“Astarte,” I started. “How many times did you think that you were going to die in the Campaign of Villendorf?”
“More times than I could count,” Astarte confessed. “The first time was when your main army was under attack, Anastasia. The second time was when I panicked and lost control of my army. From then on, following Faust’s victory in his duel, I constantly acted to seize every tactical advantage I could—if not for that, we wouldn’t have won.” The duke took a sip of her tea and paused for a few moments before she continued. “I’ve faced my death at least thirty times, I admit. Every single time, I thought I was done for. I was on the front lines with Faust.”
“I see.”
I’d thought that I was going to die when our base was under attack. The second time that terror gripped my body was when I lost my communication channel with Astarte on the front lines. I was fully prepared to lose my life during my first battle. The more I thought about it, the more I realized that there was no end to the times when I thought that I’d die. To this day, I was still shocked that we’d been able to eke out a victory—I knew that it wouldn’t happen a second time.
In fact, Astarte, Faust, and I couldn’t even envision another victory against Villendorf. Furthermore…
“I simply can’t understand what’s going through the Villendorfian queen’s mind,” I said. “Does she no longer have the will to fight us after losing her advisor, Lord Reckenbell? Or is her heart burning with a desire for revenge? She’s snuffed out a few nomadic tribes of the north, but she has yet to fully bring them to heel. What plans does she have for dealing with them?”
I had no information to go on. My spies were lurking about in Villendorf, but the kingdom’s counterintelligence agency was excellent at their job. As it stood, our Nobles of the Robe hadn’t even been granted an audience with the queen; they were practically shooed away at the door. I had nothing to work with.
“They might actually be waiting for us to act,” Astarte said.
“What do you mean?” I asked.
“Maybe they’re waiting for us to send Faust von Polidoro over to them.”
“That can’t be…”
Were we playing right into their hands? I couldn’t discount the possibility, but was Villendorf really that attached to Faust?
“Who knows?” Astarte continued. “Faust is a man who’s truly special by Villendorf’s standards. His appearance is nothing short of perfection; he exudes beauty when he fights, and he holds not a single flaw in their eyes. He’s like a vessel that holds all of their values made manifest.”
“And you say that they’re using that vessel to gauge our reaction to this situation?” I asked.
“If they judge Anhalt to be a dangerous opponent, we can avoid war. If they find that the rumors are exaggerated and that we aren’t all that impressive, war will break out again.”
This was absolutely insane if true. Astarte began to whistle tunelessly.
“But I don’t think I’m that far off,” she said humorously. “I think they’re waiting for us to react, and that will decide our fate!”
“Does that mean that Villendorf can’t predict our movements either?” I asked.
“Seems likely. After all’s said and done, we’re the victors. Plus, I exacted my vengeance on them to the point where they started calling me Astarte the Annihilator.”
Astarte hadn’t taken their land. She’d attacked the villages of Villendorf, pillaged what she could, and laid waste to them. Her infamy must’ve spread far and wide throughout their kingdom. In our defense, they’d done the same to us, so our retaliation was entirely justified.
“We’re deploying most of the royal army to fight against the nomads of the north,” Astarte explained. “We’ve even sent our regional lords out there for their annual conscripted service. That’s precisely why we’re short on soldiers to fight against Villendorf.”
“They know that, obviously,” I replied. “That’s why I fear that they’ll try to attack us again.”
“But Lord Reckenbell pummeled those nomads into shreds before. Villendorf can’t ignore the possibility that we’re capable of the same.”
“I see…”
Just as we couldn’t understand Villendorf, they, in turn, couldn’t understand us either. That was a logical assumption to make.
“So?” I asked.
“So, they’re waiting to see how we’d react,” Astarte answered. “It all depends on Faust von Polidoro. The Villendorfian queen will carefully scrutinize him before she decides on her future plans. I don’t think that my predictions are too far off from reality.”
“Hmm…”
Maybe she’s right. Even the most gifted mages couldn’t read the minds of others. The sole deciding factor would be the values of Villendorf’s queen—the woman who Villendorf’s hero had once taken under her wing, all those years ago.
“You’re saying that she’ll lay eyes on Anhalt’s hero, Faust von Polidoro, and decide everything from there,” I said.
“Yeah,” Astarte replied. “That’s what I’d do.”
She tried to put herself in the Villendorfian queen’s shoes to reach her conclusion.
Astarte, you’re my advisor and my right-hand woman. This time around, I shall heed your wisdom.
“Then we can’t have Faust look too shabby, can we?” I asked.
“You talking about his chainmail?” Astarte asked.
It wasn’t rare to see impoverished nobles who concerned themselves only with status. And Faust was a weak lord knight; he truly didn’t have much money to spare. Hence, he was always wearing chainmail.
“I’ll use a portion of my annual expenditure to fashion a suit of splendid Maximilian armor for him,” I said. “I’ll have a court mage make it lighter and sturdier as well.”
“Will it be ready quickly enough?” Astarte asked. “We don’t have time to send over a messenger.”
“I’ll use as many blacksmiths as it takes. I’ll have them forge a suit within a month.”
Astarte gave a look of disbelief, implying that my actions were reckless. Still, I firmly believed that this was necessary. If her line of reasoning was to be trusted, we couldn’t have the hero of Anhalt meet the queen of Villendorf in cheap chainmail. I had a generous budget and could afford to forge a suit of armor. This was an excellent opportunity for me. Under the circumstances, even the financial bureaucrats couldn’t offer a word of dissent on my expenses, and I could earn some points with Faust.
“Anastasia, are you sure you aren’t thinking of scoring points with Faust?” Astarte inquired. “Yeah, you can earn his favor to a degree with money, but he won’t sell you his heart—his true thoughts deep within him will remain closed off.”
Astarte had kept a close watch on Faust during his entire stay at the inn that was prepared for him when he was my sister’s advisor. She’d observed his every intention and inclination, though she did misstep when Martina received her death sentence. Yet, despite her warning, I remained firm.
“This is necessary,” I insisted. “Plus, don’t you think Faust hates me for some reason?”
“No, I think he sees you as his comrade in arms,” Astarte replied. “You may have sent him to the front lines of a grisly battle, but he’s fully aware of the hardships that you went through. The thing is, though, you’re scary.”
“Me? How so?” I was baffled by her response.
“Your eyes. They’re terrifying.”
“That alone can’t make him dislike me!”
“Your own sister was afraid of you until very recently!”
Astarte always had a response at the ready.
“That’s Valiele’s problem!” I cried. “She’d always been terrified of me ever since she was a young child! These days, she’s been calling me ‘sister’ more often, and she’s oddly friendly with me. It’s so cute.”
“Oh, so you can find her cute. Well, I’m glad that you sisters are closer now.”
She gave me a weary look, a hint of sarcasm in her voice.
Leave us alone. Valiele was my younger sister by blood, my father’s daughter—how could I not find her adorable? I knew that Valiele had never had any desire to fight for the throne. I didn’t want to send her off to a monastery in the future; I hoped to find her a noble husband whose house she could carry on. That was the least I could do as a show of my love.
“Well, whatever,” Astarte said. “Anyway, I’m sure Faust will be ecstatic to receive a suit of magical Maximilian armor. But don’t expect him to spread his legs for you just because you gave him a lavish gift.”
“I would never!” I snapped.
How perverted can you be? All I wished to do was earn Faust’s favor and ensure that peace negotiations with Villendorf would go well. That was all. I sighed, then gulped down my now-cold cup of tea in one go.