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Judithe lifted her teacup to her lips and took a small sip, eyeing the woman across from her over its rim.
Her new lady smiled, amber eyes glowing in a face Judithe could only describe as radiant. Even a guard knight like Judithe knew that Brunhilde’s service to their former lady had been nothing short of perfect, but still, she couldn’t help thinking that here in her new position, Brunhilde had finally begun to shine. Maybe it came from being raised to lead as a giebe, but there was no denying that power suited Brunhilde.
“Next week will be this year’s star-binding ceremony. I suppose Hartmut and Clarissa, and Cornelius and Leonore will soon be binding their stars in Alexandria,” Brunhilde said, switching the topic from Judithe’s recent training to the upcoming midsummer ceremony. A drop of cold sweat rolled down Judithe’s back. Oh no. I should have guessed she summoned me here to talk about that.
When Judithe had received the tea party invitation four days ago, she’d promptly agreed to it. They might be seated in Brunhilde’s chambers leisurely sipping tea and nibbling sweets, but Judithe had known the moment she saw the wooden board that this was a summons. Her lady had something she wished to discuss.
She’d only been serving as Brunhilde’s retainer for a month and a half now—ever since Lady Rozemyne had officially been named Aub Alexandria and formally released Judithe, Ottilie, and Bertilde from her service. They, along with Philine and Damuel, had been unable to follow their former lady to another duchy, though for those two, their move to Alexandria had only been postponed. I wish I had the same resolve as Philine, to declare that Lady Rozemyne would always be my lady.
Judithe suppressed a sigh. This conversation with Brunhilde would likely make her envy Philine in other ways as well.
“Clarissa will be disappointed to leave Lady Rozemyne’s service,” Judithe replied, hoping to steer the conversation toward a safer topic. “She was only able to serve her for a year and a half, after she went to so much trouble to become her retainer.”
“Oh? But Clarissa will certainly still serve Lady Rozemyne, even while she is not officially her retainer,” Brunhilde pointed out with another brilliant smile. Then she set down her tea cup. “As Hartmut’s first wife and an archnoble with close ties to the aub, she will become an important founding member of Lady Rozemyne’s faction in Alexandria. She’ll strengthen her lady’s support base and gather information for her through socializing. She’ll socialize with Lady Rozemyne herself, as well as pass on information through Hartmut. Leonore and Lieseleta will do the same after their marriages… As will you, Judithe, if you decide to follow Lady Rozemyne to Alexandria once you come of age.”
Brunhilde’s eyes sparkled as they pierced Judithe with a sharp gaze.
“I still haven’t decided,” Judithe said, willing herself not to look away from her lady’s penetrating eyes.
“Hm,” Brunhilde said, observing her for several more uncomfortable moments before lifting a cookie from her plate and taking a dainty bite. “You are running out of time, Judithe. This term at the Royal Academy will be your last, will it not? Who are you planning to have escort you?”
This time, Judithe’s eyes darted away before she could even think to stop them. Wasn’t it bad enough she had to endure these kinds of lectures from her parents? Did Brunhilde have to pester her about it too? Or so she wanted to complain, but she knew her parents and her lady were both looking out for her interests. How could she not know? Her parents had explained it to her more times than she wished to remember: whether or not she chose to go to Alexandria would have a huge impact on her marriage options, which would in turn influence her choice of escort for her Royal Academy graduation. If she planned to go to Alexandria after her coming of age, it would be best to have a family member escort her or to attempt to secure a fiancé in Alexandria during her final term. If not, though… Ugh, why can’t I just be more decisive, like Philine?
And why couldn’t Liebeskehilfe have dropped the ideal marriage partner directly in her path, like Philine? How did the people around her so quickly figure out what they wanted from life, while she was still floundering in indecision? Why did it feel like Judithe was the only one still stuck as a child while everyone else strode bravely toward adulthood?
“…I was thinking of asking my grandfather to escort me,” Judithe finally said, daring a glance over at Brunhilde’s face. Her lady had her head cocked a little to one side, and the look in those eyes distinctly reminded Judithe of her mother when she was interviewing a potential new attendant.
“That would be a very safe option,” Brunhilde said, her smile deepening. “I understand your father has designated some marriage candidates for you at this point, but if you do plan to move to Alexandria, it would be safest not to make any commitments.”
Judithe’s father certainly had already indicated his preferred marriage candidates. They were all young men she’d known her entire life—the sons of other Kirnberger mednobles her family was on close terms with. She supposed that any of them would do…which was another way of saying she didn’t feel anything in particular toward any of them.
“Do you wish to serve Lady Rozemyne in Alexandria, Judithe?”
Their conversation had been skirting around the question, but now Brunhilde was asking her point blank. Judithe looked up into her lady’s eyes, feeling how wide her own had grown. She hated to expose just how weak-willed she was to someone like Brunhilde, who at the same age Judithe was now had steeled her resolve to propose marriage to Aub Ehrenfest himself. Perhaps that’s just the difference between a high-ranking archnoble like Brunhilde and a provincial mednoble like me.
Besides, didn't Lady Rozemyne tell me I could take my time? She said to gather information about Alexandria from her other retainers once they marry and have children... Though she did also tell me to carefully consider what it would mean to be separated from my family—
“If that is what you wish, then as your lady I will help you lay the groundwork with your parents and the other Ehrenfest nobles,” Brunhilde gazed at her, eyes searching. “Of course, as my former retainer I will have work for you to do even after you have quit my service.”
Judithe straightened up a little in surprise.
“Work? What kind of work would that be?”
Brunhilde’s eyes glittered again.
“It will be to the benefit of Ehrenfest and of its archducal family for us to retain strong ties with Lady Rozemyne and Alexandria. You would serve as another link between me and Lady Rozemyne, a way for us to stay connected.”
