"Lordling, give me an excuse please!" Cordelia's voice was seething with anger, she would really do it and she could see that this time Jilk was really cowed and moved painfully slow to avoid giving his unknown assailant such excuse, then once his weapon was in the floor he kicked it towards us and Nicks picked it up, checked it and then finally handed it over to her.

"We are going to go back home, don't even bother trying to follow us Green clown or I'll kill you!" That said, Cordelia jogged towards the Bartfort group and they all walked away leaving a furious and unarmed Jilk Fia Marmoria.

"I know who you are, Leon Fou Bartfort! you haven't heard the last of me!" Angelica turned around and smiled at the threats, he wouldn't survive if Leon decided to retaliate!

"Luxion, Contac Livia, we will meet back at the Inn, Brother, we need to prepare a decoy, that dog will try to follow the first ship that goes out of the island!" even though there was no reply from the familiar she knows it has already complied.

"Shouldn't be too hard to bribe a transportist to move their ship for a day or two" Cordelia said for her fiance's benefit.

"I'll do just that, see you all back at the Inn"

"We are not leaving then?" Angelica asked, with a smirk at the thought of having Jilk chasing a decoy only to return and wonder if they took the chance to shake him off? Partner is a mobile fortress anyway. Would Jilk give up or try to chase?

"You are quite the cunning noble!" The masked man that arrived with Leon and Nicks was following them for some reason, she glared at the man not knowing if he was trustworthy.

"Why are you following us?" Leon questioned absentmindedly as if not regarding the man as a threat.

"Well… you do have a pregnant wife, this maid has an engagement ring… and there is someone named Livia that will reunite with you in your lodgings…" was the man collecting information to sell? Or was he asking for a bribe to not run and tell Jilk?

"What's your point?" Leon's voice tensed considerably.

"You were telling me the truth, I won't sell you all my stock, there are too many people who want one of my grandmother's amulets, but your brother made for a convincing argument, I'll sell you five, one for every person in your family!" the man said cheerfully as if doing us a favor.

"No deal!" Leon rejected harshly.

"Are you really going to pass up this deal after you harassed me all night!?" the vendor's reply was just as harsh.

"You counted wrong, there aren't five of us, there are six!" Leon said lovingly as he gently caressed her belly, she couldn't help the blush on her face. "And since we are counting I want one for Livia's baby as well, I don't want my children fighting over a trinket!" He had two faces, one for their family and another for the rest of the world, the loving husband and doting father and the ruthless noble, but he just used an unborn baby to get a better deal so that was a gray area as well… and a baby they might have in the future… he just was the worst sometimes!

"Tsk, I guess I can't argue with that, it would be wrong to show favoritism. Here" the vendor handed seven small bags and Leon paid him quite handsomely for them and then he just said goodby and walked away.

Leon smiled greedily at the amulets and was about to open one when she decided to play with him "Not here, we will open them together as a family!" she scolded him and his face said he wanted to open them all and wanted to argue but finally he gave up and accepted.

0x0x0

Marie shouldn't have seen that, it was a scene out of the script again.

Probably something that always happened out but was never shown and she just accidentally saw it?

She was scared, not because of the out of scrip, she had come to expect it now and then, and they were becoming more frequent as well.

What scared her was that kind and reliable Jilk dared to attempt to kidnap Angelica.

The villainess appeared serene and happy as she sat in the public bench just enjoying the atmosphere of the festival, a hand on her belly as if caressing her unborn baby.

This was the woman who lost it all to her, had managed to find happiness again and was enjoying her life again, maybe even more so than when she was Julius' fiancee.

She could almost hear that little voice calling for her, that voice she had left behind when… her parents took her because she wouldn't be able to raise her adequately.

Then Jilk tried to capture her to pressure the Duke to stop his opposition to Julius' rise to the throne. She was about to intervene when the villainess husband arrived and took her back by force.

She had never expected Angelica's husband to be able to stand up to Jilk, but he was decisive. Clever and intimidating even.

Thanks to Jilk she now knew his name and she wouldn't be forgotten any time soon.

Truth to be told she was done with Angelica, she had no more relevance to the script so she was fine with the Redgrave being happy, it was a weight off her shoulders if she was honest with herself.

She would need to speak with her boys to make it clear that any actions against Angelica while she was pregnant was a big no no!

She would have to scold Jilk for this, and he was the most reliable one of the five and he was doing such a good job in keeping her family at bay. Without him she feared she would still be indebted to some shark loans.

But she wanted to know more about this Leon… he had given her the vives of an optional boss!

His whole party acted as a stage mini-bosses you would have to defeat to get to him.

But in respect to Angelica's baby she'll leave them alone, that child had done nothing wrong…

A/N: The first half is mostly an exposition chapter, so please forgive me for not going deeper into how the relationships between the three got to this point, in the future I'll have a scene with Olivia's PoV on the matter to explain it better.

As for the second ,that was one of the first scenes I imagined for this fic, hope you enjoyed it :)

Chapter Text

CHAPTER XII.

Missiles flew towards the pirate ships as Arroganz used the guard of his sword as a hammer to crush an enemy armor cockpit, killing the pirate instantly before turning around and kicking another armor that tried a sneak attack from the rear.

Bang! Bang!

Another armor fell from the sky after a short burst of fire from Arroganz’s rifle.

“Nicks, James, how are things on your end?” Leon asked as his brother and brother-in-law finished another group of armors, this pirate fleet was an overwhelming force that would’ve surely reduced his territory to ashes… If they were weak enough to allow it to happen, that is!

“We are done with this trash Leon!”

“Master, scanning of enemy vessels complete, they do not possess any treasures but their arsenal is quite valuable” Luxion’s voice confirms their suspicions, or part of them at least.

“Any evidence that would link them to the Marmoria House?” she doubted they would leave a trace to track back to them but he was sure this was that Green clown’s doing.

“Capture enemy vessels, I’m not leaving this battle without some profit!” Lord Leon ordered his meager forces.

This was the second time in two months they were attacked by pirates after they had that unpleasant encounter with the Marmoria Heir. Cordelia knew she should have pulled the trigger back then!

Sighing as she looked around Partner’s bridge, Mistress Livia was holding Lady Angelica firmly and reassuring her that the battle was over and nothing had happened to their Lord!

No, killing that Green clown would’ve put her under even more stress than a battle they could easily win and profit from it.

She has noticed it but it’s been months since her lady had completely forgotten about the prince and started falling for her husband, kind and attentive and protective Lord Leon.

The duke did not make a mistake bonding them and it shows, when they have the biggest fleet of this region just by capturing enemy ships. 

With Partner as their Flagship they’ve captured a total of ten ships in defensive battles, most of the time they just stand idle because they do not have the crew to operate them but them resting on the harbor were enough of a statement of their strength.

“I want to sell these airships My Lord, they are such an eyesore!” Livia commented, she was not thinking of the profit, she didn’t have a mind for business, but she did care about the stress they would cause Lady Angelica.

The red eyed beauty's pregnancy was in the second trimester and they needed to think of her health, and just looking at the vessels put a burden on her knowing this was because some lordling wanted to get even with them for something they didn’t even do in the first place was making her worry.

Besides, they have more ships than they can realistically operate.

“I Agree, have your Papa contact the neighbors to let them know they are available, give priority to Redgrave vassals!” Lord Leon said through the communication device installed in Arroganz.

Somehow, Mistress Livia’s father ended up as Lady Angelica’s assistant and nowadays handled a big deal of administrative matters as the Village Elder , that allowed the Lady of the barony time to rest and be pampered by her family.

Lord Leon was adamant on reducing her workload during her pregnancy, he was such a doting man and Cordelia hoped his brother was taking note of how to behave from him.

Cordelia and Nicks were making progress on their relationship using Holtfort kingdom’s traditional courting method: Tea Parties.

Lord Leon had somehow infected Nicks with his tea maniac ways and just as the baron organized tea parties for his women, so did her fiance for her.

Things had been chaste and slow going, but the barrier between them seemed a little bit shorter and more manageable with every week that passed.

Hardening herself again to deal with this battle aftermath she had her own duties to get back to, and there was the distasteful matter of the pirates executions that was done by Luxion’s spare bodies.

The round familiar relished in executing the criminals and it spared their Lord the task to execute them himself.

She has gotten used to seeing Lord Leon having a spat with his familiar, they were friends, she noticed, the kind that likes to get under each other's skin but won't hesitate to lend a hand whenever it was necessary.

0X0X0

Daniel Fou Durland was taking a forced leave from the academy to learn hands on as his father called it, they were buying a new warship from one of their neighbors, and supposedly nothing beats real life experience in such matters.

Getting back to his father’s territory was a long and tiresome process that he would rather not go through but he was unlucky enough to be his father’s Heir and had to study abroad at the capital so he could find a suitable wife…

That was bullshit, not only he was just a Baron’s Heir, the Crown Prince was attending the academy in the same year and none of the girls would even spare him a glance, if he was lucky he would be recognized as a mob, a derogatory term used to describe a background character as popularized by Marie Fou Lafan, the Prince’s lover. 

And for the Prince to choose that flat girl felt like yet another insult to the boys of the academy!

He had such a beautiful fiance and he changed her for… for… for Lafan!

And that wasn’t the worst because if he was unlucky, the girl he invited would show up to his tea party with their friends, eat all of his stock and advise him to do better next time by demanding better offerings!

Some of his fellow baron’s heirs had turned to each other for support… which in turn had started some really wild rumors that had devastated them further…

At least he looks better by comparison now! 

Every gray cloud has a silver line.

After four days of travel he arrived at his father’s territory and had to admit he hasn’t made much progress in finding a marriage partner to his family. 

He expected some sympathy when he explained his circumstances, but all he got was to get compared to the guy that was selling the airship they wanted.

 The guy was his age and already had a wife and a concubine already!

He felt so miserable that he had retired to his room shortly after and swore to himself that he would punch the bastard in the face at the first chance he got!

Empty self sworn oaths aside, he avoided talking with his father during the two days it took to get to this new Barony, and he was so done with airships he hoped they took their sweet time haggling the price.

The island was big, bigger than his father’s but what was the most eye-catching was the massive 700 meter long airship and the smaller ships that looked tiny. They were one hundred and fifty meter long ships so they weren’t big to begin with but they shouldn’t look like toys either.

“This Island has been in development for the best part of a year now” his father said, from the deck of their old airship it didn’t look like that. If his father had asked him how long he believed they were working the island he would have said around 5 years.

“They work fast” he admitted calmly knowing that he was once again being compared to the neighbor that had already married despite them being the same age as himself.

“They fought sky pirates!” His father said with excitement not proper of a man his age, even more so because whenever he talked about the criminals it was with dread, they were pests, no doubt about it. “Rumor says that every time they dealt with them they captured their ships!”

Daniel looked at his father surprised at his words, normally pirates were repelled and chasing them was not an option due to their crew’s being much more experienced than the ones defending that it made it a bad idea as far as he knew.

“That’s reckless!” He said. He was young and he wanted to get some merits and war stories to impress the ladies but chasing pirate ships was a bad idea to say the least.

“Not with a ship like that!” his father was pointing at the massive ship they were rapidly approaching… that changed the perspective of things, surely such a ship would be impossible to sink.

“So who is this new Baron?” he asked, feeling intrigued for the first time. This new guy had profited from what the rest of their neighbors would have called a catastrophe. 

“Leon Fou Bartfort,” his father said with respect. 

Daniel has heard of him recently too, from the Prince’s entourage no less, an upstart adventurer turned noble that had disrespected his highness best friend… well shit!

“Father, mmm…” he needed to warn his father about this but was unsure about how to do it “You know this guy picked a fight with the Marmoria House, right?”

To his surprise his father chuckled “Who do you think sent the ships we are about to buy?”

That left him speechless until they had to disembark, he would have to ask his father about it later.

The fields were bigger than he expected and had men hard at work on them, there were pens for cattle to graze, and up close the village looked much more… Pretty.

 There were ornaments here and there with nice flowers at the porch of the commoners cabins, the roads were impressive too, this place would be better than his Father’s barony the next year if what his dad said was true.

They were greeted by a beautiful woman in maid’s uniform and glasses that introduced herself as Cordelia Fou Easton and then took them to the estate in front of a central plaza; there were some new tree seedlings being planted too.

The estate was kept neat and clean; they were taken to a big room where he could see the Bartfort family waiting for them.

 And he paled when he saw the blonde, red eyed beauty with a pregnant belly resting in comfortable looking furniture, all the rest of the room didn't matter when he saw the daughter of the duke here.

So this is where she ended? Kind of funny to have her as a neighbor.

“... is my son and Heir Daniel!” his father gave him a pat in the back as he presented him to the new neighbors.

“A pleasure to make your acquaintance” greeted back the younger man “I’m Leon Fou Bartfort” he introduced himself and he was happy that he hadn’t spaced out too badly “This is my wife Angelica,” he knew of her of course.

She still has the same aura of authority about her but there was something different about her, there was more to her now, and he couldn't imagine her smiling like this while she was at the academy.

“My mistress Olivia” the Baron continued, he introduced another beautiful woman with blonde hair, blue eyes and a figure that could rival that of the Duke’s daughter! “My older brother Nicks, he is our father’s Heir and his fiancee Cordelia whom you’ve met already."

There were no retainers in the room, even the maid was part of the family, that was curious.

What followed was a long tedious negotiation about the ship his family wanted.

 How much in raw Dia, how much in goods, how much upfront, how many installments.

An argument here, a joke there, a compliment to butter up the Baron.

A cheat hidden clause avoided, a backhanded compliment, some tea and refreshments.

The Duke’s daughter had to take a restroom break and the mistress took the chance to go as well, his father asked when they were expecting the baby to be born, it looks like it'll be a girl (it will) only Lord Leon says it's a boy ( he is wrong, of course).

In the end they manage to strike a deal!

His father and him are invited to take a look at their new ship, excited they go with only the men this time, and the airship is magnificent.

The specs have been upgraded by the Baron, it works differently from what they are used to but training the crew won't be a problem.

They were invited to spend the night in the estate and allowed to use their thermal baths. They were really comfy but it was really uncomfortable to be almost naked near other men.

Neither the Baron nor his brother seemed to mind though.

“I heard you are strong Lord Leon” Daniel commented, he was curious about how strong one must be to chase after pirates.

“I must be, I'll be a father soon!” Said the Baron with joy and giddiness in his voice, His brother looked at him and then proceeded to push his head under the hot water as if trying to drown him… but it was just a game between them and they soon began roughhousing.

“What was that for!?” the Baron questioned after they cooled down.

“You are showing off your lovely, pregnant wife and adorable lover to a boy that has to go back to the academy you heartless jerk!” said Lord Nicks with a scowl.

“Did it really look like that?” Asked the Baron looking him in the eyes apologetically.

Daniel nodded curtly, he could see that the Baron was genuinely excited to become a father but from where he was standing he was showing off Lady angelica and his commoner lover by having them both present in the negotiation and the fact that they appeared to be friends only made it worse!

“I apologize then, but they are the reason why I wake up every morning to train myself” the Baron didn’t really apologize for showing them off but he could accept that explanation, and… to be honest he would be showing them off if he was in Leon’s place. 

“So it’s discipline, you are strong because you have the discipline to train yourself constantly?” his father interjected while looking at him, it was obvious that his father would want him to start training daily now!

“It is part of it” Lord Nicks spoke, chastising his father as if he was a student that got only half of the question right.

“But Leon was always talented since we were children.” The fact that it was the older brother praising the younger one helped drive the point home, discipline without talent would not achieve these results.

Daniel was almost grateful, he had enough just diving into the capital’s dungeon to add morning training every day to boot!

“Would you be training tomorrow?” His father none the less refused to drop his point, Daniel could already foresee a sparring match tomorrow!

0x0x0

The Old hag healing him was doing a good job of it, the pain had already dulled and his body had already healed in a minute what would have taken a week without magic… But he would rather be scolded by those two!

“Lord Leon bad!” Seriously, that commoner was just way too cute! The way she scolded her lover as if he was a misbehaving puppy instead of a maniac with a sword while holding her finger up, that  would have disarmed even the Black Knight!

“All this time and you still can’t hold back!?” The small smile Lady Angelica had while sitting in a chair that their maid had brought for her was not a scolding at all, some bastards have all the luck.

Meanwhile his father looked down at him and shook his head in disappointment. As if they didn’t know this would be the result before they even started!

After warming up Lord Leon and him had taken to a fenced area, where they dueled using wooden weapons.

At the beginning he was cautious, this man is strong  he thought, so he probed him once, twice, thrice with the same shoddy parry in reply.

The fourth time he grew bold and almost overwhelmed his guard, the fifth time he tried chaining his attacks as he has practiced sometimes before.

 But that was when the Baron had shown his fangs he blocked with the blade of the wooden sword but rotated so he could hit him with the handle of the right on the ribs!

He was lured, forced to make a mistake by a more talented fencer and paid the price.

He himself asked for a second round despite knowing his ribs would need to be taken care off after the duel.

The second time he decided to stay on the defensive and waited for the Baron to make the first move.

The baron was patient but when he realized that he was not going to take the bait this time just smiled and nodded.

He changed his stance a little bit and swung his blade and when he tried to parry it was light as a feather, it was just a feint and he was left wide open to a punch to the ribs! That was the second time he attacked the same area.

The motherfucker hits hard!

The third time it was just a show of how much outmatched he was, perfect parries, perfect dodging skills, better reflexes there was not a single aspect of combat he wasn’t bellow the Baron and when the third round ended he was a mess with hematomas and scratches all over his body including a few cuts on his shirt here and there.

And now the Baron and his lover were squatting in front of Lady Angelica’s chair speaking to her belly, the man put his ear on it only to retreat hastily and loudly saying “He kicked me!”  with a big smile.

Getting closer to the family he could hear what they were saying easily, “Even your daughter thinks you overdid it!” scolded the crimson eyed future mother.

The commoner giggled and petted the Baron saying “It’s alright she still loves you” while Lord Leon complained saying “No one believes me when I say it's a boy!”

“Thank you for the spar” he thanked him for the lesson in humility.

He wasn’t weak, if he was he would have died in the Capital’s dungeon already. But he wasn’t talented nor practiced everyday to hone his skills.

It was natural to lose to someone with a cultivated talent, he offered his hand and the Baron promptly shook it.

“It was nice to have someone new to spar with, I only have my brother and brother-in-law  to have matches regularly” 

“I guess, '' he said, not really finding the experience to be nice at all.

“Perhaps you could come over the next holiday?” lord Leon asked with hope.

He did not want to spar with the Baron again but the island was nice but once you get over how awkward it is bathing with strangers the thermals here are something he could get used to.

“Maybe you can bring your girl next time!” this was said with a devilish smile, seriously, that was scary!

“Leon!” Warned Lady Angelica, but hadn't she assumed he had no girlfriend by scolding her husband?

“Lord Leon, Bad!” even the lover assumed as much!!!

This guy enjoyed his women so much that he had a blissed expression even when they scolded him!

There were no girls like that in the academy! 

Or none left unattached at least…

“What? Jenna will come here from the academy too!” Ohh the Baron was planning to set him up with someone? 

How much of a bitch does she have to be if they want a complete stranger to take her away? 

Because, if she wasn’t engaged yet she could only be a bitch!

“Oh! My son will be here and it’ll be his pleasure to meet with your sister Lord Bartfort!” Betrayed! by his own father no less!!

0x0x0

Clarice was about to lose her patience.

The girl in front of her was worse than the Lafan girl!

Not only does she not have a drop of noble blood in her veins, she also feels entitled enough to give her orders!

“Listen!” she said when she finally had enough of her, “I want nothing to do with Jilk or his friends ever again!” 

“You are just pathetic!!” Stephanie Fou Offrey, the daughter of Count Offrey, someone her family was not on good terms with, had the gall to try and order her around!

Clarice knows that the poor excuse of a noble has approached all the girls that were once engaged with the boys of the royal entourage to convince them to join her in her plans for revenge.

The fool already forgot what happened to Angelica!

She was particularly insistent with her after the Lafan girl had a fight with Jilk.

They tried to be discreet about it, but everyone had their eyes on them, there was too much at stake and if the Lafan girl lost her grip on her Harem there would be much to gain.

“The words of a fool!” she said not giving importance to the words of the girl, there was nothing she could say to make her change her mind, and there was even less she could do to force her!

She could see the girl get angrier and angrier, the demihuman servants she flaunts around were getting ready to try to intimidate her.

Clarice may not be allowed to have a personal servant like the slut in front of her, but she has no need of one to protect her, that is what her followers are here for!

“You better calm your pets or I’ll have them put to sleep” she told Stephanie preemptively, she could get away with it too, and the blonde knew it.

She walked away from the fake noble calmly knowing that for all of her supposed power the Offreys never do anything to those with an equal or superior standing in the kingdom.

“You are just a coward!” The Offrey girl shouted angrily.

The words of a fool.

She saw what happened to Angelica, or at least what the Duke wanted everyone to see.

If she went along with that fake noble’s plan she would end just like Angelica, but her father has not a conveniently unassuming, talented man he wants a blood tie with, She would really end with a miserable man at the borders of the kingdom if she gets caught, if not worse!

Chapter Text

CHAPTER XIII.

Jenna didn’t want to go outside of her room, outside there was nothing but contempt and people ready to put her down if she looked in the wrong direction., even the walls of her room had graffiti with insults directed at her.

She has been avoiding her former friends.

The people Zola told her to reach out to had all turned on her after the break, when her stepmother was house arrested by her father, they didnt do anything though.

That was until she had found out about Leon’s victory over some pirates, she told everyone hoping she would be accepted again now that her House had an achievement to presume.

She has seen something similar happen a couple of times before, a small victory was supposed to be boasted so everyone knows how great your House is!

But bragging about it had the opposite effect and everyone had told her it was nothing but a victory over some mutts and it was like a trigger was pulled.

The contempt turned to harassment and the last friends she had left had turned on her and even joined the others.

She was becoming one of those strange girls that spent all their time in their rooms, but she didn’t even have a hobby to pass the time.

A few letters were passed through the door and she didn’t want to see if they were really the monthly mail from her family or if they were a new method to harass her.

She eyed the letters as if expecting them to burst on fire or start screaming at her, for some reason someone created a spell that did just that, it was utterly humiliating for the addressee!

They called them Scolders.

She finally decided to open them, even if it was one, it wouldn’t be so bad if it was in the solitude of her room.

The first one was from Angelica of all people, it had the expected niceties but then she had to re-read a portion of the letter.

She was basically being ordered to accept a tea party invitation from someone called Daniel Fou Durlan! The Heir of a Barony close to her brother’s territory, she stopped reading her letter right there.

She would do it, not only was she desperate but she has come to accept that even if they are officially separated the two House Bartfort were still one and the same and Angelica was the matriarch. Jenna wouldn’t dare to defy her after what happened to Zola and Merce.

At least she was matching her up with the Heir of a barony unlike Merce… she shuddered thinking of her older sister’s life in Leon’s territory.

The next one was from Cordelia, Nick’s intended letter was advice to do as Angelica says and a reminder that House Bartfort was the most important thing in her life! At least she put some gossip in there too!

Leon’s sex life was positive, absolutely… tame! She giggled, her idiot of a brother practically slept with both of his women everyday nowadays if what Big Sis says it’s true, however he never tried to bed both of them at the same time. How dull.

She couldn't help but imagine what she would do if she had two men at her beck and call… for real, not like those clowns who used to court her… Oh the things she would have them do to each other for her amusement!

However, Angelica is the daughter of the Duke, it was probably better that her idiot brother doesn’t have her own imagination!

Things are bad enough as they are.

There was nothing about Cordelia and Nicks relationship and she wanted some details… not many, just enough to live vicariously through her, this last months were hell for her.

There was another letter… from Marce!

Tearing the envelope she read it as fast as she could. No way big sis Merce is pregnant? 

Poor Merce, she must be devastated.

Leon put her in charge of some fancy outdoors baths he wants everyone to call Hotsprings… the name isn't sticking, the most popular option is…Thermals, that pissed Leon off for some reason.

Everyone is doting on her…

She gets to eat sweets and pastries?

The women of the settlement all ask advice from her?

Some bitch wanted to get on with James?

,,,

Yeah, she also wanted to have an affair with him when he was available, but if her father would have found out… she would be in Merce’s shoes right now…

It didn’t sound so bad right now, you know, better to be left alone in some barony in the boonies than being harassed in the capital.

Sex is good?

Well, probably, James looked like he could… no he is her sister’s husband now, better not to…

“Wait a second! She is bragging!” and she was worried for her! 

That bitch!

Even Merce who was married to a knight is enjoying her life more than her! 

Looking at herself in the mirror she found herself to be a mess, her hair was tangled, she had puffy red eyes but her family’s letters had managed to make her smile, the only thing in her life to make her smile lately is her family…

With renewed energy she picked up Angelica’s letter again and kept reading.

The Durland Baron is smart enough to not fall for some obvious traps, not smart enough to avoid the more subtle ones… like the one about lending a hand with unwelcome visitors… 

The Durland are good trading partners.

They just got a new powerful airship that Angelica still wants to control.

Their territory is two days away.

Her little girl could use a lil cousin to play with… that was cute but also very, very creepy.

Besides, Angelica's baby could be a little boy… Leon was dad’s son and dad had four boys and three girls… with the same amount of women too… 

Perhaps Leon and dad were more alike than she realized. Perhaps her reply letter should include some advice mom gave her about shaking her booty? 

Balcus Fou Bartfort is quite passionate about his tastes and has no qualms when talking about booties, it never mattered who could be listening!

Cordelia and Nicks kissing in the pantry…

Leon is planning an expedition to the elfs village historical dungeon, Livia is excited about getting to see how the ancient people used to live, Angelica is angry because she wants to go too.

But Leon wants her to stay behind because it might be dangerous in her condition, Angelica has assured her that if she will have another thing … wait what was right above?

Ha! She knew big sis Cordelia had it in her because there was no way Nicks took the initiative!

She is invited to pass the next holiday at Leon’s territory.

Jenna looked at her reflection again, she was still smiling.

Big sis Cordelia’s words made so much more sense now.

Why is our House so important all of a sudden?” 

“It was always the most important thing, but that woman never let it show, if I had to guess her priorities were her own comfort first, his children second, whatever was left for your sister and you while your younger brothers were just something to be sold off to the highest bidd er"

Her family kept in touch with her, looked out for her, worried for her, cared for her…

This world was an Us vs Them place.

She knows this now.

Us is House Bartfort, and everyone else is Them, the enemy.

She took her pen and started a letter of her own to her matriarch, she wanted to know…

Angelica was supposedly doing a great job administrating her brother’s territory.

 Was that her way to help her father’s House by making sure House Bartfort was strong and reliable? 

Was she supposed to be Leon’s leash? She knows how absurdly strong her little brother became in the months he lost contact with them.

 From what big sis Cordelia told her, she could assume that the Duke wanted to control Leon’s military power.

Would she be expected to help House Durland in a similar way to help House Bartfort?

0x0x0

Soon enough she got a letter answering her questions.

After the niceties were ignored she noticed that Angelica could be… Very blunt.

Yes. She is, the Duke’s power is also linked to the power of his vassals.

No, she isn’t, she is her brother’s sheath, the place where… Gah the pervert!

Yes, ideally she would help Durland House grow and make sure they keep in good terms with Bartfort, ideally they would end in a mutual defense contract.

Cordelia and Nicks moved their kissing to the back of the house after being discovered by Livia, it has become a game between her brother’s women to find out where exactly the two of them were conducting their more… daring bonding.

TOC TOC!

A letter is sliced under her door.

It’s from Daniel Fou Durland, it is a tea party invitation.

Jenna smiled, she had a job to do and she would capture Daniel Fou Durland, help him make something of himself and make him protect House Bartfort at all cost!

0x0x0

Daniel felt a chill down his spine.

He spent all his free time in the dungeon with his friends of the poor barons group raiding the dungeon for every Dia they could get.

His father ordered to buy a present for Lord Leon’s sister but didn’t give him a dia to spend!

But somehow, after hunting a ton of monsters he felt like the prey!

CHAPTER XIV.

Olivia was sitting outside of the Estate master bedroom with her Lord and lover Leon, they were awaiting news.

The time for Lady Angelica to give birth to the firstborn of theirLord has come and she is in there with their tutor who was also acting as midwife.

A little less than a year ago she could not have imagined herself anxiously waiting for good news when she was terribly scared of nobles back then, thinking her life was over once she was… kind of forced to become Lord Leon concubine because of her Holy Magic.

But both, her Lord and his wife were truly kind to her from the beginning, they liberated her from hell and took her in their home, they even helped her parents to thrive in this new land.

Here she was safe and growing stronger by the day.

Miss Joan even believed she could be the Saintess of this era… she never took her seriously of course. No matter how much she wanted to take her to the temple to be tested she always refused.

And her new family always backed her up, in the beginning to not give up her talent, she knows, but lately she feels it is because they were all fond of her.

She could remember vividly the first time lord Leon had invited her to a tea party, only her.

With Lady Angelica’s blessing, it was awkward, she was a bit afraid that he would try to take her there in the room they had built to accommodate his hobby.

It was the perfect time to do it, with them alone in a room, the thick walls of the estate would have muffled any sound the act would produce.

But to her relief and slight disappointment he had been so focused on entertaining her that he seemed to forget that she was a woman.

His woman, and that he was a man, her man?

Instead he was so enthusiastic in his efforts to entertain her she could only smile at his efforts.

She had a genuine good time once she noticed that she was not going to be forced to do anything there.

The second time was somehow even better with a sweet tea and delicious desserts and a tale of his adventures as he showed her some very detailed drawings of the ancient artifacts found in the ruins all across the world.

She had theorized the functions of the artifacts.

They probably were used in grandiose things like creating mana crystals, spawning the monsters that populated the dungeons, creating gold…

But her Lord thought they were drink and food dispensers… 

She didn't know what to tell him about his lack of imagination.

Then he pointed to a particular one and said they were probably things to scam people out of their money and she just couldn't accept the jaded view her Lord had of the ancient humans.

In the end she all but told him to let her come with theories about how the ancient machines worked if he wasn't going to take her seriously.

Little by little she felt more comfortable with her Lord Leon. 

Lady Angelica openly approved it.

She was a little disappointed that Lord Leon never tried to make any advances on her, of course she forgot what he said when they first met, he said that He would never touch her without her consent.

That made her feel inadequate.

Then the time had come for a tea party when she had to share her time with her Lord with Lady Angelica, it was awkward again.

But soon the married couple managed to break the ice, they succeeded when Lord Leon started attacking the academy verbally.

Lady Angelica threw her own insults to the noble students that attended the prestigious institution and she had to help attack the staff too.

The teachers were supposed to instill discipline but whenever she was involved they just turned away or pretended not to notice!

She had to live in a room filled with demeaning graffiti.

Thanks to Lord Nicks, Lord Leon had a very good idea how the academy worked, and was ever so happy to have succeeded in avoiding attendance thanks to Duke Redgrave.

After that tea party she felt they were closer to becoming a real family.

With a few more sessions she had become Lady Angelica’s close friend and she was given the privilege to call her Angie, like her father and brother and husband, in return, she asked to be called Livia.

It was hard not to become close to Angie during these times since Lord Leon would act more like a barista than their Husband.

When the hot springs were built in the estate she was ecstatic with such a marvelous idea, they were comfy and relaxing after a full day of studying.

She had become proficient enough in her Holy Magic that she could cure all but the most severe injuries and when she was free during the day she walked around the new village just outside the estate.

In the beginning the people that came from Lord Balcus’ territory didn’t know how to react to her: Was she just the concubine in turn? Or was she there to stay? 

The people liked to gossip, the farmers in their fields and their women in the plaza but she was most likely the target most of the time and that was proved right every time she passed by with Cornelia or Angie and they quieted when they got too close.

Olivia herself wasn't sure which one is the case, but she was hoping for the best.

When they walked through the fields and squatted to see how their crop was growing she always had a good time.

Watching the fields grow was always comforting, she especially enjoyed when Angie spotted some insect or another she would always ask questions a five year old would ask and she tried her best to explain that an earthworm was no plague and smile when Angie grabbed one to observe it closely.

Then someone hurt himself with a shovel and she had healed the worker much to the amazement of the rest of the farmers. 

A wound that would have taken a month to heal was gone in an instant.

Then it happened!

She was dismissed early because Miss Joan was feeling unwell and she decided to take an extra long bath at the hot springs. She enjoyed soaking in a corner of the room.

After a while both Lord Leon and Lady Angelica had entered the room kissing passionately, she was in a corner but they didn't seem to notice her amidst the water vapor the room generated but perhaps they were too lost in their lust for each other to even notice her.

Kisses soon turned to groping and then to sex… and she found she had lost her opportunity to leave the room, she closed her eyes and covered them with her hands.

But soon their happy, lusty noises were too much to resist and there she could see as Angie lost herself to the pleasure of their Lord’s body with every practiced trust she would moan quietly. 

Angie finally managed to control her lusty moans.

Somehow Olivia managed to slip out unnoticed when they finished their sex session… or was it love making at this point?

They were so lost in their own little world that they could have been attacked by pirates… again and they wouldn’t have noticed.

But something had awakened in her as she found herself unable to sleep, everytime she closed her eyes she could see the married couple moving rhythmically, pleasuring each other.

Lord Leon’s strong body and Angie’s curvy body, both wet and sweaty.

She had to touch herself to release twice before she could fall asleep that night.

The next couple tea parties were a bit awkward for her, and both of them had noticed that something had changed.

After telling them she was ok, all of them tried to go on with the tea party as always, which means they gossiped about Nicks and Cornelia and where they were conducting their less than morally correct activities.

They tried to not talk about barony matters when they are supposed to be having fun.

However she couldn’t forget what she saw, she felt awful for intruding back then, she should have said something, alert them that she was there with them.

In the nights she would go out of her room and stand in their door trying to catch those moans again, but the estate was built with thick walls and now that Angie could control her voice she could barely hear anything, much less the sound of their love making.

Soon the situation became unbearable and she seeked the wisest being in existence, her mom for advice… she regretted it when all she had to say was: you are curious . And then her mom laughed at her for five minutes until she had enough and decided to leave.

After that her mom looked for her and gave some serious advice that she would prefer not to remember ever again.

The next tea party the three of them had she could no longer stand it and she asked if she could have a kiss… 

Angie said there was no problem, her Lord though was a bit more difficult to convince, it was awful for her but surprisingly it was Angie who insisted.

This was something she desired.

And it was worth the embarrassment.

Later Angie announced her pregnancy shortly after that and she felt it was time to ask for more.

A week Later she lost her virginity.

They took measures to avoid pregnancy at Angie’s request. 

She knew that her having a child at roughly the same time as the legal wife would create unnecessary complications.

Her Life became a bliss.

Until the academy somehow catched up to them even with them not being students there anymore.

One of the prince’s cronies tried to kidnap Angie on a trip they made to an island celebrating a holiday so Lord Leon could buy amulets… 

She was mad no one told her about it until they were back to the safety of their territory, she was mad but also glad nothing bad had really happened.

The Green Clown as Lord Leon called the noble had been sent to follow after a decoy and they even enjoyed the rest of the festival normally.

But troubles kept coming from the Lordling’s House, one after another the pirates kept  attacking , they were greater in quantity and the quality of their armors were above the ones Lord Leon fought on their way here.

It got to the point that the attacks couldn’t have been sent by only one House, Angie suspected the involvement of her dad’s rival faction.

Cordelia also pointed out that it was possible that Lord Leon had a bounty on his head in the underworld of the Holfort kingdom.

Her love was victorious every time, but the situation wasn’t good at all.

Luxy dismantled two ships to build single  better ship and sent it to Lord Leon’s papa.

Just in time to reinforce him.

It was inevitable someone confused one Barony for the other.

Both branches of the family were in danger and even if they were sure who the culprits were they could do nothing because they were smart enough not to be linked with the attacks…

The cry of a new born baby was heard and after a couple of minutes Miss Joan opened the door for them and let them in.

Angie was sitting on the bed looking thoroughly exhausted but still managed to smile tenderly at the baby she was breastfeeding.

“It’s a boy!” Angie said as they walked to her and looked Lord Leon in the eyes and jokingly told him “Are you happy now?”

Lord Leon got down to look at his son and smiled tenderly “He is perfect, of course I’m happy! Thank you”

Her Love was happy with his firstborn, so was Angie.

She was moved by the sight of her friend feeding a baby and she wondered what it was like to bring life into this world.

Only Lord Leon and Jenna guessed the gender, it was fine because no one ever took anyone’s guesses about the gender of the baby seriously anyway.

Maybe in a few weeks she will manage to get pregnant.

