The Other Fronts

“Oi, Lady Scarlet.” Medrauta called out to the black-haired noblewoman as she affixed a new longsword to her belt. “Where—”

Shiiing!

Eris’ dagger flew out of its sheath almost on its own accord, its tip moving to point straight at Medrauta. It was an impressive display of speed and skill, but what shocked nearby observers even more was how the silver-haired knight had reacted instantly, grasping the dagger’s blade with a single gauntleted hand and crushing it with unfathomable strength.

“M-Medrauta!” Viviane cried. Though she was helping a few nearby tacticians sort out some logistical problems, the sound of shattering steel drew her attention instantly.

“What the fuck is wrong with you, Eris?” Medrauta’s eyes narrowed. Shards of metal fell from her hand, but she was otherwise unharmed. “If you want another fight, I’ll—”

“You...! You dare address Lady Scarlet in such a boorish manner!?” Eris snapped, her eyes blazing with indignant rage. As the strongest knight in the Imperial Academy, she held herself to a rather high standard.

While her time as a squire had been rough, her days as a knight were quite the opposite. Boasting an unbroken streak of victories in both duels and matches, she was a knight who never experienced the humbling losses that Medrauta suffered in the arena while also being emboldened by her victories outside of it. Normally an affable individual, Eris was someone who conducted herself in a manner befitting of her role as Scarlet’s knight, making Eris’ current outburst something of a rarity despite her devotion to her lady.

The reason behind her hostility to Medrauta was simple. Several hours ago at the top of the tower, Eris had challenged Medrauta to a duel after discovering the silver-haired knight’s reputation as the strongest knight in Avalyne Academy. Bursting with desire to show off her strength to her lady after failing to execute Scarlet’s orders and slay the Walpurgisknight, Eris had dove headfirst into combat against Medrauta without ascertaining the silver-haired knight’s skill beforehand, leading to a rather embarrassing loss.

It had been the very first time Eris had lost ever since she was officially knighted, and to make it worse, she had been defeated right in front of her beloved Lady Scarlet. Not only that, but there weren’t even any excuses she could’ve made after failing to properly evaluate Medrauta’s abilities. It was truly a humiliating moment for Eris, and though she knew it was completely her fault, she simply wasn’t ready to admit it yet.

“Stand down, Eris.” Scarlet commanded, interrupting before the situation could escalate any further. As far as she could tell, both knights looked like they were ready to hurl themselves at each other without warning. “Lady Viviane’s knight is an orphan commoner and unversed in the art of civilized conversation. It would be boorish of us to expect an elegant greeting from a plebeian.”

“...What did you say?” Medrauta’s left eye twitched, her irritation only growing from Scarlet’s veiled insults. Part of her understood that Scarlet had probably spoken in such a fashion to lessen the embarrassment of her knight being rebuked, especially after the shameful display Eris had shown to Scarlet just a few hours ago. However, Medrauta certainly wasn’t just going to stand there and allow Scarlet to insult her regardless of how Eris felt.

“L-Lady Scarlet! I’m not sure what’s going on between you two, but that was excessive!” Viviane frowned. “Besides, was it not your knight who drew her blade first!?”

To both Viviane and Medrauta’s surprise, Scarlet flashed them a dazzlingly disarming smile in lieu of responding in kind. It seemed that she was trying to smooth things over now that she had finished defending her knight. At least, that was what it looked like to the others who were observing the verbal scuffle.

“I merely jest, Lady Viviane. I would not dare criticize the knight of my dear friend so harshly during our first meeting in such a long while.” Lady Scarlet said before turning to Medrauta, bowing in a deep and almost exaggerated manner. “Dame Medrauta. I apologize if my words offended you in any way. If there is anything I can do to repair the hurt I’ve caused, please do not hesitate to inform me.”