Ah, Judithe thought, she would expect me to send information back and forth.
“For that reason, I would ask that you seek your fiancé among either Lady Rozemyne or Lord Ferdinand’s retainers. I will assist you, of course, in negotiating with their families here in Ehrenfest—or if you choose to marry a man of former Ahrensbach origin, I will reach out to Lieseleta to assist you. I believe Lord Ferdinand’s attendant Lord Sergius lacks a second wife. There is also Lord Justus, if you do not mind an older man. Or perhaps you would prefer to become Hartmut’s second wife? I don’t expect your mana matches with Cornelius, and it seems Lord Eckhart has renewed his engagement to Angelica, which would make a marriage with him difficult. What are your thoughts on the matter, Judithe?”
Judithe found herself blinking in astonishment at the list of names presented to her. Brunhilde was suggesting that she marry up the social hierarchy, into an archnoble family—even as a second wife, such a prospect was daunting for a mednoble of middling rank like Judithe.
“W-what about one of their mednoble retainers?” Judithe gulped, hoping that Brunhilde hadn’t intentionally left them off the list, though the future second wife of Ehrenfest wasn’t careless enough to have simply forgotten them.
Her heart sank as she saw Brunhilde’s face break into a frown.
“Lady Rozemyne’s mednoble retainers would be absolutely out of the question, wouldn’t they? Matthias and Laurenz are the sons of executed criminals. A family of former Ahrensbach origin might overlook that, but your family isn’t likely to, and it would make it more difficult for you to socialize with Ehrenfest nobles. Roderick would be little better, considering that his family were also punished during the purge. I suppose there is Lord Ferdinand’s scholar Raimund, but I hear he has very low mana for a mednoble. Would you even match with him?”
Brunhilde knew that using Lady Rozemyne’s mana compression method had increased Judithe’s mana to the level that she could now sense many archnobles. She thought back to the times she had met Raimund, who would also be graduating from the academy this year. Unfortunately, she couldn’t remember ever having sensed his mana.
“No? I thought not,” Brunhilde sighed as Judithe shook her head. “From what I understand, neither Aub Alexandria nor her fiancé has taken many new retainers yet, but those they have taken are all archnobles. Alexandria has many more archnobles than Ehrenfest, so they are unlikely to take many new mednoble retainers, if any. Are you absolutely opposed to marrying up in status? I agree that becoming an archnoble’s first wife might be too great a burden for you, Judithe, but your skills leave me in no doubt that you would succeed as a second wife.”
On the one hand, she felt honored by this high praise from Brunhilde, but on the other hand, wasn’t being an archnoble’s wife at all too great a burden? Judithe gazed up at Brunhilde with pleading eyes.
“All of the candidates my father offered me were mednobles of Kirnberger.”
Brunhilde shook her head.
“That absolutely will not do,” she stated crisply. “You have too many valuable connections, Judithe. If you are to marry a mednoble, he must at least be one of high status. An archducal retainer, or perhaps a future giebe.”
Judithe frowned to herself, trying to remember all the mednoble families of Ehrenfest. There were many, of course—far more than there were either lay or archnoble families. But young men of the appropriate age who matched her mana and met Brunhilde’s requirements? That reduced the number to a mere handful.
“Judithe.” Brunhilde’s voice caused her to raise her head again. “If there is anyone you wish to marry, tell me now. But if you have no preference, then I suggest you accept my assistance in finding a suitable partner for you. Your parents know you well and have likely selected very good candidates, but their position in Kirnberger makes it difficult for them to grasp the wider picture.”
Judithe wasn’t sure how well she herself grasped the wider picture, but Brunhilde was right that she’d been left feeling the candidates her father had selected were somewhat lacking. If she were truly honest with herself, she felt a little relieved at the thought that she could leave the troublesome task of finding her marriage partner in such capable hands as Brunhilde’s.
“If you wouldn’t mind,” Judithe finally said, “I would appreciate your assistance.”
Brunhilde’s face bloomed with another brilliant smile.
“Excellent,” she said, raising her tea cup with an elegant curve of her wrist. “Just leave it up to me.”
**
Judithe expected to hear from her lady again after the starbind ceremony. It was customary for unmarried nobles to gather in the wake of the ceremony to seek potential spouses, and it wasn’t uncommon for families or other connections—which in Judithe’s case was Brunhilde—to search for candidates there on others’ behalf.
Instead, it was her parents who asked to meet with her the following morning. They’d attended this year’s starbinding for the very purpose of deepening ties with Judithe’s prospective fiancés. From the somewhat dazed expression on both their faces, though, she immediately guessed that Brunhilde had used this opportunity to speak with them.
“We are honored that Lady Brunhilde is going to so much trouble for you,” her mother began with a worried crease between her brows, “but do you really wish to move to Alexandria after your coming of age?”
“You know my thoughts on that topic,” her father grumbled, expression stormy. He was utterly and entirely opposed to her moving to Alexandria, and had forbidden her even to visit. Of course, once she came of age this winter, she could decide her future for herself, even in the face of her father's opposition. He was glaring at her now. “You’ll be so far away from your family, and in former Ahrensbach, no less. That's no place for you, Judithe!”
“But I wish to serve Lady Rozemyne,” Judithe said, looking from one to the other of them as tears filled her eyes. “And Lady Brunhilde, to the best of my ability. It's just, the idea of going to another duchy or marrying into an archnoble family frightens me. To tell the truth, I don't know what I want...”
“I thought as much,” her mother sighed. “But how can we turn down Lady Brunhilde’s assistance? She seems very determined to take a hand in finding your marriage partner, even though we assured her you already had several excellent candidates to choose from.”
Judithe shook her head, her orange ponytail swishing side to side with the motion.
