In the royal capital, few things evoked the entrepreneurial spirit of its citizens more than disaster.
It took a true calamity to cause crowns to stop changing hands. Neither night nor fire were one of them. These things were merely opportunities.
Thus, it was a given that the residents of the merchant's quarter wouldn't look away from a profit.
Even as Coppelia and I were striving to defend the innocent people of this district from the threat of the dryad, these same people also took it upon themselves to set up stands all across the district's raised terraces, offering a wonderful view of the peasants as they tried desperately to stop the flames below from spreading.
With the stars twinkling above and the glitter of water being painstakingly passed between lines of sweating commoners below, we sat on a wooden bench while enjoying a selection of fruit cordials on sale from the newly erected stall beside us.
The taste of orange zest as it soothed the back of my throat was not only a wonderful reward for my valiant efforts so far, but a worthy distraction as I attempted to stop myself from being blindsided by the maid with the bag of money.
“This is quite a significant sum of crowns!” she insisted, holding the bag out with one hand while sipping a lemon and honey cocktail from a straw in the other. “A very significant amount! You could … I don't know, gamble or buy swords or whatever it is that you adventurers do!”
I batted the bag of crowns away. I tried to do the same with the maid, but she simply pushed even closer.
“Firstly, a significant sum of crowns is a matter of perspective. Secondly, I have no desire to gamble and no need for a new sword. Thirdly, I believe I've made myself quite clear. I need to save this kingdom from an absurd number of highly avoidable calamities, and so my time is in very short supply.”
I took a sip of my orange and mint cooler, then returned to watching the peasants toil.
I understood the maid's pains. I was the only competent person in this entire kingdom. But I was a princess, and a bag of crowns could never distract me … at least not while I had enough crowns from this dryad business to achieve my minimum living standards. I had to focus on larger matters at hand. A dryad plaguing the streets of the royal capital was a worthy detour. Not whatever private issues this maid had with her employers.
No, I now had to focus my efforts on finding the Smuggler King and the Dancing Rat.
Names which encapsulated the difficulty of the task ahead. I had to find criminals. The worst of them. And from what sparse information the Adventurer's Guild presented to me, that meant an abysmal swim through the city's vast network of underground sewers and tunnels.
It was going to be a distressing night.
“I understand that,” replied the maid, not understanding at all. “However, I must insist. All I ask is that you hear me out!”
“The guild can be located—”
“You two of you just defeated a dryad! Not only a dryad, but an exceptionally powerful one. You blew up a wall and chopped off its head!”
“E-Excuse me! I didn't blow up a wall! I just … well, I sent a mailbox through it. There's a difference!”
“I did chop off its head, though,” said Coppelia, casually sipping between two different cordials as she eyed even more on the menu. There went the last of our funds until we returned to the guild. “Say, either of you two want to swap? I have a coconut and a mango smoothie.”
Suddenly, the girl slammed down her lemon and honey cocktail onto the bench. The straw was still dangling from her mouth.
“Please listen!” she said, spitting out the straw. “I'm the daughter to a lord and lady of the kingdom. Tonight, our estate was attacked and seized by a hostile faction of nobility. I require, no, I need your martial prowess to right this injustice!”
I pursed my lips, then looked up at the twinkling stars.
For a moment, that's all I did.
And then—
Uuuugghhhhhhhhhhhh.
Oh my, would you look at that? Which princess was utterly justified in not wanting to listen to whatever this clearly mysterious maid had to say?
I just about threw up my arms in exasperation.
Really? Now? In-fighting amongst the city nobility? Did I not have enough on my checklist? I'd only finished disposing a dryad and still had to disperse the city of organised crime, find a way to clean the weird speck from my boot, remember not to forget where I stabled Apple, and now I had to resolve armed violence amongst the nobility of this city?
No. The answer was no. Absolutely not. I had priorities. And in this matter, I could also delegate. If the nobility were in conflict with one another, then I could direct this … maid daughter of some lord to a more superior option than adventurers.
