During the reclamation of the frontier, it was necessary to keep in constant communication with the capital, so even while my work piled up during my visit, I had visitors coming to my temporary residence. While normally I would shut the door in the face of anyone who didn’t make an appointment, my unwelcome guests were people of high status, making that impossible.
“As both of us are exceedingly busy and this is not a public place, please state your business first.”
I had ten meetings planned for the day. I’d planned my schedule to have as much leeway as possible, but that didn’t mean I could waste time exchanging pointless pleasantries.
“Are you here to pay respects to me for your dukeship? Or is this about funding for the reclamation work? Or…?”
The middle-aged man before me, once a familiar sight, was now almost unrecognizable, a shadow of his former self. He looked as though he were wasting away. He didn’t bother to touch the tea I offered him, instead simply hanging his head penitently. If he was here for business, why wouldn’t he just speak? I decided to try to tease the purpose of his visit out of him.
“Duke Heltor, is this perhaps about your daughter, Olivia?”
His shoulders twitched, and he looked up at me, apparently steeling his resolve. Despite his haggard look, the strength and tenacity of his willpower were clear.
“I’ve heard that Olivia Heltor has been staying in your territory, Sir Caroling.”
“There are no Heltors in my territory, sir. Perhaps whoever told you this was mistaken? The Goddess’s Bride, Olivia, is no Heltor.”
You disowned her, remember? A little late for you to meddle in my territory just so you can play at being a proper father, y’know? I assayed my best murderous glare, but even despite his weakness, the duke wasn’t playing around. My unforgiving eyes washed off him like water off a duck, as he continued.
“I’ve seen the portraits, and I know my daughter when I see her! I would like to arrange a meeting with the hero who wedded my daughter!”
“Like I said before, this isn’t a public place, so let me be frank with you.
The girl that you abused and disowned has married the hero, and as he’s very devoted to her. He hates you. If you try to play at being dear old Dad and get too close to them, there’s a very real possibility that you will die. The royal family has yet to announce this, but the man killed a titan on his own. Or do you honestly think your authority as a duke will be enough to threaten him into submission?”
Sir Chris was a kind man at heart, so he probably wouldn’t kill the duke.
But I suspected he wouldn’t hesitate to erase the man’s memories and send him packing. A devoted husband like him probably couldn’t bear to see the man who abused his wife.
And if the goddess’s representative hated this man, then the temple would probably follow his example. Olivia herself was very popular with the public, too; though her abuse wasn’t yet circulated by the rumor mill, if they learned of it, even the most casual observer could see that it would bring ruin to the Heltor family.
“N-No, you mistake me. I just want to see her, safe and sound.”
“I don’t want to anger the hero, so I will not have any part of it. If you want to visit the Rarogne Region incognito, then be my guest, but make sure you don’t tell anyone about your business there. If your cold, dead body turns up in some back alley, rest assured, the incident will be dismissed as an accident without investigation. I’m not going to waste my time on you.”
I was, I must admit, somewhat surprised at his sudden contrition. I wondered if perhaps it was a result of Olivia’s curse being lifted. As I recalled, the curse changed love into hatred. With it lifted, he must have finally come to his senses regarding his poor, abused daughter. Of course, the cause of the whole mess was that whore Angelique, which meant he was still party to the root of the evil.
“I’m told that her mother and grandmother were her only solace from the abuse. The hero probably won’t deny his mother-in-law, so I’d be more than happy to arrange a meeting with her. As you should know, we’ll be holding a large ceremony to kick off the development plan proper. I suggest you have her attend. I’m sure you have no issues with your wife filling that role, Duke Heltor?”
In this country, ceremonies before major events were extremely important, both for unifying us all under one cause and for reconciling
concessions. For these ceremonies, the head of a household or his heir would usually attend, but depending on the circumstances, it was normal for another boy of the family or a retainer to attend as a representative. One unspoken rule, however, was that families could send a woman to indicate that they had planned to abstain from this particular matter.
Of course, it had to be a woman of the family. As long as it was the family head’s wife, daughter, or mother, there would be no issue. Even a more distant relative was acceptable, as long as she could speak for the family. There simply weren’t many who would go out of their way to announce their nonparticipation. However, sending a complete stranger as your representative would be taken as open contempt for the matter, even worse than nonparticipation. This tradition was common practice all over the place, but it was honestly a pain.
“Oh… So you mean I can’t apologize to my daughter?”
Sorry, buddy, but having a duke—someone who outranks me—mucking around in my plans would unbalance too much. Worse, I’d have to kowtow to you constantly. I had already run this by the two other families, but the Heltor family was in such disarray that we couldn’t even reach the duke.
“I’d suggest you send your apologies via a letter. It won’t bother me if you send a man to the ceremony, but if he approaches Olivia, you can expect the hero to do away with him. I’ll remind you that he is a very devoted husband.”
At the moment, the kingdom had only three—four, soon, once I was promoted—dukes. If I could earn their support, I would easily have enough money and laborers at my disposal. But issues would arise if some faction ignored my instructions, and it would be an annoyance if they wanted to demand concessions after the fact.
I planned to make allies as my father suggested, but what he really meant was to gather subordinates. The most important thing for me to do was to make it such that my allies—my minions, in other words—were the only ones who would benefit from the concessions that would arise as a result of the development.
As if guessing my intentions, Duke Heltor told me that he would send his wife or mother and left, dejected.
Should I tell Sir Chris and Olivia about this, I wondered. If they knew that her mother or grandmother would be coming, it would give them the
opportunity to complete Sir Chris’s training on a noble’s demeanor. It would be a great boon for me if they didn’t bring shame down upon my head, as their sponsor. Anyway, whatever you do, make sure you don’t do anything outlandish in the meantime. If I have to come up with another way to reward you, I’m going to have the worst headache of my life.
Come to think of it, my father wanted to marry Alcina to the hero. Her current betrothed, Heltor’s heir, was twenty years old and still unmarried.
Alcina, my half-sister, was somewhat younger, and my understanding was that they planned to wait until she came of age to seal the deal. But the fact that Heltor’s heir had incestuous interest in his sister made things problematic.
Once the development was in full swing, there was no doubt that Sir Chris would show off his prowess in battle, so perhaps it would be best to marry Alcina to him, if in name only. Until then, I decided I had little need to be stressed over the matter.
Alcina’s mother was lowborn, but an unmatched beauty whom my father seized as a concubine. Alcina took after her mother. Though she had a somewhat threatening look about her, even I, her older brother, recognized her as a marvel to behold, if rather slender, lacking in curves.
I had spoken with my sister the day before, and she seemed worried about Olivia after she was banished from her home. When she learned that Olivia was married to the hero, she was as happy as if she’d been married herself. If she was told to annul her engagement and marry the hero instead, she would probably accept it readily. Perhaps our father was already hinting at the matter.
But, well, the hero already had Olivia and Diane; my flat-as-a-pancake sister would probably be out of place. Maybe there was no need to rush her into ending her engagement now… or so I thought. When I returned to my territory, I would immediately regret my decision.