FF Chapter 74: Going Out (Patreon)

One morning, a few days after our sojourn to Twist of Fate, I found myself working in my study. Sunlight streamed through the windows, illuminating the space. A cup of tea sat nearby, almost lost in between the piles of paperwork. Its fragrance filled the air.

Things had remained quiet over the past few days as we waited to hear back from Reinhard. Even for someone as well connected as him, it would take some time to find the information we needed. While we waited, we focused on other matters.

I fulfilled my duties as heir to House Kaltbrand, which included attending a certain number of social events. I didn’t have to attend as many now, thanks to Mom and Dad, but I still had to show my face every now and again. Lina and I also finished the preparations for our engagement party.

We decided to keep it small and invite just a few guests, but it still required a lot of time and effort on our parts. However, that was all done and dealt with. Now, all we needed to do was hold the party itself. After some discussion, Lina and I decided to wait until after we dealt with the current matter.

As for Emmerich, after we returned from Twist of Fate, he secluded himself in his rooms and rarely came out. Lina and I were worried at first. However, we later found out that Emmerich was researching a way to defend against Reinhard’s divine power, which eased our worries a bit. Finding himself at Reinhard’s mercy must have had a profound impact on Emmerich, driving him to improve himself.

I thought this was prudent. While Reinhard was our ally for now, that didn’t mean he would remain so in the future. Finding a way to protect ourselves against his divine power could prove useful later on. While I was confident in my ability to face him in a fair fight, I doubted he would give me the opportunity. He wasn’t stupid.

Maria and Alois continued to gather information through their own respective means, so we didn’t see much of them over the past few days either. Despite our deal with Reinhard, I didn’t know if we could trust anything he brought to us at face value. It was better to gather as much information on our own as possible.

However, it was slow going. Whoever was responsible for stealing from the orphanages under Princess Henriette’s patronage had covered their tracks well. Still, I had faith in Maria and Alois. While they weren’t as connected to Haven’s criminal underworld as Reinhard, they were skilled and competent in their own right.

All in all, we were quite busy in the days following our visit to Twist of Fate. Too busy for Lina’s tastes, apparently. All of a sudden, Lina barged into my study without warning. Her arrival caught me off guard.

“We’re going out.” She said in a firm tone.

I blinked at her in confusion.

“Out?” I asked. “Out where?”

“Anywhere.” Lina said. “As long as it’s not here.”

I frowned at her.

“Lina, I have a lot of work to do.” I said. “I’m not in the mood for riddles, so please speak plainly. Where do you want to go?”

Lina pointed right at me.

“See?” She said. “That’s the problem right there. We’ve been so busy these past few weeks that we’ve hardly had any time for ourselves. It’s gotten so bad that you’ve forgotten what it means to just go out and enjoy yourself.”

I opened my mouth to respond, but didn’t say anything. She was right. We had been busy over the past several weeks; ever since we arrived at Haven in fact. Yes, we had some free time here and there. However, those moments were fleeting and far between.

In my defense, as the heir to House Kaltbrand, I had a lot of responsibilities. House Kaltbrand owned several properties, such as coldsteel mines. Not only that, but we ruled over an entire region. This generated a lot of paperwork. Dealing with it all was an endless task, despite my best efforts. Maybe I should hire a secretary or an aide to ease the burden.

“When was the last time you and I went out and spent time together?” Lina asked, pulling me out of my thoughts. “Just the two of us?” She gave me a mock glare. “We’re planning on spending the rest of our lives together, but we haven’t been on a proper outing. You’ve been remiss in your duties, Lord Wulfe.”

The corners of her lips quirked up when she said that last sentence, letting me know that she wasn’t as angry as she pretended to be. However, the look in her eyes told me that I shouldn’t dismiss her words. Not that I planned to. Once again, she was right. Looking back on it, we hadn’t been on a proper outing. Yes, the two of us attended various social events together, but that was an extension of our duties as nobles, not for fun.

