Chapter Twelve: Light and Darkness
I
Soft afternoon light poured in through the window. Blood had returned to Galia Fortress and was lying on the sofa in his workroom. He was so preoccupied that he didn’t notice himself letting out a massive sigh.
How am I supposed to respond to a request like that...? Still lying down, he reached for a cup of tea left on the table. But he couldn’t reach it. He kept trying, stretching as hard as he could without getting up, when—
“What are you doing?” said a cool voice. Blood craned his neck around to look behind him and met Lise’s exasperated gaze.
“How long have you been watching?”
“Oh, not long. Now, what are you doing, ser?”
Blood hesitated, then said honestly, “Trying to drink my cold tea.”
Lise’s voice grew several degrees chillier. “I can see that much, ser. What I wanted to know was why you wouldn’t just sit up.”
Blood had to think about this. Good question. Though he felt like a mouse staring down a hungry snake, he arrived at an answer. “Because, um, if I get up, I lose?”
Lise made an unintelligible noise that did not sound like an appropriate way to address a superior officer. He knew he ought to reprimand her, but his body, instead of listening to him, jumped up stock straight.
Was I always the sort of guy who did everything a woman told him? As he entertained such pointless thoughts, a cup of tea came sliding into view. His own tea cup was still on the table. The one in front of him was steaming.
As he stared blankly at it, Lise said, “It’s getting cold.”
“R-Right...” Blood muttered, scratching his nose and avoiding her gaze to hide his mounting embarrassment.
Lise cleared away the cup on the table. As she did so, she asked, in the tone of one making small talk, “So, are you going to say yes to the Azure Knights?”
A week had passed since the shocking message had arrived. The decision of what to do about it had been left to him, but it wasn’t like choosing what to have for lunch.
“Well, whatever I think, it seems like you’re against it, Captain.”
“Huh?!”
He had vaguely suspected as much from the way she was talking, but her reaction confirmed it.
Lise looked at a patch of floor to his side and said reluctantly, “The might of the Azure Knights is legendary across the continent, and given how many commanders we’ve lost—first among them Marshal Cornelius—it’s no exaggeration to say they could be the Royal Army’s salvation. So I’m not against it, exactly...”
Blood waited for her to continue.
“The thing is,” Lise said, lowering her voice and speaking more cautiously, “until a week ago, we were enemies. Even if one fully understands our circumstances, it isn’t easy to set aside emotion. Chances are, many would not be happy about it if we were to accept their plea for aid.”
She was probably right. It would be a tall order to get the troops to accept the Azure Knights. Having lost many of his soldiers and friends to them, he understood how they would feel.
“Even so, we can’t just say no to them,” he replied. “Even if it brings the wrath of our fallen comrades down on our heads.” Lise nodded, her mouth tight. “Any movement from the Azure Knights?”
“No, ser. They are standing by at the location we designated. I still can’t believe they came through the Black Sea...”
Blood agreed wholeheartedly. The Black Sea, one of the realm’s three most perilous forests, was so dangerous that even the most seasoned hunters would not go near it. It was common knowledge that none who set foot inside ever returned alive. For the Royal Army, it served as a sort of natural fortification. As such, they had never entertained the possibility of an invading imperial force coming through it, nor the Royal Army invading by way of the shadows beneath its boughs.
“Just goes to show how desperate the Azure Knights must have been. You don’t turn your back on your country unless you’re fully committed.”
Blood had been on the verge of betraying his country more than a few times for the sake of the Second Legion. He couldn’t help but understand.
“We are going to take them in, then?”
Blood, finding himself pushed into a decision by Lise, nodded to her to continue. As he did so, he observed wryly to himself that he was that sort of guy.
“Where should we meet with them?”
“Here at Galia Fortress should work.”
“I agree, ser.”
“One thing, though,” Blood added. “They only get a retinue of a hundred soldiers. That’s nonnegotiable.”
He knew that the imperial army had limited Paul to a hundred soldiers when he went to Kier Fortress for the prisoner exchange. This was his idea of irony.
It won’t give me a measure of their commander. On the other hand, though, if he won’t even tolerate this, he’s not worth allying with. Even if the Azure Knights were supposed to be the empire’s mightiest.