“I cannot help you. But others can. Send this matter to the guard. It is a crime for nobility to raise arms amongst themselves.”
The maid shook her head.
“It's not as simple as that. Lady Lucina … she has too much wealth. Too much power.”
“... Who?”
“Lady Lucina Tolent. Her family are the wealthiest in Reitzlake. She's an extremely shrewd and dangerous woman, who has single-handedly steered her House into becoming one of the most influential families in the realm. There is simply no guarantee that the city guard would … um, excuse me, but why are you laughing?”
“Pffftttttt.”
I pressed my glass of orange and mint against my lips in a desperate bid to stop my derision from being heard.
Then again, it wouldn't be the last time that a member of House Tolent was scoffed at.
Ohohoho! The Tolents? Truly? A family famed for bluster even amongst nobility?
Ah, but Lady Lucina was different, was she not? Indeed. What wonderful tales I'd heard about her. The lady who only wore scarlet, whose ambitions were hot as burning iron while her acumen was as sharp as an elven arrow!
I wonder how much she'd paid for such rumours to visit the Royal Villa?
House Tolent. The greatest of the lords of the capital. Or so they would claim. Did they not know that there were dozens of competing claims in their neighbourhood alone?
Perhaps they misplaced their modesty when they also misplaced their maps. Even the mightiest of lords didn't reach the least of the dukes, who controlled both lands and soldiers. Having wealth in the royal capital was no great feat. Why, it was all they had. Lords were forbidden from raising soldiers by royal decree.
Indeed, if Lady Lucina Tolent had overstretched her jurisdiction in attacking another noble house, I would feel untold joy from stamping the boot of authority on her tail.
However—
The point yet stood.
This was not a matter for me. It was a matter for the guard. And if they could not act, then Roland would.
… Or he should.
I hesitated, but kept my faith. I had to. He was my brother. I didn't know why his hand was stilled. But if I could not trust my family, then who could I trust?
“As I said, you must bring this matter to the guard. If not, then directly to the castle.”
“The castle … will not act.”
I narrowed my eyes.
“Explain.”
“The War of the Streets. Even as smugglers and thieves struck upon each other in broad daylight, Prince Roland did nothing. It has emboldened all the criminal fraternity. He will not act now, just as he didn't act then. Lady Lucina is too influential.”
I pursed my lips, saying nothing.
Instead, I lowered my cordial and looked into the direction of the castle. It was visible from all parts of the royal capital. It could never be described as pretty. But it was functional. And pragmatic. An old, if sturdy monument to this kingdom's foundations.
I had to stay firm in my conviction.
“Only the Adventurer's Guild has the power to see her off,” continued the maid. “To expose her. To fight her. I know the guild is non-political, but this is more than just politics. It's about Reitzlake. The kingdom. It's about … the Smugglers Guild.”
At last, my attention was secured.
I peered quizzically at this young woman. She'd given the names of her foes.
It was about time she gave hers as well.
“My father … is the Smuggler King,” she said, her voice bleak. “He is Lord Damien Rimeaux. And I am his daughter, Renise Rimeaux. This is a deposing of power, both above and below the streets. Lady Lucina has claimed control of the Smugglers Guild as well as the Rimeaux Estate, from which the organisation is headquartered. You have to—um?”
I held up a finger, silencing her.
Then, I closed my eyes, rubbed my temples and swallowed a deep breath. I felt a straw poke in my mouth. It was coconut. I waved Coppelia off and took in another breath.
Once I was done, I opened my eyes again and looked directly at Renise Rimeaux.
“Very well. You, a girl dressed in a maid costume, who I found drooling in the corner of a dryad's grove, is the daughter of Lord Damien Rimeaux, who is the Smuggler King, who was just recently deposed by Lady Lucina Tolent, who is now in charge of the Smugglers Guild, which is operated from the Rimeaux Estate, which is now also under Tolent control.”
“... Yes.”
“Good. Very good.”
