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“So, I heard the Strike Package commander is a Republic officer…”
Marquis Nouzen made that comment as nonchalantly as he could, but there was no way she could miss the hidden intention of it. After all, she was a respectable noblewoman, the head of her clan, and a Pyrope on top of that. She had witnessed many political conflicts between the upper classes of both the Empire and the Federacy in her life, and she had been forced to intervene in many of them. The ability to read people, to catch their intentions, had become almost second nature to her at this point.
So. She got the question behind it.
How do you feel about the commander the Republic sent? How do you feel being commanded by one of your former oppressors?
They came from different sides of the conflict, Marquis Nouzen and her, but they both understood each other on this point. The two of them knew very well, both the regret after forcing their children to leave their fatherland for another country, which in tow betrayed them and sent them to die on the battlefield, tearing their little family apart; and the willingness to do everything in their power to make amends to this boy, the last remnant of them. She was sure that their grandson can say just one word against that commander, and Marquis Nouzen would use all his influence in the military to make her leave the Strike Package, and even the Federacy if necessary.
That may be a little excessive though.
But she was also worried about this, so she kept quiet and followed along.
Young Shinei looked at Marquis Nouzen, and even if his face didn't give anything away, she felt it. She did her best effort to not change her pleasant expression, but she was utterly surprised.
There's one thing neither Young Shinei nor Marquis Nouzen weren’t aware of yet.
She can feel her grandson's feelings.
Not as well as her own children, not as well as she once could feel Yuuna's thoughts, he was almost a perfect stranger to her after all. But they both came from a strong Pyrope family. He’s her daughter's son. That blood relationship stayed unchanged no matter what.
So...
Since she set her eyes on her grandson, she could feel a deep, cold darkness that seemed to follow him at all times. She didn't want to think too much about it, but it was probably the memories of the years he spent fighting for his life in that despicable country, the weight of all the losses he had suffered.
(Oh, how she wished to make all those memories disappear. Kind-hearted Yuuna and her sons should have never suffered as much as they did)
But when Marquis Nouzen mentioned her ...
That darkness seemed to clear.
She could even feel something warm, just barely hidden under the surface. It was just as sun rays shyly appearing between the veil of clouds.
She didn't know precisely how her grandson felt about this commander of his, but it was something good for him. And if he had found a shelter for that looming darkness, well… she was delighted. And maybe a little curious.
“Yes,” her grandson said. “She's dutiful and hardworking, and a very competent commander... Surely the best officer the Republic had to offer.”
His intonation seemed sober, and yet he had nothing but praises to say about this girl.
And the corners of his lips curved up. Just a little.
It's more like a hunch than anything certain, but if she had to say...
... Maybe her grandson cared for her?
She felt the sudden desire to tease him about it, but they are not close enough to taking those liberties.
At least for now.
Lena sighed.
She was in Sankt Jeder, at a charity party organized by a non-governmental organization focused on providing aid for the families who lost their homes because of the Legion war, surrounded by very important people, all of whom were total strangers to her. Colonel Wenzel and she were invited to represent the Eighty-Six Strike Package, but no one else accompanied them. She had been informed that the organization couldn't send invitations to any of the former Eighty-Six due to privacy clauses, and while she was glad to spare them some of the unwanted attention they suffered from the public view, that didn't help to make her less lonely. The fact that she was a Republic officer was a well-known fact, and people from the Federacy didn't hold much respect from people from a country that had persecuted and decimated their fellow brethren.
“Sorry, Colonel,” Colonel Wenzel whispered, taking her by her elbow. She led her from the corner of the big event room to the entrance of a corridor that continued to the center of the mansion where the party was held. “Somebody requested to have a private meeting with you, and we couldn't refuse her.”
Lena looked at her, confused. Whoever this person was, she (apparently) had enough influence to force the military's hand. That fact alone was enough to puzzle her.
And if even Colonel Wenzel couldn't decline the invitation, Lena could do nothing about it, so she just followed her until they reached one of the private rooms, reserved for special guests. It was guarded by a servant, who bowed to them and opened the door for her. Lena looked back at Grethe, who smiled reassuringly at her, nodding. She took a deep breath and put on her business face before she crossed the door.
