章節 6: House Alteri Makes A Choice
{Enverna}
The sun crept in through the half-open curtains. Enverna had forgotten to close them fully. The young lady rubbed her eyes, stretching her arms in her bed and yawning.
She was fully prepared for this day to be the same as all the others. To spend most of her time in the garden, swinging that spear around, until her family told her where she needed to be next, and who she'd need to try to impress.
Then, she'd hopefully get signed by a guild and... She'd do the best she could with the tools she had.
However, this day was already off to an odd start.
As Enverna sat up, she found a set of words floating in front of her, just like yesterday.
The difference between this one and the previous day's, however, was that Enverna had the sneaking suspicion others hadn't received this particular notification.
It read:
{I have chosen you}
{- The Lover}
"..."
Enverna blinked. Surely, this was a hallucination made up by a half-asleep mind.
But, no matter how hard she shook her head, or how roughly she rubbed them, those words didn't fade away.
She stared at them for half an hour, sitting there, in complete silence.
Until, with her hands on her head, she yelled:
"WHAT!?"
---
{A few hours later}
Enverna sat outside her home, in her garden.
The birds chirping, the distant conversations people were having past her home's gates, and the sound of the falling water from the nearby multi-leveled fountain were all that Enverna could hear.
Even her own thoughts were currently inaudible, as all she could do was stare at those words floating before her.
See, there was more to that message than just "I have chosen you".
The full message was:
{I have chosen you.}
{ - The Lover}
{I offer you the power of a Constellation in return for a series of services. The world needs assistance and I believe you can help.}
{You may decline this offer if you wish. If you do, nothing will happen.}
{Should you accept, however, you will gain great power in return for becoming my Follower.}
{Enough power to live up to your family's lofty expectations and then some.}
{If you wish to accept, here is what you must do:}
1. Sign up for the Telvan's Watchful Guild.
2. Find Lianna Velcross, who will also be there.
3. Marry her.
{Upon setting up your engagement, you will both receive your power.}
{This power will be explained further at that time.}
{Note: Attempting to get a divorce, break off the engagement, or separate in any way will result in your power being taken away.}
The scent of blooming flowers all around her did nothing to calm Enverna down.
Enverna scowled, reading this message for what had to be the tenth, twentieth, or perhaps one-hundredth time.
So many different questions went through her mind and yet, no matter which one she picked out, she could not offer an answer to a single one.
Enverna's heart fluttered. The task she had to accomplish to receive this offered power was so simple, and yet Enverna had never been more puzzled.
[You want me to marry someone I've never even met!?]
There were many other questions she had as well, of course.
Why had someone like her been picked? Who was Lianna Velcross? Why did she need to go to Telvan instead of signing up to become a Player for the Holy Palace here, in Garriden? All three of these questions could perhaps have been ignored if the reward for accepting the offer was good enough but, well, that led to the fourth question.
[Why couldn't the System at least tell me what power, specifically, I would gain from agreeing to this?]
As the shock subsided, Enverna came to realize that this was an incredible opportunity, provided that the power she would gain was worth it. But, she had no clue if it would be, however.
Worse yet...
[Lianna...] Enverna thought, legs crossed, looking down at her own hands on her lap. [I'm not familiar with Telvan's naming sense, but... That sounds quite a bit like a woman's name.]
That one element made all of this even more complicated.
Even if Enverna wanted to agree, she worried that if her family found out she could, potentially, be marrying a woman she would get disowned on the spot.
Mainly due to the fact that, in the scriptures most people in the city believed in, two of the 12 traitors of Saren, the creator of the world, were same-sex male lovers. Thus, people were generally distrustful of those who engaged in that kind of behavior.
Honestly, even Enverna herself was unsettled by the idea of having a "wife".
Still, despite all the concerns, one thing could not be denied. Enverna had been afforded the opportunity of a lifetime.
Could she really deny this chance? For any reason, really.
[... I should let my family know,] she then thought. [They might be repulsed by the idea but... They do at least know a good offer when they see one. Maybe I should leave it in their hands.]
---
"I don't like it."
Verana sipped from a cup of tea as she said that. Enverna had never known it possible to make an action as mundane as drinking tea look like a struggle, but Verana was doing just that.
The family was currently gathered in the dining hall of the house, all four Alteris sitting at a long table. Enverna took a couple of bites out of the sear wings in front of her, but the food was as tasteless as ever. Maybe even more so.
Ever since Enverna's mother had heard of the offer, she'd been initially excited but after she heard the conditions, she'd been awfully quiet.
Until she broke the silence with that one simple comment.
"Ugh..." Treon grumbled. The battle-hardened man crossed his arms, unable to look at his stepdaughter. "If I could meet this Constellation face to face, I'd..."
