Chương 107: Chapter 104: A Map of Knives (Part 1).

I had read the same line four times, and I still could not have told anyone what it said. It was one of Count Calloway's reports. A report about the growing price of timber and the cost of purchasing it through the Farstep Circles rather than turning to the Greenward District. Wood was important. Wood was, in fact, exactly the sort of thing I was supposed to care about very deeply now. I stared at the neat column of figures, and my mind went somewhere else entirely. I had done this once before.

The deja vu of it hit me like a fist. It had happened the first time I'd gotten a letter from her that said nothing at all. I had been just as aimless then. I'd been too distracted to read what Count Calloway had sent then too, hadn't I? It seemed the poor man was always a victim to my moods. Still, knowing this did nothing to keep my mind from wandering. It wandered to a small room above a bookshop.

To a window that did not lock properly, to the smell of dust and old paper, and most important, to the smell of lilies. I set the report down before I could fail to read the same line a fifth time. Lady Seraine Greenward had returned to Aelheim. Like Cordelia had said, her few freedoms were now fewer still. I had sent a letter to her anyway. A reply had come from her three days ago, perfectly polite and perfectly empty, signed in her own hand. It had told me nothing, which had told me a great deal.

I had expected it. She had told me to expect it. I still missed her. It was a stupid thing to feel, and I felt it anyway.

"Pathetic," I muttered, and pressed the heels of my hands against my eyes until I saw colors. The study did not improve when I looked at it again. It was my father's study, in the strictest sense, though I had known it as mine for far longer since waking up in the world. A dozen small stacks of paper were arranged across the large desk. Behind me stood a Magical Implement that resembled a whiteboard from my old world, though I had only ever read about them even there.

It had been four days since I had shown the whole of the Veyne District a burning sword. Four days, and I had spent nearly all of them right here. Well, besides the one day I'd had to sneak out to the Information Guild. Tired. Vaelin was not wrong.

"I know," I told him, and turned a pencil over in my fingers. There was a knock at the door. Well…calling it a knock was perhaps generous. It was more like someone trying to punch the door. It swung open before I could say a word.

"You look like shit," Violet announced the moment she came in and saw me.

"Thank you. I've worked very hard at it." She came in, her red hair loose and a half-eaten apple in one hand. The rest filed in behind her one by one. Anias, who took up a frankly unreasonable amount of doorway. Estovan, walking without his cane now, though I noticed he still slightly favored his left side. Damian in a plain dark coat. And finally, Sere, who simply appeared beside the desk. The sling was gone.

She flexed the arm absently, and then her eyes went straight to my stacks of paper with undisguised curiosity.

"Don't," I said. My own voice sounded tired to me. She picked up the nearest stack anyway, frowned at it, decided it was boring, and set it back down in entirely the wrong place. Oh well, it wasn't like it mattered much anyway. All of my friends stood before me now, all except one. I had called them here, after I had spent the last day confined solely to this room. Without distraction. Hardly without break. It was time to do something difficult, though it shouldn't have been.

"Thank you all for coming," I said, once they'd arranged themselves. Violet sprawled across the chair facing the desk. Damian and Estovan stood a step behind her. Anias leaned against the wall on my right. Sere sat down cross-legged on the floor where I could see. She was currently drawing something I couldn't see, past her messy blonde hair. I took a deep breath.

"I know I've been absent these last few days. I've been…buried in all of this," I gestured at the stack of papers.

"And I haven't been good company, and I'm sorry for it. You've all probably been worried. I'm sorry for worrying you."

"You've never been good company," Violet said around a mouthful of apple.

"That's not new." She bit the apple with an audible crack.

"Thank you for remembering we exist, though." I winced because I deserved it. I had suspected she would say something like that but…well, there was no point in thinking about it now. Anias stepped in smoothly, before the silence could get too long.

"Her Ladyship has had a great deal to manage. We should be more understanding. It is clear," Anias looked around at the stacks of paper.

"that she has not been sitting idly by."

"It's fine. She's right." I looked at Violet.

"I'm sorry, Violet. And for what it's worth, I couldn't forget you if I tried. I was just…a little busy." Violet went red to the tips of her ears and became suddenly very interested in her apple. Her eyes dropped from me to that half eaten thing and stayed there.

"S-shut up. You can't just say things like that." That was…a very un-Violetlike reaction. I didn't quite know what to do with it. Estovan and Anias traded a look I also didn't understand, one that left me feeling like the butt of a joke I hadn't been told. I let it go.

