Chapter 111:
Mont Blanc Pudding
NEAR A FORTRESS on the Duchy’s border, there were signs of widespread mothman breeding.
That news sent a shock wave through the Duchy. While the nation had thankfully avoided mobilizing its entire military force during the last mothman incursion, dealing with the creatures had taken a massive toll on the Duchy’s treasury. Mothman poison had also struck down many soldiers and knights, and the survivors were never able to stand on the battlefield again.
Furthermore, humans were prohibited from entering the region corrupted by the mothmen’s venom, lest they sicken and collapse. Most horrifically, other monsters attracted to poison swarmed into that area, forcing the Duchy to abandon multiple towns nearby.
Those memories were stark in the king’s mind. Although demons were cruel and violent, they understood human logic and reasoning. Monsters, however, were mindless, vicious creatures. If he failed to act, more of the Duchy’s citizens would die. Even if he deployed the military to annihilate the mothmen, there’d still be unimaginable sacrifices.
The king asked the sages whether there was a way to avoid these outcomes. Only one sage presented an alternative.
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Mothmen were insectoid monsters, so they were weak to the cold. Unlike adult mothmen, eggs and young could freeze to death in chilly climates. The Duchy knew of such a climate at the northern tip of the faraway Western Continent. When the elves lost control of their old magic, snow and ice had covered that now-accursed land. Connecting the region to the mothmen’s location via magic would solve the problem.
As for identifying someone who could cast teleportation magic, a Duchy sage had learned the spell from the great sage Altorius himself. The problem was that this particular sage wasn’t in a position to remark on the government’s inner workings. This time, however, she decided to step in.
The sage was the king’s elder sister Victoria, the great sage Altorius’s pupil. She was known as the Duchy’s “Witch Princess.” Despite being the daughter of the very human previous king and queen, Victoria had been born a half-elf changeling.
The Witch Princess was currently at home in the Duchy, holed up in her study in a castle tower. In exchange for research funds and a modest allowance, Victoria occasionally presented the results of her studies to the government. Otherwise, she lived a secretive, quiet life.
The king had complete confidence in Victoria’s abilities. After his father and mother passed away, she was the family he was closest to. His sister had extraordinary talent, and she’d studied with an eminent teacher. Although she was some years older than the king, she was still youthful. She was the type to come up with and cast spells the king had never thought possible. If she said teleportation magic could freeze the mothmen, it could be done.
Still, the king couldn’t move the Duchy on his authority alone. The nation’s history and culture, and especially its deep grudge against half-elves for destroying the Ancient Kingdom, carried weight. Any plan Victoria championed wouldn’t be easily accepted.
And so, there was a compromise.
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I never thought we’d meet again like this.
Loretta was an influential Duchy court mage, despite being a woman. She was currently speeding toward Heinrich’s fortress in a carriage, face-to-face with her childhood friend for the first time in twenty years.
The only thing that gave her friend’s identity away was her slightly pointy ears. She’d adjusted her hair so it covered that damning feature, and she wore a hat low on her brow. Her beautiful silver hair was braided, and she was dressed in a robe stitched with powerful elven magic. She looked slightly younger than Loretta’s daughter, as if she’d just come of age.
Loretta’s childhood friend was, of course, the king’s elder sister, Victoria.
Loretta had been born to a noble house that had produced generations of court mages. Once she’d come of age and been recognized as a talented court mage in her own right, she’d proceeded to pursue magical research. As the only remaining scion of her family, she also married and had children to continue the bloodline. Her busy days consisted of research, work, and teaching magic to her children.
Loretta had been summoned directly by another childhood friend, the king, to fulfill a request. Given that this was a direct missive from the king, I wondered what it would be, she recalled. It turned out that the king wanted her to annihilate the mothmen on the Duchy’s border with a blast of snow.
And so, the Duchy’s female court mage, Loretta Feiston, received the honor of preparing the significant magic this mission would require. The Duchy had also hired a wandering adventure, “Pudding,” to assist. Pudding was an extremely talented mage with an unknown background, but on paper, Loretta was in charge. Her aide, Pudding, would appear to ride Loretta’s coattails for this achievement.
Upon being introduced to this “Pudding,” she saw the irony of the arrangement.
In public, Loretta would receive the credit and rewards for accomplishing the mission, simply to ensure that the name “Victoria” wasn’t associated with the event. In terms of Loretta’s house and family name, that would be a huge boon. Loretta also had the opportunity to learn powerful teleportation magic in the process. The thing she couldn’t come to grips with, though, was her old childhood friend being used like this.
Is this really all right with you, Victoria?
The carriage rocked back and forth. The sight of Victoria reminded Loretta of a time when she was just an innocent little girl, and she very nearly voiced her thoughts aloud. At the end of the day, however, Victoria had come up with this plan. Loretta decided her friend must be at peace with how things were.
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After Victoria came of age, she’d generally stopped appearing in public. The last time Loretta had seen her was over twenty years ago, before the court mage had even had her first child.
Over the years, however, Loretta had heard rumors from the head court mage that Victoria had surpassed them all after studying magic for just a year, that she’d become the great sage Altorius’s pupil, and so on. Loretta was a talented mage, but average among court mages. At this point, the Witch Princess was likely far more skilled than she was.
In appearance, Victoria appeared to be the same girl Loretta last saw just before the coming-of-age ceremony. She reminded Loretta of her own slightly rebellious daughter, and her motherly instincts urged her to regard Victoria as a young woman being used by awful adults. Yet the fact that those maternal thoughts rose to her mind when looking at her old friend proved to Loretta that she had aged, and she hated that.
“Hey, Vic—uh, Pudding?”
“Just call me Victoria. You’ve always called me that,” replied Victoria sharply. The look on her face reminded Loretta of when her companion was still just an exuberant child who enjoyed playing tricks on people.
As Loretta recognized the Victoria she knew from long ago, her expression relaxed. “Right. Then, Victoria, have you been well? I take it you’re in good health?”
“Yes. It’s a bit sad that I can’t have children of my own, but my niece and nephew are just the sweetest. And my magical research is fascinating. I do think I’m doing well, actually. How about you?”
“I’m probably doing all right, too. My husband is kind, and my children have learned to use a little magic recently. Still, there are lots of annoyances.”
“Really?”
“Mm-hmm! I’m nobility, a court mage, and a mother. You can imagine how much I’m juggling.”
“I see. I hadn’t considered that.”
“At the end of the day, we’ve all got our own problems,” Loretta continued. “Nothing’s just pure fun, and you have hassles like this fiasco sometimes.”
The women sighed in unison.