“I don’t want to refuse her assistance,” she said. “I think Lady Brunhilde will find me a good partner… I’m just not so sure about going to Alexandria.”
Both of her parents looked taken aback. Her mother turned a troubled smile toward her father, who stared at Judithe with a deep frown.
“You’re dissatisfied with the candidates we found for you? Why didn’t you tell us before?”
“I…I don’t think I realized I was dissatisfied with them until I spoke to Lady Brunhilde about it. But she’s right that I could do so much more for her sake, and for Lady Rozemyne’s, if I married the right partner.”
Her father sat back and seemed to be mulling her words over, his face still a picture of dissatisfaction, so her mother stepped in.
“Perhaps you could ask Lady Brunhilde to find you a good match within Ehrenfest? I can’t support you moving to a greater duchy with so little resolve to do so.”
At her mother’s words, Judithe felt a sudden flush of relief. That’s right, she thought. I don’t have to go to Alexandria to be useful to Brunhilde and Lady Rozemyne. Bertilde had told her so, over and over again, but for some reason it hadn't hit home with Judithe until just now. But it was true that Brunhilde, Bertilde, and Ottilie were all still working hard for Lady Rozemyne’s sake, even now that she had gone to another duchy. Why couldn’t Judithe be the same?
Judithe smiled at her parents, a warm feeling flooding her chest.
“Thank you, Mother, Father. This conversation has been very helpful.”
**
She saw Brunhilde again later that same day, and the knowing smile her lady offered her made her wonder just what kind of conversation she and her parents had shared.
“Shall we have another tea party soon?” Brunhilde asked as they strode down a corridor leading from the western building to the main building, where the archducal family had a meeting scheduled for that afternoon. Now that the Archduke Conference was finished, they had turned the full force of their efforts on getting internal affairs in order, in the wake of the recent invasion and Lady Rozemyne's departure. Meetings involving the entire archducal family had become nearly a weekly occurrence.
“That won’t be necessary, Lady Brunhilde,” Judithe replied firmly, “if you will give me a few minutes of your time in the next few days to tell you about the decision I reached.”
Brunhilde’s dark red eyebrows rose with interest.
“You’ve reached a decision? I look forward to hearing about it. Ottilie?”
While Ottilie had only recently joined Brunhilde's retinue, their lady had designated her as her preferred companion for attending archducal family meetings. Brunhilde's Groeschel attendants had a much closer relationship with their lady, but Ottilie had many more years of experience serving the archducal family. After consulting the older woman about her upcoming schedule, it was decided she could spare a few minutes to speak to Judithe that very evening.
It was just after Brunhilde had left her bath, when she was enjoying some fruit juice and a shoulder massage from one of her Groeschel attendants.
“Well, Judithe, what decision have you reached?” she asked as she sipped her fruit juice.
Judithe straightened her posture and looked directly into Brunhilde’s strong gaze.
“Lady Brunhilde,” she said, “I have decided not to go to Alexandria after I come of age. I believe my future lies within Ehrenfest.”
Brunhilde set aside her glass with elegant movements and then narrowed her amber eyes at Judithe.
“Are you saying you have decided to marry one of your father’s chosen candidates after all?”
Judithe shook her head.
“No, my lady. I would still greatly appreciate your assistance in finding a suitable marriage partner.” She paused for a moment, creasing her brow in thought. “I would very much like to be of use to you, my lady, and to Lady Rozemyne. But I believe I am best suited to doing so here within Ehrenfest.”
After a few more moments, Brunhilde’s face broke into a relaxed smile.
“A very good answer, Judithe,” she said. “It is heartening to see you so much more decisive than you seemed the other day. To be honest, after our conversation I had no plans to seek a partner for you in Alexandria. It would have been pointless to send you there when you lacked the resolve to make the decision for yourself.”
A small breath of relief escaped Judithe then, and she nodded her agreement.
“I am sure now,” she said. “My place is here in Ehrenfest.”
“Then I will plan accordingly,” Brunhilde replied with a gracious smile. “But, Judithe, if you plan to marry within Ehrenfest, you cannot have your grandfather escort you. It would raise too many questions. You must make a decision before your graduation.”
“Yes, my lady,” Judithe nodded again. That left her only two and a half seasons to make this monumental life decision, but with her way forward growing clearer, that prospect didn’t seem quite as terrifying as it had before.
**
After that, neither Brunhilde nor her parents brought up the topic of marriage partners again for several months. This puzzled her a little. She thought her parents would push their preferred candidates even harder. And she’d thought that once she resolved to marry within Ehrenfest, Brunhilde would be able to find her someone suitable right away. After all, looking for someone in Alexandria would have required using intermediaries, such as Leonore or Lieseleta, and interduchy communication was rarely swift. Brunhilde held quite a lot of social and political power within Ehrenfest and had many connections, so Judithe had assumed it would be merely a matter of arranging a meeting between the families to seal the deal.
But her next tea party invitation didn’t arrive until late autumn, when her final term at the Royal Academy was already nearly upon her.
“My apologies for making you wait so long,” Brunhilde said with a wry smile once they’d dispensed with the long formal greetings and obligatory small talk. “As you know, the archducal family has expended immense effort to expel the Goddess of Chaos. While her subordinates raged, it was difficult to seek Liebeskehilfe’s thread.”
Judithe nodded her agreement. To tell the truth, the current turmoil within Ehrenfest’s archducal family had begun long ago, many years before the dramatic events of this past spring. Judithe was too young to remember much of it, but from what she knew, it had all begun with the marriage of Lady Gabriele into Ehrenfest and the resulting rupture in relations between the Leisegangs and the archducal family. More recently, the new rift caused by the movements of the Leisegangs amidst the aftermath of the purge of the Veronica faction had been shortly followed by the bolt from the blue that was Lady Rozemyne’s move to the Sovereignty. While in the end Lady Rozemyne had left for Alexandria rather than the Sovereignty, the resulting turmoil was still the same.
