Chapter 12
Ludmila was greeted by a tangle of plants as she walked into the front door of her temporary manor. It appeared that the experintal solarium was doing more than well. While this was a good sign for her attempted emulation of the ‘indoor farming’ that the Sorcerer King had ntioned, she hadn’t expected her ho to beco reminiscent of a forest’s undergrowth.
Aemilia went ahead past the hall, leading Clara and the Death Knight footn up the stairs with their belongings. Wiluvien and Lluluvien had gone to show their guests to their accommodations and familiarise Liane and Florine’s attendants with the village’s anities.
It was roughly two hours to sunset, aning that Glasir should be at her Druid lessons, so Ludmila poked her head into Nonna’s office. As usual, the Elder Lich was at her desk studying so sort of report.
“Nonna,” she smiled, “I’m back.”
“You are thirty minutes behind the latest estimate for arrival.”
“You can bla the morning traffic for that,” Ludmila said. “Hopefully the city planning council will settle on how they want to expand soon. Has anything happened since we left the city?”
“Many things have ‘happened’.”
“Amongst those things, is there anything that demands my attention as the head administrator of this territory?”
“No.”
“I see. Thank you for your hard work, Nonna.”
She checked her desk for new paperwork, of which there was little. While she was working with the Imperial Army, Shadow Demons delivered it to her on a regular basis so she supposed that more wouldn’t inexplicably appear just because she was ho.
On the second floor, she went to check the state of her territory. A half-dozen Elder Lich Sergeants saluted at her approach. It was identical to the one that the Death Cavaliers gave her, though the bony hand of an Elder Lich wasn’t as impressive as a Death-series servitor’s gauntleted fist.
“It seems that the Grand Marshal has everyone doing that now,” Ludmila raised her right fist to her breast, returning their salute. “How is everyone this evening?”
The Elder Liches stared wordlessly at her question. She wondered whether Lord Cocytus would eventually demand a minimum level of etiquette as well.
Ludmila walked up to the head of the table, looking down at the map of her territory. Aside from marking tribal positions in the Upper Reaches, little had changed over the winter. With the highland basin as depopulated as it was, she doubted that there would be much movent with the abundance of territory and resources available for the surviving denizens. The stability over the next few years made for a good chance to begin familiarising them with rudintary forms of trade and standardised regulations.
“Have there been any movents from the Theocracy at all?” Ludmila asked.
“Not that has been observed,” one of the Elder Liches answered. “Our detection capabilities are limited, however, so they may have individuals with Scout-type Classes monitoring the situation.”
“What about attempts at divination?”
“That is similarly difficult to discern. We have no counterdivination asures in place anywhere in the territory and our capabilities in that field are limited. Reporting divination attempts is at the discretion of the one being scryed and reports cannot be confird.”
Basic divination, including the Fourth-tier spell Scrying, was well within the capabilities of the Slane Theocracy. There were no formalised rules between nations when it ca to divination magic, so having sothing sensitive discovered was always a matter of utmost concern. The Sorcerous Kingdom had an open-door policy when it ca to spying, but Ludmila was uncomfortable with the fact that soone with just enough familiarity with the right target would lead to nothing being a secret.
Of course, nothing said that they wouldn’t defend themselves against divination attempts. As the Elder Lich had stated, however, divination and counterdivination specialists were lacking in the Sorcerous Kingdom. The few available were already defending other critical areas.
The more that she learned about the world, the more vulnerabilities she could think of. With magic casters being so scarce, it was an issue not easily redied.
After committing the updated maps to mory, she continued up to her chambers on the third floor. Taiya was attempting to find places to put Clara’s things while her mistress was looking out the window. Magical lighting already flooded the village square while the lake beyond shimred with the light of the setting sun.
“Are you sure you do not want your own accommodations?” Ludmila asked, “I am already about to shrivel up from embarrassnt with how agre everything is here.”
“It is not agre,” Clara turned around. “If anything, the sheer potential of your territory is overwhelming. With what has already been accomplished in the Sorcerous Kingdom, everyone knows that you will be accomplishing the most with your territory out of all of us.”
“Which is not as much as everybody probably thinks,” Ludmila replied. “The territory under my administration may look impressively large on a map, but I only intend to develop five per cent of the total area. Many may expect a territory that can support ten million citizens with the Sorcerous Kingdom’s agricultural output, but a tenth of that would be closer to the truth.”