Angie got the son she longed for.

That baby was Lord Leon’s Heir and Livia couldn’t help but feel relieved as well, the status quo she has come to enjoy can keep going for a little longer, maybe forever if when she gets pregnant she gives birth to a baby girl.

Wouldn’t that be lovely?

“Have you decided on a name for your son, my love?” Angie asked, she would name the baby if it was a girl, and Lord Leon would do it if it was a boy.

“Gilbert, in honor of his uncle”

0x0x0

Marquiss Malcolm Fou Framptom looked at the newspaper as if it had personally insulted him.

Bernard Fia Atlee was less than subtle when he pointed out the increased activities of some very notorious pirates.

Of course that petulant child, Gilbert gladly pointed out that those pirates would never be a problem for anyone anymore.

And  this article in the newspaper was like an extension of that brat’s mockery.

BARTFORT: THE PIRATE’S BANE

BY ALAN FIA SPENCER.

As the readers of Holfort’s Gazette know, this correspondent has been closely following the events surrounding the kingdom's newest noble.

Lord Leon Fou Bartfort, the Baron, who had a chance encounter with some notorious pirates when he was on his way to his newly discovered floating island.

Said encounter marked the annihilation of the SkySharks pirates and the beginning of what appears to be a not so one sided grudge between the outlaws and the new Branch of House Bartfort.

This journalist will not lie to you, our esteemed readers. I thought that the defeat of the SkySharks was nothing but a fluke.

However various other notorious crews have been targeting the good Baron, such as the SkyWolfs, the Sky Salamanders and the SkyTigers to name a few, indicating not only the lack of naming creativity in certain groups of the kingdom but also the very real grudge some people hold for Lord Leon.

However none of the scum mentioned above has managed yet to land a single shot onto the Bartfort’s Barony as of yet.

There have been rumors about a pirate targeting Lord Leon’s wife not long ago, supposed witnesses say the scoundrel dared to steal the name of a well respected House to try to kidnap Lady Angelica, who is also the Daughter of Duke Vince Rapha Redgrave.

Once might be a fluke, but after the sixth report of successful defense no one would be fool enough to believe Bartforts victories are anything but skill.

Even the pirates recognize his talent in the most underhanded way possible, for this scum to target the pregnant wife of a noble is nothing but a death warrant.

Don’t worry though, I can assure you none of the pirate crews mentioned above were spared.

Ladies and gentlemen, we should feel relieved to have such a skilled man guarding the southern border.

Why not make the man a public announcement that he belongs to the Redgraves now too? 

Spencer was always for sale, he should have been faster and bought him himself.

It doesn’t matter how many subtle messages the Redgraves try to send to their enemies, he has enough contacts with pirates to ensure that sooner or later the Barfots will fall.

And the best part was that if anyone managed to discover the conspiracy against Vince’s daughter they would blame that stupid Marmoria kid.

Chapter Text

CHAPTER XV.

Both Barfort baronies celebrated the birth of Balcus Fou Bartfort, first grandson.

The baby boy was named Gilbert Fou Bartfort, in honor of his maternal uncle.

The naming was symbolic, by naming the firstborn with the name of the next head of House Redgrave they were not appealing to the current head of the House, who was forced to punish Angelica, but to the next Duke, a measure to integrate baby Gilbert with the next generation of the powerful House.

And it was a ruse.

If Vince Rapha Redgrave asks for help Leon would respond without a doubt.

If Leon had to flee from his territory Vince would take him in immediately.

However, officially, neither House is associated.

Balcus would do the same, but if his stupid child had to flee there was little he could do to protect him and his family.

As he inspected his new airship, he felt like an old man.

He was a grandfather already, his most problematic child gave him the most pride.

He loved all his children equally, hell! He even loved Rutart and Merce, and Zola has admitted they are not his children!

But Leon has always been different, ever since he was a little boy he was much too smart, much too independent and much too talented and antagonistic.

He feared what awaited his foolish son the most.

Nicks and Jenna would have been fine, Finley and Colin too, they fitted much better in society than the prodigious third child Luce gave him.

Leon was a large square object trying to fit in a small circular hole society had for him.

When Zola tried to sell him to a fellow member of an organization called the Forest of Ladies, he feared that society was about to mold him into one more of the countless small objects that formed part of it or worse, he would meet his end.

Against his own common sense Balcus took a loan to pay for Zola's loss of reputation and equip Leon with what he asked for to go out on an adventure.

It was better for his foolish son to die a free man than to die like a dog!

It was three months later he received a mysterious letter from Leon, his own handwriting and words just appeared out of the blue on his desk one morning!

There was also a bag that made such an interesting metallic noise too. The content of the bag was more than what he paid for Leon's gear.

He was alive and well, to his relief, and apparently successful too, not that it mattered much to him after so long without news from him.

Leon wanted to hit a few more ruins and maybe find a floating island, for an instant he hoped his son wanted to become a baronet under him.

But he was not coming back home, instead he was planning to go to the Redgrave territory, pledge himself to the Duke's House and Marry the Duke's daughter if I'm Lucky! Were his words, and he wanted a recommendation letter from him.

That way his son hoped to be given a chance at least.

He felt his heart ache, his foolish son did not want to return home… and for the first time he found himself truly loathing Zola for driving away the child he wanted to keep the closest.

With a heavy heart he wrote the letter without thinking how he would give it to Leon.

He never told him where to send it, he thought to send it to the Duke directly but the next day the letter he wrote was replaced by a thank you from Leon and an explanation of how he did this. He acquired a very convenient familiar it seems.

He, of course, shared the news with Luce and she calmed down and avoided Zola like the plague the next couple of times she decided to drop by to try and convince him to put Collin up for marriage instead of Leon.

This time he had stood his ground and didn't allow his youngest to be sold, when she tried to force the issue he threatened to reduce her monthly payment.

She exploded, she threatened him, the island, his children, Luce and his people but he didn't back down, she returned back to the capital, saying she could marry Colin once he was older.

He still sent only half of the usual amount of Dia to her the next month as a first warning so she could get used to the idea that she would not be doing what she pleased with his children anymore.

A few months later Leon sent a letter saying he would soon arrive with his wife from the Dukedom.

Leon would be arriving a few days after his siblings came back from the academy.

Luce and him cried in relief and happiness seeing him getting out of the Redgrave warship with a blonde woman by his side, he could only smile when the woman, his wife, had to restrain him so he could not just run down and meet with them once again.

He walked at a polite pace with his woman at his side as was proper and that put him at ease, this woman could reign in his son, he got a good match out of the Duke's house. But Leon will always be Leon.

His wife was The Duke's Daughter!

No consideration for his poor heart, he thought he was just joking when he wrote him that letter!

His foolish son broke the mold society made for him and retained his own shape and essence.

It took him a few weeks to really assimilate what this marriage meant for his House, all the while Angelica, his son's wife, had slowly convinced him to name Nicks as his new Heir and to put Zola under House arrest.

Zola's children were dealt with differently.

Merce was given to a good young man as a wife and from what he knows of her she is pretty happy, she was pregnant, she was doted on by her husband and had made plenty of friends among Leon's people.

Rutart thou… he became a womanizer.

The commoner girls around him all flocked to him due to his appearance and noble disposition, it didn't take long for him to succumb to temptation and supposedly he impregnated three different women…

He hoped the boy would mature once he became a father, and he hoped the children were really his because those women had a reputation among his people.

The boy was happy though.

Zola was withering in the cabin he made for her, none of the maids he sent to tend to her could get her to say more than a couple of words, she barely ate. She was slowly dying.

She fell into depression the same day she was put into house arrest and his healer had told him that this may lead to her death.

He offered to move her to the estate, but she refused.

She was terrified that Angelica may come back and kill her if she found her in the estate instead of her cabin and no matter what he told her she wouldn't change her opinion.

His daughter-in-law was too through with his legal wife.

But this all had to be done, and he agrees with all of it.

He had once upon a time loved Zola, but the sentiment was killed by Zola herself.

Now he was entertaining a messenger from Marquis Framptom, he was strongly encouraging him to enter a National Tourney his master was organizing.

There have been a lot of actions taken by the Marquis after the engagement between Angelica and the Prince was broken, it was obvious even to a rural Baron like him.

Framptom has been trying to supplant the Duke as the second most powerful man in the kingdom.

Maybe even grasp a title such as Prime Minister.

This messenger had marketed this National Tourney as a way to increase one's own prestige and even as a chance to earn a promotion… he had to stop himself from scoffing at such a notion, getting promoted was what landed his family into ruin in the first place.

That was of course the carrot, the stick was much more subtle but there for anyone that was not bedazzled by the carrot.

One would be perceived as weak if you did not send at least one knight as a champion, weak Lords are easy targets to overly ambitious neighbors, or pirates, the members of the House that reside in the capital would also face hardships from their fellows.

He has received letters from Jenna informing him she no longer desired to live in the capital.

That she is trying to secure a marriage with one of Leon's neighbors to be close to her family and that was enough for him to know that he should sell the mansion Zola used to live in.

His neighbors knew very well he was the strongest in the region with his fleet of just three ships, one which was a fully operational warship that Leon had gifted to him.

He was worried that so many pirates attacked the Territory his two oldest sons resided in, But he felt his chest swell with pride whenever he heard news of another of their victories.

That deceptively small fleet is much more than his neighbors can muster with their wives still leeching their resources in the capital.

With the infrastructure improvements his territory received and with Zola no longer draining him, he has become the wealthiest Baron around in the terrifyingly short period of a year and half.

Maybe he should also use his wealth to buy another ship from Leon? Just to be sure.

He was sure the pirates that he defeated not so long ago had come here thinking this was Leon's territory!

Entering the tourney?

That would be a waste of resources.

He smiled at the messenger and told him he would prepare for it, he would assist of course, he was sure Leon's House would go as well, it would be nice to have his family together again even if it was just for a few days.

He has to write to Jenna as well, she should go there as well with her boy and meet them there.

0x0x0

Julius Rapha Holfort was on high alert.

He and his friends were hunting for pirates!

It was reckless to do it in just one ship, no matter how powerful his ship's shields are, they would still be outnumbered, they could be at a severe disadvantage due to the ships design.

They were counting on being able to outmaneuver the pirates with their superior knight armors and skills.

His instructors always praised him for his skills, they estimated he would be able to defeat at least six opponents at once.

And with his friends at his side they should be able to defeat any and all armors these pirates could deploy fast enough to board and incapacitate the ships fast enough to not lose their one ship and its precious cargo.

Marie will be aboard the ship, praying for their success and being an extra eye for everyone.

But most of all, she was their Goddess of Victory.

It took him a long time and effort but he finally managed to convince her to give Jilk a second chance.

Jilk had to promise to leave Angelica and her new family alone to accomplish that.

It was surprisingly hard to get him to promise it since to Jilk, Angelica is an enemy that is growing in power, and will one day be a threat to Marie and to the Crown Julius will have to wear someday.

It helped that Lord Marmoria gave him a stern talking to and limited his expenses, Julius and the rest of his group would be paying for Jilk's expenses for some time.

After the… incident with the Bartforts Marie wanted to leave them, and Angelica alone.

Marie thought that they were not important enough to bother with them.

Marie was such a wonderful person, but he could not forgive and he could not forget everything Angelica did.

And even if he could, the actions her father was taking painted Angelica as the easiest target.

Much to his chagrin the Duke was simply too powerful and his influence ran deep within the court.

The Atlee and his block remained on Vince's side, and Count Roseblade and his considerable military strength stood behind him.

The Duke's ambitions put everyone at risk, and they needed to do everything in their power to weaken him!

That is part of why they accepted the Wayne girl's request.

The Baron Angelica married, is an accomplished warrior and adventurer at the age of seventeen, the same age as himself and his group.

And even though the Duke has never mentioned him directly, he is always criticizing his own lack of achievements.

Julius was raised in the palace with little to no exposure to the outside world, how was he supposed to accomplish anything when they never even let him wander alone in the capital?

He had to sneak out of the palace to get a taste of what has become his favorite dish: meat skewers.

Hunting these pirates would be his first accomplishment, now that he is old enough to command his own ship he can go anywhere he pleases within the kingdom.

He could not wait to get to fight these pirates!

Surely he would be able to defeat the highest numbers and that will impress Maire even further.

0x0x0

It took them sometime, but they finally managed to find the Pirates.

They were following a merchant fleet and it seemed that they were ready to launch their attack soon.

However it soon became clear that they were noticed as the pirate scum did not attack the merchants, and instead they charged directly at them.

Even when they were ready to deploy and engage they almost did not have enough time to protect their ship and Lovely Marie.

The Pirates were vicious and relentless!

After countless hours of training he was able to defend himself successfully, but he couldn't strike back, his enemies were more numerous than anticipated, his friends couldn't lend him a hand because they had their own opponents consuming all of their attention.

In an act of desperation he casted a blinding spell and then struck two of his assailants down while they were trying to recover theri vision.

Brad Fou Field hated himself for not dealing with his opponents in a more manly way!

It was just instinct, he did not regret it but he knew he needed to train more with his spear, he felt ashamed for how weak he was.

He managed to defeat another one before they could regroup.

That was when he was attacked from his blind spot.

He turned to see an armor that was clearly different from the other pirates.

He just knew that this one's performance was a cut above the rest too.

Just his luck.

He was lucky he wasn't killed by the first strike, but he was still in a precarious situation.

He knew he stood no chance after losing his armor's arm, so he deployed his magical spear tips and did his best to pay attention to his surroundings, it would not do if he let anyone get into his blindspot again!

This was not good, he could not land a clean hit on this enemy!

And when he finally did, his spear bounced harmlessly.

His spell was not responding as it would usually, and he could swear he should be able to pierce any armor with his spell.

When did his spell become so weak?

The pirate inside that armor grew bolder after his attack failed to cause considerable damage and charged straight to him ignoring his spears, one managed to lodged itself in that armor's shoulder, but it was not enough, he couldn't escape…

A hail of bullets stopped the pirate advance and he managed to distance himself from his would-be killer.

Looking around he noticed that the number of pirates diminished considerably.

The one to cover for him was Jilk but he was busy covering Julius.

Looking back at the elite pirate he was just in time to see Chris landing a lethal blow and kill the man that almost got him…

Brad couldn't help himself from feeling pathetic, he was just not good enough with a spear and his spell was not as good as he remembers…

What the hell was he doing with his life!

0x0x0

Clarice was back at the Bartforts, she couldn't help herself and had to ask her father to be sent back here during the break.

The territory was even more beautiful than she remembers.

The first time she came there was only a couple of ships in the harbor, and that was counting the Partner, but now it had five ships not counting that behemoth of a ship Lord Leon owned.

Almost all of the ships were merchants looking to sell something or other to Angelica's husband: Fine wines and fancy dresses, jewelry and exotic spices.

Others were more focused on the growing population of the island, they were close to five hundred permanent habitants now and they represented a respectable target for less opulent merchants.

She heard that Lord Leon came to unexpected wealth… in the form of pillaging a few pirate crews that dared to attack him.

She heard some of the locals joking about going out to hunt for pirates…

The paths were now paved and the central plaza had a few new trees planted on it, they looked well cared for.

The crops looked plentiful and the serfs looked extremely happy with their unmarked bottles of what she supposed is homemade liquor…

There was just no escaping certain things in the kingdom.

She was with Angelica and Olivia while they gave her a tour of the new things in their territory, a few new shops had settled while she was away in what was a new area designated for commerce.

When they were returning to the Bartfort Estate after touring for all the new things in the territory.

"Angie…!" Olivia, who was carrying baby Gilbert around, called for the Lady of the land in such an informal manner that would have been unimaginable a couple of years ago, "Gil is hungry!" The oddity that was Lord Leon's lover and Angelica's best friend passed the cute baby to his mother.

"He tried to feed from you again?" Angelica asked with amusement, and to her surprise the former commoner nodded.

They do look alike from a distance…

""Lady Clarice…!" a young boy around fourteen years old came running towards them, it was Colin Fou Bartort. Lord Leon's youngest sibling, the cute kid fell for her at first sight when she was introduced to all of Lord Leon's siblings.

He offered a small decorated bag containing a few pastries he got from one of his brother's bakers.

She accepted the offering with her best smile, she felt flattered to be this charming young man's first crush and while she didn't encouraged she didn't reject him either.

Besides her both blondes giggled, they would tease her about this later.

however it was an enjoyable status quo for both of them, she got a self esteem boost from him and he would gain experience in dealing with ladies for when he attended the academy.

It was a shame he was the… she doesn't even know what is Colin's place in the succession for his father's title.

Angelica told her that the supposed firstborn of Lord Balcus is the product of adultery, but he was not stripped of his last name as of yet, and the the wife had two children, that woman was here in charge of the Thermals (it was way too amusing to watch Lord Leon grit his teeth whenever someone called his fancy outdoor baths by that name!)

It doesn't matter anyway, hopefully Colin's crush will vanish before he enters the academy, they are not suitable partners for each other.

Speaking of the academy…

There are four students of that prestigious institution wasting their time sitting around a table while eating some of the same pastries Colin provided her.

Two of them are Angelica's sisters in law, the older one is chatting with her suitor, the Heir of a nearby Barony, the younger one is looking at her group with stars in her eyes and abandoning the group to walk towards her own group.

Clarice has noticed the girl… Finley was her name. Finely has a slight case of hero worship for Angelica and she adores her first nephew too.

There is another couple of academy students with the older sister, the boy is another Heir to a Baron from… somewhere in the borders.

The girl that accompanies him is his own love interest, she was… coerced to be here by Jenna, it was kind of hilarious to see the girl trying to hide from Jenna behind the book she was reading.

The ponytailed girl became notorious in the academy when she started her… ruthless match making, she hunted the introverted girls that inhabited the academy and forced them to get to know the poor Barons.

Did she mention Jenna was ruthless?

She once saw her dragging one of such girls to Saintess knows where to meet with a suitor. By the hair!

Her efforts were paying off according to her followers, there was little doubt that her fiance will be the leader of the Poor Barons Group next year.

"Big sis can I hold baby Gil please!" Finley catched up to them.

Gently Angie passed her baby to the younger girl, the baby complained at first but eventually calmed down. and let his aunt carry him around.

This, Clarice thought, was what she wanted from life, a simple life surrounded by friends and family.

0x0x0

Aaron was watching the group of girls walk back to the estate of the Baron.

He has just arrived today and he has already confirmed at least one rumor.

The Villainess of the game gave birth to a healthy baby boy a couple of months ago!

He wasn't sure what was going on, she was supposed to still be at the academy being cheated by the prince!

He had counted on that, but not, It was not to be

His own knowledge of the game has somehow become obsolete without anything he could do about it.

But he knew that for almost a year already.

That is why he managed to become the Queen's eyes and ears here within the Bartforts territory.

His original goal was gain access to the academy by stacking accomplishments as an adventurer and seduce some unwitting noble girl and live the good life!

However it soon became obvious that something happened in the academy and the Villainess was taken off the board… Officially at least.

By a stroke of luck he managed to learn the Queen needed a spy, and he possessed the Lost Item that could make that possible.

Chapter Text

This seems like a good spot to remind you akk dear readers that I don't own Mobuseka.

A/N: Please think of Aaron as an OC with the same name as the LN character, they are not the same person, I could have made an OC, but he Aaron was there and I kind of forgot he has no knowledge about the game.

Now, without futher ado please enjoy

CHAPTER XVI.

Vince Rapha Redgrave smiled at the letter he received from his daughter, she was the source of whatever happiness he had these days.

Every so often a letter would appear on his room's desk courtesy of her husband's familiar, he had come to cherish every letter that arrived.

His first grandchild was born a couple months ago and was named Gilbert in honor of his own firstborn, a measure designed to give the impression Angelica was trying to curry favor from her brother, the future Duke, all a front of course, she still has his own favor in the form of her husband, of course appearances must be kept.

However Vince doesn't know if he would be able to take that baby in his arms as soon as he is in reach!

There was an impossibly detailed drawing of Angelica's family along with the letter, Angelica herself in a chair holding the baby boy with Leon standing right behind her and the commoner girl, Olivia, he reminded himself, standing at the Baron's right side, all of them with happy smiles that he hoped were not a touch of the talented artist.

But he was sure they were real, his own daughter's words backed this up.

Even if she doesn't say it, the way she talks about her husband reveals that love has blessed their marriage, and that Livia has become a good friend as well, and is eager to have a baby girl for their husband…

That's right, Angelica calls her, her sister-wife, the girl, Livia has completed the Academy curriculum in everything magic related, and her Holy Magic was so powerful her tutor has pestered them about for as long as she was with them.

Oliivia could be this era Saintess, if she was that good, she should be kept sheltered from the church and the kingdom, if not she still was a very powerful Holy Magic user… there were concerning rumors about the Lafan girl being the Saintes as well.

There was other news of course, no more attacks had been done on their territory to his relief and disappointment, that meant no more good ships at cheap prices for his vassals but of course, Angie's security override that disappointment.

Neither of the Bartfor Houses would send a champion for the National Tourney Frampton is promoting, that was good, he thought briefly of revealing Leon to win it all and ruin the Marquis party.

But he decided against it because the benefit was too small compared to Leon's relative anonymity, keeping his Ace under his sleeve would have an even bigger impact if his enemies considered him weak.

That anonymity was almost ruined when Gilbert got Spencer to write that article about Leon, it was a bold move, and he hoped it would work as intended.

They need Leon to be someone their allies at least recognize before they realize the utter terror House Redgrave is about to unleash upon the battlefield.

His political power was at an all time low, he had few allies, only one Lord would dare to speak to him openly, it is the Count Atlee.

The Atlee Lord does it partially because he was disgusted with Framptom's blatant support to the one who had humiliated his daughter, but most importantly because he works close enough with the crown to realize that the Holfort Dynasty must be ended.

Two disappointing kings in a row is simply too much!

Count Roseblade had expressed his support over the various correspondence they kept after their friendship sparked after the one time they met in person and their shared love of adventures had kept them friends ever since.

Both of them agreed that the once great Holfort Dynasty had lost their sense of adventure and produced only weak minded individuals who wanted to evade reality with their vices.

His own vassals had kept staunch and loyal thanks to the care Angie had shown for them in providing some cheap airships and armors, even those whose offsprings had to be disciplined after betraying his Daughter.

Those children were now their family's black sheeps. None of them were Heirs and therefore they were easily discarded, some had even been already set up into marriage for the benefit of their families.

This circus Malcolm is putting up to elevate his status will not matter, Nothing Framptom tries will.

That idiot was trying to accomplish in one lifetime something the Redgraves took several generations to set up.

Vince will show that upstart how easily his house of cards can fall, when the time comes he will see that military strength is not something that one should ignore.

On the other hand, this was his chance to meet with his little girl and his grandchild.

He had hoped Gilbert would give him a grandchild by now, but he and his wife had trouble conceiving.

Marrying him with a cousin of Mylene's was a bad idea, now not only he lacked an ally inside the kingdom but the woman could simply not carry a pregnancy to term. All his fault for counting the chickens before the eggs hatched, it wasn't pleasant for poor Miriam either.

0x0x0

Angelica happily pointed her flashlight in every direction available forward, she just couldn't believe she was here with her family… Minus baby Gilbert of course, he was sleeping his dinner with Cordelia and Nicks.

She was really here!

She managed to convince Leon that she was healthy enough to be included in this expedition after giving birth!

And it was thanks to Olivia and Miss Joan, without their Holy Magic and their reassurances she would have so much more trouble convincing her Husband!

Everyone in the kingdom was talking about the oncoming National Tourney, but Leon had decided to finally infiltrate the historical ruins in the elven island, it was the perfect opportunity, everyone else would be focused on preparing their knights to notice them!

The Partner has a stealth function? Luxion no one cares just lets find a treasure!

They were here trying to find Luxion's lost partner, another familiar that he had called AI Cleare, sure Olivia thought it was romantic they were looking for her, and that was the only thing that mattered to Leon too, but… there could be undiscovered treasures here!

"Angie, this is a beaten path, no one missed a treasure here!" Leon teased her and she blushed but in the darkness no one would notice so it doesn't matter, besides, they have been walking for hours now and according to Luxion they were getting close, that meant that something here was not noticed before!

Luxion himself was quite the treasure, loyal, efficient and with the capacity to control multiple bodies. And this Cleare was of the same species so she could be just as valuable.

"Angie, look, there is another of these things in the door, I wonder if they were used to bless newcomers!" Livia was just as excited as herself but about the historical value of these ruins so everything for her was just like treasure, this could very well be a walk in a museum for her.

"It's a lock" Leon deadpanned, he had always given different theories about how these artifacts worked, but she liked Livia's theories more.

"There is no keyhole" Livia pointed out with glee, and she was right, if there is no keyhole it is not a lock.

"Livia, you just want mundane things to be magical" accused Leon but he didn't try to fight Livia's argument.

"Point for Livia!" She said earning a pout from her husband and a smile from her sister-wife, according to her own count the score was twenty to zero in Livia's favor.

"We are here" Luxion mechanical voice alerted them.

"Where to now?" Asked Leon looking at the round, floating object.

"I can summon her from this terminal" the familiar got closer to a wall and fitted into a round shaped section of the wall, almost as if it was made to fit him… did that mean that this Cleare was a small round object as well?

After a few seconds of nothing happening Luxion left the wall and floated closer to Leon "Master, please insert the avatar into the socket" he instructed with… was that joy? Probably, this was probably his mate… right?

Leon put another small round object into the wall, this one had a blue eye though.

A second later the blue eyed round object floated out of the wall and danced around Luxion as if greeting him, it was kinda cute seeing Her? So excited.

"Is she your wife Luxy?" Livia dared to ask what they both wanted to know.

"No." both round objects said at the same time, well, that was disappointing, "We are Siblings" they kept synchronized.

"That is nice and all but we better get out of here or dawn will come and we will still be here" Leon said with exasperation, he was right, but she felt like they didn't even do anything other than walk a lot!

"But there is still so much to see!" she wanted to see more, she knew this wouldn't be a real adventure but she still wanted to believe it was, it was not fair that Leon got to see uncharted ruins! She will always be jealous of that,

"I'm pretty sure, it's all the same to the first four floors" Leon said trying to get her to leave, she knew they had too, but well she was just being childish, she started walking the way they came, it was more boring than she expected, maybe someday she will get a real adventure.

"AI Cleare, right?" Livia asked the blue eyed round object.

"Please, just call me Cleare Mistress" the blue-eyed round object told her in reply, floating up and down in what Angelica thought could be the equivalent of a curtsy.

"Are you like Luxy? I mean do you have to register us too?" it was a valid question, Luxion registration ritual consisted of giving him a hair and putting their hands on a rectangular glass thing, it was far simpler than she expected.

"That will not be necessary, I have imported all the relevant data from Luxy" Cleare's voice was a bit more expressive than Luxion's and right now she could interpret she was teasing its sibling with the cute nickname Livia referred to it. Luxion did not react though, he was probably the older one. Then Cleare turned to her and asked "Is it true that Lady Angelica has given birth to Master's firstborn?" she sounded eager.

That question put a smile on her face, sure giving birth was a long painful process but it was worth it when she could finally hold the red eyed baby with Leon's features all over his face.

"Yes, we named him Gilbert, like my brother" she answered, reaching for the floating sphere trying to pet it.

Cleare floated to her hand and spoke again "It's wonderful, I can't wait to meet the little one!" she could only keep petting Cleare after such enthusiasm for her son.

Once they arrived at the Partner they introduced Cleare to the rest of the family. After meeting the adults she made a beeline towards the sleeping baby Gilbert and just stared at him for a while and then she finally said "He is perfect."

The proud parents stuck out their chest in pride for their little one and Cleare had won both Nicks and Cordelia by her high evaluation of their nephew.

"I told you so" Luxion's mechanical voice chastised as if he was feeling outragedshe had to check for herself.

It was good to be surrounded by friends.

Angelica knows that soon she will be exposed to her enemies once again when they assist to the National Tourney, but she finds comfort in the knowledge that her family is strong.

That was the last night the historical ruins in elven island stood, they inexplicably collapsed much to the wrath of a certain faction within the island.

0x0x0

After Angelica had left, some of the female students thought to occupy the void she left in the hierarchy.

But they were quickly crushed by Marie, either using the political power of her lovers or physically by the blonde midget herself in the dorms when some girls tried using their exclusive servants to get rid of her. That girl was scary in close quarters despite her size.

She was smarter though.

She was Stephanie Fou Offrey, the daughter of Offrey House and she would get to the top by using all means necessary and make that midget pay!

Right after Angelica left she tried contacting the other discarded fiancees but found two of them had never cared about their fiances to begin with and the last one was a broken mat.

Clarice just lowered her head and tried to go unnoticed by the Prince and his entourage.

Angelica's fate had those cowards shaking.

But she wasn't like that, she wasn't stupid either so she laid low looking for her chance and passing her time with her personal servants in the meantime.

She even acquired a couple new servants, a catboy and a dogboy.

These are trying times, she had even tried to vent some steam with Angelica for causing so much ruckus, everything would have been fine if she just pretended to not notice Lafan in the first place, she would have been Queen eventually, and who cares about some man love anyway.

She had sent a letter to her parents asking for assistance and had managed to secure a couple of small time pirate ships and their crews to ambush the disgraced daughter of the Duke.

For weeks she had waited for the news about Angelica's fate, maybe she would have died in a pirate attack, or maybe she would have been alive maimed and abused…

Instead she heard through one of her lowest ranked subordinates that attended the regular classes that some upstart Baron had fought and defeated some pirates and captured their ships.

She had written to her parents again asking for a bigger force to be sent but was denied this time; they didn't think Angelica was worth so much effort when she was already out of the way.

They were right of course but she still wanted some revenge on her. That's when someone pointed out that Angelica's sister-in-law was bragging about her brother's victory and how much they gained from it.

For a while she targeted this Jenna Fou Bartfort and it was a nice way to pass the time, she didn't have to do much because there was another group of girls after her already and her boasting had given them the last push to start harassing her.

Graphitis in her room, burned textbooks and physical abuse soon plagued Bartfort and she enjoyed scaring her potential suitors and her best friend, who had easily abandoned her once she provided help courting a future Viscount.

But then some Baron from the boonies started courting her and that bug started playing matchmaker and then she became untouchable too!

Meanwhile she had finally executed her plan to get rid of Lafan and sent her on a quest to rescue a poor family of baronets from a menacing band of pirates.

That had failed.

After all the time she put into getting her family's support set the ambush Marie had bulldozed through it using her five lovers' strength to overpower the pirates and even keep the pirates treasure for herself.

The blonde midget seemed quite pleased with a fine jewel pendant that she had kept as her trophy.

At least they hadn't linked her to the pirates so she was still safe thanks to that idiotic girl… Kara? Katherine? Carla?

Something like that, it's not like she mattered anyway.

She heard that she was executed on the spot by Jilk.

Life wasn't fair.

At least she will have a good time watching her father's new knight destroying everyone else in the Tourney

Chapter Text

CHAPTER XVII.

Mylene was looking forward to this Holiday, not because she admired the armor duels, but because she would be able to truly take a vacation for the first time in… she doesn’t even remember when was the last time she took proper vacations.

Roland was muttering how she should just have stayed back and kept working to himself in a corner in the ship while pretending to be working on some airbike he commissioned from the Atlees, that hurt her a little, but that won't deny herself this much needed time away from work.

Erica had chosen to stay at Elijah’s home, not being interested in the brutality of combat armors.

Besides, she enjoys the idea of getting in the way of her dear husband debauchery, back home it is more convenient to keep out of each others ways but now they were in Marqui Framptom territory and they needed to keep appearances, she does not enjoy making Roland suffer, but she was once a star eyed princess in love with her prince charming… she will live her dream for the duration of the tourney and Roland’s complaints be damned!

Julius and his friends were coming with them as well, just… in another ship in their fleet, they were all with the Lafan girl, Marie. She doesn’t like the girl if she was being honest, she has the potential to become a good Queen if Julius and his friends do a Good Job in their respective stations, but Marie is not suited to rule, not like Angelica was…

At least she won’t find herself in her shoes, trying to rule the kingdom alone while her husband looks for younger girls to procreate with, Julius was devoted to her, it was disturbing to notice how much her son and husband were alike, both liked petite bodies and ignored well endowed ladies in favor of such figures.

At least Julius would remain loyal because it doesn’t look like Lafan will develop any further.

They are probably going at it like rabbits in their own ship, she just hopes that they’ll do it one at a time, their relationship is scandalous as it is, the royal family doesn’t need any more rumors going around, Marie isn’t even pregnant and the court nobles are already talking about how can she provide Heirs fro five different Houses and some  go beyond stopping just before what they say could become slander.

The church wasn’t hounding her son’s entourage because they had found a stolen relic that formed part of the Saintess apparel and it reacted positively to Marie, if the girl really was the Saintess of this era it would be a blessing for the kingdom and her House. It would allow Julius to marry the girl without backlash from society.

It would just make things so much easier if Marie was the Saintess.

0x0

The Frampton territory had become a vibrant place full of people, merchants had established around the arena selling their wares to nobles and commoners alike, food stands offering a warm meal and a cold drink, artist exposing their art in various ways, musicians competing to gather the largest crowds, some others set stands to challenge the skills of the public. Wealthier merchants offered higher end wares, jewelry, pictures, sculptures, even armors were on display.

But Mylene could only watch from a distance, she had a whole contingency of bodyguards around her, her family and friends.

She has Roland’s arm prisoner on her own arm, she wouldn't let him escape and do his usual nasty stuff.

Her son is walking hand in hand with Marie, who is also holding hands with Jilk… and his other three friends are all hovering around like vultures waiting for either of them to let go of one of her hands to replace them, they all act so shamefully that she could barely stand it.

The Marquis had informed them he would greet them later for he is too busy with tournament matters… Malcolm is probably just using the opportunity to make himself as someone important and busy to them. 

While she is happy he organized all this she won’t be fooled by these tactics, they are annoying, she does not wait for anyone, once the Marquis is ready to meet with them it’ll be them who are busy.

After a short walk they arrive at one of the biggest tents in the campament, it has the symbols of the Holfort House engraved on every wall announcing this was their place, all other tents have maintained a respectful distance from them. 

That is royalty in a nutshell, always alone at the top, be it her with her duties or Roland trying to drown himself in his current mistress’ body or Julius desperately trying to seek out others, her daughter trying to forge a good relationship with her fiance,  they were alone in the end.

She was the most pathetic in her family though, while her husband and son still tried, she had given up when Julius abandoned Angelica.

Her selfish child had forcibly severed her most fulfilling bond with another human being, she felt like Angelica had looked up to her, depended on her, loved her even.

She had kept tabs on Angie, according to her spy she is living happily with her husband and his mistress, she was given her proper place as the lady of the fief and has even recently given birth to a healthy baby boy… 

She wanted to be happy for her, but all she could see in her was a dangerous future adversary. Vince has been openly defying the Crown Prince and pointing there is no adequate successor as of yet. 

She could see the resentment festering in the Duke’s House over the breach in the contract, she has been supporting Framptom quietly, she didn’t like the man at all, but he has his uses if you are careful enough with how you pull his strings.

Locating Vince’s weakness was tricky, his vassals have closed ranks around him and his family, Gilbert is a shrewd politician in his own right, but he was the most vulnerable of the three, he has been staying in the court to guard House Redgrave’s interests.

And she knew better than asking Miriam for help, she remembers her uncle raising her to be just like her.

Angelica was well guarded by her husband who has never been defeated in battle. She knows of the various attacking forces he has obliterated, including the elite mercenary units House Marmoria sent to destroy his territory.

She has a spy, a young adventurer by the name of Aaron.

 He was lucky enough to find a certain lost item that allowed him to communicate with her no matter the distance and managed to infiltrate the Bartfort Branch House as one more of the many peasants that were trying their luck in the newly discovered floating Island, a perfect front for the young spy.

Aaron was also her one hope of taking care of Angelica if the need became an urgent matter, she really hoped these issues could be resolved before it became necessary to use such underhanded methods.

If she could locate Angie and sway her back to her side that would end most of the crown's internal problems.

But there was the matter of the Principality of Fannos that would still be hanging over all of the kingdom's heads, they have surely noticed the civil unrest her son has caused and are probably preparing to attack.

The kingdom’s military power far surpassed that of the Principality but they still are a serious threat with how much they have been developing their technology the past decade and there is still the matter of the Black Knight, Vandel is still probably the most powerful knight in the continent and he alone had the power to destroy a medium sized fleet in battle.

0x0

After getting properly settled in their tent Mylene took her most trusted guards and a coat  and went out for a stroll in the busy camp. She wanted to see her people without being immediately recognized, so she could pass as one of the many noble Ladies walking through the stands.