I looked at the piles of paperwork on my desk and decided to follow Lina’s lead. Taking a day off wouldn’t put me too far behind. Regardless of what I did, I would still be busy tomorrow. I might as well take some time to enjoy myself.

“Very well.” I said, standing up. “Let us go out. Did you have any particular place in mind? Or did you want to go out and see where our feet take us?”

Lina mulled it over for a moment.

“Let us see where our feet take us.” She said. “Or better yet, why don’t we go to a part of Haven that neither of us explored before?”

I grinned.

“In that case,” I said, “I have an idea.”

Lina raised an eyebrow at that.

***

A little over two hours later, Lina and I found ourselves in one of the shopping districts located in Haven’s Outer City. It was a bright and sunny day, with just a few small clouds in the sky above. As per usual, I found the temperature a bit too warm for my tastes. In fact, as the summer solstice drew closer and closer, temperatures only continued to rise, much to my displeasure.

This particular district was popular among the minor nobles and wealthy commoners that called Haven home. While it wasn’t as prosperous as the districts within Haven’s Inner City, it was still better off than most of the Outer City. The air here smelled clean.

Shops and restaurants occupied most of the buildings in the area. Many of the former had large glass windows, which displayed their interiors to the public. Street stalls lined the streets, selling a variety of sweet and savory treats. There were also entertainers, who put on amusing performances.

People roamed the streets. Some focused on shopping, some chatted away with any friends or acquaintances that they happened to meet, and others walked around to take in the sights. Children ran around, often to the bemusement of their guardians. Several of them crowded around the street performers, often letting out shrieks of laughter. Armed guards patrolled the area and kept the peace.

Lina and I were among those who just wanted to take in the sights. The two of us walked down the street, hand in hand. Despite our lofty status compared to everyone else here, we didn’t stand out much. This was because we were in disguise. At the moment, we weren’t the heir to House Kaltbrand and his lady. Instead, we were just Wulfram and Lina, two lovers out for a stroll.

When Lina said that she wanted to explore parts of Haven that she had never seen before, my first thought was to disguise ourselves as commoners. That way, we wouldn’t stand out as much and could enjoy ourselves in peace. However, I discarded that idea almost right away. If we tried, we would just stand out even more. It would be obvious to everyone that we were nobles, from the way we spoke to the way we carried ourselves. It was ingrained into our bones. Disguising ourselves as commoners would do little to hide this.

This was a problem that I faced when I first ran away from House Guld and worked as a mercenary. It took me some time to break the habits of a lifetime and blend in with the other mercenaries. Even then, traces of my upbringing remained.

In the end, I suggested to Lina that we disguise ourselves as minor nobles. That way we could explore Haven without standing out too much. Lina grew excited by this idea and agreed right away. It was a chance to put aside her identity as a daughter of House Guld and be someone else, at least for a little while.

Afterwards, I asked Baron Kurz to make the necessary arrangements. He didn’t disappoint. In a short amount of time, he procured clothing that was typical among the minor nobility, as well as an unmarked carriage. He also found a pair of nondescript uniforms for our bodyguards. While unusual, it wasn’t unheard of for minor nobles to have bodyguards escort them. Since Alois was busy, a female knight from the Golden Rose Knights served as Lina’s bodyguard for today.

For additional protection, I instructed the Blue Shadows to watch over us from the shadows. Both House Kaltbrand and House Guld had many enemies. What if said enemies saw our outing as an opportunity to attack us? While I was confident in my ability to protect both myself and Lina, I saw no reason to tempt fate. I learned my lesson after getting kidnapped by Tower Master Katarina.

I also instructed Baron Kurz to arrange something for this evening, though I asked him to keep it a secret from Lina. I wanted to surprise her. He agreed and went to work. After he left, I made a mental note to reward him later. He didn’t bat an eye to my abrupt demands and performed well. Competence and loyalty should be rewarded.

When Lina put on the clothes that Baron Kurz procured, she found it a novel experience. As a daughter of House Guld, she always wore clothing made from the highest quality materials and created by the most skilled modistes. Wearing a dress of inferior quality was a new experience for her.

