Fritz looked down at the plate he was served. It was a well-seared beef steak alongside herbs and hot, bubbling butter, paired with a plate of decadent white crème bavarois, glazed with caramel sauce by a maid behind them. It was certainly quite the offering, and though he expected this from high nobility, he was quite a bit jarred by it.
In the palace, rarely did the Queen ever treat him or anyone with luxurious meals. The only time he had seen it served was when trade delegates from the Kingdom of Monteria, the second-largest country in the continent, arrived last week.
Even then, Cecilia held back considerably at serving them. She must have been cutting the palace’s food budget significantly.
Out here though, in Duchess von Wiese’s dining hall, it seemed that the pomp and splendor of nobility was alive and well. Servants surrounded them, the walls were pristine white and adorned by gold-framed paintings, the floor was made out of marble, and chandeliers hung on top of the high ceiling.
It was quite the contrast to the increasingly utilitarian decorations that began to dominate the Burgundy Palace under Cecilia’s administration. He didn’t seem to have realized it as he was focused on training in the palace, but indeed, the old luxurious ways he was raised within his mother’s court were now somewhat grating him after he adjusted to Burgundy Palace’s more muted style.
Fritz looked back at Duchess von Wiese, as a butler handed her a bottle of wine. She smiled at Fritz and Ludolph.
“Gentlemen, this is a twenty-seven-year-old Riesling wine,” she declared, presenting it to the two with her gloved hands. “I have heard that you two encountered some difficulty on the way to our lands. I would like to offer this as an apology.”
Wine as an apology? Fritz laughed internally. Sure, lady.
“We would certainly appreciate some of those,” Fritz replied, his princely training kicking in, and his laugh turning into a charming and amused one. “I’m sure Ludolph here would be quite pleased with it.”
“Is that so?” The smile on the Duchess grew, as she looked at Ludolph, who, unlike Fritz, was now acting like a frozen statue, his face devoid of any expression. The military man, it seemed, wasn’t exactly the height of refinement, and he could only nod awkwardly. “Your partner certainly seems excited.”
“I am, Your Grace,” Ludolph said, his face still devoid of any hint of excitement. “I am…very excited to have a taste of this wine that’s older than me.”
Fritz looked back at his buddy, internally facepalming. Ludolph, noticing that he may be failing at appearing pleased at the Duchess’ offerings, tried to add a few words in to smooth over the possibility of ruffling her feathers.
“I’m sure it will certainly beat the alcohol we get in the Army,” Ludolph tried to laugh. “Those are prime garbage compared to this. I mean, it looks quite white, that’s a good sign.”
“It is white wine,” the Duchess replied.
“Right. Exactly, white wine…is white, Your Grace.”
Ludolph said that as if he had made a groundbreaking discovery.
It’s not even white you genius!
But instead of the Duchess awkwardly staring at the two, she broke into open laughter.
“You two are still exactly as I remember,” she said, handing the bottle to the butler behind her. “Please, do give them their portions first. The young lads seem positively thirsty.”
“I’ll be on it, Your Grace,” the butler calmly replied, taking it, and popping the cork. He then proceeded to fill Fritz’s and Ludolph’s glasses, before moving on to the Duchess’ wine glass. Fritz watched as the butler filled it until the Duchess gave the man a grateful nod.
“Thanks,” she then turned to Fritz. “Now, onto the two of you. You came here to talk about policy, didn't you? It’s quite a boorish topic, but, I imagine Her Majesty is already quite irate about the disruptions to her plans.”
“Indeed,” Fritz began slicing his steak. “Those magic powders we were sourcing from this Duchy are not just for the production purposes of my father’s corporation, but also for a lot of experimental tools that Cecilia is investing in.”
“I have heard of that,” she calmly sipped her wine. “The last I’ve heard was that…she had teams making these tools that can pump out water easily out of our mines, isn’t that correct?”
