Chapter 54
Clara regained consciousness after an hour, and besides some dizziness, there were no signs of any lasting damage to her psyche.
Roland was treating her delicately while simultaneously holding himself back from chastising me for ‘losing’ her in the woods. His mentality stemmed from a man who was more invested in keeping his family together than acting as a father should. Had my son done what I just did, he would have been thoroughly chewed out and made to kneel in a mound of salt.
A brother losing his mentally vulnerable little sister, knowing full well what might happen? It certainly deserved a good verbal lashing.
But I knew it wouldn't come. If it were Jasper in my position, I'm sure Roland would not have been so lenient.
“You sure you’re feeling alright?”
I asked Clara. After she got back on her feet, we began preparing for tomorrow’s feast along with most of the village.
“Yeah…”
She lacked her previous enthusiasm, though she hadn’t stopped sticking close to me.
“It’s not the first time something like that has happened.”
“Roland told me. The first time was when you were in church, right?”
She nodded, passing me a large bowl of dough to stir. Maria and Clara were given the task of baking cookies, and I had offered to assist.
“There were so many people in one place thinking so strongly about what they want from the gods, it was overwhelming.”
I removed my jacket, rolled up my sleeves, and began stirring the contents of the bowl.
We didn’t talk much about what had happened earlier in the day. She looked to be in deep thought about the matter anyway. If I pushed it, she might do the typical teenager thing and act like a contrarian.
So while we worked away in the kitchen, I decided to address a different issue.
“Any word on how Jasper’s doing?”
Since his graduation, Jasper had followed in his father’s footsteps and joined the Empire as a scout. He hadn’t been home in over a year, but sent regular letters to update the family on his whereabouts and non-classified missions.
Maria took the bowl from me and began arranging the dough into different shapes across three baking trays.
“He’s in the northwest, about to head into the Land of Sunder. His letter didn’t say much… I can’t help but worry about him going to such a place.”
“You know how it is, Maria, I could never tell you much myself when I was still serving.”
Roland responded as he continued plucking the feathers from the Gobbleclucks, preparing them before the butcher came to collect and cook them.
”I but that doesn’t make me worry any less. Even you rarely ever had to go to that place.”
“Well, the Land of Sunder was barely a concern for us back then, what with the tribes being so busy killing each other and all.”
I knew little of the area they were talking about beyond what I had heard in history lessons. It was a mostly barren wasteland inhabited by nomadic tribes, but they had somehow begun coordinating and invading Empire territory a few years prior. Since then, they’ve been considered a threat on par with a proper nation.
“Any idea what his objective is?”
I moved over to help Rose trim the thorns from the flowers we planned to use for decoration.
“Nothing confirmed from Jasper himself…”
Roland began.
“...But based on what I’ve heard from the old crew, it sounds like Prince Dietrich Drachenskrone has finally had enough of the chaos and is planning on bringing the hammer down.”
“That’s the… first prince, right?”
I asked.
“Second.”
Rose corrected with a giggle.
“You’ll need to get this kind of thing drilled into your head if you’re planning to become a knight.”
She shook her head, but her smirk betrayed the sense of superiority she felt over me on this subject.
“Yeah, yeah, I know.”
“I mean, forgetting some minor noble’s cousin’s dog walker's name is fine and all, but not knowing royalty? You would be a terrible diplomat.”
“I . Anyway, what’s the prince like?”
Felicia took over on this one.
“He’s popular with my tribe. I even saw him in action once when I was little. He’s nothing like what you would expect from Imperial royalty, he fights like a true warrior. You’d get along with him.”
She directed that last part at me.
“More importantly, he’s what we refer to as a ‘spearhead commander’.”
Roland added to her praise with his following words.
“The guy is a terror on the battlefield all on his own. He takes point personally and decimates the opposing force while those under his command claim strategic points and mop up the flanks. If Jasper’s under his command, he probably won’t even see any combat.”
It certainly sounded like I didn’t need to worry about my older brother.
***
The preparations took us well into the night to complete. We just needed to heat the food up tomorrow, and the feast could begin.
