Renise had seen many things in her life.
It was a strange, even immodest thing for a woman her age to say. But though she was still young, she'd lived a life of both nobility and crime. She was the daughter of both a lord and a smuggler.
She'd seen the best and the worst of both worlds.
Lord Ryecroft opening his own estate to the peasantry when the War of the Streets flooded Dale Street. Lady Ryecroft charging those same peasants silver crowns they didn't have for the right to breathe the safe air. Red Rummy turning back to hold the Thieves Guild as they overran the tunnel beneath Penny Lane, and then One-Peg Melanie ensuring he stayed back by blocking the sewer gate release with her peg.
Countless acts of courage met with even more instances of injustice.
And more recently, the treachery of Lady Lucina Tolent as she seized the Smugglers Guild for herself, and the valour of Lord Oliver Lepre as he guided her to safety.
And both had happened in the same night.
This night.
Renise had believed, while she stumbled and crawled through that dark tunnel on her way to fleeting safety that it would be the start of a long struggle for vengeance.
That she'd need to cry, bed and claw her way to relevancy. That she'd need to give her soul over to the dark gods of the deepest abyss in order to win back her birthright. In order to win back her mother and father.
Renise was willing to give everything.
It turns out that she only needed to give a bag of crowns that was stuck behind a rock the shape of a starfish.
And it wasn't even hers.
Her eyes took in the jumbled pile of bodies and furniture that was slowly disentangling itself.
Those people were the worst cut-throats of the realm, abandoning all semblance of honour for the right to Lady Lucina's bloodied coins. They would sell out their own mothers for a copper crown. And they'd also sell out their fathers for free as part of the deal. That much she knew now.
No … that much she always knew. The writing was on the wall, clear as blood. She just chose not to read it.
What camaraderie she thought existed was a lie, carefully nurtured by the veil that was her father's charm. They were rogues. But they had seemed the brotherly rogues.
In the end, there was no such thing as honour among thieves. Only thieves. And no crown could be split in two.
Even so, she didn't fear a thing as those she came to hate stirred. As they fell from the pile of furnishings, the members of the Smugglers Guild simply rolled onto their backs in pain, struggling to stay conscious as they failed to hold back their meek cries of agony and terror.
And besides—
There was still Miss Coppelia.
“Hm hmm hm hmm hm hmm .”
The clockwork doll with the scythe, capable of decapitating a dryad in a single slice.
Except she hadn't needed to draw on it now.
She hadn't needed to use anything at all.
Everything had been achieved through the efforts of the girl whose head currently rested against the clockwork doll's lap, although she herself was unaware of it—as well as the fact that said clockwork doll was also poking her cheek for fun.
“Mmh. Human cheeks are so squishy. Or is it just yours, I wonder? Such elasticity. Let me test some more. Hmm hm hmm .”
Renise stared down at the comatose body of the adventurer she only knew as Juliette, who after vomiting profusely over her bare, carpetless floor, had twisted around and landed flat on her back. Her eyes no longer saw as she utterly passed out from the effort of spinning like a broken ballerina.
Even so, it was a remarkably pretty way of falling.
For some reason, Renise considered this girl's ability to faint in a dignified manner to be almost as impressive as her … whatever that had been.
[Autumn Leaf Rake].
She'd never heard of such a technique before.
Granted, she was no swordswoman. But as far as she knew, being able to conjure giant, swirling, tornadoes capable of lifting everything except the ground itself was almost unheard of.
Almost.
Only those touted as A-rank heroes were able to perform feats like that.
She'd heard of them in legends and in the whispers of guards. They were classed as monsters of the battlefield, capable of turning the tides of battle single-handedly. They were the pride of nations, hoarded more than treasure. The Kingdom of Tirea only counted three among its lands, and one had since retired.
An A-rank sword technique, capable of commanding a gale on demand. What could that have been, if not such an ability?
She knew already that this girl was strong.
But this strong?
It was beyond belief.
Just … who was she?
“Miss Coppelia?”
“Mmh?”
“That was ridiculous.”
“It's fine. She won't ever remember me squeezing her cheeks into a non-villainous smile. Her dignity is still intact.”
“No, um, I was referring to the … the tornado … thing.”
“Oh that. Wasn't it simply hilarious?”
