The Promise (2)
How many times had she lost, exactly?
As she received the guests who had come calling, her thoughts drifted back to the light sparring session from just a little while ago.
I counted to about twenty and then gave up.
Her time with Adel had lasted less than an hour. And in that single hour, she had suffered more than twenty defeats. She hadn't even managed a proper swing of her sword. Every time she came back to her senses, her blade was tumbling somewhere far away, and Adel's wooden sword was always waiting right in front of her.
At first she had been astonished. Then she had been ashamed. And at some point, a jealousy she couldn't explain had taken root — only to transform, just as suddenly, into awe.
He was strong. So strong that the person I am now couldn't even begin to compare.
Her father and her brother had both been outstanding knights. In spirit and in skill, neither of them had been lacking in any respect. Everyone in Lichtenauer had loved those two men, and they had given their loyalty until the very moment of their deaths. That devotion continued even now, after both of them were gone.
And what of her — their daughter, their sister? What of the woman who now sat as the head of Lichtenauer, the one upon whom that loyalty was supposed to rest?
I'm weak. The person I am now is far too weak.
Why did Fiore, why did Etria, look at her with such contempt? It couldn't be simply because demon blood ran in her veins. It was because she was weak — so weak as to be worthless. She had nothing, and yet she had taken that vital, crushing seat for no reason other than the bloodline she happened to inherit. Of course they found it laughable.
How could someone who couldn't even protect herself hope to protect a family, or its people? Stop playing at being a family head, they would tell her. Go crawl back into the safest corner of the empire, the way you used to, and live as a coward. The weak should know their place and keep their heads down. That was what they would want to say to her.
"A pleasure to meet you all."
"Head of House Lichtenauer. An honor to make your acquaintance."
"I hear you claimed victory over Fiore this time."
"The rumor has already spread far and wide."
Even the crowd of nobles who had come to see her today had not come for Sien. They had come for the head of Lichtenauer — for the Lichtenauer that had won a duel. Had it gone the other way, had Lichtenauer been the one to fall, the same sneers now dripping from their mouths about Fiore would have been aimed squarely at her house. Of that she had no doubt.
"As expected of a storied house of the sword."
"The late family head may rest in peace."
"Fiore has grown rather full of itself of late. Leave it to Lichtenauer to put them in their place."
It made her sick. And it frightened her. Could she truly navigate a world like this? There was so much she had to protect. Could she keep from losing anyone?
"…Thank you, all of you, for coming to see me."
Whatever turmoil churned inside her, Sien received the visiting nobles without a single crack in her composure. Any weakness she showed became Lichtenauer's weakness. Any strength she displayed became Lichtenauer's strength.
I have to become stronger. I want to become stronger.
And to do that, she first had to be able to stand on her own. She might be too ashamed, for now, to call herself the head of a renowned swordsmanship family — might be nothing more than one frail young woman. But someday, she would have to be able to speak of power with a sword in her hand, and hold her head high while she did it.
It was for that reason, more than any other, that Sien wanted to learn from Adel — more, and in greater depth.
"All done?"
The meetings that had begun at midday had only just wrapped up in the late afternoon. Even that had been after the people of Lichtenauer and Karina had trimmed the list down again and again, leaving only those visitors who might actually prove useful.
"Yes. Everyone's gone now."
"Honestly, they're something else. The moment they hear you exchanged a few words with His Majesty the Emperor, they come swarming in, poking around to see if there's anything they can scrape off you. And they never gave you the time of day before."
Lichtenauer was a house of considerable renown when it came to the sword, but that prestige did not translate into any real power in the central political arena. To the nobility, Lichtenauer was a family that happened to be rather good with blades — nothing more, and nothing less. At least, that had been the case until Sien met the Imperial Princess and the Emperor at the banquet.
"I'm still a little stunned myself. I never imagined things would unfold this way."
Sien smiled and took Karina's hand.
"Thank you, Karina."
"Huh?"
"None of this would have happened if you hadn't looked out for me. I mean it. Thank you."
"Ugh, don't be so sappy. I just made an investment, that's all."
Karina shook off Sien's hand and did her best to look unmoved. The embarrassment was written all over her face, so Sien simply nodded.
"And I'm not the one you should be thanking."
"Why not?"
"If it hadn't been for your escort, this whole thing would have gone spectacularly wrong. My goodwill would have become a noose around your neck. This wasn't my doing, Sien. It was all that man Adel."
All Karina had done was bring Sien to the banquet. Even that had nearly been ruined by Fiore. The one who had turned it all around so brilliantly was Adel. Everything that had happened to Sien — the banquet, the situation she now found herself in — would have curdled into nothing but scorn and mockery if that attendant had failed to win.
"He seems like a decent man. That Adel of yours."
