Pride & Love

“I see you still haven’t forgiven Dame Medrauta.”

“Hmph! Of course not!” Viviane crossed her arms haughtily in mock anger. The noblewoman was currently riding atop her mount, Medrauta. Though the knight’s shoulders certainly weren’t as comfortable as a saddle, Viviane had resolved to ride this particular steed for the rest of their march on Revelo Castle.

“...Y’know, it’s been three days, Vivi.” Medrauta complained. Sure enough, Baron Dietrich’s forces and the Castellia Unit had been making excellent progress throughout the past few days as they blazed an impressive trail through Revelo fief, capturing cities rapidly as they made their way to the capital where Bastiche’s castle lay. In fact, they were only an hour’s march away from the castle now, and though tensions were high, the soldiers’ morale was through the roof thanks to the consecutive string of victories that they’d racked up.

Unfortunately, Medrauta wasn’t exactly sharing in the joy and festivities of the soldiers despite being one of the largest contributors to their winning streak. Ever since she brought Cassandra back as a prisoner of war, Viviane had been sulking and complaining about how Medrauta had never given her a piggyback ride or been carried on the knight’s shoulders.

Of course, Medrauta had protested that she would’ve given Viviane a piggyback ride anytime if the noblewoman had only asked, but it hadn’t been enough for her. Immature as it was, Viviane’s complaints had led to the knight acting as her “steed”, an arrangement that continued even now. At first, Medrauta didn’t see it as much of a problem, especially when it allowed her to stay so close to her beloved lady constantly. However, it was now hurting her reputation amongst the soldiers and even Albert, Krista’s lord, had ridden from the nobles’ entourage just to witness the scene today.

“I just can’t get enough of this sight!” Albert guffawed. “Are you seeing this Krista? Never in my wildest dreams would I have thought to witness such a thing during my lifetime! The proud Medrauta, the so-called ‘strongest knight,’ reduced to nothing more than a lady’s mount!”

“Albert...” Krista warned. Based on the look in Medrauta’s eyes, she could tell that the knight was slowly beginning to reach her breaking point. Krista had never seen what Medrauta looked like when she snapped, but she sure didn’t want to find out.

“Keep mouthin’ off and this ‘lady’s mount’ is gonna kick your ass, buddy.” Medrauta clicked her tongue in annoyance. Honestly, the knight wasn’t exactly opposed to having Viviane ride on top of her, but the constant attention that she was drawing slowly wore away at her mental faculties. She wasn’t sure how much longer she could keep it together, but Albert sure wasn’t helping.

“...Alright. I think that’s enough, Medrauta.” Viviane had relented at last upon seeing Albert’s treatment of her knight, dismounting from Medrauta’s shoulders and crossing her arms. This time, her anger was genuine.

While their antics had drawn the attention of the soldiers who marched behind them, the large majority of those men had seen Medrauta fight and weren’t exactly in a rush to openly poke fun at the knight. That wasn’t to say that they enjoyed seeing the knight being used as a mount, but none of them loudly commented on the fact at the very least.

Unfortunately, Albert wasn’t exactly familiar with the knight’s true prowess. As a second-year noble who cared little for duels, most of his knowledge regarding Medrauta had been second-hand during his stay at the academy. Besides, he certainly hadn’t been anywhere close to the battlefield during this campaign. It was only because of this that Albert even had the courage to laugh in Medrauta’s face.

“Come on now, Lady Viviane. There’s no need to be so upset.” Albert protested upon seeing the noblewoman’s upturned lips. “I’m simply having a jest.”

“At my knight’s expense,” Viviane retorted. “I wouldn’t have asked her to do this if she had a problem with it, and it hasn’t been an issue until people started throwing remarks her way. People like you.”

“In all fairness, you should have considered such an outcome for having Dame Medrauta parade you around on her shoulders for all to see.” Sakura cut in before Albert could say something stupid and escalate the situation further. “In fact, did you even ask her if she would be willing to accommodate such a selfish request of yours?”

“I-It’s not like that, Lady Sakura!” Medrauta hastened to her lady’s defense.

She and Viviane had done a whole host of embarrassing things in public before, so the knight was certainly no stranger to public displays of affection, but she wasn’t expecting the mere act of carrying Viviane on her shoulders to become such a widespread topic of discussion in the entire army. In other words, it wasn’t her lady’s selfish request that annoyed her, but rather the ridicule that it attracted despite the act itself not being intrinsically shameful.

“So it was consensual at the very least,” Sakura sighed. “I’ve heard that the two of you aren’t exactly... subtle about displaying your love toward each other, nor do the two of you make an effort to hide your intimate moments, but... Seriously, Lady Viviane. Did you never consider even once that onlookers might consider your behavior a tad overbearing toward your knight?”

“Well...” Viviane’s voice trailed off as hesitation overtook her earlier zeal. It would be a lie had she said that she totally hadn’t expected an outcome like this, and she fully understood the selfish nature of what she’d asked Medrauta to do. Irrational as it might’ve been, Viviane had felt a sharp pang of jealousy as she witnessed Medrauta carrying Cassandra back to the rear lines, driving her to mope and pester her knight despite her usual upbeat disposition.

