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Living Loving Maid

Summary:

After hitting an unexpected doom flag, Katarina is exiled from Sorcier!

Starting her life in a new country proves more difficult than she thought, especially when she can't find work on a farm. However, she finds a glimmer of hope in the form of a job opening as a maid for a wealthy family in her new country... but things aren't quite as they seem.

Katarina faces a challenge she never expected when she discovers that the woman who hired is actually the villainess of a different otome game! Now, Katarina must do her best to help her new employer dodge doom flags of her own, all the while wondering if she may be able to find some way back home....

Chapter 1: Prologue

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

“Katarina Claes! We are going to expose all the evil deeds you have done, here and now!”

The sudden declaration caught a certain duke’s daughter off-guard as she entered the Academy cafeteria one chilly autumn day.

This moment… it was straight out of Fortune Lover! This was the moment where the villainess faces her judgment!

Katarina felt the pangs of dread as her doom finally reached her. Standing there in terror, she could do nothing but fidget awkwardly as her accusers read out a list of her crimes.

Well… they weren’t actually her crimes, were they? They were things Katarina did in the game, but she hadn’t actually done any of that stuff! This must be a fixed event from the game, she supposed.

Although… in the game, it was either Geordo or Keith who did the condemnation event. Here, she was currently faced with a handful of noblewomen, most of whom she hadn’t really interacted with at all, as far as she could remember. Why were these girls accusing her?

She was shaken from her thoughts by a sudden commotion by the cafeteria entrance.

“What is all this?” a familiar voice called out. That voice… under different circumstances, she would be glad to hear it, but right now, the voice of her fiancée, Geordo Stuart, just made her freeze with fear.

This was just like the game! He was here! She turned around and found Keith was here too! And Maria! And all her other friends!

This was really it, wasn’t it?

The noble ladies were explaining her crimes to them, and soon enough, Maria and Geordo and Keith would condemn her and send her to exile!

“All of this…” Maria started.

Katarina bit her lip, trying to stop herself from crying.

“…is complete rubbish!” Maria finished.

This was it! It was over! She was… wait, what?

“Please don’t besmirch someone so dear to me with these false accusations!” Maria stood defiantly against the ladies who surrounded her.

Katarina could only look on in surprise as her friends, one by one, went around, defending her, telling everyone that all the ‘crimes’ she had allegedly committed were entirely wrong.

Her racing heart had nearly returned to normal by the time Maria scared the ladies off out of the cafeteria. It was hard to believe, but… had she really done it? Had she really avoided her doom?

“Are you alright, Lady Katarina?” Mary asked, bringing her back to her senses.

“Ah… I’m fine!” she admitted, relieved.

“Sister… what happened here? Why did those women do this?” Keith still sounded concerned.

Katarina did her best to explain everything that had just happened (leaving out the part about it being her doom flag from the game, of course) as the others led her out to the patio for a delicious lunch.

Afterwards, as they walked back to the academy, the others still seemed preoccupied with the fact that those women had all presented a list of false accusations against Katarina out of the blue. Katarina herself was mostly thinking about the delicious meal she’d just eaten. If there was one thing she was really grateful for at this school, it was the top quality food!

At least, that was what was on her mind, until she caught a glimpse of Maria out of the corner of her eye. The young light mage looked as if she’d seen a ghost!

“Hey, Maria, are you alright?”

“Ah, yes, Lady Katarina, I’m fine,” Maria tried to reassure her, but kept her gaze fixed on the far end of the courtyard, “I just… remembered something I have to do. I’ll see you later, okay?”

Katarina paused. Something wasn’t right here.

“Maria… do you want us to go with you?”

“No, no, you shouldn’t trouble yourself, Lady Katarina! Go on ahead without me!” Maria said a little more confidently.

Katarina almost would have let her go, but something held her back, “It’s no trouble, Maria, I’ll go with you!”

“Eh?” Maria’s eyes widened. She looked concerned.

“Miss Campbell, are you sure you’re okay? With all that mess back in the cafeteria, it might be best to stay with us for a bit,” Geordo offered, seeming to pick up on Maria’s worry.

“Ah…” Maria bowed her head a bit, “I… suppose you’re right, Prince Geordo.”

She didn’t say much else as she followed the group along. Katarina took her hand in an attempt to comfort her, it was clear she had something on her mind. Maria looked up with a blush as Katarina held her hand, but didn’t say anything. In fact, her attention still seemed to be elsewhere, staring absently at the far end of the academy courtyard.

She was about to ask Maria if anything was wrong, but before that, she followed Maria’s line of sight to the edge of the courtyard. Her sharp blue eyes zeroed in on something at seemed out of place.

It looked like… red hair? It almost reminded her of….

Hmmm. Katarina pursed her lips as she thought where she might have seen that hair before.

---

Later that day, she made her way to the Student Council room, an inkling of suspicion drawing her forward.

“Hey, President,” Katarina greeted Sirius with a smile as she entered the council room. It was after hours, and he was the only one there.

“Lady Claes, hello,” the redhead greeted her with a courteous smile, “What brings you by the council room so late?”

“Oh, uh,” she looked around awkwardly.

Why was she here anyways? She thought she saw Sirius in the courtyard earlier, but… so what if he was there? It had been lunchtime, right? He could be in the courtyard for lunch if he wanted to.

“Could I offer you some tea?” he proffered a cup and saucer.

“Oh, thanks!” Katarina accepted it kindly. Taking a sip, she remembered how delicious the president’s tea always was. She let out a breath, and asked, “Did you hear about what happened at lunch today?”

Maybe she was imagining it, but it looked like Sirius stiffened a bit at that, “About Lady Grice and Lady Ettiene falsely accusing you? I’ve heard a bit. I’m sorry you had to go through that.”

“R-right,” Katarina shook her head, a lingering thought came to the forefront of her mind as she blurted, “Were you involved with that somehow?”

There was a beat of quiet, before her eyes widened once she realized what she had just said. Now she’d done it!

Sirius stared back at her curiously; his eyes looked wide and innocent as he asked, “Involved? What do you mean?”

Katarina took a breath, mentally kicking herself. Of course he wasn’t involved in that, she was just being paranoid.

“Ah, sorry, forget I said that!” she waved her hands a bit, taking a half step backwards. 

“Hm,” the council president chuckled slightly, stirring his own tea for a moment, “It’s quite alright.”

He sounded polite and genuine, the same as ever. Even still, she couldn’t quite place it, but… something felt off.

The orange sunlight poured through the windows, casting long, strange shadows across the room. It was nearly dusk, and the wind was rustling through the autumn leaves outside.

Katarina had a sudden feeling that she really should have told someone she was coming here. Nobody knew she was here. No one at all.

She felt a chill as the president stood from his desk.

“Um… ehe, it’s kinda late, I guess I should be getting back…” she motioned toward the door, suddenly very nervous. Was the air in this room always so chilly?

“Well, I guess you have your suspicions now, so there’s no use playing pretend any longer, hm?” Sirius’ voice froze her in her tracks. He stood from his desk at the front of the room and stepped between her and the doorway.

“P-President?” she gulped. Something was really wrong here. He took another step towards her, closing the gap.

“Katarina Claes, I absolutely hate you!” Sirius seethed through gritted teeth, “Watching you infuriates me to no end! Seeing you trick those lonely people into thinking you’re their friend, but in reality you’re nothing but a hypocrite!”

Katarina looked up at the redhead, perplexed. He was angry… angry at her. And yet… he looked so sad.

His eyes were filled with a distant sadness, a loneliness that made her heart ache to see in anyone’s eyes.

Unconsciously, she raised a hand to his cheek as if to wipe away a tear.

“Are you okay?” she asked him softly, “You sound so angry, but you’re crying.”

There was a quiet moment as he stared into her eyes, before….

“Hah?” Sirius drew back sharply in surprise, “I’m not--”

-not crying. She could tell that was what he was about to say.

“On the inside, you are,” she found herself saying to him without a thought.

His eyes clouded over. It was as if he was looking somewhere far beyond her.

Suddenly, the room was dark. Dark coils of smoke- no, not smoke, something more like living darkness itself- started to fill the air.

“Katarina Claes… just go away. Someplace far, far away, where you’ll never bother anyone again,” the redhead spoke quietly, blinking back the tears in his eyes.

A dark fog rolled out from Sirius’ sleeves, covering her vision…

---

… and then the fog vanished.

And she was on a boat.

“Eh? EHHHH!?!” Katarina flinched back instinctively from the railing on the boat, the sudden appearance of the churning waves throwing off her sense of balance.

She landed sprawled out on her back, a few meters from the railing.

Eyes spinning, Katarina sat herself upright, taking a look around. She was on a boat. She was definitely on a boat.

But… how did she get here?

What was the last thing that had happened? She was in the cafeteria, and those other noble ladies confronted her with her crimes, and then… and then….

She drew a blank. Everything after that was a blur, a haze of dark fog and confusion. And… red hair? Why was red hair important? Katarina couldn’t quite piece together what had happened after she left the cafeteria that day.

“So… I guess I got exiled anyways, huh? The game must have reset, since I was dodging too many doom flags,” she murmured, walking back toward the edge of the boat.

It was the only thing that made sense, right? She faced her judgment, and the next thing she knew, she was on a boat out of the country.

It was dark. The clouds obscured the moon and stars. She couldn’t see the shoreline. She didn’t even know which direction Sorcier was from here, or where the boat was heading.

“I just hope Maria got her happy ending,” Katarina sighed wistfully, gazing out over the rushing seawater, “Aw man, I hope my attempts to dodge my bad end didn’t stop Maria from getting together with one of the capture targets! I can’t even be a villainess right!”

The brunette clicked her tongue. She’d spent so much time focusing on avoiding her own doom, even trying her best to set Maria up with the capture targets, but Maria never showed much interest in any of them. Hopefully, at the very least, the heroine could get together with any of her dear friends!

Katarina ran her thumb across the rough, salt-saturated oak railings of the boat. The wood was coarse and splintery from years of exposure to the elements.

She quirked her lips to one side. Was this really how it all ended for her? The villainess finally meeting her doom, just like she did in the game? Just like she deserved? Had the time truly come for her to fight with all she had to survive in exile?

Still, it wasn’t as if she was unprepared!

Katarina Claes was hardly the type to do anything halfway, and she’d spent her entire life preparing to be exiled! Pumping her fists, she resolved herself- it was time to put her years of doom flag prep work to the test!

The brunette looked around. She didn’t have any of her farming gear, nor did she have her overalls.

Still, if she got a job on a farm, she should be able to make do with whatever equipment they had on hand.

She gazed out at the dark sea, absently wondering how far this boat was from its destination. And what its destination was. Her stomach rumbled, and she hoped wherever she was headed would have some good food she could snack on before finding a farm.

Actually, now that she thought about it, she’d probably need some pocket money for snacks.

Hm. Glancing down at her wrists, she wondered how much she could get for her bracelets. And maybe the gold gem thingy around the neck of her dress.

Right then, it was a plan. Her first step after reaching wherever this boat was headed would be to sell off some of her useless jewelry for spending money. From there, she’d just need to find a farm to work on, and then it would be smooth sailing!

A sudden, violent wave rocked the boat sharply, almost knocking her off balance.

“Hah,” she exhaled, regaining her feet.

Looking to the front of the ship, Katarina wondered again where it was headed.

She sure hoped they had a pawn shop there. And a good restaurant!


Meanwhile, across the sea, in the highlands of Ritallia, a pair of expensive shoes marched across the polished floor of a large, ornate mansion.

“Terrible! Absolutely unacceptable! The utter incompetence of that wench! Who in their right minds would hire such an imbecile?”

A sharp female voice rang out as a tall, blonde figure stormed into the main office on the upper floor of her estate.

Malicia Baudelaire was the de facto heir to the Baudelaire Archduchy, a prominent figure among the Ritallian nobility, and one of the wealthiest people in the entirety of the nation!

And she wasn’t happy. Not one bit.

Why should she be, anyways? She had just fired yet another 'slovenly, incompetent maid', or so she said. That made three so far this year!

Her long blonde curls bounced as she tapped her toe on the floor of her father’s office.

Her father, however, was not in his office this evening. In his stead stood a tall, elegant looking man with short, black hair and a sharp black suit. Lawrence Morgan was his name, and he served primarily as an intermediary between Lady Malicia and her father on an as-needed basis.

In short, he was in charge of handling Malicia’s behavior when her father was too busy. Or when he just didn’t want to deal with her (which was most of the time), not that he would ever tell her that.

“Well, that’s on you,” Lawrence sighed, rubbing his temples as he prepared for yet another headache.

“Eh? Lawrence?” Malicia shot him a warning glare.

“You are in charge of vetting your own staff, my lady. If you wish to find a maid you can… ahem, tolerate, perhaps you should sit in on the interview,” Lawrence explained wearily, “I do my best to hire maids who I feel would be up to your exacting standards, my Lady, but if you would like to have more input on the matter, you should take the time to oversee their interviews yourself.”

Malicia gaped at him, “You… Are you truly taking that tone with me Lawrence?!”

The dark-haired man took a long breath as his employer’s daughter prepared for yet another of her tirades.

“I’ll tell father about this! He’ll hear how you are enabling the incompetence of the terrible staff you hire on here!” she pointed a sharply manicured finger at him.

“Oh?” Lawrence tapped his finger against his sleeve, “Then you would have no problem if I called your father in here?”

Malicia’s eyes widened at that. She opened her mouth, but then closed it again.

She was always like this, Lawrence thought to himself. She talked big in front of him, but never in front of her father.

“The Archduke has his hands full with the commoners’ troubles as it is,” Lawrence stated clearly, “He doesn’t have the time for simple matters like an, ahem, incompetent maid. And, for that matter, neither do I. I think it’s nearly time for you to begin making these decisions for yourself, Lady Malicia.”

“L-Lawrence?” Malicia sounded a bit confused by his words.

“Your father informed me a few weeks ago that he does not wish to continue to waste this estate’s funds on the constant comings and goings of staff members who aren’t up to your standards,” Lawrence revealed. He had known it was only a matter of time before Lady Malicia grew tired of her newest choice of hired help, so he chose to wait until such a moment to inform her, “As per the Archduke’s request, you’ll have to find and hire your own maid. And if you can’t keep her for more than three months, you won’t be getting a new one.”

---

Malicia fumed as she thought over what she had just been told.

Her father had tasked her with hiring a new maid. Surely such a thing was beneath her station! That was what Lawrence was for, after all! Well, technically, he was meant to be her father’s aid, not her own, but still. He really must just be getting lazy, mustn’t he?

Still… hiring a maid.

The blonde huffed in annoyance.

She looked out the window in the direction of the port. It would be well past her bedtime on any other day, but of course she had to sacrifice her precious sleep this evening on the account of a terribly inept maid. She sighed as she stared out the window; sometimes, the late night air could cool her head.

Even this late at night, the lights from the harbor were still lit.

She shook her head; it was useless thinking about such things now. She needed to find a new maid, hm?

Well, then, if that was how it was, she’d figure it out herself. Malicia had always been a problem-solver, so something as basic as this shouldn’t prove too much of a issue for her. 

After all, with a family name like hers, how hard could it be?

 

 

LLM Cover by Daawnily

Notes:

Me: I should really finish any of my works in progress.
My Brain: How about a fic where Katarina is another villainess’ maid?

This fic was largely inspired by the latest chapter of the Verge of Destruction manga, where Katarina wonders how she’d survive in exile, and Sienna suggests getting a job as a maid. And… well, here it is.
I do have an outline for this fic, so it won’t be something I just make up as I go, at least not all of it, but IDK how often I’ll update this relative to my other fics. Equivalent Exchange is my priority right now, and I want to finish that one up as soon as I can, so I’ll be focusing on that, and the Reset. But I’ll also try to keep up with this one as much as I can. I have a few chapters’ worth written up, so who knows.

This story is a variation on the end of season 1 of the anime… what if Katarina went to Sirius before Maria did? And what if he cursed her to just… go away, rather than go to sleep?
This story will be largely focused on Katarina’s adventure, but I will be showing the harem trying to figure out where she went and tracking her down as well. I’ll try to keep those plots balanced as much as I can!

Also, thanks to Claire from the Discord server for the name Ritallia for Malicia’s country.

Also, new update, amazing new cover image by Daawnily! :)

Chapter 2: Down By the Seaside

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

The sound of waves crashing against the wooden piers filled the air. Seagulls cried out, and large harbor bells clanged loudly as ships made their way in and out of the Ritallia’s southern port. The sun had just broken over the distant horizon, and the air smelled distinctly of fish and brine.

The sight was nothing new to Jakob Ursey.

As a fishmonger, Ursey spent most of his days by the wharf of Ritallia’s port, and was well accustomed to the usual mix of sailors, fishermen, merchants and the like who filtered in and out of the port most days. And, every so often, rare as it may be, the occasional nobleman or woman would pass through the port.

Jakob arched an eyebrow at the ship that had just arrived. It seemed today was one of those days.

A finely crafted brown leather boot tapped down on brine coated wood as a young lady stepped off the gangplank of the ship onto the dock. Jakob could tell with one look she was a noblewoman. Her clothes looked somewhat modest- a simple white blouse and red skirt- but her long brunette hair, earrings, and bracelets were clearly not commoners’ wear.

As she stepped down from the ship, apparently a ferry arriving from Sorcier, the noble lady scanned the fish-laden, briny harbor. Her nose twitched slightly at the smell. The fish monger chuckled to himself. Uppity nobles like her were always disgusted by the smell of the fish he made his living on.

Curiously, however, she didn’t seem quite as put off by the scent as he would have thought.

She took a long, meaningful sniff of the air… and then clasped her hands together in delight. Her eyes lit up, and she practically licked her lips. No, scratch that. She did lick her lips.

“Mmmmm! It’s like a sushi shop!” the wealthy looking lady grinned, looking over the wide selection of fish at the port.

Sushi shop’? Jakob arched an eyebrow at the foreign sounding phrase.

Suddenly, the noble lady started making her way towards his booth. He folded his arms, prepared for the oncoming headache she would surely bring. He’d had a few encounters with the nobility, but every single one of them had been a pain. And, as he knew from the other regulars at the harbor, he wasn’t the only one who had troubles with the nobility.

The wide-eyes brunette marched up to his fish stand, and, not wasting a moment, asked, “Excuse me, sir, do you know any farms around here looking for help?”

Jakob blinked. Had he heard that right? Of all the things he could have anticipated this young lady to ask, that would have to be near the bottom of the list.

“Farms?” he gave her a skeptical look.

“That’s right, yeah. I’m…” she trailed off, looking around shyly, before continuing, “I’m looking for a job, and I think I’m most qualified for field labor. Since I know a lot about farming.”

The noble-looking woman nodded, apparently satisfied with her answer.

The fishmonger just stared at her. This girl must be out of her mind, asking a thing like that here. It was clear she was a foreigner from her accent, but still. Didn’t most of the other countries know what things were like here?

“If you’re looking for a farm….” Jakob started.

The girl leaned in expectantly.

“…Then I think you might’ve blown into the wrong port, young lady,” the fishmonger elaborated, “There ain’t hardly any workin’ farms round here.”

“Eh?!” The noble-looking lady gasped in shock.

“It’s hardly the most tillable soil at the best of times, an’ were in quite the drought righ’ now, missy,” Jakob explained to the clueless brunette. He had no idea what a lady like her, clearly from some noble status (or, at least, not a commoner) would want to do working on a farm, but he decided to let it slide for the time being. Instead, he just bluntly explained, “There ain’t no farmin’ jobs to be had ‘round here.”

---

“No farming?” Katarina let out a gasp of horror. That was awful news! Of all the terrible things to hear as soon as she arrived in her port of exile, that was just tragic! She blurted, “But… that’s so sad! All the people here don’t get to experience the joy of raising cute little veggies!”

The fish seller just stared blankly back at her.

Katarina nibbled her lip. No, more than just that, it meant her options were more limited than she first thought!

She’d spent years planning to till her own crops when she inevitably got exiled, but now she was actually here, and that wasn’t even an option! Of course, she should have known it wouldn’t be so simple! It wasn’t called a ‘bad end’ for nothing!

Still, she wouldn’t just give up and die so easily! That dream of living to a ripe old age with a cat on her lap might be a distant dream, but she’d do her best to get there, somehow or another!

There had to be some way to find a fresh start in this country!

Katarina looked down at herself. Luckily, whatever had happened to send her into exile had given her time to grab her emergency exile bag from her room. She’d been able to change into her commoners’ attire on the ship, but still, she felt out of place somehow.

“Hello there, young lady!”

Katarina was shaken from her thoughts by a sudden voice as she walked. She looked up to find a boy about her age sitting atop one of the brick walls by the port. He had long, strawberry blond hair, and wore a dark vest over a long sleeved cotton tunic.

“Ah… h-hi!” Katarina waved awkwardly, not sure what to make of him just yet. He looked athletic and handsome… and somehow, she felt like she’d seen him somewhere before….

“Is it your first time in the port?” he asked, hopping gracefully down from the top of the wall.

“Uh, yeah,” Katarina admitted, “This is my first time in Ritallia altogether, actually.”

She knew a little bit about some of the countries surrounding Sorcier; she had brushed up on them in case of emergency (read; exile doom flags), but now that she was really here, she found herself wishing she’d brought a field guide or something….

“Hm? On vacation?” the boy asked.

“Uh… something like that…” she bit her lip. She didn’t want to say she’d been exiled, and get run out of town by the locals for being a villainess!

“What’s your name, pretty lady?” he asked, falling into step beside her as she walked through the quaint little village.

She hesitated. If she’d truly been exiled, it probably wouldn’t be good to keep calling herself Katarina ‘Claes’. Typically, exile entailed dropping all connections to your house, including the name.

“I’m… Rina. Rina… Clayton,” she smiled halfheartedly. It was strange. It felt as if that one small step of giving a different name was a big deal. It was like cutting off a lifeline.

“Nice to meetcha, Rina!” the boy gave her a little wave, “I’m Tommy! Tommy Finch!”

“Hello!” she greeted him as cheerily as she could, given the circumstances, “Um… do you happen to know any places where I could work around here?”

“Work?” Tommy arched an eyebrow at her.

“Yeah… I guess there aren’t any farming jobs,” she said sadly, “…but do you happen to know any places I could work to earn some money for a little while?”

“Hmmm…” Tommy tapped his chin, contemplating her question for a long moment, “I’m not so sure about any jobs around here, but if you’re lookin’ for money, I’d guess those bracelets of yours would fetch a pretty penny.”

“Eh? My bracelets?” Katarina looked down at the jewelry she still had on her wrists, “Do you know a place where I could sell them?”

“As a matter of fact, Miss Rina…” Tommy spun around dramatically, hair fluttering behind him, “I do! I happen to be quite the purveyor of fine jewelry myself, you see. And, if you’re in the market for some good money, I can buy those off of you right here!”

“Ehhh?!” Katarina’s eyes lit up. Maybe her luck was changing for the better after all. Taking a breath, she asked, “How much would you buy them for?”

“Well… for anyone else, I’d only give ‘em forty reis, but for a pretty lady like you, Miss Rina, I’ll give ya 50,” he gave her a glowing grin.

She didn’t exactly know the currency exchange rates between Sorcier and Ritallia, but 50 reis sounded like a lot. Enough for a few meals at least, and maybe some lodging. Her bracelets were gold with sapphire gems in their centers, so they were surely worth something.

“Okay! Thank you so much!” Katarina eagerly pulled her bracelets off, offering them to the boy quickly.

Handing her a small pouch filled with coins, Tommy gave Katarina a grin and a wink, “Pleasure doing business with you, ma’am!”

With that, he simply gave a small nod, and then quickly walked off.

“Eh? He’s leaving already?” Katarina tilted her head, a bit disappointed. It felt like she was starting to make a new friend, but he was already in a rush to get somewhere else….

Sighing again, she looked through the little bag of coins as she made her way back to the main area of the market where she had first started.

“Heh,” the fishmonger she had spoken to earlier laughed to himself as she walked back by.

Katarina blinked. Was he laughing at her? She couldn’t help but give him a look, “…what?”

“Sorry, lady, but I think you just got Finched,” he chuckled.

“‘Finched’?” Katarina asked curiously.

“That kid ya just sold yer bracelets to there, that’s Tommy Finch,” the fishmonger explained.

“Yeah… what about him?” Katarina suddenly had a bad feeling.

“He’s kind of a… hustler. Con artist, you know,” the fish merchant elaborated.

“A con artist?” Katarina’s bad feeling intensified.

“Yeah. I dunno what those bracelets of yours were worth, but whatever he paid ya fer ‘em ain’t even close,” the fishmonger replied casually.

“Eh? Wh-why didn’t you stop him?” Katarina shot him a glare. If he knew who that kid was, he should have said something!

“Not my business,” the man shrugged, “Seller beware, that’s the law o’the land ‘round these parts.”

“Aww,” Katarina deflated. She’d only just gotten here, and she was already getting scammed.

The fish merchant almost looked a bit guilty as her shoulders slumped.

As she internally bemoaned her situation, her stomach grumbled. She turned back to the fishmonger, digging the coins out of her pocket, “How much fish can I get for 50… reis?”

The old man simply offered her a singular square cut of fish, smaller than the palm of her hand. Her shoulders slumped even further.

Still, she handed him the coins and accepted the fish. She nibbled on it glumly; as nostalgic as it was to have some fish by the seaside, it did little to satisfy her hunger.

“Hmm… maybe I could be a fisherman,” she muttered absentmindedly, finishing the little bite of fish.

“Huh?” the fishmonger gave her an incredulous look.

“I used to fish in the stream with Keith when we were kids,” she murmured distantly, looking off across the sea.

She hadn’t even been gone for a day yet, but that all felt so far away now.

“I reckon there’s a bit of difference between fishin’ in a stream and fishin’ on the seas, ya know,” the old man told her.

She nodded to herself, it was probably true. But then… what was she supposed to do for work?

As if sensing her impending question, the fishmonger told her, “If yer lookin’ for work, you’d probably have better luck trying out to be help for one o’ the noble houses,” he pointed over his shoulder toward the hills behind the town, which were dotted with large, wealthy looking estates.

And, more to her immediate interest, toward a bulletin board in the town square, covered with flyers and posters offering various jobs.

Narrowing her eyes, she approached the board, skimming over the various job listings… and her hand came to rest on one in particular.

The flyer hardly looked appealing. In fact, Katarina didn’t really know why it caught her eye at all. Maybe it was the name on it….

WANTED: A Capable Maid, ready for intense, demanding labor and an intense, demanding Master. Apply at House Baudelaire today!

Hm. Katarina tapped her toe for a moment, thinking it over. Baudelaire? Why did that sound so familiar?

She shook her head, looking again at the poster.

A maid, hm?

Obviously, becoming a maid wasn’t her first choice for a job, but it didn’t look like she had too many options at the moment. Her main plan of action was becoming a farmer, and that was a bust, so clearly she’d have to weigh up her alternatives here.

“‘Help for one of the noble houses’? Like this?” Katarina was still inspecting the flyer as she off-handedly asked the fish merchant.

“Ehh… I dunno if I’d take that offer, lady. The Baudelaires ain’t exactly known for bein’ particularly hospitable. Their house is kinda known for… well. Let’s just say, I wouldn’t if I was you,” he answered dryly.

“Their house? Is it near here?” Katarina asked, despite the warnings.

The fish seller nodded, “Yeah, it’s the big one.”

“Where is it?” she couldn’t help her curiosity. Something about this all felt very… familiar.

The fishmonger pointed his thumb over his shoulder in the direction of the tall hills overlooking the town, “That one. On top o’ the tallest hill there.”

Katarina followed the man’s gaze as he pointed.

Oh.

Yeah, she… she could see why people might be reluctant to get a job there.

At the top of the tallest hill stood a large, gothic manor, looming over the little port town she had arrived in.

It was twisted, and crooked and dark. Everything about it gave off a very strong ‘stay away’ vibe.

In fact, it looked positively villainous.

Notes:

Here's a small update for this. I'm not abandoning this one; I've just been in a slump for a while. I'm going to focus on finishing Reset first (which I will hopefully update each Friday til it's done), then EE. I might update this a couple of times during that period, but I'll try to wrap those up before I focus on this one.

Anyways, here's another piece of this story, and yes Katarina is using the same alias she did in one of my other fics (because I'm lazy lol). This story isn't in the same continuity as that one though, it's a different story altogether. I wanted to write a fic where Katarina is totally out of her element, and not surrounded by a group of people who are eagerly defending everything she does, just to put her attempts to avoid her doom (or in this story's case, her boss' doom) on a bit higher level of difficulty.

Thanks for reading! Comments and constructive criticism are appreciated!

Chapter 3: The Song Remains the Same

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

Malicia was quickly getting tired of doing maid interviews.

No, scratch that. She was already well past the point of being tired. The first two candidates had already frayed her nerves by failing to meet even the most basic requirements for qualification to be a Baudelaire family servant. Naturally, Malicia had set the bar high when it came to signing maids on, especially her own personal attendant. She didn’t want just any street urchins to show up, expecting to find employment here!

Unfortunately, whatever advertisements Lawrence had put out to filter out the rabble hadn’t worked very well. Neither of the previous two applicants had even attended school!

Not to mention, the second applicant, upon closer inspection, had been “previously” employed by the House of LaCroix, and Malicia highly suspected foul play in the applicant’s decision to seek out employment as her personal maid. It wouldn’t be the first time one of the other noble houses sent a ‘recently fired’ servant or maid to House Baudelaire to undermine them from within.

Malicia tapped her heel, annoyed. Only three applicants in, and she was already frustrated.

Just the sight of this one was enough to make Malicia’s lip curl in disgust; long brunette hair, wide, vacuous eyes, the aura of an utter buffoon.

“May I ask your name?” Malicia requested tartly.

“R-Rina Clayton!” the brunette replied quickly. She had a foreign accent, Malicia noted. Already a mark against her.

“May I ask why you think you are qualified to be my personal attendant? Let alone be a servant of the most noble and venerated house of Baudelaire?” the blonde fixed Rina with a sharp look.

