Chapter Text
In the ballroom of Gerth Hall, sat a woman fresh out of the Officer’s Academy. Born a homeless commoner, she hadn’t a vision of a great life in mind. Even after the Mittelfrank Opera Company took her in, she didn’t expect she would be sitting in the ballroom of one the nobles she despised so much.
Dorothea Arnault was a songstress at the Opera. There, she learned how to read and write, but she also got aware that people only cared about your status and appearance.
She saw the same nobles who shooed and insulted her when she lived in the streets, now throwing flowers and giving her gifts - or going far as trying to woo her- now that she was a beautiful, respectable lady.
At first, Dorothea was baffled with the attention, but deep down, she knew it wouldn’t last forever. Her looks would eventually fade away. Soon, fewer and fewer suitors would show up. Then, she decided she would find one she fancied and settle in for a comfortable life.
She saw her enrollment at the Officer’s Academy as the perfect opportunity for this. The Academy would be filled with nobles her age who could be potential spouses, male or female. As the year passed by, though, she couldn’t find success.
Or so she thought.
Now, five months after her graduation, Dorothea, the once homeless commoner, was now a marriage away from being a Duchess.
Dorothea was engaged to Ferdinand von Aegir, one of her former classmates, and the future Prime Minister of the Empire. He proposed to her on their graduation day, confessing his undying love.
Dorothea, in turn, didn’t love him. Or, if she did, not like the way he felt for her. She still remembered the look he gave her on that day, in the fountain, many years ago.
.
But still, she accepted. It was the best offer she could get— unless she found a way to conquer Edie's heart—, and getting married to a close friend was better than some random noble.
...Which led her to where she was right now.
Ferdinand had already made their engagement public. Due to that, Dorothea had received several invites to high society “parties” ( she insisted highborns didn’t know how to throw an actual party). The first time, Ferdinand introduced Dorothea to her new lifestyle.
This time, though, Dorothea arrived first and alone, because her fiancée told her he “had important matters that will hold me back for a while” back at home.
So, save from a few of her former classmates, she was alone for 6 hours, in a place full of stuck-up nobles.
Dorothea was about to spend another hour switching between greeting familiar faces — either from her work at the Opera or from the Academy— and her own self-loathing when the trumpets blasted, announcing that another guest had arrived.
She noticed the sound of the trumpets was different, which meant the new arrival was someone important (according to what Ferdinand taught her, at least).
“Behold!” Shouted one of the guards at the entrance door, “Your Imperial Princess, Lady Edelgard von Hresvelg!”
Edie?
Dorothea quickly rose from her seat, as did the other nearby nobles, and gave a righteous bow. From the corner of her eye, she saw Duke Gerth, the host, approach her former classmate in a hurry.
“Your Highness,” started the Duke, making a bow of his own, “What an honor to have you here. I’m so glad you accepted my invitation.”
Edelgard smiled and waved her hand, dismissing the curving aristocrats.
“I had a free night,” she said, her voice joyful, recomposing herself. “So I decided to come. Besides, I had some people I wanted to see.”
“Yes, yes, of course…” replied Duke Gerth, who sounded nervous. “Please, feel free to enjoy the party in any way Your Highness prefers. If you need anything, just come to me.”
Edelgard nodded and turned away, only to be met with numerous nobles wanting to greet her.
Dorothea found herself smiling at her friend’s distress. Back at the Academy, she used to mess with her just to see her reactions, and they tended to be adorable.
Afterwards, the brown-haired woman sat once more, observing her friend. She wanted to greet her, but didn’t feel like standing in line with the other guests.
After a while, Edelgard finally got to her final guest, close enough for Dorothea to hear. It was a middle-aged woman with a man — probably her son, considering his appearance — she didn’t recognize.
“Your Highness!” exclaimed the woman, bowing to her, “It’s a pleasure to meet you.” Edelgard nodded, but before she could answer, the woman continued, “I’m Mrs.Hartshire, my husband is a distant cousin of House Hevring, you see…”
“Pleased to meet you, Mrs. Hartshire…” the Princess forced a smile, then turned to the man next to her, “And who could this be?”
“I’m her son, Your Highness,“ said the man, bowing and kissing her hand with a sly smile. “My name is Ernst Heinrich Hartshire, milady. I’m currently aiding my aristocratic cousins at Enbarr.”
His mother nodded in approval. “My Ernst here graduated at the Officer’s Academy three years ago. He’s an excellent horseman, if I do say so myself…”
“Mother, please,” complained Ernst, covering his face with his left hand. “I’m sure the Princess doesn’t care.”
