Alstair Schwartshertz's Point of View

The sun has set, and night falls on the Camellia academy. The baths have finished, but tonight the knight dorm is silent. Their usual evening jog has apparently been canceled.

This brings an unfamiliar silence over the area and makes the students stay indoors. They can sense something is wrong.

I gaze over the paper in front of me. A suggestion for a minor revision of the tax system. It's not something big, but a small minimum on how much of the taxes should be used for maintaining the territory. After Lily and the commoner made a scene it was brought up for discussion by multiple duke houses. After all, the 'future queen' had agreed that it was dishonorable not to manage your fief properly, and started demanding formal rules.

Why?

Probably to harm or mock some of the lower standing nobles who are more tightly pressed for money. Many of the lower standing nobles misuse their territories to come up with enough money to get things comparing to that of the high nobles. Still, this is the first time I'd heard Lily directly make comments about laws. I'd thought she avoided it to prevent herself from being seen as the best queen candidate.

I peer out into the courtyard on this full moon night, and find it empty. The mist will crawl in soon. The ground was still warm, but the air was chilling at an uncomfortable pace.

"Your highness."

I glance back to Gilbert who appears as quietly as usual. For how cute and cheerful he usually is, he is surprisingly good at sneaking up on you once he's done playing pretend.

I look down back over the stacks of papers in front of me.

"What is it, Gil?"

"How is the proposal coming along?" He asks calmly as he attempts to peer over my shoulder.

I put the pen down at the redwood desk and lean back in the chesterfield chair as I look back at him again.

"As well as you would expect. I've a week to finish it before father decides what to do. If I don't have a flawless proposal, then this will be shot down. No, it probably will either way. Proposals that are too kind to the lower classes don't come by often, and they get brought to reality even less. Even with our control of them, some things they'll just struggle against till the end."

I take a breath to cease my annoyance with the nobility. As usual they're selfish and power hungry. Do they have any idea how much effort is put into keeping them from ruining each other? It is an elaborate chess game with traps and pitfalls that aren't actually a part of the game.

"Lionel-sama!"

A bright female voice sounds from the courtyard. Lionel appears to be returning from the baths as Lily's companion approaches him. Interestingly Claire is right behind her as well. I'd thought the two would never get along.

Lionel stops up, and just in time for Magdalin Ruche's palm to cross his face.

Gilbert walks to the window quietly and opens it... I want to sigh at his little obsession with poking his nose into people's matters, but it's his job. I suppose there is no helping it.

"It's you fault isn't it?! You knew and you still hurt her!" Magdalin Ruche recklessly accused Lionel without thought for timing or social standing.

"That's right, Lionel-sama! You should not be half naked in front of a lady like Lady Lily!"

Hah?

I get up and glance out of the window. Gilbert grins amusedly at the words, but for me this is the first I've heard of it.

Gilbert glances to me and shakes his head with that amused smile of his. The look of amusement tells me Gil already knows what this is about.

But why would you accuse Lionel of something like that? He doesn't take fake accusations well... But though I wait for an angered expression, it never comes.

"I have not been half naked in front of Lily. We got in an argument and I took it too far. I've pleaded for forgiveness, though she may not give it. Should she deem I need punishment I will take it, but that is for her to decide and to give, miss Ruche, miss Talwen. Now, if you will excuse me, I have to prepare to leave in the morning."

He gives miss Ruche a cold look before he turns and leaves just like that, while miss Ruche stares at his back as he turns to leave with a seething look. She's Lily's follower after all, though I'm impressed with her guts to go against a high noble and slap him like that. Lionel could have gotten her punished quite badly for that. Claire is the only one with a calm mind, as she gently tugs at Magdalin's sleeve, looking a bit nervous since the situation seems to have escalated more than she expected. Understandable, with how kind Claire is. Magdalin's small body seems tense with anger, much like a small terrier looking at an intruding piece of prey.

I glance to Gilbert for an explanation.

Gilbert watches for a moment longer and then closes the window with a lingering mellow smile.

"Lionel and Lily started arguing earlier today. He was trying to convince her to marry you. Things got a little messy."