“I still think that you should do more,” Clara sighed.
“What I have planned is more than enough for a healthy Human population,” Ludmila said. “Humans are by far the minority here and every hectare of land I develop for them ans taking it away from soone else.”
If there was one thing that she and Clara did not see eye to eye on, it was how Ludmila planned to develop her territory. Despite their close history together, Clara had an eye for efficiency that would put the greatest imperial bureaucrats to sha. Much like the Empire, Clara’s views still mostly mirrored those of the region’s Human nations.
The only saving grace was that Clara trusted Ludmila’s intuition as much as she trusted her own rationale, so aside from the occasional expression of her views, she was content to wait and analyse the results.
“In a generation or two,” Clara said, “when everyone is bursting at the seams with spares, they might resent you for your decision.”
“In a generation or two,” Ludmila replied, “they should understand that Humans are not the only race that matters. On that note, overpopulation is sothing that we will need to address sooner rather than later.”
“The administration’s projections from the last harvest say that the duchy should be able to feed a Human population of upwards to forty million. We are a long way from reaching that.”
“Never mind feeding forty million, where do we even put forty million?”
“We can build vertically as the Dwarves and Quagoa do. High population densities also do wonders for comrce.”
Ludmila crossed her arms with a pout. It felt as if there was an answer for everything. More accurately, everything the Sorcerer King did provided a crucial elent to building a nation capable of eting future challenges. Be it directly or through the addition of different peoples to the Sorcerous Kingdom’s hegemony, a plethora of ideas and innovations conveniently appeared to answer their questions.
“We can certainly employ what we have learned to support higher populations,’ Ludmila said, “but that does not an we are obliged to do it over every acre of land. I would rather not have half of the Sorcerous Kingdom looking like Arwintar’s third-class districts.”
“And what if the Royal Court orders it?”
“Lady Shalltear, Lady Aura and Lord Mare support my initiatives here. Unless sothing arbitrarily overrules their counsel on the matter, that won’t happen. If it does, I will petition His Majesty.”
“And here you always claim that you are not a political person,” Clara smirked.
“This is not about being political,” Ludmila replied. “It is about right and wrong. The world has a balance that must be maintained. We need to be especially careful about this as Nobles of the Sorcerous Kingdom.”
Even more so than the Empire, the Human administrators of the Sorcerous Kingdom unsettled her. Or rather than them specifically, it was the potential disaster in the making, empowered by the influence that they now enjoyed.
“I hope I can understand what you an by that one day,” Clara said. “I suppose that is the frustrating part about you: people like can only understand what you are doing after you do it. Florine is the sa way, but what she does is at least closer to my areas of expertise.”
Ludmila went over to join Clara at the window, eyes tracing over the scenery of her ho. Her gaze went from the distant valley slopes to the shimring lake and eventually to her villagers going about their evening tasks. They were all migrants from the inland regions as well and she idly wondered what the world looked like through their eyes.
Clara rested her head on Ludmila’s shoulder. She seed especially content since they arrived in the valley.
“Do you think Warden’s Vale is beautiful, Clara? Does it make you happy?”
“I think the scenery is breathtakingly beautiful,” Clara replied. “And being here together with you makes especially happy.”
“Why do you think that is?”
“What do you an?”
“Why is it beautiful? The scenery is not an attractive person; neither is it a product of artistic talent that you have developed an appreciation for. Neither is your impression unique – I believe every Human that cos to the Vale feels the sa way.”
Beneath her long lashes, Clara’s athyst eyes glimred in the evening light as they seed to unfocus in thought. After several minutes, Ludmila took Clara by the hand, leading her over to the window on the other side of the room. In the distance, the Katze River flowed before a majestic backdrop of mountains still laced with traces of winter snow.
“What about this scenery?” Ludmila asked.
“It is amazing as well,” Clara answered. “That mountain with far too much snow is a bit strange, but…”
“Now look there,” Ludmila pointed, “at that dark patch of forest between those two peaks. Ignore all of the scenery around it – just focus on that one spot.”
Clara furrowed her brow, leaning forward to peer at the shadowed alpine ravine. Several monts passed before her breathing picked up and she started to tremble. A mont later, she stepped back from the window. Her eyes widened in a strange mix of confusion and realisation.
“Why…what happened?”
“That,” Ludmila said, “is Human nature. Instinct. Sothing that does not require education or experience; sothing etched into your very being. All beings have conditions that they consider attractive to them; other conditions have other emotions and behaviours attached to them.”
