Last Life

Book 5: Chapter 11

“YOUR WORSHIP,” said Sigurd respectfully as he lowered his sword. “I don’t understand how you do it... The speed with which you’re developing your powers is striking. Not many people could repeat what you just demonstrated to me. And that’s putting it mildly! To get the same results myself, I had to go through years of intensive and exhausting training! You’re jumping from stage to stage like it’s all fun and games for you... I don’t think I’d be far off in estimating that you’re probably at the same stage as a top-level medius.”

With that, the normally-taciturn Sigurd fell silent, still breathing heavily. He was beet red. His hair was all over the place, and sweat glistened on his forehead and cheeks. There was a playful fire in his eyes. His arms were shaking slightly due to overexertion.

I was in a similar state myself. I had decided to test my limits that day, so I didn’t hold anything back. And I seemed to be doing well. The snakeskin armor felt like a second layer of skin to me, the fang-swords like extensions of my own arms.

“I wouldn’t be surprised if you go through a transition soon,” added Sigurd.

By this, he meant an increase in rank.

“How does that happen?” I asked.

“I don’t know about other people,” Sigurd shrugged as he wiped his red face with a canvas towel. “For me, it happened in battle. It was a moment when both my body and my energy system were working at the limits of their potential.”

Sigurd stopped for a moment. The look in his eyes suggested he was somewhere far away. Apparently, he was immersed in the past.

“The man I was fighting that day was a powerful medius. One of my former brothers. There was a time when I lost almost every time we had a training fight. I remember the smile on his face when we crossed swords for the last time. I could see my death in his eyes.”

“No, I didn’t...” Sigurd confirmed, still sounding lost in thought. “At one point, when I thought that I would feel his blade sink into my heart at any moment, the world around me suddenly changed... Sounds and smells disappeared... Everything seemed to slow down... Except for me. My opponent was like a beetle trying to walk through honey. Same with his comrades, the men who chased Aelira and me into an ambush. And I started to move... Aelira later said that I was disappearing and reappearing from second to second. That’s how fast I was moving. I took care of all our enemies very quickly.”

“Strange,” I grunted.

“But there were consequences, too,” Sigurd added, sounding very serious. “The battle completely drained my reservoir. All the bruts I had on me also turned to dust. It took a long time for the damage on my body to heal.”

“I hear you. And I thank you for the warning. Forewarned is forearmed.”

“Hm...” Sigurd froze for a second. It seemed like he was repeating the phrase to himself. “Well said, Your Worship. I’ll remember that.”

I gestured with a jerk of my head and said:

“Now help me take this armor off. I want to take a bath. What say we freshen up?”

Saying this, I nodded toward my pond, on whose banks we usually did our training. My words made Sigurd wince and hurriedly shake his head.

I just chuckled inside. The locals in this world tended to frown on bathing in open bodies of water. And it wasn’t because of superstition. As recently as a hundred years before, the rivers and lakes were settled by all sorts of magical creatures, most of which considered humans to be simply another type of prey.

At our evenings encampments, I had heard all sorts of stories about different life forms that inhabited this world. Among them were stories about fins, feathers, and all sorts of other evil in lakes. By the way — according to the locals, a nisse was also an evil spirit.

Fear of water was a firm and long-established feature of life for the locals. Sigurd, for example, was a combat mage, and an avant at that... But water scared him as much as a blazing fire.

On the way back to Vestonia, when I would occasionally stop to swim in a river or some other body of water, all my people would come out and watch me. They would even place bets on whether they’d have to come save me from some kind of ravenous lake mermaid.

The nisse didn’t approve of me swimming at first either. But when I told her about the spells I knew that could protect me from evil aquatic life, she calmed down quite a bit.

Nothing of the sort inhabited my pond anyway, so I swam in it pretty often. I even ordered a nice little platform with stairs to be built along the shore.

After taking off my armor, I ordered Sigurd to inform the servants that I would take my lunch in the outdoor gazebo, and then ran at full speed and leapt into the water.