“Eh? Um… I… huh?” the candidate looked perplexed by her question.

Eyes narrowing, Malicia leaned in menacingly, “What are your qualifications to be my maid?”

“Oh! Uh…. I should have thought about that before, huh….”

Malicia’s already strained smile was tested even further.

“Well…” Rina Clayton clicked her tongue, searching for an answer, “… I’ve been to school. Twice, if you count Japan. And I had a part time job at Family Mart with Acchan one summer. Oh, and my tomatoes won 2nd place at the Harvest Festival produce contest three years in a row, and 1st place once.”

Malicia nearly had to bite her tongue to keep quiet. What sort of qualifications were those? Attending school was something (and it at least put her a notch above the previous two uneducated plebians, if only barely), but who in their right mind would consider winning a harvest festival a qualification for becoming a maid?

“Do you think this is some sort of game?” Malicia couldn’t help but voice her irritation with this particular candidate’s painfully casual manner of responding to her interview.

“No, I got exiled from the game,” Rina Clayton replied matter-of-factly.

“What?” Malicia didn’t even know how to respond to that.

“Oh, ehehe,” Rina rubbed the back of her neck, “It’s nothing, never mind. Just forget I said that.”

The Baudelaire heir stared, lips pursed, for a long moment. The peasant just gazed back at her, not a care in the world. After a while, Malicia sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose, “Miss Rina Clayton, do you know just which house you currently sit in?”

“Eh?”

“The Baudelaire family is the very most prestigious family in the nation of Ritallia, aside from the Royal family of course. We are the largest archduchy in the nation, and by far the most influential. As one of the founding houses of this nation, we take great pride in what it means to be a part of the nobility. And we do not tolerate street trash making a mockery of those facts. Now…” Malicia shot the peasant a poisonous smile, “… do you have any questions?”

“You’re really pretty, have we met somewhere before?” the brunette asked, not missing a beat.

Eh? Ehhhh? What kind of question was that?

“F-flattery will get you nowhere, plebian!” Malicia snapped, pointing an accusing finger at the foolish commoner across from her. Honestly, of course she was pretty! She was Malicia Baudelaire, the most beautiful woman in Ritallia! Feeling her face warm up a bit, she cleared her throat, “Ahem. I believe this interview has concluded.”

“So, do I get the job?” Rina asked hopefully.

Malicia could hardly believe any idiot would think they would still even be in the running after such a poor showing, “Well, Miss Rina Clayton, taking everything into consideration, I think the answer is a firm--”

“Ahem,” a voice from the doorway cut her off right before she could deliver the finishing blow. The blonde’s eyebrow twitched as she turned to the office door, where Lawrence stood waiting.

“My Lady, if I may have a moment of your time?” the dark haired man motioned for her to come over.

Malicia clicked her tongue. It wasn’t as if she was terribly fond of continuing to waste her time with this witless commoner trying to become her maid, but she still didn’t like to be interrupted in the middle of a task.

“Wait here,” Malicia commanded the maid applicant as she followed Lawrence out of the office.

---

Katarina kept feeling this weird nagging feeling somewhere in her mind. Everything since she’d arrived here felt… strangely familiar.

The kid who tricked her out of her bracelets, the poster with the maid ad, and now the girl she was being interviewed by all gave her the oddest feeling of déjà vu.

As Lady Malicia stepped out into the hall, Katarina looked around the office she was being interviewed in. It was big and creepy like the rest of the house. There were a bunch of ornate masks on the walls with empty eyes that stared down at her.

Over the desk hung a pair of equally large and imposing paintings; one of a man with blond hair like Malicia’s and a stern, cold look in his eyes, and the other… well, Katarina couldn’t really tell. It appeared to be a painting of a woman, but it had a dark veil draped over the top, so she couldn’t really see the face very well.

Honestly, she didn’t know why anybody would want to live in a place like this. Especially a super noble-y noblewoman like Lady Malicia. The whole house felt totally empty! It was like a ghost house from a scary movie or something….

As soon as she stepped in, she knew it was a different kind of estate from the ones she was used to back in Sorcier. Everything was clean and polished and well-kept, but it just felt lifeless. Normally back home, she’d have a couple of maids or even Tom the gardener to greet her with a big smile when she or any of her guests got to the house. This place felt more like a museum, though. It was a much larger estate, both in acres and actual building size than Claes manor, but it didn’t feel like a home at all. Just a big house.

Katarina sighed to herself; if she did land a maid job here, she really hoped they’d let her brighten the place up a little.

She kicked her feet idly beneath the chair. She’d never really thought about maid work in exile, but the more she thought about it, the more of a good idea it seemed.

She’d had Anne for basically as long as she could remember, so all she had to do was be a little more like her, and things would go smoothly, right?

Katarina waited patiently in the office for Malicia to return, trying to think just where exactly she’d met her before. She was sure she knew the blonde from somewhere! Her face, her name, her voice, even her ojou-sama type attitude; it all felt very familiar….

---

Malicia let out an irritated ‘tsk’ as her father’s attendant pulled her aside. What did he want, pulling her out of an interview like this? An interview which he’d pressured her into doing in the first place, mind you. And had he been eavesdropping the whole time?!

“I believe this Miss Rina Clayton is an ideal candidate to be your new attendant, my Lady,” Lawrence stated as if it were obvious.

“I beg your pardon, Lawrence?” she could only gape in response to that suggestion.

“She seems to be well suited to the task of being your personal maid. If I may give my personal recommendation, you should hire her,” the black haired man told her plainly.

“Lawrence?” she gave him a look, “Are you quite well? You haven’t come down with a fever have you?”

Malicia folded her arms. How could anyone in their right mind think this oaf was suited to be her attendant?

“I assure you, my Lady, I am fine,” he replied coolly.

She’d known her father’s aide long enough to know when he was joking and when he was serious. And, for better or worse, he was serious. Letting out a long, withering sigh, she decided to bite. She simply shot him a look and asked, “Reasons?”

“As you are no doubt aware, there are certain traits, beyond compatibility, House Baudelaire likes to see represented in our staff,” the butler told her.

“You mean the fact that she’s not here to infiltrate our house,” Malicia filled in the gaps. True, her father had sent her a list of qualities to look out for in applicants to ensure they weren’t saboteurs from other families or just outright thieves, a task which was more difficult than she would have expected.

Ideally, her personal maid should be a woman born to a common family from Ritallia, ideally from one of the farms that were currently in decline. This girl who was currently in her office was clearly not Ritallian.

“She does appear to be foreign, yes? I don’t know of a Clayton family anywhere around here,” Lawrence seemed to read her mind.

“Meaning she has no idea how this country works,” the blonde countered quickly.

“Her accent sounds Sorcierran,” Lawrence remarked, “She was probably being honest about receiving an education; likely even a complete one, considering the quality of the education system there. Not to mention, she has no affiliations with any of the other noble houses.”

“How could you possibly know that? You haven’t had nearly enough time to search her employment records. You don’t even know if ‘Rina Clayton’ is her real name!” Malicia shot back. She knew she was being dramatic, but still.

“Look at her,” Lawrence motioned to the gap in the door, through which the young woman could be seen. She was sitting plainly on her chair, idly kicking her feet back and forth like a child as she stared blankly into space. Her father’s attendant gave her a look, “Do you really think any other noble house would hire someone such as this?”

“Of course not, so why should we?” Malicia fired back at him, not missing a beat.

“My Lady,” Lawrence gave her a serious look, “Consider that, since this young woman doesn’t appear to have the mind to sabotage our house… we may find some such use in her ourselves.”

Oh. So that was his angle, hm? Hire on a useful idiot, some poor sap from another country who just washed in, and use her behind the scenes to pry into the other noble houses’ affairs? Malicia narrowed her eyes, first at Lawrence, then back at Rina Clayton.

Even so….

“Do you really think she looks clever enough to pull off anything like that?” Malicia challenged.

“It’s not as if she needs to be fully aware of what she’s doing, you know,” the dark haired man explained, “Simply send her on a few errands to the other houses, or even have her work behind the scenes at galas and events. She could be a useful source of intelligence into other houses weak points if you play your cards right.”

“B-but, Lawrence…!” Malicia gave a half-hearted protest. Her father’s attendant made a solid case, as per usual. She still wasn’t quite on board with the idea of hiring on this half-wit as her own aid, however.

“You’re welcome to turn her away if you loathe her that much, my Lady,” Lawrence  told her, before adding, “However, I doubt your father would approve if you were to let such a golden opportunity pass you by. Do think on the matter, if you would.”

With that, the butler nodded curtly, and stepped retreated down the corridor, leaving Malicia to her thoughts.

She sighed, rubbing her eyes. As much as she hated to admit it, Lawrence had a point. Something about Rina Clayton grated her nerves, but she could be useful. Not to mention, Malicia was a fairly capable young lady; she didn’t need a maid to wait on her at all hours. She could simply handle most of her affairs by herself, and send this foreign idiot to do grunt work when she wasn’t out spying on the other houses.

Annoyed, she stepped back into the office.

“Miss Rina Clayton,” she addressed the applicant.

No response. The brunette continued staring off into the distance out the window.

Malicia clicked her tongue. She walked up until she was right behind the commoner, brought her fingers together, and snapped as loudly as she possibly could right into Rina’s ear. The brunette nearly jumped a foot into the air.

“Ahem, Miss Rina Clayton,” she tried again.

“Ehhh?! Oh, right! That’s me!” she straightened up sharply, “Yes, Lady Malicia?”

“It seems that… due to… circumstances… it would be my great… pleasure,” Malicia had a hard time saying that word, given the situation. She cleared her throat and continued, “… to hire you on as my personal attendant.”

“R-really?!” Rina reached out, taking her hand. Her eyes were wide like a kid that had just been given a piece of candy, “Thank you, thank you so much! I’ll be the best maid you’ve ever had, just you watch!”

Malicia jumped back, lip curling in disgust at the outburst.

Hmph. The young lady narrowed her eyes at the lowly commoner. If this plebian was to be her only option for a maid, Malicia would make sure she got put quite thoroughly through the wringer. She made her way over to the desk, drew a paper and quill from it, and started jotting down a list of chores for Rina to do over the coming week. 

“Maid!” Malicia called sharply, not bothering with her name.

“Me? That’s me! I’m the maid!” Rina awkwardly rushed over to her side, “What’s up, do you need something?”

The blonde felt her eye twitch at that casual demeanor of hers. With a huff, she presented the list of daily tasks to her new hire, “Here. You will complete these by nightfall,” she then handed her another list, “And these by the week’s end. Are you clear?”

“Sure thing, Malicia!” the brunette chirped happily.

“Aren’t you being a little informal with that attitude?” Malicia spat back at her.

“Oh, right, gotta be more like Anne,” the commoner muttered to herself, giving an awkward salute as she answered again, “I’ll do all the tasks here right away, my Lady!”

Pointing her in the direction of the maids’ quarters to be fitted for a uniform, Malicia tapped her toe. She considered the costs of hiring on this Rina Clayton character. She may be of benefit to the House of Baudelaire, but she hoped her patience could endure her.

Outside the window of her office, she watched as the brunette wandered down towards the maid’s quarters at the edge of the property. She gave a big grin and a wave to a passing member of the gardening staff. No person could be that cheerful all the time, Malicia thought to herself. She was like a living ball of annoyance.

Malicia sighed wearily. She hoped she’d be able to tolerate this… person for the next few months.

---

Letting out a huge sigh, Katarina flopped down on the tiny futon in the maids’ quarters.

Ah, it had been so long since she’d slept on the floor! The last time that came to mind was when she slept on the futon at Acchan’s place when they stayed up late binging Fruits Basket. Ahh… those were the days, Katarina mused wistfully, sinking into the cozy little mat.

The other maids were quietly winding down their duties for the day as well. She’d have to introduce herself to them early tomorrow, hopefully she could make a good impression on them.

It had been a long, hectic day. She’d hardly seen Lady Malicia after the interview; most of the chores the heiress tasked her with were outside the manor, while Malicia herself spent the day in her own room. She’d spent most of the day hauling tools from the shed over to the front gardens and tending to some of the trees and shrubs near the front of the estate. Katarina had thought being Malicia’s personal maid meant being by her side more, but she wasn’t complaining! A nice, cool day like this was perfect for doing some gardening!

She hadn’t really been expecting to become a maid after getting exiled, but Malicia seemed like such a nice master so far!

Idly, Katarina wondered if Malicia was feeling lonely. She sure spent a lot of time by herself. Sometimes Anne would come into her bedroom back home and tuck her back into bed once she kicked the blankets off herself at night. Maybe she’d do the same for Malicia one of these days….

Skimming the list of tasks she was supposed to do tomorrow brightened her mood considerably. Despite her current situation, she could at least look forward to being able to re-trowel the garden, deal with the snakes by the back fence, and… ooh! She even got to sew new pajamas for Lady Malicia!

Katarina could hardly believe her luck! This maid gig didn’t seem half bad so far!

She couldn’t wait to tell Anne about this next time she--!

Katarina froze.

She… wouldn’t be seeing Anne again, would she?

That was how exile worked. It was a one-way trip.

To her surprise, she felt a little wetness around her eyes. Katarina screwed her eyes shut, blinking the tears away.

No, no! She couldn’t sit around crying! She had a job to do now! She had to be Lady Malicia’s maid! With any luck, she’d be able to be as good a maid to Malicia as Anne had been to her!

Right. She wasn’t Katarina Claes anymore. She was Rina Clayton- maid extraordinaire!

And her boss was Malicia Baudelaire. It was a pretty name, Katarina thought to herself.

It was the same name as the villainess character from Love’s Uprising, the otome game she and Acchan had played a few months before Fortune Lover.

And Lady Malicia looked and acted exactly like the game character too.

Huh, weird.

With a gentle sigh, Katarina rested her head on her pillow, easing herself into a good night’s sleep.

……

………

Katarina sat bolt upright on her futon.

“EHHHHHhhhh?!?!”

Notes:

Another chapter of this... somehow. IDK, I just had a spark, and felt like writing it. This fic will probably be more fun and comedic than some of my others, although I try to keep all my fics somewhat light!

Thanks for reading!

Chapter 4: Hey, Hey, What Can I Do?

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

“Attention!” Chairwoman Katarina banged her gavel, “I now call to order the first meeting for the strategic analysis of the otome game ‘Love’s Uprising’!”

Deep within Katarina’s mind, her Inner Council was once again summoned for an urgent meeting. Her little selves gathered round the familiar table, in front of a large screen to display her thoughts.

“Is it true? Are we really in another otome game?” Timid Katarina asked nervously.

“It seems to be the case,” Chairwoman informed them, folding her hands in front of her face.

“What do we do?” Timid asked.

“For now, let’s just remember everything we can about this other otome game,” Logical told them. Hastily, she stood before the group, adjusting her glasses, “So, the story of Love’s Uprising is basically this: it’s a Cinderella-type story.”

“Right! The heroine, Clara Kettle is working at the farm of the family that adopted her, until their farm starts doing poorly due to bad weather,” Chairwoman Katarina added.

“I guess that’s the drought that fisherman guy at the port told us about…” Timid Katarina shrugged, looking at the screen which displayed an image of the fishmonger they’d first met when they arrived.

“So, she looks for work in town, and finds a flyer- a want ad for help at a noble house! And she applies, and due to the circumstances, ends up hired on as a maid!” Aggressive Katarina continued, as the image on the screen changed to the maid flyer they’d found, which led them to Lady Malicia’s house in the first place.

“Yeah! That’s why the flyer looked familiar; it was the one from the game!” Happy Katarina nodded with a smile.

“Which means…” Logical started to put the pieces together.

“We stole the heroine’s job!?!” the Council chorused in unison.

“Uwahhhh!” Timid squeaked in shame, “Even in exile, we can’t stop hurting heroines!”

“This is the worst! We’ll hit even more doom flags, even though we’re already exiled!” Aggressive slammed her fist on the table.

“Wh-where does that leave the heroine? Is she poor and homeless now that we have the maid job?” Timid asked quietly.

“We don’t know. We’ll have to track her down and see if we can help her soon,” Logical responded. The others made a note to keep their eyes out for the game’s heroine next time they went into town.

“Let’s not give up yet! There’s a lot more to the story!” Chairwoman ordered the group.

“Indeed. It has a French Revolution-type setting, and tells the rags-to-riches story of the main heroine,” Logical started, the screen shifting to show some scenes from the game, “There are 4 capture targets- 3 main ones and a hidden route that unlocks when you clear the first three. Prince Alexander and Prince Maximillian are the most popular ones.”

The screen showed two men, one with perfectly combed black hair and the label Prince Alexander, and the other with spiky brown hair and a wide, confident grin, with the words Prince Maximillian.  

“Prince Alexander is a highly polished gentleman, kind of like Prince Geordo, but less black hearted,” Logical continued, “He’s smart and charismatic, and wants to do his best to fix the country, since it has a lot of problems. In the game, he’s always trying to solve things before the revolution starts, so things don’t get violent.”

“He’s also Lady Malicia’s love interest!” Happy chimed in.

“Right,” Logical nodded, “In his route, Clara meets him by chance, and he is taken by her kindness and gentle soul. But since she’s Lady Malicia’s maid, Malicia spends the whole game tormenting her, and keeping her from seeing him again.”

“D-does that mean… Lady Malicia is going to torment us?” Timid tapped her fingers together nervously.

“Not necessarily,” Logical replied, “All we have to do is stay away from the Prince!”

“That sounds like a good start,” Chairwoman agreed, “But what if she’s still mean to us?”

“… I guess we’ll have to figure that out as we go,” Logical adjusted her glasses. The others nodded in agreement.

“Anyways, what about the other routes?” Aggressive suggested, “Maybe she’d be nicer in one of the others!”

“Next, there’s the Prince Maximillian route,” Happy grinned, “He’s an athlete and a hunter!”

“Yes, he has the national record for javelin throwing, and, despite being a prince, often partakes in sports like jousting and hand to hand fighting,” Logical elaborated, “The royal advisors often tell him it’s beneath his station, but since he’s so strong, they can’t really stop him, and eventually decided to let him do as he pleases. He doesn’t really have any interest in being the king; he just wants to have fun and fight.”

“He’s also an amazing chef!” Happy added with an eager look.

“True, his character does a lot of hunting, and a found new ways to cook the meat of the animals he hunts,” Aggressive confirmed.

“I hope we get to try some of his food someday!” Happy cupped her cheeks, eager to have a delicious meal.

“Lady Malicia is the rival in that route too,” Logical added, bringing the cheerful mood of the room down a notch, “She’s not in love with Prince Maximillian, but she hates the idea of a commoner getting comfortable around the royal family.”

“So she’s mean in that route too….” Timid muttered sadly.

 “There’s also Sir Chevalier, the knight,” Chairwoman explained. An image of a gentle looking figure with long blue hair appeared on the screen

“He’s a poet with a wandering soul,” Logical added.

“He always gets lost… which is how he meets the heroine in the first place!” Happy explained, “He’s a really great swordsman, but he prefers to never use his sword at all. He’s a big believer in the ‘pen is mightier than the sword’ idea!”

“The romantic rival in his route isn’t Malicia this time, it’s Lena LaCroix,” Logical pointed to the screen, where a woman with long black hair, and a matching black dress appeared. She had a cold, calculating look, making her appear more like a villainess than Malicia, “She’s not as cruel as Malicia, but she can be a bit… underhanded.”

“We should watch out for her…” Timid squeaked, “She looks scary…”

“And last, there’s the hidden route… Tommy Finch,” Logical added, the screen changing to show a familiar face; one they had encountered earlier that day.

“Grrr, that guy,” Aggressive Katarina glared at the screen, “He ripped us off!”

“Maybe he has his reasons?” Timid suggested.

“I don’t know, we never played the hidden route!” Happy nodded with a smile.

“Yeah, we never got past the Prince Alexander route!” Aggressive reminded them, “We only played the Prince Maximillian and Sir Chevalier routes!”

“I guess we have trouble with cold hearted princes?” Timid murmured sadly.

“Hey, do you think Geordo was the one who sent us into exil--” Aggressive started.

“Anyways,” Logical cut her off, “The story ends a bit differently in each route, but the routes have a lot of similarities. At the end, Clara gets her memories back, and realizes she’s actually Claudette de Leon! She’s the heir to one of the biggest noble houses in Ritallia, and she was adopted by a farm family, after an accident separated her from her family and caused her to lose her memories when she was little! She’s humble from her days as a farmer and a maid, but with a noble title and the support of the commoners, she’s able to bring peace to the nation before the revolution gets too far.”

The others nodded, watching the heroic looking Clara/Claudette standing in front of the masses, soothing them, and preventing the destruction of the country.

“So, what about Malicia?” Timid asked.

The image on the screen shifted to show an image from the game showing their new boss, standing wickedly above the heroine, hand cupped in front of her mouth in the classic ‘ohohohoho’ pose.

“She’s a cruel, scheming villainess!” Aggressive glared at the screen.

“She’s like Katarina in Fortune Lover!” Timid cried out in shock.

“No, I’d say she’s worse,” Logical adjusted her glasses, “Whereas Katarina was mostly just a bully who picked on Maria in particular, Lady Malicia was the bane of the common folk in the game. She became a central figure of the revolution because of how poorly she treated all the commoners in Ritallia.”

“Really?” Happy asked curiously, “She seems pretty nice so far! She even let us tend to the gardens on the first day!”

“Perhaps there’s something we’re missing,” Logical pondered, “In the game… doesn’t Lady Malicia only start doing mean things to commoners after the game starts?”

“You mean, she hasn’t done anything bad yet?” Happy asked hopefully.

“I don’t know about that,” Logical tapped her chin, “…but she doesn’t push her family to levee the taxes until after she hires Clara! That’s what causes the peasants to start hating her in the first place!”

There was a long moment of silence before….

“…do you think we could stop her?” Timid asked nervously.

“It’s worth a try!” Aggressive said, not missing a beat.

“Yeah!” Happy cheered, “Especially since….”

She trailed off, but the others knew where she was going.

“In the good ends, she’s torn away from her house and forced to work as a laborer, becoming the very type of peasant she always hated,” Logical showed an image of Lady Malicia looking miserable, working on her knees to clean the deck of a ship at the harbor.

“And… in the bad ends…”

The screen above the table changed to show an image of a guillotine on a platform, poised in front of an angry crowd of commoners.

“The revolution goes a bit too far…” Timid murmured, frightened.

“What about the Chevalier route?” Aggressive asked, “She’s not the love rival in that route… even though she does bully the heroine a lot….”

“I don’t remember if anything happens to her in the good ending of that one,” Logical mused, “Lena is the main rival there, so Malicia’s schemes kind of take a back seat in that story….”

“But, in the bad end…” Timid looked worried.

 “…she gets killed in that one too!” Chairwoman slammed her hands down on the table.

Timid Katarina clasped her hands to her head, “This is awful! Poor Lady Malicia! She might be mean, but she doesn’t deserve to die, does she?”

“To be fair, we may be a bit biased on that matter,” Logical replied, reminding them of how narrowly they’d dodged their own death flag by getting exiled, “But it is a fair point. I don’t think we should let Lady Malicia get killed either.”

“Yeah!” Aggressive pumped a fist, “Us villainesses gotta stick together, right?”

“L-let’s just not do anything too dangerous… and avoid doom flags for ourselves,” Timid agreed.

“So then, we have decided to dedicate our time as Lady Malicia’s maid to helping her avoid her own doom?” Logical pushed her glasses up.

“Yes! If we can find a way to make her nice, she could help a lot of people!” Aggressive said with a confident grin.

“Yeah! Plus, dealing with Malicia’s doom flags will help us not to think about the crushing despair and loneliness we’re feeling since we can’t see any of our friends again!” Happy added cheerily.

“Yay!” the council cheered unanimously in agreement, opting not to think too hard about that last point.

“Then it’s agreed. Our plan from now on will be to help Lady Malicia avoid her doom as best we can!” Chairman Katarina banged the gavel, concluding the first Love’s Uprising Doom Flag Avoidance meeting.

 ---

Gripping her fists, Katarina stood up, determined.

Yeah, Malicia might be a villainess in the game, but if she hadn’t done any of the bad stuff yet, she could still be saved! Plus, even if she did treat the heroine poorly, she didn’t deserve to die for it!

Katarina felt a newfound determination as she gathered a small journal from the maids’ quarters, and began jotting down notes on everything she could remember about Love’s Uprising. If she played things right, she just might be able to stop somebody from meeting the same awful fate as she had.

Scribbling down notes long into the night, Katarina hoped she could find a way to stop Malicia from being mean to the commoners and save her life somehow.

It might be a long and uneven road ahead of her, but Katarina would do her best to help her new boss avoid her own doom as best she could!

~~~

At that very moment, across the seas, back in a now vacant dormitory of the Sorcier Magical Academy, a different maid was pacing back and forth with worry.

Anne Shelley did her best to calm herself as she swept Lady Katarina’s room for perhaps the hundredth time.

It had been more than a day since anyone had seen Lady Katarina. To go more than a day without seeing someone would not normally be cause for concern, were it not for the fact that the ‘someone’ in question was nearly constantly surrounded by a buzzing swarm of admirers and companions.

As much as she appreciated the boundless kindness of her Lady’s heart, Anne often worried that Lady Katarina’s eagerness to help others would land her in trouble someday. She shook her head; ridding herself of the thoughts of all the places Lady Katarina could be right then.

Maybe she’d run across someone having trouble on their farm when she went into town, and casually agreed to go with them to help out. Yes, quite right. That sounded so very much like something her Lady would do.

‘My Lady, you really ought not go off and get involved in strangers’ affairs without telling anyone’ she’d say.

‘Sorry, Anne, I just got caught up in the moment!’ Lady Katarina would respond, a goofy grin on her face as usual.

Then, Anne would sigh, and shake her head, hoping her Lady would learn to be more attentive and tell others what she was planning to do.

Yes, that was what would happen. Her Lady would come back through the doors any second now.

As if on cue, there was a knock at the door to her room. Perhaps a little too quickly, Anne rushed to open it. The maid felt her face fall as someone other than Lady Katarina opened the door.

“Anne,” Keith greeted her, looking as weary as she felt.

“Master Keith,” she addressed him politely. Even though she already knew the answer, Anne felt the need to ask, “Have you had any luck locating her?”

Keith ran his hand through his hair, stepping into his sister’s room, “No one has heard or seen anything.”

Anne closed her eyes, trying not to let her nerves get the best of her.

 “I’ll keep looking,” Keith told her, “Geordo and Mary are investigating the ladies who confronted her in the cafeteria yesterday, to see if they know anything. I’ll let you know as soon as I know more.”

“Yes, Master Keith,” Anne nodded politely, “I will stay alert as well; if I see anything, I shall tell you right away.”

“She’s safe, Anne. She’s okay,” Keith said, more to himself than to her.

Anne nodded in agreement. Her Lady was okay. She was safe… somewhere out there.

She had to be.

After that, Master Keith stepped out, leaving Anne to her thoughts again.

With a weary sigh, Anne sat down upon Katarina’s bed, adjusting her pillows, even though she had no idea whether her young charge would even return by the day’s end. She reassured herself Lady Katarina would be back, but she didn’t feel confident in that.

She began adjusting the sheets, making the bed again. She’d already made it twice now; this was round three. Carefully tucking the sheets deep under her Lady’s mattress, Anne’s fingers brushed against something solid. The maid reached under the mattress to retrieve the out-of-place object.

It was a small book, a desk diary, one she’d seen Lady Katarina with a number of times over the years, with Katarina: Secret scrawled on the cover, along with a few runes Anne couldn’t identify.

Anne pursed her lips. Katarina had told her to never open it, and she’d done her best to obey her Lady’s wishes thus far, but… maybe there was something useful in it.

Notes:

I'm having a lot of fun writing this one, so here's another chapter!
Next chapter, the harem starts digging into Katarina's disappearance, and the chapter after that, we get to start to see Kat's first week as Malicia's maid!
Thanks for reading!

Chapter 5: Dazed and Confused

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

Flipping to a random page, Anne was surprised to learn she had no idea what the book said.

It appeared to be written in an entirely different language… or, at least, parts of it were. The first pages were mainly in strange, foreign runes, but there was more and more Sorcierran mixed in as time went on.

She landed on another page, this time written in Sorcierran, in her Lady’s familiar, legible yet messy script.

 

I just hope I can grow the right veggies in whatever country I get sent to. It would be bad if I spent all this time prepping to farm crops, and the kind I know how to tend to don’t even grow wherever I end up.

 

Anne thought over that for a moment. The country she gets sent to? What on earth did Lady Katarina mean by that? No one had any plans for her to study abroad, and, considering her hesitation to even let Katarina attend the Academy, Anne was quite sure the Duchess Claes would be more than hesitant to send her daughter anywhere else.

 

It’s getting kind of late in the semester. Someday soon will be the judgment event, where one of the capture targets presents my crimes and I face my fate. I know I haven’t done any of the crimes, but I still get nervous. What if something changes? What if it’s unavoidable?

 

Anne read through it a few times.

She’d heard about the commotion in the cafeteria yesterday, where a group of noblewomen had accused Lady Katarina of bizarre things she had certainly never done. It came completely out of nowhere… or so she’d thought….

But the way things were written in this book… had Lady Katarina known it would happen?

Anne’s worry grew as she read it over and over.

There were a few scribbled out lines, and bits in that other language from the rest of the book, but she carried on, looking for anything that might tell her where her Lady though she would be sent to.

And then she flipped the page… and felt her blood run cold.

 

I really hope everybody is okay after I’m gone. I know I’ll miss them.

---

Maria sat down in the Student Council room, worry evident on her face.

Lady Katarina was missing! It was awful news; it made her heart hurt just to think about!

She prayed nothing bad had happened to Lady Katarina! As kind as Katarina could be, she was often very… odd in her approach to things, and Maria hoped she hadn’t somehow found herself in danger because of that.

Making things worse was the situation that had happened in the cafeteria just before Katarina had vanished. Maria just couldn’t for the life of her understand why those ladies had accused Lady Katarina of such random crimes out of the blue. It was insulting to her and to Lady Katarina!

However… Maria had spoken to Prince Geordo earlier that morning. The prince had evidently been looking deeply into why they had suddenly accused his fiancée publicly like that… and his findings were… strange.

“They don’t seem to even remember confronting her that day,” Geordo had told her earlier, adding another layer of unease to the already bizarre situation.

Maria recalled the strange, almost eerily distant looks in the girls’ eyes when they faced Lady Katarina that day.

And she recalled the strange shadows and darkness that seemed to fade out of the ladies as they ran off. She couldn’t help but feel that there was something going on here, something she was missing.

“Miss Campbell, are you well?” a voice from the front desk shook her from her thoughts.

“Oh, yes, thank you for your concern, President!” Maria gave him a small smile of reassurance.

“Perhaps I could pour you some tea?” he suggested, already preparing a cup and saucer.

“Oh, that would be lovely, thank you!” Maria agreed. Yes, perhaps some of Lord Dieke’s soothing tea could ease her nerves.

“Here you go,” he said, offering her the beverage with a smile that didn’t quite seem to reach his eyes.

“Ah, thank you, President!” Maria smiled as he handed her the tea cup.

She noticed his hands shaking ever so slightly as he did so.

“A-are you okay, President?”

“I’m quite alright, Miss Campbell,” he replied politely.

It felt like a real answer, but for some reason she couldn’t place, it didn’t feel like he was being totally honest either.

She decided not to press the matter for the time being, and quietly sipped her tea, looking out the window.

She wanted to believe that the ladies confronting Katarina right before she disappeared had all been an odd coincidence, and that Lady Katarina had somehow stumbled into a bizarre but harmless adventure she would quickly return from.

Still… that day, in the courtyard, after those girls accused Lady Katarina, she knew she saw something; a dark, coiling shadow, creeping around the corners of the hedges at the edge of the lawn. It was the same shadow that floated around those ladies in the cafeteria just moments earlier.

It seemed like no one else saw it, but she knew she hadn’t imagined it.

Maria wanted to go off and see what it was, but the others had held her back, and she didn’t want to raise any suspicion. She now wished she had, though. Somehow, she couldn’t shake the feeling that, if she’d gone by herself that day, Lady Katarina would still be here….

There was something fishy about those shadows that moved on their own, that only she could see.

And, as much as she didn’t want to see them again, Maria was quite sure she saw the edges of President Sirius’ shadow twitch in a very unnatural manner….

Notes:

Anne and the harem are starting to ask questions... they may not like the answers they find....

Next chapter, Katarina officially starts her job as Malicia's maid!

Thanks for reading!

Chapter 6: Living Maid Easy

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

