"I'm very sorry, Arn. I had no idea they would be getting dressed in here."
"Really, it's fine."
"I'm sorry too. I shouldn't have started that."
"You didn't do anything wrong, Finne. It's all Arn's fault."
Finne apologized, while Elna staunchly refused any blame. It was a rather clear example of their differing personalities.
After some discussion, we realized what exactly had gone wrong.
Since there were plenty of clothes for guests to borrow in here, Elna and Finne had stopped by before their bath in order to choose some clothing for Finne. For some reason, they'd both started trying various outfits on, and became so engrossed that they didn't notice how much time had passed.
Naturally, Anna assumed that they'd already be in the bath, and so she sent me in without knowing otherwise. That's when the tragedy occurred.
That all made practical sense. But I still felt it was a setup. Why had Anna sent me to that specific room? It was obviously done on purpose. There was no point trying to get her to confess, though. I knew I'd never win an argument against her.
"Well, Arn paid the price for his fortuitous mishap. So why don't we just let it go, Elna?"
"You're going to let him off the hook just like that?! He snuck in to peek at two naked, unmarried women! The daughters of an archduke and a duke, at that!"
"Shall we have him take responsibility for what he's done by marrying you, then? That's fine with me."
"Huh?!"
"What...?!"
"Oh geez..."
I really couldn't believe this woman. After Anna's explosive statement, Elna reacted with blushing and angry confusion, and Finne sounded surprised and suspicious.
"I think your father would be fine with it, too, since Arn's practically part of the family anyway. What do you think?"
"Wh-what do I think?! You can't be serious... I-I'm a knight. This is crazy."
"If you're so upset by him seeing you undressed, then I think this is the best way to resolve the situation, isn't it? The only problem is that we will be competing with Duke Kleinert. You're certainly popular, hm, Arn?"
"Yes, I guess we will have to contact Lady Finne's family about this."
"Wh-what?! You're going to tell my father?! P-please..."
"Stop making a game out of my life decisions. Sorry, but I have no intention of getting married to anyone at all."
"You're not going to take responsibility, then?"
"No."
"Oh, what a shame," Anna quipped before taking a bite of a cookie.
At that point, Elna finally caught on to the fact that she was being made fun of. She turned bright red and looked at the wall.
Finne seemed to get the joke as well, as she blushed and hung her head.
"Now then, Arn. Why don't we get down to business? I assume you're not here for a social visit."
So she had at least deduced that much. She was the wife of an archduke, after all.
I pushed the debacle with Elna and Finne from my mind and faced Anna.
"I know it's a selfish request, but could I have Finne stay here for the time being? I'd also like her to be near Elna as much as possible."
"This has something to do with the conflict surrounding the emperor's throne, yes? If so, then I'm afraid it's impossible. My husband is an archduke. We can't be involved."
Right. That was the answer I'd anticipated.
It was one thing to have Finne take refuge with the Amsbergs for a day, but leaving her with them on a longer basis could understandably be interpreted as an alliance with Leo and me. I knew they couldn't do that.
However...
"The emperor is incredibly fond of Blau Mowe. He would be angry if anything were to happen to her. It wouldn't be unusual for the archduke to be protecting her."
"Oh? So that's how you're going to spin it?"
"You won't agree otherwise, right?"
"I'd have agreed if you'd simply framed it as a way to save your own honor. You've always been reluctant to appeal to people's kindness, but you're only making things harder for yourself," Anna replied abstractly.
I took that as a yes.
At least Finne's safety would be guaranteed until Zandra went off the offensive. With the Amsbergs around, nothing could happen to her.
"I appreciate the advice. And thank you for doing this. I'll repay you some day."
"Good. I'll hold you to that. Time sure does fly, doesn't it? It's hard to believe you're involved in fighting for the emperor's throne. In my mind, you're still that little crybaby of a child. But you're all grown up now, aren't you?"
"I couldn't keep on crying forever. Okay, Finne. You're going to stay here for a little while. Everything should blow over in a few days, so don't feel worried."
"All right. Um... But won't you be in danger, too?"
"That's why I'm having you stay with the duke. To be honest, Zandra is so angry, she could attack me without any regard for what benefit it would have. She'd probably love to kill me right now."
Zandra was coldhearted, and she had a violent and impulsive temper. As her recent attempts to grab our supporters demonstrated, there wasn't anyone in her faction who could adequately control her or hold her back, or at least no one close enough to her to try.
That meant we couldn't proceed in a calculated fashion, either.
The next few days would be intensely dangerous. After that, Gordon would start attacking Zandra and her faction. Once he did, Zandra's attempts on us would weaken, but Gordon was sure to wait a couple days before taking action.
Whether or not we could hold out until then would decide our fate in the battle.
"But then, shouldn't you hide somewhere too?"
"If I hide, then Leo will be targeted. I need to stay out in the open in part to draw her attention. She'll probably send an assassin after me at least once."
"Oh no!"
"Honestly, don't worry about me. I've got Sebas, and there are others I can call on if I'm in trouble."
I reassured Finne, and she finally acquiesced.
I felt bad for making her worry, but there was no way I'd ever be murdered. Zandra might think an assassin could kill me if they just got past Sebas, but in reality, I had my own personal defenses.
So long as no one realized I was Silver, they couldn't touch me.
7
With Finne now securely guarded at the Amsbergs', we could get to work without worrying about her safety.
For the next two days, we went around cautioning supporters who were likely targets about Zandra's strategy. On the night of the second day, she made her big move.
"Our enemy has arrived."
"Looks like it."
We were traveling by carriage when Sebas made his observation.
Although I had been anticipating this very thing happening, I let out a sigh. Zandra must really have been furious. Focusing her attacks on me meant allowing Gordon and Erik to gain ground while they were temporarily ignored. And since Sebas was with me, she was going to lose strength even if her assassination attempt succeeded. Zandra would be singled out for my murder and left at an even greater disadvantage.
"She really hasn't thought this through well."
"I can think of at least one argument against that. Targeting you means she has a good sense of judgment."
"I appreciate the compliment. But she's just causing unnecessary trouble for us."
"Indeed. I wish Princess Zandra's staff would do their jobs."
Zandra's influence was formed mainly of the mages. Of course, she had influence outside their circle as well, but all high-powered civil and military servants went to Erik and Gordon. Therefore, Zandra's following included very few members who were well-versed in political strategy. That was also why she was unable to overtake Gordon and Erik even with so many powerful mages on her side.
It would've been a very different story if she'd had wise council on staff whom she could get advice from. But that wasn't the case.
"I'll handle this myself."
"Okay. I'll head to the castle."
"Be careful. There may be an ambush."
"I'll worry about that when the time comes."
After that short conversation, Sebas leapt down from the carriage.