Bindings of the Subjugator Ch. 02

"Have I offended you in some way, Lady Rosanna?"

"N-no, Lord Trystan, I am simply... not accustomed to official dealings with nobility."

Ah. Though it was rare, sometimes commoners were able to obtain the rank of paladin through exceptional acts of virtue, but to have ascended to the position of Justice was nothing short of formidable. No doubt this young woman had worked harder than any for her current position. The least Trystan could do was accommodate such an exemplar of faith and diligence.

"We can speak casually if you want. I promise I won't take offense." The lord spoke in a casual tone himself to try and make his guest more at ease. She seemed to appreciate the gesture. That was when he noticed that his sister was still in the room with them. "Is there something else you want, Mary?"

"Brother," she started, seeming unsure about whether she should continue or not. "I must admit I am rather curious as to the nature of this visit, and with your permission, I would like to remain and attend the audience."

He turned to look at the paladin, silently shifting the decision onto her. After all, she was currently the only person in the room who knew what this meeting was to be about. Rosanna considered the matter for a moment, before coming to a decision.

"It's alright, she can stay."

Trystan nodded, then turned to his sister and asked her to close the door. As she eagerly moved to do so, she assured him that she would silently stand back, and that it would be as though she wasn't even here. He doubted that. Mary wasn't one to patiently listen in on a conversation without contributing herself. The girl had fire in her heart. Had she been asked to leave, she would have probably tried to listen in from the hallway.

"Well then, Lady Rosanna. I'm all ears."

She gave him a scroll of parchment upon which was written Hierophant Ceres' official decree, as well as the stamp of her seal. There were no signs of forgery or tampering.

"The Hierophant has detected a great demonic presence in the kingdom of Fernal and has sent me to kill it. Unfortunately, she doesn't know where it is, so I've been visiting the dukes to enlist them in my search. I request that you contact your barons and have them assist you in investigating this matter. If any evidence is found, do not engage the demon." The paladin took a small blue gemstone from the pouch at her hip and placed it on the office desk. "Instead, crush this stone and I'll know that I need to return as fast as I can."

The Hierophant was mobilizing the entire nation to search for one demon? Now that was dreadfully ominous. But, in accordance with the Holy Covenant that bound the Five Kingdoms and the Demeius Faith, an order from the Hierophant or the Archbishop was the same as an order from the king. He would have to comply to the best of his ability.

"I will send out messengers to the barons under House Howes to order an investigation into this matter as soon as I am able. Rest assured that we will be treating this issue with the utmost serious." Trystan had gone back into his practiced noble manner of speech, rattled by the potential gravity of the situation. The paladin rose from her seat.

"Right, well, in that case, I'll be taking my leave now."

Trystan glanced at his sister. Surely she hadn't blundered and forgotten to offer so important a guest their hospitality. Just in case, he would do so now.

"You must be tired, Lady Rosanna, arriving so early in the morning. I would be remiss to see you off in such a state. Please, we would be more than happy to accommodate your stay for a night, so that you may be well rested for your journey."

"I'm afraid I must decline, Lord Howes. It's a long ride to Kelter and every moment could count. Don't worry too much about my sleep. The Father's gifts are many to his most favored." She said that last bit with a playful smirk, like she found it amusing that he would concern himself with the amount of sleep she got. As she left the office, Trystan called for a servant to escort his guest back to the gates, and went to return to what he had been doing before this meeting.

"Do you think Dumal will really be moved to action by a simple messenger?"

Mary's voice startled him. Suprisingly, his youngest sister had stayed true to her word and Trystan had forgotten she was still here. She definitely wanted something...

But she did make a good point. The Dumals had been... problematic vassals for quite some time. The hills on their southwestern border had seemingly endless deposits of gold, and the profits they made from the mines were ludicrous, surpassing even the Howes in economic might. From this fact had emerged a most peculiar situation.

The Howes were somewhat forced to placate and cater to House Dumal, their own vassal, in order to keep them content with the status quo and avoid civil war. Baron Gillon Dumal possessed leverage over his liege that his peers did not, but he in turn had to be careful not to push that leverage too far, for fear of Duke Howes deciding appeasement just wasn't worth it anymore. Thus had emerged this political game of taking as much as you could get away with, while giving as little as you had to.

If the Howes tried to bring the Dumals to heel too agressively, it could be seen as a great violation of the Father's decrees, stating that a father should never bring malicious harm onto his children. This commandment had precedents of being used on the political stage, interpreting a liege as a father state and a vassal as their child state. There were rumors of Baron Dumal enslaving his own citizens to serve at his mansion, sometimes in depraved ways, and Trystan's father had been playing with the idea of using these rumors as casus belli. However, such a grave accusation would have to be ironclad in its evidence.

Mary stared at him with a predatory grin. "Send me instead, brother."

"Absolutely not." Gillon Dumal was said to indulge in truly degenerate lechery. All hearsay, of course, but every rumor was born from a seed of truth. Trystan did not want his innocent baby sister within even a hundred miles of that fiend. Guessing the motive behind his refusal, Mary insisted.

"He wouldn't dare so much as touch me. He knows what the consequences would be. Especially if I am accompanied by a full airship of guards as contingency. I won't even leave the ship; he'll have to come to me and play by my rules, especially considering this is coming from the Hierophant herself."

Mary didn't bring it out unless she wanted something, but she had a gift for politics. It was a shame she had absolutely no desire to pursue this gift. Indeed, the baron would not be in much of a position to do anything. If he made an attempt on Mary's life in any way, it would be seen as unprovoked aggression and invite swift retaliation from the Howes, with the full approval of both the Crown and the Faith. And since this was indeed a direct order from the Hierophant, the baron could not simply ignore it or obey it halfheartedly, for fear of attracting the Faith's wrath.

"Why do you even want to do this?" Trystan asked, confused.

"You're always busy lately!" Mary pouted. "We haven't trained together in four days, father and Daniel are at the capital... I'm bored out of my mind! I spent most of yesterday watching Lyssia paint! Ordering that pompous snake around sounds like a wonderful distraction. And I can try and gather evidence for father's plans."

How did she even know about those? That wasn't important right now. Trystan had to find a reason to prevent her from going.

"What if the demon really is there?"

"Well, what are the odds of that?"

******************************************************************

Hey there! Thank you for reading chapter 2 of Bindings of the Subjugator, I hope you enjoyed it. Please tell me your thoughts in the comments, I'd love to hear your feedback.