~~~

Monday

~~~

Katarina awoke to the tinny ringing of a rusty bell.

Sitting up blearily, she rubbed her eyes as she recalled where she was and what had happened the day before. No longer was she being awakened by a gentle nudge and a ‘My Lady, it’s time for you to wake up’ from Anne. Now she was sleeping on the floor of the servant’s quarters of the Baudelaire house, somewhere in northern Ritallia.

“Miss New Maid?” a small voice asked from her bedside, rousing her from her slumber.

Katarina turned to find a small woman with short, dark hair looking at her curiously.

“It’s K-er, Rina. Rina Clayton,” Katarina told her, recalling the alias she’d given herself the day before.

“Oh, okay, I’ll be sure to remember that,” she responded in a voice that Katarina thought sounded a bit less than genuine. Somehow, Katarina got the vibe that there was a pretty rapid employee turnover rate here.

“You are Lady Baudelaire’s new attendant?” another maid with similar dark hair asked her nervously.

“Yeah, I am!” Katarina pumped her fist enthusiastically. The two other maids exchanged glances. Katarina turned to face her new co-workers eagerly, “By the way, what are your names?”

“I’m Nellie,” the first answered.

“I’m Ellie,” the second answered.

“Are you two…?” Katarina started.

“Twins? Yes, we are,” the pair replied in unison.

“Hmm, Nellie and Ellie, huh? That’s fun to say!” Katarina chirped happily.

The twins stared at her with faces so expressionless they would give Nicol a run for his money! Ellie and Nellie were quite identical, unlike the only twins she knew in Sorcier, Geordo and Alan. Their only difference appeared to be that Nellie’s hair parted to the left, while Ellie’s parted to the right.

“So, Lady Baudelaire really hired you?” Ellie asked.

“Yeah, she said it was a great pleasure to hire me!” Katarina responded proudly. Come to think of it, she was pretty sure it was a nicer welcome than Malicia had given Clara in the game….

The sisters exchanged another look.

“In any case,” Nellie looked Katarina over once more, “Are you sure you are fit for that role?”

“Eh?” Katarina tilted her head. She had vowed to herself to be the best maid Lady Malicia had ever had! Pumping her fist, she confidently answered, “Yeah, definitely!”

“Your hair is rather long, though?” Ellie asked, tugging at her long, brunette locks.

“Eh? Oh,” Katarina realized then that they hadn’t meant ‘fit’ in the sense of her dedication to the job, they meant her looks. She glanced around at the other women in the servantry. None of them had hair past their chins, in sharp contrast to her hip-length mane.

“Long hair is something of a status symbol here. It may be seen as disrespectful to our Lady to have hair longer than her own,” Nellie explained.

“R-right,” Katarina had a sinking feeling she knew where this was going.

“Would you like me to cut it for you, Rina?” Nellie asked her.

“Y-yeah, I guess so,” the brunette trailed a hand through her tresses hesitantly.

“How would you like it styled?”

Hm. Well, if she was going to be a maid, then her hair should be….

Pointing to a certain length on her hair, she asked, “Could you cut it like this?”

---

A few minutes later, Katarina heard the final snip of the scissors as Nellie completed her hair styling.

“There, all done,” the maid informed her, offering her a hand mirror to look at her new style.

Katarina hummed to herself, tapping the new ends of her hair.

“Is it satisfactory, Miss Clayton?” Nellie asked.

“Yeah! It looks great!” Katarina responded enthusiastically, although she was a little sad to lose so much of her hair; it was one of the few things she was kind of proud of in this second life of hers! That said, her new haircut resembled that of the most maid-like person Katarina knew, Anne!

“I need to enhance my Anne-like aura, and become even more maid-ish!” Katarina pumped her fists. Drawing the list of chores she had been assigned from her pocket, Katarina muttered, “Oh yeah, I should probably check up on Malicia soon.”

“These… are the things Lady Baudelaire requested of you?” Ellie asked, glancing over her shoulder at the list.

“Yeah,” Katarina responded.

“I would have thought being her personal attendant would entail more… personal work,” Nellie murmured, looking at the list for herself.

As she scanned the list of chores, Katarina realized the twins had a point; it didn’t look like she’d see Malicia that much today, she noted glumly. She had hoped to have more one-on-one time with Malicia to try and convince her not to be a villainess, but she supposed that would have to wait for now.

Still, she wasn’t too disappointed; after all, her daily chores involved a lot of outdoors work!

With a skip in her step, Katarina made her way out to the gardens, paying no mind to the looks Ellie and Nellie gave her as she left.

~~~

Tuesday

~~~

Katarina hadn’t seen much of Malicia yesterday, but today her new boss had asked her to fetch her tea. Making her way into one of the opulent manor’s many parlors, the recently hired maid sat the tea she was delivering down on the opulent center table where Malicia was idly reading.

“Eighteen seconds?” the blonde asked, not looking up from her book.

“Eh?” Katarina looked up at her boss, confused.

“It took you that long to cross this room with a tea tray?” Malicia asked, clearly irritated, tapping an ornate gold pocket watch with her forefinger. She had apparently been hiding the watch inside her book as Katarina had been sent off to get the tea.

“You were timing me?”

“My time is of the essence, plebian. I don’t wish to wait all day for you to cross a room,” Malicia huffed taking a sip.

“R-right,” Katarina nodded. As a matter of fact, she was pretty sure there had been a similar scene in Love’s Uprising, when Clara had been asked to fetch tea for Lady Malicia. The details of it were fuzzy, as it had been a while since Katarina thought in depth about any non-Fortune-Lover otome games, but she did clearly recall how particular Malicia was about Clara being as punctual as possible, making sure to give her hell any time the maid was even a second off-schedule.

Katarina braced herself, hoping her punishment wasn’t too severe….

“Why are you dawdling about?” Malicia’s sharp voice cut through Katarina’s thoughts.

“Eh?”

“Didn’t I give you a list of other chores to attend to?” the blonde snipped, apparently engrossed in her reading again.

“O-oh! Right away, Lady Malicia!” Katarina gave her an awkward salute, slipping out of the parlor quietly. She had been fairly sure that scene in the game ended with Clara getting a much harsher scolding and punishment. Deciding she must have remembered it wrong, Katarina made her way down to the shed to fetch some tools to replace some exterior tiles on the mansion.

But still… if Lady Malicia wanted her to get around the mansion quicker… around this mansion… with its shiny, polished floors….

Katarina’s eyes widened as she suddenly had an idea.

---

Later that afternoon, Malicia had requested another cup of tea. By the time Katarina made her way to the parlor, she found Malicia sitting in front of the wide window in the room, orange rays of setting sun illuminating her as she read her book again. The maid made a mental note to ask her what book it was sometime. Maybe Malicia liked romance stories too!

Katarina didn’t want to run the risk of annoying her boss by being too slow all the time, so she’d thought up an ingenious solution!  A brilliant way to maneuver about the house quickly, without wasting as much time.

“Here’s your teeeeeaaaaa!” Katarina squealed as she slid to a halt in front of the heiress.

“What on earth are you doing?” Malicia slammed her book down, looking up in surprise at her faithful maid.

“You said it took me too long to walk across the room,” Katarina held up one of her feet so Malicia could see it, “So I got some slidy socks!”

“Slidy socks?” Malicia’s eye twitched.

“I couldn’t find any roller skates,” Katarina murmured. She had looked, by the way. She’d even tried screwing some wheels onto a boot, but she couldn’t quite get them to work right.

Not wasting any time, Katarina held up the tea tray, “Well, here’s you- woah!”

As Katarina moved to set the tea tray down, her slidy socks proved too slidy for her, and she pitched off balance, dropping the tray and smashing every teacup it contained.

There was a moment of awkward silence in the parlor before Katarina tried to defend herself, “Ehehe… you know, the clumsy maid archetype is pretty popular in Japan these days?”

“What are you blithering about? Clean this mess up and fetch me my tea!” Malicia shouted, red with anger, before adding, “And put on some proper footwear!”

~~~

Wednesday

~~~

Malicia tapped her fingers on the wood of her desk, curls of her hair bouncing occasionally, as she took detailed notes, studying the text of the large leather tome once more.

She’d spent the last several days brushing up on national records and by-laws, training herself as thoroughly as she could to prepare for her upcoming interview.

Unlike some of their neighboring countries, Ritallia did not have the tradition of arranged marriages. Instead, after their 16th birthday, nobles would seek out marriage interviews with one another, most often with the goal of marrying into a higher house and raising their rank. There were exceptions, of course, but Malicia was primarily focused on marrying the nation’s first prince, Prince Alexander. With any luck, she would be able to convince him to accept her offer of marriage during her upcoming interview with him in just a few short months.

The blonde set down her pen for a moment, gazing out the window… where her eyes landed on her new maid, Rina Clayton.

After that whole fiasco with the tea yesterday, Malicia had half a mind to kick the maid off her property altogether. If not for the fact that her hands were effectively tied where her maid’s employment was concerned, she probably would have. Although… there was something odd about Rina. She was entirely lacking in any social graces Malicia’s previous maids had tried to uphold, and had an utterly bizarre approach to most chores she was given.

Case and point, Malicia had tasked her new maid with trimming the trees and hedges in front of her manor. It was merely some tedious busywork to keep Rina from infuriating her any further until she could make use of the maid to gather information during an upcoming gala on anything the other houses may be scheming. She hadn’t expected Rina to have even completed a single tree in the few hours she had been working, but to her surprise, nearly half the row of trees had been immaculately trimmed and reshaped. The heiress found herself oddly fascinated by the way her maid swung from branch to branch, like a gibbon.

She was now moving into another tree, just by swinging to another branch. Malicia surmised it would be a difficult feat for someone dressed to the task, but to so while dressed as a maid?

Whatever job Rina had before this must have involved a lot of tree climbing to handle it so skillfully. The heiress was equal parts annoyed and entranced by the maid’s bizarre behavior. At least she was efficient, Malicia mused.

“My Lady, you--” a voice came from behind her, much to her surprise.

“Hah!” Malicia jumped, spinning around to face the intruder, “Lawrence, don’t sneak up on me like that!”

“I’ve been here for several minutes, Lady Malicia. I knocked at your door before entering, as always,” the butler replied curtly. He seemed to have noticed where Malicia had been looking before he came in, smiling ever so slightly as he added, “However, if someone else has drawn your eye…”

“As if that plebian could keep my attention!” Malicia lied, mentally kicking herself for being so easily distracted. Crossing her arms, the blonde turned her attention back to her studies.

“I would have thought you would move to fire her by now, Lady Malicia,” Lawrence spoke from behind her.

“You told me I had to keep the next maid I hired for at least three months, right?” Malicia shot the butler a glare, “It’s only been three days.”

“Yes, but even so. I’m impressed by your patience,” the dark haired man commended her.

“You make it sound like I’m a child, Lawrence. I can tolerate an imbecile if I must,” Malicia sighed, annoyed.

“As you say, my Lady,” her father’s butler nodded, face unreadable as always, as he stepped back out into the hall.

Malicia shot one last glance out the window, where Rina was grinning widely as she swung from branch to branch, trimming trees as easily as one walks down the street. Between her sharp, bright eyes, her unusual set of skills, and her unflappable optimism and confidence, there was something about Rina Clayton that Malicia just found... intriguing, if nothing else.

She shook her head; now was no time to worry about such things. Picking up her pen again, the heiress turned her mind back to her studies.

~~~

Thursday

~~~

Rain was lashing the windows as night fell on House Baudelaire.

It wasn’t the first time it had rained since Katarina had arrived here. In fact, the weather here seemed a lot harsher in general compared to Sorcier; it was grey and cloudy almost every day!

That was another thing Katarina had noticed. Ever since she’d arrived here, it was cold! It got cold during winter in Sorcier too, but this place was a lot further north, and the city of Dumont was right on the sea, inviting the chilly ocean breeze at all hours of the day.

After another long day of barely seeing her boss, Katarina made her way up the staircase towards Malicia’s bedroom. She doubted the blonde would still be awake at this time of night, but she had a strange feeling she should check up on her Lady. Anne would often come into her bedroom to tuck her back into her blankets, which she usually kicked off during the night. She didn’t know if Malicia did the same thing, but if she did, she wanted to help. Especially tonight, since it was so cold.

Making her way toward her Lady’s room, Katarina felt a chill run down her spine. This old house looked spooky and dark enough during the day, so by night, with lightning occasionally illuminating it, and cast dark shadows across all the statues and carvings, it was basically a horror show.

Eventually, Katarina reached Malicia’s room. She opened the door as quietly as she could, and slipped inside. As she did, she heard a faint whimper, like someone crying.

Malicia must be having a nightmare!

Katarina entered the room as silently as she could, tiptoeing over to her mistress’ bedside discreetly.

“Mmmnn,” Malicia murmured in her sleep, shifting back and forth. Her face was contorted with fear and worry.

“It’s okay, Lady Malicia, I’m here,” Katarina told her softly.

“…mother….” Malicia whispered to herself.

Mother? Come to think of it, Katarina hadn’t seen either of Malicia’s parents. Her father was busy doing some kind of work with Ritallia’s Parliament, but she didn’t know anything about her mother; from being her maid or from the game.

Earlier in the week, Katarina had been sent into Malicia’s office to fetch some things for her, and she once again noticed the family paintings on the wall that she had first seen during the interview. There were two portraits in her office- one, Katarina recognized as her father from his brief appearance in the game, and the other had a dark veil over—oh.

Katarina felt a pang of pain in her chest, feeling foolish for not realizing it sooner.

Gently, Katarina took one of Malicia’s hands in her own.

“I’ll sit with you until the storm lets up, okay?” Katarina asked her quietly.

Malicia made a little noise, but didn’t wake.

“You know, there were lots of storms back in Japan,” Katarina spoke softly in the darkness, “Once, I was spending the night at Acchan’s house, and there was a huge storm that knocked a tree branch down into the window. It scared me and Acchan so bad we didn’t fall asleep ‘til like 3 am. And that was a school night. We were exhausted the next day. And one time, there was a storm….”

She continued talking quietly; taking care not to wake her Lady, until eventually the rain began to let up.

Katarina looked down at Malicia, who was now sleeping gently, no longer wearing that pained look on her face.  She made a move to get up go back to the maids’ quarters to sleep, but found Malicia was tightly gripping her hand. Wordlessly, she sat back down on her Lady’s bed, lying down beside her softly.

She could easily see how someone could get scared sleeping in a big, creepy bedroom like this. The vaulted stone ceiling and gargoyles carved into the bedposts made it feel like a crypt. It was no wonder Lady Malicia had nightmares, Katarina thought to herself as she closed her eyes.

It was really cold in here too, Katarina noted. Lady Malicia had mentioned that one of her chores for the week was to prepare some new nightclothes for her. She wondered briefly if the maids’ quarters would have the supplies for… that.

Katarina smiled to herself as she planned out just what kind of nightclothes she’d make for her Lady. She hoped Malicia would like them! Who was she kidding; anyone would love the pajamas she was going to make!

She usually woke early, so she’d simply get out of this room before Malicia woke up. Nodding to herself, Katarina drifted off to sleep, resting softly against Malicia.

