Chapter 79: 5-5 Growing Pains

Stahlia, Sixteen Years Old, Tenth Month of 948

A few days after my initial recovery, I was awoken by a lump landing on my bed. It was a bit bigger than usual, by about double.

Still asleep.

The lump separated into two and crawled onto either side of me. This was as expected, as this same phenomenon had occurred the previous three mornings as well. A quiet barely suppressed giggling betrayed the identity of one of my would-be assassins, followed by a “Tch!” to reveal the other. Since they had both made noise, it was now time to wake up.

“Aahhh, good morning you two, sleep well?”

Sitting up and stretching my arms dramatically, I looked at Felicity and Rosial.

“Felicity, you ruined it!”

The girl in question pouted a bit while apologizing, “Sorry…”

The ears going flat is a nice touch Claire, if you’re actually controlling them right now that is.

After Felicity’s transformation into a Nekomata, Claire had apparently stopped controlling the senses every hour of every day; [Talent Void] seemed to protect Felicity from the worst side effects of her abilities so Claire had shifted into a different role, though she still took control sometimes.

“Now now, none of that. Rosial, Felicity just doesn’t have the same experience you do.”

The first time they had played “Assassins” had given me mixed feelings, but the past few days had allowed me to grow somewhat used to it, for better or worse. At the very least, the two of them playing together had to be a good thing, I just wished they would go for a less violent game. Not that there was any violence involved; from my understanding, they would “win” if they got close enough to wake me up by tapping my forehead. They lost if I woke up ahead of time, as had been the case today.

I’m just glad that Rosial hasn’t brought up Stali since that first time… hopefully my presence here is having a stabilizing effect…

It was my assumption that “Stali” had been created by a fragment of suppressed memory stemming from the desire to hold on to her past. Now that the past was with her again so to speak, Stali wasn’t needed anymore so her subconscious was letting go. Granted, I wasn’t a psychologist so I could be wildly off base, but that hope was all there really was to go on so I would cling to it.

After shooing the two from my bed so that my day could begin, I got up and rang a small bell. Sasha, my new maid, came in and began to help me get ready.

“My Lady, His Highness Prince Rupert sent word that he would be somewhat late for today’s meeting, how should I respond?”

“Tell him that is fine.”

“Very well, Lord Gustav wishes to speak with you regarding the upcoming ceremonies, your reply?”

“We can meet today over lunch.”

“Over lunch? Will you be hosting, or shall Lord Gustav?”

“…I will host.”

“Very well. Your guard knights report that everything was normal last night.”

“…My thanks to them then.”

“I shall relay it. Then,”

“Sasha?”

“Yes my lady?”

“Stop. Write everything down, or tell it to me all at once. I do not have the patience to spend thirty minutes going over everything, every morning.”

“…Yes, my lady.”

My new maid meant well, but she was so… dull. Jacqueline’s brilliance had utterly spoiled me; about four fifths of everything Sasha brought to my attention would have been quietly handled without my knowledge by Jacqueline. Come to think of it, Lucy and Frieda had been exceptional as well. They had to be since they worked directly under Jacqueline.

I should find out what happened to them, and see if I would be allowed to employ them again. The answer is probably no, but it couldn’t hurt to ask… anything would be better than this woman and her inability to think for herself…

Sasha passed me a roll of paper that she had prepared in advance; a similar exchange had occurred yesterday and the day before. Quickly reading through it and annotating my responses, I handed it back.

“See, that was much more efficient, was it not?”

“…As you say, my lady.”

Haaaa… I’ll ask about Lucy and Frieda to Gustav later today. At the very least, I would like for one of them to retrain Sasha.

The one saving grace was that Sasha was the only royal maid I had to deal with. Ordinarily, there would be a whole team assigned to me, but my condition was being kept under wraps, and a maid would quickly find out about my true age given how intimate dressing me was.

Making pseudo slave contracts, like the one Edith’s maid had with Duke Claurence was an option, but one that I had refused. Simply put, I didn’t want to be surrounded by servants. Going from a single maid, with two supporting her, to a whole team was too big of a change. Fortunately, Rupert did not push the issue and had someone make arrangements to get me out of having to contend with an army of servants.

But I’ll have to get over that eventually. Taking care of a member of the royal family isn’t a task one servant can do. Eventually, I’ll have to get more, but not now.

Once my morning routine was finally finished, it was time to start the day. I bid goodbye to Felicity and Rosial, who had ended up moving into my chambers, collected Still and my guard knights and then departed. The first thing on today’s agenda was a meeting with Lord Brisben. He was a count in Rupert’s faction, and one of the nobles who had stepped up to fill Count Francois’ vacancy.

Though I was not performing any official duties yet, Rupert was arranging meetings between me and the various important members of his faction ahead of my public return. This was the first such meeting and was being done now before Brisben took his men back to the frontlines. Personally, I was hoping to be able to tease out a bit of information about the state of the country. I could always demand Rupert be straight with me, but given that I was going to have to live with him that was something preferably avoided.

