Everything turned black in front of his eyes. Yet, his shoe’s soles were definitely standing on something. Just when he felt air brushing against his face, Tigre found himself inside some room. Of course Valentina was with him.
“We’ve arrived. This is my room.” Smiling, the black-haired Vanadis separated from Tigre.
A sigh escaped Tigre’s mouth.
“That just now was a draconic skill, huh.” He had heard that Valentina possessed a draconic skill allowing her to travel space in an instant. That’s what Tigre experienced moments ago.
“Since I’m under house arrest, this is about the only means for me to secretly invite men over.”
When looking around, Tigre noticed that this was a bedroom. The fire burning bright red in the fireplace illuminated the room, and kept it warm. Books had been piled up next to a canopied bed.
“What are we going to do if your guards find out about me being here?”
“It’d be a serious matter for me, but the same would apply to you. I’ll say something along the lines of you having embraced me tightly with those strong arms of yours.” Valentina said as if it was plain obvious.
I’m pretty sure she doesn’t intend to let it end at just that, Tigre assessed.
Valentina walked up to the sofa, and looked back at Tigre.
“I’d like to carry this in front of the fireplace. Please help me, will you?”
He wondered whether they’d sit next to each other, but his body was still chilled. Reluctantly Tigre followed her instruction. After placing the sofa in front of the fireplace, they sat down next to each other.
“──Won’t you join my side?” Valentina bluntly asked, without any kind of preface, while staring at the crackling fire. She then continued while continuing to show Tigre, who was surprised, her face in profile, “The reason why I attacked Sofya is simple. Our interests don’t align.”
“And they align with mine?”
“It depends on what you want from this country.”
In response to Valentina’s words, Elen’s face crossed Tigre’s mind. It’d be a different matter as next king, but what he wanted from this country as an individual was just her, if he thought it over very carefully. And there was no doubt about Sofy and Liza being precious partners for Elen.
“If you say that you’re going to continue targeting Sofy and Liza from now on, our interests won’t align either.”
“That’s a tough condition.” Valentina covered her mouth with a hand, and let her eyes wander as if brooding. “I’ll leave Sofya alone if she doesn’t get in my way.”
“What do you want?” Tigre asked straight.
Valentina looked at him as if wanting to call his blunt question unexpected.
“You haven’t heard anything from Sofya? I was sure that she had gotten an inkling.”
“If she does, she didn’t tell me anything, so, no.”
Tigre believed that Sofy had likely decided to withhold talking about her suspicions until she obtained some solid proof, but he had no obligation to inform Valentina about this.
“My goal is to make Osterode prosper.”
“If this were all you wanted, it’d be next to impossible for your interests to not align with Sofy’s, don’t you think?”
Polesia, the principality governed by Sofy, was in the south of Zhcted, far from Osterode.
“There doesn’t exist any way to make Osterode prosper by just governing it smartly.” Returning her look to the fire, Valentina went on, “The only way is to obtain an appropriate post at the royal palace and set various things in motion. For example building a road between Osterode and Silesia to get an active traffic going between both. Building a road costs time and money. You won’t be able to achieve this as anything but a long term project, but if I can influence the progress from the royal palace, it might be possible to significantly cut down on the time needed. Haven’t you also thought of such an option as noble governing over land?”
“It’s not that I haven’t, but…” Tigre answered evasively.
It sounded simple when putting it into words, but that was an endlessly long journey. In the first place, just the part about gaining a position at the royal palace was already quite difficult.
“But, it’s troublesome if a single Vanadis sticks out by holding authority and power. Having said that, it’s something that has often happened in Zhcted’s history. Sofya hates such unbalance, though.” Suddenly coldness crept into Valentina’s voice, “I want to change the current state of the Vanadis. Away from seven Vanadis equally lining up beneath the king, to a system of two Vanadis counseling the king and the other five following beneath.”
“With two you mean yourself and Figneria, right?”
Valentina didn’t answer, but simply shrugged with a smile. Tigre groaned. Probably because it was a very pragmatic approach, he wasn’t overly surprised. It also agreed with the dream of Figneria which Lim had told him about. It was also the reason why Valentina’s interest didn’t match with Sofy’s.
“As expected, I won’t be able to cooperate with you. It was your side that picked a fight first.”
“Wouldn’t you at least be able to take a neutral stance then?” Valentina asked without the slightest hint of disappointment, seemingly having anticipated this to be Tigre’s answer, “If I can have you do that, I might be able to give you some information about Duke Ganelon.”
Tigre turned a surprised look at her profile, but he immediately recovered his composure. He simply hadn’t expected to hear that name being mentioned in this place.
“Come to think of it, you were that guy’s acquaintance, weren’t you?”
“Acquaintance? True, that describes the distance between us rather well.” Valentina giggled.
“Is that man a demon?” Tigre asked directly.
