1
As Arn and Leo headed south, things were also heating up back in Adrasia.
"Take that! What the hell is going on?! You! Stupid! Bastard!"
"Ugh! Aaargh! Aaaah! Stop, please! P-please..."
Zandra finally tossed aside her whip, panting from exhaustion. The assassin she'd been whipping, partially for stress relief, had finally fallen unconscious.
"Good-for-nothing coward! God, this pisses me off! What in the world is going on?!"
Biting her nails, she paced back and forth across the room.
The middle-aged assassin who had attempted to abduct Arn was also present, observing Zandra. His name was Gunther, and he finally broke his silence.
"It's as if they're anticipating our every move."
"I know that! Try and figure out how! They don't have either Leonard or Arnold around! Their influence base has none of its leaders! Surely that naive little Blau Mowe can't be manipulating me?!"
"It seems they have a secret weapon. Someone anticipating our actions and leaking information to Gordon at the same time. I doubt Leonard's maid is capable of doing that, so I think it's safe to assume they've recruited someone new."
"Argh! This is so irritating! How can some brand-new faction of influence get on my nerves this badly?! They won't get away with this!"
For all her wishes of vengeance, Zandra didn't have many options. Whenever she launched attacks on Leonard's influence, Gordon attacked hers as well.
While attempting to draw Leonard's supporters over to her side, she had started losing her own, so she had had to go on the defensive instead. And when she did make occasional attacks on Leonard's influence, someone from Gordon's faction would appear and steal away her supporters again as if they'd been lying in wait.
At the current rate, Gordon would win everything. She needed to prevent that from happening.
"For the time being, let's stop going after Leonard's field of influence. We can get revenge on him for stealing the minister of engineering later."
"Ugh. Fine. Then bring me someone else to work out my frustration on instead! One wasn't enough!"
"Yes, Your Highness."
Whenever Zandra's emotions ran high, she could not rest until her excessive cruelty and aggression were released. Most assassins who failed in their missions were forced to face her for that purpose.
Even while he pondered who would be suitable for her today, Gunther knew that he could always end up being next.
✦ ✦ ✦
"Excellent work. It's incredible how you're able to glean their targets with such little information," Sebas praised Lynphia for her latest success.
Her presence had quickly become a great asset to Leo's influence. Leo's attendant, Marie, had her hands full with merely maintaining said influence, and it was Finne's job to deal with Zandra's attacks.
Marie was only a maid, after all, and there was a limited number of people she had any direct agency over. In that respect, Finne had more influence, and was therefore better suited to the task of dealing with Zandra. However, having the social means and possessing actual aptitude for it were different things. Lynphia was the one who had resolved that issue.
"It's the same as anticipating what monsters will do. In circumstances with limited options, they'll generally take the most advantageous one. So, while keeping that in mind, I also leaked the information to the other factions. Now that the Second Imperial Princess is on higher alert, I doubt she'll be making any more attempts on our supporters."
"That's so amazing, Lynphia!"
Lynphia felt slightly bewildered by Finne's unabashed praise.
Arn had asked Lynphia to act as Finne's bodyguard, and he'd also told Finne to do whatever Lynphia said. Therefore, she always heeded Lynphia's opinions.
Of course, it wasn't as if Arn had placed everything on Lynphia's shoulders. He'd given her their general strategy and direction, which she then considered while coming up with more detailed plans to be implement.
It wasn't necessarily a bad thing that Finne was so readily obedient, but to Lynphia, it was somewhat of a mystery.
"Is something the matter?"
"No... I was just curious why you trust me so much."
"That's easy. It's because I trust Master Arn. He understands my importance, and he wouldn't leave me in the care of anyone who was untrustworthy."
There was not a hint of ill will in Finne's cheerful smile. The simple reason for that, was the complete confidence she held in her own beliefs.
Finne understood her position very well. She knew that she was the daughter of Duke Kleinert, that she was the renowned Blau Mowe, and that those titles meant everything. She knew she wasn't there because of any personal qualities or skills. It was the very fact that she was "there" that was important to Arn and Leo. Other than that, no one expected much of her. That was all the more reason she would never be left in the company of someone not trustworthy. Finne had complete confidence in that, and that thought process was why she trusted Lynphia so fully.
"It's just... Are you sure it's not annoying to have the newcomer butting in all the time?"
To be honest, Lynphia had been prepared to encounter jealousy. While Finne was the daughter of a duke, Lynphia was from a family of refugees. Their difference in status couldn't be any further apart. She figured there would be no way Finne would simply obey whatever she said. But in reality, that wasn't what happened.
No matter how great her trust in Arn might have been, Finne's ability to simply do what someone else said was an unfathomable riddle.
At the very least, she was a far cry from the image of nobility that Lynphia had in her head.
"Why would it be annoying? The only thing that matters to me is what best serves Master Arn and Master Leo. It makes no difference whether it's you who are of service or me, does it?"
"...I see. So, you don't place much priority on yourself."
"Astute observation. That is exactly the kind of person Lady Finne is. She always puts others first, and herself second." Sebas stepped in to comment.
Lynphia nodded with understanding. As well as being intrigued to learn there were nobles with such a personality, she also began to wonder why such a person would place themselves in the middle of a political dispute.
"Why are you involved in the conflict for the throne? Not to be rude, but it doesn't really seem like your area of expertise."
"O-oh... Yes...I suppose you're right. I feel the same way."
Finne hung her head. She seemed slightly shocked at having that expressed to her face.
Her reaction was so strong that Lynphia, in turn, started to panic.
"Oh, err... Did it upset you that I said that?"
"A bit, yes... I'm never able to be of much use to Master Arn or Master Leo. I wish there was at least something helpful I could do."
It didn't matter who was involved as long as things resulted in a favorable outcome for Arn.
That was how Finne felt, but that didn't mean she felt okay about personally being useless.
If she could be of use in some way other than with her status or title, then she desperately wanted to make that happen. That had been her wish all along. However, since she knew that she possessed no great knowledge or ability, she never took any overt action.
"Having you around is nothing short of a stroke of good fortune. I don't believe you need to worry about that."
"I hope you're right..." Finne answered with a forlorn look.
Despite being a woman herself, Lynphia thought she was incredibly beautiful. It wasn't simply a matter of having attractive features. One couldn't overlook how truly she desired to be of service to others, and how greatly that concerned her.
When Arn had set off on his voyage, he had asked one thing of Lynphia: look out for Finne.
Lynphia didn't know just how much meaning lay within those words, but she decided to interpret them with a little depth. He wanted her to help Finne accomplish something. That was the impression she got from him, so that was how she interpreted it.