"Were you still suspicious of him?"
"How could I not be? A family head who never even received an heir's education. A house that's already unsteady on its feet. It wouldn't be strange at all if someone had already slipped an agent in from somewhere."
Sien knew that Karina's worries — and everyone else's — were perfectly reasonable. Even she couldn't claim there was nothing odd about Adel. If he truly were deceiving both her and the entire house, if he had burrowed into Lichtenauer's innermost depths and was simply lying in wait, something ugly could well come of it later.
But… no matter how I look at him, he doesn't seem like that kind of person.
His were not the eyes of a liar, nor the eyes of someone hiding something. He was simply a man who looked very lonely, and very tired.
"So what now?"
"We leave at once."
"Today? It's already late afternoon."
"I want to get back to the house as soon as I can. There's so much to do."
At Sien's words, a small smile touched Karina's lips. She still remembered the old Sien — the timid girl who startled easily and cried often — and she had wondered whether that girl could truly carry the weight of Lichtenauer's family head. But if she was showing this kind of fire, perhaps there was a little less to worry about.
"All right. I'll tell the trading company people to help you get ready to leave."
"There's no need. You've already done more than enough."
"This is an investment too. There's no such thing as goodwill without a reason, Head of House Lichtenauer."
So just accept it, her eyes said, and don't argue.
In keeping with Sien's wish to return to the house as quickly as possible, the people of Lichtenauer and the trading company finished their preparations in short order.
"I look forward to seeing you again, Head of House Lichtenauer."
This was not a private occasion, so Karina observed the proper courtesies. She offered her farewell with every mark of respect, and Sien placed a hand over her heart and bowed her head in turn.
"We've been well looked after thanks to you, Guildmaster Karina. This debt — I will be sure to repay it one day."
"Heh heh. I'll be sure to remember those words, my lady."
She looked ready to enter them into a ledger then and there. This was her precious person, unchanged and unchanging. She could only hope, with all her heart, that the day would come when that debt could be repaid.
Leaving the brief reunion with her friend behind her, Sien climbed into the carriage and watched the scenery of the Imperial Capital slide past the window.
So much happened in just those few short days.
She had come originally for no other reason than to solve a funding shortage. Then she had received an unexpected investment, paid the price for it, attended a banquet, and found herself accepting a duel she had never intended to fight. The Emperor himself had spoken her name, and before she knew it she had set foot in the world of politics.
People were supposed to grow wary, by instinct, when too much unexpected fortune came their way. Perhaps it was because the fortune had been too abundant, and too vast — all she felt was a lingering daze, rather than any real caution.
The carriage began to slow, the wheels creaking as they eased. They must have reached the gates leading out of the Imperial Capital.
"Whoa there!"
Alongside Lichtenauer, waiting their turn, another noble carriage and its entourage drew up even with them.
"…"
"…"
"Ahem."
Of all people, why did it have to be Fiore they ran into here? The Lichtenauer knights each let out a silent sigh. Word had it that one of Fiore's knights had been defeated by their attendant — that the man had even lost an arm, and that his life as a knight was well and truly over. If the other side decided to pick a fight over that, things would not end as quietly as they had before.
"…"
"…"
But contrary to the knights' expectations, the Fiore party made no move at all. If anything, they seemed wary that Lichtenauer might be the ones to bare their teeth first. The caution was written so plainly on them that it was almost uncomfortable to watch.
Why were they suddenly acting like this? Why had people who used to provoke them so openly fallen silent? The knights puzzled over it for a moment, and then they understood.
"Lady Sien. We will be departing shortly."
Adel stood beside the carriage their lord was riding in, announcing their departure. He had a face and eyes that looked remarkably kind — but the knights remembered the way he had slaughtered demonic beasts all by himself. If that same man had subdued Fiore's knight in just that fashion, the reaction of Fiore's remaining knights made perfect sense.
They were afraid of Adel.
Sien took in the scene with both eyes as well. Not long ago, these were people who had been practically itching for an excuse to pick a fight. Now Fiore was taking care not to so much as brush against them, and she could feel that caution as clearly as if it had been spoken aloud. Once again, she understood why she needed to become stronger.
For now, I've borrowed someone else's strength.
But someday — someday, she would become that someone herself. Sien clenched both hands tight and made the vow.
She must not grow weak. There was no going back now. The place her father, her brother, and so many others had given everything to protect — it was hers to defend now. Lichtenauer was hers.
Just you wait, Etria. I may stand beneath you now, but I will catch up. I swear it.
She pictured Adel subduing Fiore's knight so cleanly, so completely, and she wanted, someday, to defeat Etria the same way. Her pale hands tightened into fists, and for the first time, a fierce fighting spirit burned in Sien's chest.