Chapter Forty
Marteau laughed loudly as he clapped Saito's back, even as he held a piece of raw meat to his face to cover the swollen eye. "Man, we showed them didn't we?!"
The kitchen was empty, and if not for a candle, it would have also been dark. It was late at night -considerably late- and Louise was sleeping soundly in her bed just like Siesta, both girls out like a light.
"Well, you'd better start packing up," Marteau sighed. "I'll do the same."
Saito blinked, "But-But why?"
Marteau snorted. "Really can't see it, kid? We did attack Count Mott's men. Seems like that Cardinal of yours didn't as much as say a word to the Count, and if he did, then the Count ignored him. You've got...I reckon, two days tops before they make their way back to the Count's mansion. We did leave them naked, and on foot." He swallowed noisily. "Listen boy, I don't know if you know, but your partner's appearance and magic-"
"It was the first time I saw him do that," Saito said awkwardly.
"Well-look, there are stories, lots of stories, but-ahhh how am I ever going to break this argument to you kid? I think you're travelling with pure-blood nobility. Like, your friend might be a long lost heir or something like that-how else can I put it?"
"You mean the Valliére heir?" Saito hazarded, receiving a nod from Marteau.
"Exactly! Well, glad I don't have to go at it in a roundabout way," the chef smiled, "I'm an old man, so I can tell you this. If she is, or if she isn't, going in front of the Duchess with her might be a very good idea, or a very bad one."
Saito looked down at his hands, "Why would you say that?"
"The moment the Duchess' daughter disappeared, countless 'fakes' started to spread. Sad thing was, some of them didn't even know they were fakes. The Duchess has a way to find out her real daughter, something secret, I guess. But-" Marteau grimaced, "Those poor girls-look, if you aren't sure, just drop the thought. I mean, she did a pretty convincing display of power, but for all I know she could be a powerful Square Mage. Or maybe she had a wand hidden in her wrist, or something-" Marteau pulled the steak off his eyes. "What I'm trying to say is...at most, you've got two days to leave. I'd suggest a peaceful place like Gallia, but whatever you do, don't get roped in the rebellion in Albion. War's not a place for kids like you."
"There's...There's a war going on?" Saito hazarded.
Marteau inclined his head to the side and then chuckled. "Can't believe you don't-you don't know about it! Course there's a war going on. It's in Albion, the flying continent. There are dozens of ships that sail from La Rochelle in Gallia to reach it-which is why, even if I suggest going to Gallia for work, I'm also telling you not to go to Albion."
Saito hesitated. "We still have to finish paying back our debt to Lady Charlotte. If we have two days-"
"Lady Charlotte will understand," Marteau said. "If you explain it to her properly, I am sure she will understand," the Chef added thoughtfully. "If you can manage to have her back you up though, perhaps you can avoid having to leave for Gallia."
Saito furrowed his brows as the Chef stood up and stretched, heading towards the larder to put the steak back in place. "What about you and Siesta?"
"I can't decide for the girl. Going in hiding might be the best, but she might just be found out. The Count's going to make this a point of personal pride now. She could leave the country, but how far she can make it depends on her." Marteau sighed. "Go to sleep for now, Saito. You have tomorrow morning to suffer through."
Saito chuckled nervously. "It won't be that bad."
"People have died because they touched the wand of a noble. You just broke the wand of your partner, and I don't think she's going to forgive you just like that."
"She?" Saito croaked out.
"I'm an old man," Marteau said with a chuckle. "Old men have keen eyes."
With a wink, the Chef walked off to his room in the servant quarters, leaving Saito behind at the table with the candle still flickering in front of him.
Really.
This was such a mess, and he had been the one to cause it.
He had wanted to play the Hero, and while he had saved Siesta, he had just made everyone else worse off. How was he going to explain things to Lady Charlotte? And when Louise woke up the next morning, what was she even going to do to him? He doubted she'd do much more than kick him, but-but he really should have thought it better.
He brought both hands to his face and took a deep breath.
In that moment, there was a knock at the door.
Saito breathed in sharply, and then stood up warily from the table, nearing the door. The Count couldn't have reached them this fast, and his men were probably still sleeping Louise's spell off in the middle of the forest.
As he opened the door, he was met with striking blue hair, and had to lower his gaze to meet the eyes of Lady Charlotte, who looked up quizzically at him, her trademark staff in hand. She was a few steps away from the door however, and had probably used her staff to knock on it.
"You went into the forest at night?" Lady Charlotte asked, staying clear of the doorway and with her feet firmly planted on the grass of the courtyard. "Looking for the Pixie dust?"
"Ah-no," Saito replied awkwardly. "Did-Did we wake you up while leaving with the horse? We must have woken up the whole academy-"
"No," Charlotte replied with a small shake of the head. "I was not asleep. I saw you leave from the top of the tower with the chef." She narrowed her eyes slightly. "Saw the explosion in the distance. Pretty bright."
Saito chuckled nervously. "Well-Well that's Louis for you, he always makes flashy shows-"
"Training?" Charlotte asked.
