Chapter 190: To be Ralf...
Michael watches as Ralf's silhouette vanishes over the horizon, leaving them basically stranded in Tristain until Charlotte reached Tristania... His brows were furrowed, thinking on how he and Tiffania would escape Henrietta's forces. He looks over at the battlefield and releases a long sigh at their unconscious forms, only now realising that he'd all but forgotten about Ralf and Tiffania's safety while he was pursuing Sheffield...
He'd spent his time torturing her, instead of assisting them... What would've happened if they'd lost the battle instead? Would he be burying Ralf and Tiffania's bodies now?... His hand rises to squeeze his temples as he stifles a steadily growing headache.
Shaking his head, he looks over to Tiffania who was watching Ralf leave with slightly moist eyes, clearly upset by his sudden departure despite the fact she'd been complicit in it. She looks at him, and he's about to wrap her up in a hug when he pauses due to the blood covering him. "Er, another time maybe?" he tentatively asks, rubbing his bloody hands on his trousers and not achieving anything aside from adding some long bloody handprints.
Tiffania shakes her head, hugging him anyway. "W-was that right?" she quietly asks with growing apprehension at her choice that'd caused Ralf to leave... Losing one ally might not seem like a big deal, but when you were left with only one person to rely on, it was certainly impactful.
Michael nods, "We did, what else could you have said? Some people deserve to be punished, I may have gone overboard with Sheffield, but I was just replying in kind with what she'd done to me. That's the Golden Rule, isn't it? Treat someone how you'd expect to be treated? Well, I just followed that."
"That's it not! You're twisting it to suit your needs! If you properly followed it then you'd have not tortured that girl to death!" Derflinger shouts from the side, causing Michael to let out a sigh. "He was hit by the Ring of Andvari, I destroyed it, but he still seems to be under its control... That, or the sword thinks it's found some kind of moral high-ground... Despite literally being a tool that is only used to KILL people." he says, emphasizing the point in the sword's direction.
Tiffania nods, "I can fix it... I think? I used a lot of power earlier..." she mutters, remembering the broach that'd been destroyed protecting her. Did that count as Michael saving her life again, albeit indirectly? Or was Jojin, the boy who'd stolen the broach for her the one who saved her?... It didn't really matter at this point, but it was an interesting question.
Ridding herself of those thoughts, she slowly makes her way to Derflinger and points her wand at the sword, quietly chanting "Erase.", causing a flash of light to envelope it as she removes half an hour's worth of memories. Unfortunately, this also causes Tiffania's legs to give out, the last of her magical power thoroughly drained and leaving her with basically nothing. She was in, or on the precipice of magical exhaustion, a condition that could be deadly depending on its severity.
Michael catches her, looking her over to make sure he hadn't missed anything. "Did it work?"
Tiffania lets out a tired breath, "I think so..."
Michael nods and sheaths Derflinger before picking Tiffania up in a princess carry. He sends a glance at Sheffield's body and scowls, walking over and stomping on her neck to make sure the job was finished. Still, did that mean that King Joseph would summon another Void Familiar?... Huh, didn't Tiffania still need to summon one?... He'd completely forgotten about that... He'd have to talk to her about it later, maybe Charlotte would help with the ritual, as she was likely the only one who would know it... Maybe Ralf did as well but, he was gone so it was a moot point.
"Come on, Tiff, we're going." he says before lightly sprinting towards the treeline, wishing to leave the area as fast as possible before Henrietta sends people after them.
Indeed, Henrietta had been observing them after stabilising Agnes, while she liked Tiffania, she despised Michael with all of her heart. If it wouldn't cause a strategic disaster, she had half a mind to send her entire forces to capture him.
"Uurrrgh... What-Where am I?" Louise mumbles as she finally awakens, her eyes opening slightly before shooting wide when she realises that her head was resting on Henrietta's lap. "Princess! How!?" she exclaims, her last memory being her marching towards the meeting site to negotiate the Princesses return.
Henrietta lets out a sigh and brushes Louise' pink hair that'd fallen onto her face, "The negotiations... Happened." she states with a frown, before going on to explain everything else that'd occurred, along with Tiffania using Erase to remove the Ring's effects on them.
"So, the Prayer Book..." Louise mutters, getting a sad nod from Henrietta, "Lost to us, for now. But... There is another place where you could learn, Louise... It's just, not ideal right now." she says with consternation written on her face.
"What is it?" Louise asks before stilling, cursing her mouth for blurting it out so quickly. If Henri thought it wasn't ideal, then there were most likely some heavy drawbacks to it.
Henrietta lets out a sigh, "Romalia. I've received many letters from them, requesting for you to be sent there to learn under the Pope. To become a priestess. They say that they possess an artifact of Brimir that'd allow you to learn, but..." she trails off.
Louise nods thoughtfully, "I would not be able to return to Tristain..." she finishes her thought. Becoming a priestess would essentially shackle her to Romalia, stopping her from engaging in any foreign politics to protect the sovereignty of Romalia. She would no longer be a subject of Tristain, and no longer be able to help Henrietta.
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