“Is it?” asked Coppelia, clearly having the time of her life. “Because all that sounds really bad. For her, I mean.”
“Yes, Coppelia. It's bad.”
“But you just said it's good.”
“I know what I said. Thank you.”
I looked the young woman up and down, then found myself correcting my posture. She may not know who I was. But now that I knew her, I had appearances to keep. And statuses to respect.
“Lady Renise, is there a reason you're admitting to me the identity of your father, as well as outing the Smugglers Guild? Despite your lack of faith in the castle, I believe it would have been sufficient if you'd testified that House Rimeaux had been the victim of armed aggression by House Tolent.”
The lady in a maid uniform shook her head.
“That's not enough. It would never be enough. I want it to end. All of it. House Tolent. The Smugglers Guild. The War of the Streets. The factions. The plotting. There is enough betrayal in the world of nobility without having to also set foot in the criminal underworld also.”
“Quite so.” I studied the young woman's profile. She was resigned, but not as helpless as she may believe. “You understand, Lady Renise, that even should Lady Lucina be brought to heel, neither yourself nor your family can escape judgement for your crimes against the kingdom?”
“I have nothing. Not even my parents, both of whom are now shackled in the realm of eternal slumber. So long as Lady Lucina is made accountable for her actions, I will accept any fate, for it is assuredly better than this one.”
“And how do you mean to make Lady Lucina accountable? She will hardly confess to her crimes.”
Of course, whether or not the Tolent woman confessed mattered little to me. As a princess, I would sentence her with impunity. Whatever wealth and power she believed she had meant little to my overwhelming disregard for the bluster of nobility.
I was, however, marginally curious as to what this young woman in a maid's outfit intended to do to solicit retribution.
Lady Renise clenched her fists.
“I will punch her face. Slowly.”
I nodded.
Unorthodox.
But then again, revenge was ever a creative outlet to right grievances. Who was I to judge?
“Then your plea has been heard. Coppelia and I will make for the Rimeaux Estate. And we will do so immediately.”
Coppelia held up a finger and shook her head. She started sipping from two straws simultaneously. I quietly groaned.
“—And we will do so very quickly. I trust you have no objections to directing us to the Rimeaux Estate?”
Lady Renise wore a stunned expression.
“Just the both of you?”
I smiled. Ah, how little she knew.
“For errant nobility, all I require is my boot.”
“Y-Your boot?” The maid lady's eyes blinked in confusion. “Are … Are you sure? I, well, I rather expected you to … have allies to call for assistance? A company of like-minded adventurers as strong as you?”
Coppelia blew the two straws from her mouth.
“Actually, I'm not an adventurer. She is. But I'll come along. For the furniture overturning.”
“We're not overturning any furniture, Coppelia.”
“So says the girl who just overturned a bunch of furniture. And a wall.”
Lady Renise shook her head in a panic. Suddenly, she seemed uneasy about the prospect of us booting the Tolents from her ancestral home.
Ugh. Nobility. They beg for one thing and then another. Capricious. Like children. Except they couldn't be appeased by throwing twigs at them.
“You don't understand. All the guild will be there. There will be officers. Guards. And mercenaries. Baroness Marion Barischt is with them. And Sir Albert Perrot. And Grim—”
I raised my hands in exasperation.
“Who, in the name of all things holy, is Grim?”
“That would be me.”
A man's voice, deep and rumbling, answered us.
I, Lady Renise, and Coppelia all turned around in our bench.
Behind us was a giant of a man, clad from head to toe in black steel. A pair of dark eyes shone through his visor. And in his hands was the pommel of a huge two-handed mace, which was currently cracking a tile that was buckling under its sheer weight.
“Good evening, ladies. Sorry, I wanted to listen in some more. But I couldn't miss my cue.”
He lifted the huge weapon, then looked between the three of us.
Only Coppelia reacted.
She stood up, then enthusiastically skipped over to the nearby stall owner, popping both straws out of her mouth.
“I'm going to need another smoothie.”
