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| ===Chapter 4 - ===
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| "Milady! It's morning! Time to get up!"
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| A miserable groan replied to the cheerful greeting as 'her ladyship' sank deeper into the plush comforter.
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| Marina felt her lips curve upwards as she eyed the beige-white hair that covered the exposed island of Kaede's head. The Landgrave had ordered this current task: to wake his familiar up by the scheduled breakfast time. The official reason had been to maintain good lifestyle habits and keep her biological clock 'campaign ready'. Though for Marina, her enjoyment soon pushed such dreary rationale aside as she peeled the bedcovers away from the small girl's meager grasp.
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| "Come on Milady! Breakfast is ready!"
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| "Uhhhhnnnnn..."
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| The head retreated further as Kaede curled up like a ball beneath the bedcovers, leaving behind waves of silky hair scattered across the embroidered pillows. But the maid pursued without mercy as she yanked the comforter down to the familiar girl's waist, exposing not only the fluttering eyelids to the bright sunlight pouring in, but also the naked skin on her back to the cold morning air.
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| ''This is kind of fun,'' Marina thought with a wide grin, reveling in her moment of clearly defying her lady's wishes yet getting away with it.
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| With a sharp, startled intake, Kaede immediately twisted herself to face up, burying her bare back against the bed. Her thin arms rushed to cover those narrow shoulders, left open by her white halter top.
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| "Uuuuu," she blinked open her teary eyes. Her whole body shivered as more wintry air wafted in from the opened window. "You... you're evil."
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| "I'm just obeying your master's orders," Marina smiled sweetly, finally letting go of the comforter which her lady hurried to pull up.
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| Marina did feel a hint of remorse as she gazed into Kaede's bloodshot pupils, or noticed the dark shadows under her eyes. But they were soon swept under her sense of fulfillment. The maid hadn't been lying last night when she spoke of her gratitude, but such logical understanding also didn't remove her emotional desires to exact some measure of reprisal. She couldn't seriously wrong Kaede without feeling guilty. But since Marina had suffered many emotional downs after that botched mission, it seemed only fair that she could torment the girl a little for her own amusement in return.
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| ...Especially when there was an rare opportunity to do so without triggering her curse.
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| "Yes yes I know, now would you close the window please!?" Kaede scowled as she huddled under the bedcovers with her only face and her fingertips exposed.
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| "Aren't your garments enchanted?"
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| "They keep me from ''being'' cold, but they don't stop my skin from ''feeling'' cold when that icy wind is blowing straight in!"
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| With a smile still stretched across her lips, Marina walked over to the window and shut it tight. She had to rub some heat into her own hands afterward, but it had definitely been worth it.
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| "Didn't sleep well?" the maid finally let some concern -- only half-faked at that -- work its way into her voice.
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| "Same nightmares as yesterday," Kaede mumbled as she sat up in bed, her drooping head propped up by both hands as though it was too heavy to lift.
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| "From your experiences on campaign?"
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| "From my first battle, yes," the familiar girl noted before emitting a deep groan. "I had thought they passed after the first two nights."
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| "Maybe the change in sleeping arrangements made your rest uneasy?"
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| As Marina passed the neatly folded clothes, Kaede sighed before finally raising her head up properly. But the words that followed were even more depressed than before:
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| "That's what I'm afraid of..."
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| <nowiki>----- * * * -----</nowiki>
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| Upon her entry into the stately dining room, Kaede found it a sharp contrast to last night. Rather than a small, private meal, over a dozen chairs had surrounded the long table. Pascal continued to occupy the host's seat at its head, with Sylviane to his right at the place of honor. All nine of the Princess' armigers followed; their seating wrapped around the far end, and their silver utensils clinked merrily as small subgroups chatted away.
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| Seated to the host's left were two completely unexpected guests, one of whom in deep conversation with Pascal over the city's recovery efforts.
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| "Parzifal, Ariadne! It's good to see the both of you!"
