Chapter 34: Barbara...Sees Through Mia’s Little Game (...What Game?)

The sun was peeking over the horizon by the time the wolfmaster returned. Upon dismounting, he delivered a swift and terse report.

“They got away. We have failed.”

Barbara sighed deeply.

“Bah, I figured as much, but good grief...”

She walked over to a listless Citrina, who was standing by herself, and struck her across the face.

“Ow—”

The sound was short and sharp. Caught off guard, Citrina teetered and lost her balance, only to be forcibly righted by a violent tug on her arm. Barbara pulled her close.

“Cursed child... Useless...”

She was about to strike her a second time when the wolfmaster interjected.

“We have no time. The enemy has help on the way. They will soon give chase.”

“...Help on the way? Do they, now? And who did you hear that from?”

“No one in particular. They spoke of stalling for time.”

“Stalling... Considering they said it within earshot of you, it’s very likely a ruse. Ack, this is why I hate working with those who have swords for brains. Silly. So silly,” Barbara spat before giving Citrina’s shoulder a violent shove.

Citrina fell backward, landing painfully on her tailbone, which she nursed with one hand while the other cradled her bruising cheek.

“And you, milady, what a foolish thing you’ve done. So foolish.”

Barbara looked down at her, voice thick with contempt. Citrina made no reply. Instead, she uttered a private whisper.

“So... Bel made it out safely then... That’s good...”

“How could you be so utterly foolish,” Barabara continued. “You’ve been had, milady. The Great Sage of the Empire tricked you with her cunning words.”

“Did she? How so?”

The question came from the wolfmaster. Barbara rolled her eyes at him.

“Isn’t it obvious? The princess used moral pressure. She exploited milady’s conscience to manipulate her.”

“Exploited in what way?”

“Have you forgotten what the princess did? She looked milady in the eye and said ‘I believe in you.’ Right after being presented with incontrovertible proof that milady had been deceiving her this whole time. Who in their right mind would say that under those circumstances? No one. Unless they had another motive. Don’t you see? It’s all part of the princess’s ploy. By offering unconditional trust, she hoped to weigh down milady’s conscience to the point of cracking. And she succeeded. Because she recognized how weak the will of this useless child is...”

“That’s not true, Barbara... It’s not a ploy. She believed in Rina. She honestly bel— Mmm!”

Citrina was cut off by a hand closing around her cheeks. She made no attempt to resist as her face was pulled to within an inch of Barbara’s, who glared at her. Ultimately, her resigned expression drew a sigh out of the irritated attendant.

“Ugh, after all the time I spent training you to be a Serpent... I should have drawn the line long ago. A true Serpent would naturally have paid no heed to such things. But a failure of a Serpent like you...clearly can’t help but fall under her spell. Ah, good grief, you wretched thing... Oh, which reminds me.” Barbara paused to smile as a thought occurred to her. “That smoke back there... Tell me, was it the princess who taught you how to do that?”

Citrina’s ensuing silence was answer enough. Barbara shook her head.

“Which means...in return for your role in helping her escape, the Great Sage of the Empire chose to absolve you of guilt in this current matter. In doing so, she has done you a greater favor than you have her, and it is through exploiting this debt that she intends to make the House of Yellowmoon hers. After all, like you, the Duke of Yellowmoon is at best mediocre and ineffective. I doubt the princess will have much trouble wheedling him.”

The wolfmaster narrowed his eyes.

“What do we do with the girl then? Kill her and feed the body to the wolves? We could also leave the corpse for all to see. It will serve as a warning. In any case, traitors must be put to death.”

His hand went to the hilt of his sword, but Barbara stopped him with a slow shake of her head.

“Though the logic may escape people like you, let me assure you that what you are proposing is unwise.”

“Why? Kill her to set an example. It will send a powerful message to our opponents.”

“Are those ears of yours for show? Recall, if you even can, how the princess said that even if she died here, that wouldn’t be the end of her.”

He gave her a dubious look.

“I do remember. But surely, that is just the empty threat of cornered prey.”

Barbara shook her head again.