Lady Charlotte was now recognized as the future aub, but she insisted that she would likely be a temporary aub only, facilitating a smooth transition between the current Aub Ehrenfest and a younger member of the family who would receive a higher quality schtappe and a more immersive upbringing in the new culture Lady Rozemyne had established. This left a path to the archducal seat open not only for Lord Melchior, but also for Lady Florencia’s youngest child, or even one of Brunhilde’s children, once she had them. Ehrenfest was once again a duchy where archduke candidates would compete for the position of aub, a situation the younger generations found somewhat perplexing.
Perhaps the greatest source of uncertainty was Lord Wilfried. Though Lady Rozemyne and the aub had both suggested he use his time to decide the future he would pursue after he was removed as future aub, more than a year had passed without him making any decision. To be honest, Judithe found it difficult to judge him for his indecision. However, an archduke candidate’s position was entirely different from a mednoble’s, even one who served the archducal family. He couldn’t afford to appear so irresolute, especially considering how much ill-will many across the duchy still bore him. And then there was all of that trouble surrounding his name-sworn scholar, Bartholt... Judithe didn't know the details, but she did know that Bartholt had recently climbed the towering staircase.
“Now that the lion’s cub has accepted Ehrwachleren’s guidance,” Brunhilde continued, “Ehrenfest has at last received the blessing of Verdraeos.”
Judithe’s ears perked up at that. She had heard that Lord Wilfried had received a summons from the aub recently, but whatever had been decided was being kept a close secret. It seemed Brunhilde at least had learned what the outcome of the conversation was.
“Here,” Brunhilde said, holding out a sound-blocking magic tool. Judithe took it and then gazed up into Brunhilde’s serious face. As she began speaking about Lord Wilfried, Brunhilde’s expression grew even more severe.
“Because Lord Wilfried was unable to make a decision for himself, the aub has decided to remove him as an archduke candidate and drop him to archnoble rank. He will become the new Giebe Gerlach and will be tasked with integrating Gerlach with its surrounding, Leisegang-led neighbors.”
“As we expected…” Judithe replied with a solemn nod. The idea of removing Lord Wilfried from the archducal family had been floated many times in the past, but the aub had remained stubbornly resistant to the idea. Lord Wilfried’s inability to clearly mark out his own path in the aftermath of Lady Rozemyne’s departure, though, had finally sealed his fate. Even Aub Ehrenfest could no longer deny that his eldest son was not suited to the position of archduke candidate. “Will he be removed from the archduke candidate course?”
Brunhilde shook her head, lips twisting into a wry smile.
“Unlike Lady Rozemyne, Lord Wilfried did not take any other courses at the Royal Academy. If he is removed from the archduke candidate course, he will be unable to graduate at all.”
Oh, that’s right. Judithe had grown so used to the atmosphere around Lady Rozemyne that she’d forgotten most archduke candidates took only one course. If Lord Wilfried had been dropped in status in his first or second year, he could have chosen a different path at the academy, but with only two terms left, he wouldn’t have enough time to take all the necessary courses to graduate.
“Couldn’t he take remedial courses to catch up?” she asked.
Brunhilde sighed and shook her head again.
“Lord Wilfried’s abilities are not suited to either the attendant or scholar courses to begin with,” Brunhilde pointed out, “And even though he has trained with the Knight’s Order regularly, it is felt that his abilities are not at the level where he could complete the entire course in only two years, even if he attended the academy outside of winter. Not to mention, the archducal family cannot afford to send away another member just yet, and if he was only able to graduate after taking remedial courses, the harsh winds buffeting him would only grow more stringent.”
Judithe frowned. It seemed unfair to judge remedial classes in this case to be equivalent to those in cases such as Angelica’s, which sprang from a true lack of scholastic effort. Lord Wilfried had been recognized every year as an honor student, so surely there was no question that under normal circumstances he wouldn’t require remedial courses. But Brunhilde was right that such nuances were likely to be overlooked by those who already had poor opinions of him.
“It has been decided that his status will change only after his graduation,” Brunhilde continued, “by which point my starbinding will be complete and Lord Melchior will have begun compressing his mana. We’ll have more leeway then to let Lord Wilfried go.”
“So that’s why the aub is keeping his decision a secret for now?”
Brunhilde nodded.
“He is allowing Lord Wilfried to continue living as an archduke candidate until then. In private, though, he is already making moves to establish Lord Wilfried’s presence in Gerlach and to reform his retainers.”
Judithe blinked in surprise.
“Reform his retainers?”
“But of course,” Brunhilde said, tilting her head and raising her eyebrows. “As a mednoble whose family serves Giebe Kirnberger, it might be difficult for you to see the distinction, but for an archnoble there is a definite difference between serving a member of the archducal family and serving an archnoble giebe. Even for some mednoble families, it might seem too great a drop in status. That is why some of Lord Wilfried’s retainers will be offered the option of serving a different member of the archducal family rather than accompanying him to Gerlach. Those who leave him will be replaced with new retainers who are willing to serve the future Giebe Gerlach.”
Judithe considered this for a moment. Even if the change in Lord Wilfried’s status was being kept secret, once the reformation of his retainers began, it was only a matter of time before everyone guessed the truth. Poor Lord Wilfried… That being said, I sympathize with his retainers too, forced to either leave their lord or change their future plans entirely.
It was the same thing that had happened to her when Lady Rozemyne’s departure from Ehrenfest had been determined.
“Have any of Lord Wilfried’s retainers made their decisions yet?”
Brunhilde’s smile returned to her face then.