“Taiya,” Clara said, “co here and try this.”
Clara’s Lady’s Maid ca over. Unsurprisingly, she displayed the sa reaction.
“That’s utterly irrational,” Clara frowned. “Why would I be scared just focusing on a patch of forest?”
“It has a logic of its own,” Ludmila told her. “Forests are ‘hostile’ to Humans. They are dark, difficult places; harbouring predators and many other dangers. Primal instinct warns you of those dangers and the emotions that result guide you towards behaviours that improve your chances of survival.”
“But I have woodland in my territory as well,” Clara noted. “You have even dragged through a few of them. I never felt anything like this while we did that.”
“Those were copses,” Ludmila said. “They are not real, wild forests: they are cultivated for Human industry – a source of timber, fuel, food and herbs. You see them as a beneficial thing and, while children might be scared of a dark copse of trees, you have always been highly rational. How one perceives things hinges on knowledge, experience and instinct.”
Ludmila looked back out the window, taking in the beautiful panorama that she had grown up seeing every day. Her appreciation for that beauty had only increased with her recent experiences in the Empire.
“Based on that,” she asked, “what do you think the source of ‘beauty’ in scenery is?”
“Things that are conducive to survival.”
“That is a very conservative answer,” Ludmila smirked. “But you are not incorrect. Rivers and lakes are a source of water; mountains are a source of clean water. Snow and ice on the mountaintops are a sign that streams and falls flow beneath. Greenery indicates that sustenance may be hunted, foraged or cultivated. Open terrain makes it difficult for predators to sneak up on their prey. Humans do not have Darkvision and so they are wary of dark places.”
Clara stepped away from the window, going over to sit on the bed nearby. She lay on her back and stared at the wooden fra supporting the stone ceiling, folding her hands over her belly.
“‘Humans are a race that dwells on the plains’,” Clara murmured. “We hear that all the ti, but it is strange to think that it is not a product of choice. That is what you are saying, yes? That our nature causes us to seek and avoid certain things without our actively considering them.”
“It is a foundational aspect of both individuals and the civilisations that they build,” Ludmila replied. “If that nature is allowed to run rampant out of ignorance or selfishness, it produces countries like the Empire. Humans transform the world to suit their views and preferences. As a result, they polarise the world around them. Everything becos painted in shades of ‘good’ and ‘evil’ and what is allowed becos contingent on those labels. This ‘morality’ founded in wilful constructs transforms individuals into agents of those who dictate what is ‘moral’.”
“You have always loved the land,” Clara said, “but this is the first ti I have heard you be so…aggressive about it. I an, you did counsel us on the developnt of our territories, but those argunts were always frad in a more benign way.”
This much was true. The urban planning of the towns in Corelyn and Wagner Counties incorporated many elents that would not be found in the other urban centres in the region. Liane’s new lands also saw Ludmila’s influence as she ‘negotiated’ as much woodland and free pasture for her developnt as possible.
“I suppose it was our ti in the Empire,” Ludmila sighed. “Not just the visit to Arwintar but what I witnessed while working with the Imperial Army as well. I saw what happens when a nation organises and directs its efforts towards a collective goal. You heard what I said on the way here: empowering, inspiring and dangerous. The land tells the tale of the Empire and bears the ravages of its one-sided way of transforming the world around it. That cannot be allowed to happen here.”
“One has to wonder why you think so differently than the rest of us.”
“The ‘rest of us’…I am not alone in this thinking, you know? The Empire considers the rest of us as pests. Druids and Rangers who ally with the denizens of undesirable environnts to impede imperial progress. There should be plenty more who simply get by and lack the ans to resist the monolithic will of the imperial bureaucracy.”
“That may be so,” Clara said, “but I was emphasising why you think so differently rather than whether more of you exist. You were born to a family and raised like the rest of us.”
“You know that is not true.”
Clara sat up, placing her fingers over her lips with a gasp.
“So the truth cos out!” She said, “That your daughter is a Dryad is no longer a mystery.”
“I was born to a house of Rangers on the frontier,” Ludmila rolled her eyes. “My upbringing has resulted in a worldview that is very different from yours. I am certain you are aware of this more than anyone else.”
“Perhaps,” Clara’s lips turned up slightly, “but, at the sa ti, you make it sound as if you do not see the sa world at all. Take your case of scenic beauty and why we recognise it: do you not find Warden’s Vale a beautiful place?”