After walking a few minutes without anything really catching her attention they crossed the commercial part of the encampment and arrived at a new residential part of the camp, less opulent tents compared to the ones on her own sector but still wealthy, these were rural nobles showing up wealth they probably didn’t really have.

The deeper she went into the rural nobles camp the louder it got, energetic music, the kind that incites people to dance could be heard in what was probably the center of the commotion.

She signaled her knights to follow her to the origin of the music, near the source there was the biggest concentration of people she had seen in this place so far.

She could see the people dancing around a campfire, some others were eating and drinking, some of the older ones just sat at the edge of the celebration with smiles on their faces.

Walking through some other onlookers she found herself at the front of the people that gathered to witness this celebration that borrowed the location for their own purposes, it wasn’t wrong of them to do so, but it certainly painted an ugly picture about their shameless nature.

She was about to continue with her tour around the camp when she saw a young woman with braided, blonde hair dancing with two partners… 

Angelica, her husband, and his mistress, the three of them with smiles on their faces moved at the rhythm of music, they were the center of attention, even the other couples around them seemed to pay attention to the young trio and to another couple dancing just by their side.

For a second she could picture Julius and Marie in place of Angie’s partners… if only Angelica had been more tolerant.

“You seem to have a knack for spying on Angelica!” she knew that voice, turning around she confirmed it was the Redgrave Duke.

He was not happy to see her, he never was since their children broke their engagement, but this time his features were softer, he was carrying a bundle covered by a soft and warm fabric.

There was another man walking with him, by his looks he wasn’t one of Vince’s bodyguards, there was nothing remarkable about the man other than the company he kept.

That was probably the baby Angie gave birth to, Vince’s grandchild. Was the other man the baby’s other grandfather?

He did have a strong resemblance with Angelica's husband.

Either way she wanted to take the baby from him and pamper him, such were her motherly instincts, she herself could still bear one or two more children but Roland had lost all interest in her after Erica was born.

“I was only passing by when I noticed this… commotion” she defended herself, she didn’t need to spy on Angie directly, she was the Queen.

“I suppose that’s possible” Vince conceded, not interested in starting anything while having the baby in his arms, the Duke turned his attention to the other man and in a bout of non verbal communication ordered him to leave.

The man did so with some obvious reluctance.

“Are they celebrating something?” she asked looking back at the dancing couples.

“Olivia is pregnant” Vince told her carelessly while looking at the baby with adoration.

“Lord Bartfort’s concubine?” she asked, it was unusual for wife and mistress to celebrate such things together, or more accurately, it was strange that wife and mistress had a friendly relationship.

“They are hoping for a girl this time” VInce told her ignoring her question, but that in itself was enough of an answer.

“They look happy…” she commented, hoping to extend this conversation, it's been some time since the last time she could have a civil conversation with the powerful man across from her.

Perhaps the birth of his grandchild has calmed Vince enough to reconsider his policies against the royal family; she was prepared to extend an olive branch to him if he was. She could put his rival Houses down if he was cooperative.

 Perhaps even promote his son-in-law to Viscount based on his achievements dismantling air pirates ships and crews.

“They are from what I gather, Angie has even given her consent for Olivia to wed Leon, finally the Duke put his attention back on her, his face taking a sterner expression as if putting his guard back up.

That was something she wanted to avoid, this could be her only chance to avoid a civil war within the Holfort kingdom.

“I’m glad things worked out for her in the end” she said with a genuine smile. “Vince… don’t you think it is time to end our quarrel?” she asked, looking tenderly at the baby in his arms, she didn’t want to involve the next generation in their mistakes.

“You want us to forget the humiliations your family put us through and become your supporters once again?” Vince’s face showed just how much he disliked the idea.

“You would be compensated accordingly” she told him calmly, she didn’t expect him to agree with her just because she asked “We would put down your rivals, promote your son-in-law, depending of the timing maybe bethrot one of Gilbert’s children to one of Julius” she offered to try and link their Houses again next generation since this time it wasn't possible, but time was not something significative for their Houses

Vince told her flatly “I don’t need your help to overcome my enemies, a promotion would be troublesome for Leon and neither My son or I wish to have anything to do with… your son or husband.”

“Vince, are you aware of the rift you are creating within the kingdom?!” she asked in a last ditch attempt to make the Duke see reason, the way things are right now, a civil war would be inevitable, and most likely attacks from their neighboring countries like Fannos and Rachell, they are slowly walking towards the kingdom’s end.

“Are you aware that it was That Thing’s fault?!” Mylene sighed at the response, there was no turning back now.

She walked away  and didn't bother saying goodbye to Vince, she had a meeting to arrange with Marquis Framptom.

She needed a way to deal with the oncoming war without loyal subjects losing their lives.

0x0x0

Stephanie was not having fun!

This place was dirty and their tent provided no privacy and she was feeling pent up from not being able to sate her needs with her personal servants!

The children of her family’s vassals kept their distance and she was surrounded by untouchables all around.

Stephanie spent her days waiting for the start of the tournament watching her father’s knights train in a tent specially prepared for them.

It was the most exciting thing to do right now, and their new knights were much, much better than the old ones.

one in particular stood out from the rest.

She still can remember vividly how ruthless he was, he was relentless and never gave his opponents time to breathe, if she had to use a word to describe him, it would be wild.

How would she enjoy taming that beast!

Then break him to the saddle and enjoy riding him!

But alas it was not to be in this hellhole full of boredom. 

She would have to make her own fun. 

Chapter Text

CHAPTER XVIII.

This place was wonderful, almost like the trip to that island in the south last year!

Even though this place was nothing like ancient Japan, it still reminded her of her previous life, more specifically the music festival of Woodstock.

There were so many people here!

Perhaps it was her own good mood that colored her opinions but she could see everybody around her having fun.

She finally had both the Saintess Pendant and the Saintess Bracelet, and both of them reacted to her! She was closer than ever to becoming the Saintess and obtaining Queen Mylene's approval to marry Julius and the rest, she would live a comfortable life in the palace surrounded by handsome men, excellent cuisine and be surrounded by luxury.!

She was on schedule too, the third year Tourney had come right on time, here she could contact the church priests about testing herself with the Saintess staff and be recognized as the Saintess!

There was also the fact that both Chris and Greg were participating in the Tourney, so there would be some prize money to look forward to as well!

There would be a preliminary round for those of lower fifth rank and below while the representatives of higher ranked Houses would enter the main Tourney directly.

Her boys had taken her to watch the preliminaries even though none of them expected much from the rural nobles they still wanted to scout the competition, and even if they denied it, they wanted to see the Pirate's Bane in action.

Angelica's husband had made a name for himself by completely annihilating the pirates that dared to attack his territory, and even capturing their ships to later resell them for profit!

She hasn't forgotten about the incident during the second year where that rural Baron had one of his servants hold Jilk at gunpoint.

Truth to be told she would like him to fade completely into the background but everytime she heard something about him she was reminded of the strong impression he made that night.

Baron Leon Fou Bartfort, if this was still the game she played in her previous life she would think of him as a secret optional boss she had accidentally unlocked by acquiring all of the capture targets during her first semester…

And she desperately wanted to avoid his event flags.

However this world was real enough, from the horrible family she was born into, to the inhumane efforts she made to keep herself alive and increase her abilities with Holy Magic to the villainess who kept living her life even after being defeated, she wasn't sure there was a way to avoid the conflict with Angelica's husband.

From what Queen Mylene had told her, this Leon character was the most impressive adventurer of the century, and a formidable knight in his own right… most likely someone the Duke would use against the Royal House if the current politics didn't change course.

She cringed at that thought, knowing about the wars in her previous life made her want nothing with them in this life.

In this world wars were still seen as something honorable and romantic in a way, the young men of the kingdom saw the battlefield as the place to earn respect and live stories to tell their kids when their hair turns gray.

Marie could never see war that way, because the way war evolved in her previous life stripped any of the romantic ideas anyone would have about war. decades before she was born for the first time, her country suffered the attack of the world's most terrible super weapons and that left scars in the population that lasted various generations after the incident!

She was happy there were not atomic bombs in this world.

But that only means that most noble men looked forward to wars and the honors they can gain in battle, her five handsome boys included!

Marie was currently resting in a rather comfortable loveseat with Kyle handing her pastries periodically while watching her boys train inside their tent.

Greg was lifting some heavy looking dumbbells, his arms looked like they would burst open with every repetition he made.

Chris was performing some sort of dance with his sword, it was precise and elegant, even the small area he had to practice couldn't hinder him.

Julius and Brad, who were not participating in the tournament, were playing a chess game at a nearby table.

The only one missing was Jilk, diligent and resourceful as always he took upon himself to scout the campament fir Julius.

"Your Highness, Bartfort isn't participating in the Tourney!" that was Jilk, reliable like always, but he held a grudge against the Baron…

"That can't be right, Mother told me she saw Angelica and her family in the rural nobles district!" Julius said, it was strange for the man to not participate when he has such an impressive reputation.

"Maybe he is here as a spectator?" Brad asked, as he took one of Julius' bishops, that is a possibility but she couldn't see it happening, Angelica would surely push her husband to enter hoping for yet another achievement, for their House.

"I don't believe any knight over sixth rank would lose the chance to participate!" Chris paused his routine to scold the purple haired noble. Being a court noble he put great emphasis in a House's ranks within the court.

"Who knows? Maybe he knows his limits?" said Greg arrogantly, he still was the most experienced warrior among the five and either he or Chris could be the strongest of their generation.

"Indeed there are many powerful warriors already registered, Robert Fou Harris among them!" Said JIlk with a smug smile on his face, she didn't know who this knight was but that seemed to ignite a fire in Chris and Greg and all of them suddenly looked eager to fight!

Even Brad who has been pushing his magic in training looked like he wanted to fight whoever that man was.

"I hope that old man doesn't lose before I can get my rematch!" Greg said confidently.

"Last time I almost had him, if he is my opponent I'll surely win this time!" Even Chris seemed excited about this mob knight!

"I'm sure I could have defeated him if I went all out with my magic back then… I'm not the same fool I was back then!" Brad, Chris and Greg all lost to that guy at some point? Isn't that weird?

"Who is that Harris knight Jilk?" she asked not being able to remember his name, she was curious that three of her lovers had lost to him.

"He was Angelica's representative during our duel two years ago" that would explain why Jilk was so smug about it, he was the one who finally defeated the outside help the Villainess had gotten.

"Oh!" she said for their sake, it would be fine if they have something to look forward to, but… "Please don't be upset if none of you ends up fighting him!" all of these pretty boys can be really childish in this kind of matters!

"Don't worry Marie, I'm sure they know their chances to fight him again are pretty low, it's not as if they are fated to fight him again or something!" Julius saud making fun of the three, but it was the right thing to do at the moment, they were getting too excited for a match that may never happen!

Julius was becoming a good leader for the group, it was in moments like this she noticed he had come to accept that he was born to rule and be a leader, his desire to be more than just his title was something that needed to be channeled properly, now he wasn't just some spoiled brat who hated being born into royalty.

The way he managed his friends to accept that they may never get a rematch with that knight was proof of his growth.

"Julius is right, please just give your best in your matches!" She encouraged them, it would still be nice if they won this Tourney, even if winning here wasn't mandatory it still helped to build them for the war ark according to the cutscenes she watched.

More composed now than a few moments ago both Chris and Greg nodded in acceptance.

"Your Highness," Jilk started with a mischievous tone, "I've found the Duke's training area!" that could be bad…

Queen Mylene wanted them to stay away from the man and going to spy on the training of his knights was not something that would endear them to him!

Julius smiled and said "Lead the way then!" She wanted to protest but all of them just went out of the tent they were assigned to, leaving her to chase for them, this was such a bad idea!

0x0

She failed her boys trying to stop them, they are all Heirs of important noble Houses and were used to getting away with their whims, even she couldn't succeed in stopping them a hundred percent of the time!

Kyle didn't follow after them, preferring to take care of his chores.

The training area the Duke had set up was a huge empty tent where his knights could practice swinging their weapons around and practicing their combinations all at the same time.

She was expecting something a lot more elaborate coming from that old man.

And better guarded, even though right now there were knights training no one had even attempted to stop them when they entered through the main door!

These boys were so privileged that they could enter an enemy camp like they owned the place!

Or perhaps the Duke felt he had nothing to hide, they were far from the only ones watching the knight train, there was a lot of public present.

"His Highness is truly shameless" a voice called out to our group, it was Angelica, she was sitting in one of the few chairs prepared for the public, she was wearing a comfortable looking dress in red and black and she had a baby in her arms… her baby, she felt a pang of nostalgia seeing her, she was such a bad mother in her first life.

She was sitting with another two girls, both girls shared a strong resemblance with each other and they both were wearing the same colors as Angelica, red and black, as if to indicate that they all belonged to the same group, the same House.

"Angelica" Julius said with a firm voice, it was almost threatening, this was not going well at all, there were a lot of Redgrave knights around them, she grabbed his arm to calm him down… but he interpreted it as her being afraid!

"What are you doing here?!" This time there was no denying it, Julius just threatened Angelica in her father's tent!

In a second everyone was staring at her group, many of those staring at them had swords in their hands too!

"Calm down Julius!" She told him harshly, she was not afraid of Angelica, it was everyone else here that was scary!

"This is my father's tent, your Highness, my husband is training over there," she nodded with her head in the direction one of the youngest knights was currently walking towards Angelica, sword still drawn, but he had his eyes on them.

Her boys finally noticed the precarious situation they were in. Surrounded by enemies!

"I don't think you haven't met each other" Angelica said with a smug face as the brunettes helped her to stand up taking care to not disturb the baby in her arms. She , her husband and the girls walked towards them and soon after the possible hidden boss was with them as well.

"This is my Lord Husband, Baron Leon Fou Bartfort" she said, signaling the sole man that had walked with them "Our Heir Baby Gilbert!" she said smiling, holding her baby up for them to see "and my sisters-in-law, Jenna and Finley Fou Bartfort" this time she signaled to the older brunette and then to the younger one… who despite being younger than her, and rather petite still had a better figure that the one she had in this life!

"And these… gentlemen are His Royal Highness Julius Rapha Holtfort, his woman, Marie Fou Lafan, his foster brother Jilk Green Clown Fia Marmoria" she mockingly pointed at Jilk.

She couldn't blame the rather insulting nickname after what happened the last time they met each other.

Jilk though, wasn't happy at all with the way Angelica referred to him, but Angelica simply continued with the introductions "Chris Fia Arclight, Greg Fou Serberg and Brad Fou Field" as if they were mere peasants and once she finished the girls gave a curtsy, but the Baron just stared directly at Julius eyes in defiance. Something none of the other boys liked, Julius was strangely comfortable with such defiance.

"What is His Royal Highness business here" the Baron bluntly asked, keeping eye contact with Julius.

"We are interested in the Training the Duke's men are performing before the Tourney" Julius replied just as bluntly.

"My Liege has allowed free entrance to the area, but please keep away from My wife, especially you Green!" the Baron said with cold fury, before guiding Angelica and his sisters back to their seats, showing his back to Julius, the Crown Prince!

It was clear that the Duke's vassals had no respect for Julius!

"Rude bastard!" Jilk wasn't about to let the Redgrave vassal have the last word apparently, none of her boys did.

The Baron, having heard the insult turned back with a teasing smile on his face "You are right lordling, it was very rude of me to forget to thank you and your House, the ships you sent us were a blessing, we were able to buy this and that when we sold them!"

What does that mean? It made Jilk angry… he couldn't mean? Right?

"How dare you!" Jilk reacted impulsively for the first time since she met him and it took both Chris and Greg to restrain him, all while the damn Baron looked at them as if they were some mere bugs to be smashed

She looked at Jilk, the reliable boy was glaring at the Bartfort boy… he did it?! He attacked Angelica even after she asked him not to?

Another man joined the conflict, he was tall and handsome, his hair was blond and his eyes had the unique red-wine eyes of the Redgrave.

"Leave!" was the only thing he told to her group, and no sooner he finished talking every knight in the tent sheathed their swords and took a couple of steps in their directions intent on kicking them out.

That was the absolute authority Gilbert Rapha Redgrave held inside this tent. Her group left before they could be kicked out!

Marie was not too preoccupied with the fact that she raised yet another flag for the hidden boss to forget about the things that were said about Jilk.

She just hoped that the attacks on Angelica's family were not Jilk's doing!

A/N:

So another chapter is done, and I hope you all enjoy it.

So I want my esteemed readers help.

You see, I'm in need of a name for a Dungeon's Final boss, right now I have named him Sheeptar in honor of all the laughs SAO: Abridged gave me, and I'm tempted to keep it, however I would like some suggestions.

The monster will have horns so please take that into consideration the moment you suggest a name.

See you next sunday!

Chapter Text

CHAPTER XIX.

Chris was upset with himself, like the rest of his group, he could only run once Gilbert Rapha Redgrave appeared.

The hostile gazes of the Duke's men was very noticeable after the Redgrave Heir commanded them to leave.

He would not forget this humiliation anytime soon, that is for sure!

However right now, they have other things to keep them all occupied.

"Pregnant, pregnant you hear me!" Marie was like a raging fire right now, and her anger was directed solely at Jilk.

What he did was despicable and unbecoming of the Heir of a noble House such the Marmoria.

He was staying out of the way for now, unlike Greg who was standing firmly behind Maire in a show of support and Julius who was standing behind Jilk, Brad seemed to still be weighing his options on the matter.

"Again Marie, I didn't send anyone after them!" Jilk is a great liar, he's always been, He knows he sent at least one attack force after Angelica, but no more than one, from what he knows Lord Marmoria discovered how expensive the mercenaries were and forbid him from trying again.

"I have read the newspaper Jilk, at least six pirate's crews attacked them, do you take me for a fool?!"

"Marie, please, Jilk had nothing to do with those attacks, the Duke is getting into many people's way, Angelica is just the easiest target to use against him" Julius said trying to help.

"It could be true, I have heard that there are certain groups willing to put a bounty on some of the weaker Lords of the kingdom" Brad said, he has heard about them too, but their existence is unlikely, who would go so far as to deal with pirate scum for something so trivial?

"That's just a tale to scare children!" Greg disregarded the argument.

Sighing Chris decided to take Jilk's side in this, not only he would enjoy putting Greg down, but he would also get to keep jilk, someone who is willing to stain his hands so his could remain clean.

0x0x0

Olivia was upset, she was never there whenever her family needed her.

She heard from some of the Duke's knights about the confrontation between Angie and the royal entourage.

It was better than the last time one of those people managed to find Angie, this time she was surrounded by allies and family, but she still felt that she should have been there!

But her pregnancy had robbed her of all her energy, she was always sleepy, and when she slept it wasn't as restful as it used to be… Lady Luce had told her that it was normal during the first few weeks to be like that.

But Angie wasn't like that!

She could hear familiar steps getting closer to the tent she shared with Lord Leon and Angie, she was sure it was them!

Their tones were upset but not distraught.

When they entered she greeted them, asked them if they were all right, and about baby Gil? She was worried even if all went well.

"Those morons are looking for trouble" Lord Leon who had baby Gil in his arms said with worry, "It would be better if Lord Vince restringed the access to our camp"

It was hard to not be able to control the territory as they always do, being guests of the Marquis left them vulnerable to the harassment of the royal family. If this was their territory the Prince wouldn't be able just waltz around like he was doing here.

"We can't do that here" Angie said with irritation "This is Framptom's territory, even my father is just another guest here" she took baby Gil from Leon and started breastfeeding him, "Even my brother was out of line when he made the Prince leave"

"It's frustrating!" Said Lord Leon sitting in her bed with her and gently rubbing his hand over her belly, she blushed at the attention, but she was pleased that her lover was showing the same attitude he had with Angie, he would love all his children.

She hugged him and said "I want to be back home" softly, she knew they couldn't just pack up and leave, that would show unacceptable weakness to the rest of the kingdom, and that was something she had learned was inacceptable.

The Marmoria House has already tried to erase them with what they believed was excessive force.

They aren't weak, there is no reason to appear weak, so they'll stay.

"That would be nice" Leon told her while shaking his head, they would stay until the last day of the Tourney unless something happened that made them leave.

"Do you think our people are doing their jobs?" Angie asked curiously, it was obviously an attempt to forget the incident.

She had learned that previously Angie never had contact with commoners, she was the first commoner she ever interacted with, and as such she had many preconceptions about how they behaved and even worse… she was raised to think of commoners as mere numbers.

It hurt her at first, but Angie herself was open to change, after everything the nobility had done to her she wanted to give commoners a chance, their lover was raised as a quasi commoner himself too, Leon had no qualms about donning simple clothing and working the fields himself if needed, in fact, he seemed to enjoy it.

That was a shock for her as well, she never had ever pictured a noble working the fields as a peasant, but Leon looked so natural with a farmer tool on his hand that it was hard to reconcile it with the image of the invincible knight that trained everyday with a rifle and a sword to be able to protect the territory and his family.

No book she had read so far described such a paradoxical behavior.

Angie didn't fit the mold books and her own first hand experience have given her about noble ladies.

She was neither a cruel despondent brat nor a porcelain doll that would break if you treated her roughly.

Both were so much more than she ever imagined a noble could be.

"Of course they are!" Olivia said with excitement "Papa can be really scary when he wants you to do something" as a child she couldn't even imagine not doing as he said!

"Yes you are right, they must be finishing that new barn and working hard in the fields" Angie said smiling.

"And when they are done they'll drink the last drop of spirits on the island!" Leon said with cheer.

"There is no such a drink in our territory!" Angie protested, at the obvious joke with a smile on her face…

"My Fiery Angie…" Leon said with an impish look on his face "You see, booze finds a way!" it was as if Lord Leon believed he said the wisest thing ever.

She couldn't help herself and giggled, it was silly but so much like her Lord to say something like that, even here.

"HMPH!" Angie just huffed in irritation, even if she never bought any liquor for their House their people still have their own money that they could spend in whatever they wanted, and they knew it… and Olivia herself has seen some things that had more than a passing resemblance to the distilleries she knew from her old town…

"Booze finds a way" she said giggling again thinking how some of the most adventurous people may be already trying to make their own liquor.

Lord Leon turned towards her and kissed her gently on her lips, it was nothing special, they have done much more, but she was elated to receive his attention anyway.

Angie put baby Gil on his temporary crib, judging the lack of cries he was probably asleep already. Angie joined them in the bed and took the other side of Lord Leon.

Angie grabbed her hand in what she had learned was a gesture to show her she wanted her in their lives, then she kissed Lord Leon, Angie was probably feeling vulnerable, and their lord was kind and strong, he has protected them ever since the day when they collected her from her old town.

His was a calming reassuring presence, and in moments like this, they both liked to be closer to him.

Olivia waited until they had to take a breath to capture Lord Leon's lips herself.

The three of them started to seek each other, this was no longer just some reassuring gesture, this was rapidly becoming something she had so far only experienced in her room alone with her Lord… but she didn't minded Angie's touch alongside Leon's, her own wandering hands often found softer skin that didn't belong to the man they shared.

"THATS GROSS!" someone yelled inside their tent, the three of them looked at the entrance to find a girl their age with blonde hair braided into loops at the sides of her head and five demihuman servants staring at them with unadulterated disgust.

Lord Leon immediately stood up, Angie hurried to get baby Gil who was awakened by the scream, she accompanied her to get away from these obviously hostile people.

"Who are you and what are you doing in our tent!" Lord Leon questioned the intruders as he took a step closer to them ready to throw them out with force if need be!

The five demihuman servants all looked at him as if he was something disgusting they stepped on and was now glued to the sole of their shoes and stepped up protectively in front of the girl.

"I'm the daughter of Count Offrey, I'm Lady Stepanie Fou Offrey!" she said with pride and a palpable sense of superiority.

"Get out!" Lord Leon stood face to face with one of this Stephanie's servants, meanwhile she retrieved and concealed a small gun from the nightstand. She was not the best at handling a gun among the three but she was good enough to kill a couple of the servants before they got too close to them.

"Why should I?!" Once again the Offrey girl defied Lord Leon, it was clear she thought she could do anything she pleased.

"Because, this is our tent You dumb bitch!" This time it was Angie who spoke loud and clear with every intention of being heard.

"How dare you!" Stepanie's face was becoming puce with anger, she then lifted her hand and signaled with her finger in Angie's direction and told her servants "Show her her place!"

One of the demihumans, a catboy, took a step in their direction, she put her finger on the trigger of her weapon, ready to kill the thing if it didn't stop.

It wasn't necessary.

When he passed next to Lord Leon, her lover kicked the side of his knee, the force of the kick bending the joint making him fall on it, then chopped him on his throat while it was still falling, the impact collapsed its thorat instantly much to the horror of the four servants remaining.

From what Olivia remembered, the boys at the academy were always wary of the demihuman servants, but she has learned a lot in the last two years thanks to Miss Joan and Angie.

These servants, while stronger than a human, are not trained in combat, they are just used to pleasing their masters and have easy lives.

However, unlike the boys they look down on, they have no actual combat experience.

Lord Leon was not the same as the academy students, he was a true adventurer, against him, the servants used to docile boys were in a precarious situation…

And then, she had a gun, sure, she wasn't the best with it, but she had already moved to flank them and avoid shooting at her lover.

A bigger servant with dog ears launched himself at Leon, hands forward ready to maim Leon, and a furious expression on his face, but with a swift leg motion the baron kicked the demi human genitals, again their enemy fell on his knees and again, the same technique impacted with the throat, this was the second servant to fall to Leon.

The three surviving personal servants looked at each other, they all had fear etched in their faces.

They had grown accustomed to walking up to their intended victims and just bash their heads without resistance. This was the real world, their privileged position does not exist here, they can't abuse human males with impunity outside the academy.

And with their environmental advantage gone, they are risking their lives to carry on with their master's commands.

The three survivors now understood that.

"What are you doing!?" the Offrey girl screamed at the top of her lungs, this was not what she expected, probably she has never seen a man fight back. "Do you know what will happen to you?!"

"What will happen to me? You should be worrying about yourself!" Olivia knew that tone of voice, as much as she liked their territory, not everyone was a good person there, the sixty-ish people that followed them to start the settlement were people trusted by both her parents and Lord Leon's.

But they are no longer the only inhabitants on their floating island, there were people that arrived every other day after word spread around about the new House Bartfort branch, and some rotten apples had come with them.

After a while, people were attacked at night, beaten and with their valuables stolen, it was ugly, she had to heal a couple of stab wounds too.

But eventually they found out who was behind the attacks. Lord Leon was not kind to thieves. And now he was behaving the same as back then.

"To me?! I'm the Daughter of the Offrey Family you barbarian, can't you get that through your head?!" The girl turned her head around until she found Angie who was holding baby Gil protectively in her arms "Why don't you explain how things work to your dog!?"

"What is there to explain?!" Angie asked rhetorically.

"Daughters of noble Houses are coins to exchange, we have a value the more powerful our House the higher our value, however," Angie said matter of factly controlling her voice to not disturb Gil too much "have you noticed no one wants to touch a filthy coin like you?" Angie was giving the intruder a cynical smile.

Just then a group of Framptomp's knights entered the tent, they looked around, taking in the scene trying to make heads and tails of the situation. There were two demihumans on the ground, clearly dead, their family and the Offrey girl and her servants.

"What is happening here!?" one of them asked the Offrey Girl, who, unlike them, was using an elegant dress that clearly distinguished her as nobility.

"I was attacked by this ruffian and his whores!" Stephanie took advantage of the question to accuse them and gain an advantage.

"Detain them!" the same knight who asked the question ordered his companions.

"This is our tent, she trespassed and used her servants to attack us" Angie spoke before the knights could get closer to them.

The Head knight's face soured, probably annoyed that his easy way out was being taken away "And who are you?!" he asked, probably wondering if he could just ignore their arguments and drag them and do whatever they did to criminals if they weren't nobles.

"I'm Baron Leon Fou Bartfort" Lord Leon said at once, she could see how serious his face was, this was troublesome.

"And I am the daughter of Count Offrey!" The intruder tried to push the knights.

"And I am the daughter of Duke Redgrave!" The knights were looking between them trying to decide what to do.

"She was disowned!" Stephanie argued, trying to get the knights to side with her.

Angie glared at the girl, that was technically true, but she still had a good relationship with her father. "Whatever you say doesn't matter, right now, this baby is the Heir apparent of the Redgrave Duchy!" Angelica said with pride while showing baby Gil to the knights, they wouldn't dare to act after hearing that.

"Besides, how long until your House gets fed up with you and kicks you out? You haven't been able to secure another engagement after Brad. Have you?"

Olivia noticed that the girl thought her name alone was enough to get away with basically invading their space and attacking them was getting angrier and angrier.

Well, she learned a few things from her family. Like what things truly mattered in this world politically speaking.

One. The wealth of a family is the most basic thing when considering the power they can wield. It is essential to most things but it is not as much of a game changer as she thought before she entered the academy. It was still important of course, but money alone won't give you much influence without a nobility title, it becomes important after a family attains a nobility title.

Two. One's accomplishments as an adventurer can trump the influence of a wealthy merchant in the political sphere in the kingdom of Holtfort. A successful merchant family can spend generations trying to become nobility, but an adventurer can accomplish that in a single generation, Lord Leon is obviously the first example to come to mind.

Three. Territory, a House's territory can be the difference between a successful Baron and a struggling Viscount, the territory a Noble House possess it's of great importance when talking about generating money, and yes, with how overwhelming the crown taxes are a House's capacity to produce wealth becomes of great importance.

Four. Political contacts, this is where the Daughters of the House become of importance, they are in fact envoys from one House to another, in the past many warlords rose in the kingdom, they targeted their neighbors looking for their resources or even destroyed their home islands for their floating stones. The probability of being targeted decreases to almost zero if the Houses have a blood tie, like lets say… Baby Gilbert being the grandchild of Duke Redgrave ensures Leon won't raise his hand against the Duke.

Five. Military power, If a House possesses enough military power, they could openly defy a Higher ranking House. Or even the Crown…

In this case, Angie's papa influence would trump the Offrey House, besides, Oliva was sure the Bartforts could destroy the arrogant gril's House without any assistance.

A/N: Thank you for your input last chapter, I'll be deciding wich name I use in the following week.

Chapter Text

CHAPTER XX.

He was slowly dying.

He was not born to waste away in some fancy chair everyone else calls: Throne.

Of course not!

Roland Rapha Holfort was born to be the center of attention, to be worshiped by the masses. He was born to seduce young innocent maidens, to secure his line would last forever!

But he has so few chances to do the former.

His wife, the Queen is an efficient manager, so efficient that she never messes up and in consequence he never has the chance to save the day!

When the Marquis told him about this tournament he was excited!

The chances he would have to relive his youth, he even thought about donning his mask again and winning the whole thing!

Maybe even finally taking off his mask to amaze the nobles and bask in their adoration.

But it was not to be!

Mylene decided to tag along to keep an eye on him.

His wife usually prefers to stay out of his way to avoid conflict, but this time she judged the event to be so grand that they both needed to graze it with both of their presences!

She was watching him like a Hawk and he simply didn't have the chance to really enjoy himself after the first day when she decided to take a walk around the camp.

The worst part was that he couldn't find a woman that matched his tastes in that short time.

This entire event has been dull so far.

However that changed when Malcolm finally came to pay respects to him.

The man looked pale and thinner than the last time he saw him in the palace.

That coupled with the bags under his eyes revealed, much to his dismay, that his breach in protocol can be overlooked.

To his understanding diarrhea is not fun, and perhaps that the man was suffering such affliction was punishment enough.

And if learning about the man's condition wasn't entertaining enough he got another treat in the form of a group of knights bringing in a few people to be judged by the Marquiss.

The best part was that one of the parts awaiting judgment was that Upstart baron that has been stealing the meager attention he has been able to procure for himself in the newspaper.

The case was scandalous to say the least.

Count Offrey wanted to extract quite the sum of Dia from the Baron in compensation for the trauma his daughter suffered and to replace her sex toys…

At first he got himself a little excited at the prospect of meeting the nubile daughter of the Count… Instead she was the biggest deception in the event so far, it was almost incredible how someone so young could be so rotten.

No one but her father was buying her lies and somehow she deluded herself that she was giving a good performance.

In contrast The Baron's concubine gave such an aura of purity that contrasted with her station in life… He felt sad that damn brat got to her first.

Angelica was doing fine for herself, somehow she managed to land on her feet after Julius' betrayal.

Mylene and Malcolm were about to allow the Offreys to extract an unpayable amount of money from the Baron.

That would have been one of the best outcomes for the crown, but it was such a boring finale to such an exciting situation.

Oh, Vince came to the Baron's defense.

Both his queen the Marquiss were about to ignore the Duke's pleas in favor of preserving the inexistent honor of the Offrey girl, but he had other plans.

"Will some Dia really satisfy your honor, Lord Offrey?" he asked with contempt, and before the man could lose even more face he continued "This kind of offense can only be settled in the field of battle!" He said looking from the Count first and then to the Baron.

"Before the Tournament starts the Champions of both Houses will settle this in the arena!" He said knowing that the Count will send his best to defeat the Baron, and when that happens that would be such a sweet revenge!

To have the one that has been stealing attention from him to be humbled or killed in the biggest stage in the kingdom right now will surely make him feel better.

0x0x0

Ever since she was aware of the world around her Leila Zel Lespinasse knew that the very same world was in danger.

This was the same world described in a certain Otome game she used to enjoy in her previous life; she was born in the same country as the first sequel of the trilogy.

After making sure her twin sister Noelle was doing well with her fiance Loic Leta Barielle.

She decided to take a look at the country where most dangers to the world come from: The Holtfort Kingdom.

She proposed to her own fiance Emile Laz Plevento embark on a trip to a Third World Country, as the kingdom was considered within the Alzer Republic.

He was such a docile man, always eager to please her and he naturally was ecstatic to take a trip and travel away with her!

The situation seemed normal mostly, a few things here and there didn't follow what she knew of the first game, she couldn't enter the academy to check on the characters of the third game.

But from what she has been listening to from the nobles she has met so far, the protagonist has a different name, nothing to worry about , especially when she has captured all five love interests.

And after a visit to a temple, she already was on the right path to becoming the Saint of this era.

She was currently sitting in a suit Emile managed to secure for the Armor Tournament the kingdom was organizing, she never paid much attention to that bugged ridded first release but she had read about this event.

The Villaines father, a Duke, was supposed to lose what is left of his political power in this tournament, this was the best outcome before the war event.

They were about to watch a non-scheduled match, one of those things so minor that it wasn't even mentioned in any forum. Or it was probably something not in the script, she has become familiar with them during her second life.

Emile approached her after speaking with some of the young nobles attending the event, he was good at networking, even though they would never ever use the contacts made in this kingdom, they were good for them to have while they stayed in the country.

He was in a good mood when he told her "So this is a grudge match between a Count's House and some well known Baron!"

"How come the Count doesn't just…?" She implied that the difference in status was too much and that the Count could probably just make the Baron disappear. If it was like back home, it would be like if any of the Six Great Nobles was insulted, they could just kill or maim the offenders.

"If the rumors are true, this Baltfort character somehow got married to Duke Redgrave's daughter."

Oh… so the villainess was already exiled? That was interesting, she felt some pity for her, when it rains it pours, not only she was forced to marry someone of a lower station but the man even picked up a fight with a higher ranking House shortly after the wedding.

"How come it ended up in a duel?" she had to ask, this was too much, but it was likely a better outcome than having the Count invade the villainess territory.

Emile chuckled uncomfortably "There are two versions of the cause. The first says the Count's daughter entered the Baron's tent with her servants to visit the Baroness and found them about to… you know" he chuckled again, that was scandalous! "And another wilder rumor says it was this Bartfort guy, with his wife and mistress together!" oh he was enjoying passing on this gossip, but rumors are such a wild thing, no doubt that was just an exaggeration.

"Keep going!" she whispered, eager to know more, she didn't like gossiping… but this was just too much!

"The Count's daughter said the Baron tried to get her to join with his other women, and when she refused he killed two of his man servants…" that chilled her spine, when gossip involves murder and a rape attempt, it stopped being funny.

"Is he a monster?!" she felt worse for the villainess, this guy was just the worse.

"They call him Pirate's Bane here, so no one doubts he did kill those servants" Emile explained in a more sober tone "The story he tells is different though. Lord Barotfort said he was in his tent with his women and his baby boy when the Offrey girl…" his baby boy? Probably an illegitimate child born from his mistress.

"That's the House of the Count?" she remembers that name too, traitors to the kingdom if she wasn't wrong.

