Chương 1244: Behind the Scenes
After entrusting Olivia with the task of tracking down the Magus responsible for cursing Waver, Vahn returned to Avalon to spend some time with his family. He didn't want to think about the politics of the Magus community as, in the near future, he planned to flip tear it up from the roots, like a weed that had been choking the life out of small saplings and beautiful flowering plants. The only reason he didn't proactively begin eliminating them was due to his promise with Artoria and the warnings of Merlin. Still, with the former herself taking action, Vahn would have a lot of freedom in his own actions, so long as he never does anything that endangers the common citizenry arbitrarily.
Right now, Vahn's main focus was consolidating the power of the Empire and stabilizing its nascent foundation further. After that, he would begin to form alliances with the existing world powers, be it through dialogue or force. This was necessary in order to keep and slowly change the policies of the various countries around the world as, for the time being, he simply didn't have the time to focus on governing the entire planet. Since the existing world powers already controlled the government from behind the scenes, he would rule over those that had consolidated power throughout the ages.
Vahn knew it was necessary to delegate authority to others in the short term unless he intended to go with Da Vinci's idea and just 'split' the world. With the power of the Greater Grail, it wouldn't take too much effort to either create a divergent reality or a sub-texture of the world that was inhabited only by 'normal' people. This was the method that guaranteed the greatest number of people were able to survive the coming changes but, as Vahn felt this was forcing stagnation onto humanity, he had no intention of using such an extreme solution.
With Da Vinci on his mind, it wasn't long before Vahn found his way to their shared workshop which, over the last few weeks, had become relatively silent. There, he found Da Vinci seated in an ornate rocking chair that had an auto-rocking function so that she could nap peacefully without needing to operate it manually.
Since it was impossible to get anywhere near the Armory without Da Vinci's knowledge, she had a smile on her face as she asked, "Did you come to visit me or the baby~?" As this question left her mouth, a second Da Vinci poked her head out from the adjacent corridor, this one lacking the large belly that her primary counterpart was caressing. Vahn just shook his head lightly at her, causing the teen-like Da Vinci to playfully lick her lips before disappearing in the hallway and returning to her stasis pod.
Vahn felt a strange feeling of loss when the younger Da Vinci parted as, with her [Mesmerizing Gaze] and [Fragrant Aroma], it was a temptation he rarely resisted. If he had been in the mood, even a bit, he would have readily accepted her offer. This time, however, he made his way over to the pregnant Da Vinci's side before helping her rise to her feet. After that, he sat down in the same rocking chair before letting her sit in his lap and recline against him.
Though she didn't need to ask, as she could read Vahn like a book, Da Vinci interlocked her fingers with his as she asked, "Did something happen~?" In response to this, Vahn kissed the back of Da Vinci's head before deeply inhaling her calming aroma and explaining everything that had happened during his visit to London. Though pretty much everyone was willing to listen to him, Da Vinci had become Vahn's confidant over the last few months as, despite knowing almost everything that took place in the castle, she wasn't proactively involved with anyone.
At best, Da Vinci would spend time with the other pregnant women when he invited her along, never of her own volition. The rest of the time, she stayed inside the Workshop conducting experiments and making upgrades to existing inventions. Even now, as she was relaxing in his arms, Vahn could sense another Da Vinci hard at work in her hidden workshop. She wasn't the type that could just put down all her work and completely relax, as this was what gave her the drive to continue living.
Because of her general detachment from everything else, Vahn felt closer to Da Vinci than many of the other women in the castle as, while she was undoubtedly one of his lovers, she was also a good friend and a wise confidant. She had a solution to practically everything and, even if he was saying stuff that others would find nonsensical, she listened attentively and never showed any signs of even momentary confusion. The only person that could exceed the comfort she brought him was Fenrir but, as Vahn had an almost mutualistic relationship with the faithful Vanargandr, that was a nigh-impossible hurdle to surmount...
---
Elsewhere in the castle, a petite figure with midnight-blue hair, large pointed ears, and a thick bushy tail came to a stop as she turned her head toward the adjacent walls, seemingly looking far beyond them. This caught the attention of her young protege, causing the latter to turn back with a curious look on her face as she question, "Hey, hey, what's the hold-up, Aniue~?"
Hearing the form of address, Fenrir's ears twitched as she turned her crimson-red eyes toward the golden-haired girl and stated, "Master was thinking about me." as if that was the only explanation required. This caused the golden-haired girl, Mordred, to begin laughing mischievously as she asked, "Should we go play a prank on him~?"
Fenrir snorted in response to Modred's question before remarking in a gruff tone, "Only if you want to get another spanking."
Though it had been some time since the punishment her Chichiue had given her, Mordred couldn't help but straighten her back when she heard Fenrir's remark. Her hands had even moved to protect her rear almost instinctually, causing Fenrir to snicker before she placed her paw on Mordred's head and said, "Come along. We don't want to keep the others waiting for us."
