Socializing with Dunkelfelger

Socializing with Dunkelfelger

Socializing with Dunkelfelger

“Good day, Aub Ehrenfest,” Dunkelfelger’s first wife said when she arrived in front of us. Her eyes—which were as red as Hannelore’s—were crinkled in a smile, but it was clear that she was observing us intently. She was scary in an entirely different way from Aub Dunkelfelger, who chirped incessantly about ditter.

“Good day, Lady Sieglinde of Dunkelfelger,” I replied, feeling so tense that my throat went dry. Sylvester and I both stood up to give proper greetings, then we offered Sieglinde and Hannelore seats.

“Printing, books, rituals...” Sieglinde said with a smile. “There is much I wish for us to discuss, but let us first focus on that eventful game of ditter, which holds great significance for the future of both our duchies. Although there was an interruption midway through, the judge did not pause the match. Thus, it concluded when Hannelore willingly left Dunkelfelger’s base.”

Sieglinde spoke in a soft voice and with a peaceful expression, but she was noticeably critical of her daughter’s actions. Hannelore herself was looking down at the ground and visibly shrinking into herself.

“Lady Hannelore left her base only because it was too dangerous for her to remain there without guard knights,” I said, trying to justify her decision. She had been fearfully enduring the onslaught from above all on her own, without anyone to protect her. But despite my pleas, Sieglinde’s smile never so much as wavered.

“The knights headed skyward to protect their treasure from the attack magic raining down upon them,” she replied. “And yet, Hannelore still decided to leave the base of her own will. In doing so, did she not betray those who were fighting for her sake?”

That wasn’t how I viewed the situation at all. “I was raised to believe that archduke candidates are to be guarded by their knights. As such, Lady Hannelore being left alone constitutes a dereliction of duty for those meant to protect her.”

“Oh my... Is this to say that Ehrenfest considers Hannelore’s actions acceptable?”

Hannelore’s actions might have been deserving of criticism by Dunkelfelger standards, but we saw things differently in Ehrenfest. I thought to protest further, but Sylvester spoke up from beside me before I could.

“Guard knights live to protect the archducal family, and one’s treasure should be considered above all else in a game of ditter. It is the fault of the knights that Lady Hannelore was taken.”

Right! Exactly! The guard knights are to blame for abandoning her!

I showed my agreement with a big nod.

Sieglinde cast her eyes down in thought. “So, is this Ehrenfest’s stance? Hannelore should not be blamed for leaving Dunkelfelger’s base of her own volition.”

I was glad to see that Sieglinde didn’t share Aub Dunkelfelger’s desire to resolve every dispute with a game of ditter—and it seemed that we had even come to something of an understanding. Before I could express my relief, however, her lips twisted into a more determined smile.

“I see now that even if Tarkus is born through Flutrane’s power, the guidance of Dregarnuhr will unfailingly take him to Verfuhremeer...” she said, then sighed so ambiguously that it was hard to tell whether she was feeling relief or regret.

Er, what does that mean?

To begin with, the name “Tarkus” didn’t ring a bell. Was it a kind of animal unique to Dunkelfelger? Or perhaps a minor figure from some obscure mythos?

I think I can work out the rest, though. Tarkus—whoever or whatever that is—would evidently be born in fresh water and then end up going to the ocean when the time is right. So what Sieglinde means to say is... when people grow up, they move to places that better suit who they are?

As I was working through what she meant, maintaining a vague smile all the while, Sieglinde looked between Sylvester and me. I suddenly felt trapped in her red eyes, and I couldn’t help but swallow hard.

“Dunkelfelger lost the match, so Hannelore will marry into Ehrenfest,” Sieglinde said plainly. “That should do, as it seems that your duchy is her Verfuhremeer.”

Hold on a moment! Did she just agree to give Lady Hannelore to Ehrenfest? Before we even had a chance to say she doesn’t have to?!

Sieglinde was bringing the discussion to an end before we could even express our thoughts or hopes. Sylvester and I exchanged looks before hurrying to change her mind.