I haven’t heard of that. But I did hear she needed to figure out how to meet the growing iron demand…
“Yes,” Fritz nodded. “And I imagine she’d need those powders to enchant the tools needed for that task.”
“Quite,” the Duchess nodded. “She seems a bit obsessed about a lot of strange things, doesn't she?”
“...”
“That powder we’re shipping to the crownlands, I believe it to be a part of that obsession,” she laughed. “By creating powerful enchanted weapons that can be produced at scale, she must be planning to field a massive force soon.”
“It’s for the defense of Orellia,” Fritz replied, laughing. “Surely, no one would find any problem with that. We’re now in a tense era with the Empire in the east being so—”
“Please,” the Duchess waved it off. “Levonia will be Levonia until the end no matter what we do, but we are insulated from that problem. Quite frankly, hearing from fear mongers pointing to the east bores me, when the revolutionaries of Norland are out for our blood.”
“Why?”
“Because of a massive Kingdom standing between us and them?” she laughed. “I know you two are more aggressive than most, but one must live their lives with clarity at times. They may sable rattle against us, but Monteria will keep them at bay.”
Fritz laughed at that. He knew that not even the fortified frontier between his former nation and Monteria wouldn’t last once the Empress decided to send her forces westward. It would be over in a year or two if not months. If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.
“Monteria is not eternal, Your Grace.”
“I know, but my point is, as of this moment, there is no true need for a standing army of such size and professionalism. The only true threat to Orellia is the rabble of the Norlish isle. We can raise an army should they invade. So why is the Queen acting this way?”
“For the security of the Orellian State.”
“Exactly,” her thin smile grew. “Her Majesty has every hallmark of a benevolent despot. She does not care for the aristocracy, the royal family, the Celean faith, and everything else that I and my peers prefer. In fact, she views us as hurdles, even if people like me are trying to stay loyal to her. Instead, she wants to prioritize the nation itself. She wants her way of governing Orellia in every manner possible, over the interests of her vassals. Therefore, her goal is the primacy of the state over the nobility.”
“...”
“Goddess, she’s even so focused on expanding the scope and powers of the civil service,” she eyed Fritz intently. “Why? So that the levers of power are shifted away from us into you: commoner bureaucrats.”
“...And your point is?” Fritz lowered his cutlery. “Quite frankly, it would be better anyway for us if the Orellian state is strengthened. We can develop the nation better. We can respond better to foreign threats. It’s all good in the end.”
“Regardless, she’s making herself many enemies in her gambit to strengthen Orellia,” she swished her glass. “Those shipments being sent to her are being intercepted by bandits armed by someone who doesn’t like the arrangement she wants. I’m still investigating it because my merchants are also being harmed by this unpleasantness.”
“Hah…” Fritz shook his head. “I almost thought you were against Her Majesty there for a moment.”
“I lead the Royal Guard,” the Duchess said, smiling a bit. “It’s my job to protect the Queen first and foremost. House Wiese has held that role since the inception of the Kingdom. Even if she burns this Kingdom to the ground, the Royal Guard will be with her till the end.”
“Words are just words, Lady Alexandra.”
“Not if they’re backed by hundreds of years of service to the Royal Family,” her eyes held a dangerous glint on it. “So don’t accuse me of anything. I merely am giving the warning to her, that stiff opposition is being organized against her.”
“Then let us focus instead on a positive way to tackle that conundrum,” Fritz leaned forward. “I would like to propose something that would benefit your lands and the rest of Orellia.”
“You want me to take down the bandits with you?”
“It’s not that audacious of an act,” Fritz said. “If the crownlands can pacify the countryside, so can you—if you let the Army in.”
At last, Ludolph joined in after he chewed another slice of his steak.
“Your Grace, I have notified the leadership of the 1st Assault Brigade about the conditions in your Duchy, and they are ready to spare a battalion to aid a suppression attempt in your lands,” Ludolph grinned confidently. “It will also be a good exercise to further test the brigade’s new methods of warfare too.”
The Duchess laughed.
