Hohenfels

Arne tried to get a read on the newcomer’s aura, which turned out to be rather difficult. Despite the short distance of barely eight paces, it seemed a little fuzzy to Arne’s senses. ‘Feels like a particularly powerful warding amulet.’

“Good evening. I’m afraid this niche is occupied.” Arne made no effort to be accommodating, realizing that the bloodstained table and the barely visible half-dried puddle on the floor might put Katharina and him in a rather precarious situation if the young man noticed them. He was glad that the saber was mostly obscured by the fallen shelf, since the blank blade would have been obvious even in the dark.

The young noble straightened out the sleeves of his antiquated, but elegant doublet. “I see. My apologies for the interruption. Have a good evening.” With that, he bowed and left.

Arne waited until he could no longer feel his presence before he allowed himself a breath of relief. Katharina, who had remained silent during the brief exchange, relaxed as well and looked around.

“We should probably deal with this sooner rather than later,” she said, gesturing around.

“Right. But how? It would be quite difficult to explain. Dragging cleaning supplies in here ourselves would look even more suspicious, and staying quiet about it might cause a major uproar should it be discovered by accident.”

She considered that for a moment. “It would be best to stay close to the truth. We could say that you were inspecting your saber when I arrived. My sudden appearance startled you and caused a bloody, but superficial cut.”

“Sounds like a plan. Should we go fetch a servant?”

“Not yet,” she replied. “There should still be quite a few people out and about, and the two of us coming out of the library together at this hour… Well.”

“Ah. Yes, I had not considered that,” Arne laughed. “It would do wonders to distract everyone from the engagement rumors, though.”

“Not necessarily. It might fan the flames instead, and earn you a reputation as a philanderer,” she snickered. “Speaking of which, we should pray that our visitor did not get a good look at our faces in the dark.”

“Did you recognize him, by any chance? I didn’t, but I must confess that I have not been paying a whole lot of attention to our fellow students.”

“I don’t think I met him before. I believe I would remember such… striking fashion sense.” Derision.

“Well, it’s still better than– Ahem.” Arne belatedly remembered that Katharina was currently wearing the very kind of clothing that he was about to make fun of, even though her dress seemed almost tame and modest when compared to the gaudy and ridiculously revealing ones he had seen earlier at the soirée.

“Not a fan of the Francian style, hmm?” she asked with a sly smile.

“Well, not particularly,” he admitted. “It’s too stiff and colorful.”

“I suppose I can see that,” Katharina mused. “I take it you liked Princess Klara’s dress more, then?” Mischievous amusement.

Arne suppressed a sigh. ‘How do I get out of this one?’

“The style of a dress matters much less than the poise with which it is worn,” he proclaimed, silently praying for her mercy.

She made a show of considering his reply. “Perhaps I should start wearing a sword with my dress?”

To his surprise, she seriously thought about it, even though she framed it as a quip.

“May I ask why?” he inquired, cutting off the banter.

“It would be a strong statement, wouldn’t it?” Calculation.

‘Mother would love this woman,’ he realized with despair. “That is for certain, but what would that statement achieve?”

“Most importantly, it might help me get along with Princess Klara,” she explained. “She seems like the type to look down on, ahem, ‘silklings’.”

Arne found himself at a crossroad. Was it really in his best interest to help her forge relations with Eisengrund? In the short term, it was probably disadvantageous, given Hohenfels’ very strained relationship with them. However, the way the political winds were blowing, it would not hurt to have access to a somewhat reliable intermediary in the future.

In the end, he decided to throw Katharina a bone.

“You should make sure that you can actually wield the sword, or it will backfire.” Princess Klara would undoubtedly judge her even harsher if she wore a weapon she could not use.

“I know my way around a blade,” she pouted. Indignation. Worry. Guile. “That said, I may need a bit of a refresher,” she added with a sheepish smile. “Perhaps I should attend one of the–”

“That’s a horrible idea,” Arne interjected. “What you learn in those courses won’t impress the Princess. If anything, it will make you look worse in her eyes.”

“Oh? Why is that?”

“They are aimed at pillowkn– central nobility, who will never actually use their weapon outside of performative duels.”

“That is a shame… If only I knew someone who would be willing to help me practice,” she sighed with feigned dejection. Triumph. Delight.

‘Damn it, I got careless.’ “Fine, fine. Hohenfels Hall has a training yard. Just stop by after classes.”

“Thank you very much,” she beamed, her aura a beacon of smugness and self-satisfaction.

“So you’re actually serious about the sword? Wouldn’t it alienate you even further from the Western nobles?” he asked in an attempt to steer the conversation back into safer waters.

Katharina thought about that for a moment, and then nodded. “It will. But aligning myself with Princess Klara would have achieved that anyway, given her reputation. So I might as well commit to the idea. Perhaps the two of us will even start a new fashion trend,” she laughed.

“That is more likely than you think,” Arne remarked. “My sister won’t even leave her chambers without carrying a sword, and I believe she will make quite the impression on the student body once she arrives.”

“Oh, the rumors were actually true?” Mild surprise.

“Indeed. She is still… busy, but I suspect she will take up her position in a month or two.”

“That is very good to know! Is it all right for me to spread this information?” Calculation. Ambition.

“...I don’t mind, but may I ask why?”

“It will help me establish myself as a trustworthy source of intelligence regarding Hohenfels and the East at large,” she explained. “I gain credibility, and you gain the ability to disperse information as you please without having to personally interact with the gossip-mongers.”

That sounded like an excellent arrangement to Arne, so he nodded along. “I see. I’ll leave that to you, then.”