~~~

Friday

~~~

Malicia awoke to find herself much better rested than usual. It felt like she dreamed of something nice last night, but she couldn’t remember what.

Brushing the thought aside, she got out of her bed (which felt oddly warm), and made her preparations for the day ahead.

Some hours later, after doing her morning studies, Malicia made her way to the main hall… where she found an odd box laying on the table with her name on it. Opening the box suspiciously, the heiress felt her lip twitch in frustration as she unveiled the contents of the box. Inside was a strange garment… one so strange, she could only think of one person who would have left her such a thing. Her suspicions were confirmed when she read the note at the bottom of the box: “Here’s some cute new pajamas! –Your Faithful Maid, Rina Clayton!”

Malicia’s instinctual drive to scan the entire building for her newly hired maid proved to be unnecessary, as a certain brunette entered the main hall then, as if on cue.

“Oh hey, Lady Malicia!” the maid in question waved to her cheerily.

“Maid,” Malicia started, not looking up from the odd textile she was holding.

“Yes, my Lady?” Rina came over to her side, eyes sparkling with excitement.

“What… in the bloody hell… is this?” the blonde asked, irritation clear in her voice.

“They’re your new pajamas!” the maid chirped, oblivious to Malicia’s annoyance.

“… it’s a carrot,” the heiress mumbled disbelievingly, holding the… pajamas up for the maid to see. Instead of the usual nightshirt and gown she wore to sleep, her maid had apparently decided to fashion some sort of clown suit; a single piece outfit of baggy orange fabric, fashioned in the shape of a carrot.

“Yeah, and it’s super thick and fluffy so you stay warm at night!” Rina continued, still not seeming to think anything was wrong.

“And… what is this thing?” Malicia pointed at the odd, silvery metal string that ran down each side of the front in place of buttons.

“It’s a zipper!” Rina replied proudly, “I made it myself from some parts lying around the maids’ quarters!”

“A ‘zipper’?” Malicia looked at her dubiously.

Rina reached out to demonstrate, moving the metal piece up and down, showing how it worked, “It’s faster and easier than buttons!” The maid glanced at her face, puzzled, then finally seemed to realize something was amiss as she asked, “You don’t like them?” sounding genuinely confused.

“Of course not! What noble in their right mind would wear such a gaudy thing?” Malicia snapped, irritated she even needed to explain what was wrong with them.

There was an awkward moment of silence before….

“Do you want onion ones?”

“No, I don’t want onion ones!”

---

Later that evening, after another dinner by herself in the large banquet hall, Malicia laid herself down in bed for the night. Thankfully the weather was calmer than the previous night, but there was still a heavy wind chill, and the clouds beyond the mountains told her the first snow was closer than she’d like.

She pulled the blankets tighter around herself, not that it had much effect. Her room somehow managed to stay chilly even in the summer, so on a windy autumn evening such as this, it was nearly frigid.

After a few minutes of tossing and turning, the heiress realized she was too cold to sleep.

She briefly wished she had something warmer to sleep in… and then recalled her encounter with her maid earlier that very day.

Malicia glared at the wardrobe.

No. Absolutely not.

She knew it was cold, but… were those really her only option?

Another gust of wind shook the glass of her window. She could feel the draft even though she knew the window was sealed tight.

She glanced at her door, as if someone would walk in on her. No, she knew she was alone in the house at this hour, aside from maybe a spare maid tending to something.

Hesitantly, and filled with self-loathing, Malicia got out of bed, trudging over to the wardrobe at the opposite end of her bedroom.

Glaring at the offending garment, the heiress reluctantly stepped into her new carrot-themed pajamas and… zipped them up. Now, fully dressed in the hideous thing, she sighed, rubbing her eyes. She was very, very tired, and it was past her bedtime.

At least no one would see her dressed like this, she reasoned.

And the pajamas were comfortable.

So very… warm and comfortable….

Malicia’s head had hardly touched the pillow before she was sound asleep.

Notes:

Here's a new chapter of this! I hope to get back to EE soon, and I'll try to keep putting out updates for this in the meantime! This fic is a lot of fun to write!

Contrary to what some people may be thinking, Malicia isn't going to get 'seduced' by Katarina the same way the rest of Kat's harem have been. They're going to have more of a sisterly relationship... at least, that's the plan right now.

Thanks for reading!

Chapter 7: Miss Baudelaire's Villainess Maid

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

Katarina woke early on Saturday, curious to see what an average weekend at Malicia’s place was like. Normally, back home, she would spend her weekends lazing around, tending her crops, or hanging out with her friends, but she had a hunch that wasn’t quite going to be the case here.

As she had quickly learned, Malicia was a lot more dedicated to the ‘perfect noble lady’ role than she had been during her brief stint as a duke’s daughter. As the ex-Claes ambled through the main hall, she was alerted by a sudden knock on the front door of the mansion.

“Hello?” she answered the door curiously.

“Hi there!” the person on the other side of the door greeted her cheerfully, “Ah, I see she has another new maid. Nice to meet you!”

The person standing at the door was an attractive, brown haired boy about her age, maybe a year older. Dressed in a sharp, regal looking outfit and spiky, half-slicked-back brown hair, he was easily a foot taller than Katarina.

She recognized him immediately, but was still caught off guard by his seemingly random appearance.

This was… Prince Maximillian?!

Why was he here?

“I’m Prince Maximillian,” he introduced himself politely.

“H-hello, nice to meet you. I’m Rina,” Katarina replied meekly. She already knew him from Love’s Uprising, but it wasn’t like she could just say that. Realizing she was supposed to be a maid, Katarina quickly stepped aside from the door, “Oh, uh, please come in!”

Was that right? Was she supposed to invite him in? If it had been Geordo or Alan, Katarina knew Anne would have gladly let them in, but she wasn’t quite sure how close Malicia and Prince Maximillian were. She recalled that the two had known each other before the game began, but she wasn’t totally clear on whether they had been friends or not. Still… she didn’t like the idea of making a prince wait outside, so it should be fine!

The prince chuckled, “Thanks, Rina. So, you’re Malicia’s new maid?”

“Yeah! It’s nice working here!” Katarina replied happily, leading Maximillian to the main hall, where he took a seat at the main table. She noticed the prince had brought a paper box with him, but decided it might be rude for a maid to ask what was inside it. She trailed off awkwardly, not sure what to say, “So, ehhhh…. What brings you by?”

“Nothing too important,” the prince waved his hand, “I just was passing through the area and wanted to drop in and discuss a few things with Malicia.”

“Ah, that makes sense,” Katarina nodded.

“…is she here?” Prince Maximillian prompted her after a long pause.

“Eh? Oh! Right, I’ll go tell here you’re here!” Katarina hastily sprung into action, “Wait right there, I’ll be back in a flash!”

Dashing off into the mansion, she prayed her boss would be ready to meet with a prince right away this morning!

---

Malicia awoke groggily, rubbing her eyes, and feeling a strange warmth around her head. She reached up, and was met with a thick, fluffy fabric wrapped around her head.

Ugh, she was still wearing the hood from those awful, gaudy carrot pajamas. She cringed anew, recalling the hideous nightwear she was currently dressed in. Eager to be rid of the things, she reached up to the little metal piece on the zipper to unzip the outfit… and it didn’t budge.

Glaring down at the zipper, she tried again… only to be met with the same result.

Malicia felt her eyebrow twitch. After a few moments of struggling to no avail, the blonde sighed dramatically. Though she was loathe to admit it, the heiress began to realize she may need assistance getting out of this ridiculous suit.

Glancing out the window, Malicia noticed the sun had risen much farther than she was used to. How late had she slept in?

“Where is that damn maid?” she muttered under her breath, stepping hesitantly into the hallway, making her way towards the main hall.

---

Katarina ran through the mansion quickly, dashing to her Lady’s bedroom, when a familiar voice caught her ear.

“Maid! Where are you?” Malicia’s sharp tone cut through the air of the otherwise quiet estate.

Looking ahead, Katarina found her boss marching through the hallway, annoyed, and wearing….

“Eh? L-Lady Malicia? You’re still wearing that?” Katarina asked, noticing her Lady’s pajamas.

“Yes, I am, because the bloody ‘zipper’ contraption you made won’t go down!” Malicia cut a comic figure, standing with her hands on her hips, still fully dressed as a big fluffy carrot.

Stifling a laugh, which Malicia luckily didn’t notice as she was still tugging at the zipper, Katarina tapped her chin, recalling where she’d gathered some of the equipment to make the pajamas in the first place, “Eh? Maybe I could get it fixed with some sewing supplies from the closet down the hall….”

“Hurry then,” Malicia grabbed her by the wrist, making for the main hall, “I’m not going to spend all day dressed like produce.”

“W-wait, but… Lady Malicia! There’s-!” Katarina tried to protest as Malicia rounded the corner. The odd sight of the villainess of Love’s Uprising wearing her own homemade pajamas had caught her off guard, but Katarina remembered all too suddenly why she had been looking for the blonde in the first place.

But it was too late.

Malicia had already barged headfirst into the main hall, where Prince Maximillian was waiting at the table. Katarina noticed the blonde’s eyes widen as she realized she wasn’t alone in the mansion.

There was a moment of utter silence.

Katarina cringed, closing her eyes tightly, bracing for the coming storm. If she hadn’t already faced her doom, she was sure she would be now. She wondered if this would result in her getting exiled again. Would they exile her back to Sorcier? That would be awkward.

She held her breath, praying for some mercy from Lady Malicia, and--

“Nice outfit,” the prince chuckled.

“Oh, shut it,” Malicia huffed… sounding considerably less irate that Katarina had predicted.

“Eh?” Katarina looked back and forth from Prince Maximillian to her Lady, entirely baffled by the underwhelming reaction from both parties.

“Quit gaping like a buffoon. Show some manners, maid,” Malicia scolded her.

“Bold words from someone wearing a carrot,” the prince smirked at Malicia.

“I said shut it,” she huffed again, grabbing Katarina by the wrist, continuing to drag her down the hall to the closet, as if nothing had happened.

Katarina could only follow along with her boss, too confused to speak. She was pretty sure most noble ladies (excluding herself… not that she was a noble anymore) would be terribly embarrassed to be seen in their nightclothes by a man, especially if that man was a prince! After a moment, she eventually blurted, “Lady Malicia! That was so--!”

“What? Why are you looking at me like that?” Malicia’s face reddened a bit under Katarina’s stare.

“You acted like a normal person just then!” the maid congratulated her boss proudly.

“Meaning what, exactly?” the heiress shot her a sharp glare.

“I don’t know, I was just expecting…” Katarina trailed off.

She visualized a scene in her mind of Malicia shrieking at the top of her lungs, trying her hardest to cover herself up, and fleeing from the room, before scolding Katarina at length, possibly exiling her or maybe even throwing her off the cliff the Baudelaire mansion was located atop.

“…something more like that kind of reaction, yeah,” Katarina murmured.

Malicia stared at her oddly for a long moment, before sighing, “It’s only Max.”

“Eh?” Katarina felt little question marks floating around her head.

‘Only Max’? Not Prince Maximillian? Or even Prince Max?

She knew the characters would know each other already based on the game, but… she certainly didn’t recall such a causal air between them!

Arriving at the hall closet a few moments later, Malicia swung the door open, revealing the sewing supplies within.

“Come on, maid; get me out of this thing,” the blonde instructed her hastily.

Katarina grabbed some scissors and needles, hoping she wouldn’t have to cut the whole suit in half after she’d worked so hard to make it. The pair made their way into a private room, and sat down as Katarina got to work.

---

Malicia sat as patiently as the situation would allow as her maid picked at the top of the zipper on her carrot pajamas.

She had no idea what line of work this imp was in before she wound up here. She was likely from Sorcier, based on her accent, and the fact that her first decision in Ritallia was applying to be her maid, it was possible she had been some sort of servant before… albeit not a particularly good one.

Malicia had a slim knowledge of the other nation’s nobility, but she did know one of Sorcier’s princes was infamously protective of his fiancée. Perhaps this dolt had spilled tea on her and wound up getting exiled for it.

“Honestly, what sort of fool are you? Making this hideous outfit, and then trapping me within it?” Malicia scolded Rina sharply, glaring down at her maid as she worked, “You spill my tea, waste my time, and now embarrass me in front of a prince!”

“I’m sorry it got stuck, Lady Malicia,” the maid said, looking up to meet her eyes and sounding truly apologetic.

Malicia’s rage dwindled a bit at that response. Her maid looked like a sad kitten, eyes wide with guilt. She questioned herself for not being able to stay angry at this idiot.

“Just get me out of it quickly,” the heiress instructed her foolish maid, “And sew buttons on it so it doesn’t get stuck next time!”

“Eh?” Rina asked, tilting her head… before a wide, teasing grin crept up her face.

“Ugh,” Malicia mentally kicked herself, immediately realizing her mistake.

“‘Next time’?” the maid leaned in, eyes curved up mischievously, “You’re going to wear them again? You like my pajamas that much, Lady Malicia?”

“I misspoke. And that’s ‘Lady Baudelaire’ to you!” Malicia glared at her maid.

“I’ll call you the Cozy Carrot!” Rina suggested obliviously.

“Do not,” Malicia rapped her on the head with her fan.

---

A few moments later, once Malicia had changed into her usual gold fleur-de-lis dress ensemble, she made her way back into the main room, where Prince Maximillian was waiting.

Katarina followed along; still perplexed by how well Malicia had taken everything that had happened so far.

Maximillian, or Max as Malicia had called him, was sitting casually at the table, where he had evidently opened the paper box he brought with him. And inside were… sandwiches?

Katarina felt a little bead of drool at the corner of her mouth. They smelled delicious!

Prince Max looked up to meet Malicia’s eyes as she reentered the room. He gave her a goofy grin, “Ah, your usual dress, Malicia? I’d thought you were starting a new trend for the harvest season….”

Malicia shot the prince a particularly poisonous smile, but opted not to comment for the moment. Instead, she replied, “Speaking of outfits, it’s rare to see you not dressed like a scoundrel for once.”

Katarina recalled how Prince Maximillian would often wear a leather hunting vest and pauldrons, rather than the princely attire he was currently dressed in.

“Well, I am on my way to a meeting at the palace. Father gets annoyed when I show up smelling like an animal, you know,” Prince Max replied casually.

“Don’t go hunting before your meetings then, my dear Prince” Malicia smiled with a hint of annoyance clear in her voice.

“Morning’s when the rabbits are out!” he explained, smirking slightly as he added, “Maybe we could dress you up in that carrot suit and use you as bait next time.”

“Maybe I could have the hounds run you off the cliff next time you drop by,” the heiress fired back, not missing a beat.

“You know dogs love me,” Prince Max chuckled.

Lucky!’ Katarina thought to herself, watching the surprisingly casual banter between her boss and one of Ritallia’s princes.

“Here, have one,” the prince gestured to the delicious smelling sandwiches on the table, “I’m sure these sandwiches will go well with carrots.”

Malicia glared back at him, eye twitching for a moment… and then she seemed to realize Katarina was still standing in on their meeting. She glanced at the maid, and then followed Katarina’s line of sight… to the tray of food on the table.

“Ugh, what are you, a dog? Waiting for table scraps?” the heiress glared at her.

“Oh, I--” Katarina bit her lip, realizing she should have stepped out already. The scent of Prince Max’s sandwiches was just too enticing! As if on cue, her stomach grumbled loudly.

That was going to be the worst part of losing her rank, Katarina realized. No more high-end food! Sure, the food the maids were served here wasn’t awful, but--

Malicia sighed and rubbed her eyes, before handing her half a sandwich, “Here.”

“Eh?” Katarina felt even more question marks floating around her head.

She knew there were parts of Love’s Uprising that had slipped her mind over the years… but there definitely wasn’t a scene where Malicia gives her maid a sandwich! In fact, she was pretty sure the opposite had happened; after catching Clara stealing glances at her food, Malicia cut her rations, and made her eat the cheapest gruel they had.

Still, Katarina wasn’t one to question her blessings. She leaned in and took a big bite out of the sandwich.

“Oishiiii~!” Katarina cupped her cheek, grinning in bliss as she ate the delicious snack, “This is amazing!”

Prince Max’s eyes lit up, “Thanks! I’m glad to hear it! No point hunting for meat that tastes bad, after all.”

Katarina greedily wolfed down the remainder of the sandwich that would evidently serve as her breakfast for the day. Lady Malicia gracefully took a bite from her sandwich portion as well.

“Yes, Max’s food is always quite delicious,” Malicia said. Katarina couldn’t help but notice the ghost of a genuine smile on her face, if only for a short moment. She must really love his food!

Deciding it was time to take her leave, Katarina made her way to the door with a little curtsy before stepping out. Still, she couldn’t help her curiosity, and pressed her ear to the door after stepping out of the room.

“New maid, huh?” the prince asked.

“… so it would seem,” Malicia replied with a sigh.

“She seems pretty… unique,” Prince Max chuckled.

Katarina blushed. She really wished she could make a good first impression on a prince for once!

“Oh, you have no idea…” Malicia huffed.

“You must be getting along well with her, by your standards, at least,” the prince said amusedly, “It’s been a while since we talked, and it’s good to see you in such high spirits!”

Eh? Katarina tilted her head, listening more intently. What did he mean by that? Sure, Malicia wasn’t as mean to her as she had been to Clara, but that didn’t mean Malicia was on getting along well with her, did it? Especially after the pajama incident!

“Hardly. I just have to be on my guard for whatever foolish thing she’ll do next,” Malicia responded, sounding a little less annoyed than Katarina would have guessed she’d be.

Katarina stepped back from the door, deciding she should probably get on to the other chores she had for the day.

As she made her way through the mansion, she thought about everything that had just happened.  If she remembered the game correctly, this scene played out a lot differently.

In the game, Malicia was meeting with Prince Maximillian, annoyed and on-edge the whole time. Well, more annoyed and on-edge than her usual state of being. At some point during the meeting, Clara came in to deliver tea to the pair, and Malicia became enraged, kicking Clara down with her boot and forcing her to clean the tea she spilled by hand. Prince Maximillian was surprised by Malicia’s outburst, and took pity on Clara, helping her stand up… and when he looked into her eyes, he was overwhelmed by her beauty! It was a truly romantic moment, a perfect case of love at first sight!

Katarina could feel the romance in the air as she recalled the lovely scene from Love’s Uprising!

Of course, things had gone a lot differently just now…. Even setting aside the whole pajamas fiasco, everything about Max and Malicia’s interactions just then felt very, very different from how Katarina remembered.

In Love’s Uprising, she was pretty sure Prince Maximillian remarked about how Malicia seemed so much colder than usual, not in higher spirits!

Did the pajamas really feel that cozy?

More than that, Max and Malicia’s relationship was so… comfortable and familiar, it was almost like….

But wait! Lady Malicia was trying to win the heart of Prince Alexander, not Prince Maximillian! And yet, the two of them practically seemed like husband and wife already!

Although… Malicia was the rival in the Prince Maximillian route too, but Katarina didn’t really know why. In the game, she’d said that she hated the idea of a commoner like Clara getting anywhere near a prince. But, now that Katarina watched the two of them interact… could it be?

Her womanly intuition hadn’t failed her before!

If Prince Maximillian was the one Lady Malicia wanted to marry, she would do whatever she could as a maid to help her boss out!

Walking giddily down the halls, Katarina hoped Malicia’s interactions with the other capture targets could go so smoothly! And, more importantly, the heroine!

Katarina didn’t know why her boss had been so cruel to her maid in the game, but if she could unite this less-mean version of Malicia with the protagonist, she might just be able to help her safely avoid her doom!

Notes:

I felt a sudden urge to write this, so I did. I'll probably step back from this story for a little bit after this chapter to finish up EE, then I'll come back to this. I may update this a as inspiration strikes in the meantime, but I really want to get EE finished up so I can be done with it and move on.

For those of you wondering, my plan with this story isn't so much to give Katarina another harem, but to have her influence on Malicia cause Malicia to get a harem of her own.

Also, if you're wondering why Malicia is being so much less cruel to Katarina than she was in the game, there is a reason for it which will come up later. And the reason is not just 'because Katarina is Katarina'. I'll explain it in time, but there is a real reason why Malicia isn't as vicious towards Kat as she was to Clara.

Anyways, thanks for reading!

Chapter 8: Misty Mountain Hop

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

The next few weeks passed with relative ease.

As the last leaves of autumn dusted away, and the air grew colder, Katarina took a more active role in tending to her Lady’s needs. In the game, Malicia had done whatever she could to keep Clara as far away from her as she could, except for her moments of tormenting the maid in front of her guests. Oddly, she didn’t seem quite as reluctant to allow Katarina to help her get dressed and ready.

Normally, Katarina always had Anne by her side to help her comb her hair and get into her dress and whatever else she may need assistance with on any given morning, so she had found it rather odd that Malicia never asked Clara to do any of those things in the game, especially considering she was her personal attendant. Thus, it came as a happy change of pace when Malicia began abiding Katarina’s help getting ready in the mornings.

Why did Malicia allow her to take a more active role in her personal care all of a sudden? Katarina couldn’t really think of a reason, especially considering she kept screwing things up around the house. The heiress had said it was beneath her station to bother tending to her own needs like that, so Katarina supposed it must just be that.

But still, Malicia had never acted like this in the game. Katarina kept feeling like she was missing something, but she couldn’t quite put her finger on it….

At any rate, the maid did her best to help the heiress prepare every morning; styling her hair, and helping her into her elaborate gold dresses. Their morning routine carried on uneventfully (aside from the occasional scolding from Malicia) for the next week or so.

As she entered her Lady’s room one morning, Malicia was sitting at her desk, reading one of the large books from the tall stack beside her. Well, reading might not quite be right. More like, burning a hole through the book with her eyes. Malicia always seemed to look angry when she was reading, but today, she looked especially strained.

“What are you reading?” Katarina asked as she approached her boss.

National Statutes and Torts,” the heiress replied, not looking up from the page.

“Is that a romance novel?” Katarina tilted her head

“It’s a legal dictionary, you dolt! What sort of noble reads romance novels?” Malicia sighed, rubbing her eyes.

“Ehehe… yeah,” Katarina trailed off guiltily. She supposed it was lucky she was pretending to be a commoner, since it was more acceptable for lower classes to read romance stories. In fact, Nellie and Ellie had a stack of what appeared to be romance novels in the maids’ quarters. Katarina had been meaning to ask them if she could read them, but she’d been so busy with her chores, she hadn’t really had a chance.

She was surprised Malicia didn’t seem angrier, though, given the sharp look in her eyes.

“Wait, why are you reading legal dictionaries?” Katarina was suddenly curious about her choice of literature. Malicia was the heir to an archduchy, which meant she was slightly above the rank Katarina had held before her exile. Her parents hired a tutor to teach her the basics throughout her childhood before the academy, but she’d never been required to do any particularly in depth research about national laws or anything. It had mostly just been etiquette training in her case.

“If you must know…” Malicia murmured, setting the old leather bound tome down gently, “I have a marriage interview with Prince Alexander in two weeks, and I want to make a good impression.”

“Aw, Malicia, you’re blushing!” Katarina poked her Lady’s slightly red cheek.

“I’m not! And that’s Lady Baudelaire to you!” the blonde snapped, lightly smacking her hand away.

“Do you want help studying?” Katarina asked, unabated.

“I do not need your assistance. I doubt you could understand the complexities of this nation’s legal system.”

“Yeah, that’s probably true… but I could make flashcards and quiz you or something?” Katarina offered. Memorizing a bunch of dusty old laws probably wasn’t easy, so maybe she could do a study session, like Acchan had done when they were learning kanji in her last life.

Malicia looked at her strangely.

“Wait, hang on! Why do you need to know legal stuff for a marriage interview?” the maid suddenly blurted.

Malicia’s lips tightened, as if she was debating whether she should answer or not. After a moment, she looked away, “Prince Alexander has said that the reason he hasn’t taken a fiancée yet is because he wishes to find someone who has a ‘special something’.”

Katarina clasped her hands together in adoration. The adorably shy way her Lady spoke when she was talking about Prince Alexander was just too cute!

Still, she’d said something wrong just then….

As far as Katarina could remember from the game, the ‘special something’ Prince Alexander wanted was someone who truly cared for the people and wanted to help the nation become a better place. No one exemplified that better than the heroine, Clara Kettle, who had been raised by commoners, and wished for prosperity and happiness for the nation’s people. Sure, knowing the nation’s laws wasn’t a bad thing, but it wasn’t quite the right way to win that route….

Katarina stared into space, shifting side to side as she thought of how she could tell Malicia as much without sounding weird.

“Get me a dress,” Malicia ordered, snapping her out of her thoughts.

“Which one?” Katarina made her way over to the closet.

“One that inspires the utmost confidence; a piece of fashion crafted by the finest tailor in the land, created to be worn by only the most brilliant of subjects,” the heiress commanded with a dramatic wave of her arm.

Katarina was pretty sure Malicia had talked up almost all of her dresses in such a manner, so it was kind of difficult to tell exactly what she meant by that. But, if it was up to her to pick the one she thought her Lady would look best in, then…. Hm. She skimmed her Lady’s wardrobe, searching for just the right outfit.

“Is this one okay?” Katarina asked, selecting the one that looked the most Malicia-y. It was a royal red and gold outfit with a dark ribbon around the neck, and matching dark red velvet opera gloves.

Malicia glared from Katarina, to the dress, back to Katarina.

“I-it will… suffice,” she huffed, folding her arms.

“Hehe, I picked right, huh?” Katarina smiled smugly.

“Hush your insolent rambling!” the blonde snapped, accepting the proffered dress.

A few moments later, the heiress was properly dressed and ready to start her day.

Malicia turned sharply on her heel and descended from her bedroom and led the way into the main living room of Baudelaire mansion.

It wasn’t her first time in this room, but the place still fascinated Katarina every time she passed through it. As a duke’s daughter, she’d been in a number of luxurious estates over the years, but the Baudelaire mansion was quite a sight, even to her. Perhaps it was the different geography of this country, Katarina pondered, as she looked out the sprawling window that covered the whole wall.

The Baudelaire mansion was located at the top of a tall cliff, leering over the entire harbor valley, and this window was almost at the very edge of that cliff. Being the avid tree climber she was, Katarina had never been particularly afraid of heights, but if she were to meet anyone who was afraid of heights, she definitely would not recommend they visit this house.

Even so, she had to admit, it was a beautiful view. Below, she could see everything from the web of sails and ships of the harbor she had arrived in, to the town surrounding the harbor, to the capitol city of Dumont in the hills beyond.

The skies were a blurry grey at the moment, but she imagined the window room would look beautiful on a clear, sunny day.

Katarina followed her charge into the living room, where the blonde marched across the enormous space, her opulent attire swooshing through the vast, gothic center room. She eventually arrived at a table, where Katarina poured her a cup of morning tea with a dash of lemon, just as Malicia liked.

The only sound in the room was the clicking of the glass window panes and the rushing winds of the misty mountains outside.

In her previous life, Katarina had once paid a visit to her fathers’ workplace and, although there weren’t any tall buildings like that in this world, the way this house was set atop a cliff told her she must be at least 40 stories in the air.

Silhouetted by the grey sky, Katarina couldn’t help but notice how… empty this house looked. Which felt like a contradiction, honestly, considering just how jam-packed the place was with furniture. Every wall, every corner, every tile of floor was covered with elaborate, gothic wooden tables, chairs, shelves, and portraits, leaving barely a single inch of space barren.

And yet, it all felt so cold.

Speaking of cold, Katarina briefly wondered if her Lady was well dressed for the day ahead, considering how chilly it was inside the house. Come to think of it, Malicia never really made any specific requests for outfits, since all her dresses were custom made designer outfits by Ritallia’s top tailors. The dress she wore today, however, was by far the nicest of the bunch.

“Is there some occasion today, my Lady?” Katarina asked curiously.

“Hm?” Malicia arched an eyebrow.

“You’re dressing up fancier than usual,” Katarina remarked, “Your marriage interview isn’t until the week after next.”

Malicia averted her eyes again, but this time it didn’t seem like it was done out of shyness. Instead of explaining why she was dressed up, the blonde pulled a page from a notebook on the tea table, hastily scribbling a list of items down.

“Fetch me this,” Malicia ordered, handing the list to Katarina.

As Katarina scanned the list of supplies she had been tasked with purchasing, she recalled this scene from the game. Malicia gave Clara an absurdly long list of supplies, and then sent her into town. As she remembered it, the poor maid had to carry all the supplies by hand all the way back to the house!

Katarina had a bit of experience carrying heavy weights from her time hauling soil and fertilizer for her farm, but she still wasn’t too keen on the idea of trekking all the way back up this mountain with armfuls of supplies. As she glanced over the list of food items and housewares, she was surprised to find it was a significantly shorter list than she’d been expecting.

She opted not to comment on the matter, lest the Lady add even more onto the list, but she couldn’t shake the feeling Clara’s list had been a lot longer in the game.

“Which shop is this stuff from, anyways?” Katarina asked, recalling how unfamiliar she still was with the new local area.

“There,” Malicia pointed out the enormous window, “Gusteau’s; the one with the red sign. That’s where the food is. All the utensils are across the street at Corentin’s.”

Katarina nodded, glancing back at the list.

“You’ll need this,” Malicia added, handing the maid a set of three fancy gold trimmed letters.

“Eh?”

“Just show them these at the shops, and you should be fine,” the blonde replied, not bothering to elaborate any further.

Katarina frowned, unsure what the papers were, but decided to just show them like Malicia had suggested. Glancing back at the list, she furrowed her brows a bit. She knew there were some satchels she could borrow from the storehouse, but it would still be a long walk back. If she remembered right, Malicia had a horse, but never let Clara ride it in the game, saying a commoner wasn’t good enough for such things. The brunette prepared herself for the trek into--

“Can you ride?” Malicia asked, cutting into Katarina’s thoughts.

“Eh?”

“Take Pierre,” the blonde gestured in the direction of the manor’s stables.

“EH?” Katarina gaped. She was really pretty sure Malicia never let her maid ride her horse in the game!

As it so happened, she could ride. She’d gone on a few horse rides with Geordo around the palace grounds just a couple months ago. Not long before that, she rode out with Mary to the middle of a wide pasture under the azure summer skies, only to find Keith had followed them on foot! He was so eager to hang out, he’d run that whole way without a horse!

Katarina frowned. Everything had been going so well then, she didn’t know where she went wrong to make them want to send her away.

She felt that weird, cold, tight feeling in her chest again, unconsciously gripping her fists tightly.

“What are you dawdling for? Go!” Malicia’s sharp voice thankfully cut through her thoughts before they could go much further.

“R-right!” Katarina spun around, and grabbed her coat. With one last glance over the list, she dashed out the door, making her way to the stables.

---

Katarina drew the reins back, leading Pierre to a gentle trot as she arrived at the town below.

She patted him gently on the head in thanks for the ride as she made her way into the town to find the items on Malicia’s list. Despite being a horse, Pierre seemed to have a certain air of nobility about him, letting out a dignified huff as she pet him. Between the horse’s curly golden mane and classy demeanor, he seemed like a perfect match for Malicia. Katarina was happy he’d taken a liking to her, or at least, tolerated her enough to let her ride him to town.

As she wandered the streets, Katarina quickly noticed something was amiss. She would often go into town back in Sorcier City, sometimes even venturing into the sketchier parts of town (against Anne’s recommendations). She knew the clean parts of Sorcier City from the rougher areas, but even on the darker allies, she could often find people with cheerful smiles going about their lives, despite not being as wealthy as some of the more well-to-do commoners.

Here though? Every face was glowering down at the grey cobblestone streets, and the few she made eye contact with looked terribly unhappy. It made Katarina sad to see how distant everyone here looked. She held out hope that maybe they’d be nice if she got to know them, but with her duties as a maid, she had her doubts that would ever happen.

Pierre trotted softly along the streets as Katarina led him towards the store Malicia had pointed out to her from the window earlier. The crumbling stone edifices of nearly every building reminded her once again that she was indeed a long way from home. Set against the weary grey skies of early winter, the foggy city streets looked particularly dismal.

And then, she reached the street Malicia told her the shop was located.

As she turned the corner, it was like she’d stumbled into a whole different town. The dingy, beaten down parlors gave way to marble pillars and glowing candelabras on every street corner.

Katarina’s eyes flicked open wide as she took in the decidedly luxurious side of town she had ridden into. The actual entrance to the street was blocked by a large iron gate, flanked on either side by fancily dressed guards with swords.

“Hello there,” one of the guards approached her as the horse neared the gates, “May I see your identification, miss?”

“Eh? Oh, right!” Katarina reached into one of the pockets on her uniform, procuring the gold trimmed letters Malicia had given to her before she left, and handing them to the guard, “I’m Rina Clayton, Lady Malicia’s maid. I’m here to pick up some stuff for her.”

“Ah, the Baudelaire family,” the guard’s face changed from impassive cold to a welcoming smile, “Welcome to D’Elysses Street, Miss Clayton. Tell Lady Malicia we send our best regards.”

He gestured to the other guard, who pulled a lever causing the gates to swing open. The light, music, and perfumes of the high streets poured out as Katarina led the horse up towards her destination.

“Whoa,” the brunette breathed.

Even for a girl who had spent much of her childhood playing around at the Royal Palace of Sorcier, this place was fancy! Everything here looked like the nicest parts of Sorcier were dialed up to eleven! Before heading to the shops, she took a moment to just… take in the grandeur of this city. It was so much nicer than she’d expected, especially given the areas she’d been in before this.

She hopped down from Pierre and tied his reins to a post outside the shop. With a grateful pat on the head, she was on her way.

The ex-noble girl made quick work of finding all the items on the list, and brought them up to the shop clerk. As Malicia had said, Katarina simply had to show the papers to the shop owners, and they let her go. She assumed the Baudelaire family had some kind of credit system with the stores in town or something, so it was kind of like paying with a credit card.

Once she was done with her shopping trip, Katarina hauled the two large sacks of goods back to Pierre, filling the saddlebags with her supplies. Rather than riding the horse, she decided to just lead him by his reins to the end of the high street, where the guards nodded and reopened the gates for her to leave.

As she re-entered the grey alleyway, a sudden, sharp motion caught her eye, coupled with a shrill yelp of shock. Not thinking, Katarina lunged forward before she knew what was happening, grabbing the edge of a large object that was about to topple over.

She looked up to see she was just barely managing to prop up a salt barrel which had nearly fallen off a parked wagon.

“Oh! Goodness, thank you so, so much!” a meek and almost familiar voice cried out gratefully from the opposite side of the barrel.

Katarina couldn’t see her face, but it looked like she’d been trying to load this heavy barrel onto the wagon by herself, and it had almost fallen over on her. She knew she had to get back to Malicia’s house soon, but she didn’t like the idea of leaving this young lady to try and haul a heavy barrel like this by herself, especially considering no one else in the alleyway seemed too keen to help. In fact, most didn’t even spare her a glance!

“Do you need a hand?” Katarina offered, trying her best to right the tipping barrel.

“Eh? Oh, no, I couldn’t impose.…” the girl answered hesitantly.

“It’s no trouble! I’m stronger than I look, you know!” Katarina grinned confidently, reaching out to hoist the barrel.

Before long, the salt barrel had been properly loaded and secured onto the wagon, and Katarina turned to face the girl she’d helped for the first time… and did a double take.

That was… Clara Kettle? The heroine herself?

That was why her voice seemed familiar! Not to mention, her unique shade of auburn hair was easily recognizable, and gave her a natural, beautiful appearance. She was dressed in humble attire; a simple brown dress and thick, aged leather gloves for her hands.

Shaking herself out of her thoughts, Katarina brushed herself off and offered a handshake, “Um, hi there! Nice to meet you! I’m Rina Clayton!”

“Hello,” Clara’s face lit up with a smile on par with Maria’s, “I’m Clara Kettle, nice to meet you!”

Clara Kettle, the heroine of Love’s Uprising. Her natural optimism and kindness got her through many hard times and won the hearts of the capture targets, as well as helping to sway the people away from a violent revolution in the good endings of the game. She was later revealed to be a noble lady who had lost her memory at an early age, and been raised by a common farm family, until she was taken in as Malicia’s personal maid.

Katarina once again felt a pang of guilt at taking the protagonist’s job.

As a matter of fact, what was it she was doing these days, if not being a maid for Malicia?

Katarina’s curiosity got the best of her. The heroine had mentioned her full name just now, so maybe just maybe she could get away with asking….

“So… you… do you work on Kettle Farm?” Katarina asked, hoping the question wouldn’t sound too suspicious.

“Ah, not anymore, I’m afraid,” Clara sighed wistfully, “I worked there up until recently, but the farm can’t sustain so many workers anymore. I had to move to the city to find work. I’ve been working at a place on the docks, packaging fish though, so I’m very grateful.”

Katarina frowned, recalling what she’d been told when she first arrived here, “That old guy at the docks told me there had been a drought here lately….”

Clara quirked her lips to the side, “I suppose drought is one way to describe it. It rains now and again, but the plants just don’t take on any water. It must be a problem with the soil, but no one at the farm has any idea what it is….”

“Eh? It’s a problem with the soil?” Katarina frowned, “Hrmm.”

She’d love to get a good look at the fields here in Ritallia, but she didn’t have a whole lot of free time considering she was usually tending to Lady Malicia. She didn’t know a whole lot about the specifics of it, but she had several years of experience farming under her belt, so maybe there was a chance she could help out a bit.

Although… she shook her head. There were plenty of other, much more experienced farmers here, and if something was wrong in the soil, they’d probably have a better idea on how to deal with it than her. Even so, she’d still like to visit a farm if she ever had a day off, just to relax.

“What brings you to town?” Clara asked curiously.

“Oh, I’m just picking up some stuff for… my Lady….” Katarina hummed, trailing off.

As she said it, it suddenly stuck Katarina how odd this errand was.

She was Lady Malicia’s personal attendant, meaning she should be by the blonde’s side at all times! She should at least be waiting in the wings at the estate in case Malicia wanted something. In the month she’d been employed there, she had never been the one to be sent into town to buy supplies. Usually that task fell to Nellie or Ellie or the groundskeeper, Eduard.  

The gong of a belltower tolled the hour, shaking Katarina from her thoughts.

“Ah, pardon me, but I must be getting back now,” Clara spoke up.

“Oh, right! Sorry for wasting your time!” Katarina shook her head.

“Not at all, it’s nice to meet someone kind like you!” Clara smiled kindly at her, reminding Katarina once again how someone like her could be a heroine.

Katarina tapped her heel. Maybe this was a blessing in disguise. For whatever reason, the Malicia she knew seemed a lot less angry than she had been in the game. If she could find a way to get Clara to meet up with this friendly Malicia, maybe she could sway the heroine in her favor, and boost her chances of avoiding a doom flag!

“Hm… maybe we could meet up again sometime?” Katarina offered hopefully.

“That would be lovely,” Clara smiled as she prepared her wagon to depart, “I come into town here about once a week, usually on Tuesday.”

“Okay, awesome! I hope to see you again!” Katarina waved happily as she saw the heroine off.

Making up her mind, Katarina jumped up onto Pierre and began the journey back from the city. She’d have to think up some way to arrange a meeting between her Lady and the heroine, preferably sooner than later!

---

Carrying in the satchels full of supplies, Katarina rode Pierre up the mountain, and through the opulent golden front gates of the Baudelaire mansion. The first few flakes of snow were beginning to fall as she rounded the final curve en route to the enormous manor.

As she rode into the main estate, she noticed Lawrence, that butler guy she’d seen around the estate a few times, stepping into a gothic looking carriage as it departed from the manor. It wasn’t Malicia’s carriage, but it had the Baudelaire coat of arms on its doors. The carriage rode right past her without sparing her a glance as it exited the manor grounds.

By the front doors, there was another carriage waiting to leave with a coat of arms she didn’t recognize.

Glancing at the carriage curiously, she led Pierre back to the stables, where she dismounted the horse and patted him on the head, thanking him for the ride. In response, he simply let out a huff and… Did… did the horse just roll its eyes at her?!

She sighed; it was probably just a trick of the light.

Gathering the saddlebags of supplies, Katarina made her way back to the hidden side doors of the mansion used by the servantry. As she stepped in, she was greeted by a pair of identical, familiar faces.

“Hi Nellie, hi Ellie!” she waved to the other maids happily before asking, “Whose carriage was that?”

“Didn’t you know?” Nellie didn’t change her expression or tone as she asked.

“Master Baudelaire visited today,” Ellie replied in equal monotone.

“Master Baudelaire?” Katarina tilted her head as the answer registered with her, “Wait, Malicia’s dad was here?”

“Ah, I suppose that’s why our Lady sent her out,” Nellie’s eyes flicked over to her twin.

“So it would seem,” Ellie’s eyes flicked back.

Katarina frowned, glancing back and forth between the two inscrutable maids. Why didn’t Malicia want her to be around when her father came by?

It became apparent her two coworkers weren’t planning to say anything else, so she just sighed and made her way towards the kitchens to drop off the supplies she’d purchased.

As she entered the foyer area, she noticed an unfamiliar figure preparing some paperwork on one of the living room desks.

The man had silver hair, a curly mustache, and a pair of spectacles that gave him a distinguished look. Unlike the elaborate getups worn by a lot of the noblemen she’d seen in town, this guy was wearing a relatively simple suit and tie, but it still seemed like he was someone of importance.

The man handed a stack of envelopes off to Nellie, along with instructions for who to deliver them to and when.

“Yes, Monsieur Riviere,” Nellie nodded placidly.

Monsieur Riviere? As in, Henri Riviere? The Chancellor of Ritallia? 

Hm. Katarina tapped her chin. From what she could recall, the chancellor was mentioned briefly in the game but played an important role.

He was born a commoner, but made a name for himself as a tradesman, and eventually led such a successful guild that he was granted a noble title and eventually appointed Minister of Finance. After that, he ran for the office of Chancellor twice, was successful on his second campaign, and retained the position since. He was kind of like a prime minister, from what she could gather. He was fairly well liked by both the people and the nobility, if she remembered correctly, and played a big part in negotiating peace between the commoners and nobles in the good endings.

He seemed like a businessman, similar to some of the guys her father had worked with back in Japan; professional, but not exactly cold.

“Ah, are you Lady Baudelaire’s attendant?” the silver haired man turned to her.

“Eh? Ah, yeah! That’s me!” Katarina gave an awkward salute.

He smiled politely and produced a letter, offering it to Katarina, “Send this to her if you would.”

“Sure thing, thank you!” Katarina accepted the letter politely, making her way towards her Lady’s room as Nellie and Ellie helped the chancellor to his carriage.

Katarina found Malicia at her desk, still reading some giant legal dictionary or something.

“Hey, Lady Malicia!” Katarina greeted her Lady with a wave, and pulled the letter the Chancellor had given her from her pocket, “Oh! Here’s this!”

“Hm? Just set it by the clock, maid,” the blonde waved her off, not even looking up.

Katarina frowned. Malicia seemed more… distant than usual. Trying to change the subject, the maid mentioned, “When I was in town today, I met someone really nice!”

“Mm,” Malicia hummed, not looking up.

“Maybe you’d like to meet her someday?” Katarina asked, hoping she could get the heiress on the path to a good ending as soon as possible.

“Hm,” the heiress still paid her no mind, still reading the book on her desk. Actually, as far as Katarina could tell, she wasn’t reading the book at all; she was just staring blankly at it.

“Um… Lady Malicia?” Katarina couldn’t help but ask, “Are you feeling well?”

The heiress turned around, and Katarina felt a hint of worry as she saw the expression on her Lady’s face. Or, more accurately, the lack of expression on her face.

She looked drained.

“Do you have something to say, maid?” the heiress asked, voice devoid of emotion.

“U-um… not more than I’ve already said…” Katarina murmured, looking down.

“Then why are you still here?” Malicia narrowed her eyes, sounding much more like the villainess Katarina remembered her to be in the game.

Katarina gulped, unsure what she could say to cheer the blonde up. She didn’t even know what the problem was.

“I’ll… just go now, then….” she murmured, stepping towards the door… before smirking, “And the next time I go into town, I’ll ask the shopkeep for matching hats for you and Pierre! You’ll look just like twins!”

“You will not!” Malicia snapped, throwing a crumpled up piece of paper after her as she scurried out of the room.

Katarina smiled. It seemed like the closest thing Malicia had to a good mood was being annoyed. Usually at her. At any rate, it was better than seeing that empty look in her eyes she’d seen a minute ago.

Taking the back stairwell reserved for the servantry, Katarina descended to the maids’ quarters for the evening, hoping she could think up a way to get her Lady to meet the heroine and on a path away from her doom soon!

Notes:

Merry Maid-mas!
Last chapter I'll post this year! I'll continue this story after New Years! :)

Chapter 9: The Fandom of the Opera

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

Living Loving Maidhttps://i.postimg.cc/qqkW2xTy/llmg.png

“I like your ojou drills, Malicia. They’re sproingy,” the new maid babbled incoherently, tugging gently on one of her coils of hair until it bounced back into place.

“Don’t say odd things about my hair,” Malicia swatted her maid’s hand away, “…and that’s ‘Lady Baudelaire’ to you!”