“I do,” Ludmila replied. “More than you know. I recognise all of those things that you instinctively recognise and I see more beyond that. You or one of my tenants who has recently migrated to the territory might see the land as a resource; an opportunity, but I also see what the land itself is and how it affects the world around it. The plants that grow there; who might be able to live there as it is and as it might be; the ever-expanding web of change that would co to the entire area if it was altered in so way.
“The dark forest that you react so fearfully to is just as beautiful to as the scenery around it. Creatures that you find disturbing like Slis and Spiders are wonderful to . Other races are as much a part of the world as we are…when they first ca here, the Krkonoše asked who I was. The answer that I gave in return was more than ‘Ludmila Zahradnik’.”
“The Warden of the Vale,” Clara said. “You shared this with before, but you also said that you did not understand what it ant.”
“I still do not understand it in its entirety,” Ludmila replied, “but I understand more as I experience more of the world. Ilyshn’ish once told that Dragons were keepers of the world. At first, I thought that it was a construct of conceit, but after she beca my companion I knew that she was being absolutely serious with .”
“Alright,” Clara said, “so what is it?”
“The way that Dragons fra it, each Dragon Adult and older has sothing that they call a ‘domain’. From a Human perspective, one might consider it as a territory or hunting range, but Dragons have a connection with their domains that runs far deeper than any legal title or ancestral heritage. Each Dragon oversees their domain and that domain develops according to the type of Dragon overseeing it. A Frost Dragon’s domain becos a wintry wildland. A Green Dragon’s domain becos an overgrown temperate forest or jungle filled with all sorts of toxic things.”
“So you believe that this ‘Warden’ thing is similar in role to a Dragon? You oversee your territory and it develops according to your nature?”
“That is probably a part of it,” Ludmila nodded. “The choices that I make for my desne just seem natural to . I may fuss over the details and calculate things, but that is only after I make those choices. I may not be a ‘keeper of the world’ but I am the keeper of this place. Those who are more attuned to…the world, for lack of a better term, recognise what I am. Glasir was not even an hour old and she knew what a Warden was.”
“In the end,” Clara mused, “you still fill a managent role, Noble or otherwise. But this role is recognised across multiple species without a need for structures of governance.”
“It feels more like a regulatory role, but yes.”
“Is there more to it?”
“Probably, but I do not know what it is. Not yet, at least. Do I sound insane now?”
Clara rose from the bed with a stretch and a yawn. Ludmila detached herself from the windowsill.
“Well,” Clara said, “you always spoke and acted several steps out of line with everyone else. I suppose all there is to do is to see what you do and try to make so sense out of it. On that note, do you believe that this Warden thing will influence what you do in the Draconic Kingdom?”
“I have no idea,” Ludmila shook her head. “Also, it is not as if so strange, foreign influence is twisting my will. It is simply what I am – what I always was.”
『Hey, you two can be all lovey-dovey later – we’re starving out here!』
They left her room shortly after Liane’s call, finding everyone standing in the square outside. Liane and Florine stood with their attendants while Themis and Alessia were being mobbed by excited villagers.
“You know a place is weird when a Cleric gets more attention than a Noble,” Liane muttered.
“A Noble is just another vocation around here,” Ludmila told her. “If not for the outfit bestowed upon by His Majesty and Lady Shalltear, I would be dressed the sa as them.”
“Bleh,” Liane stuck out her tongue. “I don’t know how you managed with the Imperial Army, but the Draconic Kingdom is going to need a lot more flair than you usually display. They’re gonna look down on us!”
“I thought that was what we had you three for,” Ludmila said. “My job was to herd cats or whatever.”
“That depends entirely on how things are when we arrive. I don’t doubt that at least so fighting will happen, but you might end up spending more ti policing civilians than chasing Beastn around. Besides, it isn’t as if Demihumans don’t appreciate a strong impression.”
Liane’s idea of a ‘strong impression’ was probably very different from Ludmila’s. That aside, she didn’t doubt that the Beastman Kingdom’s culture would be distinctly different from that of the tribal Demihuman cultures that she knew of…though it would be convenient if she could just beat up their leader and tell them to go ho. As for the Draconic Kingdom’s citizens, she could probably keep them at bay with her usual deanour.
