Arcadia's Ignoble Knight: The Sorceress' Knights Tournament

Chapter 37

Elincia sat on a chair in front of Lady Sylvia's desk, trying not to squirm as her guardian ignored her and focused on reading and signing papers.

She knew what Lady Sylvia was trying to do. By working instead of berating her, Lady Sylvia drew out the tension and caused her to feel more uncomfortable as the seconds ticked by.

She glanced at D'artagnan, but she immediately realized that he would be of no help. His grim face, carved from stone, gave no indication as to what he was thinking. Indeed, he might as well have been a block of granite.

A knock on the door caused Elincia to nearly jump out of her seat. Lady Sylvia, calm as ever, did not stop reading the paper in her hand as she said, "come in."

The door opened and Elincia turned to see a maid enter the room. Long blond hair had been drawn into a tight bun. Glasses with square rims sat on her nose. Her maid outfit was black and white, with numerous frills that ruffled as she walked further into the room. Standard black heels clacked a staccato tune against the wooden floor.

"Lady Sylvia," the maid said, bowing.

"Lacy." Sylvia finally stopped reading and focused on the woman. "What news do you bring me?"

"I am pleased to inform you that Caspian Ignis del Sol has made a complete recovery from the poison. He and Lady Erica's maid were safely escorted back to the academy several hours ago."

"Erica's maid?"

"Cassidy," Lacy clarified. "It seems that Lady Erica has allowed her maid to become Caspian's personal maid for the duration of the tournament, though I've not been able to determine why."

Wasn't Lady Erica's maid that young woman with the dark hair and brown eyes? Elincia only remembered a bit about her. They'd not spoken very much. She seemed like a polite young woman, from what Elincia recalled.

"And what of the citizens?" Lady Sylvia asked. "How are they taking Caspian's victory?"

"They're... divided," came the immediate answer. "Some are impressed. Others believe that the only reason Caspian won is because he has Lady Elincia's favor."

"W-what?" Elincia asked, gaping.

"Be quiet, Elincia," Lady Sylvia admonished. Elincia snapped her mouth shut. "What of the poison? Do we know who poisoned Caspian?"

"Yes, ma'am. It seems the head cafeteria lady was responsible for poisoning Caspian's food. The poison used was a combination of foxglove and devil's ivy. The dose that Caspian ingested was not meant to be deadly, but the adverse affects of the poison were serious enough that were Caspian's constitution not stronger than a humans, he would have suffered serious hallucinations and might have been put into a coma."

Elincia did not anger easily, but hearing that someone had poisoned Caspian with such an insidious poison upset her greatly. Beyond that, it made her further realize how truly awful his life must have been.

"Is there anything else to report?" Lady Sylvia asked.

"Yes, ma'am. According to reports, several nobles have been protesting what happened during the match between Julius and Caspian. While none of them became violent, we cannot rule out the possibility that one of them will try something."

Placing her elbows on the table, Lady Sylvia leaned forward and pressed her hands to her head. "So, on top of everyone becoming upset, we might have people who wish to remove Caspian from the picture so he can't become Elincia's knight."

"W-what?" Elincia tried to wrap her mind around everything being said, but she couldn't. She couldn't understand what was happening, or why. "What do you mean? What's going on?"

Raising an eyebrow, Lady Sylvia said, "You mean you didn't know? This is the result of your favoritism, Elincia. Because you displayed favoritism toward Caspian, he has now become an even greater object of hatred for the nobles than before. Many of them are displeased, some are even claiming foul play, and a few might even try to eliminate him so that he does not become your knight."

Lady Sylvia's words cut through Elincia like a knife. They pierced her heart, bringing an agony that she'd never known. This went beyond physical pain. The knowledge that she'd made Caspian's life even more difficult hurt more than any bodily wound ever could. She raised a hand, clutching at her chest.

"No," she whispered.

"Yes," Lady Sylvia said, her voice cold enough to freeze lava. "Now do you see why I told you not to display any favoritism towards Caspian? By doing so, you invite the hatred of others upon him. Caspian's very presence is demoralizing for the nobility, who feel that a commoner such as him should have never been allowed into the academy. Should that hatred become strong enough, they will take action to remove him."

Perhaps it was Lady Syvlia's words, but Elincia suddenly found it hard to breathe. She had done this to Caspian. She had made his life more difficult. That realization made her want to cry.

"It seems we have no choice," Sylvia continued. "We cannot allow Caspian to roam freely on his own. I'll ask Aakarshaka and Aakarshana Nueva if they can accompany him... just in case."

"B-but wouldn't that only make the nobles angrier?" asked Elincia.

Lady Sylvia conceded the point with a nod. "Yes, I imagine it would, but it's not like there's any choice. Also, I must remind you that the reason we're having to go to such extremes is because of you."

Elincia closed her eyes, as if doing so would somehow allow her to deny Lady Sylvia's accusation. It didn't. She couldn't deny it no matter how much she may want to. This, everything that was happening, it was all her fault.

"Now, then, let us hope that nothing comes from this," Lady Sylvia concluded. "It would be difficult to continue the tournament if we have to deal with the threat of more assassination attempts."

** 

Don't you just love the smell of politics in the morning? Seriously, though, I mentioned before that I'd be going into the result of what happened when Elincia showed Caspian favor. There's a reason princesses and noble ladies didn't play favorites during tournaments. Elincia ignored that, and this is the result. Don't get me wrong, though. I think Ele's in the right. However, I can also see Sylvia's point, and the results are quite clear.

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Once again, thank you for reading. ^_^