Marianne and the Forbidden Codex: A Fire Emblem Three Houses story

Confusing memories

Hilda had also leaned back. She tried to sleep, but she couldn't. She questioned that dialogue with Leonard again. Suddenly, she could remember some things that happened several years ago.

Probably seven or eight years ago, some merchants had passed through her family's territories to sell them some rare and expensive products. They were a man and a woman, accompanied by their son. The last name of that family was Fritz.

Holst hosted the merchants on behalf of his parents. He was still a young man, but he was already diligent enough to handle various matters in his family. Hilda was a brat, so she wasn't interested in such cases, but she agreed to accompany her brother in such issues as her brother wanting her to learn things for the future. She met the son of the merchant couple there. She found it most strange and funny. He was a carefree boy but with a frail appearance. Holst and the merchants were busy checking out the wares, telling each other entertaining stories, etc. Meanwhile, the boy approached Hilda.

"Your hair is amazing; I had never seen people with hair that color," Leonard invaded the girl's personal space, who immediately backed down.

"It's just that you haven't met many noble people, it seems," Hilda responded nervously but pretended to be indifferent.

"I've seen some nobles, but they're all heavy, stuffy, or boring," the boy surprised Hilda with such a foul-mouthed and frank response. "You, on the other hand, seem to be good people. I like that."

"Oh really? And how do you know that?"

"You came hiding behind that big guy, but when he started talking to my parents, you looked at me a lot," Leonard surprised the girl with that comment. "You sure are very close. Few noble families have seemed happy to me."

"I feel happy with my family..." Hilda seemed to agree with the boy's impression.

"Hey," Leonard offered the girl a smile. "Do you want to go play with me or take a walk? I would like to know more about this place."

"I... I guess I can ask my brother to permit us to go for a walk," Hilda looked a little embarrassed.

"Yeah! The boy jumped for his joy. Anyway, what's your name? My name is Leonard... Fritz, that is, Leonard Fritz."

"Mine is Hilda Goneril."

"That's a name that goes well with you,"  Leonard said, the first stupid thing that came to mind.

"You do say strange things," Hilda turned her back on the boy, her face red as a tomato. "Let's ask permission from the big ones."

Both children went to talk to the adults to ask them to take a tour of the place.

"Don't go too far, okay?" Holst said, looking calmly at both boys.

Hilda and Leonard walked in a sparse forest near the Goneril family mansion. The girl commented to her companion about the unique things out there, her brother's strength, and how much she hated training, even though it was customary for her when she was little.

"How do you not like training?" Leonard stared at the girl. "I would love to train to be the strongest."

"Not me," Hilda sighed and slumped her shoulders. "I could never catch up with my brother anyway."

"You must not imitate anyone. Just train to get stronger and stronger!"

"You're a busybody, did you know?"

"Heh, that's right," Leonard rubbed the back of his neck as he answered.

Suddenly, both boys noticed that there was something in front of them. It was some boar. He wasn't an adult yet, but he was noticeably defensive. Holst had told Hilda to be very attentive to the tracks of these animals so that she would flee only when she saw a slight hint of their presence nearby. However, since she was talking to Leonard, she had completely forgotten to keep his attention on those details.