“Yes, and that is what I wished to discuss with you today. With these recent changes, your possible marriage partners have increased, and I think I have found the best possible candidate for you.”
Judithe found herself twitching in shock. Did that mean…her future was about to be decided, right here and now? She found herself straightening up as a sudden nervousness ran through her.
“The ultimate decision will still be yours, of course,” Brunhilde said, then paused for a moment before continuing. “You stated that you wish to be of use to me and to Lady Rozemyne after your marriage. I suggest you marry to be of use to Kirnberger as well.”
“To Kirnberger…?” Judithe repeated, her brows furrowing in confusion. Did Brunhilde mean for her to marry one of her father’s candidates after all?
Brunhilde nodded and then continued.
“Now that the royal family has been granted the Grutrissheit again, it is only a matter of time before international trade is re-established. With Ehrenfest having secured stronger ties to the Zent through Lady Rozemyne’s efforts, Aub Ehrenfest intends to petition Zent Eglantine to reopen Ehrenfest’s country border gate. It will likely be several more years before it can again become a portal for trade, but once it does, Kirnberger’s importance will rise rapidly. Wouldn’t it be wise to use this time to prepare Kirnberger for this shift?”
Judithe felt her eyes open wide. The country border gate will open again?
She’d heard from her father and some other Kirnberger knights about Lady Rozemyne’s midnight visit, when the gate, shimmering with pearlescent light, had opened for the first time in two centuries. She remembered the profound jealousy she’d felt upon realizing she’d missed this once-in-a-lifetime sight, despite being Lady Rozemyne’s own guard knight!
Will I have another chance to see the gate move? The thought alone made her heart begin to hammer in her chest. If what Brunhilde suggested came true, then she would likely have many opportunities in the future. From the stories she’d heard growing up, the opening and closing of the gate had been a twice-yearly occurrence.
“The first step of these preparations,” Brunhilde was continuing, “will be to deepen ties between Kirnberger and the archducal family. We in Groeschel learned firsthand how important this step is to ensuring a province’s success. It is something Giebe Kirnberger desires as well.”
Judithe nodded slowly. She remembered the talks that had taken place when the giebe gave his permission for Theodore to serve as Lady Rozemyne’s temporary retainer. He had agreed out of a desire to deepen his ties to Lady Rozemyne specifically, but Brunhilde was saying that he was also interested in stronger ties with the rest of the archducal family. Because Lady Rozemyne isn't an Ehrenfest archduke candidate anymore.
“Of course, he had already established a tie through his son Alexis becoming Lord Wilfried’s retainer. Unfortunately, that tie would be severed if Alexis accompanied Lord Wilfried to Gerlach.”
Oh, that’s right. Lord Alexis is an archducal retainer too. Judithe didn’t know Giebe Kirnberger’s youngest son very well, but they’d worked and trained together on various occasions, as fellow guard knights of the archducal family.
“Is Lord Alexis one of the retainers planning to leave Lord Wilfried’s service?”
Brunhilde nodded.
“It seems that his original intention was to return home and serve in the Kirnberger Knight’s Order. However, Aub Ehrenfest has offered to take him on as a guard knight, and after some negotiation with the giebe, Alexis has accepted.”
That makes sense. Aub Ehrenfest had been slowly increasing his retainers after losing more than half of them during the purge of the Veronica faction. Of course he would be happy to take on a talented young guard knight like Lord Alexis. For Lord Alexis’s part, he would likely find the transition from serving Lord Wilfried to serving Lord Sylvester easy—much easier than he might have found it to serve, say, Lord Melchior, who spent so much time in the temple, or one of the female archducal family members. For Giebe Kirnberger’s part, this would allow him to preserve his valuable link to the archducal family.
“What would you think of becoming Alexis’s second wife, Judithe?”
The question hit her out of nowhere.
“M-marry Lord Alexis?” she stammered, unable to process the concept immediately.
Brunhilde nodded, a slow smile curling the corners of her mouth.
“It seems he held off on selecting a wife until his position became more clear, so he does not yet have a fiancée. Of course, he would not have been as desirable a marriage partner if he had remained Lord Wilfried’s retainer, but as a guard knight of Aub Ehrenfest, he will likely have many interested in becoming his wife. If you wish to go through with this, we will need to move quickly to secure your engagement.”
On the contrary, I’d like you to slow this all down! Judithe felt herself screaming internally. But after taking a deep breath, she remembered that upon receiving the invitation to this tea party, she’d felt Brunhilde had taken an unusually long time finding her a good match. Right. This is actually the end result of months of planning, she reminded herself.
Marry Lord Alexis? she asked again, this time to herself. She’d never even considered the possibility before, though it was true that she could easily sense his mana. In that way, at least, they would be a good match. And all of that Brunhilde had said, about marrying for the sake of Kirnberger…?
“If I married Lord Alexis, I would be of use to Kirnberger as well as you…and Lady Rozemyne?”
“Certainly,” Brunhilde asserted. “You will be married to my husband’s retainer, which means that you and I will be able to socialize with one another regularly as members of the same faction. And just as I have served as the intermediary between the Aub and Giebe Groeschel, you and Alexis can work together to organize the development of Kirnberger according to the Aub’s plans. As a second wife, in fact, you will likely find you have a fair amount of freedom to come and go between Ehrenfest and Kirnberger as needed.”
Judithe nodded slowly. That much made sense.
“And Lady Rozemyne?” she repeated.
Brunhilde nodded with a bright smile on her lovely face.
“As Lady Rozemyne’s former retainers, you and I both know very well what our former lady’s interests are. Kirnberger hosts both printing and papermaking workshops, and who knows how those industries will come into play once it also becomes a hub for international trade? I expect Lady Rozemyne will take a keen interest in how Ehrenfest plans to handle the industries she established, especially if she wishes to spread them internationally through Alexandria as well. You will be in a prime position to gather information for our former lady about such things—and to protect what Lady Rozemyne has blessed us with.”