"Yes, well, the man claims she ordered her servants to attack his wife when he told them to leave, he killed them before they could get to her!"

Having heard both sides of the story she was inclined to believe in the Baron's word, if the girl in question was the same from the games she was capable of that and more. "The royal family it's here, couldn't they avoid this duel?" she asked, they should have done something! Inner fighting is bad no matter the place you are in.

"There are no witnesses, they were about to put a hefty fine on the Baron but the Duke got involved" that seemed par for the course, punishing the lesser House and back to work…

The fact that the Duke got involved meant that he still supported his daughter, in the game he cut all ties with her, this was a pleasant surprise, the Duke was a better person than the two dimensional character in a game.

"When he couldn't get the Bartforts punished, the Count challenged them to a duel… for his daughter's honor and here we are!" he said gesturing with his hand towards the arena, a red armor wielding a halberd on one side and a blue one wielding a sword and shield on the other "Bartofrt will fight himself, but the Offrey's champion is someone claiming to be the Masked Knight, a big time hero from the last war they had, many think he is just an impostor though"

She knew about the Masked Knight, the forums had in depth guides about how to trigger him to make your life a little bit easier in the first game, he was someone who fought with the Black knight to a draw in the past, he always fought on behalf of the Royal House's interests, it was possible that this was yet another nail in the Duke's political coffin.

"I've put a bet on Bartfort, ten white gold coins for his victory!" Emile said to her dismay, that wasn't much to a rich Heir like him, but it was still an important sum of money.

"At least it wasn't too much!" she glared at him, he wasn't prone to gambling, but she could sympathize this time. The story was awful, and betting on the Baron was saying he believed his side of the story. A shame they had to part with that money though.

Just then a large group of nobles entered the suit, leading them was a man with long white hair and dressed elegantly, a couple of young women with blonde hair in different shades were right behind him, one of them was carrying a baby, and most of the other people held a resemblance that indicated they were related to each other. The people around them started whispering to each other, listening to them, she learned this was the Duke, there was no doubt one of the blonde women was his daughter…

The group made a beeline towards the window to the arena, they ended right next to them.

She could only look at the blonde woman that held the baby, a boy by the looks of his clothes, a few black hairs on his head and red-wine eyes… the same eyes of the woman, the mother had her hair braided in an elegant bun and was quite the beauty. Those were the characteristic features of Angelica Rapha Redgrave!

The villaines was married long enough to be pregnant, give birth and the wee little baby was a few weeks old already!

This was not right! She should be a newly married woman, and in no way she should have had the time to carry a pregnancy to term if the events of the game…

Sooner than she was prepared for, the duel started.

The Masked Knight had the support of the public and an obvious advantage in gear, even to her, his armor has a better performance than that of the Baron, but the Baron was successfully fending off every attack launched and even had the chance to retaliate every five or six strikes.

The man was skilled, but she thought that he would make a mistake sooner or later.

Some people around them started to yell in anger "That's not the Masked Knight!" or Impostor.

Soon the people in the around began cheering for the Baron that was valiantly holding off the superior armor.

A vicious shield bash made the red knight armor retreat spinning wildly.

The possible impostor had finally hit his opponent and was ready to finish him off when the red armor threw his weapon and advanced on him still spinning, confusing the masked knight long enough to have his guard open with a kick to the shield and a follow up precise elbow strike right in the chest area, where the armor is thickest to protect the pilot.

The red Armors right arm fell to the ground completely mangled however a spray of red flew out of the machine's chest and then the red armor walked away from the fallen blue machine as if it was a fact that the match was over.

The white armor of the referee approached the blue armor and with care pried open the hatch, she could see the white armor shaking its head before calling the match in favor of Leon Fou Bartfort.

As the crowd around her erupted in cheers, the medics entered the arena escorted by a squad of knights, they all walked with slow and deliberate steps as if to indicate there was no need to hurry.

After seeing the decisive blow she could hardly blame them, the man was dead, she was no expert in neither combat nor armor, she was no healer either but it was obvious that the strike had intended to kill.

"So that is what the knights of Holtfort are like… certainly, they do deserve their fame. I can't think of anyone back home that could outskill them!" Emile praised the pair, not caring for the fact that only one of them was walking out alive.

She felt the blood leave her face, the knight was dead. She looked up to see how Emile was also cheering for the victor who was getting out of his armor and walking out of the Arena.

"Are you all right Leila?" Emile asked her with worry, finally noticing that the match had caused a negative impression, she shook her head, she felt like vomiting right there and then. That was brutal.

She felt her legs tremble, a murder had just happened and these barbarians were all cheering!

"What are they doing?!" someone yelled, she looked back at the arena where the knights had beheaded the corpse and were showing it all around. She felt grateful to have been born in the Republic if this was the level of brutality of the Kingdom!

"THIS IS CALICO JACK, SCOURGE OF THE SKYES, CAPTAIN OF THE SKY VIPERS WANTED MAN!" the crowd started booing…

They were approached by one woman from the Duke's entourage, "Are you okay?" she asked, she was a beauty with blonde hair, blue eyes and a buxom figure, she probably noticed Emile had started to support her so she wouldn't fall. Leila could feel her legs failing her.

"I think the end of the match was too much for her" Her fiance explained, it was true.

"Please let me help her" the woman held up her hand, it was glowing with a purple light…

"Holy magic!?" Emile asked, she was also shocked but it was as if he was far and she could barely focus on his words.

Later she would reflect that the kingdom has always had reverence for the users of this type of magic, it was not strange that a woman who can use it to this extent would end up in the company of such a powerful person like the Duke.

Thanks to the woman they had gained the attention of the rest of the entourage, but it was worth it, she started to feel the soothing effect of the rare magic immediately, all of a sudden the fact that a criminal was publicly executed didn't seem to be of much importance either, more importantly, Lord Leon was such an invincible knight, she couldn't wait until tonight when she'll...

"Greetings," the Duke himself came to them, and was looking at them curiously, probably due to the fact that he didn't recognize them in a suit full of his supporters "I'm Duke Vince Rapha Redgrave, and you are…?"

"I'm Emile Laz Pleven, and this is my fiancee Leila Beltre, we are from the Alzer Republic" Emile introduced both of them, she was better now but etiquette demanded him to introduce them both.

"It is rare for a member of one of the Six Great Nobles Houses to visit us, I hope your lady is feeling better" the Duke continued with the pleasantries.

"I'm feeling better now, thanks to…" she didn't know the name of the woman who helped her.

"This is Livia Fou Bartfort" the Duke introduced the woman, who curtsied politely "And this…" he directed their attention to another young woman with similar features except she was a bit taller and of course, the red-wine eyes of the Redgrave family. She didn't need to be told who she was "Is my daughter Angelica Fou Bartfort, they are both married to the young man who just fought in the arena. We are going to check on him now, please enjoy your visit to the kingdom, but I must warn you," the Duke got closer to them and said quietly "You shouldn't linger for too long, war is coming" with that the group left.

She looked at Emile and got closer to him so she could whisper in his ear "We should go back after the Tournament is overI" He nodded, they didn't want to be caught in the kingdom's inner conflicts.

The duke shouldn't still be this powerful at this stage of the game, but there was nothing she could do, except go back home and prepare to stop the Principality's weapons.

A/N: About Noelle and her stable relationship with Loic, this scene only depicts Leila's perspective, what is the truth?

Other than me, who knows?

Muahahaha.

Oh and if you find anything strange with Leila after being healed by Olivia... it's because Olivia's powers are growing and some of her thoughts leaked through the healing spell and influenced Leila.

A/N 2: Hey everyone, sorry for my mistake, this time it is chapter 20.

Chapter Text

CHAPTER XXI.

The Marquis left in a hurry a while ago to try to apprehend Count Offrey.

The nobles around her were all a mess of different sentiments.

Some were excited about such a masterful blow, 

Others were booing the beheaded pirate.

Another group cursed Duke Redgrave.

A few here and there were furtively glancing at the Royals, no doubt calculating the odds of them knowing about the Offrey’s champions true identity.

She could hear someone joking about the real Masked Knight being a pirate all along.

And a few looked calculating. She probably was among them, she knew she was forgetting something important, and this has refreshed her memories.

The Offreys are traitors that employed air pirates to do their dirty deeds!

It was one of her least favorite cutscenes, and she only watched it a couple of times so it was understandable she forgot!

She felt a drop of sweat go down her forehead and promptly dried it with a handkerchief.

This situation was getting absurd, no route in the game matched this series of events.

Maybe it was content added in a DLC after her death in one of those anniversary editions? 

She had enough of that shit when her past life boyfriend  bought TES V: Skyrim for microwaves!

All that aside she was certain that she triggered the hidden boss now, that duel was meant to be the cutscene that presented him as a threat, the question now is: When will he show himself next?

She was threading in unknown territory here and it was scary to not know what was going to happen. She got where she is now by relying on the foreknowledge that otome game provided her and now those shitty developers messed up with her once again!

She looked for the King and Queen with her eyes, both were whispering to one another, the queen looked distraught while the king was angry for the first time since she met him.

The Offreys had a pirate in employ, what if they have more? 

The crown was in a pinch thanks to that stupid girl and her House!

The Royals are smart, even if the king is a little lazy, he must realize something must be done about this situation fast.

 She doesn’t have all the details because she was busy putting Jilk on his place… why are men such good friends with each other!?

In the end the other four advocated for the Marmoria Heir and she ended putting the boy on probation.

He better be on his best behavior from now on though, she won’t hesitate curing all ties with him if he disobeys her one more time. 

House Offrey was done for, the best thing to do right now is probably cutting ties with them, the Marquiss will probably be the first one to denounce them and be in so much despair over the fact that one of his own followers could stoop so low!

Even if he probably knew all along.

Her boys were still discussing the match, around her, all of them asking each other how they would defeat the Baron.

They were at least aware of the danger the elite mob represented, that was good because the optional boss’ fight was all but confirmed now!

In the distance they could hear multiple gunshots, she fought to remain calm, she was in a suite with the royal family and other powerful nobles, there was no way anything could happen to her here.

 The fight is going on inside the arena, probably the Count’s family trying to escape.

The Queen had to force the King to sit down after he stood up and ordered the knights to follow him… did he pretend to join in the conflict?

She noticed her boys walking towards the door and she moved fast enough to block the door with her small body, she wouldn’t allow them to join either, it was way too dangerous.

“Stay put Julius!” The Queen called out to her son with a stern expression, Julius and his friends looked rebellious for just a second before they returned to their previous spot.

Marie looked at the Queen and smiled in gratitude, and was surprised when she got another one in response.

Again the Royal suite was shaken, this time by the shouts of outrage of the public in the arena, an airship had taken off, and despite not having any insignia identifying it as such, no one doubted the traitors were inside that ship!

A group of knights entered the suit they occupied and whispered something to the rulers of the kingdom.

They were not pleased by the news, the Queen was furiously giving orders low enough to not be overheard.

That confirmed everyone’s suspicions, the Count had fled.

She walked closer to them and the boys followed her, falling silent as they noticed where she was going.

Only recently Mylene had warmed up to her a little, the fact that she was a potential Saint starting to sink in on her.

She timed her arrival well, the knights just left to obey the Queen’s orders when she was in speaking range, but she got closer, so what she had to say wouldn’t be overheard either, if they wanted to keep the pretense that this was still a salvageable situation she would go along with it.

“Has Count Offrey fled already?” she asked with sarcasm, The Queen probably couldn’t help but to smirk at the situation.

“Unfortunately yes” the Queen answered sourly.

“Is that so? Will he try to escape the kingdom or will he return to his territory and try to secede?” she asked, both were bad ideas in her opinion, even if he tries hiding the Royal Family will eventually find him, if he tries to dig in on his territory he will be overwhelmed.

Fleeing the country was probably his best option.

“I’ve been told that the Duke’s ships are already preparing to sail towards his territory” the Queen told her with a faint smile, so it was neither, they would not be able to escape even if they tried. 

Offrey House didn’t stand a chance against the full might of the Redgrave fleet, but the Duke doesn’t have his full fleet here, if she wasn’t wrong the House redgrave has two or three ships not counting those of House Bartfort.

If they don’t catch up to the Offreys before they get to their territory they would be in serious trouble.

“Mother, we should join them!” Julius said with enthusiasm, he and the rest got really excited when the chance to fight presented itself, but this is the Duke they are talking about, the man hates Julius.

“That’s not a good Idea Julius” She told him with a light glare.

“What?! Why?!” The prince seemed conflicted, on one hand was his desire to please her and stand up among her lovers and on the other was the desire that all young men have to prove themselves.

“This is the House Redgrave we are talking about!” She hissed “Have you forgotten they hate us?” she asked rhetorically.

“Well said Marie” she was surprised to hear the Queen praise her, that had never happened before, Mylene only tolerated her because of the possibility she could be the Saintess “There is no need to fan the flames as it is, and don’t some of you have to compete in the Tourney? Let the Redgrave deal with the rabble.”

She smiled and curtsied to the Royals before going back to her seat, she may have triggered an optional boss but she may have also gained the backing of the Queen as well.

0x0

Angelica was tense, they were going after the Offreys.

Her father had recklessly ordered them to chase the scheming nobles that had defamed her family.

Luxion had discovered the identity of the Masked Knight and they formed a plan to expose House Offrey as the pirates swine they are. The plan involved Leon killing his opponent, something he hated doing…

She was worried all through the match, and relieved when it ended and Leon prevailed, he was still a little pale, it was a worrying and reassuring fact at the same time that her husband has yet to get used to killing.

The duel let her father know that her husband had kept his part of the deal and kept training, and judging by the smile on his face when Leon killed the pirate despite his inferior armor he was more than pleased. 

Leon’s first reaction to killing his enemy wasn’t as severe as that time when they were attacked by pirates the first time, it was manageable now, but they have left consequences… 

Sometimes Leon would wake up in the middle of the knight, the dead haunting him in his sleep.

Miss Joan told them it was normal for some knights to have nightmares years after a kill, but they’ll be less and less frequent with time.

Their ship was ready to start the chase, this was not Partner , this was a completely new ship created by Luxion and Cleare, this was Einhorn a two hundred meter long class with an elegant design and a horn that could actually split another ship in two, and leaving aside how scary it was that the familiars could create a ship like this and with specs that put any other ship but Partner to shame.

They were just standing idle while the rest of the fleet was hastily getting ready to take off.

Leon had taken refuge in holding Gilbert and carrying him around their cabin, and singing to him.

Livia had fallen asleep in her bed but the songs were soft enough to not wake her up. Her sister wife was a little upset they wouldn’t be having sex tonight but refrained from making any comment due to the circumstances.

Angelica was aware of what was about to happen in their tent before they were interrupted, it was the fantasy of every male, she was sure about it, but she found herself surprised about how much she was enjoying it herself… Maybe she was upset about being interrupted as well, but it took one look at her husband to know he was no longer in the mood for it.

Anyway… Her father had asked Leon to have her, Olivia and Gil on his ship for their protection

This was the calm before a coming storm. House Offrey was finished, the question was how many of their own they would lose in this conflict?

Her father did not come prepared for an all out war with another House. 

And this isn’t even the war they have been preparing for!

0x0

Stephanie was having a nightmare, there was not two ways about it!

First two of her new slaves were killed by that bartfort scum, then her father’s secret fighter was defeated and exposed, they fled the Marquis territory in a filthy pirate ship that her dad had prepared since the day they had arrived to the Tourney.

Now after days of the most uncomfortable travel she ever had and after they loaded their ships with most of their family’s fortune and themselves on their fleet of twenty ships was when the Duke arrived and they had to fight!

They had over a dozen extra ships and more armor, it was an easy victory.

But then why the hell were they losing so badly!!

The Duke had sunk half of their fleet already and their armors were completely outmatched by the Duke’s knights… 

That damned black armor knocked their knights as if they were mere flies!

Her older brother was looking at her with reproachful eyes, as if blaming her for this! 

How was she supposed to know that that damn Baron was that strong, or that their champions were pirates!

No one had told her anything about it!

And how was she supposed to know that the Duke would help Angelica! 

She was supposed to be expelled from House Redgrave!

“Why!” her father asked using the outside speakers, “Why don’t you ask for surrender Vince!?” she felt her blood turn to ice in her veins, she looked at her House’s fleet, and they had only seven ships remaining! “WE HAVE LOST, WE SURRENDER!!” 

“What are you doing Papa?!” she asked in terror, they couldn’t surrender, the Duke’s fleet only had… she looked around and another one of their ships was just rammed by a black ship with a horn.

One, Two, Three, Four, Five, Six, Seven!

How come the Duke hasn’t lost a single ship yet?! The range of that horned airship was just unfair!

“Do you think we came here to arrest you Offrey!?” The Duke’s voice had a cold rage to it that made her take a step back even if he was in another ship she could still feel the man’s rage. She knew this was her fault, there was no need to antagonize Angelica, but there was nothing stopping her either, or that was what she thought!

“We can settle this Vince! Spare us and we will fight on your behalf when you go for the crown!” her father was trying to save them, but she couldn’t believe her own ears, the Duke was planning a coup?

“You fucking hypocrite!?” she yelled hard enough that the speakers amplified her voice so their enemies could hear her.

“Do not misunderstand this, girl , we are not destroying you because of the kingdom, this is entirely because you attacked my daughter and my grandchild” the calm response of the man was enough to silence her.

All eyes on the ship’s deck focused on her, she did this?

Did she open Pandora’s Box by targeting Angelica’s family?

Another two ships fell to the onslaught of the Duke’s fleet, and the two Bartfort Ships, demonic things that they are, kept circling their remaining ships from opposing sides and they had claimed their lion’s share of the killing already.

They and their cargo ships were now defenseless.

“I thought you abandoned her” she said this time in the mic directly, she had to do something to calm the irate, powerful man.

“I NEVER ABANDONED ANGIE, JUST DISCIPLINED HER AS A FATHER SHOULD. LIKE YOUR FATHER SHOULD HAVE DONE TO YOU!” This time the Duke’s voice held nothing but rage.

“AND EVEN IF HE DID, SHE STILL HAS US!!!” a second Irate man, probably the Bartfort Head’s voice boomed all across their territory. Their last escort was shot down at that moment.

Yes, she awakened the sleeping giant and probably stepped onto the lion’s tail as well, but in her defense, how was she supposed to know, Baron’s aren’t supposed to have this much power! “I’m… I’m sorry, please let us go!” she tried apologizing.

The armors that had been staying at a distance after defeating their knights started closing on them from angles away from their cannon’s reach. Thunderous strikes disabled the last of their defenses.

“I’LL GIVE HER TO YOU VINCE, JUST SPARE THE REST OF US!” her father cried with panic, her brother had come from behind her and restrained her in a way it could be confused with a hug, but the strength was strangling instead of comforting. She started crying, begging her papa not to hand her over, her mother had then come closer and slapped her, that had crushed the last of her hopes. 

In their stead, a malicious wish had been born, she wished the Duke would not just take her and leave them be, she now wanted to bring them down with her, to have them be thrown into the same hell that awaited her!

“Not one drop of noble blood in the lot of you!” The disgusted voice of the Duke put a smile on her face again and made the rest of her family pale. “Loot the ship, and throw them to the skies!”

Then a red armor hacked its way inside the deck, the pilot unceremoniously picked and threw her father and mother out of the ship into the empty sky, using both hands carefully, as if to not crush her brother and her to death they were then thrown out of the ships themselves.

For some reason her brother never let go of her.

She knew it was not out of love, he was ready to hand her over to their enemies not five minutes ago… it doesn’t matter now, for all intents and purposes they were just waiting for their deaths.

Chapter Text

CHAPTER XXII.

Roland was washing himself from last night's activities.

With Mylene busy arranging the fleet to finish what remains of House Offrey and maybe even the Redgraves he finally had the time to go out to the campament and find himself a fresh, virgin lover.

This time he chose a brunette, seventeen or eighteen years old, her face had such a soft, delicate features he would have never suspected she was a commoner if not for her apparel, her bust was nothing to write home about but her wasp waist and round butt drove him crazy!

It didn’t take long to take her to his bed, even without telling her he was in actuality the man the masses adored, the King of the whole… kingdom, the most powerful knight in the realm, the Masked Knight! 

Inhaling sharply he took a towel and scrubbed himself vigorously.

He was still dirty.

No matter how many times he bathed, or what he bathed himself with he couldn’t wash the humiliation that brat put him through!

That plain looking bastard managed to defeat that thrice damned pirate with an elite armor using just the standard armor House Redgrave uses for their knights!

It would have been forgivable if he only used that supposed Lost Item he has for a knight armor, that way they could have credited the power of his artifact and then he would get his hands on it, probably from his death, cold hands after they deal with the House Redgrave.

And after the duke falls, Fanoss would follow, thinking the kingdom to be soft from its civil war!

Yes, those dogs would surely think it would be easy to deal with the kingdom…

They would even deploy that old man that still thinks he is the best knight of the continent  and he would have a chance to put him down, permanently!

Despite everything he could kiss his son like when he was an infant child again!

His stupidity has given him so many chances to shine!

But first, he needed to put that upstart in his place!

No one soils the name of the Masked Knight!

No one!

That pirate was lucky he was dead, otherwise he would have to face the real Masked Knight!

And in his absence the brat that disrespected the name will have to carry all the weight of his fury!

Soon he will have the satisfaction of putting the Redgraves in their places too, so all said it would be a nice day.

He had the perfect outfit for the occasion as well, it was a classy sky-blue robe with… damn!

His new lover just stirred on his bed!

That girl's ass was made to be pounded and her hips would make childbirth easy!

He has time for a quick one!

0x0x0x0

Mylene was tired, after the Offrey’s exposure she had to cut all ties with them while maintaining her new alliance with the Framptom faction.

Something the Roseblades took issue with. That impertinent gnat Dorothea kept asking questions about how the Crown never suspected a thing when the pirate activities were on the rise in the Offrey’s territory!

The Offrey’s rank offered Mylene the perfect out and she even reminded the Roseblade daughter that Roland even offered the traitors help with the problem, which was rejected.

In all fairness the statistics were never high enough to grant the Crown’s intervention. and when she finished saying her piece, Dorothea, was politely waiting for her to finish, dropped the bomb that had a few of the rural nobles to cheer on her.

“I guess the Crown simply doesn’t have the tools to banish the pirate plague”

The obvious reference to the knight known as Pirate Bane and his affiliation with House Redgrave were a slap in her face, but due to the current circumstances there was nothing she could do but to promise swiffer action from now on.

Framptom’s vassals all cheered on her, it was empty and they were an awful crowd, barely convincing enough to get a few of the still neutral Lords to her side, for now at least.

She recruited every last warship  the Marquis had and even all of the available in the campament to support the Redgrave’s siege and they were finally ready to leave.

Her son and his entourage were eager to join the battle after the Tourney ended.

The tournament was a failure marred by Offrey's betrayal and no one was even talking about how Chris won the whole thing.

The prospect of a real battle had drained all the interest in the tournament and even if the final fight between Chris and Greg was truly spectacular no one cared.

Not even herself, it was obvious that Greg was going to be defeated, the fact that he put up such a good fight even in the face of superior armor was inspiring but it just looked like the young man shooting himself in the foot because he can afford better armor.

They were finally in route to the Offrey’s territory and they will join the fray like a war hammer, the authority of the Royal House will be restored!

For once Roland’s tendency for the dramatics would be a good thing, so much that she was willing to once again ignore him gallivanting with that peasant!

0x0x0

There were no signs of battle, her scouts say that there is no one fighting over or near the Offrey’s main Island.

Mylene ordered some of the ships to patrol the area and look for pirates but it is likely that they have fled with the Offreys.

In the town no one knows what has transpired or what happened to their former lords, they just know that the whole fleet took off five days ago.

The Offrey’s palace is intact and empty of its treasures, those traitors took everything they could and escaped.

Soon her scouts return with news.

Not far from here there was a battle, in the depths of a lake they found the Offrey’s fleet sans their cargo ships.

That wasn’t bad per say, however… 

No Redgrave ship was at the bottom of the lake!

‘What the hell happened here?’

0x0x0x0

PIRATE PARADISE: CLOSED.

By Alan Fia Spencer.

Probably my dear readers are wondering why we are not writing about the rather dull end of the much anticipated National Tourney promoted by Marquis Framptom and about our rather bold headline.

Tensions were high even before the start of the tournament, with many nobles of opposing factions it was to be expected.

What was not expected was the attack on Baron Leon Fou Bartfort’s tent by the daughter of House Offrey Stephanie, that endangered not only his firstborn and heir but also his wife.

After successfully defending his family the Baron, better known as Pirate Bane was arrested and forced to defend himself from the false claims from Offrey House in front of the Royal house.

The Crown decided to go for the Trial by combat approach.

The aftermath of the good baron victory was the exposure of the Offreys as traitors. My dear readers must be wondering: How?

The knight the Offrey’s chose as their champion was none other than Calico Jack, captain of the feared Sky Vipers, the scoundrel had the audacity of posing as the Masked Knight too!

His identity was revealed after the duel in which he perished at the hands of Lord Leon.

This event forced House Offrey to flee the tourney with the help of a pirate ship and no small use of force.

However they only postponed the inevitable.

Duke Redgrave gave chase and defeated them shortly after.

I’m sure that without their patrons the pirates that used Offrey's territory as their hideout will soon be eliminated.

As it is, the Pirate Paradise is Closed.

Alan finished reading it from the pamphlet he was forced to use instead of the gazette, he doesn’t blame his boss for not publishing it, he would have done the same.

But for the kind of Dia the duke’s heir was paying him he was ready to take his leave from the capital after this.

He has already packed all of his worldly possessions and his family is  ready to move on from the capital to Bartfort's territory where he would be able to better record the oncoming wars from a closer position to its main hero.

Soon the story he wrote will be in the hands of every citizen of the capital when they drop the ten of thousands of pamphlets from an airship Lord Gilbert provided.

"You love to cause chaos too much, Alan!" his wife reprimands him when she sees him smiling at the paper in his hands.

He could not himself and he kissed her, grabbing a handful of her round ass that is almost covered by her long green hair, Cecile is the black sheep of one of the less prestigious branches of the Marmoria House, but he loves her nonetheless, she even encouraged to name her dear cousin that one time he got dirt on him.

“Milord, we are ready to leave… HMPH!” his concubine says upset to have witnessed him expressing his love for his lawful wife.

Cecile deepens the kiss to rile her up.

To be honest, he was the one true winner of their little rivalry.

Once Cecile is done kissing him he is grabbed by Karen Fia Stadfelt, eleventh daughter of a rather successful court noble; she was a red-headed beauty with a fiery, competitive personality that had no choice but to become his concubine because her father cared not for any of his offspring after the fourth in line to inherit his title.

“Ewwww” two voices interrupt them.

They are his daughters, Nunally and Milly, at fourteen and thirteen years old they are at that age where they do not want to see their parents showing their love for each other.

Moving them away from the capital before the incoming wars can birch it, is probably one of the better reasons to leave.

He is either saving or damning his family by moving to the Bartforts, but after witnessing how they massacred the Offreys with little effort he feels like he is making the right call.

0X0X0

The academy was a less intimidating place than she had been expecting…

Sure there were a lot more people than she used to have around, but that wasn’t so bad, there were a lot more people at the Tourney.

“Lady Finley, let me carry this bag please” a boy’s voice turned her attention back to her entourage … She is the second daughter of a rural Baron, but the current situation of the kingdom has somehow made her the most important person from the Redgrave faction to enter the academy this year, and thus, she was given followers.

She, who two years ago was planning how to make an impact to secure her future starting from zero just like Jenna did, was now entering the academy in the center of a group six strong… it still wasn’t much but it was definitely a better starting point than she ever dreamed before she met Big Sis Angelica.

Her older brother’s wife made an impact in her family, she took out the trash and gave her siblings and her their proper place!

And perhaps more importantly, she made an impact on the kingdom at large…

Even through the isolation her followers provided she could still feel the eyes of some of the other students and hear some of what they had to say, her followers were intentionally silent to allow it, it wasn’t easy but she could hear phrases like Pirate’s Bane’s sister , the Duke’s faction… something and Offreys are gone because of them , 

She was there in her father’s ship when they battled the Offrey forces… she was scared but her anger easily trumped her fear, she saw every enemy ship but the one that transported the Count and his family was shot down, then she saw the Offreys themselves being thrown to the skies.

Her followers too, they saw the might of House Bartfort from the deck of their family’s airships, they saw the destruction of a house far stronger than theirs being annihilated by House Bartfort, sure, they lent their knights and cover fire, but none of them alone or together could match the destruction brought forth by her family.

Even if they were sons and daughters of Viscounts, they knew who would prevail if they fought her family.

Big sis Angelica was in a similar position to her two years ago, but she was abandoned by her followers when it mattered the most. So she told her: Don’t rely on them when things are going bad, look for Daniel, if he can’t help you, call for us and we will take you out.

She admired Angelica, there was no denying it, she has become her role model and she listened intently whenever she had something to say.

Right now, Finley herself was Redgrave faction’s biggest weakness, after being told the reason for the academy’s creation she would have preferred to stay at her father’s territory… or even better, at her brother’s.

She was now a hostage of the royal palace… the same people that sent pirates to attack her family.

Surrounded by enemies she tried to project the same dignified aura of authority Big Sis Angelica had, if she succeeded in projecting even a fraction of it, she was sure many of the other first years would be intimidated.

“Look, look, it's Prince Jake!”

She didn’t turn around to see, that was her enemy, she knew how the prince and his foster brother Oscar Fia Hogan looked, as well as the Crown Prince and his entourage, lover included.

She hated them, almost as much as she hated Zola.

Especially the green one!

Soon she was at the reception of the girls' dorms with her female followers, and the women who manned it limited themselves to giving her the key to her and her followers unlike the noble behind her, some Count’s daughter, they took her baggage and escorted her to her room.

Her own room was probably smaller than that of her followers, but that didn’t matter, one's status in the academy doesn’t reflect their real world standing.

“The academy is a petty little world full of lies!”

“This room is too small” it wasn’t her complaining, but her brother’s familiar, Cleare. She just nodded.

“This is not my room” she told the familiar “This is my cell” Cleare was her first and last line of defense, she must keep her existence a secret at all cost, all other measures are there for appearances sake, in the end she would trust Cleare’s avatar.

After leaving her bags in her room she reunites with all of her followers and go straight for a garden in the west of the academy, she was supposed to meet with Big brother Daniel there, her older true sister fiancee was supposed to be waiting there for her.

Daniel didn’t have much power inside the academy, but thanks to Jenna, he had some.

After some campaigning Big brother Daniel had become the leader of the Poor Barons group, the name was lame, as were their objectives, but they could protect her better than her followers.

A third year student was standing in the entrance of the garden, and when he saw her he asked: “Are you Daniel's sister-in-law?” she smiled and curtsied, this was a better start than she expected, perhaps this group wasn’t as pathetic as she thought!

Soon she was in a sheltered area where some third year students, both male and female, were waiting for them, although the girls didn’t look like they wanted to be there. One was reading a book, another was drawing in a notebook and another was just napping on a bench…

The pleasantries were met and for some reason all the girls directed a look of terror towards her when they heard her House’s name, she had the feeling that it didn’t have anything to do with the extermination of the Offrey House.

They soon started talking, Daniel had some advice and even had some maps of the academy drawn and one had marked the zones she had to avoid, another had the best escape routes he knew of and the last one had the best places to eat.

There wasn’t much interaction between students of different years within the academy, except from first year girls being invited to tea parties by older students so she would be invited regularly, they have the perfect facade.

The first year students inducted to the group would be her main protectors in the eye of the public but to achieve that they wanted something from her.

It wasn’t anything she wasn’t expecting, Jenna had told her that to gain the favor of the group and make Big brother Daniel it’s leader she introduced the most prominent members to the weird girls of the academy, the ones that paid more attention to their hobbies than to their status.

Her part of the bargain would be to look for these girls and introduce them to the first year Barons, this apparently would make them kiss the ground she walked on, literally according to her sister.

Just when they finished their business a second year student warned them Princess Erica was coming directly to them… and she was a couple of steps away!

0x0x0x0

Erica Rapha Holtfort has enjoyed comfortable lives.

Yes, plural.

You see, this is actually the second time she has is alive, or probably, the second time she remembers being alive.

The first time she lived a good life, she lost her mother at a young age, her mother was killed in a bout of domestic violence. She was already living with her grandparents by the time this happened.

She doesn’t have any clear memory of her mother, she could remember eating with her in a restaurant with her on weekends, she was always tired and it led her to worry for her.

The few times her grandparents allowed her to stay at her mother’s place she remembered her complaining about her older brother, and his death, it was something she blamed herself, her grandparents as well, but as she grew up and matured she realized that her uncle should have taken better care of himself.

As a teenager she felt the need to learn more about her mother, and that led her to play a certain otome game, not the one her uncle played to death, but the second sequel, the third game in the series.

She liked it well enough to remember it all her life, and even the next.

Imagine her surprise when she was reincarnated in the game’s world as the villainess of the story!

She was the first Princess of Holfort Kingdom, but her personality, that of a woman in her sixties didn’t match the one from the game at all.

But she could use her knowledge of the game’s script to her advantage, not too much though, she only influenced her fiance, she encouraged him to make himself better and she was satisfied with the results.

Another thing was to keep distance with Angelica, she knew she would not become Queen years before her older brother abandoned her.

But not everything played out as in the games events.

Like the woman occupying the place of the protagonist going for the reverse Harem route and capturing all the boys.

Or the old protagonist simply banished after the first semester of her first year.

Or the fact that Angelica remained relevant for the kingdom’s politics due to her husband being an extraordinary knight, known all around the kingdom as Pirate’s Bane , the most relevant adventurer of the century and a man who pledged fealty to  House Redgrave.

Vince Redgrave is a massive threat to the kingdom, he retreated from the capital after the incident that destroyed House Offrey and only his son and Heir remained in the capital being a thorn in her family’s side.

And there is war on the horizon, from what she has heard in the palace they have been receiving messages from the Principality of Fanos asking about House Offrey’s fate.

Of all the excuses they could use to start a war they decided to use the annihilation of a corrupt House to attack them, it was asinine and infuriating.

Her older brother, the Crown Prince, paid the situation no mind and only wanted to spend his time with his lover ever since she was declared the Saintess. 

She could understand his desire to live his life as his own person and not just his title, that was how she lived her first life after all, but the consequences of his decision will soon be felt by everyone in the kingdom, when they win the war, there will still be lives lost.

Her half -brother Jake was ignoring the war situation as well and focusing on a way to displace Julius and became the next king.

She confirmed the presence of the protagonist of the third game as well, the exchange student from the Empire of Voldenova, this world’s super power.

Milialice Lux Erzeberg as described in the game was cheerful and energetic but she did not come alone, she had with her a personal knight, a bodyguard, the young man was tall, with tanned skin and silver hair.

According to the game, the villainess would make her life difficult and put her through various troubles with the help of her fiance… but she was reincarnated, or perhaps it was more accurate to say she possessed the villainess and she had no intention to make life difficult to her, hopefully her knight would be able to keep her safe and help her advance with the plot, without her making things difficult it shouldn’t be difficult for her to attain a good ending.

Erica would marry Elijah and live her life as the Marquise Fraser and guard the border with the support of her siblings.

Earlier today she decided to take a walk around the academy to get to know the place with her followers.

Eventually they arrived at a garden in the west wing of the academy, and there they found a student’s  blockade, nothing that could really stop her and her group. The most the students guarding the place could do was run ahead to warn the people that organized this.

When they arrived at the place, she could see two groups, one of third year students, and the other group was made of first years, they looked innocent enough, as if the older students were giving advice to the younger ones, that is until one of her followers whispered to her the identities of the heads of the groups:

Daniel Fou Durland and Finley Fou Bartfort.

Vassals of House Redgrave, rebels, in a secret meeting.

They greeted her politely, no doubt they are just keeping appearances, she did the same but not inquired any further, according to her sources, Bartfort’s older sister will be marrying Durland as soon as he finishes the academy so they have an alibi to meet.

She doubted either of them could do something to endanger her or her siblings, but they are both valuable as hostages, and at this rate it’s just a matter of time her mother gives the order to detain them.

For now she would keep an eye on them.

0x0x0

Angelica sat in a chair near their tea party room listening with concern.

“No, you can’t go, Luxion, we need you here!”

“Master, Lady Angelica can manage your territory and your people just fine, and Cleare can take care of my duties easily enough. It is not the time for you to behave like Gil’s younger brother!”

“There is nothing out there that we can't beat, there is no need to go hunting for something that probably doesn’t even exist anymore!”

“Are they still fighting?” Livia asked her, arriving at the same hall, probably to check on them as well.