In the royal capital, few things evoked the entrepreneurial spirit of its citizens more than disaster.
It took a true calamity to cause crowns to stop changing hands. Neither night nor fire were one of them. These things were merely opportunities.
Thus, it was a given that the residents of the merchant's quarter wouldn't look away from a profit.
Even as Coppelia and I were striving to defend the innocent people of this district from the threat of the dryad, these same people also took it upon themselves to set up stands all across the district's raised terraces, offering a wonderful view of the peasants as they tried desperately to stop the flames below from spreading.
With the stars twinkling above and the glitter of water being painstakingly passed between lines of sweating commoners below, we sat on a wooden bench while enjoying a selection of fruit cordials on sale from the newly erected stall beside us.
The taste of orange zest as it soothed the back of my throat was not only a wonderful reward for my valiant efforts so far, but a worthy distraction as I attempted to stop myself from being blindsided by the maid with the bag of money.
“This is quite a significant sum of crowns!” she insisted, holding the bag out with one hand while sipping a lemon and honey cocktail from a straw in the other. “A very significant amount! You could … I don't know, gamble or buy swords or whatever it is that you adventurers do!”
I batted the bag of crowns away. I tried to do the same with the maid, but she simply pushed even closer.
“Firstly, a significant sum of crowns is a matter of perspective. Secondly, I have no desire to gamble and no need for a new sword. Thirdly, I believe I've made myself quite clear. I need to save this kingdom from an absurd number of highly avoidable calamities, and so my time is in very short supply.”
I took a sip of my orange and mint cooler, then returned to watching the peasants toil.
I understood the maid's pains. I was the only competent person in this entire kingdom. But I was a princess, and a bag of crowns could never distract me … at least not while I had enough crowns from this dryad business to achieve my minimum living standards. I had to focus on larger matters at hand. A dryad plaguing the streets of the royal capital was a worthy detour. Not whatever private issues this maid had with her employers.
No, I now had to focus my efforts on finding the Smuggler King and the Dancing Rat.
Names which encapsulated the difficulty of the task ahead. I had to find criminals. The worst of them. And from what sparse information the Adventurer's Guild presented to me, that meant an abysmal swim through the city's vast network of underground sewers and tunnels.
It was going to be a distressing night.
“I understand that,” replied the maid, not understanding at all. “However, I must insist. All I ask is that you hear me out!”
“The guild can be located—”
“You two of you just defeated a dryad! Not only a dryad, but an exceptionally powerful one. You blew up a wall and chopped off its head!”
“E-Excuse me! I didn't blow up a wall! I just … well, I sent a mailbox through it. There's a difference!”
“I did chop off its head, though,” said Coppelia, casually sipping between two different cordials as she eyed even more on the menu. There went the last of our funds until we returned to the guild. “Say, either of you two want to swap? I have a coconut and a mango smoothie.”
Suddenly, the girl slammed down her lemon and honey cocktail onto the bench. The straw was still dangling from her mouth.
“Please listen!” she said, spitting out the straw. “I'm the daughter to a lord and lady of the kingdom. Tonight, our estate was attacked and seized by a hostile faction of nobility. I require, no, I need your martial prowess to right this injustice!”
I pursed my lips, then looked up at the twinkling stars.
For a moment, that's all I did.
And then—
Uuuugghhhhhhhhhhhh.
Oh my, would you look at that? Which princess was utterly justified in not wanting to listen to whatever this clearly mysterious maid had to say?
I just about threw up my arms in exasperation.
Really? Now? In-fighting amongst the city nobility? Did I not have enough on my checklist? I'd only finished disposing a dryad and still had to disperse the city of organised crime, find a way to clean the weird speck from my boot, remember not to forget where I stabled Apple, and now I had to resolve armed violence amongst the nobility of this city?
No. The answer was no. Absolutely not. I had priorities. And in this matter, I could also delegate. If the nobility were in conflict with one another, then I could direct this … maid daughter of some lord to a more superior option than adventurers.