Malicia Baudelaire sat in her dressing room, tapping her toe as her maid finished preparing the young heiress for her night at the theatre. She emitted an annoyed sigh, watching her reflection as the brunette put the finishing touches on her hair. The heiress quirked her lips to one side as she looked in the mirror, attaching her favorite pair of pearl earrings to her ears.

The addition of the maid Rina Clayton to her household was an odd one, and not one she expected to get used to so quickly. Normally, the maids at the Baudelaire estate did their best to be neither seen nor heard, always vanishing from sight before she could interact with them, aside from when they screwed something up and she fired them. It was an arrangement she was familiar with, and had never expected anything else from a maid, so her current attendant was quite a change of pace for her.

To be blunt, the maid currently in her employ had done many things she would have fired a maid for in the past, and were it not for her current arrangement with Lawrence, she likely would have done the same with this one. That said, it had been nearly a month since Rina Clayton had been hired on as her attendant. In only two more months, the time she was required to keep the same maid at her side would be up, and she would be free to fire the brunette at her discretion.

Malicia wasn’t quite sure she wanted to do that. It wasn’t as if she liked the clumsy, oafish maid! She was quite sure of that much! She simply… decided it would be more troublesome than it was worth to fire Rina as soon as her arrangement was up. If she did, it was possible Lawrence and her father would require her to keep her next maid even longer. And it was quite possible that next maid might wind up being even less agreeable to her tastes than this one.

Not that Rina was particularly agreeable, per se, but… as much as she wanted to say otherwise, Malicia did find a certain comfort in having her around. Maybe it was like having an energetic puppy. Yes, that must be it, Malicia decided, as the maid finished helping her to don her dress for the night ahead.

Thus far, she had managed to exclude Rina from any of her major social outings for fear the simple-minded maid would embarrass her in front of other nobility. Tonight, however, she would be attending the theatre with her maid in tow. Yes, it was something of a trial run; a simple task to start off this foolish young woman in the ways of gathering intelligence on other noble houses.

Also… her previous encounter with the maid after she had returned from the city had left a bad taste in her mouth. She had no reason to attempt to be kind to this random servant, but even so. It wasn’t as if she felt guilty about scolding her. She treated a maid as a maid was to be treated. It was simply… unfitting for an heir of the Baudelaire house to be so dismissive of someone right after they had completed their tasks as requested.

Thus, she considered this venture to the theatre to be something of a… test run to prepare this foolish maid for gathering reconnaissance on other noble houses.

Malicia pulled her thick fur coat around herself, feeling the chilly bite of the early winter winds as she stepped out the door of her manor and into the waiting carriage before her house.

Outside, a light flurry of snow drifted down, blanketing the stone roads of the city as she and her maid rolled at a comfortable pace towards the opera house.

“Hey, Malicia?” the maid asked from beside her.

“What?” she shot the maid a half-hearted glare, annoyed once again by the lack of honorifics.

“What’s that place?” Rina pointed out the window of the carriage to an imposing structure with a tall dome at its center.

“That is the former manor of the Dautreive family, which was converted into a bastille a few decades ago when the last head of their house passed away,” Malicia explained. On some level, she felt foolish explaining such a thing to a maid, but there wasn’t anyone else around, so it didn’t weigh too heavily on her mind.

“It looks neat!” the brunette gushed, “The architecture here is so pretty!”

Malicia sighed, but couldn’t help but feel herself relax the slightest bit. It was an odd effect her maid seemed to have on her. She would normally be tense at the idea of another night of having to polish her fake smiles and tepid gossip, but she really didn’t have to be any of those things in front of her maid, she realized. She probably didn’t have to be that way in front of any of her previous maids, but with them, there was always the worry they would whisper if she let her guard down around them.

With this maid, though, Malicia had a hunch she had neither the intellect nor the motivation to engage in such gossip.

The heiress fell into an unusually comfortable conversation, naming off each estate or building her maid pointed out as they traveled through the city.

Before long, the young heiress and her attendant arrived at their destination: the Blanc Opera House.  The din of a crowd could be heard as their vehicle rolled up before the expansive theatre, stopping directly at the entranceway, where Malicia dramatically exited the carriage.

The bustling crowds before the theatre were nothing new to her, but she did feel a hint of hesitation about how her bumbling maid might commit some form of faux pas here. Luckily, it seemed her inept maid at least had some sense of social graces, and quickly fell into line behind her as she approached the opera house.

The irksome rumbling of a familiar sound drew the heiress from her reverie. Allowing her eyes to drift over to the source of the disturbing noise, she saw… yes, yet another person she’d hoped not to run into here tonight.

“My, my, Marchioness Couillard, you truly do have no taste,” Malicia murmured under her breath, eyes narrowed disapprovingly at the Marchioness and her entourage as they rolled past.

“Sh-she’s driving a…?” the maid gaped in shock at the metal contraption as it rumbled closer.

“Yes, yes, it’s one of those new-fangled ‘automobiles’,” Malicia explained with a huff. Honestly, she had no idea why someone would want to parade around in some gaudy, greasy contraption like an automobile, but it seemed an increasing number of nobles were seen in them lately. The blonde glared in the direction of the noisy pile of metal, “Well, I don’t think something meretricious like that will catch on….”

Rina bristled at the sight, hovering a few inches behind Malicia and watching the automobile as if it were a predator about to pounce at any second. Once it had passed, the maid cleared her throat and murmured, “I… certainly hope not. You should stay well away from them if they do, my Lady.”

Malicia arched a curious brow at her maid; it seemed the odd brunette who had taken station as her personal attendant was as unwelcoming of the new vehicles as she was, but she wasn’t going to question it. She felt a hint of a smile, in fact. There weren’t too many people who shared her open disdain for automobiles, so perhaps her maid showed some promise after all.

It seemed the brunette could be somewhat dignified, albeit at the strangest of moments.

Sparing no more thoughts on the matter, Malicia led the way into the glamorous opera house before them.

---

As she stood in front of the theatre, Katarina took a moment to take in the extravagance of it all… as well as the surprise of seeing her old arch nemesis here!

She had no idea stuff like cars existed in this world yet! They certainly didn’t have them in Sorcier!

It did make some kind of sense though, she supposed. Magic was apparently pretty rare outside of Sorcier, so it followed that other countries would have to supplement themselves with technology. Back in Sorcier, if there was something that needed to be fixed or built, the Ministry of Magic could usually dispatch some mages to sort the issue out, not to mention all the new potions and magic tools they were developing. Over here in Ritallia, though, they didn’t have that kind of luxury, so they had to make up for their lack of magic with technology.

All things considered, the former Duke’s daughter didn’t have the fondest memory of motor vehicles. She couldn’t help glancing back over her shoulder to make sure there weren’t any other cars that might sneak up on her or her Lady. She didn’t have long to dwell on the matter however, as Malicia had reached the front doors of the opera house.

“Ooohh~” Katarina gasped quietly as she entered the extravagant theatre.

A chandelier dazzled from the vaulted ceiling overhead. Enormous paintings decorated the rich red walls. A grand central staircase arched up from the center of the marble floor. There were definitely some fancy places in Sorcier, but once again, Katarina was struck by just how much bigger and more ornate everything was here. She felt herself questioning if she really had been a noble at all, considering how significantly everything here dwarfed the luxuries she’d had in Sorcier.

“Go fetch my ticket, maid,” Malicia directed her towards an office to the right of the main stairwell, “And act dignified! You are my representative!”

A mustachioed man politely greeted Katarina as she approached the ticket area, “Good evening, young miss. How may I help you?”

“Helooo,” Katarina did her best to match his fancy accent, “I am here to acquire Lady Malicia Baudelaire’s tickets for this evening!”

“Certainly, Miss,” the man responded, quickly handing them to Katarina, “Your tickets, mademoiselle.”

“Thanks!” Katarina chirped, then remembered she was supposed to be acting super formal at the moment, “…ahem. House Baudelaire thanks you kindly, good sir.”

The blonde looked decidedly less than happy as Katarina presented her with the tickets, “What was with that accent?”

“I was trying to sound fancy like that guy,” Katarina pointed over her shoulder at the clerk.

“There is no ‘trying to sound fancy’,” Malicia scoffed, “You either are or you aren’t. And you… aren’t.”

Katarina nodded, feeling disappointed with herself for letting Malicia down. She needed to be on her absolute top behavior here! She needed to be the second best darn maid in the whole world!  

Falling into step a pace behind Malicia, Katarina did her best to look and act as formally as possible as the pair made their way through the crowd of noblemen and women in the grand atrium.

---

Malicia turned her mind away for her maid and to the main focus of the night: the theatre. And, more importantly, the chance to flaunt her status the theatre provided.

She approached a group of other noblewomen with practiced grace. Before her stood three of her… well, she wouldn’t exactly call them ‘friends’. Acquaintances, perhaps? In any case, the trio before her was a group of ladies she was relatively familiar with.

The first was Lady Alice Rousseau, a duke’s daughter who would likely be the foremost noble lady of their generation if not for Malicia herself standing atop Ritallia’s social food chain.

The next was Lady Lucille Canion, the daughter of a Marquis who always appeared tired. Her droopy eyes constantly seemed sleepy, but, as Malicia had learned long ago, she was particularly attentive to everything that happened around her. Lady Canion’s gentle nature suggested otherwise, but Malicia knew the quiet girl could be a fearsome adversary if she wished to be.

Lady Penelope LaPierre was the daughter of a count, a lower noble who Malicia wouldn’t normally spend her time with, but she somehow had a knack for knowing all the freshest gossip among the noble circles.

“Hello, Ladies,” Malicia greeted them with her most convincing fake smile.

“Ah, Lady Baudelaire!” Penelope chirped, taking the blonde’s hand and ushering her into their circle.

“Hello, Mali,” Lucile yawned, her usual impassive smile not betraying even a hint of her true feelings.

Malicia was sure she didn’t let herself show any outward sign of annoyance at the nickname, but from the way the sleepy girl tilted her head, it was clear she knew she’d irked her.

“And a good evening to you, Lady Baudelaire,” Lady Alice Rousseau greeted her, face calm and dignified.

It wasn’t long before the four of them had slipped into one of their normal conversations, sharing stories of scandal and gossip among the nobility. Malicia did her best to take careful note of anything that could be used against any other houses that she might happen to cross paths with.

“Oh! I’ve heard tales of a certain young viscountess,” Penelope leaned in with a conspiratorial whisper, “It seems she’s caught the eye of the son of Duke Aguillard.”

Malicia knew exactly who the count’s daughter spoke of. Lady Laurent, a viscountess whose husband had passed away a few years prior, and was infamous for trying to seduce any man who looked her way.

“Fufu,” the sleepy-eyed Marquis’ daughter chuckled quietly, “Lady Laurent certainly does have quite the talent for charming men of higher standing, doesn’t she?”

“Well, she may string along her fair share of men, but I highly doubt they will follow her around for too long,” Lady Rousseau huffed, “She’s not exactly Katarina Claes.”

Malicia smiled ever so slightly at that name.

She would admit she was a fan of any tales of the Sorcierran noblewoman Katarina Claes which made their way across the seas. From all Malicia had heard, the young lady was the essence of noble splendor, drawing the eyes of any men (and even a few women) that looked her way.

The daughter of a duke, and engaged to a prince… yes, she had to admit, Lady Katarina Claes must truly have it made. She liked to think she would become good friends with the infamously alluring beauty if she ever happened to meet her.

Malicia allowed herself to exchange a few more pleasantries and gossip freely with the other ladies for a few more moments before their conversation inevitably drew to a close. The blonde parted ways with the ladies just as the staff at the theatre announced it was nearly showtime.

Now, to test out how well her little monkey of a maid had paid attention to their conversation just then. It was relatively standard fare for a conversation between herself and her peers, but busy as she was, she couldn’t always recall the intricate details of every piece of gossip she heard. Thus, she liked to have a second set of ears waiting in the wings to keep track of things.

The heiress turned around to find Rina… and she was nowhere to be seen.

“Maid!” Malicia called out in frustration.

“Eh?” a bob of brown hair popped up several meters away near a table of pamphlets.

“What are you doing?” the heiress marched over to the podium where her useless maid was standing.

“I was reading the summary,” the brunette explained casually.

“Of what?”

“The play tonight. I didn’t know what it was about.”

“You… weren’t listening to that conversation at all?” Malicia felt her brow twitch.

“Should I have?” the maid looked entirely confused.

Malicia let out a long, withering sigh, “Listen. As my maid, I expect you to always keep your eyes and ears open to the behavior of anyone I speak to. It is of the utmost importance to me that you pay attention to what I am discussing at all times!”

“I don’t see any of the capture targets here, Malicia. You should be fine,” the maid responded cheerily.

Malicia just stared back for a long moment, unsure how to even reply to that. ‘Capture targets’? What in the world did that mean?

“….what?” the blonde eventually asked.

Rina flinched back suddenly, “Ummm… I mean… um… I’ll pay better attention in the future, my Lady!”

The heiress pursed her lips, entirely unsure what to make of her maid’s behavior. After a moment, she rubbed her eyes. Whatever the case may be, she doubted anything productive would come of arguing with her right here and now.

“Come on,” Malicia grabbed the maid’s wrist and began pulling her towards the entrance to the theatre.

---

Katarina trailed behind her young charge as she led the way up the grand staircase to the highest level, and up another, smaller flight of stairs to the upper balcony, where a sizable box seat reserved for the Baudelaire family overlooked the opulent, gorgeous stage of the Blanc Opera House.

As they stepped into the box seat, Katarina suddenly grew a bit hesitant. Was she supposed to come up here? Were the maids meant to wait somewhere else?

“So… where should I…?” she started.

“Take your seat, maid,” Malicia gestured to the seat beside herself.

“Eh? Right next to you? Is that really okay?”

“Where else would I have my attendant sit?” the blonde replied as if it were only natural.

Katarina didn’t clearly remember a scene from the game where the heroine attended a play with Malicia, but she was pretty certain if there had been, the Malicia in the game wouldn’t have allowed Clara to sit right next to her. She absolutely loathed any time she spent in the presence of the heroine and took every opportunity to avoid her when she wasn’t actively tormenting her.

So then… just why was it that she seemed to get along so much better with Katarina herself than she did with the actual heroine?

Perhaps, Katarina mused, it was because she was a villainess too. Maybe that was why she got along with her fellow antagonist so easily compared to the intended heroine….

She was shaken from her thoughts as the royal burgundy curtains swirled open with a flourish, and thus, the play began. Katarina sat back and turned her attention to the stage as the story began to unfold.

The play opened on a scene of a king’s financial advisor meeting with a foreign minister about a trade deal between the two countries. The lead was a soft-spoken, handsome prince with dark hair who entered the scene a few moments later to politely discuss the business transaction.

After a moment, it hit her.

Nicol. The play’s prince was very, very reminiscent of Nicol. In fact, Katarina had to rub her eyes to make sure it wasn’t actually Nicol himself on the stage!

The Nicol-esque prince greeted the minister of finance, and began to lay out the details of his kingdom’s plans for the arranged trade deal. And then… well… Katarina really couldn’t follow the plot past a certain point. It became a thoroughly convoluted and intricately woven web of plot threads and characters and themes….

And… politics.

She could barely wrap her head around Sorcier’s politics sometimes, and she lived there! Trying to make sense of the little in-jokes peppered throughout the play when she had no idea who any of the people they were referencing even were bored her to tears. Quite literally at a certain point. The former duke’s daughter could feel her eyes glazing over from the dry air as she watched the stage production. She did her best to smile a half hearted smile at what she assumed were supposed to be jokes, but honestly… this was downright tedious!

At least when she got dragged to these things back in Sorcier, she had Keith or Mary or Alan or Geordo by her side so she could quietly chat about something during the boring parts of the story. It was something she usually wound up getting scolded for after the show had ended, but right now, she very much missed the company.

The only thing that helped prevent her from falling asleep was the urge to stay attentive to anything Malicia might need. Unfortunately, her charge was laser-focused on the story unfolding onstage, watching like a hawk with wide eyes.

The story was very, very slow, and seemed to be more of a procedural drama about the intricacies of a trade deal between two relatively friendly nations. The brunette felt her eyes drying out again as she wondered why anyone would write a story about something so dull in the first place.

“Uuuuu…” Katarina moaned softly under her breath, resisting the urge to rub her eyes. She still had to look like a proper maid, and she knew Anne wouldn’t show it even if she was super bored by a dumb play!

Sometime later, Katarina jolted upright in her chair.

Had she fallen asleep? Or did all the scenes in the play just phased together as her mind wandered? Whatever the case may have been, she was shaken out of her stupor by the crowd’s applause as the stage production was brought to a close. At least, she assumed the crowd was applauding. She could barely hear them over her own charge’s surprisingly unrestrained cheering.

“Magnifique! Magnifique!” Malicia cried out, standing up beside her, tears running down her face.

“Y-you liked it?” Katarina rubbed her ears, which had been caught off-guard by Malicia’s exuberant praise.

“Liked it? I absolutely adored it!” Malicia cheered, wiping the tears from her face before turning back to Katarina, “Didn’t you enjoy it, maid? Or did the nuances of it all go over your little plebian head?”

“W-well…” Katarina looked around sheepishly and began to gather up their things to leave the theatre.

“Hmph,” the blonde crossed her arms, “I suppose I shouldn’t expect too much of you, maid.”

At least one of the benefits of being a maid is that no one expects me to enjoy or understand this type of stuff, Katarina thought to herself as she followed her Lady out of the Baudelaire box seat and down the stairs. To her surprise, when they reached, the bottom of the stairs, Malicia didn’t turn toward the entrance of the theatre, but toward the backstage area.

Katarina had a hunch the heiress was going to go meet the dazzlingly handsome lead actor of the play. She couldn’t blame her, after all, she’d been captivated by his beauty as well. Although… that may have been more due to his resemblance of her former friend than anything.

As they reached the area in front of the stage where the actors and actresses were chatting with certain members of the audience, Katarina was surprised as Malicia marched straight past the line of ladies gathered before the play’s lead.

“Where are you going?” Katarina lightly tapped her shoulder as she pursued.

“I must meet the playwright,” Malicia declared.

“Eh? The playwright? Not the main actor?”

“Why would I care about a boring actor?” the blonde shot a quick glance of confusion over her shoulder, “Anyone can recite lines from a script, maid.”

“Okay, but… Right now?” Katarina gave her a look.

“Of course! I have no intention of tarrying around this evening!” Malicia replied, eagerly marching backstage.

Soon enough, the pair rounded the corner at the bottom of the stairs and made their way toward the area behind the stage, where a door to the backstage area was guarded by a tall, bearded man.

“This area is private,” the man informed them curtly.

Katarina glanced back and forth between the man and Malicia, both of whom were staring at her for some reason. After a moment, the blonde broke the awkward silence with an irritated whisper, “Maid! Say something!”

“Eh? Oh!” Katarina snapped out of her confusion, remembering her station, “Um, this is Malicia Baudelaire, of the Baudelaire Archduchy. She wishes to speak to the playwright.”

“Yes, miss,” the man nodded, stepping aside so they could pass.

Katarina hummed softly as she stepped in. She had never really gone around using her status as a Duke’s daughter to get into places other people weren’t allowed to go. She’d honestly never even considered it, outside of trying to sneak into the kitchens at the academy a few times, but the staff there had been informed by her mother not to let her in, so she hadn’t gotten very far with that plan.

As they made their way through the backstage area, Katarina’s eyes widened as she noticed a familiar face; one she certainly hadn’t expected to see here, “Eh? That’s…”

“Sir Antoine Chevalier,” Malicia finished for her, marching over to meet the handsome, blue-haired man behind the curtain.

“Ah, hello, Lady Baudelaire,” the knight greeted her kindly, “What brings you backstage on such a night?”

Another capture target! Katarina tensed slightly, not expecting such an encounter tonight. As a capture target in Love’s Uprising, Sir Chevalier had of course crossed paths with Malicia’s maid Clara in the game, but this wasn’t how it had happened at all! This whole thing was totally off-script!

“Ahem,” Malicia cleared her throat. Katarina swore she saw a hint of a blush on the blonde’s cheeks as she elaborated, “I was very… impressed by the play this evening, and I simply wished to offer my compliments to the playwright.”

Malicia appeared to be a bit flustered by this sudden encounter. Katarina couldn’t blame her; he was truly handsome. In a way, he had a similar air to Nicol’s; a striking beauty and grace that seemed to come naturally to him. He was tall and quiet, with a swirl of dark blue hair that fluttered over his eyes beneath a large fancy hat with an even larger feather sticking out of it. It was the sort of outfit that might look goofy on anyone else, but seemed oddly fitting for him.

And here stood the villainess of Love’s Uprising, complimenting one of the capture targets on a job well done.

Katarina smirked. Her charge hadn’t simply been impressed by the play; she’d been absolutely blown away by it! And so, she decided to say as much.

“She really loved it, she cheered really loudly at the end- oof!” she was cut off abruptly by Malicia elbowing her in the ribs.

The blonde sent her a sharp warning glare.

Sir Chevalier smiled back at her, a faint blush on his features, “W-well, I’m very happy to hear you enjoyed it. I must admit I’m very proud of how the script turned out.”

“You absolutely should be, it was truly clever and incredibly humorous. It was… a very well-crafted comedy,” Malicia clasped her hands together as she gushed.

A comedy? Katarina tilted her head. She thought it was supposed to be a tragedy. She was pretty sure somebody died near the end, but she admittedly hadn’t been paying the closest attention by that point.

“Thank you, Lady Baudelaire,” the knight bowed his head respectfully.

Malicia’s smile widened a tad as she carried on with her praise for the play, “Oh yes, and the line about the ledger with a golden bookmark? It was both a reference to the abdication of King Charles and to the number of buttons on Lord Archibald’s suit, wasn’t it?” Malicia asked, a smug smile on her face.

“Fufu, I must admit, I’m impressed you managed to catch on to that little turn of phrase,” Sir Chevalier chuckled.

“Yes, yes, you may praise my attentiveness!” Malicia folded her arms, puffing with pride, “Did you build the set pieces for this play yourself, Sir Chevalier?”

“I did not personally build them, but I did have some input on their designs. Why do you ask?”

“Well, I was simply curious whether the patterns on the wallpaper here were deliberately a reference to Lord Camille’s castle?” Malicia began leading the way out to the main stage, where the set from the final act was still in place.

Katarina felt herself relax a tad as she watched them talk. Malicia wasn’t the main rival in his route, so she should be safer talking with him than with any of the others, right?

And then, as if on cue… she felt a chill run down her spine.

It felt like she was being watched. No, it felt more like she was in the sights of a hungry animal. Ever so slowly, she craned her neck back to the auditorium past the stage. Scanning the area, she turned to find a dark figure in one of the upper balconies, looming over the railing like a specter.

A silhouette like a dagger in the night. Eyes hidden behind silvery glasses. A curtain of black hair down to her knees.

Yes, there could be no doubt this was the second rival character of Love’s Uprising, Lady Lena LaCroix.

Katarina felt her heart freeze over in fear for a split second; even from this distance, even with her eyes obscured by shadow, she could tell Lady LaCroix’s gaze was cast directly to this corner of the stage. Not upon herself, but upon Malicia.

The brunette gulped, a sudden sinking feeling setting in her chest as her eyes flicked back and forth between the shadowy, phantom-like figure on the balcony, and the heiress who was locked in her sights. Lady Malicia didn’t seem to notice anything was amiss as she continued chatting with Sir Chevalier, but to Katarina, it felt like her charge was a gazelle casually prancing about in front of a hungry lion!

The maid grabbed the sides of her head, screwing her eyes shut as she did her best to think back to whatever she could remember from Love’s Uprising. As best she could recall, Lena LaCroix was a fairly quiet and soft spoken individual, with one exception. She could be quite vicious if anyone were to come between herself and Sir Chevalier, her intended fiancé.

And currently, the one standing between her and her intended love was Lady Malicia herself.

In the game, the person she should recognize as a love rival was Clara, but Clara wasn’t here right now. And Katarina, as her interim maid, hadn’t really said anything to Sir Chevalier at all.

Katarina felt a shiver. Was there a chance Lady LaCroix could begin to see Malicia as her love rival?

As the brunette reminded herself, this wasn’t actually the game. People here could make very different choices than how they behaved in the game; they weren’t bound to be exactly like their characters in some otome game from another world!

Katarina steeled herself; she needed to make sure Lady LaCroix didn’t begin to see Malicia as a love rival. The last thing she needed was yet another doom flag for her Lady to have to dodge. She had to be the very best maid she could be, all the while keeping Malicia safe from her fated destruction!

The blonde in question was making her way back from the stage, happily chatting with the blue-haired knight all the while. It seemed she had nothing but praises for Chevalier’s theatrical vision.

“Thank you for your kind words Lady Baudelaire,” the knight thanked her graciously as they stepped back behind the stage curtains, “It is always an honor to perform at the Royal Palace.”

The pleasant atmosphere of Malicia’s and Sir Chevalier’s conversation came to a sudden halt.

“Eh?” Malicia narrowed her eyes.

“Huh?” Katarina tilted her head as well. Something he’d said just then was very… off.

Sir Chevalier tilted his head, “Did I say something odd?”

“The Royal Palace?” Malicia asked curiously.

“Yes? It’s a lovely place to perform, with such a well-equipped stage,” the knight elaborated, gesturing to the lavish stage before them.

“This… is the opera house,” Malicia explained, her smile suddenly looking a bit strained, “Not the Royal Palace.”

“Ah,” Sir Chevalier closed his eyes in thought, “That explains why the staff hadn’t expected a performance tonight, hm? I suppose I must have ventured down the wrong street again….”

“How could you possibly mistake the two?” Katarina blurted.

“Maid, hush. This isn’t a conversation for a peasant,” Malicia scolded, before turning back to the knight, “Now… how could you possibly mistake the two?”

The knight stared back, unsure what to say.

“Honestly, Sir Chevalier, every time I cross paths with you, you’re meant to be somewhere else!” Malicia huffed, poking him in the chest as she scolded him, “You ought to carry a map inside that oversized hat of yours!”

Katarina couldn’t help but giggle quietly at her charge’s display, “…like a mother scolding her child…”

“What was that, maid?” Malicia turned her glare back to her.

“Ehe, nothing, nothing!” Katarina held up her hands innocently.

“Hah…” the blonde rubbed her eyes, turning back to Sir Chevalier, “In any case. I truly did… enjoy the play. If you write any other scripts, I would very much like a chance to attend their productions.”

“Why, I absolutely shall invite you, Lady Baudelaire,” the knight offered his hand to her, which she quickly accepted, “And you need not be so formal. You may call me Antoine.”

“I only hope you get the address of the venue you’re meant to be performing at correct next time,” Malicia smirked, continuing to shake his hand, “And please, call me Malicia.”

Sir Chevalier and Malicia’s handshake continued for what felt like an unusually long time. After a moment, Katarina cleared her throat.

She noticed Malicia’s face redden a touch as she finally broke the handshake, “Have a good evening, Sir Antoine.”

“Good evening to you too, Malicia Baudelaire,” the dark haired knight’s gaze lingered on her as she and Katarina turned to exit the backstage area of the theatre.

A few moments later, the pair had made their way into the theatre’s atrium, which was still humming with activity. Nobles were buzzing about, chatting about the play and other such topics in small groups as refreshments were served at a table in the back.

Katarina hummed as they made their way through the atrium; it looked more like the lavish party that had been thrown for her when she turned 15 than the aftermath of a trip to the theatre. The nobles here in Ritallia really went all-out for every occasion, didn’t they?

A sudden flash of light from near the entrance of the theatre drew her maid’s attention.

“W-whoa! Hang on, is that…?” Katarina blinked in surprise.

“Yes, it’s one of those newly developed picture boxes,” Malicia explained, “I’m surprised you’ve heard of them, maid.”

Yes, it was true. It was, in fact, a camera!

It obviously wasn’t kind of digital cameras they had back in Japan, or even a disposable one, but instead, one of those old timey camera things that looked more like a birdhouse with legs than a proper camera. But it was well and truly a camera!

Katarina’s face lit up as she ambled over to the contraption set up in front of the theatre.

“Maid! Where are you going? The front doors are this way!”

“Hey… let’s get a picture real quick! Just the two of us!” Katarina tugged on her employer’s sleeve.

“Hah? Why on earth would I be pictured with a maid?” Malicia gaped at her.

“Because… why not?” she shrugged.

Malicia held her gaze for a moment, lips pursed, before she relented, “Fine. Let’s make this quick.”

Katarina grinned, pulling her over to the area where the photographer was waiting. She honestly hadn’t expected the heiress to agree so quickly. She had been kind of dubious whether the blonde would agree at all, but she was glad she had. As far as making this quick though… Katarina wasn’t so sure about that part. She knew these old fashioned cameras could be kind of a process to use.

Wasting no time, she told the photographer to take their picture together. Per his instruction, they sat together on a pair of red velvet chairs by the wall, and waited as he readied the camera.

“Did you have fun tonight, Malicia?” Katarina asked as they waited.

“What do you care?”

“I’m your maid, aren’t I?”

“Yes you are,” Malicia arched a suspicious eyebrow, “Hence I’ll ask again, why do you care?”

“Why wouldn’t I care? We’re… friends, right?” Katarina asked softly, hopefully.

“You consider yourself my friend?” Malicia shot her a look. Before Katarina could respond, the blonde sighed, “… yes, I did enjoy myself this evening”

“It was cool, right?” Katarina nudged her, “You got to meet Sir Chevalier! He’s a really… unique playwright, right?”

“Yes, he’s… immensely talented,” the blonde sighed wistfully.

Well, one of us thought so at least, Katarina shrugged, opting not to say as much out loud.

“Alright ladies, strike the pose you want and stay still until the exposure is complete,” the photographer instructed.

Katarina sat up straighter next to her boss and smiled widely as the camera flashed.

The photo was finally complete a few moments later. Katarina paid the photographer and thanked him kindly, before looking at the picture in her hands. In the photograph, Katarina was grinning widely, while Malicia smiled her usual smile, although the maid thought it looked a bit softer than normal.

“There!” Katarina tapped the image, presenting it to Malicia, “Now you can remember tonight forever!”

“Hm,” Malicia exhaled something between a laugh and a scoff.

Katarina wrote a quick note on the back of it: ‘Fun night at the theatre! Malicia and her favorite maid/bestie, OXRina XO!’

Instinctively, she’d nearly written ‘Katarina’, but she deftly changed it into Xs and Os so no one would be suspicious. She added a little smiley face in one of the Os, grinning to herself all the while. As they stepped back onto the carriage, she asked, “Where do you want me to put it?”

“Put it in the garbage where it belongs,” Malicia scoffed, but her voice wasn’t as cold as it sometimes was. 

With a little smile, Katarina tucked it in her purse, making sure to take good care of it for her Lady’s sake.

Notes:

Ah, I manage to update again. I'd say I want to start updating more regularly, but every time I say that, it ends up not happening. I want to finish the story before the end of this year, at the least.

I included a little edit of some screencaps from Hamefura, showing Katarina as Malicia's maid, hope you enjoy! The blonde girl in the pic was one of Nicol's marriage candidates from season 2, but I thought she had enough of a Malicia vibe that I could edit her in to this pic.

In any case, here's this chapter! We get to see a bit more about the differences between Ritallia's culture and Sorcier's, and some nice bonding time between Katarina and Malicia. I've had this chapter waiting for so long I don't even remember what I originally wanted to put in the notes lol. But anyways, I hope you enjoyed! And here's hoping the wait for the next update won't be as long as this one!

Thanks for reading!

Chapter 10: In the Evening

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

“So… how has House Allient been affected from the textile trade deal with Etran?”

“The Allient Marquisette is a large supplier of wool and cotton dyes and has profited significantly from the deal.”

“Commanding officers of the Royal Army can be appointed by…?”

“The King, or if the King is incapacitated, the next in line to the throne.”

“What event prompted the appointment of the Gin… Guni… Gih-?”

“It’s pronounced the ‘Guinevere Matron’; the Queen’s personal wine tester, and she was appointed due to the attempted poisoning of Queen Guinevere, during the reign of King Gusteau nearly 120 years ago.”

“The tax rate on commoners was raised this year by…?”

“Twelve percent.”

Katarina frowned. Did they really need to raise the tax that much? It seemed like the people here were pretty poor already…

“Are you sure this will help with your marriage interview, my Lady?” Katarina asked, setting down the dusty legal textbook so she could take a much needed break to rub her dry eyes.

“Of course it will!” Malicia waved her hand, “Prince Alexander is first in line to be King; he’ll need a queen by his side who fully understands this country!”

Katarina pursed her lips. Malicia wasn’t wrong per se, but she wasn’t really right either.

From the game, she knew Prince Alexander was looking for someone who fully understood the feelings of the people, not just the legal structure of Ritallia. The royal family had plenty of retainers and lawyers that could handle all of that stuff, but what it lacked was a sense of goodwill with the people, especially right now.

The marriage interview was already next week, a fact which took Katarina by surprise. Had it really already been almost two months since she’d gotten here? It seemed time truly flew when she had her hands full with maid duties and doing her best to make sure Malicia didn’t do anything too villainous (which, to her relief, was a lot easier than she’d expected).

Earlier that day, Katarina had been asked to handle other chores around the house while Malicia spent the latest in a long line of afternoons meeting with her tutor, a very severe looking old woman from on hire by the Baudelaire family. From what Katarina gathered, the tutor had instructed a number of important men and women of Ritallia over the past few generations, including the current Queen.

Despite what Katarina concluded was an utterly terrifying study session with the tutor, Malicia apparently still felt she hadn’t learned enough to successfully undergo her marriage interview with Prince Alexander. Wanting to help out, Katarina offered to help the blonde study, not actually thinking she would agree. But, much to her surprise, Malicia did in fact want Katarina to help her learn the material she needed to know inside and out.

And so, she’d been quizzing Malicia for the last two hours or so quizzing her charge on a number of various topics about the workings of the nation’s government and its laws.

At this rate, she’d know more about Ritallia’s government than she knew about Sorcier’s!

As she asked one question after another, the maid thought back to Malicia’s reason for studying like this in the first place. She was trying to marry Prince Alexander, who would soon assume the throne and become King, making her the Queen.

(Well, that was assuming the impending revolution from the game didn’t completely dismantle the Royal Family, as it did in a couple of the bad ends….)

Just outside, another flurry of snow was drifting past the old, gothic windows of Baudelaire manor. Katarina glanced down at the heiress, who was diligently taking notes in her book, lips quirked to one side as she jotted down lines in a fancy, scrawling script. As she watched, she found herself wondering something.

“Hey, Malicia?”

“What is it? And that’s Lady Baudelaire to you!”

“Why… do you want to be Queen?”

“Hah?” the blonde set her quill down, looking up at Katarina.

“It seems like it’s a lot of work…” the maid murmured, recalling all the stuff Keith and Mary said she’d have to do if she married Geordo.

“Of course it’s a lot of work! But it’s necessary! A nation needs a Queen!” Malicia declared firmly.

“I know that much, but, why do you want to be Queen so badly?” Katarina pressed. She figured that, maybe just maybe, she’d be able to understand her fellow villainess a bit better if she understood why she wanted that particular title so badly. Noticing Malicia’s suspicious look, she added, “I’m just curious.”

“B-because… Who in their right mind wouldn’t want to be Queen?” Malicia shook her head, looking a bit unsure what to say, “The wealth, the luxury, the… status!”

It seemed like there was something that went unsaid just then. Katarina tilted her head, “Don’t you have most of that stuff already?”

“Being part of the Royal… Family is a very, very important thing,” the blonde said, an odd pause in her words, “I wouldn’t expect someone like you to understand.”

There was another long, awkward pause, which Katarina took as her cue to continue her study session. She glanced back down to the textbook and the notes scrawled in the accompanying journal, “So, how about more questions? The appointment of Lord Riviere to Minister of Finance 7 years ago was due to…”

“T-that will be all, maid!” Malicia blurted suddenly, snapping the book shut.

“Are you sure?” Katarina asked. She hoped she hadn’t hurt Malicia’s feelings somehow.

“I said, you’re dismissed!” the heiress repeated, pointing to the door.

“Okay… good night, Malicia! Let me know if--” Katarina was cut off as the door slammed in her face.

She felt a pang of discomfort in her chest; she’d definitely said something wrong just then. It was moments like these when she wished she was a little more attentive. She really wanted to be the best she could be for Malicia’s sake.

---

A few hours passed since Katarina left Malicia’s room. She really didn’t like leaving her charge when she was in such a bad mood, but she was never quite sure what the cause of Malicia’s fickle temper was so she didn’t quite know how to assuage her. She assumed it was stress over her marriage interview, but even if that was the case, Katarina wasn’t really sure what advice she could give on the matter. After all, her own engagement had ended in her getting exiled here in the first place!

The brunette was shaken from her thoughts as she overheard the distant sound of shouting from down the hall. It seemed as though she’d stumbled upon a very angry Malicia this evening.

“…you utterly incompetent, negligent, oaf! Get out of my mansion at once!”

Yep, this was definitely an angry Malicia. Still, she couldn’t leave her charge alone when she was clearly upset about something.

Taking a breath, she rounded the corner and took in the scene before her. Malicia was holding something in her hand and glaring angrily at a frightened maid who was crouching on the floor before her. The maid was another girl who worked at the Baudelaire house; one Katarina recognized as Grace. She was a nice and gentle girl, but she did have shaky hands and had a tendency to drop things now and then. It was kind of a relief for Katarina, since she’d been worried she would be the only clumsy maid here.

Still, to see her Lady glaring so hatefully at the young woman took her by surprise.

“Eh? Malicia? What’s going on?” Katarina asked.

“Nothing that concerns you, maid,” the blonde waved her away.

“It sounds like you’re firing Grace,” Katarina glanced between her boss and the shaken maid on the floor.

“That’s because I am,” Malicia’s eyes glinted sharply.

“Wh-what? Why?” Katarina was taken aback by the bluntness of her reply, “Grace is really nice, what did she do?”

“I-I apologize once again, Lady B-Baudelaire,” Grace bowed her head, looking like she was on the brink of tears.

“This imbecile dropped a priceless pair of earrings!” the blonde snapped.

So? I’ve broken stuff here too… Katarina thought. Something felt off here. She put her hands on her hips and frowned. ‘A priceless pair of earrings’? Really?

Katarina glanced at the earrings in her boss’ hands. They looked fine to her, aside from a tiny crack in one of the pearls. She knew there was some enamel in one of the cupboards, so the crack should pretty easy to patch up, especially if Nellie or Ellie did the repair work. They were much better at delicate work like that than Grace or Katarina herself.

Since when did Malicia care about money at all? She always made it clear she had more than enough to spend on anything and everything.

No, money wasn’t the issue here. Then, that meant…

“Malicia… were those your mothers’ earrings?” Katarina asked carefully.

“H-hah?” the blonde’s eyes widened like a child who had been caught stealing candy, “S-so what if they were?

“Malicia….” Katarina sighed, a hint of sympathy in her voice.

“D-don’t you look at me like that, maid!” Malicia shrunk back a step, before crossing her arms and stepping forward again, “These are very important to me, and I can’t have some imbecile just dropping them on the floor like garbage!”

“I’m sure Grace didn’t mean to drop them,” Katarina offered, stepping closer to the terrified looking house maid.

“Her intentions are irrelevant!” Malicia didn’t budge, “She’s damaged a key piece of my personal inheritance!”

---

Malicia felt her face going red with anger. Not only had one maid damaged her favorite earrings, now this other fool of a maid was trying to defend her!

And then, her attendant surprised her yet again.

“I understand,” Rina said softly, then looked up at Malicia with firm eyes, “But… do you really think your mom would want you to fire people because they dropped an earring?”

The blonde blinked back, not expecting such a response. She felt a handful of emotions flickering through her heart before landing on anger again.

“You… shut up! You have no idea what it’s like to lose a mother!” she snapped impulsively, and immediately wished she hadn’t.

“I do, actually,” Rina spoke quietly, eyes distant.

Malicia’s eyes widened; she felt like she’d gotten stabbed in the heart. She held up her hands as if to apologize, but no words came out.

Damn. Damn it all.

Why did this maid have to say it like that?

Why had she also lost her…?

Why did it seem like everyone else in the world was so much better at just moving on than she was? When someone died, weren’t you supposed to cherish their memory? Weren’t you supposed to hold on to the things they left behind for you?

“Ghhhh--” the blonde gritted her teeth, fighting back a wave of emotions.

“Malicia, it’s okay to be upset about stuff,” Rina walked over to her, patting her comfortingly on the arm. After a moment, Malicia’s eyes flicked up to find the maid looking at her with a gentle look, one of understanding, “But… all the maids here work really hard. So don’t be too hard on us when we screw up, okay?”

Malicia groaned, screwing her eyes shut. She wasn’t used to seeing that look in anyone’s eyes around here. Not for a very long time.

“F-f-fine. You can stay,” the blonde murmured in the direction of Grace, voice barely above a whisper.

“Eh?” Rina looked a bit surprised for a moment.

“L-Lady Baudelaire?” Grace looked up at her, eyes wide.

“You can stay,” Malicia repeated a bit louder.

Grace’s eyes twinkled with wonder.

Malicia couldn’t bear to look at her; she averted her eyes. Why did giving this foolish maid a second chance make her feel so…? She didn’t even know how she was feeling! She found herself looking at her personal attendant. Rina grinned broadly back at her.

“Ugh,” Malicia growled under her breath, and glanced back to Grace, “D-don’t think this means anything! If I catch you damaging my family heirlooms again, you’ll be out the door faster than you can blink! Understand?”

“O-of course!” Grace said hastily, standing up to bow, “I will make absolutely sure not to harm a single thread, my Lady.”

The maid scurried off towards the servants’ quarters without another word. Malicia turned to find her personal maid still grinning proudly at her. She felt her face growing red again, this time with… embarrassment, perhaps? No, that wasn’t quite it. It didn’t matter what she was feeling at any rate.

“S-shut it,” Malicia glared at Rina.

“I didn’t say anything,” the brunette looked at her, eyes twinkling.

Malicia couldn’t think of anything to say, so she just scowled and marched back to her bedroom.

“Would you like your… usual pajamas this evening, my Lady?” Rina asked, a hint of a smirk on her lips.

She hated being seen in those gaudy things… but it was cold this evening. And… it wasn’t as if the pajamas themselves were uncomfortable to wear. Malicia glared back at her, arms crossed for a moment, before she relented, “… fine.”

“Right away, my Lady,” Rina winked, that little twinkle in her eyes again.

“I said shut it!”

“I didn’t say a thing~!” Rina singsonged back at her, turning to fetch the handmade carrot pajamas.

---

Katarina made her way back to the servants’ quarters a short while later, a smile still on her lips from the sight of Malicia in her own set of veggie pajamas (which were now outfitted with buttons rather than a zipper).

She felt… happy.

It wasn’t a big thing, certainly not enough to knock down all her charge’s doom flags, but convincing Malicia not to fire Grace felt very much like a step in the right direction! Now, she just had to figure out how to get Malicia and the heroine to meet, and have her charge show Clara a similar act of goodwill. She could only hope something like that would be enough to start to steer the heiress away from the path to doom.

“Miss Rina,” a pair of voices greeted her in perfect unison as she arrived at the servants’ quarters.

“Hey Ellie! Hey Nellie!” Katarina waved to the twins as she made her way to her dorm.

“It would seem you are on our mistress’ good side,” Nellie informed her, face neutral.

“Eh?”

“Miss Grace said you stood up to our Lady today,” Ellie explained.

“W-well, yeah,” Katarina admitted. Was that a bad thing?

Ellie continued, “You must have well and truly won her over if she managed to not only listen to what you said but actually change her mind on the matter.”

Katarina pursed her lips, “She can be kind of… cold, but she has a nice side. I know it.”

“Hm,” Ellie glanced at Nellie.

“Hm,” Nellie glanced at Ellie.

Katarina tilted her head. She never knew what those two were thinking when they shared a look like that.

“We simply wished to congratulate you on a job well done,” Nellie said suddenly.

“As servants of House Baudelaire, we act in the best interests of our Lady,” Ellie added.

“And we agree that it is very much in her best interests to have a truly close friend,” Nellie concluded.

“A friend? Me?” Katarina blinked. It was true, she did want to be Malicia’s friend as much as she could, but… she didn’t know how far along that path she’d actually gotten yet. She smiled lightly at the notion, “I… really hope I can be a friend to her.”

“Just make sure you don’t ever fail her,” Nellie stated firmly.

“I won’t! I promise; I’ll be the best friend I can be!” Katarina grinned, a newfound sense of determination filling her as she pumped her fists.

“Hm,” Nellie glanced at Ellie.

“Hm,” Ellie glanced at Nellie.

The two gave her what she decided were approving nods, and then turned back to their own rooms.

Katarina sighed as she settled in for bed, a warm, happy fluttering in her chest as she considered her prospects as not just Malicia’s maid, but her friend! The heiress tried her hardest to seem professional and proper, but Katarina always got the nagging sense that she was lonely. Maybe, just maybe, a friend was what she needed most right now.

She smiled at the thought of the new friends she would begin to make here, as well as a lingering heartache at the thought of the ones she’d lost.