"Why are we here exactly, Esra?" Damian asked.

"Not that I mind. Are you finally going to tell us what you've been thinking about?"

"I am." I said, and stood, and turned to the board. This Magical Implement was rather convenient. All I had to do was press my hand against it, channel mana, and think what I wanted to appear, and it did. It took less than a second for the big block letters to appear on the board in dark ink. OPERATION: SAVE CORDELIA It felt a little silly to write this, and yet it felt right at the same time. I turned around, and waited for some kind of reaction from the five faces in front of me. Nobody looked surprised.

Not even slightly.

"... I expected a little more than that," I said.

"Esra." Damian said. His voice sounded oddly strained.

"This is probably the single most predictable thing you've ever done. Respectfully, I mean." I coughed. My face was almost definitely redder than it felt. Sere held up her notepad without looking up from it. There was a drawing there. It was, from what I could tell, a tiny version of me holding a tinier sword, planted protectively in front of a tiny figure with a very large head who could only be Cordelia. Beneath it, there was one word. Duh. If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen.

Please report the violation.

"We can pretend to be surprised if it helps?" Violet supplied, helpfully.

"Yes…well." I cleared my throat and pressed on. My face was definitely red now.

"Then you all already understand the goal. I want Cordelia free of House Bulwark. Free of Alexander. I want the betrothal broken and in a way that doesn't simply let that bastard arrange another one. Whether or not that means something more extreme… we'll see." Nobody spoke up. So, I continued, "The wedding's set for just after the King's Tournament. Hours after the final match ends, from what I've found out. That gives us roughly forty five days. I think… we're going to need all of them."

Sere flipped to a fresh page and held it up. Will help save tea lady? Something in my chest unknotted, just a little. I crossed the room and ruffled her hair, which she tolerated, mostly.

"Yes," I said.

"You'll help. We're all going to help." I looked at the others.

"If you're willing. I…I know this doesn't really have anything to do with anyone but me. But- I would like it if you all listened to me, and if you helped." I waited. Estovan and Anias looked at each other. Damian had his jaw set. Violet took two steps forward and punched me so hard in the shoulder it hurt.

"Ow! What the hell was that for!"

"For saying something that fucking stupid." Violet grumbled, taking a step back. I glared at her.

"In this case," Estovan's voice was slow and careful.

"I would reiterate what Lady Indri has said in less…crass words." I stared at him.

"We will help." Anias said.

"You do not need to ask, My Lady."

"Yes, well-" The rest of the words wouldn't come. Or at least, couldn't be forced out past the lump in my throat.

"Thank you." I said finally, and went back to the board. I took a few seconds before I began again.

"Before I show you the plan," I said, "you need to understand what stands in our way. It isn't small. I won't pretend it is." I pressed my hands to the board and thought the words. They appeared a second later. Problem One: Duke Greenward.

"This betrothal might be between House Greenward and House Bulwark, but Julian is the main threat." I underlined the name once.

"He's already tried to have me killed. He won't take this lying down. I expect every paper in this city turned against us within the next day or so. From what Evelynn has told me, there are already a few circulating in his district." I took a small breath.

"And, of course, I wouldn't be too shocked if he tried to have me killed again." The room cooled on that last bit. I watched it happen in the set of Damian's shoulders or in the way Anias went very still. Estovan bowed his head.

"Then you will not find our efforts wanting, My Lady. Whoever he sends, they will not reach you. I was unable to protect you last time. I will make up for it."

"I'll protect you with my life," Anias said. She was frowning so wide it split her face.

"If there is an assassin then they will regret stepping one foot inside this manor."

"If another one shows up," Violet said, cracking her knuckles, "I'll beat him worse than the last one. You better not hold me back this time." Damian nodded. Sere nodded too, fiercely, and underlined something on her notepad that I couldn't see but could guess at. I had to swallow before I could so much as nod. I didn't deserve them. I was fairly certain of that. I turned towards the board, and thought the next words. Problem Two: the Crown.

"This one I understand the least, which is precisely why it frightens me. Maybe it's a bigger problem than Julian. Maybe it's not a problem at all. I don't know." I tapped the board.

"I'm a Hero now. Only the second Hero this entire Kingdom has. That…that complicates just about anything I could do or think of."

"Have they reached out?" Estovan asked.

"They haven't," Anias answered in my stead.

"The capital has not sent anything. They have sent no letters. They have not sent any envoys."