Most of the village had retired back home, leaving just our group behind to assess the results.
“Not too shabby at all.”
Roland thumped Felicia and me on our backs.
“Thanks for helping out on your day off, you two.”
“What about me?”
Rose—who had grown exhausted from all the moving around—called out from her position sprawled across two chairs.
“You’re obliged to help. This is for your boyfriend anyway.”
A collective groan came from both my siblings and me.
“I’d sooner die than let my sister hook up with that moron.”
I protested.
“Didn’t you practically throw me at him, not even a week ago, just so you could escape a difficult situation?”
Rose threw a tiny wooden soldier I had carved as decoration at me.
“Yeah, knowing full well my intelligent and beautiful sister knew her self-worth well enough to turn down any advances he might make.”
“...Sweet talker.”
Rose smirked approvingly and lowered her head back down.
“Don’t worry, bro, I’ve been in that vacant head of his. I don’t know how he even remembers to breathe with how completely clueless he is. All these idiots who fall for him are beyond our help.”
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Clara presented me with a glass of cold, red water.
“What’s all this hate for our resident hero I’m hearing? I thought you all got along.”
Roland looked at Maria for backup, but she only smiled knowingly without a word.
“I don’t get it either. What your problem with Lloyd exactly?”
Felicia joined in.
Clara and I shared a look, thinking about how best to put it into words.
“He’s annoying.”
“Yep, super annoying.”
Rose raised a thumb to signal her agreement.
“Huh… well, at least play nice when he gets here, okay?”
“We’ve been ‘playing nice’ our whole lives, Dad. We’re not stupid.”
Clara rolled her eyes. I was so proud of my sisters in that moment. Felicia’s confusion, however, knocked her standing down a few notches in my hierarchy of respected associates. Luckily, she was probably just as dense as Lloyd was, so she wasn’t likely to become infatuated just because he offered some basic level of kindness like all his vapid orbiters.
“Should we make a bet?”
I asked the room.
“10 silver says he shows up with… hmm… I'm gonna say five different girls.”
“I'll take that bet. I'm going with three, and he will get another one to follow him back to the IMA.”
Rose hopped up, the scent of money calling her to attention better than any drill sergeant could.
“Hmhmhm… fools…”
Clara joined in, laughing like an evil mastermind who was about to shame everyone with her superior knowledge.
“He will arrive with just one girl in tow. But ‘coincidentally’ run into four associates on his way here, all of whom will somehow experience a sexually charged encounter that leads nowhere.”
Silence reigned until Felicia spoke up.
“That's just stupid, right, Rex?... Rex?”
How could this be? My dear baby sister had such keen insight on the topic of rom-com interactions. How did she obtain such profound wisdom? Such a stupid series of events was nigh impossible, yet practically inevitable if I took into consideration the gravitational field formed around Lloyd's density. Yes, the more I thought on it, the more assured I was that this would come to pass.
I had to make a move to prevent my coin purse from being emptied.
“Let's change it up, shall we? How about, in addition to all this, we each lay claim to one recurring action we believe will take place due to his presence, and each time it does, the others must hand over one silver piece.”
The intensity with which my sisters and I stared one another down caused the room to heat up. We all knew we had to be careful with what we claimed in order to rob the others of all they had
“...very well, brother of mine. I accept the terms of the contract.”
“As will I!”
My sisters stood tall in staunch defiance of my challenge. The fools would soon learn their place beneath my heel.
“Were they always like this?”
Felicia whispered to Maria.
“Don't look at them, dear, let's just go home.”
Maria gently led Felicia outside, allowing the three of us to hash out the terms of war.
“Jasper… your Dad misses you…”
Roland followed Maria and looked up at the night's sky, lamenting the absence of his only normal child.
***
Morning came, and the town was abuzz with noise. I had spent the night gathering all the neighbourhood strays and introducing Tiara as their undisputed queen, a process much more fulfilling than waiting with the teary-eyed teenage girls who woke up early to stare at the horizon.