“Ernst, please.” replied the mother, annoyed. “How can you know? Besides, I’m just telling Her Highness, about your accomplishments.”
The man turned to Edelgard with a defeated expression.
After an awkward silence, Mrs.Hartshire spoke up once again, “Not to sound too… Well, nosy, but would Your Highness be in any way interested in the Marriage Market?”
Ernst’s face turned red, and Edelgard clicked her tongue in annoyance. It probably wasn’t the first time she was asked that question that night.
“No, I’m not looking for a suitor just yet,” replied the Princess in her most polite tone. “after all, I’m just 19. Maybe when I’m older.” She gave her a sweet smile.
“Oh, that’s a shame.” murmured Mrs.Hartshire, looking down. Her son was avoiding eye contact and looked like he wanted to hide his face under a carpet. “I have to say, the Market is getting weaker every year. You see, my Ernst is the youngest out of four…”
“Mother.”
Edelgard just blinked at the woman.
“I’ve trying to get him married since he left the Academy, but to no avail!” Mrs. Hartshire explained, oblivious. “His sisters and brother married merchants and minor nobles like us, so I was thinking Ernst could get a big catch…”
At that point, Ernst was only getting more embarrassed and Edelgard was just getting more annoyed. Talking about the Marriage Market in public was not only rude, but awfully awkward for both the potential suitor and the one getting dragged from person to person for introductions.
Does this woman have zero common sense?
Edelgard grunted, clearly irritated. Not a usual reaction— thought Dorothea. It's mostly men who react this way about marriage. Women, or at least the romantic ones, usually sigh and wish a good marriage comes their way. But then again, Edelgard wasn't your everyday woman. Not only she was the Imperial princess, she was also the only heir to the throne.
Dorothea has never been a saint. But even so, there are some things a girl like her couldn't ever hope to do, or at least not until marriage. Dorothea knew firstborn girls had a different upbringing than the other noblewomen. For one, they are taught about carnal desires much sooner and are allowed to court potential spouses. And, Dorothea was pretty sure she saw Edelgard drinking whiskey once (offered to her by no other than Manuela).
It's only normal she would refuse an early marriage. She has no reason to want one.
"Excuse me" said Edelgard, clearly looking for an escape "I have some matters to attend to" after looking around, she quickly added, "It was a pleasure, Mrs. Hartshire, Mr. Hartshire", and left.
Ernst had to hold his mother tightly, to contain the woman — hoping she’d give up in following the Princess.
Dorothea noticed Edelgard getting closer. With a quick reaction, she stood up.
"Edie, dear! Long time no see! How are you today?" she started, to hide the fact she was quite eavesdropping, "You look tired already."
"Dorothea. Hello, friend. I've been running from the 'Marriage Mamas' " she said, with a mix of sigh and laughter, "It’s quite funny, actually, to see the mothers presenting their sons to me."
"I bet some of them are around their 30s and 40s?" joked Dorothea. She had some suitors who had the age to be her father before.
"Sadly, yes." Edelgard sighed looked over her shoulder, "I hope poor Bernadetta is safe. She doesn't even like parties, imagine parties like this one?"
"I heard Caspie is with her."
While Caspar was also a single nobleman, he was just a Mister, not a lord who was going to inherit a title someday, unlike Bernadetta, who was the heiress of House Varley. Together, they would just attract more suitors, but Dorothea knew very well Caspar could scare people off if he wanted to— despite his height.
"Then I'm sorry for any of the mothers who go after them" answered the Princess, who apparently agreed Caspar could make a decent bodyguard, because she changed the subject, "What about you, Dorothea? How fare you tonight?"
"Luckily for me, everyone knows I'm engaged" giggled Dorothea "Everyone I talked to has only congratulated me for it."
Edelgard kept silent, hand in chin, clearly in thought.
“Oh, that's right" she snapped her fingers, "it happened after our graduation, yes? Oh, that feels like ages ago."
If Edelgard's expression was melancholic or nostalgic, it was hard to tell.
“Edie, that was just 5 moons ago", she answered.
“I know. But it feels like..." she didn't finish the thought.
"Oh, Edie, if that's how you feel, we should go to the Monastery sometime," said Dorothea, "just us, the Black Eagles, and..." with a mischievous smirk, she added, "...Our dear Professor."
Edelgard's face turned red. "I would like that", she said, and then noticed Dorothea's smirk, "Don't look at me like that."
"I bet you would like to make her your Empress."
Now, Edelgard's face had the same color as her crimson dress.