After Themis managed to get through the swarm of villagers, they made their way across the square to the sole dining establishnt in the village. That there was one at all in a frontier village was a testant to the prosperity that now flowed from a territory that had long struggled with a basic economy. The frugality of her past villagers made Ludmila dubious as to whether a Cook could thrive without at least a town to service, but Clara’s assertion that her subjects would patronise the business so long as it existed and wasn’t absolutely terrible appeared to be correct.
Gordon Pyrus, the head Cook and proprietor of the establishnt, was doing remarkably well, in fact. The low cost of food made a restaurant – which utilised fuel more efficiently – as cost-effective as cooking at ho for a family and less ti-consuming. This was compounded by the fact that fuel was no longer necessary for heating. Fast public transportation made deliveries to the harbour and citadel workshops a simple matter.
During the colder months, most people opted to enjoy their food at ho so, even with the household staff accompanying them, they were able to find seats for everyone. Chef Pyrus appeared from the kitchen with a curious expression at the sight of the unusual number of guests.
“Baroness Zahradnik?” He said, “Soone said that you were back but…”
Chef Pyrus’ eyes widened when they fell upon Themis. He babbled incoherently for a mont before performing a rite of supplication and bowing his head.
『You people are crazy. Themis might as well crown herself Queen here.』
『Warden’s Vale has not had a presiding Priest since the annexation. I am sure you can forgive them for a bit of excitent.』
『I get that Priests are important and all, but–gah, you’re using Theocracy speak even while we talk like this…』
『Well, there are four of us and two of you, so…』
『This majority stuff stinks!』
The proprietor appeared with a tray in one hand. He ca over to deliver the tankards placed upon it, then stopped.
“A-apologies, Priestess, we don’t–”
“It’s fine, good proprietor,” Themis smiled. “We just ca to enjoy an evening al. No special treatnt is necessary. We’ll have whatever you’ve been serving to everyone else this evening.”
The proprietor glanced at Ludmila. She nodded in return. If there was sothing in Warden’s Vale that was superior to the inland territories, it would be the food.
Chef Pyrus set down the tankards before hurrying away with his tray. Liane frowned down at hers before leaning over to check Alessia’s drink.
“Wh-what?”
“Just seeing if you got sothing better. Do people act like that in the Theocracy, too?”
“If a Priest visits a village without one. It is proper to welco a visiting mber of the temple staff, yes? They have co to serve the people, after all…”
Florine yanked Liane away. Ludmila took a sip out of her tankard – it was water – and watched as the occasional villager ca in to pick up dinner.
“Domina, I heard so screaming north of the village sowhere when we were taken to our guesthouse. The villagers did not seem concerned about it, but…”
“Screaming…? Ah, that was probably the evening practice.”
“Screaming practice?” Liane frowned.
“Practice battles,” Ludmila said. “Three of them are held every day after the students finish classes.”
Alessia visibly brightened at her words.
“I wish to see these battles,” she said. “Is this allowed?”
“Normally people would express their concerns about sending children off to battle every day,” Florine said.
“The Paladins in my desne do it too,” Clara sighed. “By their reasoning, Squires are apprentices so they take them out to the Katze Plains for ‘vocational experience’.”
“This is normal, yes?” Alessia furrowed her brow, “You are blessed to have a wealth of learning resources available. The Squires in Altamura must go out as a group and share what little there is that spawns between patrols.”
“They said as much to as well,” Clara replied. “I still worry about it, though.”
Chef Pyrus carted in their als, which consisted of Warden Vale’s ‘village stew’, fresh bread and cuts of venison with a side of preserved greens. Ludmila eyed the vegetables on her plate.
“Chef Pyrus,” she asked, “have the villages been delivering produce?”
“Produce, my lady…? Ah, you an the fresh greens. They have, in small quantities. It is not nearly enough for everyone here.”
That was to be expected. Ludmila’s magical solarium experint was being carried out by her Farr tenants in every village, but a counter in a hundred hos was hardly a field of vegetables.
“Were there any issues with the quality?”
“Not really. Nothing that outweighed the fact that we had fresh greens, at any rate.”
“But there was sothing?”
“They were a bit on the small side,” Chef Pyrus said. “I spoke to so of the Farrs about it and they said that it was sothing they could probably figure out.”
“I see. Thank you, Chef Pyrus.”
“If anything, my lady, it is we who should be thanking you. Fresh greens in the winter are unheard of outside of the solarium-grown stuff that goes to places like the Shining Golden Pavilion. Please enjoy your al.”
