I awoke in blue liquid.
Cordula noticed my eyes open and assisted me as I tried to sit up. “Is that you, Lady Hannelore?” she asked. The concern in her voice spoke to the impact of the Goddess of Time’s descent.
“Indeed, it is,” I assured her with a nod. “This is my bath, correct? Am I sitting in a jureve?”
“Yes. Lady Rozemyne advised that we soak you in one until your consciousness returned. Had we not, your mana would have hardened as the absence of your conscious mind caused your body to waste away. I am glad to see you are well. As the bath is currently in use, forgive me, but I must perform a waschen to cleanse you.”
As my retainer, it was considered inappropriate for Cordula to point her schtappe at me. I understood why she would apologize, but given the circumstances, it was the only way to wash the jureve from my body.
“I will speak on your absence once you are changed,” she continued in a hurried tone once she was done. “Things have become quite problematic in your absence.” Her usual poise was gone, and it worried me to see her so openly concerned.
Looking around, I could not see any of my other retainers. My head attendant set about dressing me on her own.
“Cordula, where is everyone?”
“I shall tell you what happened as I understand it. Stay strong of heart, milady.”
“Strong of heart”? What on earth happened in my absence?
Cordula’s words took me completely by surprise. I steadied my breathing and steeled my resolve, then gave a slow nod. Even after leaving the changing room and returning to my bedroom, I saw no sign of anyone else in my retinue.
“I have yet to inform anyone that you are awake,” my head attendant explained as she poured me some tea. “I thought you might need time to process what I am about to share with you.”
I took a sip of my drink, and a comforting warmth spread through me. It was then that I realized just how cold the jureve had made me feel.
“Please, take a seat as well, Cordula,” I said, facing her directly. “It must have been exhausting caring for me while I was unconscious, and I doubt your story is a brief one.”
She eyed me for a moment, then said, “You seem to have changed somewhat, milady...” before sitting down. “Now, where to begin? I should warn you that my knowledge of what transpired at the gazebo is far from perfect. Should you have any questions when I am done, I can arrange for Kenntrips to speak with you as well.”
Cordula spoke of the moment when Dregarnuhr had seized control of my body and the great beam of light that had appeared. As soon as the goddess made contact with Lady Rozemyne, I had crumpled to the ground, teetering on the brink of death. It was then that Lady Rozemyne advised that I be immersed in a jureve.
“We had no choice but to contact Dunkelfelger, have Lord Lestilaut send the jureve he made prior to his engagement, and then soak you in it while we awaited your return from the world of the gods. You have been here since then, but that is far from the end of the story.”
Cordula paused, lowering her eyes in thought.
“As I recall, the trouble started with Korinthsdaum,” she eventually said. “They insisted that it was cruel to make a saint joined to the Goddess of Time marry an archnoble. Then their aub proposed, citing his royal blood as ample reason.”
“That makes no sense,” I uttered. “It is a father’s decision whom his daughter weds. If the people of Korinthsdaum take issue with my engagement candidates, they should challenge us to bride-stealing ditter.” As much as Lord Sigiswald was trying to leverage his former status, he was not doing so through the proper channels.
“They asserted that as you have yet to choose a suitor, they have no reason to consider you engaged.”
“Indeed, nothing has been formally arranged. I suspect Father would also have found it difficult to refuse a former royal.”
Never had I expected Lord Sigiswald to use his position to try to force an engagement. Still, Father held a rather low opinion of the former prince; if marrying into Korinthsdaum did not appeal to me, he would do what he could to help me refuse.
“Your father carefully declined the proposal, explaining his desire to have you stay in Dunkelfelger. It was then that Lord Ortwin of Drewanchel made his own proposal.”
“Lord Ortwin?! But why?!”
Was there no end to the surprises? If my memory served me right, he had been there when I confessed to Lord Wilfried. Why, then, had he proposed to me again?
Was he so composed in the gazebo because he knew Lord Wilfried would turn me down?
“It would seem he is rather well-informed on our duchy’s customs,” Cordula said. “He expressed a desire to win your hand through bride-stealing ditter.”
“Is my father aware? Might there be confusion and a lack of preparation between parties, as there was last time?” Lord Ortwin knew about Dunkelfelger proposals, so I doubted he was rushing into things as carelessly as Lord Wilfried, but I remained cautious all the same.
“Both parties were on the same page, as I understand it. It was a formal arrangement for a match between Lord Ortwin’s duchy and ours. Aub Dunkelfelger was much happier with his challenge than with Korinthsdaum’s bad faith and accepted the petition out of hand, issuing orders for Rasantark and Kenntrips to protect you.”
But before the bride-stealing ditter could commence, Korinthsdaum declared its intention to participate. The outcome was a messy free-for-all.
“And then...”
“Is there truly more?” I groaned.
“Lord Raufereg announced that he also wished to participate.”
“He what?!” I exclaimed at the mention of my half-brother, who had only taken an interest in me to pursue a life spent playing ditter.
Cordula pinched the bridge of her nose, doubtless sharing my agony. “He claimed it was within his rights to voice his opposition to the archduke and that, by securing his rightful place as your husband, he could make you the next Aub Dunkelfelger. It was an outright declaration of war against Lord Lestilaut.”
“Wait just a moment. No matter what bold declarations Raufereg might make, I do not intend to oppose my brother. Nor do I think I would make a suitable aub...”
Raufereg’s announcement had apparently sent a great shock through the nobles of our duchy.
“The aub cannot accept Lord Ortwin’s challenge in one breath and then deny Lord Raufereg the right to participate in the next,” Cordula explained. “It would seem that Lord Raufereg is using his retainers to rally those who are against Lord Lestilaut and those who share his desire for you to become the next aub.”
Dunkelfelger should have united around the suitors my father chose for me. Instead, Raufereg’s intervention had divided us, creating a critical weakness that prompted other duchies to extend their own challenges.
“And so,” my head attendant said, “an enormous game of bride-stealing ditter is about to be held to determine your groom. You are being hailed in a chaotic fervor as the second divine avatar; how you act and the decisions you make will be of greater importance than ever before.” She sighed. “Matters are sure to escalate the moment your awakening is announced.”
“I meant only to bid the others farewell. It was truly a coincidence that I was in the gazebo when I prayed. And the only reason Dregarnuhr wished to use my body was to summon Lady Rozemyne; I was not granted power or anything of the sort. How have things come to this?”
No sooner had the words passed my lips than I remembered the Goddess of Binding’s parting declaration—that she would enable me to pursue anyone I pleased. Biblical stories abounded with tales of her pranks, and this demonstration of her might rendered me speechless.
Please, no! Anything but this! The last time she intervened, it was my own fault, but this—this was completely unprovoked!
I considered praying to Liebeskhilfe in protest but decided against it. Instead, I did everything I could to keep my mana from bursting free in my frustration.