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TRAS Chapter 101: Meet the eum-Creids
🕑 Added 2025-04-29 09:24:44 +0000 UTCSafi was shivering.
It was cold, and so was their reception. Things had gotten heated for a moment between Ailn and his older brother, but that just made the subsequent atmosphere feel that much more chilly. The knights and the servants were giving her distant, gauging looks.
And one stare from a girl in a Saintess outfit seemed particularly icy.
Safi let out a small whimper.
Ennieux, delighted that Renea had brought a friend home for the first time, had insisted they all chat in the more intimate setting of the ducal study. And as she was currently downstairs with a maid retrieving tea and scones, the only ones left in the room were Safi, Sophie, and Renea—all together on one stiff, wooden bench.
“Sophie, what’s wrong?” Renea asked. Sat between a glaring Sophie and an increasingly withdrawn Safi, she looked utterly confused, as she glanced back-and forth. “Did something happen while I was away?”
“Nothing happened while you were away,” Sophie said curtly. “And nothing is wrong.”
“Then why do you look so mad?” Renea squinted, mystified.
“I do not,” Sophie said, crossing her arms and looking away.
They sat in awkward silence for a moment, but thankfully Ennieux soon returned, her mood cheery as she and the maid placed snacks on the low table in front of them.
“Oh, Lady Fleuve, it’s such a pleasure to have you here,” Ennieux gushed.
“S-Safi’s alright,” Safi said quietly.
“Safi it is, then,” Ennieux said, tilting her head once she’d noticed the awkwardness of the three girls on the bench. “Sophie, dear, what’s wrong? You were so eager for Renea to return.” She gestured toward the snacks she’d brought. “We even have scones.”
Sophie grabbed a scone and began to chew on it.
“Oh, Safi, she’s not usually like…” Ennieux paused, then tilted her head a moment before shaking it. “Nevermind. Endeavor not to take it personally, okay?”
That wasn’t much help to the awkward girl who’d learned to internalize every social faux pas as her own.
“Sophie,” Renea said sternly. “Look at me.”
The Saintess’s scone-chewing stopped. Yet still, she didn’t look Renea’s way.
“This isn’t any way to treat a guest, or others in general,” Renea said. Her face softened. “Now will you please tell me what’s bothering you?”
Safi watched as Sophie’s face crumpled in frustration. Her new acquaintance took a large bite out of her scone before speaking.
“Your first journey without me, and already a new powerful mage takes my place,” Sophie said, chewing irritatedly while Ennieux stared at her aghast. “I suppose you don’t need me to protect you anymore…!”
“Cover your mouth, Sophie! Goodness!” Ennieux scolded her.
“U-um, I didn’t mean to replace anyone…” Safi said, but she went largely unheard.
“Sophie, are you suggesting I shouldn’t make any new friends?” Renea sighed. She continued patiently, “And don’t you think you’re the one putting yourself in a box? You’re not just someone who protected me.” She smiled softly. “You’re my sister, Sophie.”
Then, from a purse that had been attached to her belt, Renea retrieved the wolf pup sculpture.
“I promised to reunite the two wolf pups, didn’t I?” Renea asked.
Finally, Sophie turned to look at her sister who was right beside her.
Unexpectedly, tears began to stream down her face. Her face was still scrunched up as if she were angry, but she couldn’t stop herself from sniffling as she spoke.
At the other side of Renea, Safi just twiddled her thumbs.
“Your life was… endangered on your journey,” Sophie said. “The missive said they attempted to kidnap you. You were vulnerable because you left Varant.”
“Well, yes,” Renea’s face fell into a worried frown. “But that doesn’t mean I can live my life cooped up in a cage, Sophie…” She paused. “...Right, Sophie?”
But Sophie did not respond. It was almost like she was thinking it over.
“Sophie.” Renea gave her sister a look.
“Perhaps you should,” Sophie mumbled sullenly. She sniffled again. Then, from the sleeves of her Saintess robe, she withdrew her own wooden wolf pup and held it against Renea’s. “We… procured your puppy, too.”
“How about, ‘our puppy?’ The whole family’s,” Renea said gently. “I’d love to meet him, Sophie. Can you take me?”
The Saintess quietly nodded, and stood up as Renea followed her out of the ducal study.
“Oh, Safi, do you want to come?” Renea asked, perfectly innocent.
“Ummm… I’m okay for now,” Safi said, giving a weak smile and shaking her head. Even she had enough sense to give the two sisters a moment alone.