Angelica could only nod, Leon and Luxion have been having this same argument for the last week, after they returned from the battle with the Offreys.

Luxion wanted to leave the kingdom to look for one of its enemies, or more specifically, to make sure said enemy is really gone.

She knew her husband’s familiar liked to wander around the kingdom, he was quite the accomplished spy and scout after all.

Angelica at first thought it was because he was looking for more treasure and said nothing, then when he found Cleare she thought that finding her was his objective all along, but recently she learned that he was looking for an ancient, evil weapon he wanted to destroy.

“War is coming, we need you here!”

“You can deal with those low level scrubs on your own easily Master, let me deal with the real threat!

“It must have been a terrible opponent to scare Luxy like that” Livia commented after a while.

Angelica nodded, she didn’t want the familiar far from them when the war was about to start.

“What if something happens or if a Core appears huh?!”

“Master and Cleare can deal with it, but It is a different matter, I don’t want to risk Master’s family if that thing is still out there”

Livia and her shared a look and they both smiled softly, Luxion can be a worry wart but he always has their well being as his highest priority.

Chapter Text

CHAPTER XXIII.

Mylene was still wondering what happened at the Offrey's territory, there were no survivors other than the Redgraves, and she obviously couldn't trust anything they say!

What her scouts found at the site of the battle told her it was a completely one sided massacre!

No ship belonging to Vince or the few vassals that followed him could be found among the remains.

The Offreys bodies were not found, but she has little doubt about their fate.

After seeing with her own eyes how the Duke lowered his guard to dote on his grandchild she was certain that the ones who dared to endanger the infant were dead or at the tender mercies of the Redgraves torturer.

And she couldn't care less about them, but the fact that she couldn't find evidence of Vince having a fleet in reserve was maddening!

The patrols she set up for their trip to the Marquis territory should have easily detected a fleet the size needed to defeat the Offreys with such ease.

And that wasn´t the only anomaly in the National Tourney either.

She was raised to become Holfort's Queen from a very early age and in consequence she was taught about the kingdom's values and customs, Mylene knew about the obsession the nobility had with adventurers, honor and strength.

She was raised to be Roland's ideal Queen, she was taught about the interests her husband had from a very early age, such as Knight Armor Combat.

Even if she wasn't interested herself she developed an eye for strong knights.

She knows that Roland himself is among the strongest knights of the kingdom, and after meeting Vandel Him Zenden just once she knew that her husband, for all his bravado, could only hope to survive long enough for reinforcements to save him.

Oh, and she knows he is the Masked Knight too, she never felt the need to unmask him, it was the less harmful of his activities, so she'd rather have him pretending to be a hero than having him start trouble in the court.

The Pirate that the Offreys tried to pass as a knight was formidable and he had an armor that should have decimated a Redgrave standard Armor.

Yet, the pirate still lost to Bartfort without causing any significant damage.

The Baron was so much, much more than what most of her reports indicated…

Only the spy she had in the Baron's floating island hinted at the potential he showed in that fight.

Alexander Fia Sterling AKA: Alistair, her spymaster in his reports described the Baron as a competent knight that relied on the power of his Losts Items to defeat his enemies. Alistair believed that twelve ships would be enough to overwhelm him, a costly endeavor, but manageable.

Aaron's reports, however, painted the Baron as a prodigy and a dangerous individual.

Before she witnessed the Baron's prowess she believed the novice spy was trying to increase his standing by exaggerating how dangerous Bartfort was, but now she finds herself walking towards Alexander's office to demand answers.

She enters the office without knocking first and finds the man looking at his ceiling, a half empty bottle of vodka and a few letters occupying his desk…

She ruthlessly suppressed her emotions, the answers she very much wanted were on that desk, she was sure or that, but she was also sure those were bad news.

0x0x0

After various precautions were taken Luxion was able to move his true body around the planet and maintain contact with his master and his family.

Various satellites were placed around the globe for that purpose, it still wasn't an ideal solution since the mana in the atmosphere still presented a heavy interference and could fail at inopportune moments but it was better than leaving the future of the old humanity on his own.

Finding Cleare was fortunate, she was as loyal to old humanity as he was, even if her priorities were somewhat askew she would never endanger Gilbert or Master's mates and she could take care of most dangerous situations.

After the birth of his master's first son Luxion performed an analysis of Gilbert and determined that he does carry the genes of old humanity within him.

That confirmed his commitment to Leon and his family, and after some heated arguments he managed to convince his master that letting him take care of the threats that remained after the war between old and new humanity.

He intended to take care of them, no matter their origin, be it an armor core or an abandoned spaceship, or even a rogue AI.

Of course, his main purpose was destroying humanity's ultimate weapon… Arcadia, he must destroy that hateful weapon no matter what!

Luxion knew Arcadia would most likely be inactive, so he started his search with haste.

His destination?

The Holy Empire of Voldenova.

According to Angelica, it is the most powerful nation in the world, and perhaps Arcadia is the reason why they are considered the strongest.

0x0

After the destruction of House Offrey things have become quite hectic.

The news of the battle spread fast and every noble within the kingdom knew House Redgrave achieved a perfect victory, many thought her father had ships in reserve, it was no secret that either the Crown or her father were likely to attack each other and having reinforcements ready was only sensible for her Father.

As stated before it was no secret that House Redgrave has made the royalty their adversaries, or to be precise that House Holtfort made the Redgrave their adversaries.

War was on the horizon and nobles have started to prepare for it, some have moved to offer their support to the Crown, others… rural nobles to be more specific have started to cut ties with their representatives in the capital, some have gone so far to force their wives and offsprings to go back to their territory and then sold their estates following the steps of her father in law. Some of her neighbors have come to their territory asking for an audience with her father

They've declared Marie as the Saintess, probably to gain back some of the support they lost when they failed to cover up Julius' infidelity, probably trying to preserve the rapidly changing status quo.

Angelica knew of House Holtfort's plan to centralize power for themselves and their allies; it was not something she deduced on her own, but something she learned from her father and brother.

She was fine with it, there were many nobles undeserving of their title and replacing them with worthy commoners sounded like a great idea.

However, both Bartfort and Redgrave were on the list of Houses to be replaced ever since she defied Julius and married Leon,

Her perspective changed, from where she was standing now, the ones that needed to be replaced were the Holtforts!

And as the kingdom was dividing in preparation for an inevitable civil war the Fanoss Principality has started to move to Avenge an esteemed neighbor.

The Crown has predictably condemned both sides of her family, verbally at least, saying the measures were too extreme, or they deserved a fair trial.

War is imminent and she was sure that her family will be in the frontlines, and it was probable that this was a scheme from Mylene to cripple or destroy them.

Luxion has left to take care of more dangerous threats and Cleare remained behind to assist them, they had assured them that she was just as capable as her sibling but she had got used to dealing with Luxion and well…

Cleare acted too childish at times it was not as easy to put her trust on her when Luxion always acted professionally when he was not having a spat with Leon that is… maybe she was biased and wanted Cleare watching after Baby Gil all the time, she felt better that way.

The situation in the territory was improving despite the Crown's attitude towards them, Nics and Cordelia's wedding date was decided for next month… and it was rather sudden.

One day they had all the time in the world and the next they announced they were ready to tie the knot.

And as soon as they announced it to their people they all automatically directed their eyes to Cordelia's belly.

Everybody started to make premarital sex jokes on the spot.

After making it clear that they should be discreet around outsiders they dispersed to celebrate with unmarked, clear bottles.

Booze finds a way!

Jenna, who graduated from the academy, has come to their territory to learn how to manage things and be useful for her new family.

She has confided in her that her time in the academy turned to hell sometime after her wedding with Leon and that she came to appreciate the value of her family.

She was happy with this development and the extra help that came with her, even if her sister-in-law didn't appreciate having to wear a maid uniform while she was working for her.

She will get used to it, she did the same for three years when she learned under Mylene.

She has less than a year to teach Jenna how to help to manage the Durland's territory before her wedding with Daniel so she has to be strict sometimes.

Her sister-in-law is a bit of a slacker and she makes the funniest noises and faces whenever she scolds her, it's almost as if she was afraid of her… no that couldn't be it, after their first meeting she has been nothing but cordial to her!

Looking outside the window of her office she could see her people milling around as the sun started to hide behind the horizon, and the street lamps started to take over the sun's job, her husband's land has become a vibrant place much faster than she ever imagined, their population was now a thousand, they'll have to build a second settlement soon if things kept going this way.

When she first visited her father-in-law's territory she thought it would be something to aspire to achieve in ten years at least, but with Leon's reputation as pirate's bane was spreading fast even before the Tourney, and after the duel with Calico it was now spreading like fire.

Many commoners have come here to look for a stable life under House Bartfort, her father in law received an influx of immigrants as well, it seems not everyone knows about the baronies being distant to each other.

According to Lady Luce, some people just sighed when they found out they were in the wrong territory, others pretended they knew about it all along and a few even ended in fights with their families over the matter.

Of course, there was always someone saying "I told you" present every single time.

The sudden influx of people was not only because of Leon's reputation though.

War was on the horizon, people were choosing sides, some mercenaries had come looking for jobs as well…

"I DO!" Livia's voice was heard from the Tea Room, she couldn't help her smile, Leon finally proposed marriage to her friend, and she obviously accepted.

She could hear steps getting closer to her office, she had no doubt it was Livia coming to tell her the good news.

Olivia entered without knocking, hugged her and then walked towards her window, opened it and just shouted "My Lord Leon just proposed to me, and I said yes,i'll be his second wife!" she got the impression every person in the island had heard her loud and clear

People on the streets cheered congratulating her.

Later that night, they discovered that everyone in the island had listened to her, even those on the far side of it where they started a mining project after they discovered some magic conducting metal.

CHAPTER XXIV

Mylene was understandably worried.

Making an enemy of your greatest ally is always such a bad idea!

As the Queen she knew that, however, when Julius broke the engagement she allowed herself to be controlled by her motherly instincts that demanded no harm to fall on her child.

The Redgraves helped her so much when she took the reigns of the kingdom, always so capable and earnest… She should have known that they were doing it to gain her favor, but her spy network was set up by a man from her own homeland and with minimal help from the Local nobles.

However that minimal help was enough to leave a huge blind spot in her network.

What she believed to be a couple of ships defeated by Angelica's husband turned out to be a powerful fleet.

All of this was caused because the Redgraves managed to bribe, first, the messengers in charge of delivering the reports to the capital and then some of her more important agents.

Going blind into the situation would have been preferable to having the wrong idea, she has made various mistakes based on the wrong information!

After learning of this Marcus, Head of House Marmoria admitted his House hired mercenaries to attack the Baron twice, first the his son and then Marcus himself, after both failed Marcus contributed to Lord Bartfort bounty within the kingdom's underworld with ten million Dia.

Mylene was aware about the bounty system, it was in fact established by the crown after all.

And now Vince had used his son-in-law to casually erase an entire noble House that had considerable resources at its disposal.

Resources that were in Vince's hands right now!

She expected the conflict to be a prolonged siege that lasted weeks before it was decided, that would have given her time to mediate and while House Offrey was condemned to extinction no matter what, but she wanted to acquire those resources for the Crown.

She has already requested the Offrey funds from House Redgrave, even knowing it was a waste of time, meaningful as it was she knew that there was no way Vince would part with the Dia he acquired.

War was on the horizon and one of her most dangerous enemies had just acquired enough money to feed and equip his troops for years!

Her other enemies were using the destruction of the rogue House to gain sympathy from their neighbors, soon they will be attacking the kingdom as well.

There was little she could do about them though, and there is a more vulnerable target in Vince's ranks that can be harmed with just ink and paper.

Even though at the start of this whole debacle she had to discredit House Bartforts achievements in hunting and disposing of the Offreys for appearances sake, now she needed a hold on them.

And what better way to keep an opponent down than with Taxes!

She had to speak against House Bartfort because of their relationship to Vince's House, but there is no doubt that they have been doing well for themselves.

Perhaps one more achievement would earn them the rank of Viscount.

She was aware such action would be perceived as naive from her part, but that only made the results more appealing for her, it would expose those willing to oppose her and with some luck the Redgrave supporters would think she has bought the Pirate Bane, and plant the seed of distrust within the Duke's ranks.

If they attend their promotion ceremony she could even dispose of them… but that would ruin the righteous image she is trying to portray, not to mention that would guarantee no one would ever trust her family ever again.

Mylene needed to preserve the image of Holfort's Dynasty to make life a little bit easier for her descendants.

The Crown did have at their disposal some unsavory groups that could be used for the task, or more precisely, groups that must be disposed of and she will let the Pirate's Bane do her dirty work before war breaks out.

The image of a little girl with braided blonde hair in a maid's uniform popped in her mind, she was still attached to Angie, but as much as she would like to pretend Angie otherwise has lost all attachments to House Holfort, that's why she must be on guard all the time in matters concerning her.

She hoped to exile her by the end of the war, when her husband is dead she will probably marry her to a noble in her native country the United Kingdom of Repard where she would be well taken care of.

Framptom was trying to bait the Principality of Fanoss to declare only House Redgrave as their enemy and have both of their enemies fight each other, and after that the kingdom finished off the survivor.

Such an outcome would surely win him the Prime Minister Position he has been after since before she was the Queen, however the possibility of that plan succeeding was uncomfortably close to zero.

That's why she will keep working to undermine VInce and shave off his supporters.

0x0x0x0

Vince was furious.

Mylene finally noticed she has been fed misinformation, Gilbert had managed to bribe some of the messengers the Queen used to deliver news from her agents across the kingdom.

But that was nothing compared to what she had in store for House Bartfort, they were attacked by pirates, both branches!

And after their victories they were both promoted to Viscount.

He was sure that Mylene was behind both attacks, she probably needed an excuse to promote them, to burden them with heavy taxes to weaken them, or if they do not pay them he is sure a punitive force will be dispatched.

Right now his newest and most reliable vassals were called to the capital to bestow their new rank upon them by Roland himself… and he knew that the king was very much capable of beheading them if he thought that would make him look good.

The aftermath of such an act was dire, if he didn't retaliate immediately he would lose some vassals and his strength would diminish with them gone, and that would be the ideal moment for the Principality to attack, that would doom the kingdom he was trying to acquire!

Not going wasn't an option either, the Bartforts have become the symbol of his strength, and them being elevated will only reinforce his own strength.

Perhaps drawing a few more eyes to the event would be enough of a deterrent. Especially if it was done in a favorable light…

One of the Roseblade daughters resided in the capital and they are quite exuberant and attention catching.

Perhaps something could be arranged, after all Leon is the first noble to be promoted twice in his lifetime before the age of twenty, with a smirk on his face Vice wrote a letter to his beloved daughter.

0x0x0

In his office Vince could feel his left eye flinch.

For the first time in her life Angie disobeyed him on something.

She was rather clear when saying that she was done sharing her husband and that Livia was firmly on her side, the two of them would be the only women Leon has any kind of marital relationship, real or for the sake of politics.

He would try writing directly to Leon, but he knew Angie's hold over him was something that guaranteed he wouldn't comply.

Vince felt his chest swell with pride, His little girl had the most powerful knight in the continent in her pocket.

As he kept reading the letter he could only chuckle, Angie reminded him that Leon has two legitimate brothers, yes one was but a week away from marrying Cordelia.

And the youngest one will be joining the academy next year.

Maybe she could get Nicks to marry Dorothea Fou Roseblade?

That was a good joke if he had to say so himself!

As if that spoiled brat would accept being paired with a married rural noble!

His mood improved even further when Angie explained how they planned to make an impression when they showed up in the capital for their promotion ceremony.

Yes, that would do nicely!

Perhaps it was time to tighten his inner circle, the Atlee and Bartforts are already on good terms, and from what Angie has told him youngest Bartfort's boy is quite smitten with Bernard's daughter!

The poor girl just couldn't seem to get a good match after being abandoned by the Marmoria brat, it only got worse after that harlot was bestowed the title of Saintess.

He would surely like to match the Saintess' prowess against Livia's, she has seen what his son-in-law's second wife can do, and what he heard from Marie's was not even close to matching her.

Hopefully everything will blow up after the woman gives birth to her child.

Right now reinforcing his inner circle and hoarding supplies is the most he can do to prepare.

The final part of his daughter's letter contained one more compensation for her rebellion. He couldn't help his laughter.

Angelica is a Redgrave through and through.

When this is all over he will change her family's middle name from Fou to Rapha.

A/N: Special thanks to Scott the Wanderer for his criticism and insight, this chapters wouldn't have turned half as good without him.

Hey guys, hope you liked this couple of chapters because I''l be taking a week of vacation, so no Wednesday chapter this week, I have been rather stressed at work this last month and had to all but stop writing chapter forty.

I'll take this week to unwind a little and maybe even complete the fic.

Hope you all understand.

Thank you for reading.

Chapter Text

CHAPTER XXV.

They arrived like thieves in the night, they were here a full week earlier, not to sight see, they have an important business in mind, and she could hear her heart pounding in her chest as she helped check for their supplies alongside Livia, her sister-wife has just entered her fifth month of pregnancy and wouldn't be accompanying them.

Thieves in the night, it was an apt way to describe their plan, it would all be legal, of course, there is no need to bait the Crown to attack them… yet. After filling all the necessary paperwork plus a couple of extra documents to ensure their anonymity and their overall success.

They were ready!

Livia's instructor will be taking her place, Miss Joan was their only other Holy magic user and she didn't like the idea of letting Liva even think of going inside a dungeon in her current condition.

Even if it meant taking her pupils' place within the party. Besides, she has been on a warpath ever since Lafan was announced as the Saintess, and it suited them too, because they did not want Livia in a Dungeon Raid when she was in her second trimester.

Her brother-in-law, Nicks, has a heavy aura around him, among their party, he is the one with the most relevant experience this time, even if his knowledge will become obsolete midway, he still takes his responsibilities seriously. Unlike her and Livia who are keeping themselves busy he is just chatting with Cordelia, his new, pregnant, wife.

Angelica couldn't avoid a pang of guilt for Cordelia, this was her idea, her oldest friend just married to a good man that treasures her and she is taking away their time with him not even a week after their marriage!

There will be a big party in her their territory after they get promoted, and after that, they will leave for Barcus' land… just the two of them. Then Leon will officially marry Livia, and the party will continue.

They needed to succeed.

She acted impulsively and outright denied her father when he told her that Leon would be marrying again to guarantee the Roseblade and Atlee's cooperation.

His inner circle was strong, but there were no real ties between them other than wanting off the Holforts.

She immediately wrote a letter in reply saying that neither she nor Livia would allow a third much less fourth woman without even consulting with her partners, she just saw red for a few hours and then she came up with this idea to impress and intimidate the nobility in the capital.

It was only after she ordered Claire to deliver the letter she calmed down.

Too late, just like when she challenged Julius to that fateful duel…

Even if she technically lost, she considered herself to be the one that came out on top of that duel.

Besides, that duel allowed her to discover the hypocrisy and fickleness of the crown prince and her father had guided her towards the man of her life and in the same event she encountered her best friend too.

So gathering all her valor she told her partners in life about what happened and fortunately they agreed with her.

Leon forgave her saying he had wanted to raid the capital's dungeon at some point but Livia was kinda upset that she would have to miss the chance to explore the lowest levels of the place that they never got to see and she all but demanded to finish what they started back at the Marquis territory to forgive her… that woman was insatiable!

But she couldn't deny it was a… pleasurable experience.

Jenna was holding a sleeping baby Gil while singing a nana, she would have never imagined her sister-in-law to have such a good voice.

Leon was inspecting four of Luxion's spare bodies, now controlled by Cleare to help them carry their loot back.

An imposing carriage was coming towards them, Angelica didn't panic because she knew who was inside.

A young woman, perhaps a couple of years older than her got out and… introduced her party"House Roseblade is here hahahaha" someone said entirely too loud.

She was blonde, with blue eyes with a curly hair style that was the same as Merce's, carrying a fan she used to cover her mouth dressed in practical adventurers gear of high quality.

With her there are other people, the most notorious one being another woman that had to be related to her, a bit older with bigger assets than the boisterous younger woman with her hair in a simple ponytail.

Everyone turned towards her when baby Gil started crying in Jenna's arms, he greatly disliked being awakened, like his father, Bartfort men liked their sleep from what she learned from lady Luce, Cordelia and her own experience with Leon.

And baby Gilbert was a Bartfort, everyone knew he was Leon's child just by looking at them, the only thing he seemed to inherit from her were his red-wine eyes so characteristic of House Redgrave.

All that aside, Angelica was giving the newcomer her best glare as did everyone else.

She was about to reprimand the woman that was probably older than her for waking up her baby but Livia beat her to it, and she was somehow scarier than she could ever hope to be with that inexpressive face she did whenever she was mad enough.

That was the face that forced Miss Joan to stop trying to convince her to go to the church and be tested to be the Saintess and replace Marie Fou Lafan.

Olivia was right on the Roseblade woman and just a step behind her Jenna was doing her best to support her while trying to calm Gil.

"You just waked Baby Gil!" Olivia seethed, the shadows on her face contributed to make her look quite intimidating.

The Roseblade woman tried not to look away, to pretend to not be intimidated, but even her own retainers that had accompanied her could see that she was shaken by Livia's display, and Gil's cries did not help the eerie atmosphere "I'm sorry. B… but a baby shouldn't be here!" she said, looking away from Olivia.

"How Rude!" the second blonde woman spoke, probably offended by their reception. "And we are supposed to rely on these people for our House's success?"

Leon had moved to calm Olivia down but this time the one who reacted first, much to her surprise, was Nicks "Isn't it considered rude to judge people you just met too?!" he said a little too much force, and the woman took offense again.

The woman, probably the oldest noble present, wasn't intimidated though, she looked at her brother-in-law right in his eyes and told him "Do you have enough manners to know what is considered rude at all?"

"I see that your parents might have tried to teach manners to you, but since they have obviously failed, perhaps some manners would finally sink in if I spanked you!" ouch, maybe that was out of line, she would have to talk to Nicks to make him apologize even though she pretty much agreed with him.

To her chagrin, the Roseblade woman's face was reddening with anger that was directed at Nicks, she would have to let her yell at him for a while to let her cool down and then apologize on House Bartfort's behalf.

Of course what she didn't expect was the Redblade woman to run back and lock herself in her carriage… so she turned to the younger one to apologize, but she was shaking her head with an expression of pure disbelief on her face.

Then she noticed her staring and cleared her throat. "Apologies are not necessary, my sister has been reprimanded about her attitude by our father multiple times, besides, as it turns out I'm the one who has to offer apologies… You are Lord Nicks, correct? The Heir of the main branch of House Bartfort?"

Nicks only nodded in confirmation, he was who she thought he was.

"It appears that you have piqued my sister's interest" Angelica was sure that the jaws of every member of House Barfort fell open at that statement.

"But I'm married already!" Nicks protested.

Angelica turned to see what Cordelia's reaction would be, and her old friend had the calculating expression she expected her to have, she was the one who made sure she listened when her tutor told her that sometimes men just wanted more than one woman and that it was better, beneficial even to allow a second woman into his life.

Cordelia noticed her staring at her and just shrugged nonchalantly before speaking "You will have a few days to get to know her Dear, but remember, I'm your first wife!" of course she was there for those lessons, and the tutor also said to always ascertain her dominance over her man's other women…

Nicks looked skeptical, but nodded anyway, he was probably thinking that nothing will come out of this… she didn't blame him.

But if Nics somehow ended having the Roseblade woman as a second wife she would name her second child after him, gender be damned!

"Alright we wasted enough time everyone, it's time for us to go inside!" Leon prevented any further development concerning his older brother's love life by calling orders and getting the woman out of her carriage… they hadn't even introduced themselves but they knew their names: Dorothea and Deirdre Fou Roseblade.

With a last series of kisses on Gil who was now on Cordelia's arms she entered the Dungeon, her first great adventure was about to start!

0x0x0

Deirdre wanted to puke.

The earth was shaking and she was so excited, but she also wanted to puke!

These last few days have been hell!

The way they moved forward since the very beginning made her think these people had a few screws loose.

The first few floors were easy, they managed to avoid contact with the monsters inside the dungeon until the sixth floor and in the seventh floor the Bartfort brothers had laid a couple of traps and then ran ahead of them and when they got back they probably had every monster in the floor running behind them!

They used themselves as bait to lure the monsters to the traps.

They used similar tactics until they were on the 50th floor where they switched tactics and finally started needing help from everyone in their party.

The pace was still much too intense for her liking, but she couldn't deny that up to that point that was by far the most fun she had in her life!

When they were three days inside the dungeon they rested and allowed Miss Joan, their Holy magic user to treat their accumulated wounds and Dorothea took her chance to get closer to Lord Nicks.

It was disturbing to see her wild older sister to be so submissive to that man…

But she could understand why, the brothers are rare specimens among the male population of the kingdom.

Both, herself and Dorothea knew their father wanted them to get closer to Lord Nicks, after their alliance takes over the kingdom the Bartforts will raise to the very top of the hierarchy of the kingdom alongside the Roseblade and Atlee and they needed to have an alliance with them for the stability of the future kingdom.

It helped that Dorothea seemed genuinely interested in the man.

Deirdre would have liked to get to know Lord Leon, but Angelica made sure to always be between them, making sure she understood that her man was not part of the deal.

From what she knows the man already has a concubine he plans to take as a second official wife soon.

Angelica appeared to be quite possessive and probably was done sharing her man.

She could understand that, but how she wished that wasn't the case!

After their well deserved rest they resumed their descent into the dungeon.

Getting to Sheeptar chamber was one of the hardest things she has ever done, Helping to kill the sheep king was definitely the hardest thing she has done in her life!

The damn thing climbed walls and spited acid all over the place… not to mention its… tongue, well whatever it was that thing that came out of its mouth had more fangs!

It took hours but they finally managed to kill Sheeptar the Sheep King with a shot from Lord Leon's shotgun to the face.

Well, Deirdre thought that was the killing shot, but there was no way to be sure because they all started shooting at the thing to make sure it was finally dead!

Right now the brothers were harvesting its corpse of the beast and Dorothea was fawning over Lord Nicks. The man was reluctant, but he was showing some interest in her as well, that was good.

That meant that their other mission was also a success.

Angelica was beside her as to block any attempt she made to speak to her husband, it was a bit irritating but she could forgive her considering her past.

She turned around and looked at the exhausted Miss Joan lying close to one those strange things that have been following them since the start, they were apparently familiars collected in a previous dungeon expedition.

She couldn't avoid smiling at their loot.

More grease for their war machine!

0x0x0

Leila was frustrated, none of the other Great Nobles took her seriously when she tried to warn them about the Principality's weapons!

In their eyes there was nothing to fear from a small and distant third world country.

Somehow they thought even less from the principality than Holfort and the situation was worsened because she couldn't tell them how she knew about the giant monsters the princesses could summon.

Her reputation suffered immensely after trying to get the Great nobles to prepare for war.

People were talking behind her back and asking Noelle to take better care of her!

It was maddening!

Like in her previous life she was once again losing to her older sister.

So far she was only able to secure Emile's help. Of course everyone is saying he is only doing it to keep her happy, and some bitches were noticing him because he was such a good and caring man.

That never happened in the game, Emile was the game's easy mode, a route there to help newbies to not lose on their first gameplay!

She took some deep breaths to calm herself.

Right now she was in Emile's house arranging a meeting between the Raults, Barielle and Pleben.

She was desperate enough to even invite the Villain's house to defend her country, she didn't have much hope though.

Emile entered the room accompanied by Loic and Noelle, her sister was wearing a really nice collar that Loic gifted her a few months back, she must really like it because she is always using it, she probably doesn't even take it out to take a bath!

With them came Serge Sera Rault, Heir to the villain's House, at least he came instead of Louise, that would have been a disaster!

"Welcome" she said to their guests, she wanted to forsake all formalities and start talking about the threat the Principality of Fanoss represented to their nation.

Noelle and her fiance just nodded in recognition but Serge was glaring at Emile for some reason. Well, she was aware of the reason why Serge didn't like her fiance, and it was because she chose Emile over him.

Both of them were capture targets in the otome game she played in her previous life, but Emile was just easier to handle than Serge who is a hot headed rebel.

The group was small, but there were three representatives of the Great Noble Houses present, which was actually really good. Emile and Loic were already on her side and if she managed to convince Serge she would have enough power to do something about the principality's monsters.

"Loic and Emile already know why we are here. So I would like to explain the situation to Serge and hopefully get his help to prevent a disaster" she couldn't mess this up, she needed to make Serge understand what a dire situation they are in!

"Leila, to tell you the truth, I only came here because I heard Emile is spreading some no-sense rumors about a Holfortian knight being more powerful than any of us!" Well, that wasn't totally unexpected, but it was very much unwelcome.

"I didn't say he was more powerful, I just said he was more talented" Emile tried to defuse the situation, but it would have been better if he just apologized for exaggerating his praises of the knight!

"I don't see the difference, you are still implying anyone here would lose to that knight!" She needed to calm Serge down, they have more pressing matters to attend to!

"That… We only saw the man fight once, I don't think…" Leila tried to defuse the situation, but it seems like Emile's praise for the foreign knight was a sore subject for more than one, because she was interrupted by Loic!

"I have to agree with Serge on this, It is kind of insulting to be compared so unfavorably to some no name knight from a third world country" why can't these boys see that the world doesn't revolve around them!

"I'm sure that…" Leila tried to take control of the conversation again but she didn't expect Emile of all the people present to cut her off!

"I'm not saying anyone would lose to Leon Fou Bartfort, The difference between his armor and ours is too much to overcome, But I can't deny that he is indeed more talented than anyone I know in the republic".

Why couldn't Emile just apologize!

No one but her knew how dire the situation could become if the Principality isn't stopped!

"Okay then, now that that was clarified I would like to.."

"You can't just presume that Leon guy is better than anyone just because he killed a pirate with a not so crappy knight armor, I'm very much the strongest of our generation and I will not stand for such slander!"

Why were things going this way?!

She looked at Noelle asking for help in desperation but her twin sister kept staring at the floor as if it was more interesting than her need to protect their country. And that made her react in a not very ladylike way.

Leila tried to get her sister to look at her by lifting her head by her fancy collar, but as she touched it she could feel magic flowing through the thing!

Noelle looked up at her and she could see terror in her eyes!

No!

No, no, no, no!

Her sister couldn't be asking her for help, Her and Loic ending up together was supposed to be the true end of the Game, so she just couldn't be asking her for help!

But the look in her eyes couldn't be confused for anything else either!

She didn't like her sister, she was always everyone's favorite, the one born with the capacity to become the Priestess, she was well endowed and charismatic, she was everything she wanted to be and all of that was just given to her at birth.

But Noelle was still her sister and she never betrayed her like her sister of her previous life did… and she loved her.

Hastily she tried to remove the collar but it was magically attached to Noelle!

Her desperation grew as she kept trying to free her sister from it.

She was so focused on freeing her sister that she could barely hear the three boys shouting at each other, it wasn't important, she needed to free her sister!

Noele had tears rolling down her cheeks and was screaming asking her to It out.

She took a spoon from the table and carefully tried to break the seams of the collar but that damn thing wouldn't budge no matter how much she tried, and she couldn't apply too much force or she would hUrt her sister's neck!

BANG!

BANG!

BANG!

The three shots finally managed to divert her attention from her sister's collar, her first reaction was to cover her sister with her body hugging her, this just wasn't fair!

There were no more shots after the first barrage and she could hear Serge and Emile speaking, well shouting to each other, Loic was eerily silent.

"What are we supposed to do with the corpse!"

"It's okay, I'll take care of it, no one has to know!"

After hearing that she had to turn around and when she did, she saw Loic's… corpse lying on the floor with three bloody spots in his chest.

"Loic was the Barielle's Heir, they'll know something is off when he doesn't go home tonight, and then what!"

Oh god! Did one of them kill Loic?

A/N: tada!

I'm back with a new chapter. i hope you all enjoyed it.

a lot happened here, both in the republic and in the kingdom.

A few chapters back I asked for your help deciding the name of a final boss, I liked the options everyone gave me but I was also told to keep the Sheeptar name, and there were more people asking me to keep the name than other names options so I decided to keep Sheeptar's name from the SAO:Abridged series.

Chapter Text

CHAPTER XXVI.

Leila watched the Sacred Tree grow smaller and smaller with the distance with her older sister sleeping on her lap.

Fleeing the country wasn't her first choice, but once again Serge and Emile ignored her!

Now they have departed towards Holfort with a ship loaded with powerful knight armors and a corpse in the fridge…

The plan was to blame Loic's murder on someone in the kingdom, preferably the Villainess husband so Serge could justify killing the man to prove Emile wrong!

Because of course, the way to escape murder is more murder!

If this was her previous life they would have to… well, she has no idea what to do in her old life to kill someone and get away with it!

It didn't really matter right now, it could even prove to be the right choice considering that the war between the kingdom and the principality should be starting soon, and she would have two high profile witnesses backing her up this time.

How did her life become this web of lies and death?

0x0x0x0

It was a peaceful night, she was able to comfortably sleep alongside Jilk, it was the first time she allowed him to have a turn after all the events of the Tourney.

The sun was about to rise and she would start a wonderful new day as Holfort's Saintess with her five handsome lovers and her dedicated elf personal servant.

However the earth started to shake, a familiar yet unfamiliar sensation she experienced for the first time in her second life, floating islands do not have tectonic plates to collide and create quakes so this was a novel experience… somewhat, since Japan trembled all the time and their buildings were constructed with that fact in mind and had designs to withstand the common occurrence.

However, quakes were not something unknown to the people of this world.

"DAMINT!" that woke up Jilk instantly, and he wasn't happy.

They were supposed to have at least three months before they sent the military to clear the Capital's dungeon Final Boss!

That's right, quakes were produced by the defeat of a large dungeon's Final Boss.

It was a common practice to send the army to clear the dungeon every four years to obtain the precious resources that would accumulate in the time in between raids.

Her five lovers and her were training hard to be able to do it with just the seven of them and obtain the gold, some rarer minerals and the precious magic stones used to power about everything in this world.

They would have acquired a fortune once they succeeded, of course, her handsome boys were only in it for the prestige since they have enough money to last them various lavish lifetimes… so they wouldn't have had any problems with her keeping it all.

Like the other times.

Jilk was getting up and dressing himself, probably to inform his foster brother Julius about the event if he wasn't awakened by the quake.

Someone had stolen the kingdom's treasure. Her treasure!

She hastily put on a robe and accompanied him to the common area they liked to use; in their path various other students were also getting out of their rooms, all of them curious or furious.

Some of them liked to pretend they would be the ones to reach the very bottom of the dungeon and claim the treasure for themselves… fools.

It was a nightmare journey to hell she only saw completed in youtube videos by pro players she had no hope to complete with her stiff hands in her other life.

She only believed she could do it this time because in her own estimations her handsome boys were strong enough to complete it easily, after hundreds of hours of training Marie believed they had finally surpassed the endgame stats they needed to complete the game and get her the good ending she yearned for.

Once they arrived her other five boys, Kyle included, were waiting for them.

"So you all felt it too?" Jilk asked without even bothering to greet their friends.

"We waited too long!" a dejected Greg wailed while glaring at Chris, Greg was the one pushing for the dungeon dive the most, he was the one with the idea and the one in the most hurry and Chris was the one who pushed the idea they needed to prepare more, to train more.

She agreed with Chris' sensible argument and they decided they would do it sometime in two months from today, three months back then. She was more than a little afraid of the monsters down there.

But now…

"Anyone can pay the fee and go as deep as they want…" Brad said neutrally before looking at Greg "but no private party has defeated Sheeptard in over a hundred years, it's been the army every time, and we knew when they were going to go for him there was no rush!"

The purple haired boy has always favored Chris over Greg among his friends and the in-fighters of their party had a rather childish rivalry that tended to go out of hand if they are left to their own devices.

"Brad is right, Greg, what is important now is who got those resources!" Julius said energetically.

The kingdom was in need of every DIa they could get their hands on for obvious reasons, and even she was planning to part with half the treasure to help with the oncoming war effort!

"The name should be in the registers of the entrance" Chris said calmly, everytime an adult adventurer enters the dungeon they have to identify themselves, pay a small fee and give up part of their loot as tax to the kingdom.

Students were exempt from the fee and taxes.

"We should go check the records and get at least the names of the people who did this!" This time it was Jilk who spoke, his calm and collected voice showing more distress than he had ever displayed before.

"Yes, we should go" this was yet another event out of script, in the game, the protagonist and her love interest were the ones to clear the dungeon in the third year and she had a bad feeling about this.

They retreated to their rooms to get changed and headed for the dungeon's entrance.

