Chapter 3: Unwelcome revelation
Notes:
"Tanya and Reinhard. Both are called monsters by the crowd. Only one of them is stupid enough to believe that."
– Unknown*
* (Ok it was me)
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
Chapter 3
"What crimes have I been accused of if I am allowed to ask?"
"Nothing of the sort, I can assure you. As far as I see it you just took down three criminals and reunited a royal candidate with her lost possession. A very heroic and selfless act in my eyes."
She internally snorted at that. At least she had a connection to a royal candidate now, which sounded pretty useful if it meant what the name implied. From what she had heard on the streets the country was currently without king. Should the silver-haired girl become queen than she could maybe cash in a large favour for her "noble" deed.
"Then why is it that I have to be escorted like that?"
"My apologies, but we better speak about this behind closed doors. It is a delicate subject matter that requires great prudence and privacy."
What could be so important to Reinhard? Had it something to do with the magic she demonstrated? She let her illusionary hood slowly shrink away as inconspicuously as she could manage. No need to do it later when he had his full attention on her. That left her with the problem of her now exposed uniform. People gave her a few weird looks, but it luckily wasn't too far until they reached one of the biggest castles Tanya had ever seen.
Not even the Kaiserpalast in Berun could compare to the architectural marvel that was the Astrea estate. Reinhard was definitely not a simple knight. What was going on here? What game was he playing?
When they had made their way through a labyrinth of corridors and richly decorated hallways Reinhard closed the door behind them and exhaled slowly.
"To make it quick Lady Degurechaff... *sigh*... you are the fifth and final royal candidate for the throne of Lugnica."
What?
Her emotions had either not been hidden enough or Reinhard was a very empathetic person, because he seemed to directly answer her thoughts.
"It may seem surprising, but it is true. The insignia you touched showed it clearly that you have been selected by the dragon. The red glow was the sign of your worthiness to ascend the throne."
Oh, so full on dragons existed in this world too? Ridiculous!
"Is it not easily possible for the stone to just be mistaken? I was using magic shortly beforehand. That could have manipulated the insignia to resonate with my power or something like that. Or the light of the sun caught it in a lucky angle and gave the thing the appearance of an actual glow?"
At this point she was reaching pretty far and they both knew it.
"Milady, the holy insignias do not lie. They are infallible. Nonetheless will I send for such a stone to be delivered here so that we can make absolutely sure."
Her eye twitched at the use of the word "holy". All of this nonsense sounded awfully similar to Being X´s usual misdeeds. Was this another petty way for him to torture her?
"And if what you say is indeed true then what does that exactly mean? I am unfortunately new to this land and have not much knowledge about its political systems."
"You will learn more about this at the royal selection, but I believe that you will have to compete with the other candidates for the throne. Each of you will have to prove their courage and ambition before the council and the people of Lugnica."
Again she cast a minor enhancement formula on herself to speed up her already racing though process.
So it was competition for one of the most important job positions in the country. That meant that certainly not everybody was going to play fair. Badmouthing, sabotage or direct attacks were only some of the underhanded tactics the other candidates were going to use. All to win the throne. Did she even want that?
To be king sounded only like a good idea to fools and imbeciles. True, it gave you huge power and wealth, but it also painted a gigantic target on your back. How many times in history had political leaders been assassinated? She was intimately familiar with defending from soldiers, but taking out assassins was a whole new can of worms. So why would she even try to become queen? A peaceful and stable life could be found elsewhere as well. As a merchant for example.
But the other candidates might not see it that way. After all the most likely ones to poison you after the coronation were the other candidates. Greed and envy were powerful motivators. So a cautious king would almost certainly try to kill the other competitors or at least imprison them after they had lost the game. She would not let herself be hunted across the globe or left to rot in a prison cell. "Hygiene" and "humane" were probably words that had not been invented yet.
The only logical step was to become queen and dispose of the others before they could do the same thing to her. Damn it! She was trapped again in the world of politics with no end in sight. That bastard Being X had not abandoned his old tricks it seemed. She needed to win this royal selection in order to survive.
This would be extra difficult for her, because she was technically a foreigner and had no pre-existing reputation or property to speak of. The other candidates were in all probability part of nobility. At least the silver-haired girl from earlier had expensive enough clothes to fit into that category. All of them had an immediate head start and she needed to catch up quick.
Reinhard had certainly ties to nobility and other powerful people judging from the huge wealth he displayed. Maybe she should ask him for help?
"Sir Reinhard, I worry that I am at a severe disadvantage here. Like I said, I am new to this land and I came here alone. Do you know anyone perhaps that would be willing to sponsor me?"
"I do not."
Well, that was disappointing.
"But if you were willing to have me then it would be an honour for me to swear my fealty to you."
She blinked in surprise. This handsome, rich, influential knight wanted to serve her? Without knowing anything about her? There had to be some sort of catch.
"That is a most gracious offer, but I must ask... Why?"
"You have proven to be a capable fighter and a compassionate soul. You seem to be headstrong and modest and you look like you have been through many battles of body and soul alike. Experience of this kind is invaluable and I would be thankful to finally stand behind a worthy cause. To be honest with you my motives are very selfish. I search for meaning and reason in life and I believe to have found it in you. I ask again... will you accept me as your knight Lady Degurechaff?"
An existential crisis was not what she had suspected, but it was as good as any reason in her book. She would need to test that to see if he spoke the truth, but he had not hesitated in slightest so far and had sounded incredibly sincere as well. This was a golden opportunity. She would be stupid to not take it.
"I accept your offer Sir Reinhard."
He went down on one knee and presented his sheathed sword to her.
"Then I, Reinhard van Astrea, Swordsaint of Lugnica swear my allegiance to Lady Tanya von Degurechaff´s campaign to ascend the throne of the Dragon Kingdom of Lugnica. I shall serve her with all my heart until death. All that is mine shall be hers and all that I accomplish shall be in her name."
Tanya had no idea if he wanted her to say something, but solemn moments like these usually required more gravitas. Maybe she should add her meaningless title as well?
"And I, Tanya von Degurechaff, former colonel of the imperial army, accept you Sir Reinhard into my services. I shall ask nothing of you that is without reason for the greater good and I shall aim to be a leader worthy of your respect and trust. Rise as my knight and rejoice."
Good. That went smoothly. Now she needed to learn about her adversaries as fast as possible!
Notes:
Sorry Felt :( You are not going to be a royal candidate... or are you? Don´t worry I have plans for her. She is going to play a role later on, but I am not going to say what ;)
EDIT: Urgent Community Question: Was the Mabeast incident in Arc two caused by Roswaal? Without Subaru the timeline changes and I need to know!