Last Life Book 7: Chapter 5

“WHY AREN’T WE BEING allowed in?!” The Marquis shouted without the least bit of formality or respect.

He didn’t even bother getting off his horse as he addressed , which was a further sign of tactlessness and disrespect. The Marquis and his retinue had obviously just co from dinner, as we had. And judging by their flushed complexions, they had imbibed a bit more wine than us.

The nobles in the Marquis’ entourage were still in their saddles as well. But that was no surprise. They were obliged to modify their behavior to approximate that of their leader. That said, I could see that the Duke de Bauffremont’s representative wasn’t a fan of the Marquis’ behavior at all.

I had t many of these people at capital-city receptions. In other words, they knew exactly who I was, and therefore a lot of them were trying strenuously to avoid eye contact with . The Marquis’ stryker-bodyguards looked especially tense. They knew there was a real risk that they might fail their mission.

As for the disrespect... Our camp was situated on a hill, and it just so happened that the Marquis and his entourage were positioned slightly below us, even though they were on horseback. They even had to crane their necks a little bit to make eye contact with us.

“Marquis,” I said calmly, turning slightly to gesture at the neat, even rows of sharpened stakes my n had embedded into the hillside around the camp. “It seems like they might not have inford you of the situation... But I’d be happy to give you an exhaustive explanation. The fact is, there’s a war in progress. What you see behind my back isn’t a traveling circus — it’s a well-guarded military camp, in which outsiders and third parties are not welco. In order to pass these barriers, it’s essential to provide the password. Do you know the password?”

Erique de Gonry’s face looked like an overripe tomato. His eyes looked like they might pop out of their sockets. His clenched fists were trembling so bad that he literally appeared to be shivering.

No, Marquis, I thought... You’re not much like your father or your sister, are you? Except maybe in physical appearance. I see now why your dad spends so much ti with his daughter. His son’s an idiot. I wouldn’t be surprised to hear (in about twenty years or so) that the old Duke eventually decided to make his grandson his official heir.

“Do you mock ?!” The Marquis shouted.

“I wouldn’t dream of it,” I shook my head. “I repeat — we’re at war.”

“Is that why your people took control of the Citadel and forced the Marquis de Hangest’s legionaries out of it?” Marquis de Gondy launched into his attack. “Your personal banners are flying above the Citadel and Chateau Gardien! By what right do you do this?!”

“By right of conquest, of course,” I replied with surprise, watching as the Marquis’ lips began to turn blue with fury. “Chateau Gardien and the Citadel are my spoils by right.”

Unlike Gondreville, which I declined to take into my remit, the situation with the two fortresses was sowhat different. Basically, after their true owners abandoned them, they were ownerless (naturally enough).

And while the situation with Chateau Gardien was straightforward, I realized that questions might co up regarding the Citadel. Nevertheless, I preferred to live by the motto on the back of my fox amulet. It read “Here and Now!”

Here and now, the balance of power was in my favor. Anyone who wanted to dispute my rights was welco to try.

I understood, of course, that the two fortresses weren’t really of any use to at the mont — nor, for that matter, would they be much use in the future. First and foremost, I would have to settle the situation in my Margraviate. Actually, let’s be honest... First and foremost, I had to actually GET to my Margraviate!

Plus, to put it bluntly, neither fortress was much to my liking in terms of location. They lacked multiple routes of retreat, which was anathema to my fox nature. Furthermore, the fact that the Gray Reaper managed to take Chateau Gardien by assault was graphic testant to the weakness of these ancient structures.

I was actually planning to sell the fortresses, or possibly exchange them for sothing truly valuable. And I had no doubt that I would find interested buyers.

“But the Marquis de Hangest’s people — “ De Gondy tried to object.

“Were on death’s door when we walked into the Citadel’s wide-open gates,” I interrupted him. “Our healers saved them, and the poor souls are eating their fill — from OUR provisions — as we speak. And I couldn’t help noticing that the Marquis de Hangest and his circle looked quite a bit better than the n His Majesty has entrusted to them. They’re healthy, maybe even a little overweight.”

I said all this in a loud, clear voice, staring right into Louis de Hangest’s eyes the whole ti. He glared back at hatefully, but he obviously wasn’t going to object.

Unlike Marquis de Gondy, this scumbag wasn’t in any hurry to get himself killed. People like him would only strike when their target’s back was turned, and then only when they could be sure of striking a lethal blow. Once he got back to the capital, he’d complain to daddy, and the two of them would launch a sar campaign from afar. To be fair, I guess, they still didn’t really know who they were ssing with. André de Châtillon and I still had long-term plans for their family.

Prince Heinrich’s party was losing ground to the “red” party, and everybody was noticing. Plus, Susanna was keeping inford on the Craonne family’s problems. They essentially served as the financial backers for the King’s middle son, as well as the Marshal de Hangest himself.

Many Astlandic bankers who fled Atalia after Alfonso V’s aggressive policy changes had settled in Vestonia, and their arrival had shaken up the financial scene in a big way. Put simply, it was a struggle for a place in the sun.