~~~

Across the seas, a single candlelight flickered over an oaken desk in the Academy library.

Geordo Stuart felt his eyes drying out as he read an old book on hidden magic techniques far past the school’s curfew. He was likely one of only a handful of individuals who were still awake at this hour.

Currently, the prince was awaiting word from a messenger to the Royal Palace. Once he received the news he was waiting for, he would rush there posthaste.

In the meantime, however, he was taking a moment to brush up on whatever knowledge was publicly available concerning dark magic. It wasn’t a particularly widely known phenomenon, but to a careful eye, there were mentions of it in old texts about magic medical history. He set aside some time to find out as much as he could on the subject before what he had to do tonight. It was something he was anticipating and dreading in equal measures.

Tonight, he would find out the truth of what had happened to his fiancée. He wouldn’t rest until this matter was properly resolved.

He closed his eyes and suppressed another wave of nausea as he thought about Katarina. She was everything to him. She had healed and helped everything and everyone she touched.

And just like that, she was gone. Vanished. Not even a trace to be found of her.

He had done his best to keep Katarina’s disappearance from becoming known to the general public while he attempted to investigate, but of course, given her popularity and stand out nature, that hadn’t lasted very long. News of his beloved’s disappearance spread like wildfire, quickly becoming a subject of gossip and speculation in not just the academy, but noble circles and even the palace. Geordo thanked his years of practiced calm for allowing himself to keep a level head in the face of such rumors. Although, he was fairly sure every flame and candle in the palace flickered when he overheard some butler at the palace suggesting Geordo had a hand in Katarina’s disappearance. That particular butler quickly found himself unemployed.

He’d truly spent every waking second of the past… nearly two months searching high and low for any sign of Katarina, leaving no stone unturned.

Based on the testimonies of the women who had accosted Katarina in the cafeteria the day before her disappearance, Geordo had a sneaking suspicion about just what it was that may have caused her to vanish so suddenly. He didn’t want to think it true, dark magic was very, very dangerous after all, but it did line up.

And then, to his surprise, Maria Campbell came to him a few days later and all but confirmed his suspicions.

A knock at the door shook him instantly from his thoughts and caused him to bolt upright in his chair. He was at the door in a flash… but felt a wave of disappointment come over him as he saw who was on the other side.

“Prince Geordo? Are you alone at the moment?” a raven-haired young lady asked innocently as he opened the door.

Without even feigning a smile, he replied, “Yes, Lady Flores, what is it you need?”

“Ahem, if you have a moment, your Highness, I would like to speak with you about a sensitive matter,” Noelia Flores strolled into the room, apparently taking Geordo’s reply as an invitation.

The prince felt his brow twitch, already having a hunch he knew where this conversation was headed.

“When I learned of Lady Katarina’s disappearance, I was truly devastated,” Noelia began, not a hint of sympathy in her eyes, “I realize the tremendous emotional impact it must have on an upstanding man such as yourself to learn his fiancée had absconded in the night without a word.”

Geordo held her gaze, keeping his emotions in check as he watched this woman blatantly try to manipulate his most vulnerable points.

Not hesitating, Noelia pressed on, “However… it has been nearly two months and Lady Claes’ whereabouts are still quite unknown. Perhaps it would be for the best if you considered taking on someone else to serve as your fiancée?” she offered, voice far too innocent. After a beat, she added, “Such an arrangement could be very beneficial to both the Royal Family and the Flores Marquisette. Simply until Lady Claes returns from her… unannounced vacation, of course.”

This… was exactly why he’d wished to keep his fiancée’s vanishing secret.

There were a number of young ladies at the academy who had their sights set on the Crown. As ultimately indifferent as he was about inheriting the throne (especially if Katarina didn’t want to be Queen), there was certainly plenty of talk of him being the next King of Sorcier. Though he was keenly aware of the things that would possess an individual to wish to be Queen - wealth, status, luxury - women who were driven only by a desire for such things were truly of no interest to him.

And, of course, that was to say nothing of the fact that his heart was already firmly in the possession of his very absent fiancée.

“Absolutely not,” Geordo said firmly.

Noelia flinched back at his decisive tone, “B-but… Prince Geordo! Just think about how this looks in the eyes of the nation! For a prince to go so long without--”

“Lady Flores, I assure you, my mind on this matter is made up,” Geordo cut her off, leaving no room for argument.

Another knock at the door provided a welcome interruption. With any luck, it was the messenger he was awaiting.

“Let us continue this conversation another time?” Noelia offered.

“There’s nothing to continue, Lady Flores, please be on your way,” Geordo gestured to the door as he opened it to find a guard from the Royal Palace on the other side.

“Prince Geordo?” the guard looked at him somberly.

“Yes?”

“He has awakened.”

Notes:

Hooray, another update!

Hopefully the next couple chapters will go up kind of quickly; I do want to finish this before the end of summer if possible!

Katarina's making progress at shaving down Malicia's sharper edges. In the very first chapter of this fic, Malicia was throwing a fit about her previous maid doing something foolish and getting fired for it. I never specified what Kat's predecessor did to get fired, but this chapter is meant to imply the previous maid did something similar to Grace; maybe spilling something on one of Malicia's mother's dresses or misplacing a painting of her mom or something. But Kat is starting to get through her shell, and make her a bit less of a villainess with every passing day!

Meanwhile, Geordo is up to... something. Stay tuned to find out what!

And of course... Noelia's here too....

Chapter 11: Nobody's Fault but Mine

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

Midnight found Maria Campbell standing beside Prince Geordo at the entrance to the detainment facility at the castle. Somewhere far above, the bell tower tolled the hour.

The golden haired prince turned his eyes sharply at the door to the hallway of prison cells deep beneath the castle as a guard stepped out. With a nod, the guard gestured the pair inside. Inside the highest security cell sat the red haired boy who had served as Student Council president for the majority of the school year; Sirius Dieke.

Or so Maria had thought.

But… who was he, really?

A few weeks ago, shortly after Katarina’s disappearance, Maria had happened upon a very unnerving image. She had seen a strange shadow around the redhead; one that seemed to move like a living thing. It was a scene that made her shudder, and she immediately felt the need to tell the others. Though the living shadow hadn’t meant much to most of them, it had been enough to pique Prince Geordo’s interest.

The Prince informed her of something known only to the Royal family and a few other noble houses, but kept secret from the general populace. He told her of the existence of dark magic, a powerful and dangerous ability that could allow it’s users to control people’s minds, and confided in Maria that he’d already had a hunch that dark magic had been involved in his fiancée’s disappearance.

The fact that President Sirius was involved, though, came as much a shock to him as it had to Maria.

As Maria followed Geordo down the dark dungeon tunnel, she felt her mind brimming with questions.

Could Sirius Dieke really have dark magic? Was he really responsible for Katarina’s vanishing? What exactly had he done with her?

And… why did he seem so sad?

Maria mulled it over as she made her way down the dark corridor, accompanied only by Prince Geordo.

Naturally, everyone wanted to take their shots at the man they all believed may have had a hand in their mutual friend’s disappearance, but the palace guards were under strict orders from the King himself not to let anyone unnecessary in. Prince Geordo obviously made sure he would be able to speak with Lord Sirius as soon as he was conscious again, but the only other one who had been granted permission was Maria. Due to her strength with light magic, and its ability to effectively neutralize dark magic, she had been asked to accompany Prince Geordo on the off chance the Council president still retained any of those abilities.

Per Maria’s analysis, he no longer harbored any dark magic entities, a fact which was confirmed by another light mage who worked for the Royal family. Even so, it was decided that she should be present, just in case.

She had no problems with this, of course.

Not just because she wished to know what happened to Lady Katarina, but because… well, the way Lord Sirius had looked earlier when they had confronted him didn’t sit well with her. It felt like… he was filled with regrets.

She thought back to their encounter with the president earlier that day.

Geordo had been collaborating with Maria and a handful of guards from the Palace for over a week to determine how best to take Lord Sirius into custody without endangering students at the academy. It seemed like their plan was almost coming together.

Then, just as Geordo was discussing his ideas about what Lord Sirius may have done to Lady Katarina… Lady Mary strolled into the room. And overheard what Geordo was saying.

And immediately barged into the Student Council room, asking the president what he had done with Lady Katarina.

Just like that, their plans for how to properly confront Lord Sirius went out the window.

As soon as Mary confronted him, Maria saw that darkness come out from him again, and had pulled the copper haired girl back just in time to prevent the tendrils of darkness from touching her. It was clear to her that Lord Sirius had been caught off guard, and it seemed as if he was in great pain.

Maria had approached him carefully, using her light magic to protect herself against the tendrils of darkness creeping around her. He was distraught, disoriented, angry, guilty. Lord Sirius was consumed by a whirlwind of swirling emotions that were eating away at him.

Her light magic allowed her to occasionally sense the feelings of those around her, especially if they were very strong feelings. When she and the others had faced Lord Sirius earlier that day, she’d nearly been overwhelmed, not by his dark magic, but by the pain radiating from his soul.  

Moreover, the only true malice she felt came from the dark spirit within him. From Lord Sirius himself, she’d sensed only guilt and sorrow. She obviously couldn’t say for sure yet, but she felt as if whatever Lord Sirius had done, he hadn’t done entirely willingly.

Maria talked to Sirius, trying her best to assuage his fears and worries, trying her best to help relieve the pain he was clearly in, while keeping he friends safe too. She said that she didn’t want to see him hurt himself or any of the others, and… that Lady Katarina needed his help.

It seemed that had been what it took to get through to him. His eyes had widened, and he began to fight against the dark spirit looming over him. With a bit of help from Maria’s light magic, he was able to banish the wraith, breaking its bond with his soul.

After the spirit left him, he had collapsed. Prince Geordo had immediately summoned the Royal guards and had him transported to the highest security cell at the palace until he could be properly interrogated.

Maria frowned as they walked. She knew Prince Geordo was terribly upset over Katarina’s disappearance; they all were! But… she hoped he wouldn’t be too harsh on Lord Sirius.

If it was true, if he really was the one responsible for Lady Katarina’s disappearance, than he surely needed to face punishment for it. Even so, Maria couldn’t shake the nagging feeling that Lord Sirius wasn’t really the one to blame here….

She just prayed he hadn’t done anything terrible to Lady Katarina!

“Prince Geordo?” she spoke up softly.

“Yes, Miss Campbell?”

“Um… I just wished to say… I felt a great deal of conflict and pain within Lord Dieke earlier,” Maria offered, “I feel he may not have been fully in control of his actions. It seemed as though the dark spirit was… manipulating him, somehow.”

“Well, if that isn’t a small consolation,” the prince sighed wryly, “I’ll be sure to keep that in mind, Miss Campbell.”

Maria nodded, falling into step beside Prince Geordo as they made their way to the former council president’s holding cell.

---

Sirius Dieke had awakened some time ago to find himself in nearly total blackness.

That in itself wasn’t too unusual; many mornings, the redhead would open his eyes to find the tendrils of dark magic still swirling around them as he regained consciousness. This time, though, he knew right away he was neither in his usual dormitory at the academy, nor at the hollow and broken Dieke estate.

Sirius looked around the room; a windowless cell in what he could only conclude was the basement of the Royal Palace. Awakening in a blackened cell, the whereabouts of which were unknown, would normally be a worrying and somewhat claustrophobic experience, but for Sirius, it felt quite liberating at the moment. At least, in part.

He didn’t feel… that thing inside him anymore.

It felt like a huge weight had been lifted from him, but had somehow been replaced by an entirely different weight. As soon as his memories of the past day started coming back to him, he knew.

He had tried to have Katarina Claes condemned by the school. He had hexed her. He had sent her….

As soon as Lady Katarina confronted him that day, it was like a kettle of boiling water was poured into his brain.

He knew the spirit was using its dark magic on him, but he couldn’t stop it. Maybe he didn’t want to stop it… not in that moment, at least. In his mind’s eye, he kept seeing Marchioness Dieke every time he looked at Lady Katarina.

He hated hated hated her!