“That isn't the word I would use, but, yes, it was quite something.”
Renise could still feel the pain in her hands. She looked at her palms. Her nails had dug into her skin while she stayed as resolutely still as she could behind Juliette, tensing for the moment a single whisper of that swirling gale dragged her into the tornado.
“Is it true that she's still also an F-rank adventurer?”
“Mmh, and if you mention it to her, she becomes fidgety. It's wonderful~”
Renise's arms fell weakly by her sides.
“Is she actually A-rank?” she asked plainly.
Miss Coppelia merely raised a fingertip to her lips, then winked.
“Who knows?” she replied.
“She should be A-rank. She must be. As soon as word reaches the streets of what transpired, the senior guildmasters will fight each other over the right to promote her. The boon to their reputation will be immeasurable.”
“I doubt she'll care. Or rather, she will care. But not in a way the Adventurer's Guild expects. She probably thinks becoming a famous adventurer is a hassle.”
Renise wanted to clean out her ears. As well as the vomit. And the strewn furniture. And the … well, it was going to be a tiring night for her.
“A hassle? It's the aspiration of every adventurer to climb the ranks of the guild.”
Coppelia shrugged, then poked Juliette's cheek once more. The girl didn't even stir.
“This one's special.”
“Yes, well … I can certainly see that.” Renise hesitated, then took a step forwards, her fist clenching against her chest. She had to know. “Who is she? Why is she here? What is her purpose in Tirea, if not to seek fame and fortune?”
Coppelia hummed, glancing up to the corner in thought. After a moment of, she clapped her hands together and beamed.
“... To overturn furniture,” she declared.
Renise tapped her ears.
“Excuse me?”
“She likes overturning furniture. Violently, if possible.”
“She said that?”
“Yes, in those exact words.”
Renise blinked.
Then, she peered at the solid mound of unturned furniture, complete with added criminals for decoration.
“What … What a truly frightening girl ...”
“Mmh.”
“But you haven't answered the first question. Who is she, exactly? Her mannerisms, her dress … she is no commoner. And that sword—”
Booomph.
Renise swung around, startled by the sound of the doors to the hall behind her flinging open. For a moment, her heart stopped as she wondered if even after all the bedlam, there were still some of Lady Lucina's hired guards waiting to seize the last laugh.
Instead, her eyes widened for the umpteenth time today.
And hers wasn't the only one.
Guards in the livery of Tirea's royal guard burst into the hall, spears and shields raised as they thundered into the carpetless hall.
Half a dozen squeezed through the doorway shoulder to shoulder, the shields of those behind them covering their heads as if to receive a barrage of arrows. Shouts echoed loudly within the hall, war screams filled with bravado mixed with indiscernible commands.
However, no sooner had the doors smashed loudly against the wall and the armoured force come rushing inside … did they come skidding to a crashing halt.
The reason why, of course, was obvious.
“Uuuhh …”
“It hurts … everything … everything hurts ...”
“End …............ me …...............”
It was the shuddering pile of defeated lackeys, some of whom now crawled on the floor. Not to escape. But simply to find their own clean patch of floor to vomit on.
Immediately, some of the guards put aside their weapons, instead using their hands to cover their noses. Those that didn't were simply too shocked to respond. Carnage ensued as the huge force of guards were halted just beyond the door, too bewildered to know what to do.
Renise, too, was utterly astonished.
The amount of soldiers wedged in her doorway was more than she could count. She could see no gaps between their ranks as they filled the corridor. Half of Reitzlake's defenders must have been here.
But why?
Nothing that had ever occurred within these walls had ever permitted the soldiers entry. Her father had been too canny to allow that, despite the well-known rumours regarding what this place entailed.
The Rimeaux Estate was a safe haven. Any attempt to force entry would have been met with all the consequences that both a highborn lord and a Smuggler King could bring to bear.
… Except that it was no longer his, was it?
It was Lady Lucina's, for all of a few hours. Now it belonged to Renise.
And soon, it would no longer be hers, either.
Because he strode into the hall.
They shifted in unison. The guards, even jumbled as they were, easily stood aside as the ruler of this city made his presence known beyond the castle walls at last.
Crown Prince Roland Contzen, Heir to the Kingdom of Tirea.