It was likely that he was expecting me to go about finding the information on my own anyways, and I would hate to disappoint.

“Lord Brisben, you may stand.”

The man had dropped to his knees as soon as he saw me, yet another thing that was troubling and yet needed me to get used to it.

“Thank you for meeting with me today, I trust that I find you in good health?” While he seemed genuine enough, his eyes were cold and distant. It was a calculated question, likely trying to get information about my long absence. Thankfully, such questions had been predicted.

“Indeed, I have fully recovered from the incident with the Francois.” It wasn’t a lie, since Count Francois was directly involved with the cause of my long absence. Even if it was not totally the truth.

“That gladdens me to hear, when his highness announced the change in your engagement while you were yet indisposed and your father absent, it worried many of us a great deal.”

A pleasant smile appeared on my face, this was all going according to the rough prediction Gustav had shared with me the day before, “Yes, my apologies for that. Given the recentness of my kidnapping and the actions of the first prince, it was decided that it would be best for me to remain in hiding until things could calm down a bit.”

Not that I would call a civil cold war very calm, but I suppose it could be worse.

Then Lord Brisben threw me for a loop. His face turned serious, “You were not coerced into this then?”

Excuse me what?

“Lord Brisben, please explain.”

Bowing his head he apologized, “My apologies my lady, but as I am the first person to see you after the trouble earlier this year… there have been some murmurings regarding the veracity of what his highness has shared with us… Not to mention the first prince’s claims on the matter.”

“…Lord Brisben, Prince Rupert is the crown prince, are you questioning his words? I can assure you that this arrangement is one I am quite content with.” I needed to buy myself a moment to fully digest what was being said, and to seize the initiative back from Brisben. Hopefully, the memory of my legendary public falling out with Dominic would help him interpret my answer the way I wanted him to.

He totally threw me off course with that, what is the first prince saying about me and Rupert? That I was coerced into the engagement?

“My apologies, Lady Stahlia, that was foolish of me.” Lord Brisben’s apology seemed sincere at least as far as I could tell from tone and subtle expression. After studying his face closely for a moment I nodded.

“My apologies as well, Lord Brisben. It seems I have forgotten what we were just discussing, would you be able to remind me?”

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From there, we proceeded into what I considered pointless platitudes and political posturing. It was in my opinion all a bit much considering that, as far as Brisben knew, I was twelve. I was able to gather a couple crucial pieces of information though so in the end it was worth it.

Namely, the first prince had spread rumors that Prince Rupert had grown jealous of my achievements and instigated me against Count Francois, thereby betraying the de facto leader of his faction. Secondly, my engagement had been made without first consulting my father, a clear abuse of power on the part of Prince Rupert. The worrying detail was that the second accusation was correct.

Though the fact that I negotiated on my own behalf would count for something, we can’t announce that, since it would reveal that I conspired against the Francois. Even if the count was a demon, we can’t admit that publically, else it would imply that Rupert let a demon into his inner circle…

I see, Rupert didn’t tell me any of this so that Brisben would see my true reaction. He knew that this news would shake me, and worked that into his plan to strengthen our position. Irritating, but understandable. Now Lord Brisben will bring his observations from this meeting and start spreading the story, shoring up Rupert’s own faction with reassurances and helping to discredit some of Prince Antonio’s claims.

It was a solid plan, though there were some parts I still didn’t fully understand, like why my father had been left in Ris instead of being brought to the capital. Surely his testimony could have been used in lieu of my own.

I’ll have to ask Gustav during our lunch meeting later. Now that the Brisben card has been played, he’ll probably be more willing to share details with me. Assuming I’m correct about why I was kept in the dark at least.

Eventually, Lord Brisben ran out of pointless shit to talk about and we said our farewells.

“Thank you for the audience, Lady Stahlia.” He bowed rather low and placed one hand over his breast with another resting where his sword would have been, had he been wearing one. It was the Drakan military salute, and the meaning behind it was clear; Brisben was quietly reaffirming his loyalties and willingness to fight on behalf of Prince Rupert and me.

I curtsied lower than was strictly required of my own station relative to his in order to express my gratitude for the sentiment.

So much meaning behind such simple gestures and word choice… I hate politics already.

Thankfully the private lunch with Gustav was next, and it would be relatively easy-going by comparison. At the very least, I could still refuse to stand on ceremony with Gustav… though having Sasha attending to me would be a pain as always.

“Stahlia.”

“Lord Gustav.”

We nodded to each other in lieu of bows and curtsies and I saw Sasha flinch slightly out of the corner of my eye. Hopefully, she would not start trying to “educate” me. Though she could always be ordered to stop, it would be preferable if such methods did not have to be used.

For now she seemed like she was going to hold her peace at least, as she merely pulled a chair away from the table for me. After Gustav and I were seated she retreated to the far side of the room, out of earshot.

“Gustav, now that Lord Brisben has seen my blind reaction to the rumors, will you be straight with me?”

