II
The Hall of Agnetia, La Chaim Palace
Constructed under the eye of the foremost builder of the era, the great expanse of the Hall of Agnetia was a work of art. Tonight, it glittered under the dazzling lights of the chandeliers. The dulcet strains of a string quartet provided a fine accompaniment to the many graceful dancers.
“C-Colonel Claudia! Slow down a bit!”
Claudia sighed. “Are those really the tightest steps you can manage?”
“I— What do you want from me? I’m a commoner...”
“Don’t you pull the commoner card.”
“B-But...”
In the center of the hall, Claudia danced with Ashton—her leading, him falling over his own feet trying to follow. Ellis and Evanson stood nearby, both looking thoroughly out of sorts.
“The nerve! Grasping my big sister’s noble fingers,” Ellis seethed.
“How’s she supposed to dance without holding hands?” Evanston hissed in reply.
“If I may have your attention, I will introduce our honored guest from the Kingdom of Fernest and my personal friend,” Sofitia announced, garbed tonight in a black dress rather than her usual white gown. As she finished, the great doors at the very top of a spiral staircase carpeted in azure blue swung slowly open.
“The woman of the hour makes her entrance.”
“I’ve never heard of the seraph making such a fuss over anyone before.”
“She even announced they were friends, didn’t she?”
“I heard she’s something of a beauty.”
“Surely nothing compared to the seraph.”
The generous reception Sofitia had shown Olivia was already common knowledge. All the high-ranking officers and blue-blooded nobles held their breath as they waited for a glimpse of the girl behind the rumors.
“Her Ladyship Olivia Valedstorm!” cried the man who stood in wait at the door. As his voice rang out, Olivia stepped into view, and silence fell over the Hall of Agnetia. It was as though time had stopped. The old texts of that time which remained to later generations would describe Olivia that night as “a sight of such beauty as to dazzle the eyes.” She wore the pure white ceremonial uniform bequeathed to her by King Alfonse for the journey to Mekia, while from her shoulders fell a crimson cloak emblazoned with lions. Both had been made especially by the king’s personal couturier.
Olivia descended the staircase, the heels of her military boots clicking loud and clear in the awed silence. No one breathed a word. Olivia’s beauty and nobility shone out of her, and every eye in the hall was riveted to her.
Claudia was basking in the glow of vicarious pride when beside her, she noticed Ellis’s shoulders trembling. The other woman’s eyes shimmered, and her cheeks looked flushed.
“Ellis?” Claudia whispered. “Are you feeling unwell?”
Ellis seemed not even to hear her, her eyes pointed down. Claudia was about to ask again when Evanson came up behind her.
“Colonel Claudia, I believe she’s having an episode of her condition. Don’t worry about her.”
“Her condition?” Claudia looked around and saw Evanson sighing heavily. “Oh,” she said, shaking her head, “that. This is all convoluted for me.”
Olivia had now descended the staircase and went to stand beside Sofitia. If there was a person alive who could have disputed that here stood the two most beautiful women in Duvedirica, they were not in the hall that night.
I’m sure she won’t try anything on an occasion like this... Claudia thought uneasily. Still, just in case something does happen, I’d better be ready to act right away. She looked at Olivia and Sofitia and clenched her fists.
“Everything is ready, My Seraph,” Lara murmured in her ear. Sofitia, her smile never slipping, accepted a glass from a servant and raised it halfway. Her subjects all took their own glasses in hand.
“To the prosperity of the Holy Land of Mekia.”
In response to her toast, voices rang out from around the hall.
“May the seraph be our light!”
Glasses rose and clinked, and the Hall of Agnetia lit up as the string players set into a delightful new refrain. Right on cue, the main doors to the hall swung open and servants appeared bearing platters piled with all manner of dishes. Olivia watched these with rapt attention.
“Well then, Olivia,” Sofitia said to her, “why don’t we talk over dinner?”
“Okay!” Olivia nodded repeatedly. Sofitia showed her to a table, pulled out her own chair, and sat down. Olivia positively quivered as plate after plate was laid down before her.
“Can I eat yet? Can I?”
“But of course. Please, eat as much as you like.”
Olivia didn’t need to be told twice. In the blink of an eye, the knife and fork laid on the napkin before her were in her hands and propelling food into her mouth at blistering speed.
At the dinner party back in Fernest, Sofitia had observed Olivia’s voracious appetite from a distance, and had therefore thought she knew what to expect. But now, with a front-row seat to the display, she was so captivated that for a while she forgot to speak.
“This is amazing, Seraph Sofitia!” Olivia exclaimed.
“I-I’m glad.” Recalling herself, Sofitia forced a smile. She could feel herself slipping into following Olivia’s lead. This won’t do, she told herself, and, sitting up straighter, she quickly started on a different topic.
“I’ve heard all sorts of stories of your valor, Olivia,” she said. “However did you come to possess such strength?” She posed the question despite the fact that she already knew the answer, purely to see how Olivia responded.
“Fwell, itth—”
“You can finish your mouthful first.”
Olivia nodded and gulped loudly. “Right, well. It’s thanks to everything Z taught me.”
“Was Z your master?”
“No, not my master,” Olivia said, cheerfully spearing a whole roasted fowl with her fork.