He and Lise went on talking through taking in the Azure Knights until they had most of it nailed down. Then, Lise opened her mouth as though remembering something.
“I forgot the most important point. I think we’ll have to send an emissary so that no unnecessary confusion arises along the road.”
“Of course. But the question is, who...”
The Azure Knights’ commander was young, a sort of hero of the age. He might have come to them for help, but it would show lack of courtesy for Fernest to not send someone worthy. The first person who came to mind was Olivia, who was acquainted with Felix, but Blood immediately eliminated her as a candidate. For the sake of etiquette, this would demand formal behavior, and it seemed unfair to put the onus of that on Olivia. Even if he did ask her, this time she’d probably run as fast as her legs could carry her.
If only the Man in the Iron Mask were here, I could’ve just off-loaded it onto him... he thought, picturing Brigadier General Otto back when he was still alive. Hmm. I guess he’d be up to the job.
“Do you have someone in mind, ser?” Lise asked.
“Yeah, I’ll have Major General Neinhardt go.”
Lise was only too happy to agree to this.
“Felix von Sieger’s supposed to be quite dashing, and Major General Neinhardt is too handsome by half. They should get along well enough.”
“Ser, please don’t tell me you chose him for his looks.” The chill in Lise’s voice was back. Who knew what terrifying scolding would await him if he admitted she was right?
“Pfft. Like I’d do that,” Blood said emphatically. “I recognize Major General Neinhardt’s mediation skills, that’s all. Their looks are just a coincidence.”
“I don’t know...” The doubt did not fade from Lise’s eyes.
The day came. Tensions within Galia Fortress were at an all-time high. As the Azure Knights came in through the gates, the soldiers of the Royal Army stood straight and immobile, watching them with eyes that were cold and grim.
“It’s the reaction we expected. If they’d wanted to, they could have killed us three times over,” Matthew said, sounding amused as his eyes flicked back and forth. He probably really was having fun. He had always had a certain liking for danger.
Felix let out a small sigh. “We came here to negotiate, not fight. Be sure not to incite violence.”
“I’m sure none of the Azure Knights would ever act against your wishes, my lord...” Matthew said. “Does that hold true even if the other side provokes us?”
“Naturally. I ask for moderation,” Felix said sternly. Matthew shrugged and said no more.
In the short distance after he passed through the gate, Felix sensed an unusually powerful murderous intent from three soldiers in particular. Matthew had said what he did because he’d felt it too. It was a sign of the absolute discipline maintained by Blood Enfield—the man with whom they were to negotiate—that the soldiers were not pointing their spears at them. Felix walked on pretending to be oblivious while maintaining a minimum level of caution.
That looks like... He picked out Captain Katerina Reinas, the aide of Major General Neinhardt, who had guided them to the fortress. As she saluted with her left hand he saw the gleam of a brand-new ring that definitely hadn’t been there before.
“I have brought Lord Sieger.”
“Show him in.”
He followed Katerina into the room. On the other side of a round table in the center, a man saluted him. Felix, going off what he had heard of Blood’s appearance, knew that this was he—the man he would be negotiating with.
Felix walked up to the table, then returned the salute.
“Thank you for granting me an audience despite the unreasonable nature of my request. I am Felix von Sieger, formerly a general in the imperial army.”
“I’m General Blood Enfield of the Royal Army.”
After they introduced themselves, Katerina made her farewells and left the room, shutting the door behind her. Blood invited Felix to sit down opposite him before settling into his own chair.
“I’m not one to mince words, so I’ll cut straight to the point. What exactly is your purpose here, General?”
The last thing Felix wanted was to dance around the point. He answered honestly.
“Darmés usurped the throne. I mean to settle things with him.”
“Get rid of him, you mean?”
“Precisely.”
Blood folded his arms, clearly troubled. “From what my sources tell me, Emperor Ramza willingly conducted the coronation ceremony. I find it hard to believe that the commander of the Azure Knights would incite a rebellion just because the new emperor isn’t to his taste. Add to that the matter of the undead, and I have to wonder—just what is going on in the empire?”
Felix took a few moments before he replied. “You’ll have to excuse me. It’s a long story.”