“You, um... You mentioned that marrying into Ehrenfest is what Lady Hannelore desires, but is that true? She will end up being only a second wife.”

The very idea of an archduke candidate from Dunkelfelger, the second-highest-ranked duchy in Yurgenschmidt, becoming a second wife in Ehrenfest was unthinkable. Sieglinde seemed like someone who was willing to listen to reason—unlike her ditter-obsessed husband—so I wanted her to think about her daughter’s future a little more carefully. However...

“She left our duchy’s base of her own will,” Sieglinde said. “For her to have made such a choice, she must have desired the natural consequences. We were more troubled than anyone to learn that a Dunkelfelger archduke candidate wishes to hold a secondary position in Ehrenfest.”

Sieglinde seemed convinced that her daughter had acted out of self-interest... but I couldn’t think of one occasion when Hannelore had mentioned wanting to marry into Ehrenfest. I kept half an eye on my fellow bookworm, but she just kept staring at the ground with her mouth shut, like she was swallowing whatever it was she wanted to say.

Lady Hannelore...

Seeing her like this, I was reminded of when Lestilaut had silenced her protests while challenging us to ditter. No matter how you looked at it, she wasn’t acting like someone who wanted to marry into Ehrenfest; on closer inspection, she was literally trembling.

Sylvester, having likely come to the same conclusion, turned his dark-green eyes to Sieglinde. “If you would allow me to be so bold, I would say that Ehrenfest is an upstart duchy that just barely reached eighth place in the duchy rankings and does not yet meet the expectations put upon it. We are in no position to host a Dunkelfelger archduke candidate.”

Sieglinde nodded with a smile. “You are correct. At the moment, Ehrenfest’s only value is in Lady Rozemyne, who introduces new trends and industries, knows an impressive amount about ancient language and rituals, and possesses the leadership necessary to unify her dormitory despite all that is happening. You are far from being worthy of one of our archduke candidates.”

She was agreeing with us, but it was still irritating. In regard to our trends and such, I only came up with the ideas; our craftspeople deserved all the credit for making them. And while I did manage the dormitory to some degree, Wilfried was much better at pumping everyone up and getting them focused on a single goal. I was also terrible at socializing and needed to rely on Charlotte to attend tea parties in my place.

Before I could protest, however, Sylvester gave me a light kick. That was the signal for me to keep my mouth shut, so I did just that, no matter how dissatisfied it made me feel.

Sieglinde watched Sylvester with her head very slightly tilted. “I can understand why Ehrenfest, a duchy that is rising through the ranks, would desire an archduke candidate from somewhere as historied as Dunkelfelger. But I must ask: Why do you want her as a second wife?”

To explain that, we would need to delve into our behind-the-scenes struggle with Ahrensbach. I wasn’t sure how much we could reveal, so I gazed up at Sylvester for support.

“I can say only that it relates to Ehrenfest’s internal circumstances.”

“Oh my. But the purpose of a first wife is to be exploited. She is used as a means to secure the diplomatic support of her home family. Second wives are then taken from one’s own duchy and are tasked with managing its nobles. Surely even Ehrenfest is aware of this dynamic.”

Is that true for all duchies or just Dunkelfelger?

It sounded reasonable enough to be a universal rule, but I’d never heard it phrased in such a way before. I decided to remain silent, while Sylvester said nothing and merely looked at Sieglinde.

“Pray tell,” Sieglinde continued, “what internal circumstances made you think it best to put Hannelore in the completely fruitless position of second wife? As she would only ever be able to socialize within Ehrenfest, you would be severing a truly valuable tie to our duchy. I am ever so eager to know, Aub Ehrenfest.”

“Top-ranking duchies have their own methods, and so do we” was all that Sylvester said in response. We had just purged the former Veronica faction, and we couldn’t risk angering the Leisegang faction too.