Sakura spread her hands in a gesture of “there you go” before returning her attention to Albert. “Lord Albert. Now that the show is over, perhaps you might entertain the idea of returning to the other nobles. We are due to approach the castle within the next hour, and we cannot spare any men to protect you.”

“Ah...” Albert averted his gaze from Sakura’s, his cheeks growing slightly hot.

Although the foreign noblewoman’s tone was pleasant and polite, he couldn’t help but feel as though Sakura was getting back at him for making fun of her friends. Among the nobles gathered here, he was the only one who had absolutely no combat capabilities, a fact that made him feel somewhat self-conscious as he rode in the company of several individuals who would most likely become quite famous after this civil war was over.

Sakura fixed Albert with her solid mask of a noble’s smile, her expression neutral and unassuming despite the pressure that Albert was experiencing. With a curt nod and slightly flushed face, Albert bade the group farewell and wheeled his horse around, disappearing into the distance as he returned to the nobles’ entourage.

“Remind me to never get on your bad side, Lady Sakura.” Krista remarked. It wasn’t often that she saw her lord run off with his proverbial tail between his legs, but it was always amusing to watch whenever it happened.

“Oh my, whatever do you mean?” Sakura replied, wearing the same smile as she addressed Krista. The knight shuddered, clearing her throat and averting her gaze as she began to take great interest in a tree that they had just ridden past.

Meanwhile, Medrauta had slipped away during the whole situation, making her way toward the formation’s rear in an effort to locate a spare horse. Though she had no issues marching with the rest of the troops even with Viviane on her shoulders, the knight vastly preferred riding on horseback compared to the light jog she’d been forced to keep up in order to match the army’s pace.

Viviane trailed slightly behind her knight, her gaze fixed on the ground. Though her hand was held tightly in Medrauta’s, she couldn’t help but feel bad about what she’d done and the pressure that it’d placed on Medrauta over the past three days. In fact, she hadn’t even said a word the whole time since they began walking.

...Do I even have the right to be upset? Viviane bit her lip bitterly. The noblewoman knew she had allowed for irrational feelings of jealousy to spur her decisions, and though she now regretted them, she wasn’t even sure how she should go about making it up to Medrauta.

“Something the matter, Vivi?” Medrauta stopped in her stride, turning to face her beloved lady with a concerned expression as she noticed Viviane’s sullen expression.

“No, it’s just... I’m sorry...”

Abruptly, Medrauta tugged Viviane close to her, wrapping her arms around the noblewoman in a tight embrace. Though they had stopped in the middle of marching soldiers, Medrauta cared not for the world that surrounded the two of them at this very moment. Instead, the knight simply gazed lovingly into Viviane’s eyes, their almost magnetic pull preventing the noblewoman’s attention from wandering elsewhere.

“E-Eh!? Medrauta!?” Viviane exclaimed, surprised. Sakura’s earlier words were still fresh in her memory, and they rang loudly in her ears now. As much as she enjoyed their spur-of-the-moment displays of affection, Sakura certainly had a point when it came to the importance of privacy. She had no idea what Medrauta was about to do, but she had a pretty good feeling that it was something to be done only behind closed doors.

Sure enough, Viviane was right. Not that she resisted, of course.

“I’ll carry you on my shoulders for the rest of my life if that’s what you want.” Medrauta said, as she slowly released her embrace before bringing her hands to Viviane’s cheeks and carressing them gently before leaning in for a slow, passionate kiss that showed utter disregard for the armored men and women marching past them.

Even if they were en route to their final destination at Revelo Castle, Medrauta refused to give up a single moment of her love. No matter how long it took, she wanted to fully convey the depths of her feelings to Viviane. After all, the knight had no idea what things would be like at the castle and there was no way she would wade into battle with any regrets.

Strong as she was, Medrauta knew that death and defeat was only ever a breath away on the battlefield and though they had been winning easily so far, the only knight they had encountered was Cassandra. There was no doubt in Medrauta’s mind that Bastiche had chosen to garrison the rest of the fief’s knights in the castle after hearing news of Cassandra’s capture, and Medrauta was not looking forward to the gauntlet that awaited her at the march’s final destination.

Before arriving, Medrauta wanted Viviane to know how quickly the noblewoman made her heart beat. How hot her cheeks became in her lady’s presence. How much joy she felt even from hearing a single word spoken by Viviane’s delicate lips. Medrauta could hardly explain how much Viviane truly meant to her through words, and though this kiss conveyed some of her feelings, it was hardly enough for the knight.

The warmth of her lady’s touch comforted Medrauta more than anything else in the world, and looking into Viviane’s eyes had been like entering a whole different world for the knight. A world where she could forget about the past, forget about her pains and her worries. Even simply walking alongside her lady caused Medrauta’s heart to beat with uncontrollable happiness.To Medrauta, Viviane was more than just a lover or a simple place of solace. Viviane was her world.

This she wanted Viviane to know and more. But there was no possible way Medrauta could express everything with only a simple kiss despite the knight’s fanciful wishes. Reluctantly, Medrauta withdrew from Viviane, resting her forehead against her lady’s. The noblewoman’s breath was hot against her knight’s cheek, and though their moment of passion should have passed, Viviane sensed there was still more.

“I love you, Vivi.” Medrauta whispered.

While their kiss was for all to see, those words were reserved for Viviane alone.