As they left the study, Safi could hear them talking about what to name the puppy.
“What about Snoopy?”
“Snoopy? But… that name makes him sound like a thief, Renea…”
Now Safi and Ennieux were left awkwardly in the study together.
“Goodness, that girl…” Ennieux sighed. She looked quite embarrassed, and smiled apologetically. “Pray, you can forgive us for leaving such an uncouth impression, Safi…” She poured Safi a cup of tea. “You are the first ‘friend’ anyone in this family has brought home since…”
Ennieux halted. She apparently could not call to mind the last friend anyone in the family had.
“At any rate,” Ennieux sat in a chair opposite Safi to keep her company. “I had always wished Camille would strike a friendship with a young lady from a noble family such as yourself!”
There was the sound of awkward throat clearing from the entrance of the ducal study.
“As opposed to the squires I befriended in my childhood, mother?” Camille asked, her smile placid, but a note of irritation clear in her eyes.
“Camille, must you always twist my words…?!” Ennieux retorted.
Safi sipped her tea very quietly as yet another family squabble erupted next to her.
_______________
Ailn had fully expected another spat to break out, once he and Sigurd were in the council chamber alone. More lectures about how he wasn’t a proper duke, maybe. Or perhaps threats that he’d take Ailn down in their next duel.
The last thing he’d expected was for Sigurd to be distracted. He hadn’t been at first.
There hadn’t been much to report on the obsidian jar, except that they’d brought back a mage from Sussuro—Safi—to examine it. And it was a lark whether she’d really be able to tell them anything more of worth.
The hope was that between Sigurd’s keen sense of the miasma, and Safi’s fine control of mana, the two of them would be able to figure something out.
It was when Ailn brought out The Dragon’s Promise that Sigurd had started to act oddly. The former duke’s gaze was glued to the ring—which Ailn had placed on the table, in its open ring box, for Sigurd to appraise himself.
“Sigurd,” Ailn prodded his attention, for what seemed like the tenth time. “Sigurd, are you listening?”
“...What?” Sigurd looked up, his gaze distant. “Of course. Sorry. It’s astonishing that you’ve managed to procure this.”
Ailn was pretty sure that was the first apology he’d ever received from Sigurd—not to mention the first compliment.
“This certainly increases our leverage with the imperial family,” Sigurd said. His voice turned grave. “It comes with its own set of issues, however…”
The knight commander let out a gruff sigh and wrapped his knuckle against his temple. “It’s… too dangerous to hold onto this for an extended period, Ailn. Whatever deal you wish to strike with the imperial family, it must be struck quick.” He gave Ailn a solid gaze. “I heard that your company was attacked on the way to Sussuro. And that Renea was nearly kidnapped.”
“That’s right,” Ailn affirmed.
“...You did well to thwart it,” Sigurd said honestly. Then a kernel of frustration entered his voice. “Yet the attack found its way to your retinue because you persist in meddling with forces which you ought not.”
This was more along the lines of what Ailn had expected from this meeting.
“Sigurd, when I went to Sussuro, all I knew was that I had an old painting,” Ailn sighed. “If that’s meddling, so be it.” Then his gaze turned sharp. “And they were clearly aiming for Renea, regardless.”
“On what grounds do you believe that?” Sigurd’s eyes narrowed accordingly.
“If they’d really killed all of us, they would have the portrait anyway—and, presumably, the path to The Dragon’s Promise that they wanted,” Ailn said. “Ransoming her for what they would’ve already acquired makes no sense.”
“Whatever the case,” Sigurd growled, “it’s too dangerous an object to keep in our possession.”
“I never said differently,” Ailn said. “Why do you keep acting like I did?”
Silently pressing down the vein on his forehead that seemed on the verge of bursting, Sigurd took a deep breath to calm himself. “Then, I shall arrange a negotiation on neutral grounds.” He gave Ailn a steely gaze. “The most sensible location is ark-Chelon.”
He seemed to be calculating something within his mind, given the way his gaze shifted slightly to the side. “The capital is closer to ark-Chelon than Varant, so you should endeavor to leave early even if we account for the time it takes to send a courier. Perhaps even at first light tomorrow.”
“... I’m already traveling again, huh?” Ailn muttered. “Well, I needed to check out the other duchies, anyway…”
Sigurd snorted as he brusquely pushed past Ailn, on their way out of the council room. “Get used to it, duke.”
_____________________
Safi sighed, wandering the castle alone. At a certain point, Camille and Ennieux’s argument had grown so tempestuous that she’d excused herself from the ducal study, hardly noticed by either of them.