"We would still need heirs-"
"Nothing Crests can't do with a little manipulation" dismissed Dorothea, laughing it off.
Edelgard didn't answer that one.
After a few minutes of comfortable silence, a waiter offered them a drink. Dorothea picked up lemonade, while Edelgard chose wine.
The brown-haired girl looked at her teasingly. "You're so lucky, Edie," she said, "I could only drink this at home. I wanted some alcohol too.Y’know, to unwind.”
"I could offer it to you," The princess said, rapidly.
"But it would be inappropriate, wouldn't it?"
"I know." Edelgard drank in silence, eyeing her.
For a moment, Dorothea thought she was going to force the wine down her throat, but her friend kept quiet.
Dorothea also drank in silence.
After a while, the singer started to get impatient, but Edelgard still didn't say anything. Just when she was about to start a conversation, her friend finally spoke up.
"Dorothea," said the other woman, and her tone was neutral, " I disagree with what you said."
"Huh?" Hummed the brown-haired woman " which thing I said?”
The Princess put her glass in a nearby table, with a loud thud.
"About me being lucky," Edelgard continued, her voice low and eyes dark " I'm living a life that doesn't belong to me." Her voice was bitter, and she refused to keep eye contact, as if she had something darker in her mind and couldn’t forget about it.
After that, she shook her head and left.
Oh, what was that? Dorothea didn't know simply calling her "lucky" would cause such a reaction.
She knew Edie had her secrets. In fact, everyone who studied with her back at the Academy did. She had promised she would reveal her secrets one day, but apparently that day hadn’t come yet.
And then, with a sigh, Dorothea sat alone once again, hoping a familiar face showed up, or even her fiancé.
After a few minutes of waiting, she decided to get something to eat. In her way there, though, she did find someone she knew.
She made sure to bump into him instead of calling his name.
“Watch your step,” said the man, angrily, until he turned around and recognized who had bumped into him. “Oh, Mrs. Arnault. Good evening.”
Dorothea gave the man a sly smile.
“Why so formal, Hubie? You don’t need to call me that.”
“Mrs.Arnault, don’t call me by this name,” he answered, clearly uncomfortable, “This is a ballroom, if you use such a nickname, rumors will most certainly spread.”
“Hubie, I don’t think you can expect me to call you, ‘Lord Vestra’ or ‘Your Grace’ after I saw you running from a very angry horse and almost falling off a balustrade less than a year ago.”
The man, Hubert von Vestra, only let out a frustrated groan in response.
Hubert was Edelgard’s right-hand man and has been ever since they were children. He inherited the title of Marquis Vestra three months after their graduation—after his father mysteriously fell ill and died—, and thus was the perfect target for the marriage obsessed mothers, despite being only 21 years old and fresh out of school.
But then again, most of the nobles present were.
“Please, I’ve been presented to at least 15 noblewomen in less than 2 hours,” he complained, with a pained expression not common to him, “My humor isn’t exactly the best right now, Mrs. Arnault.”
“Hm, can’t say I sympathize with you,” Dorothea gave him one of her sweetest smiles, of the kind she used to enchant potential suitors back at the Academy. “Y’know, being engaged can be really cool sometimes.”
“I’m sure you would be pretty popular if you were single.” said Hubert, surprising her with such sincere flattery, “But I’m assured you already know that.” he finished with one of his signature smirks.
“Yes,” answered Dorothea with confidence in her voice. “I know. But I wouldn’t have a dowry.”
“Your beauty compensates for the lack of one.” He answered, flatly.
“Hubert!” exclaimed the woman, surprised for the usual rude man be complimenting her.
He laughed—a rare sight!—and offered his arm to her.
“May I accompany you to the dinner table?”
Hesitantly, Dorothea locked her arm with his, “Please. I’m starving.”
In their way to the table, Hubert tried to chat.
“Where is your fiancé, Dorothea? It’s not usual for him to be late for events like these.” Hubert clicked his tongue in disapproval. He and Ferdinand used to discuss a lot with each other and had different stances in many subjects, which meant they rarely saw eye to eye. “He’s more irresponsible than I thought.”
As they arrived at the Dining Hall, they noticed it was empty, save from a few servants. Which meant they could be there by themselves without starting a scandal. Not that the room had closed doors, but it still wasn’t recommended for two people of their positions to be alone in a high society party like that one.
“I’m sure Ferdie is on his way,” reassured Dorothea, approaching the sweets section of the table “He’s not the type to fail in his commitments.”