“Are you accusing the Marquis de Hangest of sothing?” The Duke de Gondy’s son was trying to regain the initiative.

“I rely called attention to the Marquis’ marvelous physical health,” I replied. “Which is all the more remarkable after a siege of many months, during which most of the rest of His Majesty’s legion perished. Not to ntion our allies, the Bergonians.”

The people in the Marquis de Gondy’s retinue started exchanging glances. Dissatisfied comnts started to ripple out among them. The Duke de Bauffremont’s people turned to look at the Marquis de Hangest as though they were seeing him for the first ti.

They still didn’t know what we knew — what the legionaries had told us about their commander. How he and his vassals and bodyguards, supported by the strongest soldiers in the legion, took control of the scant provisions left behind after the mages fled and thereby condemned many of the common soldiers to death by starvation.

Captain Kroner had already interviewed the legion’s junior officers. Long story short, it sounded like he would soon have two more cohorts under his command. And it didn’t matter that the Marquis de Hangest was technically still their commander. I promised Kroner that I would handle any consequences myself.

Erique de Gondy started to look worried. He could see that this issue wasn’t going to be resolved any ti soon. The kid was used to having his powerful father’s na open every door for him, but this ti sothing had gone wrong. But I knew that he still had his main card up his sleeve, and when things started to turn against him, he played it without delay.

“Monsieur!” He shouted, silencing all conversation and attracting the attention of all the nobles in his entourage. “I don’t have ti to discuss the Marquis de Hangest’s appearance, or that of his n! As you rightly pointed out — we’re at war!”

Erique de Gondy straightened his back, and actually stood up in the stirrups. As a result, he and I were almost on eye level with one another. I could see the fire of victory in his eyes.

“I have co here at the order of His Highness Prince Philippe!” The Marquis thundered.

It was beginning to sound like he was announcing the end of a major epoch in world history. Overfilled as he was with pride at the mission entrusted to him, the Marquis completely failed to notice our calm, unperturbed expressions.

Although I knew, of course, that all this imperturbability was just a front: all my people were waiting impatiently to see how things would play out. In fact, they had already placed bets. Vaira told as much; it seed that not even the faintest rustle made it past her razor-sharp hearing.

“His Highness is ordering all our forces to move on the enemy imdiately and — “

I didn’t let the Marquis finish his impassioned speech.

“Monsieur — I would very much like to see this order,” I interrupted him.

The Marquis started to turn red again, but soone from his entourage quickly approached him. There was a scroll in his hands, which he passed to the Marquis. The latter nodded silently in my direction, and prepared to watch my reaction.

I wondered — what was he expecting to see? Most likely, he was hoping that my insolent face would drop into an obsequious mask once I finished reading? If so, then he was even more stupid than I thought.

I unrolled the scroll and quickly read the neat, even lines of beautiful calligraphy. I checked the seal, as well as the signature — sure enough, it was as unintelligible and befuddled as Prince Philippe himself.

After reading, I looked up at the Marquis. He was staring back at in triumph. Although a hint of uncertainty was already starting to appear in his eyes as well. After all, the expression on my face hadn’t changed at all since I started reading.

“This says that you’ve been ordered to collect all the forces at your disposal and take them urgently into battle against the Golden Lion and his legions,” I said.

“Absolutely right!” The Marquis smirked victoriously as he gestured around at our camp before continuing: “According to His Highness’ order, this entire force, as well as you and your subordinates, are obligated to report to !”

“Really?” I acted surprised as I looked back down at the order in my hands.

“You just read it for yourself,” said the Marquis mockingly. “Or are you saying you’re disobeying His Highness’ order?”

Laughter bubbled up from his entourage. It wasn’t coming from all of them, though. Those who knew already looked noticeably tense, and they were starting to understand that sothing weird was going on.

“No, of course,” I replied. “It’s just that the order ntions all the forces that are at your disposal. Which is why I’m slightly confused. What made you conclude that my people, my army, and I are at your disposal?”

Silence. It seed that the Marquis de Gondy had forgotten how to turn red. With his mouth slightly open like an enraged child, he was just staring blankly back at . Now it was my people’s turn to laugh and let out a few boisterous shouts. So of them, it seed, had just won their bets.

“And actually, there’s sothing else that confuses slightly: why are you and your people still here anyway?” I decided to keep hamring away at him. “According to this order, you should have set off, urgently, to fight the Golden Lion and his legions.”

The Marquis looked like a fish that had just been thrown onto a riverbank. His eyes bulged as he stared at , and his mouth was slowly opening and closing, opening and closing.

“This is TREASON!” He finally roared once he regained his composure. “You should all be arrested at once!”

“Silence, Marquis!” I snapped. “If you ever permit yourself to address in such a tone again, you’ll leave with no choice but to teach you so manners. And while my words sink in, I’d like you to read this order.”

At my signal, Leo von Grimm handed him the scroll that Kiko had handed after our chat with the King.

The Marquis de Gondy was confused and thrown off by standing my ground. The people behind him didn’t seem to be in any hurry to help him. Even the strykers his father had hired didn’t utter a word in his defense or make any kind of threatening gesture. The situation had escalated to the point where a duel was a distinct possibility, and if it ca to that there would be nothing they could do.