For a little while, I just swam and dove, enjoying it as water cooled and refreshed my body after the training. Then, once I had enough swimming, I just spread my arms a little to the sides and lay there in the water with my eyes closed.

My thoughts followed their own course and brought me back to the events of the preceding few days. So far, everything was working out just as I’d hoped. I was even a little bit uneasy about the fact that everything was going so incredibly smoothly.

Susanna Marino had agreed to become my double agent, and had already passed me several pieces of very interesting information. True, she still hadn’t gotten access to more serious information like the real name of the head of her department. But that was okay; this was just the first step.

For my part, I made sure to supply Susanna (via Marc Ducos) with information about myself and my actions, in order to keep her immediate superior happy. None of the information would be of any use against me, but it improved Susanna’s standing markedly in her boss’ eyes. So basically, things were going well. Actually, Mademoiselle Marino was tasked with finding out who specifically had recruited my maid Denise and my gardener. And she was already working on it.

Things with my aunt the Duchess ended up working out even better than I’d expected. By the way — according to Zacharias Beron, buying her promissory notes was a lot easier than the others. Jeanne du Bellay, notorious at court as the “Stone Lady” for her personality, was fully focused on court politics, and completely out of touch with the actions of the steward of her affairs, who totally overlooked the sale of his mistress’s promissory notes.

I admit that I wasn’t expecting the reaction I got after demonstrating my gift. It was like the Duchess was seeing me for the first time. And she wouldn’t let me leave for a long time afterward. I had to stay for lunch, and then for dinner after that. I knew that the birth of gifted children in the high houses of Vestonia was a joyous, much-celebrated event, but I hadn’t suspected the extent to which that was the case.

According to the Duchess, who from that day on was intensely focused on me, the birth of a gifted child raised the status of that child’s family in society exponentially. Actually, the de Gramonts themselves only possessed their elevated status thanks to their gifted ancestors.

My healing ability was a cause of particular joy to her. Especially since, according to her, this gift was at least as powerful as that of her personal healer. The latter, by the way, was constantly at the disposal of the king, along with all his other colleagues of high repute. According to the latest rumors, theking’s wound wasn’t healing for some reason.

For the time being, I didn’t tell my aunt that I had other sides in addition to those she already knew about. That could be a surprise for her at some future time.

The fact that I was a bastard seemed to have been entirely forgotten. All things considered, I was much, much more valuable than before. And my aunt would now do everything in her power to “sell” me for a better price. As far as I knew from listening to her excited rambling, the de Marbot marriage was a thing of the past as far as she was concerned. The Duchess would do whatever she could to change my uncle’s mind. At the very least, she would get the betrothal date postponed as much as possible.

Also, I didn’t have to explain that not a word about my gift should slip to Heinrich de Gramont or the rest of the family. The Duchess du Bellay said so herself before I had a chance. And she strictly forbade me from sharing the information with anybody else, either. We were apparently in agreement that Uncle Heinrich had done everything necessary to ensure that Max’s brothers would be executed.

Ever since that evening, my aunt began sending me daily letters, inquiring about my health and asking me not to get involved in anything.

I was distracted from these contemplations when I suddenly sensed something looking at me. It wasn’t hard to tell where they were looking at me from. I glanced to the right and noticed a female figure next to the gazebo.

Verena... I had already let her know, through Aelira, that I wanted to have lunch with her today in the gazebo. True, she arrived earlier than we’d agreed. Hm... And she was holding my clean clothes and canvas towel in her hands. And there were no footmen in sight. She was trying to embarrass me. To make me blush. Well, she’d picked the wrong guy.

I ducked beneath the surface of the water and swam to the opposite bank, where a big old willow tree stood. Its long branches hung like the hair of a beautiful woman, right down to the surface of the water. I quietly slipped behind this green curtain and glanced over toward the gazebo. Verena was standing on her tiptoes, her neck extended in a funny sort of way as she feverishly scanned the smooth surface of the water.

