“What horrid luck. To think that there was a vampire behind these events.”

  The count was taken aback by Aubrey's recounting of events.

  “I don't expect the creature to return here, but it is a shame that the knights could not be saved.”

  The faerie, or pixie as the vampire had called her, was standing upon the count's desk. The one in the very same office she had barged into only two days prior.

  She was no longer adorned in the bck military uniform and skirt she wore before. The outfit had been doused in blood from severing the necks of much of the gang. As it required cleaning she had reluctantly put on one of the many other outfits the Princess had tailored for her.

  Aubrey preferred to wear bck. Although she could not wear armor, she still wanted to show solidarity with those who followed her as a leader. However besides her military styled uniform she was limited to other bck outfits the Princess had created for her.

  Now she wore a frilly bck dress with a short skirt and stockings. On top of the dress was the white apron that solidified the look of the maid outfit. Much to Aubrey's dismay the apron was sewn directly onto the dress due to its small size.

  The dress came with a matching headband, but she had elected not to wear it. Though Aubrey had become somewhat desensitized to wearing skirts, she still knew how to feel embarrassed.

  “Once more thank you for helping resolve this matter. As promised I will graciously provide you with the provisions you need along with the two horses. Are you sure this is all that you need?”

  “Yes. We are few in number, any more than this would only be a burden.”

  “I feel like I am leaving a debt unpaid. Could I at least arrange for your travel expenses?”

  “Thank you Count, but you have already done such, consider it a part of the provisions. Our next destination is southeast, a pce beyond where the rail lines extend.” Said Aubrey as she directed her gaze beyond the window that stood behind the Count’s seat.

  “You couldn’t be thinking of returning to that forest? Even after all you’ve gone through.”

  The man gave Aubrey an incredulous look.

  “No.” Replied Aubrey without a hint of hesitation. “Things far beyond me dwell in that pce. Our destination is a small vilge near the woods, a few days pace from Reinfurt, Bolstin I think it was called. There’s someone there that I intend to meet.”

  “A small vilge indeed.” Replied the Count. “Even in Newfort, which is considered to be upon the Frontier, I have never heard of it.”

  The count eyed Aubrey, it was difficult to address her with the proper respect. When he gazed at her it seemed like he had to make a conscious effort not to express any pity or disregard. Though she had done him a great service, that count still struggled to properly converse with the miniature woman.

  “If it is outside of Reinfurt then it is likely under the territory of Baron Lampert. He does not attend social events so I have not met him. All I know is he was a wizard from Jekal, and the first generation title holder. “He seems to have close connections to the Jekal nobility, and the magic institutes.”

  The Empire was not a single unified nation. After centuries of conquest it had grown too rge to govern only by noble houses loyal to the Emperor. Still seeking to expand the Empire turned to a new method of expansion.

  The countries of Jekal and Whitlien, which would ter be called the vassal kingdoms. They were ruled by a king, but still pledged loyalty to the emperor. To strengthen ties the emperor had even taken royalty from the vassal nations as his concubines.

  The thought made Aubrey recall her brief encounter with the third prince, the grandson of the Jekal king. He was the one who wanted to dissect her for magical research. In her heart she had yet to forgive him, but she doubted the possibility that she would ever find the vengeance she desired.

  “Our destination is a small pce, I think of us unlikely to make contact with the lord, but I will still thank you for the information.”

  —

  Fiona sat dejectedly staring at the burgundy brown horse that was gifted to her by the lord.

  The horse was of great importance to a knight. While a knight may be able to move as fast as a horse by empowering themselves with mana, the speed of a horse could also be increased through mana empowerment, combined with their greater stamina, horses remained a part of combat even for individuals with the ability to use mana reinforcement. Still, empowering a horse with mana was dangerous, if done without restraint it would easily kill the animal.

  Because of this knights had to slowly introduce their horse to mana over a long period of time before it could be used without causing harm. And even after a long period of getting the horse accustomed to mana, the horse would only ever be able to receive mana from that one knight.

  In the distance she could see Ludwig attending to his new horse. A bck steed that seemed to compliment the color of his armor. He wore a joyful expression in contrast to Fiona. As a former Squire this would be his first time owning a horse a knight.

  Fiona had already gone through the process of raising a horse once before in her old chapter, but the disciplinary action she faced saw it taken from her possession. She would once more need to redo the whole process.

  Still that was not the reason for her depression, she had long since gotten over losing her old horse. Instead she was mourning the loss of her gun, the magic fusil. Fusil’s inscribed with ice magic were already rare enough, but to find a repcement out in the frontier would be unimaginably difficult.

  To make matters more difficult, her weapon had been in the form of a pistol. Magic Fusils were rare outside of the army, pistols even more so, they were really only seen in the hands of nobility or army officers.

  “Still crying over that gun?” Said a voice right next to her ear.

  “Yes.” She replied succinctly, no longer surprised by Aubrey stealthily standing on her shoulder.

  “Even though the lord offered a repcement?”

  Aubrey's eyes drew towards a gun that id on the ground next to Fiona. It was a long gun, over twice the length of her prior hand held fusil. The gun was built with wooden furniture centered around a red crystal, and had a pointed bayonet affixed to the front.

  “I can't use something like this.” Replied Fiona. “A pistol I could hide, use only when needed, but for a knight to use a rifle would bring nothing but disgrace.”

  “Ha!” Aubrey let out a ugh.

  A cute chuckle that could not help but remind her of the purring of a tiny kitten.

  “You seem to forget where you are.” Said Aubrey “You're talking like you still have honor left to lose. Not very long ago I was exactly the same, struggling with change, but I had to accept that when it comes to combat, it is foolish not to choose what is most effective.”