The man lowered his head before leaving them to their al. Clara nudged her foot under the table.
“Does that an your next project is going ahead as planned?” She asked.
“It does,” Ludmila nodded. “So long as there are no issues with the excavation work. I should repurpose one of the warehouses just in case…or just build one near the village.”
Ludmila’s next project was scaling up her indoor solarium experint. She would contract the Dwarf company that did work for the Ministry of Transportation to excavate an underground complex where her first farming village could manage crops year-round. The warehouse was a side experint for cultivation in urban settings. If they were a success, she could expand the operations to all of her farming villages and add an agricultural research facility to the citadel district.
“All that excavating ans a lot of stone, right?” Liane said, “Make Clara share so with us.”
“Ask Clara,” Ludmila replied.
“But I can negotiate a cheaper price from you. Like a ball of string and so lint.”
A thok sounded from the table as Florine drove her knife through Liane’s hand. Themis and Alessia stared.
“‘Gentle Pastures’, my ass,” Liane muttered. “You put a hole in the poor proprietor’s table, by the way.”
“I’ll pay for a new table,” Florine told her. “You shouldn’t joke about things like that.”
“You have damage reduction?” Alessia examined Liane’s unblemished hand, “That is quite a valuable enchantnt. Well, I guess you are actually an important person so it makes sense to protect you…”
“Whaddya an by ‘actually’?!”
Laughter rose from around the table and they started their al. Ludmila couldn’t be sure, but it appeared that the Chef had improved his craft since her last visit.
“This is supposed to be a regular al, yes?” Alessia asked, “Does that an your people eat at every day?”
“They do,” Ludmila answered. “One of the advantages of living on the frontier and having plenty of wilderness. There is fish, fowl and ga aplenty.”
“No wonder you are so tall, Domina. In Altamura, at is only available on feast days.”
“It isn’t much different here,” Florine said. “Most of the citizens only have at once a week. The rest of the ti, it’s eggs, beans, peas and lentils. With the abundant harvests we have now, they should see it more often at their tables.”
Their discussion continued well past sunset until Themis retired to prepare a morning service at the village shrine. Alessia went to help her and the rest of them decided to retire after the day’s excitent. On the way back to her manor, Ludmila ca across Glasir. The Dryad stopped to greet her, red-gold leaves trembling in the wind.
“Welco back? I think…”
“That was correct,” Ludmila said. “You should add honorifics to it in public, however.”
“Welco back, my lady.”
“Thank you, Da Gronvidr,” she smiled.
“I think you’re the only one that calls that.”
Addressing a four-month-old as ‘Da’ was likely confusing. Then again, Dryads manifested as fully-grown adults.
Or did they? She eyed her ‘daughter’, noting so changes. Foremost amongst them were what appeared to be vines sprouting from both her and her tree.
“Did you have those vines before?” Ludmila asked.
“No,” Glasir replied. “I started growing them out this month.”
“Do they do anything?”
“They’re parasitic vines for hunting,” the Dryad replied. “If sothing cos close, I can catch it and it eventually becos the soil.”
Natural weapons to secure fertiliser? She supposed it made sense.
“Will they hurt people who touch them?”
“No, I have to attack with them. I guess people could tangle themselves up if they tried…”
At least the children that she played with wouldn’t accidentally hurt themselves. Mrs Linum always tended to Lord Mare’s tree as well. A frown crossed her face as she noticed that the Elf was missing.
“Da Gronvidr, where is Mrs Linum?”
“She left.”
“Do you an she retired to her ho?”
“No,” Glasir shook her head. “Lady Shalltear ca by in the middle of last month with a Human woman. Mrs Linum went with them. I think Mrs Linum fought with her daughters. Lluluvien and Wiluvien cried afterwards.”
Ludmila found Lluluvien and Wiluvien in the kitchen of her manor. The Half-Elf Maids seed to imdiately realise that Ludmila knew that Mrs Linum was gone. They both visibly trembled, then threw themselves to the floor as she approached.
“We’re sorry, my lady!” Lluluvien cried, “Please forgive us!”
Lluluvien kept repeating herself, as if she had returned to the cowering Maid from a year previous.
“Tell what happened,” Ludmila said.
“I…we didn’t know my lady!” Lluluvien didn’t look up, “We didn’t know. We didn’t know…we’re sorry, my lady.”
“That does not make any more aware of the situation.”