"It's an insult," Verana hissed. "As if my daughter even needs such a thing. An Instinct and high potential is enough. We shouldn't even waste our time discussing this."
Therein lay the issue, however. Enverna's potential wasn't high at all.
That was part of why Enverna herself was considering going along with this.
Maybe, just maybe, if she took this offer, that would not end up mattering in the long run. But, that depended of course on how much power was being offered, which Enverna had no idea about.
"I agree," Treon said. "You're more than powerful enough already. With some good training, only the strongest of Fiends will pose a threat."
"What do you think?" Verana asked.
"..." Enverna hesitated to respond. Mainly, because she knew that "What do you think?" translated to "Say what I want to hear, please."
But, she had a hard time agreeing that this offer was worthless.
And, it seemed like Prima thought the same.
"Isn't this a good opportunity?" Enverna's sister asked, her voice slicing the tension in half.
"What?" Verana asked, pulling back.
"What are the conditions again for this blessing?" Prima asked Enverna.
"I am to head to Telvan, apply to one of their Guilds, find, presumably, a woman named Lianna Velcross, and... Marry her."
Just saying that last part had Enverna hugging herself, uncomfortably.
"I can't just separate myself from her, either. If I do, the power I am granted will be taken away. I would have to see the marriage through," Enverna added.
Prima smiled, putting her hands up.
"What's not to like, then? Sounds fairly lenient to me."
"You think forcing Enverna to engage in such an activity is 'lenient'?" Verana asked.
"She's not forced to do much of anything, though," Prima countered, grinning. "All she has to do is get married." She stood up from her seat, pacing around the dining hall table. "As far as actually interacting with this 'Lianna' individual is concerned, all she would have to do is kiss her on the day of her marriage, no? Outside of that, she doesn't have to do anything with her. Not even share a room," Prima shrugged. "Not even be in the same city," Prima said pointedly.
Verana was clearly annoyed, but she was listening. When she heard that last part in particular, her ears perked up.
Enverna was curious as well, as she knew damn well what was going on.
[She's just trying to get rid of me so she can get the spotlight back.]
That said, she was making a good argument. Enverna couldn't deny that.
"Most of her time during the engagement could be spent training, instead," Prima continued. "And then, when the marriage is made official, she can just leave. The conditions don't say anything about that."
"I want her here," Treon stated. "Those quivering pussies in Telvan won't teach her anything useful."
"And she can be here," Prima said. "Just... not for a little while, right?"
"Right."
"Then, it works out!" Prima stated. "She goes, finds this woman, gets engaged, gets married as soon as possible, leaves the woman, and comes back! Then, when she came back, she'd be potentially twice as powerful, having only sacrificed a small amount of dignity and whatever number of months is needed to finalize the marriage. No problems at all."
Enverna looked at her parents' faces.
It was clear by the fact that these two opinionated, outspoken individuals were choosing to remain silent.
They didn't want to admit it, but the plan did make some sense to them.
"Eh..." Treon grumbled. "If the other families find out our daughter is marrying a woman, it would be too shameful. We would never live that down."
Enverna couldn't help but notice that one word. "We", not "she".
"How will they find out?" Prima asked. "Unless this Lianna has friends in Garriden, which would be odd given that our war with Telvan only just ended, she won't be telling anyone here. And, I take it no one in this room is particularly eager to say anything about this either, right?" Everyone remained silent. "The marriage will come and go and not a single person in Garriden will know it even happened. The only people who care about it will be sitting halfway across the world."
"..."
The silence was deafening.
"Personally, I think the only choices we should be making are in scheduling her departure. If it were me, I'd take this in a heartbeat."
Treon looked over at Enverna.
"What do you think?"
It was the second time she'd been asked that, but this time was different. Enverna could tell.
This time, Treon could genuinely do it.
"... It isn't like I am the only person in the world with an Instinct and high potential," she muttered. "I could make it to the top with my stats. But, this offer could turn that uncertain possibility into a guarantee," Enverna declared quietly. "That is what I think."
Prima was clearly holding back a grin.
Treon took a napkin and threw it on the table.
As decisive a man as ever, he said:
"... Then you should do it. It... If these conditions are so exploitable, then it's obvious you should."
And just like that, it was decided.
Enverna would head to Telvan.
"Provided that whoever this whore Lianna Velcross is agrees," Verana pitched in.
"Mother, please. Look at your daughter," Prima said, gesturing at her. "Aren't the women over there all a bunch of carpet lickers?"
"Prima, for the love of..."
"I predict the only part of this that will be a struggle will probably be keeping her from following our sweet Enverna back here," Prima continued.
"Let her try," Treon said ominously. "I'll have her head taken off the second she takes one foot out of that shithole."
Enverna already felt sorry for this lady.
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