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| Cheered by the unexpected surprised, Kaede walked by the two of them before claiming the only unoccupied chair -- just left of Lady Ariadne.
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| "You are late," Pascal reprimanded, before his brows furrowed upon meeting her gaze. "<u>And you look terrible.</u>"
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| "<u>And who's to blame for that?</u>" Kaede retorted through their private telepathy as she sat down. "<u>You can cast your cosmetics ''after'' I've had some breakfast.</u>"
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| Sir Robert sent her an energetic grin from across the table, and Kaede returned it while trying to quench her thought of just how handsome he looked. Though her neighboring friend soon drove that unease away: brushing back soft pink tresses with matching fingernails, Ariadne beamed a serene, welcoming smile of such elegant perfection that it left Kaede with a captivated blush.
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| ...Which unfortunately lasted hardly a second before the Princess knocked her out of it with a strict, 'watch your manners' glare:
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| "Lord Parzifal is the Duke of Mitterfels now."
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| "Though you're always welcomed to call us by name, Kaede."
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| Parizfal's genial smile gave her a brief -- and thankfully suppressed -- urge to stick her tongue out at Sylviane. Although a concerned frown soon clouded away his beaming joy:
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| "Having trouble sleeping again?"
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| "Afraid so," Kaede sighed softly as she looked at the jam-filled pfannkuchen doughnut placed before her. Despite the comment to Pascal, her dull headache left her stomach with zero appetite to speak of.
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| ''Probably a good thing,'' she thought to herself. ''Deep fried pastries are terrible for me anyway.''
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| She did notice that Sylviane had also set her own untouched doughnut aside, and Ariadne had done the same after scarcely a bite.
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| "Could I get a coffee and some milk please?" Kaede asked the nearest footman, who had just added a plate of bread, smoked ham, leberwurst, and salami to the table.
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| "Certainly Milady."
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| The reply was professional and courteous enough, despite the astonished look he returned. Clearly coffee was not a common breakfast drink around here, or at any meal, now that she thought about it.
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| ''...But it is available enough to be stocked.''
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| "You have pretty expensive tastes," a dark-haired armiger added from her left. He was another attractive young man hand picked by the Princess, this time with the most impressionable dreamy blue eyes.
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| ...Although Kaede could almost hear the phrase 'for a commoner' attached to his words, graciously said or not.
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| "It's fairly common where I'm from," she gave a plain reply, too tired to lecture him about the benefits of modern globalism that a ''liberal'' society helped bring forth.
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| "I thought Samarans were immune to coffee?" Sir Robert joined in from across her as he sent a dissuading glance to his comrade.
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| Kaede wanted to slam her head into table. Of course she was immune. Her Samaran blood was intent on flushing out all chemicals abnormal to her biology or diet, and caffeine was just another psychoactive drug. Unfortunately for her, even in this world Russia was nowhere near the Coffee Belt.
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| "Not all of caffeine's effects go through the bloodstream," Parzifal turned from his conversation with Pascal to add, his medical training engaged by the conversation. "Besides, not even Samaran blood could instantaneously cleanse foreign agents."
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| "Hopefully a brief buzz is all my headache needs," Kaede muttered sadly to herself.
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| ...
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| The end result actually proved better, as Kaede nursed the steaming mug of coffee between her hands and let receptors in her nose do its work. She wasn't sure if caffeine could actually transmit by smell alone, but her brain certainly felt empowered as she breathed in the rich aroma, savoring every moment of it with closed eyes.
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| "How is your family doing?" she then heard Pascal's voice open up a new topic, and a sensitive one at that.
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| "Not great," the reply from Ariadne seemed not only careful but... wary. "The King's Black Eagles cleared my family from any involvement in the 'Manteuffel Incident', but that doesn't stop the chatter among the aristocracy or even the ranking officers and men."
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| "They're just gossip. You shouldn't pay them any mind," Parzifal comforted as he reached out to take her left hand, squeezing it in support and trust.