She entered a spacious room, exquisitely furnished. In the center of it, sitting by a table full of a tea set and various confectionery to accompany it, was a kind-looking old lady. Her white hair was done up in an intricate, elegant hairdo, and the quality of her dress and the gleam of the jewels she wore denoted her status.
“Colonel Vladilena Milizé,” the servant announced her name. “Marquess Gelda Maika.”
She didn't recognize that name from anywhere.
The lady stood up and saluted her with a deep nod of her head, which Lena returned with a bow. Her family was former nobility in San Magnolia, and as such, she had been instructed on manners all her life. On top of that, she was a high-ranked officer from another country. She knew she had to give good impressions no matter what. Marquess Maika raised her head and looked at her with her crimson Pyrope eyes, hidden behind round glasses. Their shade of red was strangely familiar to Lena.
Where had she seen them before?
“Colonel Milizé. It’s truly a pleasure to meet you, my grandson has spoken very highly of you. I wished to thank you in person for looking after him in battle.”
Her grandson? Besides Shin, who was related to an important Onyx family, she didn't know she had a subordinate who was the grandchild of another noble family, less a Pyrope one. Well, when the Eighty-Six came into the Federacy, they were adopted by high-class families, many of them former nobles, but for Marquess Maika to go out of her way to meet and thank her in the representation of someone related to her just recently would be strange.
So they should be really related by blood.
An Eighty-Six Strike Package officer of Imperial nobility descent with those warm Pyrope eyes...
Oh.
Oh.
She was an idiot.
The shade of those crimson eyes was exactly the same as Shin's.
Her cheeks turned red immediately.
Had he-
Had he really talked to his grandmother about her?!
“T-the pleasure is mine, Marquess Maika,” she said, trying to hide her confusion. She didn't think she had accomplished it, but the lady before her smiled.
“Please. You have my permission to call me by my name. Would you join me for some tea?” She made a gesture with her hand, inviting her to sit down. She had no way to escape this, so she took a big breath, smiled and sat down in the chair the servant had pulled out for her. She served tea on their cups, made from the finest porcelain she had come across in her life, before walking away and seemingly leaving the room. However, Lena had been told beforehand about the way the servants of the Giad nobility carried themselves. She knew she’d be hidden in the shadows, paying attention to any request from her mistress.
“Well then,” said mistress clapped her hands before extending them in front of the table. ”I have some pastries here that I’m sure will be to your taste. I was informed you are quite fond of sweets.”
A shiver ran through Lena's back.
... Maybe he really did talk about her.
“Did you enjoy the jam?” The Marquess continued as if she hadn’t noticed her reaction, taking a sip from her tea. “The strawberries were from our own greenhouse. I brought some more for you to take, blackcurrant this time, if it suits your taste.”
“Y-yes. Thank you very much.”
For all she tried to keep her growing panic at bay, her voice still wavered. Marquess Maika seemed to take pity on her, because she left her cup on its plate and turned to focus her gaze on her. Her next words were assertive yet full of goodwill.
“Do be at ease, I beg you. This is not the kind of conversation I’m accustomed to having with strangers either, but I gain nothing from being insincere or from hiding my reasons from you. So please, do not fret: my grandson did not tell us much about you. But... Are you perhaps familiar with the esper powers some Pyrope families have?”
She nodded, lost for words. She couldn’t forget the story Annette once told her about the development of the para-RAID. And she was pretty familiar with Pyrope powers, having met and Resonated with Shin...
Not that she could tell any of that to the Marquess. She didn’t even know what had brought her to arrange a meeting with her in the first place.
“The power of reading the feelings and thoughts of other members of the family runs through the veins of the Maika clan,” she continued. “Usually, it manifests between siblings, or between parents and children, but it does not necessarily limit there…”
She made a pause to take another sip of her tea, the very image of serenity, while on the other side of the table, Lena's mind was spiraling. She knew about what Marquess Maika was talking about: it was the base of the para-RAID system, and she knew Shin originally had that ability too, before his near-death experience made it change. But she hadn’t thought about what that meant now that he had met his extended family.