He nodded, “So you did figure it out. Indeed, you have become something of a face to this farce. Prince Antonio is using your absence as evidence of His Highness Prince Rupert’s indiscretions. A rallying cry that has gathered a few additional nobles to his side; it is our hope that they can be brought back following your return to public life… that is the main reason we have delayed striking down the rebels despite having such an advantage.”

I mulled over his words for a bit before responding, “So Prince Rupert is seeking to avoid weakening the kingdom as much as possible given what is to come?”

Gustav nodded, “That is indeed the case.”

“I would like the full details at some point in the near future, but for now… Lady Elienor and Lady Margauritte… what became of them?”

Across the table Gustav slowly lowered his hands until they were resting flat on the wooden surface. He then exhaled slowly before answering, “Lady Maurgeritte has been executed. Publicly, she was charged with conspiring to hide the traitor Count Francois and aiding in his escape. Between the two of us… she was fully aware of his true identity.”

So she did know. I can’t say I didn’t think she might. That’s a rather large secret to keep from someone as close as a wife… It really puts in perspective how nice she was to me, if she was aware of Five’s designs about the marriage… was all of that manipulation? Or did she regret it in some small way, and want to make things as pleasant as possible?

There wasn’t anything to say about her death though, it had come and gone, “And Lady Elienor?”

“Lady Elienor has been placed under house arrest. It is Rupert’s intention for you to request her to be spared publicly; doing so will earn you some sympathy. The excuse being used, is that the children’s involvement is still being investigated but the civil cold war is hindering things. The general consensus among the nobility is that Rupert does not want to have one of his fiancé’s close friends executed, and is dragging his feet.”

Rumors really are a powerful thing. That sets the stage perfectly for me to beg for her life, Rupert then gets to be seen as doting and merciful. The lords won’t care much, but many of the ladies will love it.

“Will I put on the show at my debut? Or would it be best for me to wait a bit longer?”

Personally, I wanted to get my friend secured as soon as possible, but if waiting a few days would work better for the plan… well, she had already waited several months. It sucked, but it was what it was.

Gustav delayed his answer, as Sasha signaled us that the food had been prepared. A moment later the table was set and she had again returned to her post by the wall.

“It would be best to wait a short time, a few days. If you move too early, many will say that the whole thing was staged.”

“And while they would be correct, that would be bad for us. I understand.”

We ate in silence for a few minutes before I brought up the next topic.

“When is my family due to arrive, and what preparations are left for the wedding?”

“Your father, should things go according to plan, will arrive tomorrow evening… The preparations have all been taken care of, since the ceremony will be small and secret. The bigger issue is your debut return to society.”

If everything goes according to plan…? You wouldn’t say that if there wasn’t a tangible threat.

“What’s wrong with my family?”

Gustav’s eyes flashed, “Lord Ferdinand has everything under control in that regard.”

The de facto spymaster? Why the hell is he involved?

“…I see, and why is the de facto current spy-master overseeing my family’s trip?”

Gustav broke out into a smile, “I was instructed only to tell you if you arrived at the conclusion yourself.”

So Rupert is using Gustav to test me? No that’s too suspicious… Gustav is testing me? No, not everything is a test… Something that would be better if I didn’t know, but that Gustav thinks I should know. He didn’t misspeak, he said ‘should things go according to plan’ knowing it would tip me off. Tipping me off was his intention. He also thinks I know everything I need to in order to figure it out from here…

“Prince Rupert suspects that Antonio will make a move on my family, or at least my father.”

“That is correct, after all, removing your father from play could only strengthen him; all he would have to do is imply that Rupert arranged it, much the same way as we handled your kidnapping and the Francois.”

Fuck! God damnit!

I wanted to scream, but that would accomplish nothing. No wonder Rupert had thought it best not to tell me. Knowing how I typically reacted when family was involved, anyone could see that it would be best for me not to know that there was a tangible risk to my close relations. I hated him for it, even though I agreed with him.

“Why?”

“Why weren’t you told?”

When I didn’t answer, Gustav continued, “His highness and I agreed that telling you would be a mistake. It would be far better for your health if you could recover fully with those friends and family who were already here, while we worried on your behalf.”

“Don’t lie, Rupert is incapable of worrying on anyone’s behalf.” In contrast to Gustav’s calm tone, mine was bitter.

Switching to his teacher’s voice, Gustav voiced the concern that was writ deeply in my heart, “Well, perhaps that is the case, but is he wrong?”

…No... He wasn’t wrong. The past few days have been great. If I knew about a potential threat to my family, I wouldn’t have been able to relax like I did. Everything would have been under the shadow of that looming threat. It isn’t like I could change anything either, I could have run out, but then I would be the one at risk. Rupert would obviously prioritize me over my family.

“I hate this…”

Gustav only nodded, and we finished the meal in silence, the original purpose of the meeting completely forgotten.

I never would have thought that I would envy Rupert of his ability to not feel… I actually sort of wish I still had [Cold Hearted] right about now…

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