But even as I was surrounded by a horde of loudly purring cats that clambered all over me, the sound I had been dreading could not be drowned out.
“OHMYGODHESHEREEEE!
Never had I heard a real ‘squee’. And I would be a happy man were I to die without hearing it again.
“Hey, guys!”
The familiar voice called out to the screeching harpies that ran to bask in the radiant light of his presence.
I stood behind them, eager not to catch up with an old neighbour, but to verify who had won part one of the bet.
One, two, three, four, and five. So Rose had lost this one, but the winner still needed to be confirmed. To that end, I put on my most endearing smile and called out.
“Yo! What took you so long?”
He looked at me from the back of the white stallion he rode in on, and hopped down to greet me with his arms held out.
He went for a hug, but I smoothly grabbed one hand and side-stepped away from the other, forcing him into a neutral handshake.
“Rex! I didn't know you were visiting… wait.”
He leaned in and covered the side of his mouth, only to whisper so loudly that everyone could hear anyway.
“Does this mean you're not hiding anymore?”
“...Sure. Who’re those girls you’ve brought?”
“Huh? You’ve already met them, remember, back at the dorm? And Mary’s here too, don’t you remember her? Oh, but you wouldn’t know Sapphire. She was actually returning from a mission and happened to join us on the way.”
Damnit… but wait, this only means one of them joined him on the road, right? So of us were technically correct.
That’s what I thought, but then Lloyd kept talking.
“It’s funny actually, It was just Mary and I at first, but just as we were leaving town we just so happened to find Laura and Lynette training in a clearing, and they decided to tag along. Then Beatrice, who was in Farrowgate to pick up some rare books, joined our crew! Crazy, right? And that's to say nothing of what happened when we stopped for a bath! Oh, but I shouldn't bring that up again, haha...”
Did Clara’s Gift include future sight?
“...Yeah, man. Crazy. Wow.”
I responded dryly and abruptly walked away, paying the girls the same amount of attention they gave me, which is to say none at all.
“Hey! Where’re you going?”
Lloyd called out to me, but I had already used the girls as a wall to separate us.
“We spent all day preparing a big event for you. I’ll go announce your arrival.”
With Lloyd left in the grasping hands of his adoring fans, I made my way back home. I may still be able to salvage this if I just stretch the truth a little. If I minimise the amount of contact Clara can make with Lloyd, she may never learn the truth until I’ve got my money and skipped town.
“Hehehe… The sun sure is bright this wonderful morning.”
Clara’s voice caught me off guard, and she slowly emerged from behind a tree.
“The sun is shining, and my pockets are soon to be full.”
She smirked at me and extended an expectant hand. With my escape blocked, I handed over 10 silver pieces. I had to exchange a gold piece with Roland to get my hands on that silver, and now a tenth of it was already gone.
“Ahh… the sun is… sunny”
She closed her eyes and basked in the warm sunshine, muttering nonsense as she rubbed the coins against her cheeks.
That should have been me, damnit. But you just watch, Clara. Stage 2 begins now, and I will reap a harvest the likes of which your feeble earnings won’t survive. You will be left destitute and begging for your brother’s gracious generosity.
***
The main hall was packed with people chattering and enjoying their food. Lloyd sat at the head table next to the elder, his little harem all took places there as well.
Now, to be fair to the villagers, they did want me and Rose to join them up there, but I had insisted on sitting with the people I actually cared about. Rose followed suit, mainly because she hated the idea of being thought of as one of Lloyd’s women.
Roland and some of the other men went out right after eating to set up the pillarball field. I would have helped, but I had more important matters to tend to.
The girl with curly blonde drill-like hair next to Lloyd—no, I didn’t remember her name—leaned in to whisper into his ear, causing him to blush.
He got up to walk around and talk to the others, but on his way tripped, causing his hand to land conveniently on Beatrice’s chest.
Her face turned bright red, and she froze. Mary—that’s the elder’s daughter—stood up and slapped Lloyd across the face.
“What is that noise?”
