II
The Independent Cavalry Regiment finished mopping up the straggling imperial soldiers, then turned towards Windsome Castle. After their victory against the Crimson Knights, the soldiers were in high spirits. They could be heard excitedly discussing their pay, with laughing retorts not to blow it all on drink. There was only one member of the whole company looking glum.
How many sighs is that now? Claudia wondered as Olivia heaved yet another spectacular sigh. She sat astride the black horse on Claudia’s right, stroking its neck half-heartedly and staring blankly into space. The black horse, perhaps out of concern for its master, from time to time gave an encouraging whinny.
“Oh, thank you,” Olivia told it. “Don’t worry about me, though. You’re such a sweet horse, aren’t you, Comet? Here’s a present for you.” She reached into her bag, her hands restless, and pulled out a cookie.
When did she name the horse?! Claudia thought, incredulous. And why does it get a cookie just for that! She stared as Olivia sniffed at the cookie, then decided that, for future peace of mind, this was a moment where she ought to intervene.
“Major,” she said, “I hate to tell you this, but I don’t think horses—or rather, Comet, here, eats cookies.”
“Don’t be silly,” Olivia replied, brushing her off.
Claudia took a breath, then tried again. “If you do want to give it something, perhaps some candied potato would be better?”
“But cookies are obviously better than candied potato,” Olivia said, adding as she held the cookie out to Comet that they didn’t even rot your teeth. Ashton, riding alongside the other two, stared despairingly at Olivia. Claudia knew exactly how he felt.
But then Comet ate the cookie. Without even a moment’s hesitation.
What is up with this horse? Claudia thought as she watched it crunch away on the cookie. She wasn’t especially knowledgeable about horses, but she was sure that horses were supposed to sniff their food before they decided whether it was edible. Comet, meanwhile, had immediately swallowed the cookie. She watched as Olivia and the horse stared into each other’s identical ebony eyes. The interaction had gone beyond sweet and was starting to feel a little creepy.
Wait, wait... I’m getting sidetracked, Claudia thought. It was no good wondering about Comet’s peculiarities all day. She turned back to Olivia, who was fiddling with her reins.
“Major,” she began, “I would really appreciate it if you’d just tell me why you’re so unhappy. It’s not something hard to talk to me about, is it?”
“No, nothing like that,” Olivia said, shaking her head firmly.
“Then what is it, ser? I just want to help you—it’s my duty to do so, as your aide.”
“Hm...” Olivia mumbled. There was a pause, then she began haltingly, “Well it’s just, Rosenmarie got away, right? Even though I swore I was going to kill her.”
“Yes, that’s true.” Claudia remembered how she had rushed to Olivia’s side on that day, and how Olivia had looked standing there amongst the scattered corpses, staring blankly up at the sky as the ebony blade in her hand dripped with blood. From then until now they had been tidying up the remains of the defeated army. In the end, there had been no chance to go after Rosenmarie.
“So it’s all ruined!” Olivia said, shaking her head furiously before burying her face in her arms.
“What are you talking about?” Claudia demanded. She was probably speaking out of turn, but in this case, it felt justified, so completely and utterly did she not understand what Olivia was on about. “All right, so Supreme Commander Rosenmarie got away. That was only after you left her grievously wounded, was it not?”
“But I didn’t kill her,” Olivia grumbled. Claudia had never seen her look so dejected. Why she was so hung up on this one point, Claudia couldn’t fathom. Ashton kept throwing them furtive glances, apparently wondering about what they were talking about.
“All right,” Claudia conceded, “but that doesn’t alter the fact of our victory. We got the remnants of their army, and we liberated the region. There’s no reason to be depressed.”
Olivia absorbed this for a moment, then replied, “But what if Mr. Fish Face won’t let me into the library because I couldn’t kill Rosenmarie?”
For a moment, Claudia was lost for words. The reason for Olivia’s unhappiness now made perfect sense. She had convinced herself that she wouldn’t be able to get permission to enter the library just because Rosenmarie had survived. The corners of Claudia’s mouth twitched as she felt both relief over finally understanding what it was that troubled Olivia and exasperation that it was something so ridiculous. She forced herself to assume a serious expression.
“I have good news for you, Major,” she said. “Your achievements on the battlefield are already so incredible, you’re already practically a figure of legend, a he—” Claudia cut off with a cough of embarrassment. Olivia looked at her in confusion.
“A what?” she asked.
“Um, look, the point is,” Claudia rushed on, “when Mr. Fish Face hears about all your exploits, I’m sure he’ll be more than happy to provide a reference for you.”
“Really? Even though I didn’t kill Rosenmarie?” Olivia asked, her ebony eyes staring imploringly into Claudia’s. It was the first time Claudia had seen her look so defenseless. She actually looked like an ordinary girl.
“Really, ser. And even if Mr. Fish Face does try to say no...” Claudia began, as Neinhardt’s affected little smile floated up vividly in her mind.
“Then what?” Olivia prompted, swallowing loudly.
“Then I will make him change his mind, even if I have to hold a blade to his throat,” Claudia said, clapping a hand to her breast to emphasize to Olivia that there was nothing to worry about. She was perfectly resolved now that, even if she didn’t have a blade to hand, on the off chance Neinhardt tried to withhold his consent, she would grab him by the throat until he behaved. The fact that he outranked her was irrelevant.
“Claudia, will you really? Really, actually for real?” Olivia gasped, leaning out so far towards Claudia that their foreheads almost collided. Uncontainable joy seemed to radiate from every inch of her.
“B-Back off a bit!” Claudia spluttered. “Of course. As a knight, I would never go back on my word. It will depend on how the war goes from here, of course, but I’m sure we can get some time off. Then I’ll accompany you to the capital.”
“Got it! Oh, I know I can count on you, Claudia,” Olivia said, then leaned forward to hug Comet’s neck. “Did you hear that, Comet?” while cheerfully nuzzling the horse. Comet whinnied, then flicked its tail high through the air. Claudia watched the two of them with a smile, then realized Ashton was looking at her like he had something to say.
“Was there something you wanted to add?” she asked.
“Um,” he began hesitantly, “I just wondered if I could go with you. I know that as a commoner I can’t go into the library, of course...”
“Well, I don’t see any reason why not...” Claudia said, looking at Olivia.
“Huh?” she said, looking between them. “Obviously you’re coming too, Ashton! You’re going to use your local expertise to treat me to the best cake in the capital, right? Just like you promised back in Canalia.” She gave Ashton a sunny smile and added, “I haven’t forgotten!” as he tried to work out a response.
“Th-That’s right, I did,” he said with a nervous laugh. “Got to make sure we get you all the best cake with that local expertise!” Claudia hadn’t forgotten that conversation either. A commoner wouldn’t normally be able to afford a luxury like cake, but now that Ashton was a warrant officer, it shouldn’t burn too much of a hole in his purse. She had to wonder, therefore, why his face had gone so stiff, and why his eyes were now flicking around guiltily.
That’s odd... Is he hiding something? she wondered. Just then, there was a gust of cold wind that brought with it a cloud of fine sand. Claudia held down her hair as the wind tried to catch it, looking around at the excessive commotion it had caused amongst the soldiers. In the distance, she saw that the peaks of the Esteria Mountains were dusted with white.
“That late in the year already...” she said.
“It’s just going to get colder and colder now,” Ashton agreed quickly. It was such an obvious attempt to change the subject that Claudia smiled.
“I hope we can get to the library before winter comes!” Olivia said. Her eyes didn’t see the scene in front of them. They were looking at something, somewhere, far away.
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