Chapter 125: 123 A Dagger in the Lecture Hall

Diana practically skipped to school to day she was so happy with herself. Finally, for once during their stay in the barracks, Diana had managed to give Donovan the 'wifey' treatment she had desired. She initiated their good morning kisses, in bed no less! Of course she would have enjoyed if it lasted a bit longer, or if she wasn't as groggy, and she most certainly would have liked to go a bit further with him.

Okay maybe a lot further. Diana was definitely in a state of mind where she was seriously considering the prospects of just dropping out of the academy and starting to rear a child. She really didn't want to have to sit through another one of those boring-ass repetitive lectures.

However she understood that now was not the time for kids, as much as Arc might be pushing them to do it. She couldn't get pregnant here, not when an opportunity for an alliance or some other form of beneficial arrangement could pop up at any moment. If she was pregnant or tied down with a child she would almost certainly have problems, although maybe some sort of wet nurse could make it an option. . . no, she couldn't entrust her future to a random hire. The first few children would have to be overseen by her and a few extremely trusted servants, once they actually got around to servants that is. 

Their children would need to be raised to be Terran, especially in the realm of culture, so she couldn't just blow this off lightly. Their kids were their future, and she really wanted that future to be 'Terran'. She was going to have to get started on that naturalization plan as soon as possible. They already technically had subjects in the form of those Holifanian volunteers and that nameless tribe to work with, she just didn't have any means of contacting them or exerting pressure on them yet.

Aside from the children issue though, everything seemed to be sunshine and rainbows for Diana today. She got to be lovey dovey with her lover, and the tea this morning was simply superb. She would definitely have to ask Cherry to mark that blend as one of her favorites. As for breakfast, she had no complaints. It wasn't the best she ever had, but it was up there for the ingredients at their disposal. They had even decided to use some of the meatroll Rize's family had gifted her and Donovan in her meal today, a phenomenal omelet replete with cheese and some of the more delicious veggies she had tasted thus far.

Clearly Donovan had done something, there was no way that they would deliberately violate her order to feed her dishes she had yet to eat otherwise.

Even with all that, she had a pair of concerns about the day. The first was, of course, Donovan's tournament. She had been reassured that there wasn't any danger, but she couldn't help but worry. He was going to fight people to the not quite death, whatever that meant. What's worse is that although she desired to cheer him on, supporting him in his duties, she really didn't want to see him 'die'. That would just be a blow to her psyche she couldn't handle.

Instead she would go deal with the worry should could do something about, her classes in the academy. She didn't like to go, they were boring as fuck, but they were necessary for some reason. Why were they necessary again?

"Making connections and collecting information on he state of the galaxy, that's why I'm here. Can't forget what I'm fighting for."

She recited that thought to herself aloud as she opened the door to the amphitheater today's class was about. Supposedly it was something about the intricacies of communication between monarchs, but to her it just sounded like horseshit. If what Chestnut said was anything to go by, then it probably was.

She scanned the room, slightly late thanks to having slept in, for a seat.

"There's one. . ." She made her way down the center isle towards an empty seat. It was right next to the isle, lucky for her that she didn't have to apologize about squeezing her way through, but she did sort of understand why the seat was empty in the first place. "Excuse me, would it be fine if I sat here for today's class?"

A rather more serious looking gentleman had his eyes closed while sitting up in his chair. That alone wasn't much of a deterrent, there were quite a few serious folk in the room. What probably drove most people away was the fact that his hands were resting atop a sheathed dagger.

Diana recapped in her head, serious looking dude, eyes closed during a lecture, hands practically glued to a sharp object. Was this guy in the wrong academy?

He slowly opened an eye, looking Diana up and down before even thinking about responding. Silence would be a no, but he was definitely analyzing her to determine whether or not he would remain silent. "I see no problem with it."

Diana held back a sigh of relief. "Thank you. Breakfast took a little bit longer than normal this morning so I was running a bit late."

"I don't need to hear your excuses, nothing of value is taught here anyway. Truth be told I just wished for someone to have a conversation with. Satie here doesn't exactly make for the most enlightening company." He turned to the woman to his left. "No offence, Satie. I simply mean to say that our conversations have grown stale after so long."

"I did not take offense milord. I am well aware that I am unable to hold a candle to your intelligence." The woman gave a short bow, their dynamic seeming to imply she was a maid or some other servant. Diana certainly thought the clothes reinforced that notion, however she couldn't help but take note of her . . . assets . . . when she bowed.

It wasn't like she was trying to be lewd, but when the upper body was held parallel to the ground certain lady bits had a propensity to follow gravity. They were so large that they pressed against her uniform, giving it a very large and noticeable shape. Diana honestly felt a bit embarrassed for her, there really wasn't anything Satie could do about it was there? Still, that one small action was enough to draw the lecherous gazes of what could have been two thirds of the class' male attendees.

