It didn’t take nearly as long as I’d thought for Eleonora to regain her composure. “I am all right now. I apologize for that display.”
“Please don’t apologize. You mentioned that your family was this way when you returned home after escaping your marriage. They weren’t that way when you left the house to marry?”
“They were not... My father always told us that the king led the higher nobles, the higher nobles led us lower nobles, and we needed to lead our own people. He would also say that nobles are servants of the people, and we had to face and withstand ridicule at times if that meant protecting those in our fiefdom. He always taught us to conduct ourselves with honor—both in ruling the fiefdom and in living our lives. True to his word, he had always faced problems in the territory head-on and improved the lives of our people the best he could, even when prospects were grim. My brothers used to work diligently under my father so they could one day take over the reins. We were once a family worthy of the people’s trust.”
That’s what I’d thought. Throughout the night, Eleonora had spoken like she had been betrayed by someone she’d believed in. Of course she was rattled to see her family had changed so drastically.
She went on to say that seeing her father and brothers act with such integrity had motivated her to study everything she had a talent for, in hopes of aiding her family in ruling the fiefdom. Striving to become a royal sorcerer had all been to that end. “Royal sorcerers are not merely experts in magic. Working so closely with the king means they have significant sway in noble society. The pay is incomparably higher than the average sorcerer, and a significant enough accomplishment can even lead to a direct reward from the king himself. The position alone can elicit marriage proposals from noble families hoping to bring talented blood into their family tree. I was hoping to receive one from a family stronger than the four families that controlled our territory...or at least a family strong enough to fight back against them. I would have married any man to secure an ally like that. I was proud to be a Ransor, and dedicated my life to studying magic with the sole thought of giving everything to my house and fiefdom.”
Eleonora’s voice wavered a little. Self-deprecatingly, she added that she was blinded by her pursuit of power. Those four lords—old schemers and manipulators—understood the threat Eleonora could pose if she were to become a royal sorcerer. Almost as soon as Eleonora was recommended by the academy for the job, her family was pressured into marrying her off, ruining her chances of becoming a royal sorcerer and trapping her in that toxic household in one move.
“I lived with being my family’s sacrificial offering because I trusted my father and brothers to keep fighting. To acknowledge my sacrifice. That is why I feel betrayed, I suppose. Even if I cannot bring myself to blame them, thinking of what they must have gone through,” Eleonora concluded powerlessly. Whether she was thinking of what to say next or waiting for me to respond, silence filled the air.
There was no way for an outsider like me to know what her family was thinking. Even if I somehow could, I didn’t think that would fix Eleonora’s problem. This was about her feelings. “Eleonora. There isn’t much I can say about this. I could give you advice that sounds pretty, but I think that’ll just be irritating to you.”
“I suppose...?”
“But you are my employee, and I like to think we’ve gotten to know each other pretty well. I want to help you in any way I can, so I’m going to present a few options. Generally speaking, we can take one of three approaches: fight, flight, or freeze. Freezing would mean maintaining the status quo. I won’t rush you into any action. Until you decide what to do, I would greatly appreciate your help in Gimul.”
Then, I presented her with options of action to take whenever she felt ready. Running wasn’t always cowardly. If Eleonora decided to forget her family and cut all contact with them, I would support her in that. I’d keep her employed if that’s what she wanted, and I wouldn’t fight her on it if she wanted to work somewhere else. I didn’t know what contract she had with the Jamils, but I’d try my best to advocate for her if necessary. If she wanted to live somewhere away from people, she could move to the Sea of Trees and take up residence in Korumi, where it would be safe. In that case, I’d hope that she could be a conversation partner for Korumi until I could work out my hex that would allow long-distance calls. If she wanted to take a step further and disappear from society entirely, there were ways to fake her death. By eating a strand of her hair, my mimic slime could take her form. Once I extract the slime core, that would leave behind a fake corpse. Even if it was morally questionable, that was an option for her.
“I’m sure we could think of more options with time and planning, but that would be the running option. If you would like to fight, you will decide if we fight against your family, the syndicates, or both. Personally, I think it would be easier to deal with the syndicates,” I said.
“That would be too dangerous. They no longer have the protection and resources of noble houses, but the syndicates still wield the threat of violence. They would not hesitate to retaliate—and kill you,” Eleonora interrupted. She was clearly rattled enough by the idea to break her normal cool. I wasn’t surprised. If they had been so easily dismantled, her family or even Eleonora herself would have dealt with them, if the only cost was to herself. I understood that it wouldn’t be easy to deal with them.
“Generally speaking, it isn’t admirable to resort to violence to resolve a problem. Would you agree?” I asked.