Hubert nodded slowly, picking up a sandwich and eating it in one bite. He mumbled a “that much is true” and chose another one of the snacks.
“When is he marrying you, may I ask?” he said after a minute. “This engagement is lasting longer than the usually accepted.”
“Well… Ferdie said he wanted to inherit his title first.” In a self-deprecating thought, she imagined Ferdinand making her wait for years. She quickly shrugged it off, though, her Ferdie wasn’t like that.
Hah, “her” Ferdie? By the Goddess, she didn’t even love him.
“It’s not going to take that long, then,” Hubert said, comforting Dorothea, “Lady Edelgard has a deep hatred for Duke Aegir. She’s already pulling the strings to have him deposed.”
“Is she going to kill him?” gasped the woman in disbelief.
“No, only putting him under house arrest.” explained Hubert, bluntly, “Making sure he never leaves again,” he smirked.
“Oh, my” Dorothea brought her hand to her mouth, trying to hide a giggle “I had no idea my future father-in-law was so deplorable.”
“He’s the kind of noble you hate the most.”
Dorothea sighed in disapproval.
“Hey, there you guys are!” a disembodied voice shouted, “We were looking everywhere.”
Dorothea turned around, seeing a sweaty Caspar von Berglietz holding the hand of a very distressed Bernadetta von Varley, who was trying to catch her breath.
“I’m-” she started, “never coming to these balls ever again…” she pouted, and seemed to be on the verge of tears.
“What happened to you two?”
“Guess,” said Caspar, looking away.
“Mothers?” Proposed Hubert.
“Bingo.”
“Those are the worst!” Complained the shorter girl, tears in her eyes. “One of them seemed like she wanted to t-take my arm off! They’re so forceful!”
Dorothea gave her a soft smile, approaching her.
“Bern, dear, don’t cry now,” Dorothea soothed, hugging her. ”They won’t hurt you anymore.”
Bernadetta whimpered in response.
“Honestly, I think they should calm down,” grunted Caspar, his arms crossed. “Do they really think we want to marry right now? I’m only 18! Let me live my life first!”
“Caspar, mind your tone.” reprimanded Hubert.
“Well, some of us don’t mind,” remembered Dorothea, glaring at him.
“Oh, not you, Dorothea!” Caspar exclaimed, smiling nervously. “I’m sure you don’t mind, haha…”
Dorothea waved him off. “Peace, Caspar.”
“Bernadetta, if someone is troubling you, I can deal with them if you ask.” declared Hubert with a creepy grin.
The purple-haired girl let out a panicked shriek.
“Hubert, don’t go killing anyone on me!”
Hubert shrugged it off, picking up yet another sandwich.
Soon enough, all four of them were eating and chatting, thanking the heavens the dinner table was far from the main ballroom.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
“Hey, Caspar, is Lin coming?” asked Dorothea, despite already knowing the answer.
“Hah, Linhardt?” questioned the blue-haired boy, giggling. “He told me he was going to stay in bed for the whole weekend.”
“Goddess, I wish that were me,” whispered Bernadetta, clapping her hands together.
Hubert got up from the table, glancing at the ballroom.
“Has anyone seen Lady Edelgard?” he asked,” I’ve yet to speak with her since she arrived.
“I think- no, I’m pretty sure I saw her talking with Constance earlier,” replied Caspar, in-between his chewing of a large nugget.
Hubert’s face turned even paler.
“Constance? Constance von Nuvelle?!” repeated Hubert, hurrying off. “Constance is a horrible influence when it comes to drinking habits. Lady Edelgard could be drunk as we speak! Sorry, but I must be off.”
With a respectful sprint, he left his former classmates behind.
“Huh, I didn’t know Constance was a heavy drinker.”
“I heard she passed out during our graduation party.”, commented Bernadetta, who was in the middle of a chocolate bomb.
“Sorry, but I’m leaving too,” said Dorothea, getting up from her chair. “I think you two should also leave. Don’t you hear the commotion?”
Loud voices could be heard echoing from the ballroom. The music once blasting loud, had suddenly ceased—leaving behind only human nuisance, which indicated a dreadful aura.
“Caspar, we gotta go!” exclaimed Bernadetta, dragging him by his arm. “If I have to stand around these mothers again, I’ll cry for real!”
“Hey, I’m still eating!” protested Caspar as their voices faded.
Dorothea laughed, turning to the side door, which lead to the gardens of Gerth Hall. However, she came to a halt when she heard the sound of the trumpets.
Could it be...?
“Ladies and gentlemen!” exclaimed one of the guards. “Duke Ferdinand von Aegir!”