Sensing this lust, the gentlemen unsheathed the dagger ever so slightly, making a soft click sound against the sheath as he did. All of the sudden, those lustful eyes disappeared and Diana understood why he was resting his hands on the dagger.

"My apologies for unsheathing my blade, but it seems to be the only thing that well and truly deters the more unsavory individuals. My name is Merndil, and this is my servant, Satie." The big breasted woman gave a another bow, far shallower this time around, though even that drew glances.

*chk*

They were gone again.

"Would it be rude to inquire your name miss?"

Diana had decided that this black-haired man was a respectable individual. He, at the very least, appeared to maintain some degree of rationality and poise when speaking to her. He very clearly wasn't hitting on her like the rest.

"Ah, yes, my apologies. You may call me Diana."

"Lady Diana then. Please, take a seat. If you wouldn't mind, I would like to pick your brain about a few things that have been bothering me. I need an outsider's perspective."

Satie began to bow again. "I apologize for my insufficiencies my Lord." Her assets were swaying from the turning this time around, Merndil didn't even need to wait for the gazes before clicking his dagger. He knew they were coming.

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"Please, Satie, keeping me occupied is not your duty." Diana felt there might be a double meaning there, both that she wasn't supposed to be his conversation partner and that her figure was starting to become problematic. "You do enough as is."

"Thank you, my Lord. I am undeserving of your praise." She only bowed her head a bit, there was no need to threaten castration to the room. Seeing the coast was clear, Merndil smiled and nodded to her.

"Anyways, an outside perspective. Would that be fine with you?" It didn't take much convincing for her to believe Merndil was an upstanding gentleman.

"I see no issue with it, but only if I may ask you a few questions of my own."

"Very well, we have a deal." Merndil adjusted the position of the dagger, resting both hands on the hilt while the tip of the sheath was trying to dig into the wooden table. "You see I have this brother, a younger one if that provides any detail, who is simply impossible to do anything nice for. It isn't that I can't afford a gift or anything like that, he just doesn't find much joy in things he doesn't accomplish for himself."

Diana held up a hand as if to stop him. "Before you continue, how much younger is he? That might change my answer."

"Two years. He is currently enrolled in the military academy, so you can trust that I have had recent contact with him."

Diana nodded. "What interests does he have?"

"Aside from the sword and alcohol, I cannot think of anything significant. He lives what you might call the life of the warrior savant, fighting who he pleases and talking his way out of trouble when he eventually finds himself in it." Merndil's countenance soured a bit at this, obviously remembering some bad memory. "Such behavior has, unsurprisingly, led to him being removed from any claims to inheritance or right to succession by our father, but you can imagine that nobody involved complained much. He really just isn't fit to rule."

"If he loves to fight so much, would it not be a good idea to commission a sword for him?"

"I've done that in the past, he simply goes through them too fast. Just last week he bought another one." Merndil shook his head.

"Milord, perhaps finding him a sword that is more durable would be an option?"

"That's an idea, but I'm not sure how much longer it would last if he really goes through them that fast." Diana took a second to think. "Have you considered buying him something he will use but won't break? Like a bag or something?"

"A bag? Surely he wouldn't be happy with just that."

"It doesn't have to be that alone, you could also purchase him a pendant or some other form of accessory that has something he holds dear engraved into it."

"I don't think he wears such objects. . ."

Diana pushed a little further. "Does he even own any accessories? From the sound of it he doesn't seem to care much for appearances."

"I-" Merndil paused, "I don't know actually. Satie, do you recall if my brother has ever displayed an interest in or showed off a collection to any of the other servants?"

Satie took a second to think, scratching the portion of her head right beneath her little horns. "I cannot seem to recall any information regarding the young master's interest in that sort of thing."

"I see. I will approach him about it later. I would still like to have a few other ideas though. Diana?"

"I'd be happy to help brainstorm. It seems to be one of the only things I've been useful for lately." Diana took a second to think. "I know its a far stretch, but maybe a candidate to be his bride? He isn't interested in succession so it should be easy, right?"

"It's something to think about, but he is most certainly not interested in the field of marriage right now. I'm sure that will be something to act on in a few years if he hasn't sorted it out already."

"Hm, what about a servant?" 

"He thinks they tie him down. Apparently he's even having issues with the Sanctums' staff."

"Okay, than what about somebody to teach? I hear that it's a good way to find flaws in your own style of fighting, so maybe he'd be interested in that if you brought it up with him?" Diana recalled one of her conversations about Donovan with Titanyana. Although Titanyana was the squire for official reasons, Donovan was the one being taught. "It would be someone he could offload his weapon maintenance onto as well, so he might save money on those swords."

Merndil put his hand to his chin, deep in thought. "You bring up some interesting options, even I don't think they will all be acceptable to him. I am certainly glad I asked."

"Please Lord Merndil, that was hardly an issue. In fact, my husband-to-be is fighting in the tournament right now, so that sort of martial gift thing is weighing heavy on my mind right now. I'm thinking of buying him something as a celebration for his first tournament so. . ."