"The Crown is being careful. Which is wise of them, and unhelpful of them." I said.

"There's no telling what the King will actually do. Cordelia didn't know either, and she knows more about this than I do. Thankfully the Kingdom already has a First Sword, so it isn't as simple as the King handing me that title and calling the matter closed. I don't know what he wants. I'm not sure he knows yet. So… I honestly have no idea what to do with this." Somewhere far to the east, I thought, decisions are being made about me by people I've never even met, and might not meet until it's too late.

It really is no wonder that I haven't gotten much sleep lately. Watch.

"I'm watching," I murmured.

"There's just nothing to watch yet." Neither Estovan nor Anias said anything. Violet had her mouth closed, though it sounded suspiciously like she was grinding her teeth. Sere was looking up at me with wide but determined eyes. Damian was looking at the floor. They didn't know either, of course. Perhaps they had been thinking about this for some time too.

"All right." I cut through the silence.

"That doesn't mean I don't have a plan. I do. That's why I've spent so many hours here." I turned back to the board, and thought. The words appeared a second later. The Plan: 1. End Aelheim's reliance on Greenward food.

"We've been held hostage once already, when I crossed him last time. Even that was a warning. He could have made it worse. He'll do it again. I suspect the only reason he hasn't is because he's dealing with the Guilds right now. Once that's done, he'll have a sharper weapon than he did last time." I said all of this without turning.

"So the plan is simple. We take that weapon out of his hand. We need to get another source of food, and quickly. It doesn't matter how." I thought the next line. 2. End Greenward's chokehold on the guilds.

"Even before Duke Indri died, House Greenward was slowly absorbing everything they were supposed to handle. By now, Julian controls almost every supply chain in Aelheim, either himself, or through a Guild. As long as that's true, we can barely even change our streetlights without needing to get him involved, and Gods forbid we try doing something new. It's not as bad as the threat of starving, but it's still bad." I thought again, and a new line appeared. 3. Find proof of Julian's crimes.

"We'll need to find hard evidence of Greenward crimes. The nightsoil might not have been his fault, but it made it clear that he operates… loosely. Duke Indri mentioned unsanctioned slaves once. Maybe we find evidence of that. Maybe we find evidence of him cutting illegal corners. There will be something there, and we need to find all of it." I turned back to the five of them. They were all paying a surprising amount of attention. Even Violet hadn't spoken up, though now I could hear her grinding her teeth.

Sere nodded seriously. I did wonder just how much of this she was actually following. Damian shifted his weight.

"Then why all the rest of it?" He said.

"There's more, isn't there? You're not done. And besides…about one and two, why do we have to do them in the first place if we can just expose him." It was a good question. It was a good question if one believed the world worked the way Nobles said it did, rather than the way it actually was. It was no wonder Damian had asked it.

"Because the King will not ride to our rescue over some corruption. We're very far away and very unimportant. Perhaps it might have been slightly different before, but after Duke Bulwark aligned himself with Julian," I shook my head.

"We could have all the evidence in the world, and the King would laugh in our faces." I let that sit for a few seconds.

"We need more than just evidence. We also need a reason for him to care. No, we need to force him to care, publicly. That's the only way." Damian frowned, and nodded slowly, and looked thoroughly unsatisfied. He did not argue. That was enough for me.

"This is a lot of planning," Estovan observed. There was something careful in how he said it.

"More than I think you'd have assembled on your own, My Lady." I felt an ache somewhere I hadn't braced.

"Cordelia helped," I said.

"Most of this is hers, if I'm honest. Though…I haven't been able to talk to her since that day, and we didn't have time to lay out as much as I'd have liked."

"She sounds like a very clever young lady," Estovan said. I laughed before I could stop it.

"You don't know the half of it." I thought of her on the floor of that little room, lacing her fingers through mine. You have to win. She'd said it like it was obvious. Like it was easy. She wasn't here to say it now, but I wished she was.

"There's more like Damian said," I said.

"The spine of the whole thing. The only way we can force the Kingdom to care. At least, the only way we can both think of." I turned back to the board. I could feel them watching me. The words came slowly, as if even this inanimate Magical Implement was hesitating in writing out what my next goal was. 4: WIN THE KING'S TOURNAMENT I turned around. Every face in the room was staring at me. The study had gone perfectly silent. Even Sere had stopped drawing. Violet was the first to move. She sat up.

Pointed one finger at the board, then at me, then at the board again. Her mouth opened.