Then she set my clothes and towel down on a bench and walked over to the stairs of the little bridge-like platform next to the lake, still staring down into the water. Meanwhile, trying not to make any noise, I climbed up onto the bank and crept over to the gazebo behind the shelter of some bushes. While I quickly got dried off and dressed, I watched with a smile as the young woman rushed along the shore of the pond. She’d be running for help any second.

With a quick tug on my collar, I smoothed my wet hair and stood up on the edge of the gazebo, swinging my hands behind my back. I called out to Verena right as she was about to run back to the castle for help; she had already picked up the hem of her dress in preparation.

“Mademoiselle!” I called to her in Astlandic. “I’m glad you accepted my invitation to lunch. How would you like to take a walk around the garden while the servants set the table?”

My voice made Verena jump; she whirled around and stared at me with her wide-open, turquoise-colored eyes. She glanced down at the pond, then back up at me. Emotions passed across her face in rapid succession, as if a series of wax masks were melting before a torch, one after the other. A little bit of fear, then surprise, disbelief, and finally, a little bit of embarrassment mixed with relief. Hm... Apparently she was actually worried about me for a minute.

She took a deep, rapid breath, but at the last moment she caught herself and exhaled quietly. I just laughed inside my head. She was obviously preparing to give me an earful.

Holding the hem of her new dress (Jean-Claude Sylvain’s handiwork), she walked up the thin stone stairs to the path where I was already waiting for her.

By the way- I informed the nosy tailor (who was working on a whole new wardrobe for me, and from whom I’d ordered several outfits for this young woman we saved) that Verena was a relative on my mother’s side. She had moved to the capital so that I could take an active part in sorting out her future.

Neither I nor any of my warriors had any doubt that Verena really was a representative of a noble house. Bertrand himself commented on her faultless manners. And he was the one who recommended that I house the young woman in a manner appropriate to her station. Her noble family was almost certainly searching for her. And sooner or later, they’d find her, in a house where she was being looked after in a manner that was in every way appropriate to her origins.

I didn’t argue with Bertrand on this; he was a real guru when it came to such questions. Although at the same time, I didn’t quite understand why he thought this was such a good idea. Still, I decided to trust my experienced valet — he had never once let me down, either with his actions or his advice. Especially since, despite the months I’d already spent living in this world, I still felt like a stranger. And Bertrand, without even realizing it, was acting as the best possible guide.

Therefore, as soon as we arrived, I assigned Josie, Agnès’ daughter, to serve as Verena’s personal chambermaid. Jean-Claude Sylvain was working on her wardrobe, and Michel Roupe, one of Herouxville’s jewelers (who bought a bunch of gemstones from me), soon delivered several pieces of jewelry to my estate. This was the kind of thing that every young woman from a noble family required, according to local etiquette. And that wasn’t even counting all the various high-society products like gloves, scarves, headbands, perfumes, and other little things. Basically, I was shelling out quite a lot to maintain this girl we’d saved. Admittedly, given my current financial status (which Zacharias Beron was slowly but surely increasing for me), my expenses on Verena were no more than a drop in the bucket.

Today, the girl was wearing a dark blue dress. She wore a graceful pearl necklace around her thin neck, and two little mother-of-pearl earrings in her ears.

With an impeccable curtsey, Verena nodded, signaling her agreement to accompany me on a walk.

For a time, we walked in silence, just enjoying the spring sunshine and the singing of the birds that thronged the grounds of my castle.

“I presume, Mademoiselle, that you already know what I’d like to discuss with you,” I said as we stopped next to a flower bed. Its flowers were arranged into a sort of spotted pattern.

Verena flinched ever so slightly. She nodded and lowered her head, waiting for me to continue.

“Pretending to be mute after your narrow escape from death wasn’t such a bad idea.”

After saying this, I noticed a faint blush on the young womans’ cheeks. She was very tense.

“You’ve had time to study the situation, and the people who saved you,” I continued. “I also presume, given the fact that you haven’t once tried to flee, that you consider yourself to be in a safe place. My people and I are all certain that you come from noble stock. That’s why I’ve been trying to do everything I can to make you comfortable in my home. But as you surely understand, we can’t continue like this forever. Your family is bound to be searching for you. If you’ll tell me your name, I could get in touch with your father...”