“Marquess Maika,” Lena said, “are you telling me you are able to read Captain Nouzen's thoughts?”
“His thoughts? No, my dear.” She shook her head softly as she let down her cup again, her crimson eyes lost in the dark liquid on it. “It grieves me to acknowledge it, but my grandson is almost a perfect stranger to me, even after meeting him. As you must know, he is not an open person, and it is understandable in his situation… I cannot read his thoughts and even if I could, I would choose to not do it. He deserves his privacy. That being said... I am at least capable of perceiving his changes of spirits.”
Surprised, Lena dropped the biscuit she had been eating, and it fell into her plate making a harmonious high sound. Marquess Maika looked back at her, those kind yet penetrating eyes taking note of her confusion.
“To illustrate… I could sense his confusion when he met me at the Nouzen mansion. Apparently, Marquis Nouzen did not inform Shinei about my presence that day. But to try to understand more of my grandson's thoughts is impossible for me.”
“I… see,” Lena answered dubiously. Having grown up in the Republic, where the noble bloodlines that carried those kinds of powers had disappeared long ago, the concept and reach of extra-sensory abilities still felt unnatural to Lena, even after meeting Shin, Frederica and Vika. She could only imagine how they felt for those who had them.
“But even if that is the situation,” the older woman resumed her explanation, “there is something I sensed. My grandson carries a profound weight with him, I presume it is the memories of all the struggles he had to endure during those years in that despicable country-”
She stopped herself. For the first time in the evening, warmth seemed to leave her voice completely, her words laced with cold indignation and her lips turning down in a severe expression. Maybe it was because of how welcoming she had been up to this point with her, but Lena thought it didn’t really suit her.
She took a breath and released a long sigh before speaking again, her tone carrying a mix of weariness and resentment.
“I beg your pardon, Colonel, but I fear I cannot speak well of a country that inflicted that kind of suffering on my daughter and her sons.”
“There's no need to apologize, Marquess Maika,” Lena responded immediately, unwavering. She had prepared herself for these kinds of comments ever since she came to Giad. Even if her fellow citizens still know no shame, she at least would never look away from their sins. “The Republic did commit unforgivable crimes against the Eighty-Six. I may be a Republic citizen, but I’ll always be the first person to recognize this.”
The Marquess nodded solemnly. She seemed pleased with her answer.
“You are indeed an honorable person, Colonel Milizé.”
She then drank the last sip of tea from her cup, and took a moment to contemplate the intricate pattern of the porcelain.
“When we met Shinei,” she said in a pensive tone, “Marquis Nouzen asked him about you. He wanted to know how our grandson feels about having a woman from the Republic as his commanding officer”
Marquess Maika smiled, and warmth finally found its way back to her features.
“I did not lie to you when I affirmed that Shinei spoke very highly of you. And at that moment, I perceived another change in him. That weight, that darkness which surrounded him... It vanished for a moment while he was talking about you.”
She faced her again, her eyes giving her a meaningful look, trying to convey an implicit message behind her words. Lena looked down at her tea, trying in vain to suppress a blush. Did she really help him as much as Marquess Maika was saying? She could only hope. She had told him multiple times: she wanted him to trust her, to rely on her, to make his burden a little easier. And if thinking of her helped him to overcome dark memories... She couldn't be happier.
“I can’t presume to know what kind of trials my grandson and you overcame together, but... I am grateful. I wanted to thank you for keeping his inner darkness at bay.”
Marquess Maika concluded, giving her a sincere smile from the bottom of her heart. Lena bowed her head respectfully.
“There's no need to thank me, Marquess Maika,” she said softly. “If I can support Shin- Captain Nouzen in some way, I'm glad.”
Oh no.
She could feel her ears burning again.
She bit a biscuit to hide her embarrassment and avoided looking at the Marquess at all costs. Even so, she could hear a soft, kind laugh coming from her.