After patting Mordred's head, Fenrir began leading the way towards their destination, leaving the former staring at her back with a thoughtful look in her eyes. For a brief moment, Mordred's gaze fell to Fenrir's tail which, in timing with her gait, swayed from side-to-side in a gentle curve. Then, before Fenrir could urge her onward, Mordred picked up Neko, her cat-like companion, and quickly caught up.
Since Fenrir was sensitive to the gazes of others, she gave Mordred a side-long glance, earning a toothy-grin from the tomboyish Princess. She decided on the spot that their next training session would be a little harder than normal, as it was clear her young protege needed to vent some of her frustrations.
---
Though much of Fenrir's time was spent training, she always did her best to make sure her schedule always overlapped with her Masters' children and his own rest schedule. She would often be present when their training had come to an end in order to watch over them, sometimes directly, other times from the shadows. This was to protect them from harm and, if they were feeling lonely, she took it upon herself to either talk to them or mediate between the children and her Master.
Children were rarely able to convey what was on their minds, especially toward a parental figure, so she tried to be friends with all the children. If necessary, she would express their concerns in one way or another to her Master, ensuring they were always happier than they otherwise would have been. This made her very popular with all the children, including the more reclusive ones like Juliet who, after being cared for, now wore a tiny tail-like trinket at her back in order to feel closer to her.
Today, as they often did at least once a cycle, Fenrir was taking Mordred to meet up with the other children, including Sakura, Mash, Zoë, Astrid, and Juliet. Alex had been asked to join them several times in the past, but he always refused since they usually just talked, drank tea together, and ate a bunch of snacks. Sometimes, Fenrir would even sneak one of her Master's [Memory Sphere]s for them to peruse, but even that hadn't been enough to coax the boy away from Siegfried's side.
Fenrir always made time to at least check up on Alex and invite him to their gatherings, despite the fact he might never acquiesce. She imagined he might be sad if she one day stopped trying to get him to attend so, while it was a little troublesome, she had never missed inviting him. Since she had spied on him waiting for her on several occasions, Fenrir knew it meant a lot to the boy to have more people caring about him.
After arriving at Juliet's room, where their group usually gathered, Fenrir lightly knocked on the door. Moments later, a girl with platinum-blond hair, now styled neatly in a ponytail, opened the door with an inviting smile on her face as she happily exclaimed, "Come in, come in! We've been waiting for the two of you to arrive~!"
Fenrir gave a polite nod to Zoë before matching her smile while Mordred, never being one for such formalities, explosively made her way into the room before plopping down around the low table that was already occupied by the usual members. This included Astrid, who was surrounded by numerous Companions, Mash, who was essentially the 'big sister' of the entire group, and Juliet who, even now, was wearing her modified Maid outfit.
The only person absent was Sakura but, contrary to generally punctual nature, she often showed up late to their gatherings. Unless she accompanied Mash back, Sakura would usually stay back in order to ask Galahad a few questions. These often related to the lessons they had been receiving but, with the passage of time, Fenrir knew that Sakura had been asking the pale-haired Knight about his past and other, more personal, questions.
Since her Master was already aware of Sakura's 'crush' on Galahad, Fenrir didn't do anything to try and intervene. Galahad was one of the few people that didn't trigger any alarms with her so Fenrir felt he was 'safe' for Sakura to be around, especially with the Companions and Alaya observing them. If anything happened, her Master would be the first to know so, much like she didn't do anything proactively about Mordred's crush on her, Fenrir largely ignored Sakura's on Galahad.
After taking her own seat next to Juliet, Fenrir gave a glance toward Mash, earning a polite smile from the lavender-haired girl as the latter explained, "Sakura should be along in a few minutes. She told me to tell everyone not to wait up for her."
In response to Mash's remark, Zoë began to snicker while Mordred, also aware of her little sister's crush, groaned loudly as she complained, "I'll never understand what she sees in that shield bastard. He is such a hard ass..."
Without Fenrir needing to say anything, it was Mash who took on a stern tone as she stated, "I do not believe Master would appreciate you using such language, Mordred. Please, be more courteous, especially when you are talking about loyal Knights to the Empire. Hasn't Her Majesty expressed this time and again? You should treat your vassals fairly and with dignity..."
Mordred groaned loudly as she listened to Mash's words but, rather than refute them, she decided to just change the topic after crunching on a fish-shaped pastry and gulping down a mouthful of hot black tea. Afterward, she wiped her mouth using a handkerchief before asking, "I get that you want to be a Knight, but why do you already refer to my Chichiue as Master? Is it due to that loyalty thing, or what?"
Hearing Mordred's question, Mash's face gained a light blush as she lowered her eyes and explained, "Master has given me everything...a place to call home...a dream...and a purpose...I want to repay him someday, even if it is just a little. He is more than just an Emperor to me...though I'm not sure how to put it into words?"