It was all just as Johann had reported. It appeared that Olivia wasn’t trying to hide anything.
“Was he your father, then?”
Olivia giggled. “I wathwaba—”
“You can finish your mouthful first.”
“I was left in the forest as a baby. I don’t even know what my parents looked like.” Olivia recounted the tale of her abandonment casually, her attention on the bird meat she was tearing into. Thinking she’d accidentally touched on a sensitive topic, Sofitia decided to change the subject.
“Olivia—”
“Aren’t you going to eat?” Olivia butted in. “All this delicious food is going to get cold.”
Sofitia paused, realizing she’d been too eager. “Very true,” she admitted, and cut off a piece of fish from a plate in front of her. She then waited until Olivia had polished off every last morsel on the table before she spoke again.
“How did you come to join the Royal Army?”
“To find Z, of course.”
“You mean this Z of yours disappeared?”
“Yep. It was sudden too.” For the first time, Olivia’s knife and fork halted, and she looked at Sofitia with a forlorn smile. In that smile, Sofitia smelled the first hint of weakness. She pushed on.
“How terrible. There’s nothing sadder or more painful than losing someone you love.”
“Do you think I’m sad and in pain?” Olivia asked.
It wasn’t the question Sofitia had expected, but she answered at once. “I can’t see why you’d go as far as joining the army if you weren’t.”
“Huh. I suppose I am, then.” Olivia stared off into the distance without moving a muscle. Sofitia coughed quietly.
“But how did joining the Royal Army help you find Z?”
“Before I enlisted, I was traveling with a human who told me that the Kingdom of Fernest had a longer history than any other country. They’d have all sorts of knowledge there, they said, so the most efficient way to get information would be to join their army.”
“I see...” It was true that information was easy to come by in the military. Having ascertained how Olivia came to belong to the Royal Army, Sofitia allowed herself a private smile. If this was all just a way for Olivia to find Z, winning her over would be relatively simple. And now that she knew Z was missing, she wanted Olivia at all costs.
“And were you able to find any clues about Z?”
“I did, sort of. But I think it’s going to take a lot longer.” Olivia smile was listless. Sofitia at last moved on to what she really wanted to say.
“I don’t believe you’re aware of this, Olivia, but Mekia has its own excellent intelligence agents.”
“You do?”
“Yes, and I flatter myself that they outperform even the empire’s shimmers.”
“Shimmers? Ohh.” Olivia looked unimpressed. “Those rats.” Apparently, she’d encountered the shimmers before. The sight of her writing the empire’s intelligence agents off as “rats” was so amusing to Sofitia that it took her considerable effort to stifle the urge to laugh before it burst out.
“Well, Mekia’s intelligence agents are better than those rats,” she said. “Let me see. I could have them turn all their energies to searching for Z, if you so desired it.”
“Would you really?!” Olivia leapt to her feet, sending her chair clattering to the ground behind her. Everyone in the room turned to look at her. Among them was Claudia, whose gaze was fixed closely on Sofitia.
What was that glow? For a split second, Sofitia thought she saw something bright flash in Claudia’s eyes.
“Really? Would you really?!” While Sofitia’s attention was on Claudia, Olivia had come up so that they were now almost nose to nose. She really was breathtakingly beautiful, Sofitia observed as she answered.
“Yes, although I would ask that you let me make a request of you first.”
“A request?” Olivia paused. “Do you want gold?”
Sofitia laughed softly. “No, not gold.” When Sofitia prompted her, Olivia, her agitation in no way lessened, sat down again. Sofitia sensed she almost had her.
“I want you to join the ranks of the Winged Crusaders,” she said.
Olivia stared at her. “Um. By joining the Winged Crusaders, you mean leave the Royal Army?”
“Precisely. Naturally, I guarantee you will be afforded all the privileges of your current rank and more besides.”
“I couldn’t really care less about rank...” Olivia mumbled, thereby revealing to Sofitia that she wasn’t a person for whom rank or power held any attraction. Additionally, it told her that Olivia’s whole heart was set on finding Z.
“A nod from you, Olivia, and I will set our intelligence agents to work at once.”
“Right...” Olivia said uneasily. She folded her arms and turned to look up at the ceiling, conflict plain on her face. Seeing that she was clearly torn, Sofitia decided now was the time to add fuel to the fire.
“As I mentioned, our agents are far more skilled in gathering information than the empire’s shimmers, or anyone in the Kingdom of Fernest. You can rely on them to get results.”
“Can I have a little while to think about it?” Olivia said at length.
“But of course.” Sofitia smiled. It would be fatal to rush things. She might not have won Olivia’s agreement, but she sensed her approach was working. She would be satisfied with that for the time being.
“By the way...” Olivia said slowly.
“What is it? We’re friends, so you needn’t hold anything back.”
“There isn’t any more food coming, is there?” Olivia rubbed her belly, her eyes fixed on the table. This time, Sofitia laughed out loud. Apparently, eating held priority over all else for Olivia right now.
“There’s plenty more still to come,” she reassured her. “And it won’t cease until your appetite is sated. I hope you’re ready.”
“You bet!”
Servants laid out plate after plate in front of Olivia, who went on shoveling their contents down her throat at even greater speeds than before. Sofitia watched her, a fond smile playing on her lips.
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