Dungeon Annihilation 3 -14

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Chapter 14

Louella

I sighed in relief once Cane made a full recovery. I wasn’t too close to the man, but he was still part of my team. It would have left a sour taste in my mouth if a member died during a dive. Nonetheless, it was remarkable at the level of healing that the cathedral provided without charge.

“The goddess provides for us in other ways. Why should we demand what many people already have little of?” replied a priest when I asked about it.

“If you say so. I just worry that you are letting my station decide for you,” I said bowing my head to show my gratitude. I wasn’t hurting for money, but a healing like this would have cost a few generations of gold with the Lelune church.

“Nonsense. There are nobles that deserve to be charged their entire fortune, but you are not one of them. Please, enjoy the rest of your stay in the cathedral,” the priest bowed his head and moved away.

I watched him go before I turned my attention to the cathedral at large. There were hundreds of people inside the main hall of the building. Many sat in pews with their heads bowed in prayer. Most of them were obviously former slaves, their brands in prominent places like their foreheads, necks, or hands thus making it easy to identify them. Even with that being the case, there were still more of the regular folk than I had expected. It would appear that Lelune might have ignored the worries of her people for too long.

“My lady. If you will excuse me. I very much require a few hours or days worth of sleep,” Cane requested pulling me from my thoughts.

I patted his shoulder. It wasn’t every day you walked away from having half your body blown off. “Of course! We’ll try again in a week or two. Everyone should rest up and prepare.” The party broke up and went their separate ways, while Ezal, Raven and I made our way outside a bit behind them.

The grounds of the cathedral were just as alive and active as the inside. Knights wearing the symbol of Nyx on their breast patrolled the area. I had to look twice when I saw the quality of their armor. It had to be top of the line of anything that could be bought near here. In fact, I was sure that it would be hard to get even in the capitals.

“How long has there been knights?”

“A few days. They are former slaves and devotees. I’m not sure where they are acquiring the equipment but given the quality, I’d wager that Earle is gathering it from the dungeon,” Ezal answered casting a glance over to Raven who noticeably ignored it.

“That is amazing, and a bit worrying,” I admitted. Looking around some more, I counted close to fifty knights that were visibly patrolling. If there were that many off duty, then there was a force of a hundred or more heavily armed soldiers in my valley. I’d like to say it was the only one, but that would be a lie.

“Commander Yin has made sure to stay on top of it,” Ezal reassured me. “I would like to note that the number of freed slaves has reached almost twenty-five hundred. The good news is that they are contributing to the commerce in the valley and thus the taxes.”

“Alright. Leave it unless it becomes a problem, but unless otherwise told by the country, the former slaves should be treated like regular citizens.” This was a very dangerous balancing act. If it tilted too far to either side, the valley could be purged by the church. Too far the other way, and the country might act.

“Raven. When do you think Earle might visit me?” I asked trying to hide the pitiful tone I had. I hadn’t seen him much over the last few days. Of course, my mind knew it was my fault for not rejecting the marquis’s stupid plan, but my heart wanted to blame him for avoiding him.

“I’m not sure. He is rather busy as of late,” she replied with a shrug. I wondered if that was her way of admitting that he was in fact getting equipment from the dungeon for the church.

Sighing, I let it drop and turned to leave the gardens. We were crossing the bridge when a man dressed in black robes ran by. Something about his dress stirred something in me, but I couldn’t put my finger on it. I watched as he delivered a letter to one of the priests before he turned and rushed off.

“The town sure is growing fast if we’re already having to employ couriers,” Ezal commented as we all watched the man run ahead of us. He was quite skilled at dodging his way through the crowd.

“Enough speculation for today. I wanted to go home and take a long hot bath,” I said rubbing my eyes. I was exhausted from the events of the dungeon. Ezal might be brimming with mana, but she was also mentally fatigued. Luckily, my guards from the Golden Dawn had been informed by Ioa, and a carriage waited for us at the end of the bridge.

Once back at the manor, I proceeded to pass out in the bath. Lulled to sleep by the warm water. At some point, Ezal woke me up and helped me move to the bed, but I sadly noted that Earle wasn’t present again. Maybe he was truly done with me?

~~~

Banging on my door woke up me. I glared at the door than the window and saw that it looked like the sun was just starting to rise. I groaned and got up angerly. This had better be important or someone was going to regret it.

“Mistress!” Ezal shouted urgently as she flung the door open.

“What? What is it?!” I demanded covering my ears. She had been loud enough to cause them to ring.

“The marquis is summoning us. Like right now!”

At that, I just wanted to turned back around and drop into my bed. Who summons a lady at this ungodly hour?! I would definitely give him a piece of my mind. “Help me dress,” I said finally.

An hour later, that was the absolute minimum time it took for me to get ready, we found ourselves on the marquis’s airship. The people gathered served to wake me up. Helicilia and Earle both stood to one side of the audience room. I narrowed my eyes, but without any context, I couldn’t figure out what was going on.

Valamar waved me over to a seat that was slightly offset from him and down a step. I couldn’t sit next to him until we were, Goddess forbid, actually married. I took the offered seat and looked around hoping someone would fill me in on what the hell was going on.

“Sorry for calling on you at such an early hour. It was rather urgent,” Valamar started as he leaned forward.

“Think nothing of it. It must be rather important,” I said trying not to look at Earle.

“Indeed. Helicilia here has agreed to reject my father’s marriage proposal,” he explained and I brightened up. However, that didn’t explain everything. I knew there was something under the surface. “She has decided to exert her right as a Countess to demand Sir Earle to marry her.”

Damn noble laws. Though this was the first time I had seen them used by a woman. It was usually a nobleman demanding that a lower ranked woman marry them. Of course they were allowed to refuse, but who would actually refuse a noble. There was a good chance that your family would end up dead.

“Why?!” I asked with a bit more force than I meant. I looked at Earle and saw a neutral expression. Had he been caught by surprise as well?

“You’d have to ask her that I’m afraid.”

“I have had the honor of meeting Sir Earle a few times over the last couple days, and I have been quite taken by him.”

“You were choked out by him!” I shouted unable to control myself anymore.

“How it started means little. My demand stands. Besides, you have the marquis. Shouldn’t you be happy with your man?” Helicilia retorted. I ground my teeth, but didn’t say anything else. “Now then. We have a lot to discuss, so please excuse us!” Her cheerful voice made me want to send a bolt of lightning through her face. She wrapped her arms around Earle’s and pulled him from the room.

I turned on marquis Valamar after leaping out of the seat. I was about to shout when a hard look made me stop. Digging my nails into my palm, I waited as he dismissed all the guards from the room. Once I was sure we were alone I then shouted. “Cancel this!”

He shook his head slowly. “No. It might be a trick. We will wait for a few more months like we originally discussed.

“What about my feelings!? My position in this?!” I demanded angerly.

“I do feel bad, but there is more to it than just feelings. I hope you will see that.”

I wanted to scream. Why did I have to be in the middle of this stupid ploy. I threw my hands up and stormed from the room. Screw his rank. I managed to hold it together until Ezal and I got to our carriage. Once the door closed, I grabbed one of the cushions and screamed into it. That and the already soundproofing of the carriage prevented anyone from hearing me.

“That was quite surprising,” Ezal said once I had used all the air in my lungs.

“I swear I’m going to murder that woman,” I said seething at what had just happened. Sparks were popping off my skin as it was. I turned my glare to Ezal. “Take me to Nyx’s cathedral!” She didn’t bother to argue but smacked the wall of the carriage and told the driver where to take us.

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