Toward the end of her words, Mash looked to Fenrir for guidance, earning an understanding nod as the latter added, "To us who seek to dedicate our everything to Master, things like titles and status don't matter. Master is Master, always and forever. Mash has a long way to go but, if you work hard, Master will treat you well. This is certain."
Mash's slightly conflicted expression morphed into a smile when she heard Fenrir's words but, from the side, Mordred had an incredulous look on her face as she asked, "Wait a second...are you trying to become one of Chichiue's mistresses!?"
Now, Mash had a beet-red face as she looked toward Mordred and exclaimed in a high-pitched tone, "Princess! Don't be ridiculous! I...I would never even consider such a thing...!"
Despite Mash's insistence, the crack in her voice made it hard for Mordred to believe this fifteen, almost sixteen-year-old girl, wasn't conspiring to share her Chichiue's bed. She didn't actually have a problem with this, as it was 'expected' for people to pine after her Chichiue, but Mordred couldn't just let anyone target him. With this in mind, she crossed her arms challengingly and stated with a firm conviction, "I'll be watching you closely from now on. If you want to get to my Chichiue, you'll have to prove your worth. Don't expect me to go easy on you just because you work hard. It takes more than that to become the mistress of an Emperor~!"
Without waiting for Mash to respond, Fenrir bopped Mordred on the head and, with a stern look, stated, "Do not bully others. Master has always said that there is no such thing as impossible. If Mash wants to set Master as her goal, others do not have the right to stand in her way. The decision is hers and Master's, no others..."
Since Fenrir had used a bit of force, despite having very soft and squishy paws, Mordred rubbed the top of her head with a slight grimace on her face as she rebuffed, "Chichiue can't just accept every girl that wants to be with him. He is already troubled just keeping up with his current amount. I'm not trying to bully anyone...I just want Chichiue to be happy and stress-free..."
Hearing Mordred's words, Fenrir began to lightly rub her head with an apologetic expression on her face as she explained, "Master might be troubled at times, but he always finds a way to make himself and those around him happy. Even if Mash doesn't become a concubine or one of Master's official lovers, she can still receive his affection. Master has a heart bigger than anyone else...he can fit a lot of people inside of it without breaking."
Despite the conviction Fenrir spoke with, causing even Mordred to give an understanding nod, there was one person at the table who couldn't quite agree with her words. This was none other than Mash herself who, after hearing the discussion between the two, had a dark-red flush to her face as she shouted, "Please stop talking about such things! I'm not trying to have that kind of relationship with Master! Really!"
The only thing Mash received in response to her outburst was Fenrir tilted her head to the side, her ears flopping as she asked, "You don't want to be with Master? What if he wanted to be with you?" As she couldn't really rationalize why anyone wouldn't want to be with her Master, despite all the progress she had made over the years, Fenrir couldn't help but question Mash's reasoning. When she noticed the girl didn't actually have a response to the latter half of her question, as her eyes had started to swirl around in their sockets, she just gave a nod as if to say, 'I thought so'.
Fortunately for Mash, a light knock was heard at the door before she had to come up with an answer to Fenrir's pointed question. Though Zoë had hopped up to answer the door, Mash jumped up even faster than her, saying in a flustered tone, "I-I got it...!" before bolting toward the door.
As expected, Sakura was the one who knocked so Mash was given a reprieve as, for one reason or another, Fenrir and Mordred never talked about such topics when she was around. Since she was only a Knight Trainee, however, Mash would not pry into the matters of the Imperial Family. Instead, she did her best to get along with the two Princesses who, despite having contrasting personalities, were both kind-hearted and thoughtful people...most of the time.
Once everyone had settled down, the conversation became about what each person had done over the past cycle. This included everything from mundane topics, such as Juliet's training as Maid, to the more exciting subjects, such as the battle between Artoria and Siegfried earlier in the day. After that, Fenrir produced a [Memory Sphere], this one showing her Master's battle for the title of 'Strongest' Adventurer in Orario. She liked to show everyone her Master's greatest accomplishments as, even though she rarely had a part in them, Fenrir felt overwhelming pride every time she saw him achieve a feat others thought impossible.
In this manner, the group spent the better part of four hours just socializing, watching memories, and enjoying delicious pastries. Though Fenrir cautioned the girls about eating too many sweets, as it would make them fat if they didn't exercise, she never stopped them. It didn't really matter to her how they turned out, so long as they didn't cause any trouble for her Master. The only people she was really concerned about amongst them was Mordred and Sakura, for obvious reasons. However, after the earlier 'revelation' from Mash, Fenrir now included the lavender-haired girl in her spectrum of concerns as, if she wanted to be with their Master, it was important to take care of her figure and teach her properly...
(A/N: Alternate Titles: 'A dash of Da Vinci to soothe the soul','Mordred's body remembers...','Fenrir is better at corrupting people than Angra Mainyu...!?')
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