Bonus Story 1:
Echoes of a New Era
(Loretta Kugret)
SWEAT FORMED ON MY BROW despite the chill of January. The layers of volcanic ash I shoveled slowly gave way to the wreckage underneath. I was used to physical exertion, but this kind of labor demanded more of me than my military training ever did.
I inhaled deep to steady my breathing, and the cold air chilled me from within. Thinking it would be bad to catch a cold, I tightened the towel on my neck.
A whole month had breezed by since the revolution. Bauer was still unstable, leaving everyone to do what they could to survive. Both former commoners and former nobles alike had it rough. Commoners already lived in poverty, but things were only worse for them now with the shortage of commodities leading to prices rising. The ex-nobility lost their special privileges and many of their assets, leaving them floundering. I, Loretta Kugret, was of course one of the latter, being an ex-noble.
House Kugret had served as officers in the kingdom’s army for generations. We used to be of a lower rank, but my grandfather saw the value of magic early on and actively encouraged the study of it while the traditionalists stuck with old-fashioned, non-magic means. The late King l’Ausseil’s meritocratic plans came into effect around that time, allowing our house to rise in status unusually fast for a conservative organization like the army.
Of course, things were different now after the revolution. The kingdom’s army still handled national security and public safety, but the structure was currently being revised. My father never did anything corrupt, but it was undeniable that he was an influential figure in the pre-revolution army. His position, and our household by extension, was in a difficult situation now as ex-nobility.
“Snap out of it, Loretta. You’re blanking out.”
A cute girl with peculiar hair that curled inward snapped me out of my thoughts. Pepi Barlier. She was a former noble as well and, for reasons, was staying at our home for the time being.
“Sorry about that, Pepi.”
“Keep it together, will you? We’re nowhere near done.” She sighed and returned to shoveling. What used to be immaculate, uncalloused hands that never knew a day’s work were now covered in dirt and grime. Even so, she hadn’t complained once. That was just the kind of girl she was.
The two of us were working to restore the capital. The city was left covered in volcanic rock and ash in the wake of Mt. Sassal’s eruption, leaving much work to be done. Pepi and I offered to help, which is why we were now working beside commoners—or rather, fellow ordinary citizens, as they now were.
That being said, we didn’t offer to help purely out of the goodness of our hearts. As I mentioned, House Kugret was in a bit of a bind. Currying favor with the citizens like this was a tactical decision. Not that we didn’t want to help out as well.
Most ex-commoners probably thought otherwise, but it was a fact that nobles were supposed to be self-sacrificing. We were taught from an early age, in fact, that selflessness was one of the hallmarks of nobility. Of course, the problem was that there were many nobles who forgot this and abused their privileges to instead indulge in depravity. Having been trained under strict military code, such behavior was deplorable to me. Perhaps it was only right that we were overthrown by the people.
Not that any of that really mattered. What I was actually trying to say was that it was originally our duty to serve the people, so this restoration work didn’t come as a particular bother or anything.
Not being able to play the piano kind of sucks, though… I was raised to be a military officer, but I was still an ex-noble. I was trained in the arts, including the piano, a talent and passion of mine.
My family hoped for me to become Bauer’s first female military officer, but I actually wanted to pursue the piano. Piano was wonderful. The slightest changes in the way you played made all the difference in how you sounded. I became the center of my own world on the piano, a world I could manipulate however I pleased. There was nothing that could replace the sense of power and ecstasy I felt when I played.
But the piano was a noble’s hobby, as well as a luxury. Now that I was no longer a noble, my piano was gone, and I didn’t know when I might next be able to play. That left me saddened, of course, but I understood there was nothing that could be done. It would be nonsense for me to indulge in music while ordinary citizens were only barely scraping by. The piano could come later. As someone raised with the values of nobility, I knew better than to place myself before the people.
Of course, that doesn’t mean I don’t miss my piano… Once all the dust settled, I wanted to take it up again. Even as I worked now, I took care not to injure my fingers. The call of the piano was just too great to ever give up on it.
