A Matter of Lineage

“What the hell is that?”

Marilyn squinted as she said the words everyone was thinking. After a good twenty minutes or so, the tower in the distance had finally stopped rising and the ground had stopped shaking along with it. In spite of that, the air of malaise didn’t lift from the soldiers. Rather, it just got worse as the tower continued to stand ominously in the distance as if it were an evil god looming over the empire.

“No fuckin’ clue, but it must be huge.” Medrauta said. She and Viviane had regrouped with the baron’s forces a short while ago, the two of them availing themselves to the services of a knight-hospitalier. Though Viviane lacked any serious injuries, the fact that she’d fallen unconscious during their battle against Bastiche and Ritya still worried Medrauta, forcing the noblewoman to undergo a checkup upon her knight’s insistence.

“...Yeah. It’s around six days of straight riding to the capital. Three if we ride during the night,” Viviane remarked. “That means the tower must be around...”

“...Five thousand meters.” Krista said, shuddering. “That thing’s five thousand meters tall.”

“Leave it to the archers to give us an estimate of the damn thing’s height.” Medrauta chuckled, the sound of her laughter relieving some of the tension felt by nearby soldiers. With her arm nearly healed thanks to the efforts of the knight-hospitaliers standing by, the troops felt a lot more confident and in high spirits with Medrauta by their side. After all, she had shredded through just as many soldiers as Marilyn after all, if not more.

“So... What now?” Trianna asked, her tone more than a little uncertain. Seeing as her ultimate fate hinged on the victory of this entire battle, the junior knight’s nervousness was understandable. Much like how the criminals who emerged from the underground to fight for the baron were anxious to receive a pardon for their crimes, Trianna was hoping that Baron Dietrich and his allies would promise to vouch for her when the time came.

She had ridden ahead of the supply unit after seeing the massive homunculi reinforcements swarm the baron’s main force. Although her actions had technically gone against orders, no one complained, least of all Marilyn who served as the army’s commanding officer. The junior knight had saved her from a particularly nasty encounter against a large group of homunculi just as her berserker rage began to wane, pushing them back and giving Marilyn time to recover.

“Now we wait for Baron Dietrich to ride here. I’m not sure what’s taking him so long, but I’ve sent the foreigners to go check on the nobles’ entourage. They’re not too far behind, so they should be arriving any second now,” Marilyn said. “After that, I’ll probably be holed up in the castle writing pardons while the baron establishes himself as the temporary duke.”

“A baron becoming a duke in one day?” Medrauta raised an eyebrow. “Talk about a promotion. Shouldn’t the position go to a marquis or something, or does noble society not work like that?”

“The baron is the only individual who supplied forces for this attack. Even his supposed ‘allies’ didn’t send a single soldier in the end. All they did was promise neutrality, and I suppose they held up that part of the bargain at the very least. The baron will likely spare them in his restructuring.”

“My apologies, but I do not believe His Imperial Majesty would approve of a baron setting himself up as high lord of the land while the country wars with Kaslavna.” Viviane said, deciding to step into the conversation now. With Bastiche’s death, Viviane’s position as acting duchess of Castellia duchy technically allowed her to outrank everyone in the Revelo dukedom.

Marilyn stiffened. “...Lady Castellia, I mean no offense, but you are still young. Would it not be better for someone else to rule this territory while you deal with your own responsibilities? I am sure that you will need to report back to the academy and ensure the Castellia duchy’s stability given these new... developments.”

“No. As of this moment, I have decided to temporarily assimilate the Revelo duchy’s territory into my own. Medrauta, signal my troops and have them occupy the castle before returning to my side. I will handle negotiations with Baron Dietrich.” Viviane commanded in a tone that almost made Medrauta swoon.

At once, the silver-haired knight saluted her lady with an admiring look in her eyes and set off to complete the task assigned to her, rounding up the soldiers who wore House Castellia’s colors. Meanwhile, Marilyn met Viviane’s eyes, the senior knight’s gaze hard and unwavering as she scrutinized the noblewoman thoroughly.