“And I presume that the 1st Brigade also wants to demonstrate its strength once again?” she asked. “Is that another goal of yours?”
“Perhaps…?”
“I see,” she nodded, turning back to Fritz. “I’ll consider this proposal. I’ll also see how I’ll support such an operation if I think it is feasible. But for now, I can’t guarantee anything.”
“That’s quite unfortunate,” Fritz frowned. “Her Majesty won’t be pleased if I come back there with a letter from you telling her ‘no’.”
“I didn’t say you two would have to wait that long,” she placed her glass of wine back on the table. “Give me two or three days. For now, I’d invite you and your men to check in on my investigation efforts. Then you can come back here, and I’ll see what I can do.”
“Well, she did give us a week or two as a timeframe,” Fritz leaned back on his chair, a smile on his face. “Alright then. We’re up for it.”
“That’s good,” she nodded, slicing her steak a bit. She then looked at Fritz’s plate, then, she covered her mouth with her gloved hand as she giggled. “Oh and would you please enjoy your meal, Mr. Rolentz? All this talk of security policy seems to have distracted you from eating such a fine steak.”
“Ah, I apologize,” Fritz took his fork and knife back. “Again, thank you for letting us in here.”
“Don’t apologize, my dear guest. House Wiese is always in service to House Orellia, including the Royal Family’s esteemed agents.”
Fritz nodded.
“It’s good to hear that.”
+++
“That lady’s intense as always,” Ludolph groaned as they walked out of the castle’s ground. “Can’t even look at her properly.”
Fritz chuckled.
“Yeah, next time, eyes up, and look straight into her face instead. She’s married.”
“Oi, my eyes have always been up, ya hear?”
As they approached their carriage, their driver, the corporal, woke up from his driver’s seat. The soldier clearly napped while they were at the castle proper.
“Captain?” the soldier frantically stood up. “Apologies, I fell—”
“It’s fine, corporal,” Ludolph shrugged it off. “Had a good sleep over there?”
“I didn’t realize I fell asleep…”
“You woke up fast when we approached you,” Ludolph gave him a thumbs up. “All good. Drive us to the town will you?”
The soldier snapped a quick salute.
“Aye, captain. We’re moving out, get in please.”
With a neigh from the four horses up front, their carriage left the gates and drove out into the countryside. Fritz took a glance at his notes as the sun set down on the horizon.
“Lieutenant Letzel should be on the move already,” Ludolph said, his voice taking a more serious tone now.
“I know,” Fritz nodded, as he flipped the pages on his notes. “We’ll try to shake things up a bit. That’ll tip her to our side. If she’s not on the other side of course.”
“Right,” Ludolph relaxed in his seat. “You think she’s being genuine?”
“I am sure that she is reluctantly loyal to the Queen. What we need to focus on, is targeting the bastards trying to slowly sway her to the wrong team,” Fritz closed his notes. “We’ll stick to the big plan as always.”
“Assuming that damned thing survives first contact,” Ludolph shook his head. “The bandits out here won’t be like the ones in Glantzstadt.”
“Hmm, figured as much. Oh, there they are, I think.”
Suddenly their carriage stopped. Fritz pushed his side door open, leaving his carriage and fixing his suit. Out of the woods, the platoon of soldiers from Ludolph’s company emerged. Lieutenant Letzel, who was holding his stinger crossbow, gave a stiff salute as he approached both Fritz and Ludolph.
“How’d it go?” the officer casually asked with a calm smile. “You both look quite stuffed.”
“Well, she did feed us,” Ludolph answered.
“And the talks went quite decently, for now,” Fritz replied, eyeing the group of soldiers. In the night, the muted colors of their uniform blended well with the environment. Though, I imagine dull green would do better. “How’s the situation on your end?”
“We got word from one of our local informants, and I’ve sent a squad to check it,” a grin grew on the officer’s face. “We can do a big haul tonight.”
“I see,” Fritz looked at the distant town, its quietness deafening. “Let’s see how you folks will do with this one then.”