It was a tense trip, many male students walked ahead and behind them in an improvised royal guard composed mostly of Viscount heirs but she even recognized a few future Counts, she could recognize Ethan Fou Robson walking a few meters ahead of her group.

The first year brat had been seen around Angelica's sister in law a lot according to Kyle.

It was suspicious of a future Count to spend so much time around the… third daughter? Second daughter? Well she was the daughter of a Baron, the reports were not clear about her place in the succession line for her House.

Especially since said Baron family was heavily suspected of sedition!

Speaking of barons, there were no poor nobles around either…

When they arrived at the Dungeon entrance they jumped ahead of the crowd and sequestered the receptionist inside her own office when she was giving explanations to the other students and the few commoners that gathered around to know who cleared the Dungeon.

The well endowed woman was frantically looking at the register, clumsily trying to flip the pages to the most recent ones.

There were always people inside the Dungeon, some adventurers would even camp in the middle rooms to maximize their profits so they didn't even have a time frame to narrow down their search.

Finally the nervous woman produced a list of the adventurers still inside the dungeon and handed it over to Jilk who read it out loud.

All of them were commoners.

"This is useless"! Greg almost shouted, "None of those names could be the ones that conquered Sheeptard!"

She took that as the opportunity to read the list herself and looked it from top to bottom, it was full of commoners without Fou or Fia on their names, parties of up to ten members all of them commoners, but near the very bottom of the list there was something interesting, just one name plus nine companions…

Who is Joan of Spring Valley?

It didn't really matter if that particular party decided to remain anonymous, but they had entered just 5 days ago… they didn't have the time to reach the Final boss in such little time, they would have to breeze through the first ninety floors to get there in such a short amount of time!

"Well, whoever it was, they should be taking the Victory Road out of there, so they will be out in about two days" Said Julius, he was right of course, she would have pointed it out herself but she couldn't have said that with a straight face.

It sounded a bit too much like pokemon, and while she loved their designs she lost her love for the games because she could never beat her older brother in their past life, he had such an underhanded way to fight, always using poison types to win by stacking the damage and then finishing off with the heavy hitter he made out of the starter of the game in turn, he managed to defeat her even if she made a team full of ground and psychic types!

So annoying!

Unlike the pokemon games, in this world the Victory road is an easy path outside the dungeon, no monsters spawn on it and it's just a straight path only available after you attain Victory.

"Probably longer" Said the receptionist, "They do have to collect, distribute and carry the loot all the way out" this was probably something she heard quite a lot about, but then she shut her mouth close as if she just noticed she contradicted the Crown Prince!

"Good point! Thank you" Julius was still happy whenever someone did not show him the full respect someone must have for his status, but this time it was something good, it calmed the receptionist.

After a while they left, this wasn't their business, at least not officially, besides, she was sure the Queen would be able to bully whoever managed to conquer the dungeon into giving the lion's share of the loot to the kingdom, so they left eager to at least know who it was.

She had a bad feeling about this.

0x0x0

Finn Luta Herring, he was not born in the Holfort Kingdom, he came here acting as the Guardian Knight of the illegitimate daughter of the emperor of his homeland.

Milialice Lux Erzeberg or Mia as she preferred to be called is also the protagonist of the third installment of a certain Otome game he watched his little sister play in his previous life, and she also happened to be an adorable person, so he decided to do everything in his power to help her when she suddenly fell ill.

He remembered that in the game Milialice was able to find a miraculous power by studying abroad in the Holfort kingdom, so he suggested it to his Majesty the Emperor.

He was shocked when the Emperor agreed easily to his proposal, but even more when he learned that he was another reincarnated person.

So he was here as Mia's bodyguard and to screen out those lousy love interests that would approach her as soon as she entered the academy.

Except it didn't happen, none of the boys approached her for some reason, and he was glad for it, all of them were nothing more than a bunch of worms in his eyes, undeserving of such a great person as Mia.

He worried that the events of the games have deviated too much from his knowledge, he was sure that the Saintess is also someone that reincarnated in this world and she used her knowledge to supplant the original protagonist.

But she was doing a good job strengthening the love interest so he left her alone.

The Villainess of the third game paid Mia no mind and instead focused all of her attention on some mob girl that he was sure was never mentioned even once in the plot of the original game.

Said girl is the sister-in-law of the villainess of the first installment of the game, and considering the current situation, it made a lot of sense.

The VIllainess, Angelica Fou Bartfort is probably another reincarnated person, she probably gave up on becoming Queen and chose to focus on strengthening her husband so she could preserve the script of the game and take over after the game events.

He could respect that.

But he would not allow any harm to befall his charge, and he has a powerful cheat item at his disposal to ensure that.

If necessary he would squash the rebellion himself to keep Mia safe and happy!

Why was he so sure Angelica was a reincarnated person?

Simple, the woman got her husband promoted twice in his lifetime, as if he was some kind of shonen protagonist and she was just now making her triumphant return to the academy, students belonging to her father's faction had gathered to watch her group arrive and let everyone know she was coming.

And the well known fact that the Duke's fleet is menacingly close to the capital in case the promotion ceremony is a trap to kill or capture his daughter kinda proves she is un-canonically close to her father too.

She entered the academy with the Baron, and some of her followers were driving a carriage with a huge wagon with a mesh fence full of gold, rare mineral ores, artifacts and at the very front of the carriage there was the horns of Sheeptard who was in reality a ram… judging by the fact it had Horns!, even the art concepts you get as extra content show he is a ram!

And there were another three wagons coming behind them carrying the same kind of cargo.

The loot of the dungeon is legendary, the neighboring countries pay a fortune for the almost unbreakable ores found in,,, the segmented tail of the boss.

Alchemists claimed they could brew immortality potions from Sheeptar's liver, it was too bad no one took them seriously and the liver was used instead to produce the finest liquors in the world!

Anyway, the Villainess had wielded her love interest like a pro. The man didn't look like much but he was certainly capable if they managed to clear the whole dungeon.

Soon the other reincarnated person in the academy showed up, it was Marie, the Saintess, and she was accompanied by all her captured targets. None of them looked happy as expected.

This was a huge blow against the Crown, he could see war coming on two fronts, but the domestic problem seemed to be the most troublesome one of them.

"What are you doing here Angelica?" the Crown Prince asked aggressively and then his eyes widened at the sight of the horns on her carriage "How dare you steal those from the kingdom!".

It seems very few people knew what the horns on display were meant to be, because before now no one had raised any fuss over them, but the prince and his friends certainly knew of them. From what he has been hearing, it was usually the job of the kingdom's army to clear the dungeon and retrieve the loot and treasure accumulated there, preparations were done once they confirmed the Final Boss, Sheeptard, has respawned.

Of course this left a window of time for adventurers to enter the dungeon and attempt to steal it.

And worse…

"We stole nothing, we even paid a small fortune in advance to get the tax exception your Highness," Angelica said showing a document for all to see.

"And according to the kingdom laws, this is all now property of my family!" The villainess had a smug expression plastered on her beautiful face, the same could be said about all of her party, except her husband, no way is he calling that guy beautiful, now way in hell!

But it was true, the tax exception was something he learned about a month ago, in classes, but it seemed so worthless back then, to obtain it you needed to pay what was, as the villainess said, a small fortune, it would probably exceed the gains of most regular dungeon divers usual expeditions.

But not this one, the wealth of a complete, successful raid was beyond outstanding!

The tax exemption was probably designed thinking that there was an exceedingly low number of people who would seriously try to do a complete raid, and even less people who would have a chance to succeed.

And the fact that the kingdom's army lost about half of their members every time they were assigned with the task because of how dangerous it is. It could even be said that the tax exception was designed to rip off overly ambitious adventurers.

However, the villainess succeeded in weakening her enemies while gaining additional funds for herself thanks to some of the more absurd laws of this adventurer worshiping land.

"What are you doing here anyway!" This time it was the green haired boy who spoke, from what he understands he is the lowest ranked among the Prince's entourage, however as the prince's foster brother he had an advisor job secured for his future so he has a lot of weight to throw around.

"You were exiled from the capital!" He could hear the satisfaction on the man's voice, it was a rather foolish mistake he did not expect the woman to make, and he fully expected some clever and legal excuse for her to be here.

"Always so eager to attack my family, Green Clown!" This time it was the villainess husband speaking, he could see the resentment the man had written all over his face even from his position behind the Prince's entourage "Angelica was never formally exiled!" The Baron just glared at the prince's underling with pure hatred, there must be a story behind that glare.

"How do we know that paper isn't just a forgery?!" the purple haired boy of their group asked, Finn moved closer to the prince's group, they would probably get to see that document up close soon.

The Baron got down from their carriage and walked without hesitation towards the royal group with the paper in hand, but the physically most imposing boy, the one with red hair, from the Prince's group stepped ahead to intercept him.

Undaunted, the Baron tried to walk around him but the red headed boy extended his arm to impede his advance.

The Baron just extended the document without advancing any further, the green headed one retrieved it before handing it to the prince, everyone not only kept silent, but he could swear some of the people in the crowd held their breath to not miss the Prince's reaction.

"Tsk!" wise decision because that reaction could only mean that the document was real!

Talk about taking a mile when being offered an inch!

When the red headed boy heard the Prince's "tsk" he violently pushed the Baron away in pure frustration… or he tried to!

In an instant he had his face on the hard paved floor of the academy, and he had the Baron's foot on his neck and his arm trapped in a vice grip, just a few more degrees and the arm would…

CRACK

Never mind!

"Do not you dare to touch me you stupid lordling!" There was even more silence now than a moment ago, Finn himself could barely believe what just happened, the Baron had taken down the boy in a flash!

And while they were looking at the red headed boy writhe in pain on the floor the Baron calmly walked up to the prince and snatched the document from him, turned around and walked back to his wife.

Stuned the prince did not react immediately, but a second after the Baron had shown him his back the prince started to walk to catch the Baron.

He was stopped, by a hand on his shoulder, a tall boy, nearly as big as the one suffering in the floor had stopped him.

He knew of him, despite his rather forgettable face, he was the leader of the Poor Barons group of the academy and there was something else important about him…

"Don't do it your Highness, you are surrounded!" he whispered into the Prince's ear, but he was sure everyone around him heard him!

Looking around there was indeed a great number of low ranking nobles all glaring at the Royal entourage. A young girl walked past them holding the arm of a rather handsome boy, the nonchalance of the act was stupefying!

"Big Brother Daniel, let's go Leon is waiting for us" she said prompting the future Baron to release the frozen Prince, and walk ahead with the couple up to the carriages where he greeted a young woman with a bow before helping her to board the carriage the proper way and boarding it himself, a second later the carriage turned around and left the academy in the midst of the cheers of the poor Barons.

Finley Fou Bartfort and Ethan Fou Robson,

The man who threatened the Prince was said to be engaged with the oldest Bartfort daughter!

"Greg!" Only then the other reincarnated reacted and hurried to heal the broken arm of one of her lovers. One of the finalists of the National Tourney was incapacitated in a flash by a rebel.

Finn looked at the bespectacled blue haired boy, The Champion as he asked to be called, he did not look perturbed by how easily his rival had lost, but rather satisfied…

Looking around Finn could see the lower ranked students dispersing, but the show of unity they displayed won't be forgotten.

It was worrying, at this rate the kingdom might actually be defeated and who knows what will happen to Mia and himself in the new regime.

If the worst comes to happen, he can always take his charge and bail out, no matter who gets in his way, no matter their numbers, his companion brave would make escape easy, no modern armor can compare to his cheat item!

Chapter Text

CHAPTER XXVII.

As far as Olivia knew, this was the first time all of House Bartfort was staying in the capital, the place wasn't that big, it could barely accommodate both branches of the family and their future members such as Daniel and Finley's boy. This was one of Lord Vince's manor in the capital, she was told it was the same size than the one her father-in-law used to own to accommodate Zola and her children

However 'It is way too big for only three people.'

That thought made her angry, she knew of her new family's struggles, all of them caused by either the ex-wife of Lord Barcus or the Crown.

As abusive as Zola was, she was but a symptom of the disease known as the Holtfort Dynasty.

Her life as a commoner and her life as a noble were, as expected, fundamentally different, but perhaps the biggest difference was who held power within society.

As a little girl growing up, her father was always the one who had the final say in any decision, her mother could and would critique him, change his opinions, bribe him, threaten him with one thing or another, most of the times she would succeed, but sometimes her father would still go ahead with whatever was on his mind, sometimes for the good and sometimes for the bad.

As an academy student she noticed that the roles were reversed, it was the girls in the academy who had most, if not all the power, they had the boys wrapped around their little fingers… at first glance at least.

She never saw a future Count begging a girl to attend their tea parties, nor did the daughters of a Count's House parade around with their demi human servants… the Offrey girl being the only exception to the rule.

It was always the Viscounts and Barons offspring engaging in such uncouth behavior, Counts sons and daughters usually entered the academy with a partner arranged by their families.

But when she was in the academy she did not notice due to all the harassment she was objected to.

It took living as a noble outside the academy for a year to connect the dots.

Holfort kingdom's society was patriarchal at large, there were many more women than men in the noble ranks, when they were selling the mercenary ships they captured from House Marmoria she met with various Counts and their families, they acted nothing like she expected.

At first she thought that it was because they were Redgrave vassals, but that was not always the case.

A couple of the Counts were not subservient to Angie's papa, and they all acted the same way.

Sure their wives and mistresses believed they were better than them, but they all listened and behaved according to their husband's wishes.

The Viscounts and Barons though, were exactly like the academy students she remembered! Their wives were adult versions of the academy students.

She discovered the cause for such discrepancies in a few History books.

It was not said directly of course.

It was the fact that there were accounts of many, many rural nobles attacking their neighbors for resources, then the capital when they had a modicum amount of success, the capital always won, but she has lived through enough battles by that point to know that enduring the attacks was way more difficult than being the ones on the offensive.

And there was a particularly nasty book about the proper way to treat a lady written a couple of years after the Principality of Fanoss had seceded.

About ten years later the revered Holfort academy was founded, and at the same time some court nobles were promoted and had their taxes reduced as if just because they were from the capital.

The message was clear: if you want power, send your family to the capital.

Five years later, the attacks on the capital stopped.

The youth was indoctrinated in the capital.

Girls were encouraged, no, they were probably pressured to spend money on the capital, all the while they were told they were superior to men until they believed it.

The boys were told they should treat the girls as their better and present them with gifts, and they eventually did.

The girls loved the capital so much that they did everything in their power to stay to live there their whole lives and their husbands had to return to their territories to manage them.

The girls were encouraged to take multiple lovers. The succession lines got all murky and there was further infighting within the rural nobles Houses

As a result of this social engineering, the belligerent rural nobles were weakened, and no longer a threat.

It was all good for the Holfort Dynasty.

The rural nobles can rot for all that they cared!

To them the rural nobles and the people in their care are of no consequence.

The reason why there are so many sky pirates in the first place is because the rural nobles do not have the resources to hunt them down.

The Bartforts hate pirates, the same was true for the Durlands and the many other nobles that she got to know in the last two years.

They do make life for them more difficult, stealing from them, keeping merchants from reaching them and with their direct attacks they are considered a plague. And the inability of the nobles to hunt them down hurts the commoners living in their territory.

All because of the Holfort Dynasty…

With Lord Leon's raiding their dungeon in what would be qualified as legal robbery they have landed a painful blow to their pride and more importantly, their pockets.

The war efforts were going smoothly, the Duke was buying supplies from neighboring nations to avoid rising suspicions, a new munition factory was built in one of the many mighty floating islands that formed the dukedom.

Lord Leon himself was planning to build an armor factory in their territory… Luxy has sent a report and he found an Island with abundant resources recently, the partner was sent to tow it back to add it to their territory, it'll take three months, hopefully the war wont start before then.

But for right now, they have things to celebrate, really celebrate.

Not the collar the Holforts were trying to put on their necks, calling it a promotion.

Today Finley introduced her boy to them and he was ballsy enough to ask for her hand to Lord Barcus right after meeting the man.

She was so amused when all the women part of House Bartfort, their guest from House Roseblade giggled in unison, Finley was the only exception.

That seemed to intimidate the boy more than all of the men of the House glares, seriously, even the baby Gil was glaring at him… oh wait, he was just pooping!

"Gil needs a change of diapers!" Lord Leon said while running away towards their designated area to change Gil.

That lifted the heavy mood that was present after Ethan asked for Finley's hand in marriage.

The circumstances were not the best, the whole kingdom knows of their affiliation with Redgrave House and this boy comes in now of all times. This could be a set up to infiltrate another spy, one with high enough standing to make an impact, or if he was being sincere, he would bolster their forces…

In a corner Nicks sat with Cordelia at his right and Dorothea Fou Roseblade at his left, the woman was apparently smithen with her brother-in-law, to the point she wouldn't mind becoming his mistress, and she is the daughter of a Count!

Cleare vouched for her, Lord Leon's familiar believed her feelings are the real thing.

The reason why Cordelia was allowing her to become her husband's second wife was because Lord Vince wanted to strengthen the ties in his inner circle.

Originally either Dorothea or her sister were supposed to be bonded to Lord Leon, but Angie prevented that by trading their bed with the feat of conquering the capital's dungeon.

Lord Vince however still tried to get his way sending both of Count's Roseblade's daughters with her family to conquer the dungeon, Angie told her Roseblade House has a particularly strong taste for adventure and allowing them to be part of a successful raid would ingratiate them further… that and maybe they could get to know the Bartfort men…

It was VInce's last attempt to tie the Bartforts and the Roseblades.

He couldn't do that with Gilbert because his wife is a princess from Repard and it would create an unnecessary conflict.

It seemed to have worked on Dorothea at least, Deirdre was periodically looking at Lord Leon too, but not right now that he was changing Gil's diaper… Her loss, Lord Leon makes the funniest faces when trying to avoid the smell of the diapers.

She pitied the maids that had to wash those diapers… and not having to do that is a privilege she is not willing to relinquish!

Back on topic, Ethan Fou Robson was trying his best to convince Angie and Lord Barcus that he wanted to end the Holfort Dynasty, if only to take a higher place in the world after what he believed was an inevitable victory on House Redgrave's Victory.

It saddened Olivia that there was never anything about him loving Finley… but for nobles Love is something that might come after marriage, the most important thing is to gain allies the most reliable way they know, through bonds, sex and babies.

0x0x0

Malcolm Fou Framptom looked with disgust as that incompetent King Roland promoted the Bartfort duo of father and son to Viscounts with a frown.

Doing such a thing was pointless!

They were only aiding the Redgrave faction, and for what?

To tax them? There is no way in hell they're gonna pay a single Dia!

Sure that naive woman might think that would give them an excuse to attack them, but in the meanwhile they will be the beacon to all those bothersome rural nobles to look at and seek, they bring even more bodies to join Vince's army!

If only the Queen allowed him complete reign he would have already put the rebel faction down, instead they keep losing political ground to these upstarts!

It got even worse after they killed the dungeon's Final Bossand took the treasure for themselves!

It was annoying when he overheard the courtiers talk about them and their grand deeds!

And now there was another woman from a prominent House attached to a Bartfort. He immediately recognized Dorothea Fou Roseblade at the main branch Heir's left.

The symbolism wasn't lost on anyone, a little bit behind him, unlike his wife that meant that she had been bonded to the man as his concubine.

Her! the unattainable Dorothea, a woman even his own son failed to woo, she simply never showed any interest, and now she accepts being the second woman of a VIscount's Heir with a smile on her face!

House Roseblade and House Redblade now had an unbreakable bond!

With them was also Count's Atlee family and he could see Bernard's daughter talking and giggling with the women of House Bartfort, especially Angelica!

She had her hands on the shoulders of the youngest Bartfort and the blushing boy betrayed the details of their scheming!

House Redgrave was tightening their inner circle using House Bartfort!

The Raising stars of the kingdom! Bah! They are just some lucky farmers with some skills in combat…

Malcolm's frustration only increased when he noticed that he couldn't dismiss the Bartforts even in the privacy of his own mind!

All of the power Vince managed to keep, and the power he was now rebuilding was because of him finding a rough diamond in the unassuming house.

If only he found them first he would have already secured the hereditary position of prime minister… and in a couple more generations his House would have turned the Holforts into their puppets and in two or three more generations Holfort Kingdom would be replaced by Framptom Kingdom!

But thighs cannot be changed, he would still achieve the title of Prime Minister in his lifetime and his descendents would become royalty no matter what.

He eyed the rural House once again and then noticed both Bartfort girls had a boy at their side each.

The older one's boy wasn't much to see at, probably someone she met before her family's rise, but the fact that she kept him around would speak well about them to the other rural nobles giving them a reputation of being reliable.

The younger one though? He recognized the boy, Ethan Fou Robers is supposedly a prodigy that became the Heir of his House by out matching his older brother when the man tried to remove him to secure his place as the Heir of their Countdom. His presence here was not something he expected.

The boy would bring considerable resources to the rebel faction!

Nothing he could do there… except perhaps to seek out the boy's parents, it was known that the youth seeks change while the adults seek stability, so maybe his house was not behind him on this endeavor?

Speaking to Count Robers was a lower priority right now though.

Lately he has been engaging in negotiations with the Principality of Fanoss and he has been working tirelessly to set an ambush that would destroy the backbone of House Bartfort, and demoralize Vince's followers as a side effect.

He has contacts in the Principality, Cout Garret has assured him that he could convince Vandel Him Zenden out in the open at a convenient time, and Malcolm would leak that information to the Redgrave faction. It would be too convenient not to attack, and who were the better suited for the assassination of the Black Knight? The Bartforts and their Pirate Bane of course!

Talented the brat might be, but there is a reason why Vandel has been the terror of the battlefield for longer than this current generation has been alive!

0x0x0

Ethan Fou Robers was taking a great risk by defying his parents, he knew, but it would be worth it once the King was overthrown.

His parents felt it was useless to defy the Royal Family, they supposedly have an incredibly powerful airship that could change the course of any battle…

But Ethan thinks such a ship doesn't exist or if it does, its capabilities were greatly exaggerated, his father told him the legend of the Royal Family's Lost Item, his own ancestors fell to it apparently and the memories of such a ship were passed from one generation to the next in his family.

His Father wouldn't listen to him!

Even if That Ship still existed, times have changed and House Redgrave wielded more powerful weapons now through House Bartfort's ships, It was no secret that Leon Fou Bartfort conquered a Dungeon alone and one of the treasures he unearthed was a Lost item.

He was there in the Tourney too, his house arrived shortly after House Bartfort and he got an eyeful of their ship.

It was a new model developed by them, one doesn't need to be a Genius, which he is, to realize that the ship is either another Lost item or they managed to reproduce the technology of their other ship!

The Holfort Kingdom was done and his Father couldn't see it!

But he can, and as the next head of his family it was his duty to form an alliance with the next King, and he wasn't speaking of Prince Julius much less that disappointing Prince Jake, he was speaking about Vince Redgrave!

Securing this House's place in the alliance wasn't easy, his new fiance: Finley, she did a good job laying low, but he had been looking for her since the very first day they entered the academy.

But eventually he managed to get a hold of her activities.

Finley was hard at work securing the loyalty of her peers, the Poor Barons, by arranging Tea Parties with the most reclusive girls in the academy, said girls were not easy to find and even harder to convince to give any boy a chance, preferring to attend to their hobbies such as dancing, writing poetry, reading and a couple of magic enthusiast.

When he finally managed to get her to attend his one Tea Party he had asked her why she was working so hard for the benefit of strangers she looked at him suspiciously and avoided the question, he could respect that, they were strangers after all.

However by their third date she confessed that she was doing it under her sister-in-law's orders, Lady Angelica wanted to sway as many rural nobles to their side as she could by helping them to accomplish their main goal in the academy.

It worked judging the results so far, the low ranking nobility had backed down her family when they appeared in the academy, but that was something easy for the Barons, they didn't even have to really stand out like Daniel or he himself did, they were just another face in an endless crowd.

He could bet that once the real conflict started they wouldn't cooperate so easily or at all.

Time will tell.

He had followed his intended back to her brother's territory where they threw two parties in a row, one for Lord Nicks wedding who then departed to the main House's territory and the other for Lord Leon's second wedding.

Right now he is sparring with the youngest Bartfort, the adult ones did refuse to be his opponents based on the difference in experience, he tried to not be offended, but it was hard because he is a genius capable of fighting and defeating the full fledged knights of his House.

However it turns out that Coling probably was a genius as well, or at least a very hard worker, they are evenly matched with their technique and stamina being almost equal.

It was refreshing and a little bit disturbing that a boy a year younger than him could match him, but at the same time he was happy because he finally found someone on his level.

So far his partners were either way too strong for him or not strong enough to give him a proper challenge.

The patriarch and his second son were giving them advice with Lord Barcus on his side and Lord Leon on Colin's, it was the most exciting fight he had in over a year!

They have some other people watching other than their seconds, Finley is there too, she isn't the most vocal but he could swear he saw her smiling the couple of times he managed to get one move over her brother.

There are another two girls around fourteen years old, they are very much vocal in their support of Colin, he was introduced to them too, they are Spencer's daughters, their father sought refuge here after dropping a pamphlet depicting the Offrey's corruption.

They were both panting hard when Lady Olivia, Lord Leon's second wife arrived accompanied by a few older women who were doting on her, one of them had quite the resemblance with her, probably her mother.

The older woman often caressed her belly, Livia as family members greeted her and called the match to an end so she could treat their minor injuries.

It was quite convenient to have a woman skilled in Holy Magic for training, with that and her attitude he could see why Lady Angelica allowed her to marry into the family, it wouldn't do to alienate such a convenient asset.

Once she was done with both of them he put his wooden sword into his belt and walked a couple of steps towards his future brother-in-law with his right hand extended, despite his initial misgivings the boy turned out to be quite the fighter, worthy of respect.

Colin happily shook his hand.

He could see them becoming good friends and not just allies bonded through family.

Just then another man came running and told them that a Redgrave ship would be arriving at the harbor soon.

Chapter Text

CHAPTER XXVIII.

Was her life an American cartoon?

No, seriously!

How come they arrived at the wrong barony!

… Or Viscounty!

They should have probably taken that turn left on Haburkale, or something!

When they got out of their ship they expected to see a young lord there to welcome them and instead it was an old man that she still wasn't convinced was a Viscount!

At least he was kind enough to point them in the right direction.

Leila sighed as she once again walked her twin sister back to the cabin they had been sharing.

At least there, Serge behaved himself this time!

0x0x0x0

Angelica had hastily put in some amenities to entertain her father and brother, she wasn't expecting them at all, with her husband and sister wife, nearby the rest of Leon's family had also presented their respects to her family before retiring to a private room.

And now Angelica was glaring at her father and brother.

They had arrived here not for her family's celebrations, but to issue an order to her husband.

A very dangerous order!

They had acquired information about the Principality's Black Knight, Vandel Him Zenden would be touring around the territory making sure they were ready for the incoming war…

It was a trap.

Angelica paid no mind to the rewards her father was offering for the deed, rewards that would only be available after he takes over the throne!

she knew it, her father and brother knew it, Leon knew it too despite being on board with the plan.

Hence why she couldn't stop glaring at the men in her life, Leon included!

Olivia was there as well, and she could tell she wasn't a fan of the plan either.

"It's a trap!" Livia told her while they were discussing the best way to go across the kingdom and sneak into the Principality's territory without being detected at all. Her husband, father and brother all took their eyes out of the map they were studying and looked at her.

Leon looked at her with dull eyes, as if he resigned himself into knowingly walking into a trap! "I know and I suppose my Liege knows as well" he said, turning to look a t her father who simply nodded in confirmation.

"Even if it is a trap, a chance like this is too good to pass!" Her brother told her "The Black Knight is a court noble akin to Arthur Fia Arclight, he is only out of the capital when he is heading for battle or escorting the princesses! Angie, the forces he will have will be manageable and even if the information is incorrect Einhorn is fast enough to get Leon out of there without any hassle!" Gilbert finished with a smile.

"You are forgetting that the Black Knight is the most deadly warrior in the continent, and he should count as a Hassle just by being there!?" it was obvious for her, with the opponent's caliber there needed not to be an army waiting in ambush, the legends of Vandel painted him as a fleet killer and as powerful as her House's ships are it wouldn't help to provide the necessary cover to ensure success or her husband's survival.

"He certainly used to be" Gilbert commented, he was dismissing the threat the man represented! "His age has catched up to him by now, while your husband's strength is still growing"

True, that was possible, but what if he wasn't as weakened by his age as they pretended him to be?

"The risk is unacceptable!" she said with rage "Livia, you say something too!" she turned towards her sister-wife and possibly the most reliable friend she ever had.

Olivia was pale, and her breathing was erratic, she was panicking even worse than her and it wasn't good for her health or the baby's.

"Please my Lord, don't go, I'm sure there must be another way to do this!" she managed to say while looking with pleading eyes to their shared husband.

"Can't we make them our allies instead?" Olivia offered with tears in her eyes.

Angelica knew that was not something that will likely end with them with a dagger in their throat, those barbarians could not be trusted.

"Livia, dear, offering an alliance to the Principality is like turning your back on a tiger and expecting it not to attack you" That was the first thing today her father said she could agree with.

The history of the Principality made an alliance with them seem like a fool's endeavor.

Leon for his part was looking back and forth between Oliva and her, his eyes showed conflict, he wanted to do this?!

Was it some kind of sense of duty?

She walked towards Olivia who was sitting in an elegant chair and rubbed her belly affectionately, this was the new member of their family, and Leon could die before the baby was born.

"Would you risk not being here to raise your children?!" she asked in a harsher tone that conveyed exactly how she felt about all of this.

"I wont lose and I'll come back and help raise our children" Leon said solemnly, and for a moment she believed he could simply march towards the Black Knight and just stab him in the heart.

But then she felt the weight of reality, how many men thought they could face Vandel Him Zendel and win, yet the man was still here, despite his old age he still was the biggest terror in the battlefield this continent has ever seen!

"And what if you don't come back!" she yelled, she didn't care if her esteemed father and brother saw her losing her cool in this moment, all she wanted was her man to remain safe by their side!

"Angie,... " Leon hesitated for a second while looking at her in the eyes, "When we meet each other you knew I would be fighting in the frontlines of a war, I gave my word to your father and in exchange he allowed me to share my life with you, and even allowed us include Livia in our family!" He took a deep breath and closed his eyes before looking back at her.

"I believe I ripped him off by taking you as my wife, you are so much more than I ever expected, and then not less important, he paid for Livia's Rescue from the academy and now that the time to repay his kind kindness I won't stand aside or hide and cower when what he asks of me is something I have been preparing since the day I met you." He looked a t Livia and then walked and prostrated himself in front of her and then rested his head in Livia's lap.

"I'll defeat the Black Knight and bring his head and sword back so that when the Royal family comes for Us they will know they stand no chance!" He said with conviction while looking in his second wife's eyes.

It was true, she knew that she was bonded to Leon so he would comply with her father's orders, from the beginning she knew that her husband would be the spear head of House Redgrave… but so much has happened between the first time they met and now.

She was no longer the betrayed little girl that lost her composure and started a war with the Royal house, she was no longer Angelica Rapha Redgrave. She was no longer the one that agreed to have her husband fight for her father, sometime ago she stopped being the Daughter of the Duke and became the Baroness of House Bartfort and now a viscountess.

"I don't want you to go!" she said, walking towards him, and lifted him to kiss him before he could give any kind of answer.

She knew that this was not something he wanted to do, he abhorred killing, but this was something he thought he needed to do.

She looked at her father and brother, tears escaping her eyes "This is the last time you do this to my family, if there is someone else you think is a target of opportunity look for someone else!" they both nodded but they were probably thinking they could get to use Leon again anyway.

She could hear Livia crying but she did not turn towards her yet, she would be spending time with her sister-wife and husband later, but for now there was something she needed to tell her father.

"If something happens to Leon, you can forget me ever marrying again for the sake of House Redgrave!" that shocked them.

She was raised with the idea that no matter if she was married to the prince or if she became Queen, she would always be a Redgrave.

But she can no longer think like that, she is now and forever Angelica Fou Barfort!

Taking the hand of her husband she approached Livia and took her hand and guided them outside leaving the Redgraves in her office.

There is some bonding they have to partake in. the three of them!

0x0x0x0

As Gilbert and his father, the Duke, walked away from Angie's state he could not help but think 'That was rather unpleasant'.

Gilbert knew his little sister had developed feelings for her husband and he was happy about it.

Leon was a good man, and a strong knight capable of providing a good lifestyle for Angie and he has protected her time and time again.

Gilbert liked Leon.

But that fact doesn't mean he would use his strength to the fullest.

Angie knew the reason why she was given specifically to him, and yet she rebelled when she thought Leon's life would be in danger.

His little sister even dared to declare herself a Bartfort.

Not in those exact words… but by warning them that in case of Leon's death, she wouldn't re-marry at their behest, she told them she has made the choice to become a Bartfort.

And after saying those words she grabbed her husband, and sister wife with the obvious intention of getting physical with them.

At that point their father decided that leaving was the smart thing to do.

They have already got Leon to agree with their plan and staying would only give Angie time to get them to reconsider this whole thing.

Angie would be mad at them for leaving like this, but after taking the side of her husband she would not go against his word.

Right now they must leave and hope for the best.

Leon's victory meant more to them now than when they arrived here earlier.

Gilbert wanted to keep a friendly relationship with Angie and he knew his father wanted the same.

Perhaps the worst part of today was that they only got to hold Gil for a few minutes before they had to talk about the ambush.

When they arrived at their ship Sir Robert was getting ready to disembark. Originally he and his men would have a levy of two days before they had to embark on their return trip.

However when he saw them coming he ordered the men to get ready to sail again.

Sir Robert can read his father's face so easily that it's almost frightening how no one outside the Duke's direct family knows about their relationship.

A stern series of barks get the disappointed men to return to their post ASAP and allows the man to guide his father to his cabin.

What happens behind that door is something that does not concern him and frankly speaking, ignorance was a bliss in this case.

He knows that some people favor the same gender… or both like his father and sister,but he is not one of them.

As long as the feeling is reciprocated he sees nothing wrong with it, no matter what the Temple says.

He just wished his wife was here so he could have someone to talk with about this things right now.

But Miriam is pregnant again and this time she doesn't want to leave anything to luck.

Same as last time, and yet they still haven't managed to conceive…

Angie was so lucky and he couldn't help but to feel jealous of her.

At this rate he would have to adopt Gil to make him his heir… Angie is still young and can bear more children and she would probably be happy that Gil becomes a King instead of a Duke…

Today Angie looked like she didn't even heard when Father told her that after they take the throne they would be given the Offreys territory and the rank of Duke.

The only thing in her mind was the fact that Leon Rapha Bartfort would have to risk his life.

0x0x0x0

Aaron has been anxious all day, he has another report to give to the Queen.

The queen had not been happy when she learned that Robson brat arrived here from the capital with the Baron.

And the fact that he failed to inform her about the Bartforts plan to steal the loot of the capitals dungeon had her mad at him already!

But this time he was in time to inform her about the Duke's arrival and departure from the Island on the same day it happened.

He couldn't know what they talked about because those robots and that damn knight of theirs were guarding all of the entrances.

But the fact that they left so hastily has to mean something.

Getting his phone out of it's hiding spot was kind of gross but no one would look below his pissing pot!

The call connects quickly and before the Queen can say anything he speaks.

"The Duke was here today, he stayed for a couple of hours and then left, I don't know what they talked about but when he left he was kind of pissed!"

He tried to be as clear as possible, and now he was awaiting the Queen's praise.

"Good job Aaron, you'll be rewarded handsomely for your services, I'll have someone else look for more details from our spies in the Redgrave territory." And then the woman cut the call.

The idea of enough riches to establish himself in the capital and form his own harem was closer everyday!

0x0x0x0

Fooling the man to believe he was talking to the Queen was an easy enough task for her, and it disgusted her how eager he was to betray her Master's generosity,

Cleare wanted nothing more than to use that poor excuse of a spy on her more daring projects, but that would be foolish, and she was above messing up so badly,and knowing that the subject was valuable, stopped her hand.

But she was patient, she would get her chance to punish that old human trash soon enough, in the mean time, she will be deploying a stealth drone equipped with a powerful cannon just in case the Black Knight is more than master can chew.

Chapter Text

CHAPTER XXIX.

She has been having trouble staying awake whenever she is a little comfortable, like now that she is sitting in the reception of the Thermals.

Merce was so, so sleepy, she wanted to crash on her bed and sleep a couple of days straight.

But she couldn't!

She needed to make sure Baby Balcus was well fed and his diaper clean and… and… she loved him so much she was afraid of something happening when she was away from him!