“This was a good idea.” I said as Lina and I walked down the street. “Thank you. I hadn’t realized how burdened I was until now.”

I felt a nagging sensation, as if I still had a vital task left to do and I needed to go finish it. Despite that, my shoulders felt lighter than they had been in a while. Being the heir to House Kaltbrand was a heavy burden. It felt good to cast it off for a little while.

“Of course it was a good idea,” Lina said, scoffing, “I’m the one who came up with it.”

I snorted at that and rolled my eyes. I found Lina’s confidence both attractive, as well as exasperating at times. Still, she had reason to be confident.

“What’s that?” Lina asked, pointing to one of the stalls.

I looked over and saw something I had never seen before. It appeared as if the stall owner, a middle-aged man with a kindly face, was creating small and fluffy clouds using some kind of magic tool. The clouds came in two colors: blue and pink. I watched as the stall owner created a blue cloud and gave it to a child. The child bit into the cloud and made a surprised, but pleased, expression.

“I’m not sure.” I said. “Those fluffy clouds look like some kind of treat.” I grinned at Lina. “Shall we take a closer look?”

Lina nodded. The two of us headed towards the stall, though we had to wait for a while since there was a line. If we had revealed our identities, we could have skipped the line. However, that went against the spirit of this outing. Besides, abusing our status for something like this was petty and unnecessary.

When it was our turn, I took a moment to observe the magic tool and how it worked. It turned out that it created the fluffy clouds by heating and spinning colored sugar, turning them into thin strands. The stall owner then collected the strands of sugar using a paper cone and shaped them into fluffy clouds.

“What are those?” Lina asked, pointing to the fluffy clouds. She wore a fascinated expression on her face.

“I call them sugar clouds.” The stall owner explained, a proud expression on his face. “My daughter came up with the idea after she created this thing.” He tapped the magic tool used to create sugar clouds. “She’s a magician who specializes in creating magic tools.”

Lina eyed the magic tool with a speculative expression on her face.

“Your daughter must be a genius to come up with something like this.” She said.

The stall owner beamed at her.

“Aye,” he said, “My daughter is a clever lass. She isn’t a powerful magician, but she knows how to use what power she does have.”

Lina gave the stall owner a bright smile.

“This magic tool has a lot of potential.” She said. “If your daughter is interested in creating and selling more like it, tell her to go to the Pink Orchid Trading Company’s office here in Haven. I’m sure we can work out a deal.”

The stall owner blinked at her in surprise. I didn’t blame him. The Pink Orchid Trading Company was an actual trading company as well as House Guld’s information gathering organization. Due to its connection with House Guld, it wasn’t something just anyone could gain access to.

“My family works for the interests of House Guld.” Lina explained.

I almost snickered. It wasn’t a lie, though her words didn’t convey the whole truth. Lina just implied, but didn’t outright state, that her family were vassals of House Guld.

“Tell your daughter to say that Lina sent her.” My spring queen continued. “The employees at the office will know what it means.”

“Oh.” the stall owner said, his eyes wide with shock. “I’ll… I’ll be sure to let her know.”

The people behind us in the line started to grumble with impatience, so we ordered two sugar clouds for ourselves and moved on. The moment I bit into mine, I resisted the urge to moan. It was sweet and fluffy, as expected. However, I didn’t expect it to melt in my mouth right away. It was an interesting and delicious experience.

“Oh my.” Lina said, covering her mouth with her hand. “This is delightful. I hope that man’s daughter visits the Pink Orchid Trading Company. Something like this deserves to be shared with the rest of the world.”

“I thought the whole point of this outing was to get away from work.” I said in a teasing tone.

Lina gave me a sideways glance.

“It is.” She said. “However, some opportunities must be taken the moment one comes across them, lest they be lost forever.”