She smiled at him, her aura still tinged with ambition. Despite his reservations, he had to admit that the moonlight reflected in her bright hazel eyes made for a rather captivating sight.

‘Stop it,’ Arne chastised himself. ‘This is exactly what she wants to achieve with all the fake flirting.’ If he wanted to make the best use of the arrangement, he would have to keep enough emotional distance to be able to use her without too much regard for her interests. He dearly hoped that he was up to the task.

“If you want another particularly juicy piece of information, feel free to mention that Hohenfels is in the process of acquiring another three steamboats,” he suggested. “My mother tasked me with finding prospective trade partners among the lower nobility from the North, but I’d rather have them come to me than the other way around.”

This was a half-truth at best – Adelheid had long since finalized contracts with various aristocrats and trade companies behind closed doors. She had only told him to look for opportunities to fill what few capacities remained, and that had not been particularly high up on the priority list. It did, however, make for a very useful tool in this situation, further indebting Katharina to House Hohenfels, if only marginally.

Something the young lady in question seemed keenly aware of, since the ambition in her aura took on a subcurrent of frustrated calculation.

“Thank you. I can definitely use that,” she said while putting on a smile that would have been convincing to anyone else. “We still have a rumor problem to solve, though.”

‘Ah, she’s trying to even the playing field… Or at least neutralize part of her debt,’ he noted. “And how would you propose we do that?”

“One option would be a public statement, but that might just as well make it even worse. Another option would be to wait until everyone naturally forgets about it, but after the incident earlier that could take months,” she explained. “As I see it, the best option is to exploit your encounter with Prince Ludwig.”

“A distraction?”

“Exactly. If we play up the hostility between the two of you, it will dominate the rumor mill for the foreseeable future. It won’t damage your relationship further, since he successfully accomplished that already. On top of that, we can easily paint an underdog narrative around you, and turn him into an antagonistic figure.” Self-confidence. Smugness.

‘Easily, huh?’ Arne stopped himself from talking her out of the idea, despite the glaring problem he noticed: If Katharina’s involvement was too obvious, it would be child’s play to misrepresent it as an ill-conceived attempt at taking revenge for the humiliation she received at the soirée.

The risks to himself were low, and the potential rewards were great. If her ploy succeeded, every dissatisfied young noble from the less-prosperous territories would see House Hohenfels as their champion against the ‘establishment’. If it failed, she would bear the brunt of the backlash – at which point he might even have the opportunity to swoop in as her shield, indebting her and House Silberthal even further.

‘Am I overlooking something? What is the worst case result for me?’

He leaned back on the bench in contemplation, ignoring the growing unrest in Katharina’s aura. What could go wrong for him? It was entirely possible that Prince Ludwig was significantly more politically astute than expected. He could, under the right circumstances, turn the rumor around on him, painting him as an uncultured Eastern savage – though this was bound to happen anyway sooner or later, so it was not as big of a problem as it seemed. Conversely, Ludwig might be significantly less politically astute and resort to blatant harassment, which sounded bad at first, but would play right into Arne’s hand in the long term.

Could any of this have an effect on Falkenstein? This was the most pertinent question so far. If Ludwig managed to drive a wedge between him and Prince Matthias, it would be catastrophic. Given their antagonistic relationship, it was unlikely, but…

“Think with me for a moment,” Arne addressed Katharina, who immediately straightened up. “In which way could this plan affect Falkenstein?”

“If anything, it would entrench them further on your side. They might even actively help with spreading the rumors,” she said slowly, still mulling over his words. “They have a vested interest in shaking up the status quo, and they would love to see growing antagonism towards Sonnenfeld and Altengau. The increased pressure would allow them to start ignoring more Imperial decrees.” There was a tinge of surprise in her aura, which made Arne suspect that she had not thought him capable of such considerations. It stung a little.

“I suppose I will have a talk with Prince Matthias then,” he said, suppressing his urge to pout.

She perked up at that. “That is a magnificent idea! Oh, speaking of which: Would it be possible for you to introduce me to Lady Elenor at some point?”

“Lady Elenor… Ah, Matthias’ fiancée? I’ll see what I can do, but I can’t promise anything. I only exchanged a few words with her so far,” he replied, unwilling to go this far for what was a tentative alliance that might still crumble to dust should her schemes collapse. Thankfully, she got the message and did not press further.

“Thank you, Arnold,” she smiled radiantly, no trace of the annoyance permeating her aura to be seen. ‘She would have played me for a fool if it wasn’t for my gift… I can’t afford to let my guard down.’

= = = = =

Katharina, now freshly bathed and dressed in her silken nightgown, sat down at her candle-lit desk, reflecting on what she had gained and lost today. It was a rather grim outlook, though not entirely hopeless. The Sonnenstein situation was a disaster, but the budding relations with Hohenfels could make up for some of it – or, if her gamble succeeded, even be the foundation of a much grander future for House Silberthal. ‘Mother will hate it, but Father might see the benefits.’

Unfortunately, her lifeline-to-be was much more difficult to deal with than the average twenty-something year old noble. Most of those were easily managed with nothing but strategically deployed smiles, while this one had somehow resisted even her tears – and worse than that, attempted to exploit them.

Still, he had demonstrated sufficient gallantry when he offered her his arm on the way to Sonnenfeld Hall. It had been a rather unusual experience since he was easily half a head taller than any of her previous escorts.

With a long-suffering sigh, she rose from her chair and slipped beneath her blankets for a good night’s sleep.

She needed to rest well, for tomorrow would be the time to fan the flames.