Renise had seen many things in her life.
It was a strange, even immodest thing for a woman her age to say. But though she was still young, she'd lived a life of both nobility and crime. She was the daughter of both a lord and a smuggler.
She'd seen the best and the worst of both worlds.
Lord Ryecroft opening his own estate to the peasantry when the War of the Streets flooded Dale Street. Lady Ryecroft charging those same peasants silver crowns they didn't have for the right to breathe the safe air. Red Rummy turning back to hold the Thieves Guild as they overran the tunnel beneath Penny Lane, and then One-Peg Melanie ensuring he stayed back by blocking the sewer gate release with her peg.
Countless acts of courage met with even more instances of injustice.
And more recently, the treachery of Lady Lucina Tolent as she seized the Smugglers Guild for herself, and the valour of Lord Oliver Lepre as he guided her to safety.
And both had happened in the same night.
This night.
Renise had believed, while she stumbled and crawled through that dark tunnel on her way to fleeting safety that it would be the start of a long struggle for vengeance.
That she'd need to cry, bed and claw her way to relevancy. That she'd need to give her soul over to the dark gods of the deepest abyss in order to win back her birthright. In order to win back her mother and father.
Renise was willing to give everything.
It turns out that she only needed to give a bag of crowns that was stuck behind a rock the shape of a starfish.
And it wasn't even hers.
Her eyes took in the jumbled pile of bodies and furniture that was slowly disentangling itself.
Those people were the worst cut-throats of the realm, abandoning all semblance of honour for the right to Lady Lucina's bloodied coins. They would sell out their own mothers for a copper crown. And they'd also sell out their fathers for free as part of the deal. That much she knew now.
No … that much she always knew. The writing was on the wall, clear as blood. She just chose not to read it.
What camaraderie she thought existed was a lie, carefully nurtured by the veil that was her father's charm. They were rogues. But they had seemed the brotherly rogues.
In the end, there was no such thing as honour among thieves. Only thieves. And no crown could be split in two.
Even so, she didn't fear a thing as those she came to hate stirred. As they fell from the pile of furnishings, the members of the Smugglers Guild simply rolled onto their backs in pain, struggling to stay conscious as they failed to hold back their meek cries of agony and terror.
And besides—
There was still Miss Coppelia.
“Hm hmm hm hmm hm hmm .”
The clockwork doll with the scythe, capable of decapitating a dryad in a single slice.
Except she hadn't needed to draw on it now.
She hadn't needed to use anything at all.
Everything had been achieved through the efforts of the girl whose head currently rested against the clockwork doll's lap, although she herself was unaware of it—as well as the fact that said clockwork doll was also poking her cheek for fun.
“Mmh. Human cheeks are so squishy. Or is it just yours, I wonder? Such elasticity. Let me test some more. Hmm hm hmm .”
Renise stared down at the comatose body of the adventurer she only knew as Juliette, who after vomiting profusely over her bare, carpetless floor, had twisted around and landed flat on her back. Her eyes no longer saw as she utterly passed out from the effort of spinning like a broken ballerina.
Even so, it was a remarkably pretty way of falling.
For some reason, Renise considered this girl's ability to faint in a dignified manner to be almost as impressive as her … whatever that had been.
[Autumn Leaf Rake].
She'd never heard of such a technique before.
Granted, she was no swordswoman. But as far as she knew, being able to conjure giant, swirling, tornadoes capable of lifting everything except the ground itself was almost unheard of.
Almost.
Only those touted as A-rank heroes were able to perform feats like that.
She'd heard of them in legends and in the whispers of guards. They were classed as monsters of the battlefield, capable of turning the tides of battle single-handedly. They were the pride of nations, hoarded more than treasure. The Kingdom of Tirea only counted three among its lands, and one had since retired.
An A-rank sword technique, capable of commanding a gale on demand. What could that have been, if not such an ability?
She knew already that this girl was strong.
But this strong?
It was beyond belief.
Just … who was she?
“Miss Coppelia?”
“Mmh?”
“That was ridiculous.”
“It's fine. She won't ever remember me squeezing her cheeks into a non-villainous smile. Her dignity is still intact.”
“No, um, I was referring to the … the tornado … thing.”
“Oh that. Wasn't it simply hilarious?”