“I cannot help you. But others can. Send this matter to the guard. It is a crime for nobility to raise arms amongst themselves.”
The maid shook her head.
“It's not as simple as that. Lady Lucina … she has too much wealth. Too much power.”
“... Who?”
“Lady Lucina Tolent. Her family are the wealthiest in Reitzlake. She's an extremely shrewd and dangerous woman, who has single-handedly steered her House into becoming one of the most influential families in the realm. There is simply no guarantee that the city guard would … um, excuse me, but why are you laughing?”
“Pffftttttt.”
I pressed my glass of orange and mint against my lips in a desperate bid to stop my derision from being heard.
Then again, it wouldn't be the last time that a member of House Tolent was scoffed at.
Ohohoho! The Tolents? Truly? A family famed for bluster even amongst nobility?
Ah, but Lady Lucina was different, was she not? Indeed. What wonderful tales I'd heard about her. The lady who only wore scarlet, whose ambitions were hot as burning iron while her acumen was as sharp as an elven arrow!
I wonder how much she'd paid for such rumours to visit the Royal Villa?
House Tolent. The greatest of the lords of the capital. Or so they would claim. Did they not know that there were dozens of competing claims in their neighbourhood alone?
Perhaps they misplaced their modesty when they also misplaced their maps. Even the mightiest of lords didn't reach the least of the dukes, who controlled both lands and soldiers. Having wealth in the royal capital was no great feat. Why, it was all they had. Lords were forbidden from raising soldiers by royal decree.
Indeed, if Lady Lucina Tolent had overstretched her jurisdiction in attacking another noble house, I would feel untold joy from stamping the boot of authority on her tail.
However—
The point yet stood.
This was not a matter for me. It was a matter for the guard. And if they could not act, then Roland would.
… Or he should.
I hesitated, but kept my faith. I had to. He was my brother. I didn't know why his hand was stilled. But if I could not trust my family, then who could I trust?
“As I said, you must bring this matter to the guard. If not, then directly to the castle.”
“The castle … will not act.”
I narrowed my eyes.
“Explain.”
“The War of the Streets. Even as smugglers and thieves struck upon each other in broad daylight, Prince Roland did nothing. It has emboldened all the criminal fraternity. He will not act now, just as he didn't act then. Lady Lucina is too influential.”
I pursed my lips, saying nothing.
Instead, I lowered my cordial and looked into the direction of the castle. It was visible from all parts of the royal capital. It could never be described as pretty. But it was functional. And pragmatic. An old, if sturdy monument to this kingdom's foundations.
I had to stay firm in my conviction.
“Only the Adventurer's Guild has the power to see her off,” continued the maid. “To expose her. To fight her. I know the guild is non-political, but this is more than just politics. It's about Reitzlake. The kingdom. It's about … the Smugglers Guild.”
At last, my attention was secured.
I peered quizzically at this young woman. She'd given the names of her foes.
It was about time she gave hers as well.
“My father … is the Smuggler King,” she said, her voice bleak. “He is Lord Damien Rimeaux. And I am his daughter, Renise Rimeaux. This is a deposing of power, both above and below the streets. Lady Lucina has claimed control of the Smugglers Guild as well as the Rimeaux Estate, from which the organisation is headquartered. You have to—um?”
I held up a finger, silencing her.
Then, I closed my eyes, rubbed my temples and swallowed a deep breath. I felt a straw poke in my mouth. It was coconut. I waved Coppelia off and took in another breath.
Once I was done, I opened my eyes again and looked directly at Renise Rimeaux.
“Very well. You, a girl dressed in a maid costume, who I found drooling in the corner of a dryad's grove, is the daughter of Lord Damien Rimeaux, who is the Smuggler King, who was just recently deposed by Lady Lucina Tolent, who is now in charge of the Smugglers Guild, which is operated from the Rimeaux Estate, which is now also under Tolent control.”
“... Yes.”
“Good. Very good.”
