Duchess Maria Kulkova ruled over the Kulkova Marquessate, which boasted one of the Empire’s leading academic cities.
Currently, Maria was entertaining two old friends.
“This is...so very delicious, Lady Maria!”
“Wonderful. I’m glad you think so, Lady Fiona. It’s become a popular confectionery here, and evidently, they’re planning to expand to the imperial capital. I gave them my full endorsement, but the shop owner is cautious. So, I told him we should get the opinion of a young woman I know with a more refined palate than mine.”
Fiona Rubine Bornemisza blushed. “Oh, you flatter me. Your tastes are much more sophisticated.”
“Dear, you possess very keen senses, and that includes your sense of taste. Please, have more confidence in yourself,” Maria said with a laugh.
Maria’s other friend listened in silence, enjoying his pastry with a smile.
“Oscar, you’ve always liked sweets, hm?” Maria asked, watching him devour her acquaintance’s latest tart creation with impeccable table manners.
“Master, your etiquette is as perfect as ever...”
“Though balancing speed and manners can be incredibly difficult, can’t it?”
Fiona and Maria were familiar with Oscar’s flawless decorum, but the sight never failed to amaze them. Even Oscar grew a bit uncomfortable under their fascinated gazes. These women had known him for a long time...
“What can I say except that this tart is superb.”
Maria smiled. “I shall inform the shop owner that he’s earned even the renowned Inferno Magician’s praise. This should give him the confidence to expand into the capital.”
“It seems scholarship does not have a monopoly on innovation in your city. Even the culinary arts thrive.”
“Indeed, Lady Fiona. I can attribute that to the atmosphere of the city, or perhaps my territory as a whole. We attract all sorts of pioneers.”
“I imagine a lack of funding is the most pressing difficulty any inventor faces, yet you provide the seed capital, don’t you, my lady?”
“Yes. Most start with nothing but pennies, which is admirable. I’ve found that those who borrow from the beginning usually fail in their endeavors. But there are others who run out of money and must give up right before they achieve their first success. I provide funds to the latter group.”
“And not as the marchioness but an interested benefactor, yes?”
“Correct. I speak with them directly, visit their shops if they have one, and use my network to inquire about their reputation... Quite an enjoyable pastime, I must say.”
“Incredible...” Fiona was surprised to hear how happy Maria sounded.
“Money is necessary for everything. And I have plenty of it, so why not use it? And I love seeing the results, success, and growth.”
Fiona’s eyes shone as she looked at her. “I admire you so much, my lady.”
Maria, in turn, couldn’t help but smile wryly.
“But Lady Fiona, you do your part by nurturing people in fields I cannot reach.”
“Are you referring to the Imperial Magic Division?” Fiona asked. She was the division’s commander.
“Yes. In a sense, we aren’t so different,” Maria said with a gentle smile.
A blush of delight bloomed on Fiona’s cheeks.
“I apologize for the interruption, but I bear an urgent message from the capital,” said Fiona’s adjutant, Marie, as she handed Fiona a piece of paper.
Fiona gasped after reading it. “You must be joking...” she said, reading it again for good measure. Then she passed the paper to Oscar.
“Jurgen’s been captured?” he asked. “And General Rancius of the Shadow Regiment too? In the southern part of the Kingdom, near Acray... Isn’t that Marquess Heinlein’s territory? Could he be involved?”
“The former commander of the Royal Knights during the Great War,” Maria said. Even with no knowledge of military matters, she knew of Marquess Heinlein’s accomplishments. She frowned. “It will take a considerable amount of time just to get there.”
Even from her domain in the eastern part of the Empire, Acray was a fair distance away.
But Fiona and Oscar had known what they needed to do as soon as they read the missive.
“Master, the letter ends with an imperial decree from His Majesty himself.”
“I saw. ‘Use any means necessary to quickly recover all assets’... And we both know your father’s definition of ‘any means necessary’ is quite exhaustive.”
Oscar and Fiona exchanged glances, then looked at Maria, who stared back at them, puzzled.
“My lady, I would like to borrow something from you...” Fiona began.
✦ ✦ ✦
Nineteen frozen “sculptures” lined the floor of the storage room inside Lune’s adventurers’ guild.
“So... What exactly am I lookin’ at, lads?” Hugh asked.
“Blocks of ice,” Abel answered.
“Abel, please be more precise,” Ryo, the artist of said sculptures, interjected. “They’re ice caskets.”
Hugh McGlass sighed and shook his head. “Shoulda phrased my question better. What’s inside the ice?”
“Bad people from the Empire who were engaging in subversive activities near Acray,” Ryo explained before waving his hand. The ice shimmered and became transparent, revealing what lay within.
“Interestin’...” Hugh muttered. “Since they’re in yer ice, they’re still alive, right?” Hugh knew about Ryo’s ability to freeze people alive, but he wanted to confirm it.
“Yes, of course. The Kingdom’s, um, specialists can’t exactly extract information from corpses, right?”
Ryo had remembered hearing about sophisticated ways of obtaining information using magic and alchemy, so he’d avoided using the word “torture.”
“I’m guessin’ yer talkin’ ’bout the torturers? We don’t have any in Lune, but there are some in the capital.”
“May I ask why their title is so...explicit?” Ryo sounded baffled.
“In the past, they did use torture to force people to talk. They don’t do it anymore, but I guess ya can call it a remnant o’ those days.” Hugh shrugged.
“Got it. Oh, this is an alchemical device they had in their possession.”
Ryo showed Hugh the cube.
“What’s it do?”
“I don’t know. I think only an alchemist of Kenneth’s caliber could even begin to determine that...”
“Ah, the baron. It was him who sent in the job for the wyvern hunt to the guild through His Lordship, wasn’t it? Never imagined ya laddies would come back hauling imperial saboteurs.”
“You can thank—or blame, rather—Abel for that. He’s the one who noticed the suspicious scent...”
“Pinning things on me, huh? Sounds about right.”
Hugh surveyed the nineteen ice coffins, then he tilted his head thoughtfully. “Those ten,” he said, looking at Jurgen’s group, “are all magicians, right?”
“Yes,” Ryo answered.
“And the remaining nine are lightly armored for imperial soldiers... But their equipment’s top quality... None o’ this makes any damn sense to me.”
“That’s ’cuz they’re two separate units,” Abel chimed in.
“What do ya mean?”
“These nine are from the Twentieth Imperial Regiment, aka the Shadow Regiment, and the other ten are from the Imperial Magic Division. Two different units.”
“Shadow Regiment? Imperial Magic Division? No... Now wait just a bleedin’ moment...”
“Yeah. General Rancius is in there somewhere, by the way, along with a Jurgen, who just so happens to be the Inferno Magician’s aide.”
“Huh?”
Hugh couldn’t keep up. No surprise, really. He, of course, knew of the Shadow Regiment and the Imperial Magic Division. While an ordinary adventurer might be unaware, any guild master worth his salt knew about the Empire’s trump cards.
But if the commander of the Shadow Regiment and the adjutant to the infamous Inferno Magician of the Imperial Magic Division were among the captured...
“Ya better not be pullin’ my leg, Abel.”
“He isn’t. This is the general, and that’s Jurgen.” Ryo pointed.
Understanding hit Hugh like a ton of bricks. His face paled. There was no way he could remain composed in a situation like this.
“This is bad... This is very bad,” he muttered, unable to stop himself.
Ryo blinked, startled. “But... But they were engaging in sabotage...”
“I understand that. I ain’t blamin’ ya lads. In fact, ya did a good job. Too good a job is the problem.”