Winter Solstice Intrigue (3)
Ermiha Ket hurried her steps ahead of the Winter Solstice. Toward the chambers where her mother resided. The garden, artificially crafted deep beneath the Ket estate, had been specially designed by her father, Miakh Ket, to mimic her mother's homeland.
"…Mother!"
Darker skin than Ermiha's, ears even sharper. The quintessential features of an earth elf—or subterranean elf, as they were called. The elven noblewoman pressed a finger to her lips with a soft shh, silencing her daughter's clamor. The underground flora and fauna were sensitive to noise. She couldn't risk damaging the garden.
Only after they stepped out of the garden together did the noblewoman speak.
"What is it?"
Ermiha, gripped by shock and dread, blurted out, "Sister brought home a marriage prospect!"
"Calm yourself, dear. That reckless little girl is bound by her own words. Her declaration that she has no interest in the family head's seat. No matter how much the retainers support Armede, she can't just take it back on a whim."
Soothing her daughter, the mother listened intently to Ermiha's tale. Armede's new ally. The noblewoman's mind grew tangled. This 'prospect' Armede had brought was of humble origins. In other words, it wasn't Armede leaving for an outsider marriage—the son-in-law would likely become a live-in groom. That would let Armede meddle in family affairs indefinitely, even after marriage.
"So she doesn't even hide her ambitions anymore, Armede. But the Ket family will be ours…."
"So. Why are your other two mothers so set against you?"
Kriel's question. Armede, who had naturally settled beside him and was slicing into a cake, shrugged.
"Beats me. Guess I'm just a thorn in their side."
Tuon, who had been chilling a beverage at Kriel's request, spoke up.
"I inquire: are those two wives who check you born of political marriages?"
Armede nodded, watching Tuon intently as she clutched the glass of chilled drink with both hands.
"Yeah. Way more prestigious and noble lineages than my mother."
Ermiha Ket's mother hailed from a prominent subterranean elf family, while Hekedian Ket's came from a renowned dwarf artisan clan.
"Our Ket territory borders the northern mountains, right? Dwarves up there, and subterranean elves who bicker with them but still neighbor them. It's a marriage alliance for the county's stability, peace, and all that jazz."
[Hmm? Then what about your mother?]
Orishin, sensing something off, asked. Armede replied in a tone implying the question was absurd.
"Why ask something like that? It was a love match. Just a plain old commoner with nothing to her name. Unlike Ermiha or Hekedian, I can't lean on my mother's family for support."
"…Hold on."
Kriel sorted through the thoughts bubbling up in his mind.
"The two remaining wives—are they connections your father made after he became family head?"
"Yep."
"Your mother was someone he met back when he was still a candidate, competing with his siblings?"
Armede nodded with a sullen look, as if wondering why such obvious things needed confirming.
"The retainers who hold sway in the family now—most of them backed your father from back then?"
"Not all, but yeah, pretty much."
"You said the retainers don't care about your father and only bicker over the successor seat? Tell me exactly what they said to you."
"Nothing special. Just stuff like 'at this rate, the family's gonna crumble.' Their intentions were obvious—they want to back me—so I bailed."
Right. Let me piece this together.
Kriel's situation-reading skills, honed by Earth dramas, kicked into gear.
Armede Ket's mother had been romanced and married when the current head was just a contender. The retainers who now dominated the family either supported that romance or at least knew of it.
"Armede. What's the age order among you siblings?"
"I'm the eldest daughter. Ermiha's second. No other sons, so Hekedian's the eldest son technically, but by birth order, he's the youngest."
Imperial law imposed no restrictions on a woman inheriting as head. Amid that, Armede was the first wife’s firstborn. But that was fine so far. Longstanding tradition favored the eldest grandson, but the Ket countship had its own rule.
The Ket county's tradition: succession went to the child with the greatest magical achievements. The problem? Armede was likely to outshine her siblings in magical prowess too.
Kriel ventured a confirmation.
"…And your magic skills?"
"I'm the best, obviously. You fought alongside me—you know that better than anyone. A battle mage of my caliber is rare even across the whole Empire."
"No attempts to fold the Abyss Prevention Society into the family?"
"Oh, there were a few half-baked schemes like that. But it's my society, funded with my money, and I'm not stepping down as director, so they were pointless."
Let's sum it up. First wife’s firstborn, backed by the retainers. Most legitimate heir by family tradition. And commands an independent cadre of mages.
Kriel rubbed his forehead.
"No wonder they're checking you…."
"What?! Why?!"
Kriel explained his deductions. Her act of renouncing succession rights first off looked like a smokescreen.
Armede couldn't fathom it.
"No way. I got full legal counsel and stamped the contract! If they thought I'd come back yelling 'This house is mine!', they shouldn't have let me sign it in the first place!"
"That was before the Abyss Prevention Society. Seeing you build it up must've spooked them. It's basically a private mage army under your control."
"Uh."
Was it, though…?
Armede tilted her head. Those money-pit mages with zero profitability, barely scraping by without endless deficits—her private army? Without her yanking them by the scruff and drilling them, they'd have just hemorrhaged cash.
[Uh…, isn't that 'yanking by the scruff and drilling' part the issue? If that involved magical discipline, it'd look like a show of force and military training.]
Orishin offered a cautious opinion. Armede recalled the events she'd held in the family training grounds, unable to find a large enough open field. Then fell silent.
"…Whatever. They're probably summoning me to clear up these misunderstandings. I can just announce the engagement at the Winter Solstice festival and explain things properly."
Kriel voiced his hope. He had no desire to meddle in someone else's tangled family mess; he wanted to believe sweet words would sort it out.
Armede covered her face with both hands. Stubborn to a fault, she struggled to pivot once fixated, but her situational awareness and deductive skills were sharp. Could she talk her way out with two mothers already steeped in suspicion?
Tsk, tsk, tsk. Tuon clucked her tongue impassively, wagging a finger side to side.
"As the ancients said: if your foe slanders you, give them cause worthy of the slander. Leading a mage legion to seize the family might make for quite the spectacle."
"Hey, Kriel's sword. I signed a proper contract renouncing Ket succession rights. No matter how impatient I get or how much I dislike the others, I can't just break it."
"Amateur."
"Huh?"
"You weren't planning to keep the name Armede Ket anyway, were you? Bestow a new surname upon yourself from the remaining lands and swallow the Ket county whole under that banner!"
Not a succession dispute within the family—just spin off a new branch house and devour the main one. No claim on Ket inheritance rights, so technically, no contract breach.
"Conqueror-Lord Armede! Iron-Blooded Countess Armede! Imagine that name resounding across the future!"
"…Snap out of it."
No. Why was this demon sword tempting others into coups instead of its own master?
Kriel reverted Tuon to sword form. The blade vibrated in protest, but he ignored it.
"Her ideology gets a bit radical sometimes. Just let it slide."
"Uh, sure."
Honestly, it was tempting. Wiping out the thorns in one go! But she harbored no bloodlust warranting actual military clash, so Armede easily buried Tuon's seduction in a corner of her heart.
"Come on, follow me. I'll show you to your room. Once you've unpacked, the tailor's waiting—time to get fitted for some clothes."
Armede and Kriel left the drawing room. From the castle's shadows, eyes watched their destination intently. Servants loyal to Hekedian or Ermiha's factions, or the spirits and familiars they commanded.
Sensing those gazes, Kriel scratched his head. If they were abyss spawn in plain sight, he'd smash them on the spot. But family feuds? That was distant, alien territory for him.