As she listened to Brunhilde’s words, Judithe felt as though the doors to her future had been blown wide open. She could suddenly picture it, crystal clear, her future life serving Kirnberger, Ehrenfest, and Lady Rozemyne. There was so much to be done, and so much of it that she herself could do.
Slowly, she raised her eyes to gaze upon Brunhilde’s face, and a sudden rush of gratitude filled her heart.
“Thank you so much, Lady Brunhilde,” she whispered, feeling tears pricking at the corners of her eyes. “I feel like I’ve finally discovered my proper place in the world.”
Brunhilde’s smile deepened and warmed.
“Then shall we contact your parents and Giebe Kirnberger to begin marriage talks?”
Oh!
In all her excitement about having found a future she wanted to pursue, she’d completely forgotten this discussion was about her marrying Lord Alexis. She found herself drawing back, suddenly lost again. The future Brunhilde had described for her would be possible only because she would wield the power of a member of Giebe Kirnberger’s own family. She understood that Alexis was crucial to providing that future. But she had no idea how she felt about him personally. He was a talented knight, and as far as she knew, had served Lord Wilfried to the best of his ability. He’d always seemed a little on the serious side, if she were being honest. As for what kind of husband he would prove to be, she hadn’t a clue.
“Lady Brunhilde,” she said, frowning. “Do you think Lord Alexis will make a good husband?”
Brunhilde’s eyebrows rose, and then she leaned forward a bit and offered Judithe a confiding smile.
“I would not recommend him to you if I did not think so,” she said, looking Judithe directly in the eye. “I assure you, I collected as much information on him as I could before deciding to recommend him. He has a good reputation as a knight and as an archducal retainer, and on a personal level, I’ve not found anyone willing to speak ill of him. I think he will be dutiful to you and work hard alongside you for the sake of Kirnberger and Ehrenfest.”
Judithe considered what Brunhilde was telling her. Really, what Brunhilde was asking was that Judithe place her trust in her lady’s judgment, but hadn’t Judithe already done that months ago when she’d agreed to let Brunhilde search for her marriage partner?
She took a deep breath, straightened her shoulders, and returned Brunhilde’s strong gaze.
“In that case, yes. Please help me secure an engagement to Lord Alexis as his second wife.”
**
Two mornings later, she stepped into the knight training area only for Lord Alexis to instantly approach her. She found herself a little startled at this unprecedented attention, but she did her best not to show it. I'm here for morning training, not courtship!
“May I have a few minutes of your time, Judithe,” he said once they’d exchanged the typical noble greetings, and then he held out a sound-blocking magic tool.
“Of course, Lord Alexis,” she said, taking hold of the offered tool. She saw a few heads turning their way but tried to ignore them.
“I expect you already know what I wish to speak to you about,” he said, favoring her with a serious smile.
She returned the smile, studying his features. He wasn’t bad to look at. He had that in his favor, at least.
“Has Lady Brunhilde contacted you and the giebe?” she asked. “She has reached out to my parents already as well.”
His brows drew together, increasing the seriousness of his air.
“It seems likely we will end up engaged, but I wanted to hear your thoughts on the matter before our families arrive for winter socializing. Are you truly okay with being married to me?”
Judithe blinked a few times.
“You’re the son of Giebe Kirnberger. My father is a mere knight of your father’s knight’s order. It is a great honor that your family would even consider marrying you to me.”
His smile disappeared completely then, and he sighed.
“You need to stop thinking like that, or you’re going to get taken advantage of.”
“W-what do you mean?” Judithe stammered as her eyes went wide.
Instead of answering, though, Lord Alexis merely frowned at her for a few moments and then asked her a question.
“Why did you agree to open talks of marriage with me?”
“Well… I wish to keep serving the archducal family of Ehrenfest, and Lady Brunhilde told me that if I married into Giebe Kirnberger’s family I could help prepare Kirnberger to once again become a hub of international trade while deepening ties between Kirnberger and the archducal family…” She trailed off, suddenly realizing that she was making it sound as though there was nothing she found personally attractive about Lord Alexis. She was wracking her brains for some way to fix it when he spoke up again.
“Judithe,” he said, no longer frowning, but not smiling either. “I couldn’t ask for anything more in a wife than that she place the needs of Kirnberger above her own ambitions. Both my father and I are very willing to accept this engagement…as long as it is what you truly want.”
My own ambitions? Judithe thought. My only ambition is to do my best for Ehrenfest and Kirnberger and Lady Rozemyne…
“Up until I heard from my father, I assumed you planned to marry into Alexandria,” Lord Alexis said, studying her face. “You have the opportunity to serve the aub of a greater duchy—an aub that many consider to rank higher than the zent herself. Are you sure that marrying me is what you yourself have chosen? You aren’t being forced into it by…pressure from above?”
Oh! Does Lord Alexis think that Lady Brunhilde is pressuring me into this marriage for her own purposes?
“No, no,” Judithe rushed to clarify. “That’s not the case at all. I decided for myself that, as greatly as I admire Lady Rozemyne, Alexandria wasn’t the place for me…” She found herself suddenly unable to meet his eye, and her gaze dropped to the floor between them as her cheeks warmed. “I want to be near Kirnberger… My family is there, and the country border gate.”
She didn’t think Lord Alexis would need any further explanation. She guessed that anyone from Kirnberger would understand—that sense of pride and awe she felt every time she saw the country border gate, glowing with its mysterious beauty, and knew that she had a hand in protecting it.
“I see.”
The thoughtful note in his voice made her look up finally. He was still regarding her with a serious expression, but it now held the hint of a smile again.