But he… didn’t hate her at all… He felt like she understood him in a way probably no one else did.

But… she couldn’t! Not her! Out of everyone… why did it have to be Katarina Claes who could see through him?

As soon as he awakened in this cell, he felt like he’d been doused with cold water. That voice was gone. That voice in his mind, that anger… it had finally faded away.

And he was left with nothing but regrets.

A pair of footsteps outside drew his attention to the wrought iron cell door. In stepped Prince Geordo and Maria Campbell. He could understand the prince’s presence; naturally Geordo would be interested to interrogate him about everything, but he wasn’t quite sure why Miss Campbell was here. Perhaps because of how light magic could counter dark magic? Not that he had dark magic anymore, but whatever the reason for it, he was grateful. Miss Campbell had a calming presence about her.

Sirius had, in fact, been quite taken with Maria’s pure heart and kind nature. He would likely have spoken to her more, if only she hadn’t been so preoccupied with Lady Claes. He found himself quite distracted by Katarina Claes more often than he’d like to admit.

If only he’d been able to concentrate on what he was meant to do all year. If only he hadn’t been so distracted by that hypocrite---

“Hello, Lord Dieke,” Maria started softly, shaking him out of his thoughts.

Sirius’ eyes flicked up to the gentle but concerned face of Maria Campbell, “Where am I?”

“Prison,” Prince Geordo smiled ominously at him, leaning forward in his chair, “Now, let’s get to the main subject. What have you done with Katarina?”

The redhead stayed quiet for a moment. It was a question he knew was coming, but dreaded answering. Not just because the answer wasn’t exactly what the prince wanted to hear, but because, well… he wasn’t entirely sure what he had done with Katarina.

Taking a breath, he replied “I… sent her away.”

“Eh?” Maria looked surprised.

“What do you mean by that?” Geordo narrowed his eyes.

“She came to me… after the cafeteria incident,” he began to explain, “She asked me if I had been there. If I had been involved.”

“…were you?” Maria asked hesitantly.

Sirius held her gaze for a moment before nodding, “Yes. I used my magic to… compel Lady Ettiene and Lady Grice to present a list of accusations against her in an effort to have her removed from the academy. I determined they had issues with Lady Claes, and would be easy to manipulate. It’s easier to cast dark magic on people who already have some desire to act in a certain way.”

Prince Geordo and Miss Campbell exchanged glances. There was a moment of quiet before Geordo asked, “And then… Katarina confronted you about this? What happened then?”

“I cast a spell on her; one that would make her go someplace far away,” Sirius admitted, eyes dark.

“Elaborate,” the prince pressed.

“I used dark magic to persuade her mind… to make her want to go somewhere far away from here,” the redhead explained.

“What I meant was… where did you send her?” Geordo’s eyes scrutinized every movement he made.

“I… don’t know,” Sirius admitted after a long pause.

A flicker of light illuminated the room; a spark of flame from the prince’s hand, “I suggest you think harder, Lord Dieke.”

“Th-that’s not it…” Sirius felt a chill despite the flicker of heat from the flame. Collecting his thoughts, he explained, “What I mean is… the spell I cast on her, it simply told her to go somewhere… far away. I didn’t specify where she should go.”

“So… you made her leave the academy campus?” Maria asked after a moment.

“…I would assume so,” Sirius answered.

Geordo regarded him skeptically, “We’ve interrogated every guard on the premises. We’ve spoken to every noble and tradesman at any of the neighboring establishments. No one saw any trace of Katarina leaving the campus that evening.”

“If she left this campus, it would have been noticed. Especially a woman of her… standing and reputation,” Maria added, looking equally dubious.

“It must be a passive effect of the dark magic,” Sirius speculated, closing his eyes as he pondered the mysterious form of magic he’d cast on Lady Claes, “A mental haze… one that makes memories vague, even memories of people she spoke with briefly….”

A mental haze… just like the haze he’d constantly felt around his own mind whenever he thought back to the day he’d lost his mother. Back to when he hadn’t been Sirius. Back to when he’d been….

“Um… Lord Sirius?” Maria asked.

“It’s Rafael, actually,” the redhead found himself murmuring.

“Eh?” Maria tilted her head.

“Your name isn’t Sirius Dieke?” Prince Geordo inquired.

“It’s… a long story,” Rafael sighed, slumping against the wall.

“Well then, Mister…?”

“Walt. Rafael Walt.”

“Well, Mister Walt… I would very much like to avoid wasting time here…” Prince Geordo began, taking a deep breath, “However, I would also like to more thoroughly understand your circumstances. I feel that may be important to helping us find Lady Katarina.”

Maria nodded in agreement, “If… it’s alright with you, could you explain just how you ended up with dark magic abilities? And… who you really are?”

The redhead sighed. He knew he would have to answer for all of this at some point anyways. Even so, explaining everything right here and now wasn’t entirely something he was prepared for.

No, no, that wouldn’t do. This was meant to be a punishment, and by all accounts, he deserved it.

Taking a breath, he began his tale….

---

Some time later, Rafael finished explaining his past as best he could.

Prince Geordo and Miss Campbell stared back at him in mute surprise for a long moment after he concluded his story. They had stayed relatively quiet as he’d explained things, only asking a few clarifying questions here and there. Now, it seemed they needed a moment to process it all.

“So… that dark spirit possessing you was the mage who killed your mother?” Prince Geordo confirmed.

“That’s correct,” Rafael answered, closing his eyes as he shook away the image of just how similar the look of gentle kindness on Lady Katarina’s face had been to the look on his own mother’s face.

“I’m just curious…” Maria gazed at him, eyes filled with concern and doubt.

“Yes, Miss Campbell?”

“Did… you curse Lady Katarina, or did the spirit?” the light mage asked a strange question.

“Pardon?” Rafael tilted his head.

“It seems to me that… you regret casting that spell upon her,” Maria murmured softly.

Rafael held her gaze for a long moment. He closed his eyes and whispered, “I do regret it. More than anything.”

“Why did you do it then?” Geordo narrowed his eyes.

Why? That was a good question, and one Rafael didn’t quite have an answer to. At the moment he’d cast the curse, it felt like it was, without any doubt, the right thing to do. But now, looking back…. All he could do was think how he’d felt at the moment he’d actually cast the dark magic upon her.

“Because…. No one could be that kind,” Rafael felt foolish saying it, considering what he now knew, but it was very much how he had felt at the time he had cursed her, “I’ve never in my life met a noblewoman who could truly be that pure hearted. I thought… I thought it was all an act….”

After a moment of silence, Prince Geordo spoke up, “I assure you, Mister Walt, there is no one more genuine than Lady Katarina Claes.”

“I know that now. I realized it as soon as I cast the spell,” Rafael admitted, “As soon as the dark magic touched her mind, I could tell… she was pure of heart. I could tell she had meant every word she’d said, even when she tried to reach out to me,” the redhead took a long, steadying breath, reining in his guilt, “I’m so, so sorry. If there’s anything I can do to help… I’ll do whatever it takes to make this right.”

“You could start by telling us where she may have gone,” Geordo fixed his eyes on him sharply.

“It is as I said. I don’t know where she would have gone. I simply told her to go somewhere far away, but I never told her where specifically to go.”

“Ahem. You said earlier that it was easier to use dark magic to manipulate someone to do something they were already inclined to do,” Miss Campbell spoke up then, “So, if… Lady Katarina had a place in mind that she had designated as ‘far away’… is it possible the spell would cause her to want to go there?”

Rafael thought it over for a minute. He hadn’t specified where Lady Katarina was meant to go, so it was entirely plausible that, if she already had a destination in mind….

“Yes… I believe that’s a possibility,” the redhead admitted after a long moment.

Prince Geordo closed his eyes in deep thought, “A place Katarina considers to be far away?”

---

Anne Shelley sat pensively with Lord Keith and Lord and Lady Claes in a parlor of the Royal Palace. Across from them sat Lady Katarina’s other friends; the Ascart siblings, Mary Hunt and Alan Stuart.

Anne had sat in this parlor a fair few times before. She recalled the time she waited in this room to inform a palace attendant that Lady Katarina had broken a vase in a genuine accident, and asked the attendant to deliver the bill to her personal mail address at the Claes estate so, per Katarina’s request, Lady Miridiana wouldn’t find out (which she had, of course). She remembered the time Lady Katarina had played hide and seek here at the palace, and had accidentally convinced a visiting Marquis that one of the suits of armor was haunted after giggling while hiding inside it. And she thought back to the time Lady Katarina had wound up covered in flour after running from one of the palace dogs right into the kitchen.

The memories of those previous visits only served to make this one much more painful. Lady Katarina had a way of filling a room with her presence alone. And now, even with eight people in this room, it felt so empty. The absence of that ever-cheerful charge of hers felt greater with each passing second.

The maid could only hold her breath and pray that whatever Prince Geordo and the others had discovered could tell them where Lady Katarina could have gone.

Anne’s eyes flicked up to the parlor door as it swung open, revealing the remaining two members of Lady Katarina’s closest circle of friends.

“Geordo!” Prince Alan leapt up, rushing to his twin’s side.

“Did you find anything out, Maria?” Lady Mary gasped at the light mage.

“Where is she?” Lord Keith asked, grabbing Prince Geordo’s shoulder.

After a moment, the commotion settled down a bit, and the group stepped back, giving Prince Geordo and Miss Campbell a chance to speak. Maria Campbell took a moment to fill everyone in on what they had learned from Rafael Walt, the ex-student council president, formerly known as Sirius Dieke.

“…so, as for where Lady Katarina has gone….” Maria frowned pensively.

“It’s… complicated,” Prince Geordo concluded.

Anne bit her lip. It certainly wasn’t good news, but it was something of a start. To the maid’s surprise, Prince Geordo turned to her first.

“Miss Shelley?”

“Yes, Prince Geordo?”

“May we take another look at that diary you found?”

Notes:

Next chapter, the harem begins investigating while a certain someone begins to scheme.... The chapter after that, we'll get back to Katarina and Malicia! Part of this chapter was originally going to be in the last chapter, and the other part was going to be in the next chapter, but I decided to just make this it's own thing.

Rafael gets some time to ruminate on his misdeeds, and start working toward a redemption. his arc is a lot harder to write when Katarina isn't there to help him, and when he's actually done something a bit more permanent than a sleeping spell.

Anyways, here's this chapter, thank you for reading! Comments and constructive criticism are always welcome!

Chapter 12: Hots On For Nowhere

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

I think the game is a little past halfway by now… and Maria still hasn’t picked a route! At least, she hasn’t told me if she has. Maybe she’s still scared of my villainous looks and doesn’t want to talk to me? She says that’s not the case, but I can’t be sure. Anyways, I really had a lot of fun with her at the harvest festival last week! My tomatoes won first prize, I’m so happy! I’m just having so much fun here in Sorcier, and I have such great friends… but I can’t let my guard down if I want it to stay that way. I’d prefer the exile ending over a dead end, but I’d much rather live out the rest of my days here with my friends and family than be shipped somewhere far away on the first ship out of the country!

---

“As you can see, Your Highness…” Anne set the book down gently as she finished reading aloud the passage, “… her diary can be a bit difficult to parse at times.”

Prince Geordo read over the text again silently, trying to make sense of it.

“I still can’t make heads or tails of what she means half the time…” Prince Alan agreed, scratching his head.

“I can’t fathom why she was expecting to be exiled!” Maria clasped her hands in worry, “…or why she thought I didn’t like her….”

“I’ve asked Mister Walt about the matter, and he told me he had never encountered Lady Katarina before the academy, and yet she has mentions of exile going back to her childhood,” Prince Geordo murmured, still scanning the text.

“Perhaps it’s just an odd phobia?” the Duke offered, brows furrowed.

Anne frowned, finding her eyes drifting back to the strange text on the page over and over. It seemed Lady Sophia was quite interested in it as well, especially the bits written in indecipherable, foreign runes. The maid watched curiously as the white haired girl ran her thumb across some of the strange looking symbols on the page.

“In any case, this could be useful,” Lord Keith spoke up, “It’s not much, but it seems to be our best lead at the moment.”

Anne sat at a round stone table in the common area of the academy, surrounded by Lady Katarina’s usual circle of friends as well as her parents, reviewing the contents of her Lady’s personal diary.

After settling a handful of things at the Royal Palace, they had all spent the night resting as best they could and set out early the next morning to the Claes estate to further discuss their plans for tracking down Lady Katarina. They had all been on their way back to the Claes estate when the weather turned, prompting them to take shelter at the academy for a short while. Outside the window, a fierce and ferocious snowstorm raged, shaking the glass windows of the school’s common room, and piling heaps of thick snow on the ground.

Not wanting to waste any time, they had all spent the last few hours reviewing everything they knew about Lady Katarina’s disappearance, some more talkative than others. Of course, after getting the obvious question of ‘does her diary mention who she likes?’ (and the equally obvious answer of ‘of course not’) out of the way, they had quickly moved on to seeing if it had any clues on where their mutual friend had wandered off to.

To her surprise, Prince Geordo and Lord Keith were actually working fairly well with one another. It seemed that having Lady Katarina herself at stake was enough to motivate the usually bickering boys to cooperate for the time, aside from an occasional jab here or there. The prince had taken to reading over her diary for any details of note, while Lord Keith was working with Prince Alan and Lady Hunt to mark points down on a map.

Lord Nicol and Lady Sophia were busy taking notes and having silent conversations with each other. Duke Claes and Miss Campbell were standing behind Prince Geordo, looking over his shoulder as he and Anne leafed through her charge’s diary.

Duchess Claes had been completely silent the entire time, simply listening in and watching through cold eyes. Anne had half a mind to pay a personal visit to Rafael Walt or whatever spirit had possessed him. She knew it wouldn’t do much good now, but it was his fault that Lady Katarina had left.

And, of course, it had been Anne who had to deliver that news to the Duke and Duchess personally.

“Your daughter is… missing.”

Anne had never really known fear quite like what she’d felt at the look that had flashed across the Duke’s face when she’d said that… nor had she truly known a pain like the one she felt as she saw the Duchess’ face. The well crafted mask of an upstanding noblewoman had utterly shattered in that moment. The maid had never seen the Duchess look so lost, so broken.

She never wanted to again.

“It seems her idea of ‘far away’ is a bit further than I’d have liked,” Lord Keith stated, examining the contents of his sister’s diary, “She mentions here that she expected she would be on a ship out of the country by the end of the school year….”

“Luckily, she doesn’t mention Mary going with her…” Prince Geordo murmured.

The copper haired young lady shot the prince a sharp look.

“The first ship out of the country? You think that’s where she went?” Prince Alan asked, looking over a map of Sorcier sprawled out on the table.

“It seems to be a distinct possibility…” Miss Campbell frowned.

“You think so?” Lady Mary looked surprised, “The nearest harbor town is at least 6 hours away by carriage. Surely someone would have seen her if she did go there! No one would be able to overlook someone as beautiful as Lady Katarina!”

Prince Geordo frowned, “Rafael said his dark magic may have muddled the memories of anyone she interacted with…”

“How hard would it be to get records of which ships departed on the night she vanished?” Maria suddenly voiced a question which was apparently something Prince Geordo had already been considering.

The golden haired prince waved over one of his attendants who was waiting nearby and instructed him, “Send messengers to every harbor in the country as soon as the storm passes. They should keep logs of which ships left port and where they were destined. Gather all logs from the past two months and bring them back here at once.”

“Yes, Your Highness,” the attendant nodded, and made his way to the door.

Anne watched him go, praying with all her heart that whatever information he brought could lead them to Lady Katarina.

“It’s quite likely a number of vessels may have left their harbors on that night, though,” Duke Claes spoke up, “How will we know which one she was aboard? Assuming this is even where she went?”

“If I may… I have an idea,” Miss Campbell spoke up, gathering the attention of everyone present, “It might be difficult to track where Lady Katarina went by asking around, since the dark magic on her may have obscured the memories of anyone she interacted with. However, in the past weeks, I have been reading about applications of light magic… and I think there may be a way to use it to detect even very faint traces of dark magic. I might… possibly be able to find out which direction Lady Katarina went, which could help narrow the scope of our search.”

Anne felt a flutter of hope in her chest. There were a few gasps of surprise from the others in the room as they all wondered whether Maria’s light magic could truly aid them. It would be a truly marvelous thing if it could… and yet, Anne couldn’t help but notice the young light mage looked a tad uncomfortable.

“You think you could track something like that? Even after months have passed?” the Duke regarded Maria curiously.

“Not by myself, no,” Maria explained, “But… I think it may be possible to track the remaining hints of dark magic if I can sense the original source that casted it.”

“You sound hesitant… is it unsafe or something?” Lord Keith asked, looking concerned.

“Not unsafe per se, but… to use that method…” Maria took a breath, “…we will need to have Mister Walt come with us.”

“What?” a collective gasp rose from everyone present.

“No way!” Lady Mary slapped the tabletop.

“The guy who cursed Katarina? Why?” Prince Alan looked surprised.

Prince Geordo looked unconvinced, but intrigued, “Are you sure that would be a good idea, Miss Campbell? He was the one who cursed Katarina in the first place.”

“I understand your hesitation,” the light mage closed her eyes, mulling over their options, “However, Rafael’s involvement would considerably speed up the process of tracking her down. With him by our side, it would be possible to detect points of contact with dark magic. But, in order to do that, he would need to be nearby.”

“I thought you said Rafael didn’t have dark magic anymore?” Lord Keith inquired.

“He doesn’t. But the spirit was in contact with him for a long enough time that it would have left a trace on him,” Maria answered.

“So… you’re like a hunting dog, and you get the scent from the lingering dark magic on Rafael?” Prince Alan tilted his head.

“Yes…” Maria cringed slightly, “…but, Prince Alan?”

“Yeah?”

“Please don’t call me a dog,” Maria gave the fourth prince a pointed look.

Prince Alan reddened slightly, “R-right. Ahem… sorry, Maria.”

“I… I think we should do it,” a small voice spoke up. Lady Sophia, who had been all but silent thus far, suddenly decided to join the discussion.

“You think we can trust Rafael?” Prince Geordo looked curiously at the white haired girl.

“Y-yes. I just… have a feeling that he can help us,” Lady Sophia responded with a strange timid confidence.

Everyone collectively turned their attention to the young woman’s brother. Lord Nicol silently nodded his agreement.

“Mother, Father? Your thoughts?” Lord Keith turned to the Duke and Duchess.

“If you think this can truly help to find Katarina…” the Duke stared solemnly at Miss Campbell.

“Do it,” Duchess Claes finished for him, speaking for the first time all morning.

“…very well then,” Prince Geordo nodded, “As soon as the storm passes, we will begin making preparations for the investigation.”

Anne closed her eyes, praying the storm would pass soon. Not just the snowstorm outside, but the terrible turmoil very obviously raging within everyone Lady Katarina was close to.

---

On a balcony looming over the common area of the academy, a dark haired young woman watched the scene unfolding attentively.

On the level below, Prince Geordo was sitting with the little cluster of nobles (+1 commoner) who, for whatever reason, had gotten far too close to Lady Katarina Claes. And of course the little group was discussing just where the absent Duke’s daughter had wandered off to.

Were they all really so desperate to find Lady Claes? Did the disappearance of one terribly undignified duke’s daughter truly warrant such a response? It was downright irresponsible! Prince Geordo had an entire country to look after, and he could only spare a thought for one single person!

Noelia huffed, clinking her teacup angrily against the saucer as she sat it down.

Why did her Prince have to spend so much time fretting over some ditz who clearly couldn’t care about him one way or the other? Why didn’t he spend his time on someone who had done so much more to actually be a proper noblewoman? Come to think of it, between the idiotic farming and the rumors of her climbing trees and gorging herself on macaroons, Noelia couldn’t imagine anyone who exemplified nobility less than Lady Katarina Claes!

She leaned closer to the ledge to hear better, still keeping herself in the shadows as best she could.

“How hard would it be to get records of which ships departed on the night she vanished?” the commoner asked.

“Send messengers to every harbor in the country as soon as the storm passes. They should keep logs of which ships left port and where they were destined. Gather all logs from the past two months and bring them back here at once,” Prince Geordo ordered an attendant.

Noelia pursed her lips thoughtfully. So, her prince was still playing at this senseless chase, hm? He really couldn’t accept the fact that Lady Katarina had run off on him?

Well, she decided, she’d just have to settle a few things herself, wouldn’t she?

As she made her way back to her dormitory, Noelia mused on what she’d overheard. The nearest harbor town, as it so happened, was the town of Bresley, located in the Flores Marquisette, and under her father’s jurisdiction.

She took a seat at her desk and wrote down a few items of itinerary.

“Glenda?” Noelia rang a small bell on her desk, prompting her maid to step in.

“Yes, my Lady?” the maid asked softly.

“If you would please…” Noelia scrawled a list of notes for her maid on a sheet of parchment, “Send a request to the dock master at Bresley harbor. Tell him we no longer have any need for the records of port from the past two months, and that he should dispose of them. If you could get the message to him quickly, that would be appreciated. In fact, have it done before the storm passes.”

Glenda looked nervously at the heavy snowfall outside, but knew better than to argue, “Yes, my Lady.”

The raven haired young woman smirked to herself as her maid excused herself.

Soon enough, Prince Geordo would realize that he really ought to make more time for the actual people of this country, instead of just chasing after ghosts.

Notes:

This chapter and the previous two were originally all one chapter, but it got too long and I split it up a bit.

The planning begins, from both the harem and an unwelcome eavesdropper.

Contrived reason to drag Rafael along: check. (It's not like he can get a proper redemption sitting in a jail cell the whole time!)

I'm trying to set up a bit of a parallel between Noelia and Malicia, with a few key differences in their attitudes to things (such as, Malicia would never send her maids out in a storm).

Anyways, this is the last we'll see of the Sorcier crew for a handful of chapters, the focus will shift back over to Malicia and co next time!

Thanks for reading!

Chapter 13: Royal Orleans

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

Katarina hummed lightly as the carriage she shared with Malicia rolled down the cobblestone streets of Dumont, making their way towards the Royal Palace of Orleans which sat on a hill at the far end of the city.

Today was Malicia’s marriage interview, and her charge was noticeably on edge about it. Katarina had managed to steer Malicia on a pathway through her house and out to her carriage in a way that didn’t involve interacting with any of the other maids. The heiress was acting her approximation of ‘nice’ lately, and Katarina didn’t want to jeopardize that by having her get really angry at one of the other maids in her employ. Of course, that meant Katarina herself would be the key source of Malicia’s ire if she were to be provoked, but it didn’t seem like the blonde was overly angry at her today.

She’d placed a comforting hand atop Malicia’s a few moments earlier. The heiress had said ‘do I really look like I need a plebian’s comfort?’, but hadn’t moved her hand away. Thus, Katarina had been keeping her charge’s hand warm for the past few minutes.

She had spent the last week helping Malicia study day and night about anything and everything she may need to know for the interview. Thankfully, she had also managed to get the blonde to review a handful of things that might get her into Alexander’s good graces, like various scenarios involving how to help out on a farm, or why she should be friendly to workers at the docks.

Her main goal here was to help Malicia avoid her bad ends. Unfortunately, the only ending in the game where the blonde had actually ended up with Prince Alexander was a bad end.

She didn’t die in that one, but she did get stripped of her title and her house fell to ruin after the Revolution. Katarina was pretty proud of her earth bump, but even so, she was pretty sure she didn’t have any magic that could prevent… that, assuming things ended up that way.

But she couldn’t let Malicia wind up on bad terms with Prince Alexander either! If she was on his bad side, surely he’d send her to scrub ships at the harbor like he did in the good end of his route (according to Acchan). That just seemed unfair! Surely there should be at least one ending in the game where the villainess gets off easy, right?

But what route was Clara even on? The Tommy route seemed most likely, but Katarina hadn’t played that one! She scrunched her eyes shut for a moment, trying to think what was best.

What she really wanted, honestly, was for her Lady to find some kind of happiness. If marrying the prince was what would make her happiest, then Katarina would do her best to support her. She just hoped Malicia could find a love flag that didn’t have a doom flag hidden inside it.

The maid watched out the window at the tall, golden gates overhead as the carriage entered the palace grounds. Even this place had a very different vibe from Sorcier’s Royal Palace. Sorcier’s palace had been more like a traditional castle, albeit a very big one. This place, though?

Their carriage rolled to a stop before the main building. The exterior of the building was painted lavishly blue and white, which blended into the blues and whites of the previous evening’s snowfall, making it look ethereal and radiant, as if the palace itself was made of ice.

Katarina stepped down from the carriage, offering her hand to Malicia so she could step down more gracefully.

As they approached the actual palace, Malicia fidgeted slightly. She must be really stressed about the interview, Katarina mused.

“Ganbare, Malicia-sama!” the brunette called out.

Malicia sighed and shot her a look, “What nonsense are you saying now?”

“It means ‘do your best’!” Katarina grinned, feeling a tad mischievous anytime she could speak Japanese.

She’d done it a few times since Malicia had hired her now, always playing it off as ‘something she’d learned in Sorcier’. Her charge was always too busy to question it, and it felt nice to speak her first language every now and then. Back in Sorcier, she couldn’t really do it, since she’d spent her whole life around her friends and family there, but here, she had no family or lifelong friends at all!

…yeah.

She chose not to linger too long on that line of thought.

The enormous doors of the palace swung open, revealing a butler who ushered them into the atrium. It was a large, impressive space with paintings of people Katarina assumed were the previous kings and queens of Ritallia.

“I bid you a warm welcome, Ladies,” the butler told them curtly, sitting down behind a large, well organized desk. He tapped his fountain pen on the edge of the desk and pulled out a registry notebook, “My name is Jacques. What is the reason for your visit today?”

“Thank you, we are honored to pay visit,” Katarina bowed politely as Malicia had taught her, “Lady Malicia Baudelaire has arrived for her marriage interview with Prince Alexander.”

---

Malicia Baudelaire took a deep, steadying breath as she stood in the atrium of the Royal Palace of Orleans. Rina was checking her in with the butler, and her heart was racing out of her chest.

Today was finally the day. Her marriage interview with Prince Alexander Valois awaited her.

The heiress clasped her hands in front of her, mentally running though a checklist of everything she would need to know: which young nobles were poised to inherit their parents’ estates and which were marrying into other families, how much the import tariff had risen in the last five years, which barons had lost their titles, and which counts had absorbed those barons’ properties.

Malicia steeled herself. She needed to conduct herself with the air of someone who truly exemplified nobility and class. She had to be the absolute paragon of grace and noble splendor.

Taking a deep breath, she asked herself, ‘What would Katarina Claes do?’

In her mind’s eye, she visualized a glowing noblewoman strutting into the room with the greatest of ease, speaking elegantly and instantly winning the heart of Prince Alexander with years of practiced poise and dignity. Yes, that radiant beauty would probably handle this with an elite charm Malicia herself could only dream of possessing.

The blonde was briefly shaken from her musings by an ‘ooh’ from her left. Her maid, who apparently couldn’t maintain the façade of an actual, proper maid for more than a moment, had wandered over to gape at a marble sculpture of King Gusteau IV riding a chariot. She shook her head, switching her focus back to the task at hand.

She made sure to leave at exactly the right time this morning; there could be no mistakes today. To arrive too early would be a sign of desperation, and too late would clearly be an insult.

But now, she was here. Her chest felt tight as the butler motioned for her and Rina to follow him to the place of the interview. He led them to the second floor of the East wing of the Palace, the half that looked out over the gardens and courtyard. Covered in ice, the gardens looked like a magical land straight out of a fairytale. It was truly a beautiful view.

“Presenting, First Prince Alexander Valois of the Kingdom of Ritallia,” the butler announced, drawing Malicia’s attention away from the window.

There he was.

Strolling down the hallway was the man she intended to marry. She felt her mouth go dry as she took in the weight of everything happening.

Prince Alexander stood before her.

Perfectly combed hair as black as jet, a navy blue suit with a red sash and golden epaulets, and a beautiful face that truly exemplified the term ‘princely’.

“Lady Malicia Baudelaire,” Prince Alexander smiled charmingly at her, “A pleasure to meet you.”

“I-it’s an absolute honor to meet you, Prince Alexander Valois,” Malicia curtsied graciously, focusing all her willpower on exuding an elegant, regal aura.

“Shall we?” the prince gestured to the conference room wherein the two of them would be conducting their interview.

“Will it be just the two of us?” the blonde asked, noticing the lack of anyone else in the room. She had been expecting a handful of lawyers and scribes to take down the details of what they discussed, but it appeared they would be alone this morning.

“I prefer to handle these matters personally,” the prince offered kind smile.

“I see,” she nodded. Having a more private interview should have eased her nerves, but it seemed to be having the exact opposite effect.

Malicia closed her eyes as Prince Alexander took his seat across from her, and waited for that spark of love she just knew she would feel for the gallant prince.

And waited. ….and waited.

Hm. Perhaps the spark would come later.

She shook her head. Now wasn’t the time for such frivolities; she needed to focus!

After exchanging pleasantries and handing over the documents she had drafted up which amounted to a formal proposal to be married, the interview was finally underway.

Prince Alexander pulled out a notebook and pen, and began his questions, “If a farm within your archduchy was unable to meet its food production quota by winter, how would you, as overseer, respond to the food scarcity and increased demand amongst the commoners?”

Malicia blinked. What? What sort of question was that? She hadn’t been expecting hypothetical situations, especially as the first question!

Actually, this question sounded familiar. Had she reviewed something like this? When Rina had asked her something similar a few nights ago, she’d replied that the farms should have anticipated a poor harvest and prepared reserves, or trade with a neighboring duchy for the food they’d need. Rina had responded by saying that would sound like she was being inconsiderate. Malicia had waved her maid off then, not paying her any mind.

She clicked her tongue, trying to recall the answer she had prepared during her study sessions, “If… if there wasn’t enough food to go around, then… I suppose my estate could lend enough to get them through the winter. We have ample supplies and food storage on site; enough to provide for half the citizens of the Baudelaire territory.”

“Hm,” the prince nodded, face inscrutable, “Then why haven’t you?”