Verena looked up at me, staring right into my eyes. I could see doubt and pleading simultaneously in the inquisitive expression on her face.

“I understand your point of view, Mademoiselle,” I said softly. “You’d like things to continue just as they are... But alas, I can’t do that, either to you or to your family...”

I didn’t even mention the risks this would pose to me and my people.

“Besides,” I continued. “It’s not going to continue this way anyway. Everyone in the castle already knows that you can talk.”

Verena jumped slightly, and her cheeks turned bright red.

“You’ve screamed in your sleep several times,” I said, switching to the local language. “By the way, please accept my compliments on your flawless Vestonian.”

Verena let out a heavy sigh; her shoulders dropped like those of someone condemned. She looked a lot like a kid who had just been caught with their hand in the cookie jar.

“When did that happen?” She asked quietly.

I noticed that her voice was expressive and melodic. And she spoke Vestonian very correctly, albeit with a slight accent.

“After we returned to the castle,” I replied. “Apparently you were trying hard to restrain and control yourself while we were on the road, but when we reached a better-defended place, you relaxed.”

“Monsieur.” Our eyes met. She hurriedly continued: “I truly feel safe in your home. And I’m grateful to you and your people for saving me.”

“I’m sure any noble person would have acted the same way in my position,” I said with a quick bow. “But you still haven’t told me your real name.”

“Verena is my real name,” she replied. “My mother gave it to me. I’m just known by a different name, that’s all.”

“What name is that?” I suddenly felt queasy.

Dammit, I thought — what am I about to find out? What the hell did I get myself into this time?

“Sophia-Verena von Mirbach, Duchess of Württemberg.” The young woman raised her chin into the air ever so slightly as she spoke. Her voice was unexpectedly firm, but her expression was tense. “You mentioned my parents, who are bound to be looking for me. Alas — I’m an orphan. My mother died in the dungeons of the Iron Castle when I was just a kid. My father was executed in Wolfsburg after losing the Battle of Lüneburg, where my older brother was killed. My father was beheaded and quartered before the crowd, on the orders of the usurper Otto II.”

I let out a heavy sigh and closed my eyes for a moment. Ugh... And things were going so well before this. Suspiciously well, I guess. True, the problems I just discovered weren’t the ones I was expecting. I assumed, of course, that this girl would have a surprise of some kind in store for me. But I could never have imagined one like this.

Everything suddenly made sense. The girl we saved that night was none other than Princess Sophia, the daughter of the overthrown King of Astland and a girl everyone had long ago given up for dead.

Simply by saving her, I stomped down firmly on the toes of the current King of Astland, who had certain shared interests with the Duke de Bauffremont.

The latter had been trying for ages to secure Prince Philippe’s betrothal to the nephew of the Duke of Merano, the younger brother of the current King of Astland. The appearance of Princess Sophia, the sole remaining heiress of Conrad V, on the political stage could be the signal for an armed struggle against Otto II. Even Jacques referred to the man as a usurper, and news of Sophia’s survival might well lead to a new civil war erupting in Astland. Huh... Everything was so much simpler when Verena was mute.

As if reading my mind, she continued with a bitter chuckle in her voice:

“I can see, Monsieur, that you’ve already realized who exactly is in front of you now. I’m sure you’re wondering why I didn’t think of another way to stay incognito. I’ll tell you... You were right — I truly have felt safe in your home. You and your people saved me and cared for me. I could never bear to repay your kindness with devious behavior of any sort. And I want you to know: by protecting me in your home, you’re putting your life at risk. Now you know everything! And I’m sure you’ll want to transfer control of me to your king — “

“No.” I stopped her as I saw tears of despair welling up in her eyes. “You, Your Highness, are a guest in my home. And that means you’re under my protection. I’m not going to turn you in. You will leave my home only if and when you desire to do so.”