Her baby is sleeping on a crib Lady Angelica gifted them and that is such a grim reminder of her position.

Her mother lost her mind in a depression and babbled about her biological father to Lord Balcus and since then she has been afraid of losing the little privileges she has been given.

In the beginning she believed her life was over when she was given to James, but the man turned out to be kind, funny and… energetic. And once they moved to this island things started to improve.

She was elevated among the commoners and given a nice and comfy job. that she felt she could lose any moment because her mother couldn't keep her mouth shut!

Her husband was Leon's enforcer and he knew a lot of the things that they were planning… including a rebellion!

Her home was overflowing with people the crown would classify as undesirables!

Like Alan Fia Spencer, the journalist who arrived a few weeks ago. and he did make quite the entrance, as soon as he got out of the airship he started handing pamphlets to the people, she read one too, and it was filled with praises to Leon and Duke Redgrave while ridiculing the Holforts.

At least the man's women were nice to be around, they practically lived in the Thermals after hearing the benefits of taking a bath in the miraculous waters of the Bartfort's fancy bathroom.

Her job was another one of the things that didn't let her sleep.

When Leon opened the Hotsprings there were around sixty people living in the Island and it was kind of easy for her to administer the place, everyone was nice and they knew she was the half sister of the Lord of the land and were kind to her as a result.

But with how the population of the island was growing she was beginning to be overwhelmed by the work, her baby boy was born a whole month earlier because of her stress and he was so small!

Luckily Lady Joan made sure her little Balcus received the help needed to survive.

Jenna has visited her too, she was the only true Bartfort that still considered her family and she has come to see how her other nephew is doing whenever she has free time…

Which isn't often, Lady Angelica is a strict instructor and she has been keeping her friend busy learning the ins and outs about administering a territory.

Merce wished she could have her sister around more often, she sees most of her customers at least twice a week, but Jenna can use the Estate's baths and that makes it even more touching when she takes the time to check on her…

0x0x0x0

He has reigned supreme in the fields of battle for over forty years, be it the kingdom of Ustio, the equally annoying nation of Belka, or the hated Kingdom of Holfort, he has spent most of his life making his presence felt in battle.

It's true that there haven't been any major conflicts where his presence was needed, but that was because his name was enough to scare away the enemy.

Things are getting agitated again though, and he has been preparing for what would probably be the last war of his life, the war were he would finally destroy Holfort, the one that would allow him take vengeance for his wife and daughter.

He couldn't care less about the House the Redgraves annihilated, he just wanted the war to start but that arrogant Count Garret wanted to claim as much glory for himself as possible by making preparations and alliances.

He didn't care about glory, not since the death of his family.

But as this would be the last war he could actively participate in, he too wanted every precaution taken to ensure their victory.

And that was the reason why he was traveling in a rather small two hundred long class airship with crew and only his personal armor, traveling across the frontier of the kingdom acting as bait for a small force of Duke Redgrave's elites.

Among them was the man's son-in-law, a supposed prodigy that was giving trouble for the Holfort kingdom just by existing.

His death would hopefully start the civil war the Principality of Fanoss has been waiting for, and that would be their time to attack!

Garret has even arranged the first stage of the war with an overambitious Marquis of the kingdom, they would attack the frontier nobles and take their territories for the Principality, they were supposed to retreat once said Marquis fleet confronts them, but of course, they would destroy that fleet as well and advance to the capital and kill every member of the royal family, then they would hunt and kill all of the kingdom's nobility and then his vengeance would finally be complete!

"Sir Vandel, there is a ship straight ahead. It's a two hundred meter long class, black body and a… horn. IT'S BARTFORT!'' The description does match that of the Baron… or Viscount Bartfort.

That is him, the Duke's son-in-law, but he has come under prepared, he doubted the number of armors that ship could carry would be nearly enough to give him a proper challenge!

He smiled, like every other supposed prodigy he has faced before this man was prideful and stupid.

Thinking that this would be enough to defeat him was insulting but it also made his job easier and put him one step closer to his goal!

"That's our target" he said with a smile and he could see his men smile as well, they had absolute faith in him, some of them had been with him long enough to have witnessed his prowess while others have heard tales of his exploits and considered themselves lucky to be in his service.

"Sir, one armor has come out of the ship!" another one of his men alerted him, and he waited for him to count the total number of armors that would be deployed to try and kill him, but instead the same man asked "No other armors are getting out?" as if he couldn't believe someone wanted a one on one duel against the Black Knight.

That got his attention, surely this man would not be so arrogant to believe he alone was enough to defeat him… he looked at the window of his airship and looked as the armor got closer and closer stopping just outside the range of his cannons.

"Let's hurry and get this done. Greetings Black Knight, I'm Viscount Leon Fou Bartfort, and I'm here to kill you!" the armor said with its speakers, then the airship behind him opened fire. "You cannot escape!"

"Sir, our engines are shot, our mobility is reduced to fifteen percent!" he smiled as he ran for his armor, that was an impressive ship, to be able to strike from that far! It was better than the best the Principality could offer but he would still chase it down after it right after defeating that arrogant brat!

When he arrived at the hangar he took a moment to appreciate his armor. It us a beauty, black and gold, and it was the first Armor he has ever felt comfortable with.

This is the first armor to move according to his expectations, the armor that could let him use all of his skills and talents!

The black armor had taken more distance from his ship and gotten closer to his own, at least the fool has some common sense.

"That's an impressive ship, I'll be taking it back with me!" He taunted his opponent.

From up close he could see the armor was extremely bulky and would have troubles keeping up with his mobility, that thick armor probably won't be enough to stop the sword the ruler of his country loaned to him for as long as he lived, his magnificent blade was made of adamantis, the strongest metal in the world and it will cut that Lost Item like butter!

"Will your ghost possess it?" the man asked sarcastically, by his voice he knew the man to be as young as the reports claimed him to be.

"Your arrogance will be your undoing young man!" he warned even if he had every intention of killing the fool, this man believed that because he could beat some pirates he was in the same league as himself?

"It's not arrogance if you can back it up Old man!" the opposing armor charged at him with surprising speed, an armor that big shouldn't be able to move like that, but it didn't matter, he prepared his sword to parry the incoming strike and cut the brar's blade in two.

But to his surprise his enemy's sword was not destroyed on impact and he could not react on time for the second strike.

A kick sent him upwards but he recovered his stance immediately.

The follow up strike was made with the same ferocity as the first but this time he was ready, he aimed a kick at his opponent's arm trying to disarm him but the kick was dodged and the retaliation swing of the sword almost cut his leg off!

After the short exchange he took some distance.

This young man was the genuine article, a true prodigy!

No doubt he has heard those stories about his sword being able to cut through armor and weapons in a single swing because the way the Holfortian parried his attacks were always aimed at the flat and not the edge.

His heart beat faster at the thought of killing such a man, his death would be truly devastating for House Redgrave!

And this was possible because of this man's pride, if he had come with more bodies to throw at him he would have lost without a doubt!

"When you die, your Liege will be done for!" he said before charging at top speed, he would show him that as talented as he was he still lacked the experience to match him!

Trusting his sword lightly to make his enemy dodge and still have the power for a follow up strike would injure or kill him.

Instead the young man catched the light thrust with his armor's bare hand and severed his armor's arm clean off the elbow with a clean cut!

Hastily he retreated once again looking wide eyed at the young man who discarded the arm of his armor and stored his precious sword on his armor's backpack.

"It's that all you've got?" the young man taunted as he retrieved a gun from another compartment of his backpack "You are too old for this, you should have retired a long time ago if this is all you have left!" The young upstart circled him until he was between his ship and him, cutting all options of retreat.

This wasn't supposed to happen!

BANG!

A shot from his gun impacted his armor's other arm, and left it as a mangled piece of scrap.

He was still speechless as the young man kept taunting him.

"Seriously if I was your age I would spend all my time with my wives and scold my son for every mistake he makes managing our land!"

He saw red at that moment, he no longer had his sword or even arms to strike back but he still has legs!

This brat dared to talk like this when his country killed his own family!

While dodging his kicks from the armor's backpack six small objects were released and started circling him and shooting at him from various angles.

With his arms gone part of his balance was gone as well and he had troubles dodging the barrage of bullets directed at his fuselage.

"I can't simply retire and spend time with my family because the kingdom killed them!" he finally shouted, hoping for the information to give him some opening for him to exploit.

"Is that why you killed the King and Queen of your country? Because they didn't want to keep fighting with the kingdom?!"

The man's retort froze him completely, how did this brat even know about that!

In the end it didn't matter because that was enough of an opening for him to put his sword through his armor, he was mortally injured and at this distance his legs weren't even long enough to reach his opponent.

The worst was that he was being pushed towards his enemy's ship!

His enemy would have his sword and head as proof of his victory and he would be presenting them to his Liege while his own crew has witnessed his defeat and they can't even pursuit this monster, they would spread the news of his defeat and the Principality of Fanoss would hesitate to attack or attack recklessly to avenge him.

This was the first time he tasted defeat and it was sour.

0x0x0

Alan was ecstatic, that was such a superb duel.

He was allowed to travel with the young man to witness and record this duel for the book he is writing for the Redgraves.

It will be his magnum opus, starting with Prince Julious' infidelity and from then he would embellish Lady Angelica's suffering harried by the royal entourage, the saintess for once will be the Villain.

Of course this duel will be there too, even if it didn't go as he expected.

He had expected it to be a far more difficult experience for Lord Leon, he expected the fall of the Black knight to be something to be remembered.

Now, don't get him wrong, the duel is something he will never forget, but not because of the defeat of an old Legend.

No, inside his own mind Alan has not labeled this duel as the fall of the Black Knight.

No, a more appropriate label would be: The New Dawn.

And wouldn't that be the perfect title for his book?

0x0x0x0

Luxion basked in the light and fire of the destruction he had brought forth on his ancient enemy, Arcadia was destroyed in its inactive state, never to harm his master or his descendants, never to harm a member of old humanity ever again!

With this, he would be able to return to his master and report his success!

Not only has he- destroyed all of the weapons of old humanity but he has also located and secured several abandoned cargo ships belonging to the old humanity.

In the next five generations the survivors of old humanity would be the rulers of this world!

Chapter Text

CHAPTER XXX.

Princess Hertrude Sera Fanoss was excited, after two months the ship of her most trusted protector was spotted in the vicinity of the capital where she had been waiting anxiously for his return in her throne room, just behind her her little sister Hertrauda probably was feeling the same.

There were other people in the room, her knights and some of the court nobles that were perpetually in the palace, all of them sporting smiles on their faces, but she knew better, most of them had ulterior motives to be here, they were all just looking out for their own interests.

Ever since the death of her parents, her sister and her have been facing a hostile world full of nobles and tutors that only expected them to know better , as if every thought she had was wrong and every success had no praise.

Vandel was the only one that seemed to genuinely care for them.

His mere presence was enough to put a stop to the harassment they suffered. He was like the grandfather they never met.

His ship’s engines had suffered heavy damage during battle and he had to return at a snail’s pace but he was finally back!

The ship she sent to pick up her dear friend had just docked in a few minutes ago and he should be here anytime now.

And true enough, the doors to her imposing throne room opened and his disciples started to enter the room one after the other.

She was familiar with this ceremony they insisted on performing to honor Vandel, but there was something wrong this time.

She could notice they looked tired and the aura of despair that practically surrounded them was palpable.

Something went wrong during the mission?

Perhaps one of them perished when their ship was attacked?

Finally she saw Sir Gawain Him Zenden, Vandel’s nephew and also his favorite disciple, but he didn’t fill the usual spot… 

Her blood turned to ice inside her veins.

Gawain kneeled in Vandel’s spot.

NO!

She shouldn’t jump to conclusions!

Maybe Vandel finally decided to retire and he would be arriving later in a more befitting attire to a retired knight?

“My Princess…” Gawain spoke with a heavy voice and her hopes disappeared all at once “We have failed our mission and my uncle, Viscount Vandel Him Zenden is dead'' the knight couldn’t maintain his head up and she could see that this was true much to his shame.

She shook her head, she probably just heard wrong.

Vandel is the strongest knight in the continent and he couldn’t have been defeated by an upstart ambush!

“I’m afraid I didn’t quite catch what you just said Sir Gawain, would you please repeat yourself?” she ordered, and this time she would listen with extra attention, to hear about Vandel’s victory.

“I’m afraid that you heard me right, my Princess, My uncle was defeated, his armor and body lost to our enemy, alongside the sword your grandfather loaned to him” Gawain’s voice cracked several times during his speech.

She felt a knot on her throat and for a few moments she didn’t know what to say, or what to do.

Vandel was always this unstoppable force, nothing ever stood in his way, no matter if it was a mean tutor or a threatening noble offering his son for her to marry, nothing ever stood in his way.

And now he is gone…

One of the nobles that had always supported Vandel spoke while she was still trying to assimilate the man’s death.

“How many divisions did the Duke send?” It really didn’t matter to her right now, but deep down she knew this was an important question, the frontier patrols should have noticed such a large force entering their territory, this was an act of war!

Gawain seemed to deflate at the question, his chin down as he spoke revealed this to be something painful for him, but he spoke, with unusual clarity, as if making sure that nothing he said would be confused as anything but the truth “Just one Knight”

The silence was deafening.

It just wasn’t possible, no single knight could best their Black Knight in combat, not when the man could destroy a fleet and the armors they carried almost single handedly.

“He introduced himself as Viscount Leon Fou Bartfort, the man Lord Vandel was supposed to kill…” Gawain stopped as if to let anyone make a question.

Soon he continued taking their silence as a sign to finish his report. “Once we spotted his ship he came out in his armor and challenged us. When Lord Vandel went out to confront him, his ship fired at us from its position. I've never seen a ship with such a long range in my life!” Gawain paused again, his breath erratic and his eyes unfocused… A ship that can fire at you way before you are in range is a scary thing.

“The impact damaged our engines, we were left unable to pursue. Then they engaged in combat immediately, it was a short fight, both of them were trying to kill each other…” Sir Gawain was breathing hard, Hertrude admired his sense of duty.

“Bartfort is as much of a prodigy as we were informed, he saw through a feint and took advantage of it to take control of the fight and…” the knight swallowed a hard knot in his throat once again before proceeding “he disarmed lord Vandel, stole his sword…” a series of surprised expressions interrupted the knight.

“Soon after he landed the killing blow, and then he took Lord Vandel’s body within his ship and left us with no option but to retreat” He finished lowering his gaze to the ground.

Left unsaid was the fact that the cursed Duke’s knight would be presenting both Valndel’s sword and his corpse to his master, Vince Rapha Redgrave once he goes back to the kingdom.

“Losing Vandel is quite the tragedy, but we all knew his prowess has been diminishing as he aged” Count Garret said to everyone in the room, she couldn’t help the glare she sent him. He wouldn’t even allow them the time to mourn a dear friend before he started making plans for the war again!

“The disciples he left behind are more than enough to destroy this new threat and our more advanced armors will give the rest of our knights the edge they need to destroy our enemies and finally, we have our princesses’ flutes which will provide us with unlimited troops… It’s time to strike the kingdom, the Duke will not reveal this to the Holforts, that is why we must attack now before they can learn of Sir Vandel’s defeat and our enemy can make a plan accounting the Black knight’s absence from the battlefield!”

She looked at her sister and received a nod of confirmation.

She would destroy the kingdom even if that’s the last thing she does, but she would also make sure to destroy House Redgrave completely…. 

Gertrude was ready to summon both Guardians to finish all of her enemies at once and leave Gertrauda free of the burden!

For her parents!

And Vandel!

0x0x0x0

It was a dark and cold night.

The chilly nocturnal wind seemed to bypass his skin and get to his bones in the blink of an eye.

The Duke kept staring at the bonfire to distract himself, to avoid thinking how old he felt.

However Vince couldn’t help but feel nostalgic for those long nights he spent exploring the borders of the kingdom looking for a new floating island for the chance to encounter an uncharted dungeon.

He considered that never finding one was the biggest failure of his entire life!

And he would never find one in this stage of his life, in his old age he lacks the energy and durability to embark on another expedition.

He was dressed in various layers of thick furs and there was a bonfire helping him to keep warm, but in his youth he could have gone without the furs.

Getting old is such a sad thing.

He was not dying by any means, but he could feel his body weakening year after year, he sometimes wanted to retire and pass his title to Gilbert so he could rest, and he would soon.

War was coming, and it was a war he helped to create so there was no way he would just retire leaving his son to deal with his mess.

That would not reflect well on his House.

Vince looked away from the fire and blinked repeatedly to make the after image of the fire disappear.

He then looked at his men, all of them are loyal to him more than his family, they would retire roughly at the same time as him, if they survive what is coming.

These veterans were all here escorting him to this rendezvous with his son-in-law not out of loyalty to him, but because of their own morbid curiosity.

There is a slight change in the light around, it’s too early for dawn.

Looking up he squints his eyes hoping to catch one of Leon’s ships in the sky above, it wouldn’t be the first time it turned out to be just a monster getting too close to his camp.

But not this time, he can barely perceive the black body of Einhorn when its horn blocks a group of stars.

His men immediately cheer up when it lands close by.

As the doors of the Einhorn open the light nearly blinds him and his companions, it would have been the perfect moment to ambush him.

But alas, this is his son-in-law and not some mercenary he met at a pub in a barony in the middle of nowhere…

“Greetings my Lord!” Leon says with enthusiasm before his eyes have the time to adjust to the light flooding his camp right now.

Shielding his eyes with his hand he manages to make up the silhouette of Arroganz, Leon’s personal Knight Armor, and then to its side another tall and but slender armor black in color but with golden highlights around its shoulders.

There is a hole in the area the pilot body usually is… 

VInce smiled musically and started looking around frantically for the legendary sword Vandel wielded for decades!

But there is no trace of it…

When his eyes land on Leon he can see the man walking towards him with an urn in his hands.

Once he is a couple of meters away Leon smiles and offers the contents of the urn to him.

With a small amount of hesitation Vince tries to take out whatever is inside it, there is some kind of liquid in it but there is also a spherical object, and kind of heavy too.

Sending his hand deeper into the urn he finally managed to find something to grab and he lifted the ball…

Ruthlessly he suppressed his instinct to throw away the very human, very bald head!

Vince turns it until he is facing… the face of one very deceased Vandel Him Zenden!

He takes it with both hands and raises it above his head to show it to his men who are acting as if they were Leon’s age, all cheering and there were a couple of men who were literally jumping in their happiness. 

“VANDEL HIM ZENDEN IS DEATH!” he screamed with all his might.

They are very far enough away to not be overheard no matter how loud he screams.

Vince too had a couple of encounters with the man over the years, a couple of times he had to flee from this arrogant bastard in the field of battle!

His men cheered and he saw one drunk from a clear, unmarked bottle.

His men one by one congratulate him and Leon, who was the one to execute the Principailty’s champion.

He now has in his possession the head and armor of the most feared man in the continent!

Only the blade is missing!

“Leon, the blade, did you get it!?” he asks, hoping it was not lost in the fight.

“It’s in the Arroganz backpack, I was hoping to keep it, my Lord.” Leon said while gesturing with his hand at the black metallic structure of his armor.

This man has bought him the head and armor of the Black Knight, he might as well have given him Angelica’s Bride Price !

Vince was tempted to demand the sword as well but he just couldn’t deny this man his trophy, that would be in poor taste.

“Of course, of course!” He said with enthusiasm while handing Vandel’s head to one of his men. 

That powerful weapon would be used to defend his daughter and grandchild, there was no need to make Leon a better protector!

“Now come… my son. we have to celebrate!” acknowledging Leon this way was something he needed to keep Angie and Gil close, and after this feat he has definitely earned his recognition!

“Because from now on you are Leon Rapha Bartfort, Duke of the future Redgrave Kingdom… Hey, stop kicking the head you morons!

0x0x0

There was a heavy mood in the barony, Lord Leon had suffered an accident in the mine he was trying to open and lost an eye due to it, he was in a critical condition and it was uncertain if he would live or not.

He knew the man left the island to buy the materials to start digging deeper in search for minerals a few weeks ago and reported it to the Queen, who appeared to be pleased and explained to him the real reason he was leaving.

To be so arrogant to believe he could beat the freaking Black Knight !

He had to play along with the rest of the crowd feigning worry about their beloved Lord.

But in truth, Aaron couldn’t wait for night to fall and tell this to the Queen!

The Viscount had survived but was left crippled!

He got tired of this job once Leon Fou Bartfort failed to recognize the word Nihon , the name of his original life’s country.

He had hopes that said noble would be another reincarnator, like the Crown Prince’s lover and himself, but there was no such luck.

If he was, he would probably reveal himself and use his knowledge as leverage to gain influence while still informing the Queen about anything that would earn him a reward later, when the game goes back to its original ending.

In truth there was nothing the low ranking noble had that he desired… other than his women.

Such beauties were wasted in a plain man like the Viscount.

Aaron on the other hand was handsome, resourceful… not as strong… he couldn't ignore the gap in strength that existed before the accident happened, he learned of his party conquering Capital’s dungeon and what he saw in-game was not something he would like to see in this world.

After clearing the dungeon he knew he was simply no match for the Viscount, that’s why he was so hard pressed to pretend to be sad about his fate. 

But now he had a lucky break and once he informs the Queen and she informs him when she would be striking he may be able to spirit away the Villainess and the other wife to keep for his own harem, all while keeping the rewards the Queen promised him… It's not realistic, he would have to just take the Queen’s reward.

Impatient, he returned to his cabin. It consisted of only three rooms, the kitchen where he cooked simple meals, his dormitory and a bathroom/latrine that was added last week. It was in this last room where he stored his treasure, who would look there? 

He took his cellphone he bought from a clueless merchant he dialed to the Queen.

In truth he doesn’t know how the thing works in this world but it has the same functionality as a smartphone did in his previous life and he considered himself lucky to have it.

Dialing to his only contact he waited for twenty minutes for the queen to answer his call, it was the middle of the day and even if he knew he should be more careful with this, he knew that no one would bother him in his house.

He lived on the outskirts of the town alongside many immigrants, far from the Baron’s estate.

“I assume you have news” the Queen stated with disapproval in her voice, it bothered him but he knew that the news was worth his weight in gold!

“I do. Bartfort just had an accident in a tunnel in the mine I told you about before” he told her, sarcasm filled his voice, for a moment there was silence, it was maddening, he thought the bitch would be jumping in joy!

“Are you certain?” she asked and he wanted to shout at her that of course he was sure.

“I saw him being carried on a gurney myself! He was a mess, last I heard he lost an eye!” Once again the Queen took her time to reply.

“Well done, but next time wait until night before calling, it’s too dangerous to do it in the middle of the day!” The Queen cut the call!

He was furious, she said nothing about his reward! He knew he would be receiving the title of Viscount and this lands once this was all over, but he wanted more!

“That bipolar bitch!” he muttered under his breath, sometimes the Queen treated her kindly and others she just wanted to hear his reports and treated him like shit!

“The Queen doesn’t hold spies in high esteem? Who would have guessed” he froze once he heard that feminine and somewhat mechanical voice, he looked all around him but there was no one else besides himself in the room.

“I must be imagining things” he said in a low voice, there was no way anyone could be here with him!

“If you imagined not being caught, then yes, you are!” that voice again, this time he was sure there was someone else with him, hurrying he took his gun and searched for the intruder once more, even now he couldn’t find them.

“I might be in  the ceiling” they taunted again, he was discovered, he knew it, but if he can find the rat he can still save his facade. 

SWIFT!

He suddenly felt a sting on his neck and palmed the area trying to find a dart or some kind of non lethal ammo, but there was nothing there.

He fell to his knees, paralyzed but not unconscious for hours, he couldn’t even scream!

The sun went down and the darkness covered him for hours, he was way too scared to sleep.

He almost felt relief when he heard his door opening, if he wasn’t so sure that it would be the Viscount’s men that were coming to get him!

He was right, except for a little detail, the one who came into the bathroom were he was lying was the Viscount himself, he was accompanied by his brother in law and one of the robots that helped on the fields.

The Viscount was healthy, not a scratch on him either!

They had flashlights and they were aiming them at him!

“Your name is Aaron, right?” the lord of this land asked him, but he couldn’t answer, whatever was on his system wouldn’t let him!

“The drug on his body won’t allow him to speak master” the same mechanical voice he heard before being reduced to this sorry state alerted the man.

“Either way, you have fulfilled your purpose admirably,” what was the man talking about? Why was he talking like he knew about his secret job all along?! “But now you have two options, you either start working for me or you die, what is it going to be? Hm? blink twice if you want to work for me and live”

He tried blinking twice as soon as he could with that drug still on his body. It felt like a herculean task!

“Hm he wants to die!” said the knight accompanying the noble when he failed to blink fast enough to convey the message correctly.

“Oh, so you want to live huh?” Once he managed to blink twice the knight kicked him hard on his stomach “What do you think would happen to our families had we not known about you huh bitch!?” It was only the first of a series of painful kicks aimed at his abdomen.

“That's enough James, I know how you feel but we still need this moron!” The Viscount stopped the beating, he knew what would happen to the people of this Island, hell he was planning to inflict some of the pain himself, and he was thanking whatever god was watching after him that the noble had a colder head than the knight!

He managed to look up at the Viscount who was massaging his shoulders when the man spoke again. “Cleare, plant the explosive on his neck” explosive? What the hell was he talking about? 

SWIFT!

That sound again!

“Congratulations, now your life is in the hands of a being that feels no mercy and is only loyal to me and my line, if Cleare determines you are about to betray us, you die, I won’t question her either.”

With that said the Viscount dropped a paper in front of him and walked away, the knight kicked him one last time before following his lord like a loyal dog!

He will find a way to remove whatever they put on his neck and kill them for sure!

“No. You will not, you will follow the script Master has left for you and if you think I would hesitate killing you, you are sorely mistaken” the mechanical voice said as if reading his intention “If i detect your hands lingering on your neck you die”

A small metallic sphere floated with a blue lens in front of his face allowing him to see his would-be executioner for the first time.

It was a machine?

A cold unfeeling machine that only follows orders as commanded?

He was finished one way or the other

But this thing still followed the Viscount orders so following the script left by the man offered a little ray of hope!

He didn’t want to die!

Chapter Text

CHAPTER XXXI.

Mylene Rapha Holfort was in a closed room with some of her advisors, among them was Malcolm Fou Framptom, and she was rightfully glaring at the man.

The Principality of Fanoss has just declared war on them.

They had already attacked Field territories and the Marquis had been forced to flee.

However the man still kept calm and collected.

“According to the Marquis Field report the Black Knight did not engage” the man stated as if that was of any importance when one of their most powerful frontier nobles wasn’t defeated with relative ease.

“It is possible the Principality simply didn’t deploy him!” one of the nobles from Frampton faction countered “With such overwhelming numbers even a knight as notorious as him may go unnoticed” he tried to make the absence of the most powerful knight in the continent irrelevant.

But Mylene knew what the Framptom and his minions were implying.

She knew about the ambush he set for Viscount Bartfort, her own spy reported him to be gravely injured with an eye missing. It did match with one of their scenarios.

This attack hinted at either  Bartfort achieving a pyrrhic victory over the Black Knight in an absolutely ideal scenario or less likely the man barely escaping with his life.

However this hasty attack after how meticulous the Principality has been acting pointed at the loss of their greatest knight.

For once things are looking good.

This was not the scenario they have planned but it was much more than she had been hoping for!

She knew Framptom had some diplomatic connection with the Principality but she ignored the specific of any deal he achieved that made him look so calm and collected.

“For now we will send reinforcements to the border nobles,” She said scanning the room for Gilbert Rapha Redgrave, the man was there with an aloof expression in his face, this matter had played entirely to her favor, however she had to praise his control, even the loss of his faction's beacon did was not enough to throw him off his center.

Even knowing it was futile she looked him in the eyes and ordered him “Lord Redgrave, you will be providing those reinforcements!”

The man smiled gently and nodded, he had no intention of sending a single ship, she was sure, and she could predict his next words easily, he would be leading his men himself, so he would try to leave the capital.

“Of course Mylene, I’ll be leading my men myself”

Just as expected, but she wouldn’t make it so easy for him “That won’t be necessary, you are still needed here in the capital, we need you as a proxy with your House” she knew the Crown needed to keep the man close, they will eventually have to take him as a hostage to hopefully resolve this side of the conflict without anymore bloodshed.

“I’m afraid I’m the only one available to lead my House’s troops, my father has fallen ill, you see, he is not a young man anymore” he insisted, that was a complete lie, they have many nobles able to command their fleet.

“How about your brother-in-law, I’m interested what the Pirate Bane can do against an organized army instead of a few pirates” she probed, if Gilbert gives an excuse to her he would be pretty much confirming her spy’s information to be accurate.

“As talented as Leon is, he isn’t experienced enough to lead a fleet this size, it’s too soon for him” he said calmly, so the Viscount was out of commission for the foreseeable future, that was good.

“A shame, however I expect him to send his own troops too, he is a Viscount, and has duties to the kingdom!” She was calm but she made sure her intentions wouldn't be interpreted any other way than her demanding the man in the frontlines.

“As you Order Mylene” It was annoying that he stopped referring to her by her title, it was such a pitiful act of defiance but it really got under her skin.

0x0x0

Finley Fou Bartfort was out at night with her fiance, Ethan Fou Robson.

 Much to her dismay, they were not out to do anything naughty, they needed to get out of the academy as soon as possible!

They were moving as stealthily as possible through one of the many gardens of the academy.

She has finally received the call she had expected since the first day she arrived here, it was time to get out before she could become a hostage.

“Oh my, sneaking in the middle of the night with your intended Lady Bartfort? How bold of you!” she cursed under her breath, that was Princess Erica’s voice. 

The Princess was sitting on a bench alongside her fiance Elijah Rapha Fraser and her followers, they were armed! 

There was no way this was a coincidence!

Other than herself and Ethan only her followers knew about their plans.

She was forced to put her best smile on her face, she knew there was a possibility of being betrayed, Ethan made no attempt to abandon her and instead took a protective stance in front of her.

The children of the vassals of Redgrave House were incredibly unreliable, just like they betrayed big sis Angelica they have betrayed her now!

She could hear steps behind her, great, now they are surrounded!

“Lord Ethan, keep going, we will settle things with her Highness” turning around she saw four young men she was familiar with, they were Ethan followers!

At least his followers were reliable.

“I’m afraid all of you must stay” The princess’ fiance said with finality while raising his hand, and apparently that was a signal for their followers to aim their weapons, each one of their enemies were wielding a carabin!

The situation was dire!

But she has never counted on either her own followers nor Ethan’s!

Raising both hands as if she was surrendering, she instead covered her ears and then a hail of bullets rained on the princess’ followers, she knew they were not dead, her brother Leon thought that killing children was a magnificent way to lose support in the war to come.

So he ordered Cleare to only shoot rubber bullets , a non lethal kind of ammunition.

Looking up she saw Cleare floating above her, the guns integrated on this Avatar smoking.

Looking around her she could see Ethan and his followers looking up as if they had seen a ghost, understandable, that was her first impression of Cleare as well, and back then she looked inoffensive and they just saw her dispatch a group of no less than a dozen armed students!

While the Princess’ fiance looked terrorized, the princess herself was looking at Cleare as if she was recognizing her, which was impossible, as far as Finley knew, Cleare and her brother Luxion were the last of their kind.

“Now Princess Erica, would you like to visit my brother’s territory? I've been told it’s lovely this time of year!” She politely ordered her new prisoner.

“Lady Finley, this exceeds the bounds of your authority, Master has no plans to abduct royalty” Cleare’s mechanical voice warned, that was the last thing she needed!

It was embarrassing to be rebuked by the familiar, it weakened her position and while her own image was not really that important in the grand scheme, she still felt mortified and she wanted to get it her way dammit!

“What is the matter, Lady Bartfort? That is quite the rebellious familiar you have!” Erica said, catching up to the fact that she may not be in as much danger as she first thought.

“You know Cleare, Nicks has two women, and so does Leon, and even that buffon Rutart has two women, but Colin only has Lady Atlee, don't you think it to be unfair?” After living with the Familiar for months she learned that she wanted her brothers to produce lots of children, and she doted on baby Gilbert a lot.

In truth, she knew the Familiar wanted her brothers to have lots of offspring for some reason, so it was only reasonable to appeal to that desire to get her to cooperate.

While she was trying to convince Cleare, the Princess naturally tried to escape, however Ethan was there and ordered her to not move.

“You know, your Highness, Coling is a really nice guy, you should at least give it a try” her beau said while aiming a scavenged weapon at the Princess, Finley almost forgot how well Ethan and her little brother got along with each other.

Just then an airship appeared out of nowhere right above them, that was one of Leon’s ships, out of it came Lord Gilbert alongside his wife, blessing the saintess for their punctuality she greeted them with enthusiasm.

“Lord Gilbert, Lady Miriam” she curtsied, the man only nodded in acknowledgement, but then he turned his eyes to the Princess who visibly tensed.

“It’s a shame we can’t take you with us Erica, I’ve been told the Bartfort barony is lovely this time of year” Finley was feeling a bit conflicted with Gilbert right now, she felt enraged because he barely paid her any mind and instead focused on the princess, but at the same time she felt a slight amusement because he used the same phrase as her.

There were steps coming in a hurry, someone else was coming.

Daniel was supposed to join them as well, but it could be anyone!

A silhouette appeared in the gates of the garden, the shadow was holding some kind of polearm.

“Sorry I’m late, it was tough getting here.” thank god it was Daniel.

Chapter Text

CHAPTER XXXII.

Julius woke up to the sound of someone violently knocking his door and a startled Marie.

He smiled at his lover, the most perfect woman in the world, the only one to ever see past his title and see his real self.

He smiled for a second before the person beating on his door got his attention again.

“Who is it at this hour?!” Irritated Marie covered her head with a pillow.

He smiled at his lover once more and told her “I’ll go and find out”

Opening the door he was surprised to see a panting Erica with a look of pure desperation on her face “What’s the matter Erica, are you alright?”  he asked, worried about her appearance.

“Brother, I need Marie please!”  she asked politely, that was something that never changed about her, no matter the circumstances, she would always remain polite.

“What happened?” he asked in concern.

Erica was one of the few persons that approved his relationship with Marie, and she seemed interested in getting to know her, but their respective schedules never matched.

Marie had a very busy schedule, thanks to him and his friends no doubt. and Erica was always with her fiance, forging a good relationship with House Fraser.

He couldn’t avoid feeling inadequate at her side, she put everything she had into fulfilling her duty while he abandoned his own responsibilities for the love of his life.

He would never regret loving Marie but sometimes he felt responsible for the current situation of the kingdom.

However he knew everything was happening because Angelica couldn’t let go of her hopes to become the next Queen!

“Bartfort escaped the academy, she hurt Elijah and the others!” She told him before she barged in and kneeled in front of the bed he was sharing with Marie.

His lover was fully awake after hearing about the escape of one of their most important hostages and sat down in the bed, her nightgown barely doing anything to protect her modesty.

“Give me a second to put something on and I’ll heal them!” Marie told his sister much to their relief.

“Thank you, thank you, thank you!” Erica said with tears rolling down her cheeks.

Julius was deeply moved by his sister's sincere gesture of gratefulness, she was always someone who acted beyond her years and she genuinely cared for her fiance.

Once Marie had a simple and much larger piece of clothing covering her they all hurried towards one of the academy’s gardens and he could barely believe a tiny girl such as Finley Fou Bartfort could cause such devastation, all of his sister's followers were laying in the ground, injured or worse!

Marie first approached Elijah, his sister’s fiance and after a short examination she told them that he was just unconscious, she then proceeded to examine the rest of the boys and all of them were in the same condition much to their relief.

After Marie healed the boys Erica calmed down enough to explain what happened.

The situation was worse than he first thought.

They have no one to hold hostage in the academy and even Gilbert has fled the capital.

Just as he expected, Redgrave House has fled and left the kingdom to fend for itself.

Well, the Principality has just declared war on them and he has much bigger issues to take care of!

Namely organizing the students of the academy into an army unit, he will be sending those rebellious Barons to the very frontline and see who is worth his forgiveness in the field of battle!

0x0x0

With a sigh of relief Leila watched the Island were they were stranded for two fucking months!

Yes!

She can curse too, and at this point it is completely justified.

Their ship was damaged in a storm and they had to land on the first habited island they could find, and they were lucky enough to find a ship mechanic there.

However, that's where their luck ended.

The Mechanic was some blue-haired weirdo by the name of Cutty Flam… an obvious nickname but the man insisted that was his actual name!

The man himself had a lot of prosthesis, one leg, one hand… his nose, he was probably more prosthesis than man!