“Is it?” asked Coppelia, clearly having the time of her life. “Because all that sounds really bad. For her, I mean.”
“Yes, Coppelia. It's bad.”
“But you just said it's good.”
“I know what I said. Thank you.”
I looked the young woman up and down, then found myself correcting my posture. She may not know who I was. But now that I knew her, I had appearances to keep. And statuses to respect.
“Lady Renise, is there a reason you're admitting to me the identity of your father, as well as outing the Smugglers Guild? Despite your lack of faith in the castle, I believe it would have been sufficient if you'd testified that House Rimeaux had been the victim of armed aggression by House Tolent.”
The lady in a maid uniform shook her head.
“That's not enough. It would never be enough. I want it to end. All of it. House Tolent. The Smugglers Guild. The War of the Streets. The factions. The plotting. There is enough betrayal in the world of nobility without having to also set foot in the criminal underworld also.”
“Quite so.” I studied the young woman's profile. She was resigned, but not as helpless as she may believe. “You understand, Lady Renise, that even should Lady Lucina be brought to heel, neither yourself nor your family can escape judgement for your crimes against the kingdom?”
“I have nothing. Not even my parents, both of whom are now shackled in the realm of eternal slumber. So long as Lady Lucina is made accountable for her actions, I will accept any fate, for it is assuredly better than this one.”
“And how do you mean to make Lady Lucina accountable? She will hardly confess to her crimes.”
Of course, whether or not the Tolent woman confessed mattered little to me. As a princess, I would sentence her with impunity. Whatever wealth and power she believed she had meant little to my overwhelming disregard for the bluster of nobility.
I was, however, marginally curious as to what this young woman in a maid's outfit intended to do to solicit retribution.
Lady Renise clenched her fists.
“I will punch her face. Slowly.”
I nodded.
Unorthodox.
But then again, revenge was ever a creative outlet to right grievances. Who was I to judge?
“Then your plea has been heard. Coppelia and I will make for the Rimeaux Estate. And we will do so immediately.”
Coppelia held up a finger and shook her head. She started sipping from two straws simultaneously. I quietly groaned.
“—And we will do so very quickly. I trust you have no objections to directing us to the Rimeaux Estate?”
Lady Renise wore a stunned expression.
“Just the both of you?”
I smiled. Ah, how little she knew.
“For errant nobility, all I require is my boot.”
“Y-Your boot?” The maid lady's eyes blinked in confusion. “Are … Are you sure? I, well, I rather expected you to … have allies to call for assistance? A company of like-minded adventurers as strong as you?”
Coppelia blew the two straws from her mouth.
“Actually, I'm not an adventurer. She is. But I'll come along. For the furniture overturning.”
“We're not overturning any furniture, Coppelia.”
“So says the girl who just overturned a bunch of furniture. And a wall.”
Lady Renise shook her head in a panic. Suddenly, she seemed uneasy about the prospect of us booting the Tolents from her ancestral home.
Ugh. Nobility. They beg for one thing and then another. Capricious. Like children. Except they couldn't be appeased by throwing twigs at them.
“You don't understand. All the guild will be there. There will be officers. Guards. And mercenaries. Baroness Marion Barischt is with them. And Sir Albert Perrot. And Grim—”
I raised my hands in exasperation.
“Who, in the name of all things holy, is Grim?”
“That would be me.”
A man's voice, deep and rumbling, answered us.
I, Lady Renise, and Coppelia all turned around in our bench.
Behind us was a giant of a man, clad from head to toe in black steel. A pair of dark eyes shone through his visor. And in his hands was the pommel of a huge two-handed mace, which was currently cracking a tile that was buckling under its sheer weight.
“Good evening, ladies. Sorry, I wanted to listen in some more. But I couldn't miss my cue.”
He lifted the huge weapon, then looked between the three of us.
Only Coppelia reacted.
She stood up, then enthusiastically skipped over to the nearby stall owner, popping both straws out of her mouth.
“I'm going to need another smoothie.”