"No, not really," Saito said, "Wouldn't you like to come inside, Lady Charlotte? It's a bit cold out-"
"No," the blue haired girl answered flatly, clutching her staff. "You can come outside."
Saito swallowed nervously as he did just that, closing the door behind him. Charlotte's shoulders seemed to slouch a bit, as if whatever tension she had in her body left her the moment the door was closed. Saito neared her and bowed, at least, he hoped he was bowing the right amount. Charlotte began to walk, and Saito started to walk by her side.
"What happened?" Charlotte asked. "You left in a hurry."
Saito hesitated only briefly, and then recounted the entire tale. Charlotte's eyes narrowed only slightly as she looked up at him from the side, and then giggled a little bit, covering her mouth with her hand at the end. "I can sympathize with your friend," she said softly, her fingers touching a lock of her light blue hair. "I would not want my hair dirty."
Saito awkwardly chuckled, "Yeah, Louis really cares about his hair to the point of having a meltdown."
"You do cherish him a lot," Charlotte said. "I think a gift to pacify him would be appropriate. A new wand-but you would not manage to reach the city and return by tomorrow morning, well...this morning," Charlotte added thoughtfully. "Follow me," as she ordered that with a kind voice, Saito did indeed follow the girl, like he was already doing, all the way into the familiar's courtyard where the blue scaled dragon was waiting for her.
"Climb," Charlotte said, and as she did so too, the dragon easily took them both up into the girl's room.
There were bubbling alembics and alchemy ingredients everywhere. Most of the stuff had been procured by Saito and Louise, but a lot more had come through other means. "By helping me procure the ingredients close by, I can concentrate on getting those far away," Charlotte said softly as she landed on a fur rug, which wasn't in fact covered in fur, but in scales. It was a dragon's skin, apparently.
"To prevent spillover in the room below," Charlotte said at Saito's surprised look. There were a couple of cauldrons so similar to those seen in cartoons with 'witches' and frankly, if Charlotte had a pointy black hat, and a black cat, then perhaps it would have made sense.
"You're an alchemist?" Saito asked, "No man-eating plants or large-sized rodents and spiders, I hope."
"No," Charlotte replied properly. She looked warily at Saito for a moment, and then said bluntly, "Antidotes."
"Well, I guess it makes sense with the amount of dangerous creatures out there," Saito said with a nod. Charlotte opened a drawer beneath her dresser, and after pushing aside a few clothes, brought out a large box that she settled nicely on the desk nearby. Opening it up, the box had an inner lining of soft silk pillows, as if whatever rested upon it was very important.
It was a set of wands.
"Here," Charlotte said, picking one. "You can give her this." She held the wand out for Saito to take. "It's a wand meant for a Knight of the North Parterre, my personal guard." She hesitated briefly. "It should also keep her safe from the Count's retribution."
Saito blinked as he looked at the wand, "But-but wouldn't that be a problem for you, Char-I mean, Lady Charlotte?"
"It is fine," Charlotte replied. "You did help me."
"But-but I mean, we're still paying you back for-"
Charlotte shook her head. "I would have helped even if you had been farmers, not expecting anything in return," she smiled softly as she said that. "You will need one too-not a wand, but a cloak."
Saito scratched the side of his face. "I-I mean, are you sure? We're just adventurers, Louis and I-we're not going to stick around for much, I mean-I mean if you need a hand with something of course we'll help, that's what adventurers do, but-but we're trying to head back home-so-"
Charlotte simply giggled. "It is fine," she said, opening the dresser next. There were at least a good dozen of cloaks, all with the same symbol upon their golden clasp of a wand crossed with a shield. "I am the one who decides who wears the cloak and who does not," she added as she looked up at Saito. "Could you kneel, please?"
Saito furrowed his brows, but dutifully obeyed.
Charlotte nodded, and brought her staff in front of her. "This is...the ceremony for knighting someone. I wanted to do this once, so-please stay still."
Saito awkwardly nodded as Charlotte began to speak, and once she was done with the strange words -probably 'Gallian' or whatever tongue it was that was her native tongue, she placed the mantle around Saito's neck, clasping it on for him. "Here," she said softly. "Now you are a knight of North Parterre, by my will as Charlotte Helene D'Orleans of Gallia. If any dare to question your worth, then let them know that the heir of the Crown of Gallia stands behind you."
Saito remained stiffly locked in place as the girl's staff went down first on his right shoulder, and then on his left.
'So Louise, I kind-of got knighted and got you a wand while you were asleep' would certainly work out well for the girl.
Probably. Now, if it weren't for the fact that Charlotte's door was outright melted into the wall, and he had to take the 'dragon-lift' to descend, maybe the nightly knighting would have been the strangest thing happening to him on that night.
As it was though, he hoped Louise liked the new wand.
Truth be told, he just hoped Louise wouldn't kill him when she woke up with her old wand broken.
He really liked being alive.
He really, really, liked that.