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| Pascal nodded in firm agreement as he took it two steps further:
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| "The investigation already reached its verdict. Those who speculate further without evidence are nothing more than rumormongers devoid of personal integrity."
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| Though Ariadne more or less ignored him as she smiled appreciatively back at her fiancé.
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| "Of course, thank you."
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| The Princess had wisely decided to stay out of the discussion. In fact Kaede could see the glint in Sylviane's eyes that spoke of her mild amusement towards the exchange. It was actually her most positive expression towards Ariadne since the two met -- as everything else had been punctuated by a cool and distant cordiality.
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| "Nevertheless, the von Manteuffel name has been tarnished by treason," Ariadne spoke on, a calm indifference suffusing her voice as though she didn't carry the name herself. "The King even issued an attainder which stripped the Duchy of Polarstern from the main family -- the very same that King Ferdinand I awarded Marshal Eckhart Albert von Manteuffel for being his political right hand during the Kingdom's founding."
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| It was a hard fall from grace, one that Kaede found rather ironic: the von Manteuffel predecessors rose to prominence by helping to establish Weichsel's near-absolute monarchy; yet the current king would use that same power to strip the family of its rewards.
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| "But His Majesty did leave the branch families alone, including both the Margraviates of Altmark and Saale-Holzland," Pascal added, his gaze reinforced by righteous conviction. "Only that traitor, Neithard von Manteuffel himself could be blamed for his rampant ambition. The attainder would reduce his two daughters to mere gentry, but surely the rest of the clan..."
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| "There is no 'von Manteuffel clan' anymore..."
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| Ariadne's words were quiet and soft-spoken, yet it ran an icy chill that instantly cut Pascal off and spread a hush over every other conversation at the table.
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| "It won't be the same as before; not as a single political entity," she continued, her composure unfazed to the point of seeming callous. "With the main family shattered in power, prestige, and reputation, neither of the major branch families will listen to them nor each other. My father is far more likely to fight Margravine Sophia von Kostka-Manteuffel of Altmark over any remaining influence than to agree with her on much of anything. But at the same time... that might also be the reason why the King spared their lands and titles."
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| 'Their' and not 'our'. It was as though Ariadne had already married into Parzifal's von Sedlityz family. Of course, being the fourth child of her parents, she never had a hope in inheriting any titles to begin with.
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| "I am not going to force distance between you and your family," Parzifal himself vowed as he continued to hold onto her hand. "There is no need to begin with. My conscience, our conscience to the Holy Father and His Majesty is clear."
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| "I know you won't," Ariadne beamed back a grateful smile.
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| Yet in spite of what she said, the stirring in her bright-cyan eyes had clearly been touched by his promise.
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| Amidst the fallout after the 'Manteuffel Incident', most uninvolved nobles were rushing to put distance between themselves and the disgraced family. Yet here was a man who continued planning their marriage as though nothing had happened -- who wouldn't even hear of the slander against his fiancé and her family.
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| "But ''I will''."
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| Her declaration was resolute. However Kaede could just barely pick out the faintest quiver of tears in her voice.
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| For all of Ariadne's staunch drive and determination, her heart was anything but made of steel. Her attempts to hide it only showed that she dearly loved her family, and this was not a sacrifice that she took lightly.
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| "I ''will not'' let you be caught up in the power struggles surrounding my family," she swore through a solemn tone of finality that left no room for negotiation.
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| Nor did Parzifal attempt to fight it. Only a soft sigh emerged from his lips as his thumb caressed the back of her hand.
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| "The King would not involve anyone else when only von Manteuffel himself was guilty of treason," Pascal soon interrupted the silence that followed. "Surely his sparing of the branch families shows that."
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| But Ariadne could only shake her head, as though in disbelief of the Landgrave's naivety:
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| "I'm sure the verdict for General von Manteuffel's actions are just," she affirmed first. "But dynastic politics never ends that easily, nor is it ever a simple matter of black and white. This incident might have began through the General's treason. But you would do His Majesty a great disservice if you did not think he used this to further his own goals -- at least to an extent."