“Of course,” Sieglinde replied, “but my argument still stands. I see it as meaningless for Ehrenfest to take a wife from a top-ranking duchy when you are being completely and voluntarily ignorant of common-sense diplomacy. Worse still, it appears that you have no desire to climb the duchy rankings further—or even maintain your current position, for that matter. I am fond of my daughter, despite how it may appear, and I would rather she not suffer the same unfortunate fate as a certain Ahrensbach romantic, who married an Ehrenfest archduke candidate due to become an archduke some generations ago.”

She was indirectly criticizing the aub of the time for his poor treatment of the situation. He had reduced the next archduke to an archnoble while welcoming her, failed to raise his duchy’s rank, failed to deepen its relationship with Ahrensbach, and ultimately failed to control his own nobles.

“It takes many moons spanning a generation before an entire noble population adjusts to how a top-ranking duchy must carry itself. Decades have passed since Ehrenfest welcomed that Ahrensbach archduke candidate. How has it changed since then?”

Sieglinde expressed no sympathy for Ehrenfest having been turned upside down by Gabriele of Ahrensbach. On the one hand, this helped me to understand how greater duchies viewed things... but on the other, it just irritated me further.

“Over the past few years, Ehrenfest has shot up through the rankings thanks to the windfall that Lady Rozemyne provided,” Sieglinde said. “However, it seems to me that your duchy has not changed in the least.”

From there, she obliquely and elegantly voiced the same criticisms we’d already received from Lestilaut. Sylvester listened carefully while wearing the same expression I was used to seeing from Wilfried. The indirect phrasing and plethora of euphemisms meant I only really understood about half of what was being said, but I was still getting increasingly upset.

Is listening quietly how nobles are supposed to socialize?

“So, what will your next move be, Aub Ehrenfest?” Sieglinde asked. “It must be clear to you by now that Lady Rozemyne is too large a soul to be contained within Ehrenfest for much longer.”

Despite my frustration, I continued to listen in silence—mostly because Sylvester was kicking my leg every time it looked as though I might speak up. Still, I didn’t want someone else deciding whether I was “too large a soul” for Ehrenfest.

“Geduldh chose to protect Mestionora by letting her go and entrusting her to Schutzaria,” Sieglinde went on. “It will be best for Lady Rozemyne and for everyone she knows if she is moved to a land where she can operate to her heart’s content.”

She was speaking in a kind voice and with an affable expression, but she was effectively telling Sylvester to give me up already. My heart was full of nothing but bitterness.

Sylvester muttered, “This is so stupid...” and then glanced my way. “Is all this Dunkelfelger volunteering to play the part of Schutzaria?”

“Yes, for she will serve as a shield to protect Mestionora and Ehrenfest, the duchy Hannelore is marrying into.”

Hadn’t I agreed to play ditter specifically to keep Sylvester from being pressured like this? And why were we having to listen to her criticize us for things that had nothing to do with our match? To top it all off, this had somehow turned into a conversation about Dunkelfelger protecting me or something.

Sieglinde kept using indirect phrasing to criticize us and move the conversation in the direction she pleased, all the while maintaining an elegant smile. It was like she was toying with us, gradually tightening the noose around our necks, and it angered me so much that I was dying to throw her words right back in her face.

“Excuse me, dear adoptive father,” I said, looking up at him. “Would we not benefit from some scissors to cut this rope around our throats?”

Sylvester widened his eyes, then shut them and waved a hand in defeat. “Do what you want. I’ll take care of whatever happens next.”

Having secured the permission I needed, I made direct eye contact with Sieglinde, making sure to maintain my elegant smile and posture. “Lady Sieglinde, are you perhaps unfamiliar with the terms under which our duchies played ditter?”

“On the contrary. I was told about them at length,” she replied, her gaze sharpening in what must have been an attempt to silence me.

“Then why do you ignore the results of our sacred game? Lord Lestilaut gave us his word that Ehrenfest would not be pressured into ending my engagement if we won.” Then, casting aside all the ambiguity of noble speech, I smiled and said, “You lost. Be silent as losers should be.”