I bet a good part of that is my last performance being so great.
The last time I played piano was before the revolution, around the time we cornered the corrupt noble Clément Achard.
I glanced Pepi’s way. The two of us played together in the autumnal music festival. She was a violinist who played a more precise and technical style, in contrast to my free-spirited style. We were polar opposites in that regard, but we meshed surprisingly well together in practice. I would challenge her, and she would one-up me in kind. Like that we would compete with one another, taking ourselves to higher and higher heights. I found the moments we played together to be sublime. I could not forget the exhilaration I felt, even now.
I wonder how she feels… Pepi was behaving the same way she had before the revolution. Her household had lost its status because of Clément’s actions, not because of the revolution, so in a strange way, the revolution hadn’t really affected her. She’d been raised with the same old-fashioned noble values as me, so perhaps she was helping with the restoration efforts out of a sense of duty too.
Then maybe I’m the only one who feels so lost? Pepi and I weren’t just friends anymore. We were in a relationship now. Or at least, we were supposed to be. Ever since the revolution began, not a single thing of note had happened between us.
I mean, I get that now is not really the time to be worrying about that kind of stuff, but still… I was a girl of age. Having a significant other made me feel butterflies and what have you. Even if we couldn’t flirt out in the open, I at least wanted to be able to do stuff together when no one was around… Oh jeez. How embarrassing.
Is she fine with things staying like this? Pepi wasn’t the type to reveal how she felt that much. She acted careless but could actually be quite the schemer. She was also more easily hurt than her carefree attitude let on. I loved how complex she could be, but it did leave me unsure what to do in times like this.
Maybe she doesn’t fully trust me yet. I originally liked another girl, Claire François. Even just remembering her name made my heart stir. Claire was a noble among nobles, as well as my first love. I now understand my feelings for her were more of adoration than of love, but crushes didn’t so easily fade. Perhaps Pepi sensed my lingering feelings for Claire and was bothered by them?
“Hey, Pepi?” I said.
“What’s up? You’ve stopped working.”
“I, uh…never mind.” I felt like she would slap me if I asked her if she really loved me. It was wrong of me to doubt her feelings, anyway.
“How are you two gettin’ along? I see you’re working up a sweat.” A deep, throaty voice called out to us. Pepi and I looked over to see a familiar rough-looking man.
“Oh, you’re that one adventurer,” I said.
“Well I’ll be, you remembered me. But I guess a lady of House Kugret would have perfect memory,” the man joked. We had fought undead in Euclid with the man and had been near enemies during the revolution.
“Please. I’m just a normal citizen now.”
“Is that right? Well, I suppose a noble lady wouldn’t be shoveling ash, now would she?”
“Are you here to mock us?”
“Not at all. Just here to say work’s done for the day. The overseer’s been trying to tell you guys for a while now, but it didn’t seem like you two could hear.”
Pepi and I had been too focused on our work, it seemed. Well, I was more lost in my thoughts than anything, but yeah. “Oh, I see. Then I suppose we shall take our leave.”
“Oh c’mon, don’t be such a stranger,” he said. “How about we get something to eat, huh?”
The adventurer was inviting the two of us out for a meal. How daring.
“I’m afraid I have to decline. I do not feel like sharing a table with a commoner,” I said.
“Ouch.”
“Wait, Loretta…”
“Pepi?” Just as I was about to turn around and walk away, Pepi stopped me.
“You said it yourself. We’re no longer nobles. What’s the problem with us eating with our fellow citizens?”
“What? Pepi, what are you say—”
“Times have changed, Loretta,” she chided. I felt like she had become distant all of a sudden.
“I don’t mind going with just the Barlier girl, if you’d rather not come,” the man said to me. He grinned vulgarly. In retrospect, he probably had no ulterior motives, but I somehow convinced myself at the time that I had to protect Pepi from this man.
“No, I’m coming too!” I said. I didn’t even realize he’d played me.
“Then it’s settled.”