“You remind me of my daughter Yuuna. Shinei’s mother,” she added when she noticed the curiosity in her eyes. “There had not been on this Earth a soul who was kinder than her, but she was also driven, and not afraid of fighting for her beliefs. It was for this reason that I lost her. We, the gentry of the Empire, lost too much time and energy using everything, even our own families, to secure influence and purity of blood. It was wrong, and I only realized it when it was already too late…”
A deep melancholy had seeped into her words, and Lena felt that well-known weight on her heart too. She was familiar with them, the remorse of seeing people passing away, the nights wondering if she could have done more to save them. The woman in front of her has probably seen her share of departures too, beginning with her daughter. And as someone had said, no parent should have to bury their children.
It was just… too sad.
“Shinei is all I have left from my daughter, Colonel.” The Marquess said, her voice full of emotion. “I understand that he is his own person and that he is over the age where children let the adults look out for them, but as his grandmother, I can’t help but want to watch over him in any way I can. However… I can’t do that without getting to know him more. I do not know him as well as I should, or as I would like to, but I am willing to make my best effort. Both for Yuuna’s sake and for his.”
Lena had been warned about the Giad nobility’s schemes, about the machinations behind closed doors, about the calculated way they approached important people to get on their good sides, only to discard and abandon them when they were no longer useful to their agendas. It was almost like the Republic’s high spheres, once again. She had come to this party steeling herself to deal with them; she had even entered this room prepared for anything, and yet… The Marquess had been nothing but sincere with her. It was right as she had said in the beginning, she gained nothing from lying to her on this.
And, in the face of the determination behind those words, Lena couldn’t help but smile. They came from different countries and ages, Marquess Maika and her, but as they looked out for that taciturn boy they both cared for, they found common ground. Maybe it was that realization what finally put her at ease.
“I’m sure he is trying too,” she answered, trying to comfort this older woman she could no longer see as a threat. “He... He lost so much during his time in the Eighty-Six sector that he... Well, I’m making a lot of assumptions here, but I think he told himself it was easier if he didn't get close to anything, if he didn't have anything to lose. Only now he is trying to reclaim the things he can... And that includes you, Marquess Gelda.”
The Marquess, who had listened to her words attentively, looked at her in silence for a moment before her lips curved up in a soft smile, full of tenderness.
“Yes. Thank you. Your insight is very much appreciated, Colonel Milizé.”
There was no lying in the relief in her voice either. And maybe because of this sincerity, because of their understanding, she dared to be less formal.
“Just Lena is ok.”
“That would be very improper of me, but we can go with Vladilena instead,” the Marquess said in an exaggerated yet light tone, probably her own way of joking. Both of them laugh softly. Lena didn’t remember her grandmother, having lost both when she was young, but she wondered if this was how it felt to share a calm dinner with one of them. “Can I count you as an ally, then?”
“Yes, certainly.” She nodded, her lips forming a beaming smile. “I’ll do my best. I want to help him in any way I can.”
The Marquess’ lips also curved up. If Lena didn’t know better, she would even call it a Cheshire grin.
“You certainly do care for him,” she noted in a teasing tone that sounded almost like singing.
“What?!” Lena exclaimed immediately, losing all her composure. She could feel her cheeks getting red again. “No- I mean, yes, but- I…”
“It’s all good, my dear. You have my blessing.”
“What?!”
Marquess Maika laughed softly behind her hand and winked at her.
“Would you care for another cup of tea, dear Vladilena?”
“Master Shinei. There's a letter for you in the mail.” Teresa came back from gathering the correspondence while Lena, Shin, Frederica, and the rest were all in the dining room, having breakfast together. She handed Shin an envelope of good quality paper and unusual creaseless. He thanked her quietly.
“What is, Shin?”
“Please, not another of those letters…”
“It's from... Marquess Maika” Shin answered, reading the remittance. Everyone except Lena and Frederica looked at him with confusion, while he opened the envelope and read the letter.
“My… grandmother,” he added dubiously, after concluding he couldn't dodge the topic. He kept his eyes on the letter, reading it to evade the looks of the others. “She wanted to invite me for tea, apparently…”
He suddenly froze.
“Lena... Why did she invite you as well?”
She choked on her tea.
(Frederica smiled smugly, her red eyes glowing. It seemed like there was another person who was personally invested in their relationship.)