“But, Lord Alexis, are you sure you’re okay with me? Lady Brunhilde told me that you would have many other marriage offers. Wouldn’t your family like to take their time and consider the matter more?”
He raised an eyebrow, his expression turning from serious to bemused.
“I’ve had other offers,” he admitted, “but you are far and away the best match I could hope to make in my current situation.”
“Lord Alexis?”
He gave a pained smile followed by a dry laugh.
“You have close ties to the archducal couple of Alexandria and the backing of the second wife of Ehrenfest. I’m just the youngest son of a giebe and his second wife…and a retainer who has already failed his lord.” His smile turned bitter at this. “I’ve done nothing to deserve being rescued by you and the archducal family. My only value to any of you is as a connection to Kirnberger.” Judithe remembered her earlier words and opened her mouth to argue, but he held up a hand to forestall her. “I am happy to accept that, if you already have. And I will make you a promise.”
“A promise?” Judithe repeated.
“Yes,” Lord Alexis said, the bitterness draining from his expression to be replaced by determination. “I promise to work hard alongside you, for the sake of Kirnberger and Ehrenfest.”
Judithe felt her own face breaking into a smile as her cheeks filled with faint color.
“Then I will promise you the same, Lord Alexis,” she said. “For the sake of Kirnberger, and Ehrenfest.”
**
The meeting between their families went off without a hitch, largely due to Lady Brunhilde’s prior groundwork, and shortly after winter socializing began, she and Lord Alexis were formally engaged.
She found herself often reaching up to finger the multi-colored feystone that now hung around her neck, reminding her constantly, faintly of her new commitment.
There was one worry that remained to her… How would Lady Rozemyne react when she learned that Judithe planned to stay in Ehrenfest? Would she be very disappointed? Or—what Judithe feared even more—would she not care at all?
I was never the most important among her retainers. I know that. And surely in Alexandria she will find many new, more-talented archknights to serve her.
She waited nervously for socializing season to begin, hoping that eventually she would have a chance to meet with Lady Rozemyne.
She should have guessed that a Royal Academy term with Lady Rozemyne in attendance would be anything but normal. Long before Judithe could have had any expectation of being able to speak to her former lady, it seemed like all hell had broken loose. After the crisis in Alexandria, the disappearance of Lady Rozemyne, the multi-duchy bride-stealing ditter match, and Lady Rozemyne’s eventual reappearance, Judithe wouldn’t have been surprised if Lady Rozemyne had forgotten her existence entirely.
But in truth, she hadn’t. Though the Interduchy Tournament was fast approaching, and the Ehrenfest and Alexandria dorms were both in a rush to prepare themselves, a tea party invitation at last arrived from Lady Rozemyne. She’d socialized a few times with Lady Charlotte and Lord Wilfried that term, but this invitation was directed to her former retainers in the Ehrenfest dormitory: Judithe, Philine, and Bertilde.
As she took her seat in Alexandria’s tea party room, Judithe discovered that once again her hand had crept up to gently stroke the feystone at her throat. Please… she found herself asking, though she didn’t know exactly what she was asking for.
“Congratulations on your engagement, Judithe,” Lady Rozemyne said with a glowing smile once the opening pleasantries were completed. “I heard from Charlotte that you will be marrying Alexis, Wilfried’s guard knight.”
Judithe smiled, wondering if Lady Rozemyne knew that Lord Alexis would soon quit Lord Wilfried’s service to serve Aub Ehrenfest instead. It was odd to imagine Lady Charlotte and Lord Wilfried keeping such a thing from their sister, but she was a citizen of an entirely different duchy now. Judithe still struggled to remember that distinction herself.
If I’d gone to Alexandria, my siblings would have had to treat me that way too…
“Thank you, Lady Rozemyne,” she said. “Um…Lady Rozemyne, my sincerest apologies for not following you to Alexandria.”
She gazed at her former lady, watching closely for her reaction. Lady Rozemyne tilted her head to one side a little and then gave it a shake.
“There is no need for you to apologize, Judithe. I understand your decision. Your family is in Ehrenfest. You would be all alone in Alexandria. I at least have some of my family there with me.” As Judithe watched, Lady Rozemyne’s slender fingers reached up to fondle her own engagement feystone, a massive rainbow-colored one nestled deeply within delicately worked gold. “Do you believe you will be happy, married to Lord Alexis?”
Judithe didn’t even hesitate a moment to answer.
“Yes, Lady Rozemyne,” she said, her face relaxing into a great big smile. “I really do.”
Lady Rozemyne’s smile matched hers in brightness, though Judithe knew she would never match her former lady’s stunning beauty.
I hope, at least, I can match her in happiness.
**
As the years passed, Judithe watched her home province gradually transform. The histories taught that Kirnberger had once been one of the wealthiest and most influential regions in all of Eisenreich but had dwindled into obscurity with the sudden closing of the country border gate.
“Now, we will see it rise again,” she told Lord Alexis on the day that Aub Ehrenfest at last secured the Zent’s agreement to reopen it.
“Now, we will make it rise again,” he corrected her with a determined smile.
It was hard work, harder than Judithe had ever expected back when Brunhilde had first proposed it—much, much harder than being a guard knight had ever been. There were endless tea parties with Brunhilde, gathering and exchanging information, feeling out the wills of their respective families. She’d never expected that sometimes she would be expected to challenge her former lady, to stand firm on some point that would be to Kirnberger’s benefit.
Standing up to Brunhilde is the scariest thing I’ve ever done! she thought, trembling, the first time she was called upon to do it.
But she did it all the same. Because she and Alexis had promised, that they would both work hard for the sake of their home. Every day, her husband was up at the castle, not merely guarding Aub Ehrenfest but also building his ties with the other archducal retainers, gathering information, passing it on to Judithe and his father. She would have felt ashamed to do any less.