Blood replied with a nod, which Felix returned. Then he began to relate what happened since he and Olivia had parted ways at Listelein Palace. He recounted how, when he broke into Ramza’s quarters to rescue him, Darmés had been lying in wait for him, and the terrible truth Darmés had revealed to him. He had tried to cut the man down, but Darmés had used some mysterious art to thwart him. He finished his story there. The look on Blood’s face had turned bitter.
“There’s a lot I’ll have to ask you about in more detail, but you’re saying that ultimately, Emperor Ramza had nothing to do with this war and it was Darmés pulling strings from the shadows all along?”
“I am.”
“Right...” Blood mused. “Well, I’ll be damned.” A stretch of silence followed this. Felix looked down at the cup of tea in his hand.
“If I had only noticed there was something wrong with His Imperial Majesty sooner, I might have been able to prevent a pointless war...”
“No point in worrying about what-ifs now.”
Blood was absolutely correct. Regrets over the past would never change the future.
“Excuse me. I was being foolish.”
Felix lowered his head, but Blood waved him off, saying, “The other thing I don’t understand is why you’re seeking protection from Fernest. You couldn’t call us a great nation these days, not even to be nice. If you wanted the protection of a great nation, you could have turned to Sutherland. Wouldn’t asking me for leave to pass through our lands have been the best option for the Azure Knights?”
Felix had had the question posed to him by Balboa, so he had an answer ready.
“A nation of united city-states functions well enough as a political entity in peacetime, but this conceals the great possibility of dysfunction in the event of war as each city maneuvers to secure the greatest advantage. This element of uncertainty makes matters like who has the most troops seem trivial. Given I could not have expected a partnership to arise organically, it would only have ended up hindering the Azure Knights. That is why I turned to Fernest for refuge.”
Unbeknownst to both Felix and Blood, the city-states of Sutherland had already come together in an alliance that transcended advantage in order to stand against the unprecedented threat of the undead. More than a few historians would later argue that if Felix had had this information, it would have changed the course of history.
“That makes sense to me,” Blood said. “There’s a lot I don’t know about that country, but I believe your fears are justified. All the same, we in Fernest have our own share of uncertainties. For one thing, the Royal Army lost two key commanders at once in a recent battle with the undead. Given you requested an audience with me, you must know that. I’ll make no secret of it—the Kingdom of Fernest has one foot in the grave. Despite that, you didn’t go to the United City-States of Sutherland, you came to us. Why?” Blood paused meaningfully, then said, “Because we have Olivia Valedstorm. Right?”
“What makes you think that?”
Blood grinned. “Let’s call it life experience.”
Not one for stiff formality, is he? Felix thought, feeling a certain liking for Blood.
“I don’t deny it,” he admitted. “By the way, I mentioned earlier that Darmés has some shadowy power, but he isn’t a mage. That was my principal reason.”
Blood, who was in the middle of raising his cup to his mouth, stopped. His eyes rose to regard Felix.
“You don’t say? I don’t know of anyone except mages who’d be able to control the dead. But what does that have to do with Olivia?”
“I can’t say for sure as I haven’t asked her, but I think it highly likely that she understands the nature of Darmés’s powers.”
Blood crossed his legs and refolded his arms, then made a low noise in his throat. “A man of your caliber wouldn’t make such a crucial decision based only on chance. You must have solid grounds to believe it.”
Felix nodded, then explained his reasoning. Blood did not look especially happy to hear it.
“In order to defeat Darmés,” Felix concluded, “I need her knowledge.”
“Knowledge, huh...” Blood muttered. “Well, I’ll have both of you tell me more about that later. The important thing now is whether you’re prepared to fight with us against the imperial army. Though you’re no fool, General, so I don’t expect you to say you want protection but won’t fight against your former home.”
“I am prepared for that, of course,” Felix said at once, giving Blood a sharp look.
Blood bowed his head low. “It was a stupid question.”
“Please, raise your head. By your leave, however, I would like to conduct negotiations so that we may avoid pointless bloodshed. I am not the only one whose loyalties remain with Emperor Ramza. If they learn the truth, they may join us.”
“The more allies we have, the better,” Blood said. “I’ll leave that to you.”
“I cannot thank you enough for agreeing to hear me out so quickly.” Even as he spoke, Felix’s mind was already racing ahead to the next stage.
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