A villager sitting at the same table as us looked around, bewildered. My siblings and I didn't utter a word, and we fixed our gazes on Lloyd’s every movement.
Next, he approached us directly, a broad, goofy smile plastered on his face.
“It’s so good to see you three together again, just like old times, right?”
Not a word was spoken in response. We were all too on edge, waiting for him to do something stereotypical.
“Uh… hello?”
He took a step forward, but right as he did so, a passing villager carrying a mug of beer got in the way and spilled his drink on Lloyd.
Our eyes widened in unison. This didn’t meet any of our criteria, but it could easily lead to a veritable downpour of shenanigans.
But which way would the rain fall? Which of us would soon be up to our gills in water?
“Sorry, Lloyd!”
“Hey, no problem!”
Lloyd took his shirt off, revealing a slim, yet toned body with a large scar that ran diagonally across his chest.
“22.”
Rose stated with a victorious grin.
“Tch.”
Clara and I clicked our tongues and hung our heads. The odds of recovering our losses at this point were practically zero.
“What was that?”
Lloyd asked, catching the movement our swift hands had been making repeatedly.
Two coins were placed down by the losers and swiftly claimed by the winner, while the losers lamented. That was the cause of the noise and our rapid movements.
For the record, Rose had bet on the number of times Lloyd caused a girl to blush. The shirtless move put her total at 25, that’s 50 silver she just swiped from us.
Clara had bet on the opposite end of things, believing it would be Lloyd who would be embarrassed by the girls, her total ended up at a measly three.
As for me, I bet on the number of times he would be involved in inappropriate physical contact. The chest grab on Beatrice was the fifth and final occurrence since the feast began.
“A landslide victory, just as expected.”
Rose bragged as she pocketed her earnings.
“Screw this, I’m gonna go help Dad.”
Clara stormed out.
“Wait up.”
I followed her lead. The bet was only in effect during the feast, or until two people gave up. With Clara and I stepping out, we were practically acknowledging Rose’s victory.
“Oh, I’ll come too!”
Lloyd followed along, which only served to agitate us further.
“So, Rex, how did you get here so fast? Lynette provided the fastest horses, and Beatrice even cast a hastening spell on them, yet you still beat us here.”
“Took a shortcut.”
I responded without looking back.
“Oh? Cool. Hey, I heard about your mission—Laura knows a guy in Farrowgate who gave us the details—how amazing that you took down the Black Dael Banshee. She wasn’t meant to— ah, I mean, I didn’t expect her to go so easily.”
“Yep.”
“How are you enjoying classes? I’m still struggling to wrap my head around some things. The girls and I were gonna hold a study session tonight if you wanna join.”
“Nope.”
“Oh…”
He seemed to take the hint and stopped talking to me. But I could still feel him looking at me intently.
“Is something on my head? What’s with the stare?”
“Ah, sorry… just wondering what position you’ll take in pillarball.”
“Whatever Roland gives me, as usual. And as usual, you’ll be on offence.”
“Haha, it did seem always to go that way, didn’t it? Man, I miss those days, don’t you?”
“Nope.”
We arrived at the field, which looked to have been finished already, as Roland and his buddies were standing around drinking and laughing without doing anything. Felicia was with them too, apparently fitting in well with the rambunctious crowd.
“Yo.”
I called out as I joined the circle.
“The prodigal son returns! Check it out, boys, ready to have some fun?”
Roland clapped me on the back.
“Your Dad explained the rules to me. Can I be on offence? Please?”
Felicia was bounding up and down, though I had no idea why she wanted my approval on how she played.
“This is gonna be fun! So what’re the teams?”
Lloyd asked.
“That’s up to you two. I figure this is a good opportunity to see two distinguished students of the IMA battle it out.”
“Haha, hear that, Rex? We’re team captains. Let’s give it our all!”
“Yippee.”
I countered Lloyd’s enthusiasm with an emotionless response. I couldn’t claim to be excited at the inevitable defeat facing me, especially when everybody would be watching.
Although… maybe there was a way to stack the cards in my favour here…
