Marianne von Edmund, a student at the Officers' Academy, has had to flee with all her classmates, after the invasion of the Garrech Mach Officers' Academy by the Adrestian Empire, led by its new Empress, Edelgard von Hresvelg.
On her way home, and a...
The innkeeper went to tell everyone that the sun had risen. Most of the youth had already woken up, unconsciously accustomed to getting up at dawn since their visit to the Monastery.
Claude came out first, followed by Lorenz, so they could observe the group at their disposal and adjust everything necessary for the expedition. The young heir to the Archduke felt somewhat uncomfortable in the presence of that companion but appreciated his effort. It supposed the concern that he thought for the situation that could generate a debacle in the Alliance, assuming the responsibility before his future as one of its rulers.
The rest of the group also left after a short time. Leonard walked sad and sleepy. The encounter with Hilda interrupted his sleep routine, which was delicate enough already. Marianne took refuge next to him, with a shy expression but with a slight tone of flirtation that captivated him:
"Hello...Leonard. I hope you had a good night," she said, her voice sweet and musical.
"Hello, Beau... Marianne," he said, refraining from appearances. "I didn't sleep as well as I would have liked. I was a bit nervous about the start of our expedition."
"Me too... I was nervous," she replied, lowering her gaze.
"I see..." he added, looking at her tenderly, knowing what Marianne was implying.
As the couple went upstairs, Hilda watched from some distance. She couldn't help but feel a strange discomfort. She tried to avoid looking to appease that feeling. It was jealousy or envy, but she flatly refused to try to put a name to whatever was rising in her.
Once everyone had breakfast at the inn, they thanked the innkeeper and said goodbye to him. It was time to go. The route they would follow covered the territory of the Duchy of Goneril towards the Fódlan's Locket, where they would restock the necessary supplies and include more troops at Holst's offer. Once there, he would stay in the Locket to organize a posse to defend or corner an invader interested in the codex.
After stopping at the Fódlan's Locket, the party would proceed through the mountains, avoiding being spotted by any other party. The territory of the Viscount of Nilsson was experiencing significant instability and being quite susceptible to the influence of the Church of the East, which jeopardized the security of the plan.
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The path traced to reach the Church of the East (map made by user u/ReynelUvirith on Reddit).
They started the trip quickly. It was already the Harpstring Moon, and soon the rains would arrive. For the same reason, the group felt the pressure to speed up the pace, mainly due to the impediments that the precipitation would cause on their trip.
Leonard rested peacefully in one of the floats carrying the soldiers. Marianne sat beside him, looking expectant, nervous, but cheerful. It gave her a subtle satisfaction to be with the man she loved.
Despite the insecurity that characterized her, she was already sure and wanted to repeat it when the right moment came. She didn't want to think about anything related to his Crest, even though that combination of guilt and complacency always haunted her. "I want to fight alongside Leonard... I want him to congratulate me for helping him. But... I don't want to feel that voice in my head; It scares me," the girl thought while looking sideways at Leonard.