I chuckled at that, before I resumed eating my sugar cloud. It disappeared in no time at all. I was almost tempted to go back for more, but resisted the urge. Lina and I continued on our way. We browsed the shops’ wares from outside, ate some more treats, and overall had a good time. However, all good things come to an end.

A few hours into our outing, I noticed two people who I hadn’t expected to run into at all: Leopold and Lady Josepha Galdur, Duchess Galdur’s youngest daughter. They were some distance away, but I recognized them both right away. Like Lina and I, the two of them had disguised themselves as minor nobles. However, both of them stood out due to their distinctive appearances. Leopold bore the golden hair and golden eyes of the imperial family, while Lady Josepha’s silver hair marked her as a native of the Mistwood. 

The moment I saw Leopold, anger and unease filled me. I still hadn’t told my birth parents that I was considering supporting Leopold’s bid for the throne. His actions, and the actions of his family, still angered me. However, out of all the possible candidates for the throne, he was the least bad choice.

Prince Cornelius was an arrogant tyrant in the making, and Prince Jeremias no doubt held a grudge due to the incident with the Tower of Magic. The one person I would have supported without reservation had no interest in taking the throne. That left Leopold. This thought left a bitter taste in my mouth.

“Do you want to go talk with him?” Lina asked.

I turned to find her watching me with a concerned expression on her face.

“I don’t know what you mean.” I said.

Lina let out a derisive snort.

“I’m not blind, Wulfram.” She said. “I saw them as well.” She shook her head. “Only an idiot would fail to recognize a member of the imperial family.”

She was right. I studied the people around Leopold and Lady Josepha. From the expressions on their faces, I saw that they had recognized the true identities of the couple as well. At least, they had recognized that Leopold was a member of the imperial family.

Some made sure to keep their distance from the pair, while others looked like they wanted to approach. However, Leopold and Josepha were accompanied by a pair of bodyguards. I recognized one as Walter, or Volkhard rather, Prince Dirk’s right hand man. When I saw him my fingers twitched, as I resisted the urge to draw my sword. The other bodyguard wore hooded robes, which hid their appearance. However, they had the mana signature of a magician. Everyone else in the area gave them a wide berth.

All in all, Leopold and Lady Josepha’s attempt at disguising themselves had failed miserably. That led me to wonder if Lina and I had failed as well. I glanced around for a bit and realized that no one paid any particular attention to us. Well, several of the men paid attention to Lina, but that was because of her beauty. Jealousy surged up in my heart when I saw this, and I glared at the men eyeing my fiancée. Just for good measure, I released some of my pressure. They blanched and turned away.

“Well?” Lina asked, her eyes twinkling with amusement. “Shall we say hello to my cousin and his lady?”

I opened my mouth to respond. However, before I could, a man rushed towards us. I recognized him as one of the Blue Shadows. Lina’s bodyguard started to draw her sword, but I spoke up before she could.

“He’s one of ours.” I said.

The bodyguard looked at Lina, who nodded, before sheathing her sword once more.

“Lord Wulfe,” the Blue Shadow said, an urgent expression on his face, “A large group of Aura users is approaching this area, including two Aura Masters. It’s clear that they have malicious intent.”

Two Aura Masters? There were only supposed to be a handful of Aura Masters on the entire continent, with three of them belonging to House Kaltbrand. Even if I included those who kept their true strength hidden, like Volkhard, there still weren’t that many. There were few that could muster this level of power. I suspected I knew who was behind this.

“We need to leave before they get here.” Sir Kane said.

Disappointment filled me. I had enjoyed this outing with Lina and hadn’t wanted it to end this soon. Still, Lina’s safety took priority. While I could ensure my own survival, even against two other Aura Masters, that same couldn’t be said for the others. It was better to leave before trouble showed up.

“Lord Wulfe,” the Blue Shadow said after some hesitation, “From what we’ve observed, the Aura users’ aren’t targeting you and Lady Lina.”

I blinked at him, before my eyes widened. If Lina and I weren’t the target, then that only left one possible option. The group of Aura users was after Leopold and Lady Josepha.