Occasionally—very occasionally—she had the opportunityto meet with Aub Alexandria and her consort. The upcoming opening of the Kirnberger border gate was of great interest to all of the aubs, but Lady Rozemyne had negotiated with Lord Sylvester to ensure she personally would have a say in how the printing and papermaking industries might be spread internationally once the gate was opened. Several meetings were held at the duchy border gate between Ehrenfest and Alexandria, and Giebe Kirnberger usually requested that Judithe take part as his representative.
“Father knows that you always do your best for Kirnberger’s sake,” Lord Alexis explained to her the first time the giebe’s request arrived in the form of a magic letter. He added, with a smile, “He also knows that Lady Rozemyne’s mood will be greatly improved by the chance to meet with her former retainer.”
His words had brought a blush to Judithe’s cheeks, but they had proven true all the same. It sounded impossible that even with her new archnoble status Judithe would be allowed to speak up in a meeting between two aubs, but the first time she did, Lady Rozemyne turned a warm look on her and urged her to share her thoughts.
“My, Judithe,” her former lady had said after the meeting had ended. “You spoke so eloquently about Kirnberger’s needs. I’m proud to see how you’ve grown.”
“Your face is practically glowing,” Lord Alexis had whispered to her as they accompanied Aub Ehrenfest out of the meeting room.
“I can’t help it!” Judithe had whispered back, raising her hands to press them against her rounded cheeks. Lady Rozemyne is proud of me!
When the day finally arrived for Zent Eglantine to visit Kirnberger and open the teleporter to another country for the first time in more than two centuries, Judithe and Lord Alexis were both there… Along with the entire archducal family of Ehrenfest, and after some heavy negotiation, Lady Rozemyne and Lord Ferdinand.
“Mother,” her daughter Diannea asked from where she was seated before Judithe on her highbeast. She was Judithe’s eldest and had only just been baptized this past winter. “Have you ever seen the gate opened before?”
It was almost third bell, the time that the zent had notified them she planned to arrive, so all of those present had taken to the air on their highbeasts. This both allowed them a better view and left more space below for Kirnberger’s commoners to gather. No one was to be left out of witnessing this once-in-a-lifetime event.
“No, I haven’t,” Judithe told her, stroking her daughter’s crimson hair. It looks rather like Brunhilde’s, Judithe thought, gazing over at where the second wife of Ehrenfest hovered with her own children. Of course, just like Brunhilde, Lord Alexis was descended from the Leisegangs, so perhaps it wasn’t so surprising Judithe’s daughter had hair like hers.
“Have you, Father?”
Lord Alexis’s highbeast floated beside them, and on his other side flew his first wife, who had married into Ehrenfest from Blumefelt a few years ago.
“I have not,” he said, smiling over at them both.
“Do you see Lady Rozemyne over there?” Judithe said, leaning forward and pointing ahead of them to where Aub Alexandria’s group waited. Judithe’s family was here today as part of Giebe Kirnberger’s entourage, so they were positioned just behind the two archducal groups. “Did you know that she was the first person to activate Kirnberger’s border gate since it was closed two centuries ago?”
“Yes, Mother,” her daughter sighed, sounding a little exasperated. “You’ve told me a million times already.”
Beside them, Lord Alexis laughed while Judithe tried to decide whether to join him or scold their daughter for being rude.
Just then, the gate began to glow, and everyone immediately fell silent. As the rainbow light shone brighter and brighter, sparkling even in the morning sun, exclamations of delight and awe rose from the nobles around them, while down below the commoners shouted and clamored. Then the gate began to move. Its triangular roof parted, and from it poured Zent Eglantine, accompanied by a large group of retainers and guard knights.
“Look, Diannea,” Judithe cried. “There’s the zent!”
They watched as Zent Eglantine descended to greet the two aubs, and then she used a voice amplification magic tool to announce that she would now be opening Kirnberger’s gate to establish ties with the selected country. It was one Judithe had never heard of before all this, though now she felt she knew it forward and backward, even without having visited before. I always hated studying, but for some reason learning new things to help Kirnberger was easy.
When the zent finished speaking, she and her retainers flew up to the border gate. From a distance, Judithe watched as the zent pulled out her schtappe and then chanted, “Grutrissheit!”
A beautiful book, just like the High Bishop’s bible in the temple, appeared in Zent Eglantine’s hand. Judithe couldn’t hear what the zent said after that, but after a minute a magic circle floated up into the air and then began spinning above the border gate.
“Look!” Judithe cried again, whether to Diannea or Lord Alexis or even just to herself, she wasn’t sure.
“It’s so pretty!” her daughter exclaimed.
“It is,” Judithe agreed, and there were tears in her eyes.
“At last,” she heard her husband murmur beside her, echoing her own sentiments, but she didn’t tear her gaze away from the gate, not for one moment.
Slowly, slowly, ever so slowly, the massive gate split open, glowing with multi-colored light and making the air around them shake with its deep rumble. Slowly, slowly, through the growing gap, a teleportation circle became visible, and on its other side a white sand desert.
A cheer rose from the crowd, and Judithe’s voice rose along with it.
“Today, a new chapter begins,” Zent Eglantine’s voice rang out again, “for Kirnberger and for Yurgenschmidt!”
As the nobles all raised their schtappes in the air, Judithe looked over toward her husband and found that he was smiling at her.
We did it, she thought. Then she turned her gaze forward, taking in Brunhilde, Aub Ehrenfest, Lady Rozemyne, Zent Eglantine, and then looking beyond them, all the way to the other side of the gate, toward a mysterious place none of them had ever visited before.
But someday I will, she told herself then, and she knew it was true.