Marilyn’s eyebrows drew together like storm clouds, harsh and unforgiving. The person she feared was Viviane’s mother, not Viviane herself. As a battle-tested knight who wielded a sword sharp enough to cleave the heavens, the noblewoman was but ribbons of flesh already strewn on her blade had Marilyn truly intended to raise a hand against Viviane.

But she did not.

What Marilyn wanted to know was whether Viviane truly possessed the resolve to see her role through. The senior knight’s single eye searched the depths of Viviane’s, diving deep into their golden pools with the intent of discovering the noblewoman’s true intentions. The empire had kept its tenuous balance thanks to the constant presence of the four ducal families. With the elimination of one, another had to quickly rise up and fill the power vacuum before the scales of power threatened to tip too heavily onto one side.

With the country losing a ducal family during a time of extreme crisis, there was no opportunity for the emperor to appoint a new noble house to the Revelo duchy and there was no one to oppose Viviane’s vie for power. Though she had willingly aided a rebellion, Marilyn did indeed love her home duchy, and she wouldn’t abide by any noble’s thirst for power even if it was the daughter of the empire’s most frightening knight.

Tension formed in the air as sparks flew incessantly between the two women as both attempted to gauge the thoughts and intentions of the other. A suffocating silence settled over the area, threatening to expand and consume the entire campsite with the almost maddening pressure that it produced. For a moment, it looked as though the moment would never end, but Viviane spoke, shattering the evanescent eternity.

“You seem to have mistaken my intentions, Dame Marilyn.”

“Oh? How so?”

“As you say, I am still young.” Viviane crossed her arms. “I am not foolish enough to think that I can leave my father’s nest so soon, and I look forward to spending my fleeting youth in the arms of my beloved knight, not behind a desk filling out documents incessantly. I intend to hold on to the reins of this duchy only until the war is over or a better and more responsible candidate is found.”

“Do you think me irresponsible, Lady Castellia?” Marilyn raised an eyebrow. If she had been offended by Viviane’s statement, she was certainly doing a good job of masking it.

“I wouldn’t dare, Dame Marilyn. However, you are not a noble and your lineage is of middling nobility. If the Emperor wishes to appoint House Eavesbrook as a ducal house in the future, he is free to do so. However, I do not have such authority, nor do I think such an appointment would be well received in high society.”

“And what of House Dietrich?” Marilyn pressed the noblewoman.

In truth, the senior knight was actually rather impressed by Viviane’s unflappable attitude even when being confronted by a knight, and her level-headedness in their discussion spoke volumes of the incredible tenacity she’d developed. Even now, Marilyn was already convinced that Viviane’s decision to temporarily assimilate the Revelo duchy was not one made lightly, but a carefully considered one. However, she couldn’t help but pry a little more into the acting duchess’ thought process.

“If the baron is a competent man, he will understand my decision and abide by it even if—”

“Dame Marilyn! Lady Viviane!” Riku waved at the two women from a distance, unintentionally interrupting their discussion. The foreign knight rode on horseback, his mount galloping swiftly toward the location of the main force. Sakura’s own mount thundered next to him, pulling slightly ahead as a smile of excitement and relief spread across her face upon seeing Viviane.

Behind them trailed the nobles’ entourage, arriving to claim a victory they had no hand in achieving outside of formulating a nigh-suicidal battle plan. Surprise was evident in even the baron’s face as the nobles approached the site of what was once a pitched battlefield, most of them averting their eyes from the scenes of carnage strewn across the once-green prairie now stained crimson.

Viviane returned Riku’s greeting before addressing Marilyn once more, a gentle smile on her lips. “It is unfortunate, but it seems we will have to table this discussion. Fret not, Dame Marilyn. You will bear witness to my answer with your own eyes.”