Of course she’s gonna back down once Vivi gets involved, Medrauta clicked her tongue in annoyance, crossing her arms. Despite Scarlet’s supposedly genuine apology and tone, Medrauta wasn’t buying it. After all, the look in Scarlet’s eyes contained an obvious message: “Just accept the goddamn apology so we can move on.”

Medrauta forced a smile on her face. “It’s fine, Lady Scarlet. I took absolutely no offense from your emphasis on my origins as a ‘commoner orphan.’ But since you’re offering, I’d like you to answer the question I was about to ask before your knight so rudely interrupted me.”

“Of course.” Lady Scarlet raised an eyebrow at Medrauta’s verbal riposte. “Ask away.”

“Where are Leticia and Lady Rosaline? Actually, where’s Sir Lucas, for that matter? I recall he was still your knight the last time we met.”

At the mention of Lucas’ name, Scarlet’s countenance darkened. Her gaze dropped from Medrauta’s, falling to the blades of grass beneath the knight’s boots. She pressed her lips together, remaining silent for an extended period of time before finally speaking.

“...Sir Lucas is no more.”

There was nothing more she needed to add.

For a second, Medrauta froze, afraid of the answer she’d receive if she dared ask her next question. Her hands trembled and balled into tight fists, her hesitance becoming an almost palpable force that blanketed the air. Beside her, Viviane’s eyes were similarly muddied by the possibility of an answer she simply couldn’t accept. After all, she knew exactly what Medrauta wanted to ask next.

“...They’re safe.” Scarlet spoke at last, breaking the tension. As a veteran on the battlefield of court politics, it was all too easy for the seasoned noblewoman to guess what caused Medrauta to fall silent. “Dame Leticia and Lady Rosaline are currently leading my forces in my stead. We’ve taken the second shield tower and are now entrenching our position alongside Dame Rosette and Lady Estelle’s forces. In truth, the lot of us thought the two of you would’ve marched the Revelo duchy’s forces to the capital already, but your obvious absence made me come look for you here.”

“Whoa there! Slow down now, Lady Scarlet. Second shield tower? Marching on the capital? What are you even on about?” Medrauta frowned, completely forgetting to filter her speech as a result of her confusion. Though Scarlet didn’t seem to take issue with it, Eris bristled rather visibly nevertheless.

“I’m glad to hear that Dame Rosette and Lady Estelle are safe, but how did they end up leading soldiers?” Viviane asked, equally perplexed. She just couldn’t picture the meek Estelle commanding anyone, but then again, she was just as shy mere months ago.

“My apologies. I should have expected that the two of you wouldn’t be familiar with the current state of the empire. Come, allow me to show you the situation we have been placed in.” Scarlet beckoned, gesturing for the pair to follow her to a nearby tent.

After the Walpurgisknight’s departure, Medrauta and Viviane had signaled the forces garrisoned at the former Revelo duchy’s border gates using Viviane’s Crest to create a pillar of silver light that could be seen even from a large distance so long as the noblewoman focused on amplifying it. As it turns out, the signal wasn’t entirely necessary, a large portion of the garrison arriving within minutes of the signal.

Thanks to the destruction of the black mana sphere, the witchspawn near the border gates had ceased to move almost immediately, disintegrating into the air within minutes and notifying the garrison of Medrauta and Viviane’s success. Because of that, they had already been on their way to the tower even as Medrauta traded blows with the Walpurgisknight. Of course, none of the soldiers were expecting to see Scarlet, but with the experienced noblewoman’s help, they were able to set up a decent outpost around the shield tower in only a few hours.

Inside the tent was a simple table and a map of the empire. While this was meant to be where tacticians and officers would later congregate, it was currently empty and served as the perfect place for Scarlet to explain the current state of the empire to Viviane and Medrauta. She walked around the table, tapping a pristine fingernail against the parchment of the map.

