ABH - CH 30.5 - Interlude 4

A/N: It's short but it's an interlude so alas. It is as it should be.

Interlude Four

To Call Order

Rise of Winter, Week 5, Day 4

Duke Nemo was outraged. It had taken the better part of an hour to explain to Queen Esther what he needed and why, then another several hours to call in favors to Duke Umbra and Duchess Poplar. The Duchess Dawn was useless in this endeavor, as she always was. But the Duke of Dawn owed him greatly from the Hilled Wars, so Duke Frederick was not above pulling on that string should he need to. 

At the end of four hours, Frederick had around him every Lord and Lady who headed their house in Nemo, representatives from all the Great Ducal Houses and the Marquisates across the Queendom, and the First Princess herself. He also had a single Priestess of Scylla from the Moors of Hernel, and six others rushed from Oberon. The final members—the Dungeon Master and his apprentices—were currently organizing the massive amounts of tomes they’d brought to Nemo. 

Frederick’s Skill was exhausted transporting the sheer volume of people back to the Nemo Estate, but that was no matter. There was nothing more important to him than returning his granddaughter home. 

He had many grandchildren, many great nieces and nephews, had many children of his own who have since grown up. But Freddie was his Heir. She was everything to Frederick. Freddie represented more than the continuation of his lineage; like the rest of his children’s children, she represented the future of Nemo. 

Thus, draining his Divine Skill until it was on forced cooldown was a small matter. 

What was a year for a man who had lived centuries? 

“Silence,” Duke Nemo commanded, and the thorns of his mana wrapped around his heart. 

The world stilled at his voice, conversations hanging as their mouths shut against their will. 

“Tell me. What needs to be done?”

His vibrant orange eyes landed on the Dungeon Master. The man looked older than dirt, and Frederick knew he practically was. The man had served under Queen Lorelei before the Great Extermination. He had seen curated dungeons of all sizes, and he had even curated some himself. 

“My Lord, please, we need more time to analyze this. It is so rare for a descent to occur outside of the Church,” the man started, his voice cracking and shaking just as his grip on his book shook. 

Before he could continue, one of the Priests of Scylla cut him off. His flowing blue robes and silver chains pale when surrounded by the dark clothes of the Nemoan Nobles. 

“Her Lady of Low Tydes must have seen something we could not know. I do not believe we should interfere—” 

“—Then you are relieved of your position.” A woman said harshly, her purple eyes an indicator of her lineage. The First Princess Ophelia did not look amused at the man’s interruption. “You serve at the leisure of the Royal Family, Father Carn, it is not for you to tell us or Duke Nemo how to handle his affairs.”

Frederick nodded at the woman, standing and projecting his voice. “Let it be known, Nemo recognizes this as a Travesty. A Goddess has descended—has attacked Nemo directly. It has come early, but it will be treated as anything else: with the care and dedication required to save the future Duchess of Nemo. This time, it is not my life on the line, but it is no less imperative that we mitigate the Gods' interference in Maeve.”

First Princess Ophelia stepped up next to Frederick, turning to face the room. Her dark hair pulled away from her face to show her sharpness. 

“Let it be known, as in the past, the Queen has chosen to preserve Nemo at whatever the cost to the pantheon. This is the Queen’s Decree. We are no longer a Queendom ruled by religious fanatics. We are a Queendom that values her people. The Heir to Nemo is her people.”

Father Carn’s face was red with indignation, but before he could utter another word, the chains around his robes broke. 

“Father Carn,” Ophelia said, “You are to report to the King, and he will decide if your [Class] is to be unsealed. Pray to Scylla that the Tydes of Fate are on your side.”

With a single gesture, two knights manifested in the room and gripped Father Carn before disappearing. 

-

In another room, Father Carn sat, a cup of tea in his hand and his chains restored. Across from him sat a woman with pale pink hair and dark eyes. 

“Thank you, Father Carn,” Aster Nemo said gently, her red-rimmed eyes hardly focusing on him. “I appreciate your sacrifice.”

Father Carn sighed, gripping the ceramic cup tightly. “What is some embarrassment in exchange for a life debt cleared? Fear not, Lady Nemo, I was more than happy to be the example of dissent. Now the rest shall fall into line.”