I raise an eyebrow and move back to my chair.

"How pointless. If it stood to Lily, then we wouldn't be meeting each other for anything but formalities," I murmur while taking a sip of my evening tea. The soft aroma has filled the air and keeps me awake enough to work.

As I thought, he probably likes Claire.

"I was surprised as well. To think he would suddenly make such a drastic change of opinion on the matter just from that little incident," Gil hums while watching my expression closely. The gleam in his eyes almost looks amused with my mistake.

I grit my teeth as the image of Lionel's confused and disgusted expression flashes for my eyes, and his growing coldness towards me.

"But why would he want to torture both Lily and I with such a pointless relationship?" I exaggerate. Lily would be a good queen. She is perceptive, smart and calm. The only problem is her attitude towards how you get things done. She's prideful and tries to solve things by confrontation.

"He's trying to prevent you from acting outside her code of honor. You've always been uncomfortable with Lily, and he knows as much. She's sharp enough to catch the dark sides of things and she wouldn't allow you to use it. Using our usual methods would be quite annoying, with her having the power of queen. Controlling them when they've been publicly shamed, humiliated and exiled will be quite difficult."

I glance down at the papers and sigh again. In the first place this only happened because I messed up, and in a moment of rage ended up asking Lionel to bring the injured assassin to a torturer... something that is Gil's job. I never actually talked with Lionel properly about torture, and House Tepet think themselves too proper for the use of torture...

I tried keeping Lionel nearby to talk more with him and build back up some trust, but it appears it backfired. Perhaps going back to the battlefield for a while will calm him down. After all the battlefield is a worse place than the prison torture chamber.

"If his loyalty starts swaying we can always replace him with his brother."

I slam my first against the table at Gilbert's outrageous suggestion.

"Gilbert! Don't lay a hand on him!" I sneer out at Gilbert with a slip of patience. Gilbert just stands there with a polite smile, but his eyes shine with mockery, and amusement at my dilemma. While he's probably just provocating me, even after all these years I can't fully read him, so I have to make it clear.

"I will not have him harmed," I say more calmly, but grit my teeth.

Even after all of this time, Gil still gets like this once in a while. He's still loyal beyond question, but it's a reminder, that we took something from him, that he will probably never truly forgive us for. I glance to his school bag, where I see a small bag of cookies next to it, shaped like little flowers and dinosaurs, and my stomach turns.

He still goes to that mansion, and when he does he brings those cookies. I heard he even manages the mansion now where he's come of age. How can he even go there? This unfeeling, obsessive psychopath. Is he getting closer to them to see her again?

"Gil... You should stop obsessing over Elizabeth and find a new fiancé..."

I say back, to wipe the smug look in his eyes away... And while it works, his eyes turn cold enough to send chills down my spine. It's always like that, every time I say this.

But Gil doesn't say anything. Because he can't say no, and he doesn't want to say yes... So only a tormenting silence remains.

"When Lionel returns I'll ask him for his opinion on Lily and Claire. He should have had time to consider the situation. Whatever he chooses is fine."

If just Lily didn't have Augustus as a brother, then this wouldn't have been a problem. If not for that one person, then both Lily and I could have been free.

"Hmmm~ then, if not him then what about Magdalin Ruche? Or perhaps... Helena Fox?"

Gilbert searches for a sacrifice, but he's probably just lying again, in response to my words.

"I don't care for miss Fox, but don't touch Miss Ruche. Lily adores her."

Zocria might move because of Headal. If they did then her brother would appear as well.

"How many soldiers are arriving from Headal?"

I change the subject. Considering that Gilbert gets information faster than the future lord is worrying.

"All of them."

...what?

I feel blood drain from my face at that.

"Could you... repeat that?" I request hesitantly.

"The entire Headal army. They're attempting to crush us. House Tepet has sent several letters of requests for assistance. They won't be able to outlast it on their own."

Gilbert's smile is cold and unfeeling... while cold sweat and worry run down my back. Lionel is going back to that? And... I've no choice but to let him go either.