Anyway, weird mechanics aside, as Leila said they were out of luck and the parts needed to repair their airship needed to be shipped from the republic because Emile refused to use generic parts to fix the damn airship!

It didn’t help that while they were waiting for the pieces a group of… Bandits? Well, criminals tried to steal something from Cutty and Serge tried to play the hero and ended up getting beaten up and losing a tooth.

At least her sister and her  ended up meeting a lovely old lady and her absolutely adorable granddaughter!

Noelle is making strides in her recovery at least, she is starting to smile again!

0x0x0

Hertrude Sera Fanoss was on the deck of her cute ship looking ahead at the kingdom that has caused so much strife to his land and to her personally.

They have already taken all the land they were supposed to take according to the deal Count Garret made with Marquis Framptom, they were still advancing though, and the kingdom’s first serious counterattack should be arriving soon.

The kingdom would try to send the Redgrave fleet to intercept them but she knew better, the Duke would not fight them at the moment, they would have to destroy the capital first and then hunt down the man and his Cursed Knight , to put them down and avenge Vandel.

She looked at one of her servants and the flute she was carrying, that was her trump card, it’ll allow her to summon a legion of monsters and an undying Guardian to do her bidding.

She would like to finish this war without the need to summon the Guardian but she has been preparing for years to offer her life in exchange for her country’s victory.

Her little sister, Hertrauda, has her own mission… Survive and rule!

0x0x0

Malcolm Fou Frampton was aboard his flagship surrounded by his most trusted men, his son Albert at his right looking sternly at the crew, Albert was in charge of this airship while he himself was in charge of the fleet.

He was a capable young man, but he was in no way ready to replace him.

This operation will not help him grow, Malcolm was aware of that, however it will increase their prestige and make their House ever closer to the Prime Minister title that has been his goal since he was younger than Albert.

After Gilbert’s escape from the capital alongside his wife and Bartfort's youngest daughter everyone started to look up to him for guidance, as it was always supposed to be.

The rebellious nobles' faction escape was a sore subject though.

Not only was it the fact that they lost the figureheads that they had at hand, the Heirs of low ranking rural nobles have gone missing as well, and they had no idea where they could be, they just knew that they hadn’t left the capital!

Ships like the one Gilbert used to escape were a rarity and he doubted Vince would waste resources to bail out the rabble!

Despite that, things were in a pretty good state for him and his allies.

The Field’s were no match for the Principality and that was something that put a smile on his face, when he chased the enemy away it would only increase his standing while destroying one of the Holfort’s dynasty oldest ally’s reputation.

“Father, everything is ready.” Albert told him with a smile.

He reciprocated before taking the microphone to order his fleet to advance.

“SAIL ONWARDS TO GLORY!”

0x0x0.

*Sigh*

What were they doing? Raymond Fou Arkin wondered as he cleaned his glasses.

This was the fifteenth floor of the capital’s dungeon and they were camping here while things calmed down.

War has broken out. The Principality’s attack was a well known fact within the academy, the prince and his entourage thought themselves to be smart and subtle but in reality they all were just a bunch of pretty boys with heads full of air!

Seriously, they didn’t even have to hide to eavesdrop on them, they just had to stand close by and those self centered highborn would ignore anyone not in their circle.

It was humiliating that they didn’t perceive students in the academy as a threat to them, the worst part was that they were actually pretty close to the truth!

His fellow rural nobles and him stood no chance in a fight or politically.

Daniel was the only one among them with any chance to oppose them but that wasn’t his role. 

That lucky bastard was… lucky enough to have struck gold finding one of the daughters of House Bartfort before they became known as the threat they are.

*Sigh*

He looked at his own fiance, Valerie, she was not what he hoped for when he first entered the academy but she was much, much more than he thought he would get after the first term of the academy.

“Something wrong?” he asked, he didn’t want her to be suffering here, but there was little he could do in matters of comfort right now.

“I know we had to escape” she said irritatedly “But couldn’t we have brought some canvas paint and brushes!” He knew of her love for painting but that was seriously low on their priorities right now, everything they packed was what was needed to survive here, food, water, medicines, bandages, clothes and of course weapons. 

They even had  to share their tent with another three couples making any form of intimacy hard in the next few weeks. 

“I know you are bored, my Lady, but you know that we couldn’t bring any of those things here” it was true too, if not for the fact that they spent almost a year preparing for this they would have been caught by the army and made hostages to pressure their families into joining the war, and even with all their preparations they had barely made it out of the academy and into the dungeon!

“At least lend me your books and pen to make some sketches!” Valerie demanded, he needed those books to keep himself sane though…

Looking around he searched for something, anything that could be used to draw until he found the remnants of the bonfire they used last night, full of ashes.

Then he looked at one of the walls, completely blank and smiled.

“How about an innovative form of art?” he asked Valerie.

That picked her interest.

Chapter Text

CHAPTER XXXIII.

There were important things happening.

More than half of the male students have disappeared from the academy overnight, all of them barons, their fiances disappeared with them too!

Marie Fou Lafan only knew this was different from the script, she did know this was a bad thing though, all of the absentees were considered rebels now.

She scratched her writs below the Saintess bracelet, the damn thing was constantly sending magic to her and it itched and was annoying!

Julius learned about the Principality of Fanoss' surprise attack/declaration of war and spent a few days after the escape of the Redgrave's heir alongside the villainess' sister-in-law planning on how to join the frontlines.

But the disappearance of the rural nobles has thrown a major wrench on his plans.

The rest of the children of the Duke's faction were now being held hostages, even though they alerted Erica about the plans of the Bartfort girl to escape, however that just meant that they are the only hostages they have available now, and their value was questionable…

Right now Marie was in the same hall where she saw her prince for the first time, this time she was standing behind him as he tried his best to convince the remaining students to join in his efforts to help the kingdom.

The hall was half empty, the baron's children made a majority of the male students in the academy and right now most of them are clearly enemies of the crown.

In the game they made up the bulk of the protagonist's troops.

The situation was dire, Marie was always reliant on the foreknowledge of the events to come, and this was like playing in Hardcore mode!

Once Julius finished his speech the male students that remained all cheered, they were the sons of prominent families, and could bring considerable resources too!

But if they die in battle…

No she has to be optimistic, her boys were considerably stronger than they were in the game at this stage, they would prevent any major losses for sure!

0x0x0

Ethan was kneeling and panting, his arms a mess of hematomas and shallow cuts.

The man standing in front of him, the man who gave him the most through defeat of his life is none other than his future brother-in-law: Viscount Leon Fou Bartort.

Lord Leon held back he was sure, because he was still breathing, no matter how difficult it was.

But he had to measure himself against the man who brought down the Principality's Black Knight!

He thought himself close to his level, he thought that if he trained hard for a few more years he would have the necessary strength to fight an opponent such as the Black Knight and win.

He felt betrayed by fate once he heard the news from Lord Gilbert, 'If only I was born a couple of years earlier' he thought, but right now after witnessing and feeling the gap in power between his brother-in-law and himself… if he was born five years earlier he would still have lost badly to him.

This spar was such a humbling experience.

Ethan felt relieved that such a man would become his kin, his ally and that maybe, just maybe his own children would inherit some of that talent from their mother's side of the family.

He would not take any concubines, he absolutely wanted to see what his children would be capable of when he mixed his own outstanding blood with that of the monster that just left him behind to go fuck his own women.

That was all he was doing since he came to his territory again… After an appropriate amount of groveling of course.

His second wife had given birth to his first daughter, a beautiful baby girl they named Odalis; it was some sort of tradition within the former peasant's family to have their daughter's names start with an "O".

Getting the Viscount to spar with him was such a feat too.

The man wasn't even ruling his own land in favor of spending as much time as possible with his family.

He can understand that he will soon be deployed to the frontlines, once either the principality or the Kingdom prevailed it would be their turn to enter the fray.

He wanted to be there too, but Lord Gilbert made it clear that he would not be going to the front, the excuse? he has no Heir!

Lord Gilbert has no Heir either and he would be going to battle regardless,

Hypocrite!

No, Lord Gilbert really wasn't a hypocrite, he knew that the man wouldn't be fighting directly, he would be commanding the troops from the relative safety of an armored airship.

In truth Ethan just wanted to lash out, but he was mature enough to restrain himself.

It's just that he received a letter the morning of their escape from the capital.

Through that letter his father has ordered to break his engagement with Finley and support Prince Julius in any way he could.

House Robson has officially become one of the loyalists!

By now he must have already been disowned!

"You are brooding again" Finley's calm and collected voice got his attention, she knew of course, because he had told her when they arrived and then to everyone else that matters in the territory.

"I think some brooding is allowed when your family disowns you" he replied without looking up, he was lucky the Bartforts decided not to cancel their engagement, probably from their point of view this would be but a temporary setback.

Once the Redgrave faction prevailed they will be reinstating him as the Heir of House Robson… and exile his parents.

"You may be right about that but I don't like you brooding, especially after I got to the trouble of getting Leon to spar with you, Big sis Angelica is still glaring at me!" It was rare for his fiance to be that worried about anyone's opinion, but Lady Angelica was a different matter to her. "I thought you would be less grumpy after getting your ass kicked by big brother" and there she was, back to sarcastic self.

"Come on, I'll see if Lady Olivia can heal me" he had little hope of that happening though, Lady Olivia was just as mad at him as Lady Angelica.

"We better go to Miss Joan and save us glares" she told him in reply.

He sighed and looked up, this was a nice slow life, but this probably was just the calm before the storm.

In an airbike Coling passed at high speed, he had hardly gotten down from that thing ever since Lady Clarice had gifted it to him, and she was probably somewhere watching him ride it. He did not envy his friend, his future wife was beautiful but her love was… heavy.

"So, who do you think will be Colin's second wife?" He asked in sincere curiosity, ever since Finley made that comment to the Princess he has been thinking about what she said in times like this.

"Probably House Roseblade's second daughter" his fiance told him in an amused tone, no matter how beautiful those women are, he couldn't see himself being compatible with their personalities.

"I think he should go with someone his age though" he commented, not wanting to entertain the possibility of being related to both sister's through his brothers-in-law "maybe one Spencer's daughters"

"Please, age has no relevance in this, besides,in twenty years a four or five year gap will hardly matter," Finley said, shrugging.

Touche.

0x0x0

Olivia was happily nuzzling up to Lord Leon's chest on his left side, at his right was Angie.

She had given birth while he was away, sick with worry her little one had decided to come out early to brighten her days, although she was so small she couldn't help but worry.

Cleare was ready for it though, she had built an incubator for her baby, it was a machine with a crystal cage that provided her baby with an environment that simulated her own belly!

For a couple of weeks she could only hold her little Odalis to feed her.

It was heart wrenching, she longed for nothing more than to hold her.

The time waiting for Cleare to declare her baby out of danger was an eternity for her.

She had her parents and her own family with her all the time and that helped ease the desperation she felt watching her baby practically locked in there.

But eventually she was released and she could shower her with all the love she felt in her chest!

Baby Gil, almost a year old now couldn't help but be fascinated by his little sister and wanted to be close to her too.

She wasn't sure he understood the concept of siblings but Angie has talked to him enough about his little sister that he understands Odalis is important to him.

Olivia hoped they would grow up as normal siblings, loving and protecting each other.

Her heart was calm for a while, but then she started worrying again. Would her Husband come back?

Sure, she has him here right now, but back then there was some… no, not some there was a lot of uncertainty if he would ever come back or not.

Angie was the same but she was a lot better pretending nothing was wrong, she even knew more about the knight their husband was sent to kill.

Those were some long nights where she could do nothing but worry about him.

When Cleare showed them a letter from him informing them that he had succeeded they were overjoyed knowing he would be coming home soon, but that was nothing compared to when he finally showed up with not a visible scratch she couldn't help but cry of pure happiness.

Angie though, she slapped him and told him to never worry her like that again, she felt half tempted to give him a slap of her own as well.

She was angry as well, he missed their daughter's birth and his absence was the cause of Odalis' premature birth.

He had a lot to make up to.

But she couldn't be angry for too long, not with him or Angie.

He has their entire lives to make up for them and she didn't want to waste time being angry with him either, she has missed him, and so did Angie, so she decided to avoid all the apologies and kissed him.

The rest was history, they spent the rest of that day with their babies.

Gilbert seemed to have forgotten about his father after over a month without contact, it broke Lord Leon's heart but watching their husband's attempts to ingratiate himself with his firstborn melted Angie's own heart.

In the night she enjoyed a night of passion with both her Lord and Lady the way they have been doing ever since Lord Vince ordered Lord Leon to ambush the Black Knight.

But now she could participate much more actively than when she was still pregnant with Odalis.

She has all but moved to the master bedroom of the estate and shares the same bed with Lord Leon and Angie.

Soon, Lord Leon would need to fight again, at least the next battle would be the last if everything goes according to the plan.

0x0x0x0

Emile and Serge have officially gone mad.

In her Humble Opinion at least…

So what if she doesn't have a paper saying she is a shrink!?

Anyone with a functional brain can tell you that!

At this point she doesn't give a damn about her homeland!

In her defense, if Alzer can produce men like them and then put them in positions of power they deserve anything that comes their way!

Now, why would she, Leila, be so ready to abandon her fiance and country right now?

Well, maybe it has something to do with the pair of idiots flying a pirate flag and then attacking the territory of a man known as Pirate Bane!

They conceived this plan after drinking an obscene amount of vodka while playing a poker game with Loic's corpse and thought it was the best idea ever!

Serge and her fiance Emile will be attacking together hoping for a quick reaction from Bartfort.

And the worst part is that they said it was Loic's Idea… There is something very wrong with their sense of humor!

After hearing it was Loic's idea she, naturally, thought they were joking and let it slide, but she was proved wrong the next afternoon when they started to design their jolly roger she knew should have slapped some sense into Emile's head as Noelle suggested!

From then on her sister and her tried to convince them that it was a bad idea!

They had legally declared themselves as outlaws the second they fly that damn flag!

They could have become a target for any lawful noble inside the kingdom, and by this point it is clear to them that all of the rural nobles from this god forsaken country hate pirates with passion!

She warned them but they didn't listen!

Left with no other option Noelle and her have a plan of their own to maximize their chances of survival.

Serge was so sure of his victory that not even when she reminded them that due to their armors reliance on the Sacred Tree they would have twenty minutes to defeat all the defenders of the island and force Lord Bartfort to come out!

All Serge had to say was "That is plenty!"

She seriously wanted to get moving and maybe witness the first clash of the Fanoss/Holfort war and show them the one of this worlds most dangerous creatures destroy Holfort to get their pompous asses back into gear!

But it was not to be.

They were already in the Pïrate's Bane territory, and to make things worse a merchant fleet has already spotted them and turned back to the floating island of the infamous noble to warn the Viscount about the pirates stalking his lands!

Begrudgingly she had to accept that Serge's plan was working well… statistics at work, the guy had to be right at least once in his sorry life!

Leila took Noelle's hand and guided her to their cabin where they proceeded to change their outfits.

She wanted them to nail the Damsel in Distress appearance in time for what she believes is the boy's inevitable defeat!

Their crew is also indulging them in their plan and are looking the part the best they could… meaning they are all drunk.

When and where they got the booze was a mystery she had no patience to solve right now!

Leila donned a blouse that showed a lot of cleavage and a short skirt to get the attention of the Pirate's Bane, while Noelle wore some more prudish garments.

It was okay, she didn't want them competing for the man's attention.

They were doing this in response to the Heir' crazy scheme, because no matter how strong Serge believes he is, his opponents are seasoned knights that have been fighting constantly the last two years!

Once they were ready they locked themselves in a storage room to pretend to have been kidnaped by the pirates.

If Serge and Emile somehow manage to defeat the Baron then this measure would only be some kinky play between her boyfriend and her.

She wasn't sure what would be the best outcome for them.

On one hand if Serge wins and witnesses the power of the principality they would have the necessary backing to save the Republic; but given all she now knows of them, they will somehow ruin the future somehow!

The six Great Noble Houses are decaying, the Lespinasse are all but gone already, Leila and Noelle are the last of their line.

They were probably just left alive so they could marry into one of the surviving houses too.

It has taken a lot to accept it, but the fact is that even if Serge doesn't ruin the Republic her meddlings have already condemned the country!

Right here, right now Alzer is of no consequence, neither are the kingdom or the principality, the only thing that matters is to survive.

They kept themselves quiet in the off chance they could hear the battle outside, but the ship was silent, not even the inebriated crew made any significant noises.

After thirty minutes she knew they had lost.

That means that Emile and Serge are most likely dead…

She felt a vacuum inside her once she fully accepted that her Emile was dead, there is no point in going back to the republic now.

Noelle and her have indirectly caused the death of three Heirs now, If the Great Nobles don't consider them criminals they would at least be viewed as bad omens in the best of cases!

Leila sat down on the floor and hugged her legs.

What do they do now?

Noelle sat beside her and embraced her.

0x0x0x0

About an hour later they could hear steps getting closer to their hiding place, she knew those were probably the men sent to board their ship after they took care of…

She looked at Noelle and her sister's eyes told her that she was as ready as she was ever going to be.

"Over Here!" she yelled, hoping Bartfort was among the men coming for them.

"We… we are locked!" Noelle added.

They stopped right in front of their door, in two tries they opened the door, five men peered inside and for a terrifying second aimed their weapons at them.

"Who are you?" one of the men asked.

"We are Noelle and Leila Zel Lespinasse" Leila spoke for them, hoping this man would not try anything with them.

"A middle name?"

"Are they nobles?"

"Fuck no! The middle names are Fou, Fia and Rapha!

"You are right, I've never heard of Zel!"

She held Noelle's hand to both, reassuring her sister and to give herself the bravery to explain to the brutes that those names are part of Holfort's tradition, not the Alzer's!

But that wasn't necessary, the man in the lead silenced with a glare "It's Alzer's nobility" He told them angrily much to her relief "Zel.." he nodded his head towards them holding one finger up "Sera, Leita, Laz, Oi and Lato" He lifted another finger for every one of the middle name of the Six Great nobles middle names… even if he botched some of the names she was happy someone recognized they could be of importance!

"How do you know that James?" they were keeping silent while these men chatted comfortably with each other in the ship of one of the men they just killed!

It was frightening how used they must be to these things.

"Learned it in the academy, it's not completely useless" the lead man said, if he went to the academy he must be a knight at least. "Now, what are you two doing here? this is no place for a lady."

"I'd rather tell it to your Lord" she said hoping they would not press in questioning them and leave it to Bartfort.

"As long as you speak with Lord Leon, it's alright, Leonard, please escort these ladies to the boarding ship and take them to the estate" He ordered one of his subordinates.

They followed the man in silence, once they were outside there was a rather small ship waiting for them, and in the distance there was a massive airship six hundred… no at least seven hundred meters long, and it was towing a whole floating Island!

"That's The Partner, Lord Bartfort flag ship, it just returned from its mission…"Leonard must have realized they were staring and explained the presence of the massive ship.

Back in the tournament she remembers the Duke's small fleet taking off to chase the Offreys and she was told that the first ship to take off, a two hundred meter class with black body, belonged to the Pirate Bane…

This was a much more impressive ship!

They boarded the small ship in silence, privately Leila couldn't wait for the night where she could show her appreciation to Lord Leon… He was such an Invincible Knight!

A/N: Hello all!

Hope enjoyed the chapter, because I'll be taking a two week break to go to my vacations and finish the fic.

Please read and Review!

Chapter Text

CHAPTER XXXIV.

As the small ship carried the three of them to the estate she couldn’t help but feel nervous.

She was staring at the armed man that was eying them carefully while escorting them towards the Lord of this land, she tried to not be intimidated, but it was hard not to be.

Besides, she didn’t dress like this for him!

The image they were projecting right now was that of two unfortunate sisters that fell in the hands of pirates.

She needed to know what happened to Emile and Serge, not only was she worried for them, she also needed to know if they were alive to tell a different story to hers!

“Mmm, Did your Lord defeat the pirates?” she asked, her curiosity was genuine.

The man nodded but remained silent.

That wasn’t very useful! 

“How did he defeat them?” she asked again, she needed the man to speak!

“It was my Lord’s familiar: Luxion… He is rather adept at killing pirates, and there were only two of them and he had The Partner’s cannons, those pirates are probably ash  sinking in the ocean right now!” He said rather nonchalantly.

So they were dead…

And Lord Bartfort has a familiar? Is it some type of magical creature?

Not that it matters because Noelle and her couldn’t ever go back to Alzer now.

What to do next?

Leila eyed her sister, she hasn’t been herself since Loic’s death… probably earlier than that.

How could she have been focused so much on getting the true ending of the game to have never noticed her sister was suffering?!

0x0x0

After enduring the awkwardness of traveling with the armed man they arrived at the Baron’s estate… no wait, he is a Viscount now!

After witnessing something that could be called the magic version of an intercommunicator they were guided to a room where they found a young maid waiting for them and beside her a couple of cribs the woman was gently rocking.

“Thank you Leonard, you can leave now” the maid, her voice just above a whisper.

Turning towards them she signaled towards a couple of chairs that were obviously prepared for them. 

This was not what she was expecting, but she sat down anyway.

“I’m Jenna Fou Bartfort, don’t let my clothes fool you, I’m no servant!” She would take the woman more seriously if she hadn’t started with a strong voice and then gradually lowered it so as to not wake up the babies in the cribs.

“James told me you come from the Republic of Alzer, is that correct?” Jenna asked them in a more controlled voice.

“Yes,” she said after a moment, she was deliberating how much of the truth she should tell this woman, probably an acknowledged bastard from the Viscount’s father or less likely, she was a legitimate daughter, either way she must have some influence if Lord Leon allowed her to greet them like this.

Or Lord Leon doesn’t believe they are important enough to bother with them… that was a depressing thought.

“Mighty bold of you to travel here now of all times” The woman commented while looking at one of the cribs and smiling tenderly at the occupant, her tone still soft.

“It wasn’t as if we had any choice” she said, and it was mostly true, for them it was either go along with Serge’s stupid plan or stay and face the consequences of Loic’s murder!

“Really? What happened?” that was a little strange, the demeanor of the maid changed, it was as if the maid was bored and wanted to gossip… 

Looking at Noelle for approval she decided to tell her an edited version of the truth.

“Would you believe me if I said that my sister and I witnessed the murder of one of the Heirs to the six Great Nobles? The Barielle Heir” she asked, it surely sounded like the product of an overly active imagination, but they had proof in the ship's freezer!

“Given everything that’s been happening…” the maid said and then sighed “And how did that end up with you two here in Holfort in the middle of a war?” she asked with more assertiveness.

“My fiance and I visited the kingdom for that big tournament five or six months ago” Leila wasn’t sure how much time has passed between one bout of madness and the next, but it should be approximately that long at least.  “And by chance witnessed a duel between your brother and some pirate…” 

Hearing this the maid reacted as if she was recalling the event as well, Leila continued “My fiance… well, former fiance now” With Emile’s death she was a single woman again, and without the stigma of being a widow! “Proclaimed no one in Alzer was as skilled as the Baron from Holfort… And Serge and Loic took that personally…”

“And someone got killed in the heat of the moment? Damn parties in the republic must be wild!” Jenna said with enthusiasm,” It scared Leila a bit that the woman in front of her took the news so lightly “... I mean, How barbaric!” Those are her words! The maid’s first reaction proves which of the two countries is the barbaric one!

Right? Because those are the words Leila used to describe the kingdom! and she was still more accurate than the Maid!

“Wait, you believe us?” Noelle spoke for the first time, Leila couldn’t blame her sister, the story was ridiculous!

“Well, My brother took his mistress to his wedding with the Duke’s daughter, so it is not as if your story is the craziest thing that I’ve ever heard” the Maid said with resignation, as if that was worse than killing the Heir of a mini kingdom like Loic!

Whatever! It’s okay because it was working in their favor, so Leila didn’t say anything about it, but this Jenna Fou Bartfort has her priorities messed up!

“Then we would like to ask your brother for asylum” this was it! This would determine their future, if they could stay in the Island she would get her chance to seduce such an invincible knight!

“It’s not my place to give asylum, I’ll marry and go live with my husband next week, you see” The Totally not a maid said with pride, and it got under Leila’s skin for some reason, she was going to marry too, in fact, her fiance was alive this morning! 

“But I don’t see Lady Angelica turning you down, from what I understand you are implicated in the death of one of the Heirs to the Great Nobles…”

With a heavy heart Leila interrupted Jenna again, “It’s three now, your ship killed My fiance Emile, who was the Heir of Pleven and Serge, who was the Heir of the Rault…” She said meekly, but it was bst to say it now than have it ruin anything she could build in the future.

Hearing that the maid rightfully whined “And you claim to be survivors of the Lespinasse… Angie will have me running around the settlement with Ethan for interrupting them again” and then left without saying another word.

“That went better than I expected” Said Noelle, and she agreed with her, let someone else face the brunt of the shock anytime of the year!

0x0x0

Those fools!

the Principality has betrayed him!

And his son turned out to be a coward and has already fled the ship!

The deal he struck with Garret was all favorable to them, they only needed to retreat now and all the territories they occupied now would be theirs without needing to fight anymore.

As his knights engaged the principality he shouted through his external speakers “What is the meaning of this Garrett?” We had a deal!” he cared little for those who were listening, such was his rage and fear, this was supposed to be just an act!

As expected there was no reply from the Principality’s airship.

Of course he considered this scenario when he was in the planning stages, but the state of the board made this an illogical move, not only illogical, this was just foolish!

“We won’t honor such a pact after your betrayal Malcolm!” Garrett’s irritating voice finally came out from the speakers, He was playing the betrayed part for his troops? 

It doesn’t matter, even with this betrayal he still has enough numbers to turn this around, even if he planned poorly for this situation he will still emerge victorious from this battle!

“I’ve not done anything to break our deal, just admit you people have no honor!” his words were true, but even if he planned on betraying them later, as of this moment he’s done nothing to break their deal!

“You say that after setting an ambush for Lord Vandel!” this time it wasnt Garrett’s voice, but the voice of a young woman, was that Princess Hertrude?

The reports he has from her says she was rather attached to the Black Knight , so much in fact that she should have known that while Vandel was the bait he would have to set his own ambush.

Bartfort did lose an eye in the fight before escaping… Did that mean that the Black Knight did not escape unscratched either? 

That was the best news he heard in a long, long time!

That was the best case scenario!

“It’s not my fault Vandel got too old for this!” He said in a patronizing tone, he knew he should be more diplomatic, but he honestly doesn’t believe these beasts are capable of understanding the current situation.

The best he can do is destroy this fleet and take the Princess hostage to keep the Principality at bay.

“Attack!” he ordered, his men already knew what to do, even if the Principality’s knight armors better, the difference isn’t too big to overcome with the numbers at his disposal.

Just then the melodic sound of a Flute was heard, he looked around to find the fool who thought this was a good time to play but found no one.

All around him his men started to panic and he took a look at what had scared them and he could perfectly understand their reactions.

In the skies in front of him there was an army of monsters, their numbers dwarfed the ones of his own knights.

However, those mindless beasts won’t be enough to change the result of this battle!

They wouldn’t distinguish between his men or the principality’s troops.

He has not only the Prime Minister hereditary title at the reach of his hands, but also the Principality of Fanoss itself, there is simply no way he is retreating!

He realized too late the monsters were all brandished with the Principality’s crest, and that they never once attacked his enemy’s knights!

And hours later, and wave after wave of monsters he found himself utterly defeated and with no chance of escaping and with enemy knights boarding his ship!

Defeated and captured, he found himself face to face with Princess Hertrude Sera Fanoss, she blamed him for Vandel Him Zenden’s death.

He apologized, he begged, his pride be damned!

He knows the Principality nobles have their history books rewritten and even if he maintained his pride and honor they would just lie about it.

But he could see that the Princess had no compassion for him, so when she confirmed that his son was not among their prisoners she ordered him to be thrown into a cell.

And so this was how his grand ambitions came to an end, the Framptom Kingdom will never become a reality after this defeat.

0x0x0

The news of the Marquiss defeat was spreading like wildfire, there were rumors about how the Principality had found a way to summon and control armies of monsters.

Many treated the part about monsters as enemy propaganda to scare their soldiers, but she knew better.

The game has finally entered the war stage.

The nobody who took the Duke’s place suffered the same fate the Duke received in the game, and although a little different things were still going more or less according to the script.

What that more or less implies is, of course, the optional boss she has accidentally triggered, there was no way the rumors about him being severely injured in an accident on a tetrium mine were real, it was simply too good to be true!

Perhaps this was the result of her interference?

It was entirely too predictable for the Pirate’s Bane to be the real final boss…

That was something to think about later, right now she must focus on the Principality and the Black Knight !

She has already sent Kyle ahead to ask for an audience with the Queen, she was dressed in her full Saintess regalia, she was ready to make an impression and gain access to the Royal ship.

The saintess regalia itched no matter what she did though, she ordered the palace staff to clean, wash and disinfect them, with no results, and even when she tried cleaning them nothing changed.

Back to important matters, she spent countless hours trying to remember what all the cutscenes about the game said about the final boss, and since this was the plot of a video game it is even possible for the Pirate Bane to just show up when her boys were about to fight the Black Knight , defeat him and then challenge all of her harem to a glorious fight!

Like Akuma and M. Bison… That would be so exciting! 

What does the “M” mean in that name anyway!

Since he is supposed to be a westerner it’s probably something anglo-saxon like Michael or Michel or if the company was feeling daring probably something spanish like Miguel or Manuel!

She was getting side tracked but couldn’t help but snicker at the thought of M. Bison being Manuel Bison, so many self-pleasuring jokes could be made that it’s no wonder the man turned out to be a tyrant hell bent on… what is his goal in Street fighter anyway?

Marie had to force herself to remain calm and focused, this was not the moment to indulge in idle speculation… or to scratch her neck.

She has to get access to a ship to take care of this war, and who knows? Maybe she can use  Heart Sharing and end this war before the kingdom suffers any more casualties? 

It would be a bit presumptuous of her to try and use the protagonist Ultimate skill, but hey, she can at least try!.

0x0x0

Mylene was having a long, long day, not only she had her hands full with administering the everyday matters of the Kingdom, now she had to take care of the war and Marie, the Saintess, had approached her earlier that day concerned about the war. she was not sure what to do with her, she was a figurehead, well respected and looked for, but with no real political power of her own, this was not about magic power, no human alive was powerful enough to make a difference with only Magic power, no matter what title they hold..

Marquis Framptom's defeat was not unexpected, it was a relief if she was honest, a man that plotted with the enemy is a traitor, plain and simple. So while it was tragic to lose the Framptom fleet it was worth it because it means the destruction of his house, even though his cowardly son has fled back to his territory, She would be executing him and dismantling his family’s holdings to distribute them as she saw fit once this war is over.

She would be doing the same to Vince once the Principality was taken care of,

 losing Gilbert as a hostage was a shame too, but it was something that she always thought could happen.

What her future daughter in law wanted was to use the Royal family’s ship to engage with the Principality, she was unwilling to reveal who told her about the existence of such a ship, but even if Marie was trying to protect Julius, he was the only one who could have told her about it.

Her plan was to use her powers as a Saintess to eradicate the Principality’s monsters all in one go and keep the fight as one just among humans.

After consulting it with one of the priests in the palace he confirmed that the Saintess did have that ability.

Mylene wanted to test the girl, and this was the perfect opportunity to reveal how she feels about her son and his friends. 

With a smile on her face she explained what needed to be done to get access and activate the most powerful airship in the kingdom.

Mylene was looking incredulous at her husband, the King, a score of twenty five?, she looked accusingly at her husband, Roland refused to look even in her general vicinity.

His score had gone down again!

At this point, does he even see her as a woman anymore?

Honestly speaking, lately her spy network was screwing her way more than Roland ever did!

She wanted to scream at him, but that was out of the table, they were in front of not only their son and the Heirs of some of the most important Houses, they were also in the presence of the Saintess, and this was already bad enough without her making it worse!

Her own affection for her husband has gone down too, but not to the levels of that liar’s affection for her!

“Do you understand now?” she asked, controlling her voice perfectly to not reflect the disappointment she felt right now, “This ship will only let those truly in love move it.”

But Marie only smiled at her before turning to look at her five lovers briefly before returning her gaze towards herself again “I think we should at least try”.

Mylene smiled at her again, the Saintess has five chances to activate the ship so it is at least worth a shot.

Without hesitation the Saintess replaced her on the spot in the measuring machine and waited for one of her lovers to take their own place.

Mylene could only hope for the best as little Brad walked with elegance to the machine.

The scores were Woman: 65, Man: 90. high but not enough, and the machine let them know it by suggesting the couple should get to know each other better. Brad's smile became forced after knowing his lover doesn’t love him as much as he loves her, “I’ll do my best to gain even more of your love Marie!” he said as he left the spot free.

Immediately Greg entered the machine and the score was Woman: 69, Man 93 the score improved slightly but it still wasn’t enough, The Machine once again repeated it’s statement and Greg followed on Brad’s steps and promised to make Marie love him even more.

This time it was Chris’ turn and the scores were Woman: 85, Man 98, “So close but not enough” the measuring machine said while Chris simply smiled satisfied that he was the one the Saintess loved the most, he still vowed to earn even more of her love before moving out of the machine.

Next was Jilk, her son’s foster brother walked with confidence towards the machine and a smile on his face, the score was Woman: 59, Man: 95, this time the machine called it a one sided affair much to Jilk’s disappointment.

It was rather understandable after how many times JIlk messed up so far.

Mylene’s hopes were diminishing, she had little hope the Saintess loved her son the most, she had always thought the girl loved Julius status more than him.

Woman: 93, Man 98.

“You two are tied by love, Congratulations! You are the new Captain!” Julius couldn’t hold himself and kissed the Saintess passionately and she responded in kind.

“As expected of my son, Julius, you have truly stolen the Saintess' heart!” Roland all but shouted making everyone around turn to look at him “I was thinking about abdicating after your graduation, however, now that you control the Royal ship, I think it is appropriate that I do so now!” 

Mylene was furious.

This is not the time for a leadership change!

A/N: I’m back, as foretold by the scrolls!

Hope you all liked the chapter because I’m changing the schedule, from now on I’ll update every Sunday!

I know it’s not exactly good news but I lost my phone somewhere in the outskirts of my city, it fell so hard from my bike it didn’t survive.

And I’m short on cash until next month so I won't be replacing it until november.

As a result my writing time is more limited since I can’t write while in the train for now.

And I need to get back into a writing mood, I barely touched the keyboard this past two weeks but I got some stuff done.

See you all next week!

Chapter Text

CHAPTER XXXV.

Back in time, before the Fanoos-Frampton Battle.

The maid left them to go look for Lord Bartfort’s wife…

That was not what she expected or wanted, she wanted to talk to the man directly!

Feeling her twin’s eyes on her she turned to see what she wanted.

As soon as they made eye contact Noelle’s eyes told her what she needed to know, the two cribs were still there…

That woman left the two of them alone with the babies?

No, it couldn’t be.

Those cribs are probably empty and this was some kind of test?

Noelle understood her reasoning but still had her doubts.

Without any warning she just standed up and walked towards the cribs…

Her face immediately showed the activation of what had to be her motherly instincts.

She could see her lips moving, silently cooing at the babies.

This was bad!

Is this a trap?

It must be!

Those probably aren’t Lord Bartfort children!

Unexpectedly Noelle grabbed her hand and pulled towards the cribs to have a look, she tried to resist but Noelle was heavier… Those damned breasts of hers gave hers the edge, she tried to tell her to stop but at the same time she didn’t want to wake up the babies if they were sleeping!

Eventually she was staring at two of the cutests babies she had ever seen, one was a boy around a year old and the other was definitely a newborn, and a girl judging from her blanket.

Now that she was looking at the babies, she realized that she never met Leon personally and the one time she saw him it was from afar, a whole arena separated them!

So she has no way to determine if they are his children or not.

It was best not to disturb them, go back to their seats and pretend they neve had a look in the first place, yes that was the smart thing to do…

Then, why was she making baby noises!

She needed to stop!

The older baby woke up!

he was looking at them curiously as if recognizing them…

Which wasn’t possible because they had never seen the baby before!

He extended his little arms up towards Noelle for some reason and she immediately picked him up and hugged him and talked to him.

Ok… what was that?!

And why didn't the baby ask for her to pick him up?!

It wasn’t fair!

“Curious, Gilbert usually isn't that friendly with strangers”

Both Noelle and her turned around looking for the source of that voice, but couldn’t find anybody!

That was scary, but it was probably just someone watching and spying on them through some kind of spell.

The baby in Noelle’s smiled and happily called for the person who was speaking to them.