Sieglinde merely stared at me as if my words were so direct that she hadn’t been able to process them.

“Lady Rozemyne...” Hannelore muttered. She had been facing the ground this entire time, but now she was looking between Sieglinde and me with wide, blinking eyes.

“Just as Flutrane and Heilschmerz heal in their own ways, what a third party wishes to see and what is satisfactory for those actually involved can be drastically different,” I said. “My mentor once told me that those who seek eternal peace do not need Glucklitat’s divine protection.” It was a euphemism that meant exactly the same thing as when Ferdinand had used it: “Get out of my face; I don’t need or want your help.”

Sieglinde’s expression changed. “For what reason did you request Hannelore?”

“To prevent a bothersome game of ditter from being forced upon us. My intention was to have our aubs discuss the matter instead, as I did not think Lord Lestilaut would have the authority to gamble Lady Hannelore’s future, but he took the decision into his own hands anyway. You were already aware of all this, I expect.”

The smile vanished from Sieglinde’s face, and she looked between Hannelore and me. “Did you not select Hannelore because Ehrenfest needs her for some reason or another?”

“Not at all; we always intended to nullify that condition after winning. It would be intolerably rude to have Lady Hannelore move to Ehrenfest, after all. I even hoped to use whatever little influence our victory would afford me to help her marry into the duchy of her choosing.”

“You always intended to, you say?”

Indeed, while Lestilaut and Wilfried were ironing out the specifics of our ditter match, Hannelore and I were discussing what we would do if Ehrenfest won. I was genuinely surprised that Sieglinde didn’t seem to know this.

All of a sudden, Sylvester smirked. He was poised to strike, like a warrior who had just found his enemy’s weak point. “As you indicated through your Ahrensbach example, Ehrenfest has not yet matured enough to house an archduke candidate from a greater duchy. If you wish to ensure the happiness of your beloved daughter, then do accept our request.”

In short, he was suggesting that we sweep this whole discussion about Hannelore marrying into our duchy under the rug for good. Sieglinde had just made some severely critical remarks about Ehrenfest; she was bound to leap at the chance to keep her daughter from moving there.

Or so I thought. For some strange reason, Sieglinde started to ponder the offer and then said, “What do you intend to do if my daughter wants to marry into Ehrenfest? Will you embrace common sense and take her as a first wife? Or will you maintain this irrational approach of yours?”

“My sincerest apologies, but Ehrenfest has not yet learned the ways of the top-ranking duchies,” Sylvester replied with a smile. Amid the chaos of the purge, Ehrenfest needed to prioritize peace and stability above all else, no matter how irrational it made us seem. We didn’t need any controversies that would rile up even more of our nobles.

“So you will accept her only as a second wife...” Sieglinde remarked. But before she could continue, Hannelore tugged on her sleeve with trembling hands.

“Mother, Ehrenfest won.”

It wasn’t just her hands—her entire body was shaking like a leaf. But her eyes were filled with resolve, and she didn’t falter as she looked up at her mother and said:

“Do not bother Ehrenfest any further.”

“Hannelore?”

Hannelore turned to look at Wilfried, who was hosting nobles at another table. I couldn’t tell whether the air she was radiating was real or just my imagination; there was a warm look in her eyes and an even warmer smile on her face.

“He was the first person to say he would protect me on the battlefield—the first person to offer me a choice, not give me an order. Thus, during that moment, I truly wished to marry into Ehrenfest.” She lowered her eyes for a moment, then looked at her mother head-on. The tenderness was gone from her expression, replaced with the determination of someone facing down a challenge. “However, Ehrenfest has said they cannot accommodate an archduke candidate from a greater duchy. They are not ready to welcome me, so pressing the matter further would only serve to inconvenience them. Is it truly acceptable for us to bother the winners after we forced them to play against us to begin with? Should we not grant their wish, at the very least?”

“Hannelore...” Sieglinde muttered. Judging by the troubled look on her face, she had not predicted this turn of events.