“Your judgment leaves much to be desired. Of course it isn’t. Or are you honestly suggesting that the Great Sage of the Empire, who nipped the Tearmoon revolution in the bud and doused the Remno revolution soon after...would stoop to the language of a sore loser?” she asked, her certainty of the answer apparent in the sarcasm dripping from her voice.

“Then what did she mean?”

“The wise know how to make use of death. Amongst the leaders of history, there are rare examples of brilliant kings who used even their own ends as a tool to further their sweeping stratagems. I fear our particular sage has done something similar. Knowing that her death was all but certain, she likely planned to utilize it in some fashion. The simplest possibility that comes to mind would be...a banner, for example. Her death could strengthen the bonds between her allies...perhaps even rally them further against us in their anti-Serpent efforts. Regardless, the princess was certain that though her body may perish, her will would not die with it.”

After that bout of pontification, Barbara’s hand encircled Citrina’s slender neck.

“Nngh...”

Her nails dug into the callow flesh, eliciting a grimace.

“And those who would extract value from even their own deaths...would never allow the death of another to go unutilized, would they? The death of milady will only give the princess another tool to use against us. Don’t you see? Should we kill milady here, we will surely be playing into her hands. She will use it to inflame the desire for revenge.”

Barbara stared into Citrina’s eyes.

“The Duke of Yellowmoon is most fond of this daughter of his. Kill her, and he will be out for our blood. And you can be sure the Great Sage of the Empire will not pass up such a golden opportunity to bolster her ranks.”

“Then what do we do? Take her with us and train her to be an assassin?” the wolfmaster asked with furrowed brows.

Barbara rolled her eyes.

“That’s what got us here in the first place, in case you forgot. We have no need for an assassin who can’t even kill a friend. She would only be a liability.”

She released Citrina, the motion casual and quick, as if she hadn’t been trying to strangle the girl just a moment before.

“But she is not without value. We can still use her...so long as we do so in the correct fashion. We shall make this girl into the knife that severs the bond between Mia Luna Tearmoon and her friends.”

With a wicked smile, she regarded Citrina again.

“Traitors must be put to death. That goes without saying. But we must make good use of their deaths as well. In any case, let us flee before they send men after us. Time is of the essence, and I’ll need plenty of it to make the necessary preparations...”

Unfortunately, Barbara’s preparations would be quickly dismantled, because they did send men. Far sooner than she’d anticipated. They just didn’t send them after her. Rather, they’d been strategically deployed elsewhere.

Together with Citrina and the wolfmaster, Barbara traveled north from Belluga, soon reaching the border with Sunkland, only to find it guarded by ranks of preemptively stationed Sunkland cavalry. So impeccable was the positioning that it was as if someone had exactly anticipated their planned escape route, creating a blockade that left them floundering.

This prudent arrangement was, in fact, not the work of Mia and her friends. There wasn’t enough time for them to return to Saint-Noel and issue the necessary instructions. It couldn’t even be credited to her reliable right hand, Anne, whose behind-the-scenes diligence often laid the groundwork for future success. No... This was the product of her other hand, Ludwig of the left.

Barbara regarded the pinpoint dismantling of their route to safety...and smiled.

“You think you’ve backed us into a corner with this, Mia Luna Tearmoon?”

Sunkland’s patrol troops were no pushovers. Alone, the wolfmaster might yet manage to breach their lines, but the added baggage of her and Citrina would make such an effort impossible. After a swift assessment of the situation, Barbara made a decision.

“Well, now that it’s come to this, I suppose I have little choice left... I would give my life to drive a wedge between those who oppose the Serpents.”

Thus, the wolfmaster and Barbara went their separate ways, the latter taking Citrina with her as she made her way toward the only place that could still offer them positional advantage and safe harbor—the Yellowmoon domain.

Little did Barbara know, the path to the Yellowmoons had been left unguarded for a reason—an intentional hole in the ever-tightening net of capture.

And little did Mia know, in this particular case, her left hand had been particularly busy in the background.

Unbeknownst to both, dawn was quietly breaking over the long night of conspiracy.