Thinking back on Ganelon’s unworldly, physical abilities and his abnormal aura, this was the only conclusion Tigre could draw.
Valentina looked in the youth’s direction, and bent her head adorably to one side.
“That’s not quite correct.”
Tigre frowned, wondering what not quite might mean.
“Let’s see, if it’s around this much, it should be fine, I suppose.” Muttering this to herself, Valentina began to explain, “That person possesses the power to lock up demons within himself. With that power he has captured demons such as Baba Yaga and Vodyanoy whom you should know as well.”
Tigre felt horrified. He was also surprised about her treating something so crucial as a topic for mere gossip, but Tigre couldn’t help but feel shaken to the core by what she was saying.
“According to him, no further demons exist anymore. You have destroyed some, others were captured by him. And yet, as you’re well aware of, strange incidents continue taking place all over the capital. Why do you think is that so?”
The way Valentina was asking somehow sounded like an elderly woman teasing a youth.
“Because Ganelon is doing what the demons were trying to do?”
Remaking this world.
“You got it,” Valentina clapped her hands lightly. “I think you should meet and ask him about any further details.”
“Do you know where I could find him?”
When Valentina readily answered, “Yes,” Tigre stared at her flabbergasted. The black-haired Vanadis inclined her body, leaning against him.
“Can I have you keep a neutral stance?”
Tigre sank into a brooding silence. Not being able to simply confirm here even if just as a lie was part of his character. But then again, it wasn’t as though he didn’t think of it.
──That’s why she told me about Ganelon, huh?
If Tigre learned of Ganelon’s power and objectives, he might try to stop him. Foreseeing that, Valentina had deliberately taught him what he needed to know. Tigre ransacked his dull red hair.
How would Elen or Sofy answer in this situation? What might Lim or Mila have said? If Liza or Olga were here...
Tigre hesitated for a time of around thirty breaths, then he finally shook his head.
“I can’t promise you that.”
Valentina had told him her own objective. Leaving aside the matter of its authenticity, she had likely judged that she wouldn’t mind Tigre telling Elen and the others. In short, she intended to directly confront Elen and the other Vanadis anyway. In spite of still being under house arrest.
In that case, Tigre had to help Elen and the others. It was difficult to tell how he could capitalize on his position as hero of Brune, but there likely existed many ways to put it to use. That’s why Valentina had called out to Tigre at this point.
“You don’t want to know Duke Ganelon’s whereabouts?” Valentina asked, obviously provoking the youth.
He made sure to not look at her, continuing to stare at the fireplace. He felt like he might end up nodding otherwise.
Valentina shrugged her shoulders, “No helping it then. Could you tell me your plans from now on?”
Tigre knitted his eyebrows, “My plans from now on?”
“Please tell me what you’re going to do in Zhcted, when you’re going to go back to Brune, and what you’re going to do once you get back. It’s useless to make up lies, just so you know.”
Tigre was at a loss for words, and ransacked his hair again. Although he had no duty to tell her, he felt like he should do so. He believed he had to talk about his own decisions to her, just like she had told him about her own ambitions.
Tigre spoke up, making sure of each single word, “I want to protect those precious to me. In the past it was alright for me to only look at Alsace. But now that’s not an option anymore.”
“In contrast to your appearance, you’re a greedy man, aren’t you? Don’t you have too many people who are precious to you?”
“I’m well aware of that.” Tigre answered curtly. “But, I can also hope for assistance. Even if it’s a situation I can’t handle by myself no matter what I do, I can overcome it by having others help me out.”
Elen’s smile crossed Tigre’s mind. The first time he had borrowed her power was during the battle against Zion Thenadier who had attacked Alsace. Ever since then he felt like he had been continuously borrowing her strength.
Erasing the smile that accidentally formed on his lips, Tigre continued to speak with a serious expression, “I will fight for those dear to me and the things I want to protect.”
“You’re in Zhcted, not Brune.”
“I know.”
“Even considering the fact that your current actions could very likely drag Brune into this?” Valentina confirmed the youth’s will once more.
Tigre nodded, “It was the same until now as well.”
If the Silver Meteor Army led by Tigre had lost in Brune’s civil war two years ago, Alsace might have been reduced to ashes. There was no doubt that Alsace’s population would have been treated like slaves either.
“Even if Brune gets dragged into this, I’ll fight. I think that’s very likely the best option.”
“…How regrettable,” was all that Valentina answered while shrugging.
At the end, Tigre asked her about Ruslan. Probably as could be expected, Valentina was already aware about the prince having collapsed.
“The medicine I had His Highness take heals the mind, but puts a burden on the body. If he continues to work without rest, it’s a foregone conclusion that this will not only affect his body, but also his mind. Taking care of governmental duties without having plenty of aides assisting him is too much of a strain.”
The way she explained this sounded cold-hearted and detached, as if she was speaking about a puppet that didn’t interest her any longer.
With this they had run out of topics to talk about.
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