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| Scarcely a month ago, Pascal and Ariadne wouldn't even be on speaking terms. Yet today, the 'Runelord' deflated almost instantly as he concentrated not on their differences, but the meaningful messages behind her cautious words.
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| "It is true that dynastic politics is rather out of my league, seeing as I hardly come from one," Pascal admitted. "After all, my father had created this surname."
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| The reply, however, was the single most earnest piece of advice that the noble lady had ever given him:
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| "Then you best learn fast, because you're marrying into one of the greatest."
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| ...
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| But perhaps the most unexpected result of the morning conversation did not take place until much later that day.
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| Ariadne had been running an errand for Parzifal, as the healer was too busy during the afternoon to deliver ledgers on the hospital's supply demands to the city's liege lord. But on her way back out, she found the Princess waiting for her in a most unusual spot.
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| "Lady Ariadne," Sylviane began politely as she stepped out of the shadows in the keep's entrance hall.
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| "Your Highness?"
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| The Duchess-to-be bid a deep curtsy to her social superior. Being surprised did not stop her from acting with the decorum that had been hammered into her upbringing since early childhood.
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| She knew the Princess did not like her. She wasn't sure why, but she suspected it had something to do with Pascal. Though to be fair, Ariadne wouldn't exactly welcome a girl more beautiful than herself to loiter around Parzifal either.
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| "I just wanted to thank you for this morning," Sylviane almost chuckled, as though noticing the faint sparks of tension that marked this scenario as an ambush.
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| But her words only left Ariadne more wary, more confused.
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| "I had hoped that Pascal would reflect upon his involvement in the 'Manteuffel Incident' as a lesson in politics. But for days I wasn't sure how to breach the topic, since it did involve the circumstances behind his father's death," the Princess explained in a gentle but still reserved smile. "You may have done a better job at breakfast than I could ever have."
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| Uncertain of the Princess' aim, Ariadne chose her words with cautious professionalism as she offer another light bow:
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| "It wasn't my intention, but I'm glad to be of help."
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| "Do you resent him for his involvement in this incident?"
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| It was an astonishingly blunt question for one born into royalty. But at the same time, it also represented Sylviane offering her a chance -- a direct question that sought for a straightforward answer, one that would easily separate treachery from trustworthiness.
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| Ariadne exhaled. The problem with being honest was that far too often, the truth resisted simplicity and proved much harder to grasp than falsified masks.
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| "Not particularly," she began with an uncertain, yet also the most accurate phrase. "Either the General really was a traitor and Pascal simply upheld his sworn duty to family, King, and the Holy Father, or he had been played like a pawn in a plot far beyond our skill."
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| "...But either way, he's not the one to blame," the lady finished after a pause. "Not for this one at least."
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| He was to blame for many other events in their past though.
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| There was no immediate response. It took a moment before the Princess lifted her scrutiny and calmed the atmosphere with slow, gentle nods.
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| It was also the first time that Ariadne truly saw Sylviane smile at her -- a faint smile shadowed by other concerns, but a real one nonetheless.
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| "Your Highness really has no need to doubt me," Ariadne offered as a sincere bonus. "Given my past with the Landgrave, it's ''impossible'' for anything more than respect to develop between us, and even that His Grace has yet to rebuild."
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| As the Princess' smile broadened ever so slightly, Ariadne realized that her gamble had paid off. At least part of the royal resentment must have came from perceiving her as a potential challenge. Sylviane might even have misunderstood the years of feuding between Ariadne and Pascal as a form of obsession, since love and hate often flowed on opposite sides of the same coin.
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| "It is a relief to hear you say that, Lady Ariadne," Pascal's fiancé confirmed it in her seemingly casual reply. "And I wish for the best in your marriage to the Duke."
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| ''Of course you do,'' the Duchess-to-be thought.
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| After all, social rank notwithstanding, Ariadne stood certain of her superiority as a woman in every other way.
