Chapter 22: Suspicious demandsNotes:
(See the end of the chapter for notes.)
Chapter Text
Chapter 22
Tanya´s fellow reincarnate was an idiot. That was the only possible conclusion after his outburst at the dining table. Or he played his part so masterfully that he was indistinguishable from a real one. Whatever the case, she would need to keep an eye on him. Fools or manipulators like him were the most dangerous variables on a battlefield, because you could never predict their actions. They were either not driven by reason or followed plans so insidious that escaping them was barely possible. The best comparison to a person like Subaru Natsuki would be a stray, wrong-triggered grenade that could explode in the most unexpected way at any moment. Truly a unpleasant factor to plan around.
If the boy came under her employ (and he would, of that she had no doubts) then she would to drill this behaviour out of him. To keep him on a tight leash would be necessary not only for his own wellbeing, but also to protect the otherworldly secrets that he possessed. Luckily he seemed quite taken by Emilia which would make it hopefully a little easier to properly break him in. Under the pretence that his work would benefit his Lady he could be motivated rather well.
At least his loudmouthed carelessness would reveal many valuable details about the inhabitants of the mansion. With his unknowing help he had already painted a fairly comprehensive picture of the two twin maids of this place. Tanya had already seen many different demi-humans, but the strange hair colours of Lugnica were hard to accept. Blue and pink! How was that even biologically possible? And honestly who thought that giving two nearly identical looking girls with nearly identical sounding names was a good idea?
Roswaal was even weirder. She knew from spying on him through his window that he could speak without the ridiculous accent and he was certainly not an ugly man under all the layers of makeup, so it made no sense to her why he added it in the first place. Did he want to stand out from the crowd? To make him more "special"? If so, then that unbelievably stupid. He was already the most powerful magician in the country!
Now he wanted to talk to her which was to be expected. Tanya had not come here as a vacation after all. What she had not predicted was the urgency of his request. Discussing political matters with her now directly after she had arrived at his estate appeared unnecessarily tactless and rude. He must have gotten a pretty good reason then to warrant such a diplomatic blunder. The game was turning serious.
"How loooong would you like to stay in this wonderful home of miiiine?"
Tanya blinked. Slowly. And blinked again. That was what he wanted to discuss? What?
"Six days at least. If relationships between and Lady Emilia and I prosper then I could imagine a few days more than that. As lovely as this mansion is Lord Roswaal I fear a longer stay would be unwise seeing as I have my own business to attend to back in the capital."
She had to train her 204th after all. There was no time to waste. Nonetheless would the stay here hopefully teach her much about this world´s magic and other hard to find secrets.
"I am overjoooooooyed that you have taken such a liking to my property, but I must sadly infooorm you that you will have to leave in exactly five daaaays."
"And why is that if I am allowed to ask?"
"In five days I am goooooing on some important errands and it woooould be unforgivably rude of me in my role as your host to leave you alone here." he grinned.
The lie was so obvious that Tanya felt insulted by his bluntness. Sadly, there was not much she could do about it. Maybe if she fed the ground-dragons poisoned fodder then she would be unable to depart... No, resistance was not worth it in this case. Five days would have to be enough for her to sway Emilia and eventually Roswaal to her side.
"If that is what you propose then who am I not to honour your wishes Lord Roswaal. I shall depart in five days if you so choose."
She placed great importance on the fact that he was making her do this to remind him that she did not appreciate his demeanour. What was this man planning? What would happen in five days? Was that a trap? Was he planning an ambush?
"Excellent. Noooow if you could please enlighten me... What exact reason do I have to thank for your visit? Emiiiilia was rather tight-lipped yesterday about the nature of your planned alliance."
Saying the truth would be detrimental at this stage, but lying would cost her much trust later on. Naturally she chose the path in the middle. Half-truths and logically sound distractions that could not easily be refuted would probably be enough to satiate the margrave´s curiosity.
"I suggested for Lady Emilia to unite our camps to boost her popularity and help achieve our mutual goals far easier. As you may know I intend for this country to flourish and grow regardless if I become queen or not, so I am sure that me and Lady Emilia will be able to find a lot of common ground. I also would be willing to offer her my vast experience on tactics and political schemes as a counceller of sorts. The world is a dangerous place and more preparation for perilious situations would certainly do her some good."
"Aaaaaand what would you get ouuuut of the deal?"
Now came the tricky part. If she demanded too much she would seem arrogant and if she demanded not enough then that make her look suspicious.
"That is what I have come to determine with Lady Emilia over the course of the next week, but I already have a few details in mind. For example, as a man with huge magical prowess, in all six elements no less, you surely knew of the value of knowledge. Information is the most precious thing in the world and as such interests me greatly. I had already the pleasure of stumbling over your library and I would be more than happy to visit it again with your permission."
"The Forbidden Library is indeeeeed a spectacular place, but you will have to speak with Beatrice about uuuusing it for your purposes. She is the protector of aaaall of its contents and has the sole authority over this place."
That only strengthened her theory about Beatrice not being a human. No one in their right mind would entrust a place as important as the "Forbidden Library" to a little girl. Why was it called "forbidden" anyway? Whatever was hidden inside must be extremely secretive to be hidden away like that. She needed to talk with Beatrice again.
"Then I will do that. Would that be all you wanted to talk about?"
"Yes, quite. Enjoy your staaaay..."
Tanya felt relief and unease in equal measure when she heard his answer. Relief, because he had swallowed the bait and would hopefully ask not too many questions in the next few days and unease, because his menacing grin seemed to indicate that he knew more than he let on. What a strange man. He was planning something, but she was not sure what. Maybe she would need to eliminate him in the near future.
Notes:
What kind of music do you guys listen to when you write?
For me it´s mostly Bloodborne OST or similarly sad orchestral pieces.