In principle, a castle should be just as fun to explore as marshes, but at the moment she just wasn’t feeling it.
Meanwhile, it was a little too cold for Safi outside the castle, and though she was tempted to go out and build a snowman, the thought of doing it alone was too depressing.
Also, the snow was kinda melty.
When her mood was just about to hit rock-bottom, however, Safi ran into a couple of funny servants.
“If you’re so damn smart, Benny, then why can’t you invent a mop?” the maid chided a tall manservant.
“All we gotta scrub is the kitchen, Lily,” the tall manservant said flatly. “Quit whining.”
“My hands hurt! I hate scrubbing floors!” Then the maid turned an accusing finger. “Answer my question!”
“Do I look like I know any materials science?” the tall manservant asked, glaring. “If it bugs you so much, then tie some rags to a stick.”
“Wow,” Safi whispered quietly, listening to them as she hid behind a corner. “These reincarnators are sus!”
“I’m sick of bein’ a freakin’ maid!” the maid said, throwing down her rag, before whining again. “I’d rather go back to prison!”
“Shut the hell up, Lily, or we might really go back,” the tall manservant replied. “You can never be satisfied with what you’ve got, huh? You really think the grass is greener in prison, you moron?”
The maid groaned sadly. “He said—he said he’d find a use for us! I thought we were gonna… help him catch the masked woman or something!”
“Screw that,” the manservant spat. “With our luck, we’d end up in a ditch. We’re safer here until that all shakes out—however the hell it does.” He grunted, peering at the corner Safi was hiding behind. “Is someone listening in on us?”
The nosy count’s daughter from Sussuro would have happily kept following this irritable duo around, if she hadn’t been noticed. With a small ‘eep,’ however, she slinked away, heading off in the other direction of the corridor.
She ran into Ailn.
“I was just looking for you,” he said casually. Ailn rubbed the back of his neck, seeing she was alone. “Huh. Did Renea ditch you?”
“N-not exactly,” Safi muttered. “The Saintess got really mad and started…” Her hands flew to her mouth. She knew people hated it when she told too much. Then, in a muffled voice she simply said, “Renea got taken away.”
“...Yeah, that tracks,” Ailn said. “Well, we’ll figure something out. I’ve gotta check on someone in the infirmary. You can come along if you want.”
“Sure!” Safi nodded, feeling like a lifeline had been thrown to her.
Before long, they’d reached the infirmary, and Ailn exchanged a few words with the court physician.
“You been doing okay, Cairn?” Ailn asked. He glanced back at Safi, thought for a moment, then shrugged. Still, he lowered his voice. “I just wanted to see if anything’s changed since I took your ruby eyes.”
“Why would anything change?” Cairn said, squinting. His gaze softened a touch upon meeting Safi's, but there was still suspicion in his eyes. “Is this Lady Fleuve?”
“She’s like us,” Ailn said, his voice quieter still. “She had ruby eyes.”
“Hi…” Safi said shyly.
“Because you had ruby eyes, you were likely affecting people psychologically without realizing it,” Ailn said bluntly. “So…”
“I rose to court physician purely by my own merits, I’ll have you…” Cairn trailed off.
At first he’d had the look of a man falsely accused; he seemed to take umbrage at the idea that he’d used some sort of special power to get to where he was today. Slowly, though, his expression turned to shock and dismay.
“No…” His face contorted into genuine anguish. “Is this why everyone’s stopped laughing at my jokes? I used to be called the ‘Riot of Varant!’”
“Did you really?” Ailn arched an eyebrow. “Guess you’re doing fine enough, then. How’s Ceric been?”
“He’s been sticking around the infirmary like a leech,” Cairn seethed, still apparently reeling from the revelation. “When are you going to make him leave?”
“I’ll talk to him at least,” Ailn said, scratching his cheek. “There any other patients in there right now?”
“None,” Cairn said. “And I’ll make sure no one enters the infirmary while you’re in there. I want him out, Ailn.”
With that, and a polite smile toward Safi, Cairn left, leaving a disgruntled Ailn.
“Feels like people order me around more ever since I became duke,” Ailn muttered. Then he glanced around just to make sure. “Let’s go in, Safi. There’s another one of us in there.”
Another one?
Safi looked at Cairn walking off, and thought about the maid and manservant. Counting herself, and then the one in the infirmary, that was five. Oh, and there was Renea too.
“You really are collecting us!”