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| <nowiki>----- * * * -----</nowiki>
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| "Parzifal!" Kaede called in her wispy voice as she raced down the corridor after breakfast. She had almost forgotten to ask the healer before he departed for the day.
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| She needn't have bothered to run, as he turned about right away, long attuned to others seeking out his aid.
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| "Yes Kaede?"
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| "Could I borrow Tofu... I mean Putty again for the day? Please?" Kaede pleaded with her hands held in prayer before her, the Japanese mannerism drawing a surprised blink from Parzifal before he regrasped its meaning.
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| "For resting on again?"
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| "Yes. Only one more day I promise," she added. "Please?"
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| Considering the dark lines beneath her puppy dog eyes, Parzifal exhaled a faint sigh, as though he was acceding to someone's bad habits:
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| "This really isn't the solution if you're having persistent sleep issues, but I guess there's no harm done either. One second..."
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| Reaching around his side, Parzifal unbuckled the outermost pocket of his belt pouch, which looked large enough to be a fanny pack.
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| Kaede was still puzzled over what he was doing until a white and firm gelatin began to flow out. Her eyes instantly rounded to the size of tea saucers as the silken tofu familiar that took more volume than a King sized mattress emerged from the seemingly flat pocket and took its wobbly form next to Parzifal.
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| With her bewildered gaze fixated on the living tofu, she almost missed Pascal's footsteps walking up until the healer turned to him:
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| "Pascal, you should have Kaede's maid make her some chamomile tea after dinner at night. It's a relaxant that might help her sleep, and the herb is natural enough that her Samaran blood might not reject it. If you don't have any, give me a message and I'll have some sent over this afternoon alongside the ledgers."
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| "I will ask the staff if we have some in stock," Pascal nodded.
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| "W-what is that?" Kaede finally broke her speechlessness to force out, her thin fingers pointed at the pocket that just spat out her bed for the afternoon nap.
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| "Extradimensional familiar pocket," Parzifal answered as though it was completely natural.
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| "They make those for ''living beings'' too?" she muttered in disbelief, never even considering how she easily classified the energetic tofu as a living entity.
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| "Those are designed for familiars," Pascal explained from beside her. "The enchantment required is more complex. But many people use these, since it makes it easier to bring their familiars along on journeys."
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| ''<nowiki>'</nowiki>Many people'...'' Kaede echoed in her thoughts.
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| Behind Parzifal, the silent Ariadne suppressed a giggle as the familiar girl slowly turned on her master with an ominous glare.
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| "Don't. You. Even. ''Dare''."
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| "Dare what?"
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| Taken aback by the sudden hostility, Pascal looked unsure of what he did wrong.
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| "If you even ''try'' to stuff me in a pocket, I'll give you free broken ribs again."
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| Soft, wispy voice or not, Kaede's words were dead serious, and Pascal felt the threatening aura as he cried bloody unfair:
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| "I did not even say anything!"
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| ...
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| "Mmmmh"
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| Huddled under a warm blanket atop a floating, gooey mattress, Kaede rubbed her cheeks against the cool pillow as she woke up from her long nap.
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| Unlike yesterday, the windy breeze billowing across the lake had forced her to stay indoors. She ended up camping in the keep's small library, surveying the assortment of tomes that Pascal's mind grew up on before drowsiness sent her drifting off to sleep.
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| A pleasant if nostalgic dream had followed, as Kaede's subconscious took her to the class graduation dinner. It was a jovial feast that she should have attended, where memories and Karaoke songs were exchanged over alcohol, yakiniku, vegetables, and tofu. The boisterous shouting and energetic chattering went on for hours, all before a drunk and exhausted Daichi had to be assisted home.
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| Everything had felt so real that Kaede could still taste the tofu in her mouth. It was smooth, squishy, and oddly pervasive, flooding out even the savory aftertaste of grilled meats.
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| They were also undercooked.
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| ''How did I manage to grill silken tofu over open flames again?''
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| Kaede was still wondering that as she opened her eyes to the library room. Her body was back on Hyperion, and her mouth... still felt the soft chunks of tofu within.