“That isn't the word I would use, but, yes, it was quite something.”
Renise could still feel the pain in her hands. She looked at her palms. Her nails had dug into her skin while she stayed as resolutely still as she could behind Juliette, tensing for the moment a single whisper of that swirling gale dragged her into the tornado.
“Is it true that she's still also an F-rank adventurer?”
“Mmh, and if you mention it to her, she becomes fidgety. It's wonderful~”
Renise's arms fell weakly by her sides.
“Is she actually A-rank?” she asked plainly.
Miss Coppelia merely raised a fingertip to her lips, then winked.
“Who knows?” she replied.
“She should be A-rank. She must be. As soon as word reaches the streets of what transpired, the senior guildmasters will fight each other over the right to promote her. The boon to their reputation will be immeasurable.”
“I doubt she'll care. Or rather, she will care. But not in a way the Adventurer's Guild expects. She probably thinks becoming a famous adventurer is a hassle.”
Renise wanted to clean out her ears. As well as the vomit. And the strewn furniture. And the … well, it was going to be a tiring night for her.
“A hassle? It's the aspiration of every adventurer to climb the ranks of the guild.”
Coppelia shrugged, then poked Juliette's cheek once more. The girl didn't even stir.
“This one's special.”
“Yes, well … I can certainly see that.” Renise hesitated, then took a step forwards, her fist clenching against her chest. She had to know. “Who is she? Why is she here? What is her purpose in Tirea, if not to seek fame and fortune?”
Coppelia hummed, glancing up to the corner in thought. After a moment of, she clapped her hands together and beamed.
“... To overturn furniture,” she declared.
Renise tapped her ears.
“Excuse me?”
“She likes overturning furniture. Violently, if possible.”
“She said that?”
“Yes, in those exact words.”
Renise blinked.
Then, she peered at the solid mound of unturned furniture, complete with added criminals for decoration.
“What … What a truly frightening girl ...”
“Mmh.”
“But you haven't answered the first question. Who is she, exactly? Her mannerisms, her dress … she is no commoner. And that sword—”
Booomph.
Renise swung around, startled by the sound of the doors to the hall behind her flinging open. For a moment, her heart stopped as she wondered if even after all the bedlam, there were still some of Lady Lucina's hired guards waiting to seize the last laugh.
Instead, her eyes widened for the umpteenth time today.
And hers wasn't the only one.
Guards in the livery of Tirea's royal guard burst into the hall, spears and shields raised as they thundered into the carpetless hall.
Half a dozen squeezed through the doorway shoulder to shoulder, the shields of those behind them covering their heads as if to receive a barrage of arrows. Shouts echoed loudly within the hall, war screams filled with bravado mixed with indiscernible commands.
However, no sooner had the doors smashed loudly against the wall and the armoured force come rushing inside … did they come skidding to a crashing halt.
The reason why, of course, was obvious.
“Uuuhh …”
“It hurts … everything … everything hurts ...”
“End …............ me …...............”
It was the shuddering pile of defeated lackeys, some of whom now crawled on the floor. Not to escape. But simply to find their own clean patch of floor to vomit on.
Immediately, some of the guards put aside their weapons, instead using their hands to cover their noses. Those that didn't were simply too shocked to respond. Carnage ensued as the huge force of guards were halted just beyond the door, too bewildered to know what to do.
Renise, too, was utterly astonished.
The amount of soldiers wedged in her doorway was more than she could count. She could see no gaps between their ranks as they filled the corridor. Half of Reitzlake's defenders must have been here.
But why?
Nothing that had ever occurred within these walls had ever permitted the soldiers entry. Her father had been too canny to allow that, despite the well-known rumours regarding what this place entailed.
The Rimeaux Estate was a safe haven. Any attempt to force entry would have been met with all the consequences that both a highborn lord and a Smuggler King could bring to bear.
… Except that it was no longer his, was it?
It was Lady Lucina's, for all of a few hours. Now it belonged to Renise.
And soon, it would no longer be hers, either.
Because he strode into the hall.
They shifted in unison. The guards, even jumbled as they were, easily stood aside as the ruler of this city made his presence known beyond the castle walls at last.
Crown Prince Roland Contzen, Heir to the Kingdom of Tirea.