“For the sake of brevity, I shall summarize the events which occurred in the Rosenhall and Avimorne duchies,” Scarlet began. “Surprisingly, Dame Rosette and Lady Estelle managed to resolve the issue of the traitorous Lady Isabella and Galahad rather quickly. I do not know the specifics, but it seems Lady Isabella assisted them in taking the first tower.”

“Lady Isabella assisted them...?” Viviane murmured. “I can hardly believe it.”

Scarlet nodded. “Likewise, but our belief does nothing to contradict the truth. Moving on, I managed to conclude the civil war with great expediency as a result of Dame Leticia and Lady Rosaline’s aid among others. Of course, Eris was a great help in our confrontation against Kaitlyn and Amelia, but the pair ended up escaping anyway.”

“What!? Amelia was there!?” Medrauta’s eyes widened in surprise, nearly leaping forward with her outburst. “What about the princess!? Was Princess Gwenhwyfar there too!?”

Scarlet shook her head. “No. Gwenhwyfar remains missing, though my confrontation with Amelia proved... interesting. It seems witches can emulate the role of a noble quite well which makes me wonder why she ever chose to be a knight. But I digress. After resolving the civil war, we marched out and pushed to the first tower, discovering that Dame Rosette and Lady Estelle had done the same.”

“I see...” Medrauta frowned. “But the witchspawn. They regenerate incessantly, do they not? How did you manage to counteract such a power?”

At that, Scarlet merely smiled mysteriously. “Worry not, Dame Medrauta. I have my ways. In any case, I suppose that leads us to the present. After joining forces with Lady Estelle’s forces, our combined military might allowed us to sweep through the territories bordering the capital and take the second tower across from my duchy’s territory. I must say, your destruction of the sphere above this shield tower was rather timely. I don’t think we would’ve managed to take the second tower without the sudden disruption that Amelia’s witchspawn reinforcements suffered.”

“And then you came here...?” The silver-haired knight stared at Scarlet in disbelief. The way the noblewoman was speaking, it seemed as though they had captured the second shield tower even as Medrauta was fighting the Walpurgisknight.

Scarlet nodded. “As you have seen, my Crest allows for instantaneous traversal through space, but it is capable of much more than that.”

“...Right. Well, what about Leticia and Lady Rosaline? They’re at this second tower you’ve captured?”

Scarlet shrugged. “Perhaps, but likely not. I assume they would be assisting Dame Rosette and Lady Estelle in taking the second shield tower across from the Rosenhall duchy right about now. Which means that I shall be remaining here to aid you and Lady Viviane in coordinating your push to the capital. We will merge all three armies once the second shield tower here is captured and converge upon the Spire that Amelia has raised.”

“...Yeah, alright. I think I’m gonna leave that part to all you big thinkers and such.” Medrauta sighed, clearly needing a bit more time to digest the amount of information that she’d received.

There appeared to be two shield towers across from each duchy, and they’d just captured the first one across from the former Revelo duchy. Meanwhile, the ones across from House Avimorne’s territory were already dealt with and the second tower across from the Rosenhall duchy was currently being dealt with. The whole thing just seemed like a headache to Medrauta, and it didn’t seem like Viviane was following perfectly along either.

Viviane exchanged a glance with Medrauta before nodding and turning to Scarlet. “Lady Scarlet, perhaps if time permits, you could give me the lengthier explanation while our knights spar outside? It seems like they could use the time to... clear their misunderstandings.”

Scarlet smiled, nodding in understanding. “Of course, Lady Viviane. Eris, you are dismissed for the moment.”

Eris bowed, her eyes meeting Medrauta’s as she exited the tent. The silver-haired knight received the message loud and clear, her hand dropping casually to the hilt of her blade.

Though Viviane shot her knight a worried glance and regretted her suggestion immediately, Scarlet’s eyes twinkled with amusement. It was clear that the black-haired noblewoman would enjoy the outcome of Medrauta and Eris’ confrontation, regardless of what happened.

“Come now, Lady Viviane. The tale is long, and time is of the essence.”