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| It wasn't just an aftertaste either. It was real, and the shock of realization made her swallow it wholesale.
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| "Crap," her head jolted up to a half sit before she looked back down. Her tofu-pillow no longer showed any sign of damage, but there was definitely several bites worth of saliva on it.
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| She had been eating her bed while asleep.
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| "I'm sorry!" Kaede bowed as she rushed an apology to the white pudding familiar under her.
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| Putty responded, as usual, with a gentle wobble.
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| Perhaps a tofu couldn't even feel pain? If anything, this accident seemed to reinforce that idea.
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| But even then...
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| Her thoughts then derailed as she spun around to the faint exhaling sounds of suppressed laughter. Her gaze caught the wry grin beneath a large and balding forehead -- a uniformed gentleman she knew as Lieutenant-Colonel Hans-Canaris Oster, the intelligence officer of former General von Manteuffel.
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| "Sorry to intrude," he curtailed his open grin. "I had asked the servants to check out the old Marshal's library as I awaited His Grace, though I ended up seeing something far more interesting instead."
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| "You were ''watching me sleep''?" Kaede retorted as she bolted to sit up straight, wishing he would at least look more apologetic than amused.
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| "Don't worry, I simply found it relaxing since you reminded me of how my daughter curls up when she sleeps," came his unabashed, if rather saddened smile. "Besides, it was more like watching you eat."
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| A soft chuckle finally emerged as her cheeks began to color.
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| "I know the locals of those regions consider white pudding a backup source of food, but you must be a real fan to prefer that even in your dreams."
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| ''That's not what I was dreaming about!'' Kaede almost blurted out. But then, it hardly mattered what she dreamed of; she was still sleep-gnawing away at Parzifal's familiar.
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| She could feel the growing warmth of an embarrassed red spreading across her face.
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| "Please... don't tell anyone," the whisper barely came out.
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| "Oh don't worry," Hans happily waved it off. "I doubt anyone would believe me if I told them about two Ducal familiars mating in the library."
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| "''M-M-Mating!?''"
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| Kaede's jaw hung open with shock as the Hans went on with a hearty, congratulatory grin:
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| "Well what else do you think it means when you exchange parts -- or liquids for your case -- with a pudding? It is their custom after all."
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| ''T-th-that can't possibly count!'' Kaede stuttered even in her thoughts as her bent legs pressed together on reflex.
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| This only made it worse as she felt even more conscious of the cool, gelatinous mass shifting below her butt and its gentle, cresting waves pressing between her thighs.
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| ''I-it's not like it was in me or I was in it or anything!''
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| "...Oh don't worry," Hans went on with an understanding smile that proved anything but reassuring. "Puddings aren't picky about what race you're from. Besides, it seemed pretty happy and satisfied with you. Probably be glad to introduce you to the tribe."
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| As if on cue, the white pudding below her gave another joyful wobble. Its apparent delight conjured the faint echo of wedding bells as pack of wild tofu gathered on the grassy plains in her mind's eye.
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| ''A-and why am I in a wedding dress!?''
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| Being the bride was bad enough. But bride to a tofu?
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| "''It doesn't even have a gender!''"
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| She managed to forced that last part out loud, but her usual gears of logical deduction were clearly jammed as her entire head began to overheat.
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| "Of course it does not," a new voice entered the room as Pascal stepped through the door. "Oozes reproduce asexually through budding."
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| ''They do? Then what I did...''
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| Glancing between a disappointed Lieutenant-Colonel and the his familiar's flushed-scarlet face, the Landgrave quirked an eyebrow before realization hit with a frowning sigh.
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| "My apologies for the wait. I trust you had enough fun with my familiar's over-reactive imagination now?" he asked plainly.
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| Hans looked like he was going to say something before closing his mouth without a word. The humored joy of the previous moment quickly evaporated from his brown eyes, leaving behind a nervous and disenchanted hue.
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| "No, Your Grace," came the stiff, formal reply. "I apologize of getting carried away."
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