Hands shaking (maybe with rage, maybe from fear), Blanca’s brother unrolled the scroll and started to read. It was clear that he was having trouble focusing on the content of the ssage.

So I decided to help him out.

“As you’ve now read for yourself, this scroll states that His Majesty Carl III has commanded , the Margrave de Valier, to take control of my new possessions by any ans necessary, using all the people and forces at my disposal. According to this docunt, all commanders in the field are obligated to provide with any help I might require. I repeat — any help. That ans weapons, provisions, people, etc. Besides that, my orders are to refrain from fighting the Atalian army unless such fighting is directly pursuant to the completion of my mission. As you’re certainly aware, I’ve already been forced to act against His Majesty’s will on several occasions. I assu, Marquis, that I don’t need to explain to you whose orders carry greater weight for ?”

We were still supposed to go to Marshal de Clairmont’s aid as soon as possible, of course, but I decided not to ntion that. We still had a lot to do in any case. We needed provisions for our armies and fodder for our animals. We needed warm clothing for the soldiers, because winter would set in much earlier than it usually did in Vestonia. We needed to wait for Baron de Bacri, who had gone out to replenish our army’s ranks. And a lot of other things besides. Long story short, we were preparing to leave as fast as we possibly could.

The Marquis’ trump card was a bust. And everybody knew it. Blanca’s brother was a pitiful sight. He handed the scroll back to my squire in silence, and was about to turn his horse and leave when I stopped him again.

“Monsieur, we’re not quite finished!”

I glared at him, then at his entourage, as I continued:

“I must remind you and your people that the Citadel belongs to by right of conquest. We’ve already received complaints that so of your people have been trying to enter areas they have no right to visit. If this should happen again, I’ll be forced to take drastic asures in regard to those who violate our rules.”

I was making it clear who was in charge, and also issuing a warning not to abuse my hospitality. Sure, the bit about the complaints was ad-libbed, but considering how arrogantly our “guests” had been behaving, I knew there would be a suitable example of such behavior sowhere if I needed it.

“Of course, Monsieur,” said the Marquis in a flat tone of voice, which suggested that holding his hatred in was taking every ounce of his remaining strength. “I assure you, you won’t hear any more complaints of this nature.”

As I watched their cavalcade return from whence they ca, and listened to the animated discussions among my commanders, I couldn’t help but smile.

That, I thought, was just the first round of negotiations.

That night, as I chipped away at the pile of papers on my desk, I listened carefully to everything the first-born had to report. Vaira told that while I was unconscious, our “guests” had been extrely insistent with my commanders, especially the Viscount de Leval.

After all, he was the original commander of our unit. That only changed later, during the campaign. By the way, it turned out that when his vassals told Prince Philippe and his court about our battle with the Atalian cavalry, they assured everyone that the victory was due entirely to their master’s genius for field command.

I have to give the Viscount his due, though — when he found out about it, he actually seed like he was about to kill them. Long story short, it seed like Pierre would probably be visiting very soon to talk about what had happened. And that he’d be bringing his little friends in to explain themselves.

As for ... I didn’t give a damn about who thought who was the genius field commander and who wasn’t. I was busy with an entirely different set of problems. For example: the golden parasite in my energy system, or the werefox inheritance that I had learned about. Plus, I was annoyed that I STILL hadn’t managed to actually set foot in my new lands, and yet I was being required to go help in soone else’s war. Things weren’t turning out the way I had imagined...

Sohow, without even noticing it, my consistent policy of trying to avoid other people’s conflicts had ended up landing right in the middle of this war. And it wasn’t even my war... Worst of all, the longer it went on, the harder it would be to extricate myself from it. I had so serious thinking to do...

As for the second round of negotiations... I knew that very soon, in so informal setting, I would probably be approached by representatives of the Duke de Bauffremont, as well as people from de Gondy.

It seed certain that daddy had probably provided his little boy with more than simple brute force in terms of support. The Marquis was bound to have soone intelligent with him, too. And whoever they were, I figured they’d be coming to find soon.

Whatever the case, of course, we would be moving out to attack the Golden Lion in the near future. We couldn’t leave a threat like that in our rear.

And the presence of the huge army led by the Dukes, which was prepared to hit the Atalians from the west, was certainly good news. At the sa ti, I couldn’t neglect the chance to take advantage of a favorable situation. So, I decided — let’s see what these gentlen Dukes have to offer .

After watching the sumptuous cavalcade leave, we returned to my tent to conclude our interrupted council of war.

As I walked through the camp, I started to feel the golden parasite getting restless inside . It was hungry again, the little glutton... I had been keeping ten little amber bruts in the inside pocket of my jacket for just this purpose, and they were devoured imdiately. There wasn’t even any dust left this ti.

I glanced around quickly. Nobody had noticed anything.

Heh... At this rate, I would have to move on to bigger bruts before too long. After all, considering the state of my reservoir, I was going to need as much energy as I could get. The only way out of the situation would be to get control of the process as quickly as possible. Otherwise I would end up enslaved to the parasite.