“Our moth–Ilwé, my lady. She was a spy. All that ti she was with the Fassetts; all that ti with us. She was spying the entire ti.”
IlwéLinum was a spy? Ludmila wasn’t even sure where to begin trying to make sense of it.
“But why would she do that? For what reason? What reason did she have to carry on spying? Why would she do this to her family…you are her daughters, yes?”
“We were,” Lluluvien’s voice hardened. “She had us on the off chance that people would suspect sothing was amiss. She also used us to garner sympathy. She called us ‘props’. Everything was just an act, and the woman that ca with Lady Shalltear knew all about her.”
“Who was this woman?”
“I don’t know, my lady,” Wiluvien said. “She never introduced herself – they just ca to pick up Ilwé and left. She called Ilwé a ‘sleeper agent’.”
Had Lady Shalltear known about Ilwé Linum the entire ti? If it was a test, Ludmila had failed miserably. A spy had word its way into the good graces of one of the Sorcerous Kingdom’s Nobles with effectively no effort. Ilwé Linum had been privy to the goings-on of not only her administration, but anything of the Royal Army that she had heard. She attached herself to Lord Mare’s tree, which allowed her to monitor the movents of two mbers of the Royal Court whenever they ca by. Lady Shalltear’s presence would also be known.
Ludmila bit her lip. There was too much for her to keep track of. A whim enacted through sheer sympathy had given away so much sensitive information and potentially endangered three mbers of the Royal Court. If she had used her Skill to asure Ilwé Linum’s ‘alignnt’ with His Majesty or even tried to get a sense of her strength, she might have noticed right away. Instead, she had given her the benefit of the doubt for no tangible reason.
She wouldn’t be surprised if Lady Shalltear appeared and executed her for her foolishness at any ti. There was nothing to say in her defence. She had every opportunity to detect and deal with Ilwé Linum, but an arbitrary, irrational line of thinking had blinded her to everything.
Staring down at the trembling, weeping form of Lluluvien Linum, Ludmila gauged the Maid’s strength. She didn’t seem any stronger than a Silver-rank Adventurer. The use of her Skill showed Lluluvien as not much different from most subjects in the Sorcerous Kingdom, which wasn’t helpful at all. An assessnt of Wiluvien showed much the sa.
“I will speak with Lady Shalltear about it the next ti we et,” Ludmila said. “How are you and your sister doing?”
“Us?” Lluluvien looked up at her, “I-I don’t know, my lady. Angry. Frustrated. More than anything else, we’re mortified. How could we have brought this upon soone who has bestowed so much of her grace upon us? Every ti I think of that woman I want to strangle her and drown myself in the river at the sa ti. Maybe…maybe you should get rid of us, my lady.”
“Get rid of you?” Ludmila frowned, “Why?”
Confusion twisted Lluluvien’s expression. She rose partway, then sat back down, staring at the floorboards.
“Why? From the very beginning, all we have ever done is benefit from your goodwill. Now our family has betrayed you – I don’t even know how much harm has been done. Ilwé…we’re her daughters. I just know there’s so part of her that we carry within us; sothing sinister that hides in the shadows. I can feel it. We don’t want to hurt you, my lady.”
“Stand up,” Ludmila said. “The both of you.”
The Linum sisters stood before her, brushing off their skirts. They did not et her gaze, instead continuing to look down at the floor.
“You are right about what you said,” Ludmila told them. “Ever since we went to Fassett County, I always wondered why you were so good at coordinating the Shadow Demons. After that, you assud duties involving the realm’s security and rose to positions of command. You claim that so part of your mother has been passed onto you; sothing sinister that hides in the shadows…but that is not true. What Ilwé Linum has passed onto you is not her character, but her blood.”
“Her blood?” Wiluvien frowned.
“The steps you have taken in my service have revolved around gathering information, performing reconnaissance and surveillance. That is what your mother did, is it not? It is also what she passed on to you. A bloodline. You may resent her for doing what she did, but, at the sa ti, she left sothing extraordinarily precious to you. I am not one who would waste such a precious gift; you will continue to serve House Zahradnik.”
Lluluvien and Wiluvien shared incredulous glances before finally daring to et her gaze. A long mont passed before Lluluvien spoke, tears filling her steel-grey eyes.
“I don’t understand,” she sobbed. “How can you trust us after all that, my lady?”
“Probably because I am an idiot,” Ludmila smirked. “But I also understand one important thing: trust ans nothing without risk.”
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