Malicia paused for a moment, unsure what to make of that question, “P-pardon?”

“The Baudelaire archduchy is host to a significant number of farms, many of which failed to produce an adequate harvest this year due to the national drought. Many of them sought food from your estate for this winter, but when requests were put in at your estate, they were all met with the reply that they should have anticipated a poor harvest and prepared reserves, or trade with a neighboring duchy for the food they need,” Prince Alexander met her gaze with cold eyes, “Even now, the commoners are increasingly famished, many of them on your own land, Lady Baudelaire.”

“I… wasn’t aware of that,” Malicia admitted, face growing warm.

She felt like a fool, being called out on something so simple. Being a Queen meant seeing the big picture, so she had been studying the big picture! She hadn’t bothered with something basic like the needs of the commoners in her archduchy! She had heard a few mentions of a drought, but she hadn’t known it was that severe. Not to mention, most of the specific affairs like farms requesting food reserves went through her father, not herself.

“I see,” the prince narrowed his eyes, writing something down in his notebook.

The interview pressed on.

Malicia felt herself becoming more and more uncomfortable with each passing question. Annual tax rates, international trade deals, the political benefits of a marriage between the heiress of an archduchy and a prince… all the things he ought to be asking weren’t coming up at all!

Instead were a series of bizarre hypothetical situations which seemed to be aimed at testing her morality more than her knowledge of Ritallia’s governing structure.

Now that she thought about it, all of these questions were much closer to the odd scenarios her maid had wished to study with her!

Had her idiot of a maid somehow known what the interview would entail? She glanced over to the window by the doorway. Rina smiled encouragingly at her and gave a little wave.

No, of course she didn’t. How could she? It wasn’t as if her maid could see the future!

Even so, she felt somewhat grateful to the maid for reviewing such inane things, considering they were actually part of the official interview. She had tried her best thus far to stick to the responses she had prepared with Rina during their study sessions, but these questions hadn’t really been the ones she committed to memory.

She pressed her lips together apprehensively, snapping her eyes away from Rina and back to Prince Alexander.

The black haired prince flipped a page in the notebook before him, writing something down gracefully before flicking his eyes back up to her, “What have you done for the benefit of the common folk in the last month?”

“I… hah?” Malicia blinked in surprise. ‘For the common folk’? What in the world was he talking about? She quickly regained her composure; she couldn’t falter here. Closing her eyes for a brief second, she filtered through everything she had done in the last month. Was there anything that could pass as doing a kindness for a commoner? After a moment, an idea occurred to her, “Ahem… I didn’t fire my maid.”

“Hm?”

“She… dropped a pair of earrings, and I decided not to fire her for it,” the blonde explained.

Prince Alexander held her gaze, cold and scrutinizing for a very long moment. Finally, he spoke, “Do you… usually consider it acceptable to fire someone over a dropped earring?”

Malicia felt a shock of cold in her chest. To phrase it like that made her sound unreasonable!

“W-well, no, your highness, it’s simply that--”

“And you consider the act of not firing someone over such a simple mistake to be a kindness?”

“Err… that is--”

Malicia felt herself crumbling. This… this wasn’t right at all! This wasn’t how this was supposed to go!

“Lady Baudelaire, do you really believe someone who holds so little regard for even the lives of the common folk closest to you and most dedicated to your personal wellbeing is truly fit to be a member of the Royal Family?”

Malicia clenched her fists tightly in her lap, “…I… ah…”

It felt like the room was spinning. She was supposed to succeed in her bid to marry Prince Alexander! It was what her parents wanted for her! She couldn’t fail them, not here!

Her mouth felt dry. She needed to get out of here.

Feeling tears prick the corners of her eyes, the blonde spun on her heel and quickly walked unsteadily to the door.

---

Katarina was waiting just outside the door. She couldn’t quite hear what was being said inside the fancy meeting room, but it looked like Prince Alexander was getting angry at Malicia. She could feel a cold feeling in her chest as her charge stood shakily from the table and made her way to the conference room door.

“Ah, maid,” Malicia murmured, hiding her face behind her fan as she stepped out.

“Malicia! Are you alright?!” Katarina gasped. She’d seen her charge with a lot of expressions, but never this look of being crushed before.

“Fine,” the blonde replied, face sullen, “Get me my handkerchief.”

Katarina felt a stinging in her chest at the sight of Malicia being actually sad like this.

Suddenly, an image flashed in her mind. A scene from Fortune Lover.

Maria and Geordo were chatting happily in the academy courtyard, when Katarina strolled up and screamed at Maria. She told the light mage not to bother wasting her time with a prince, and to go back to the village she came from. Geordo stood up then, defending Maria. He said she may be a commoner, but she was an infinitely better person than Katarina. He had stared his fiancée down, and coldly said he had no need to waste even a moment of his time on someone such as Katarina.

Of course, Katarina would never treat Maria like that. But, somehow she knew… she would absolutely cry if Geordo ever said anything like that to her.

Would it be for the best if Malicia just stayed away from Prince Alexander? If she didn’t get so hung up on marrying him, would that help prevent her bad ends?

Katarina didn’t know what the best route here was.

Malicia tried to discreetly rub her eyes with the handkerchief. Katarina furrowed her brows. Right now, ‘routes’ didn’t matter to her.

“Wh-where are you going?” the blonde asked, looking up at her in surprise.

“Wait right here Malicia,” Katarina told her, turning on her heel and into the conference room. Her charge was saying something to her, but she wasn’t listening. Marching up to the hurtful prince, she tapped his shoulder, “Hey! You made Malicia cry! She studied really hard to meet you today, you know?”

The prince looked taken aback for a moment, but quickly regained his composure, “I apologize for upsetting your charge, maid. I had no intentions of causing Lady Baudelaire to cry. I do, however, conduct these interviews as I see fit. I am looking for someone who truly understands and sympathizes with the struggles the people of this nation face,” Prince Alexander narrowed his eyes, “…and Lady Baudelaire does not seem to be such a person.”

Katarina frowned.

Yeah, he wasn’t wrong there, but still. She closed her eyes and thought things over for a moment.

“I know she can seem kind of… mean at times, but she’s really nice underneath it all,” Katarina tried to explain. She didn’t know if Ritallia had a word for ‘tsundere’. Somehow, though, it had fallen on her to try and convince Prince Alexander to give Malicia another chance, so… it was time to do her best!

She closed her eyes for a second. She had to sell the idea of marrying Malicia to this prince! Now… what was the best way to do that?

---

Malicia listened in shock from the other side of the door.

She had no idea why her maid felt the need to rush in there and defend her, but as her employer, she really ought to step in and stop this idiot from making a scene in front of a prince! Honestly, if her heart hadn’t been in such disarray at the moment, she would have! Instead, all she could do was gaze on in shock as her maid of all people tried to plead her case with Prince Alexander Valois!

“I know she’s not really very aware of commoners’ problems right now…” the maid spoke passionately, “But I know she has a big heart…”

Malicia felt a bubbling of warmth in her chest at those words. Even she could admit she hadn’t shown her personal staff the best of herself at times. Was that really how her maid saw her?

“…and a big butt.”

Malicia made a noise not unlike a dying animal.

Unabated, Rina continued speaking, “And I know some guys your age start to notice stuff like that and--”

Face burning red, Malicia whipped the door open, nearly breaking it off its hinges, “MAID!!!!”

“Uwahhhh!!!” her idiotic attendant’s face contorted in a gasp of shock, holding up her hands in surrender. Not wasting a second, Rina spun on her heel and began running to the far end of the room.

Malicia narrowed her eyes, zeroing in on the fleeing imp, as well as a long velvet rope used as a drawstring for the curtains in the room. No, she wasn’t getting away that easily. Forgetting where she was for a moment, the blonde chased after Rina, grabbing the rope as she ran.

---

Katarina had realized a moment too late that she’d gotten a bit carried away in her exchange with Prince Alexander just then. And now, she was about to pay for it. She knew a thing or two about doom flags, but the look on her charge’s face just now was enough to make her wish for something as simple as doom flags.

“Whoa!!” the maid cried out, feeling a sudden tightness around her chest. A second later, she was yoinked backwards across the room, fast as a blur. It took her a moment to figure out what had just happened, and when she did, she was no less confused, “Malicia! Since when have known how to lasso?”

“‘Lasso’?” the blonde raised a suspicious eyebrow.

“I didn’t know you were so good with ropes!” Katarina squirmed against the velvet string looped around her torso… and then looked up. Oh, right. Malicia was still in angry mode, wasn’t she? Katarina gulped.

“Shut it!” the blonde silenced her, squeezing her face between her hands, “What kind of things are you saying about me in here?!” Malicia howled, face burning crimson, “Saying I have a big b-… Th-that’s no way to speak about a noblewoman!”

“I’m showwy, Mawisha…” Katarina tried to apologize as the heiress squished her face.

“Why are you such an… utter… dolt!” the blonde said between smacking her lightly in the head with her fan.

“Where exactly did you learn such rope skills, Lady Baudelaire?” a third voice chimed in.

“Father taught me. He used to show me how to tie knots on the ships in our family’s harbor,” Malicia replied casually, not taking her eyes off Katarina.

“Oh? You used to spend time at the harbor?” the other figure in the room pressed on.

“Yes,” the blonde continued with a huff, “When I was little, I wanted to sail around the world. Father took me down there sometimes to talk to sailors and see the ships.”

Katarina’s eyes widened as she looked over Malicia’s shoulder. Prince Alexander was… laughing? He was standing across the table, eyes curved upwards in amusement as he watched the heiress wrestling Katarina to the ground.

“Would you say you enjoy visiting the harbor?” the prince watched on, not hesitating to ask a few more questions.

“Yes,” Malicia responded quickly as she flicked Katarina’s forehead, “I love going to the harbor. I miss hearing all the sailors’ stories of distant lands, but I’ve been so busy with my duties, I haven’t had the time to visit in years….”

“Aha, pardon me…” the prince pressed a finger to his lips, “Are your conversations with your maid always so… lively?”

“I try to avoid such things, but with this one-,” Malicia gestured to Katarina, “-there’s rarely a dull moment.”

“Hm, hm,” the prince chuckled, tapping his chin, “I see. I suppose I hadn’t expected you to be so friendly with your maid.”

“You think this imbecile is my friend?” the blonde huffed.

“I am your friend, Malicia,” Katarina reminded her.

“Why do you insist on saying such things so shamelessly? And that’s Lady Baudelaire to you!”

“You never said I wasn’t your friend,” she pointed out. 

“I--!”

“Lady Baudelaire?” the prince’s voice cut off whatever she was about to say.

“Yes?”

“If your archduchy’s funds could be either allocated to commissioning a new portrait of yourself or repairing the damaged vessels in your harbor, how would you spend it?”

“Hm? I have no need of another portrait,” Malicia scoffed, “In fact, I believe I did allocate excess finances for repairing ships already this year.”

The prince laughed again, “I see, I see.”

---

Malicia turned, finally facing the black haired prince before her. He no longer had the ice cold eyes of an interrogator, but instead, a bemused smirk. The blonde felt an odd thumping in her chest. Her heart must still be racing from chasing her maid around a moment ago.

Suddenly, a terrifying thought struck her like lightning, “Hang on! Is this still part of the interview?”

“Hm? Who knows?” Alexander tilted his head back, a tiny hint of a smile on his lips.

Malicia felt her face go red again, feeling as if she’d just stumbled into a trap. She’d let her guard down! She’d been saying whatever foolish thought popped into her head; answering his questions without a care in the world, not even bothering to think of her prepared responses!

She noticed the prince’s gaze looked a bit softer than it had before. She clicked her tongue; he must be pitying her for having to deal with such an idiotic maid!

Quickly standing back up, she dusted herself off and recovered her composure.

“Ahem,” Malicia attempted to regain some form of dignity after that display, “I apologize for any disruptions or disgrace my maid and I have brought upon the Royal Family. I promise on behalf of House Baudelaire that I will do anything necessary to repay--”

“Oh, no, it’s quite alright,” the prince cut her off with a wave of his hand, “This has been… very informative. You don’t need to repay anything, Lady Baudelaire.”

In the distance, the palace’s bell tower tolled the hour.

“Ah, forgive me. I believe that concludes our meeting for the day,” Prince Alexander said, sounding genuinely disappointed. He added, “I am grateful I was able to meet you today, Lady Baudelaire.”

Malicia frowned. She hadn’t wished their meeting to end so abruptly.

“Ahem. I’m very honored I was able to meet you, Prince Alexander. I hope my maid’s--” she paused to tug on Rina’s ear, “--behavior did not do too much to sully my house’s image.”

“Oh, not at all,” the prince still looked far too amused for her liking, “In fact, you should thank her for making this meeting much more interesting.”

The heiress shot her maid a sharp look. The imbecile simply smiled back innocently.

Malicia sulked as she exited the conference room. She pulled Rina by her earlobe down the stairs and into the courtyard gardens outside.

She hadn’t been prepared for that at all!

She had always heard that Prince Alexander was an extremely dignified, professional young man (which, to be fair, he was), but she had never heard anything about him being obsessed with the wellbeing of commoners! The interview hadn’t gone at all as she’d hoped. For all her months of training, she had only barely been able to scrape past a handful of his questions!

Not to mention her maid’s outburst and everything that followed at the end there would haunt her nightmares for many months to come.

Even so, she thought back to that twinkle in Prince Alexander’s eyes at the end of their meeting and couldn’t shake the feeling that perhaps this interview hadn’t been a total failure….

---

Having arrived a few moments early at his next meeting, Prince Alexander Valois gazed out the stained glass window of the conference room to the palace courtyard outside. Strolling through the center was a pair of female figures, speaking lively as they departed.

“Hey, Malicia! You don’t have to study those boring old books anymore, right?” the brunette maid asked, tugging on her charge’s sleeve, “Do you wanna read a romance novel tonight?”

“Shut it! You’re still not off the hook for that stunt back there!” Lady Baudelaire shot back with a glare.

There was an awkward pause. And then, “… two romance novels?”

“No! What kind of idiot likes romance novels?” the blonde huffed.

Prince Alexander tilted his head as he observed from the window. He hadn’t met the woman before today, but… hm. Alexander always held out hope that, one day, he’d meet someone who was as deeply committed to helping the common people of the nation as he was.

Malicia Baudelaire… was not such a person.

Even so, she seemed to have a great deal of compassion for her maid. He couldn’t think of a single other lady of their generation who would even hire such a maid, let alone continue to employ them after such an outburst. It was rare to see a noblewoman with such a bond to a commoner. He was very grateful he’d been able to see a small glimpse of the real Malicia Baudelaire. She seemed far more interesting when she let her guard down than when she put on that same mask every other noblewoman wore.

“She’s really softened up lately,” a familiar voice came from the conference room doorway.

“So it would seem,” Alexander replied, not turning to face his brother, “You know her well, don’t you?”

“Oh, I have no idea how well I know her. Some days, I feel like we’re close, others, I have no idea what she’s thinking…” Prince Maximillian sighed, taking a seat at the table. Gazing out the window to where Lady Baudelaire strolled alongside her maid, he admitted, “I’m just… glad to see her with that spark in her eyes again. Ever since she lost her mother, she’s been…”

“Hm,” Alexander frowned thoughtfully, putting the pieces together in his mind.

She wasn’t 100 percent the self absorbed noblewoman she’d seemed to be at first, but she wasn’t quite the heroine he’d been hoping for, “You think she cares about the people?”

“I don’t know,” Max replied after a moment, “But I think… she has a nicer side than she shows oftentimes.”

“Hm,” Alexander nodded.

The maid had said something similar; he supposed there might be some weight to it. She seemed to be the type to hide just how much she cared for the people around her; she had empathy. It was more than he could say for the number of other would-be suitors he had interviewed over the past few weeks.

“And you, brother?” Max gave him a look.

“I think she’s… interesting,” Prince Alexander felt himself saying as his gaze followed the heiress and her maid across the palace lawn to the carriages. Yes, he mused, she might not be the paragon of compassion, but as he thought over everything that had been said in their exchange today. He was beginning to get a clearer image of just who Malicia Baudelaire was, and….

She certainly hadn’t left the worst first impression.

Notes:

Alexander: Malicia doesn't care for the common people. What do you, as her maid, have to say in defense of her?
Katarina: she got 🎂

 

This chapter was a lot of fun to write. Well, some parts were, at least. I try not to get too bogged down in the details of legalities and politics since I know that stuff is pretty boring, but I like to include enough of it for it to (hopefully) feel somewhat real.

Malicia envisions Katarina Claes as a perfect noblewoman who can change someone's feelings and win their heart in an instant. She's... not quite wrong, but her idea of how Katarina achieves that is a bit... off.

The marriage interview is finally here, and it's as much of a disaster as you'd expect. If it seems like Alexander and Malicia don't exactly have the best relationship yet, that's very much intentional. He's mildly interested in her, but she hasn't really done anything good yet to win him over. It's only their first encounter though, so there's more to come.

To clarify, Malicia is to Alexander what Noelia is to Geordo; someone who strolls in and starts proposing marriage at a terribly inopportune moment. Alexander is trying his best to help the country and stop the impending famine and rebellion among the commoners, and Malicia only seems to care about status and prestige, so she's not really winning any fast affection points with him. As the readers, you (hopefully) know there's more to Malicia than just a stuck up noble (although she's admittedly still very much a stuck up noble), but Alexander doesn't know that yet, having only met her for the first time here.

Until next time! Thank you for reading! Comments and constructive criticism are welcome!

Chapter 14: Raising Flags

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

Malicia sat beside her maid in her carriage in front of the palace, where the main entranceway and exterior courtyard bustled with activity. The pair had spent the last two hours or so meeting with a handful of other officials at the Royal Palace, finalizing the dowry and signing off on a handful of other necessary paperwork that went along with submitting an official proposal to marry Prince Alexander.

Luckily, Rina hadn’t done anything else too embarrassing since they’d left the prince, but she wasn’t getting off the hook so easily.

“I will have you till the front garden every day for a month,” Malicia commanded.

“Yes, my Lady!” the maid replied eagerly, eyes sparkling.

Malicia cringed. Whether this idiot was a masochist or just some kind of glutton for punishment, the blonde could not tell. The front garden would be frozen solid at this time of year! Even at the best of times, a maid shouldn’t be eager to do work more suited for a mere gardener.

“And for the next week, you will tend to the hounds,” the blonde added.

Rina froze, eyes widening in fear.

Malicia smirked. Finally, it seemed she’d found something that could rattle even this obtuse cretin.

“I-is all that really necessary?”

“Of course it is! You made a fool of me in front of the man I intend to marry; a prince of this nation!” the blonde scoffed again at the memory of that ridiculous exchange! The nerve it must take a mere maid to stand up to a prince like that…

Even so, all else aside, Malicia couldn’t help but be a bit… flattered by the effort.

“It seemed like he kind of liked you, though…” Rina interjected, “He was smiling a lot near the end there.”

“D-don’t be foolish. He was simply… pitying the fact that I have to put up with the likes of you,” Malicia reasoned. Surely that was all it was, right? Prince Alexander had shown her not a hint of affection for the vast majority of their interview! Those few fleeting smiles she had glimpsed must have merely been a look of sympathy after her maid had caused a scene.

“I don’t know…” the maid in question tapped her chin thoughtfully, “It seemed to me like he started to warm up to you after I told him about your butt—mmph.”

Malicia quickly stuffed a cloth in her maid’s mouth, muting whatever other crude things she might say. Letting out a long sigh, the heiress rubbed her eyes.

At least it was all over and done with, right? For better or worse, she wouldn’t have any more dealings with the Royal Family until she received a notice officially confirming or denying her proposal request. She bit her thumbnail, hoping the inevitable rejection letter wouldn’t be too harsh.

A light tap at the window of the carriage pulled the heiress’ mind away from such maudlin matters. Outside stood someone she hadn’t particularly been expecting to see today, but perhaps she should have known she wouldn’t escape the palace grounds so easily.

“Hey, Malicia! Thought I smelled carrots!” a familiar, brown haired oaf stood grinning outside her carriage.

“Max,” the blonde gave an annoyed stare in response, before remembering she was technically still within the Royal Palace’s grounds, “Ahem. Prince Maximillian. To what do I owe the honor?”

“Oh, just passing by,” the prince shrugged, “Where are you off to?”

“I’m returning to my estate.”

“That’s what I figured,” he nodded, “Well, I’m going hunting out that way right now. Perhaps we could share a ride?”

The blonde’s eyebrows rose at that proposition. Personally, she had been doing her best not to show just how eager she was to rush home and bury her head in a pillow, trying her damndest to forget the days’ events, but… her meeting with Max a few weeks ago had been one of the only times she had really been able to talk to her old… friend in what felt like ages.

It seemed her day of being embarrassed in front of princes hadn’t ended just yet.

She turned sharply to her maid, “Don’t do anything stupid.”

“Mmmph,” Rina saluted her affirmatively, voice still muffled from the cloth in her mouth.

Malicia’s lip curled, feeling a distinct lack of confidence at that response. 

Max made his way into the carriage, taking his seat across from Malicia and the idiot. Rina finally pulled the cloth out of her mouth, not hesitating to ask the prince, “Are there sandwiches?”

“Sure enough!” Max presented a tray of his home-cooked food out of nowhere like a magic trick.

Rina’s eyes sparkled, hands clasped together like a child unwrapping a birthday present. Not wasting a moment, she immediately grabbed one of the proffered snacks and began devouring it.

Malicia couldn’t help but gape at the maid, who was shamelessly stuffing her face on the neighboring seat.

Honestly, where did this creature get its appetite? She knew for a fact her maid had eaten a full breakfast that morning, but still somehow had the hunger (and the gall) to eat an entire tray of sandwiches in a moving carriage.

“Sounds like your interview went pretty well,” Max glanced over to her after a moment of idly watching the maid devour his sandwiches.

“Oh, please don’t remind me of that disaster,” she flicked her fan open, trying once again to block out the memories of all that had happened today.

“Disaster?” Max looked genuinely confused, “My brother hardly ever talks about his marriage interviews. Today, he had… lots of questions about you….”

Malicia blushed. Prince Alexander must have been inquiring whether any of her ancestors had been committed to an asylum at any point in their life, mustn’t he?

She quickly changed the subject, “How in the world can you wear that in this weather?”

Glancing at Prince Maximillian, one would not be wrong for assuming he was not a prince at all, but instead, some sort of gladiator. Wearing only a leather vest and thin tunic, he was dressed much less like a prince in the middle of winter, and more like a commoner during the heat of summer.

“What’s wrong with this?” he shrugged innocently.

“It’s bloody freezing outside!” she pointed to his exposed arms, “Wear a coat if you go hunting in this weather!”

Outside the window, some loose flurries of snow drifted past, sparkling in the gas lamps of the city as if to emphasize her point. The sunny morning had faded to a patchwork sky of grey and blue, with hints of another snowstorm on the horizon. The heiress had no idea why anyone would even think to venture out in such weather without a proper coat! It wasn’t as if she was… worried for Prince Max’s sake or anything, but still. This was a matter of common sense!

“I can’t move as easily in a thick coat! Who goes hunting in that?”

“Everyone with a brain!” she huffed, “I assure you, you can most certainly hunt in a coat!”

“Oh really? Do you speak from experience?” he arched a brow at her, “Is that what the great Lady Malicia Baudelaire does in her free time? Get dressed up in a thick coat and go hunting?”

“You’re incorrigible,” the blonde scoffed. She knew that look of his well enough; it was that look he got when she had stumbled into another round of his teasing.

“Hey, Miss Rina? Is Malicia secretly a hunting master?” Max turned to the maid.

“Mmm, nope!” Rina replied between bites of sandwich, “She’s pretty good with a lasso, though!”

Malicia’s face flared hot again. Honestly, why did this maid seem to have the sole ambition of embarrassing her in front of as many people as she could?

“Lasso, huh? Is that right?” the prince smirked at her curiously.

Malicia felt a heavy thumping in her chest. She hoped this idiotic conversation would cease before he made her any angrier!

By this point, the carriage had made its way through the main city, and was winding its way back up Mont Martre, where the noble houses stood. As they rounded the curve at the top of the hill, her estate came into view… and along with it….

Before her manor was a sight she hadn’t been expecting in the slightest.

The blonde felt a flicker of annoyance, one which turned close to outright ire as the carriage rounded the final turn and approached her estate’s main gate.

---

Katarina felt a gnawing pit of nervousness in her stomach as they got closer to Malicia’s house. Standing on her lawn was a crowd of at least fifty commoners!

It didn’t look like they were a full-on angry mob just yet, but they certainly didn’t look happy either…. And, worst of all, she remembered this scene from Love’s Uprising. This was definitely a doom flag!

In the game, Clara had been left to tend to the house when the commoners showed up. She had talked amicably with them and told them how she would see if there was anything she could do to convince her boss to help them out when Malicia’s carriage returned. The blonde had burst out of the carriage and screamed at the peasants, telling them to get off her property at once. Clara informed her they had come to request emergency rations of food, which only enraged Malicia further. She told them her food was made from the highest quality ingredients, which weren’t to be shared with plebs.

Max had stepped in then, confronting the gathering commoners. He had informed them that if they urgently needed food, the Royal family could provide some from its national surplus. His intervention, along with some kind words from Clara, had been enough to quell the unrest and prevent the crowd from getting agitated; meanwhile, Malicia had looked affronted and stormed off inside her house while Clara and Max had a love flag moment.

It was a step of progress for the heroine of the game… but it was a huge doom flag for the villainess! The way she treated the commoners in this scene was one of the big reasons they hated her by the time the revolution rolled around!

By the look on the real Malicia’s face, it wouldn’t be long before she did the same thing!

Katarina really didn’t want that to happen either; it seemed like she had been getting along so well with Max just now! She hoped her charge wouldn’t throw all that progress out the window just like that!

“Look at the state of this! They are going to utterly wreck the lawn!” the blonde was clearly fuming, glaring angrily at the commoners who stood in front of her mansion.

Katarina tugged her charge’s sleeve just as she made a move to step out of the carriage, “Hey, Malicia?”

“What?”

“Maybe since Prince Max is here, he’ll tell Prince Alexander if you do something nice for the commoners!” the maid whispered the first idea that popped into her head.

“Wh-what?” Malicia looked shocked, “Do something nice? They are desecrating my property!”

“Prince Alexander asked about what nice things you’d done for the commoners in the last month, right?” she pressed on, “Maybe if you hear them out, word might get back to him, and he’ll accept your proposal!”

“I don’t know how your simple brain works, but matters like this require a firm hand, maid!” Malicia glared back, unfazed, “You cannot just allow the common folk to break down the gate to a private estate! Not just any private estate, but the most venerable house of Baudelaire!”

“They didn’t break the gate down, we left it open, remember?” Katarina reminded her of how she’d specifically requested the gate to remain wide open for her triumphant return from her marriage interview earlier.

“Shut it! This no place for--” the blonde cut herself off, glancing up, as she noticed Prince Max sitting across from them observing their conversation. She let out a sigh, “Maid?”

“Eh?”

“Deal with this,” she gestured to the crowd of commoners, “Now.”

Katarina nodded, feeling relieved she’d managed to avoid Malicia screaming at the commoners, but immediately saw a new problem rising up before her. As soon as she stepped out of the carriage, her concern amplified. What was she supposed to say here?! She wasn’t the perfect heroine Clara was!

The smart thing to do here would be to just recite Clara’s lines from the game, but… she didn’t remember them verbatim. Heck, she didn’t remember them at all! All Katarina remembered was the basic outline of the scene, not what happened in it!

She slapped her face, focusing herself on the problem at hand. Even if she’d been a villainess her whole life, she would have to be heroine, just for today!

“Um, hello!” she awkwardly greeted the crowd of disheveled looking commoners in front of the manor, “What, uh, what brings you all here today?”

Katarina could only assume that wasn’t what the crowd had expected to hear. The farmers and peasants closest to her gaped up at her in surprise.

“…wha?”

“She’s way nicer than I expected for Lady Baudelaire’s maid!”

“Shut it! Don’t screw this up!”

“Err… miss maid? Is Lady Baudelaire in that carriage?” a young man who she assumed was a farmer asked hesitantly.

“S-she is!” Katarina replied. It wasn’t like it was much of a secret when the Baudelaire coat of arms was painted on both sides of the carriage, “She’s not feeling well right now though, so… what is it you wished to ask about?”

“Hmph,” another farmer muttered under his breath, “Can’t even be bothered to talk to us herself, can she?”

Katarina winced. She’d like it if Malicia came out here too, but she also had a hunch that might just make things worse.

“W-we just wondered…” the first commoner spoke up again, looking nervous but determined, “Does her estate have any surplus food?”

Eh? They’re here about that? Just how dire was the food situation right now? Katarina suddenly felt terribly guilty for inhaling a pair of sandwiches mere moments earlier.

“Our lands haven’t grown enough to last more than a couple more months at most,” another man interjected, “We submitted requests to this estate for some extra rations to get us through the winter, but they were denied.”

“We know it’s not an easy thing to ask for, but…” a woman who appeared to be a mother looked dejected as she looked up at Katarina, “… if you have anything to spare, we could really use it right now.”

Standing beside her was a small boy who was looking up at her with pleading eyes.

Katarina felt her heart plummet at the sight. She glanced quickly into the carriage. Inside, Malicia was watching through the curtains with sharp eyes fixed on the little boy. It didn’t look like she was angry, though. If anything, she looked almost worried.

“Hey, Malicia? They’re asking about—” Katarina leaned into the carriage.

“Yes, Maid, I can hear,” Malicia sat with her hands folded in her lap, eyes closed in thought. She murmured under her breath, “Father is always the one who handles these affairs, not me. Dammit, what has he…?”

“What do you want me to tell them?” Katarina asked her softly.

“Tell them…” the blonde sighed wearily, “Tell them we will review their requests for surplus food and take them under consideration. Distributing surplus food is easier said than done, you know. And tell them to get off my property.”

Katarina nodded, a bit surprised at how easily Malicia had relented. Turning back to the crowd, she told them, “I’ll make sure my Lady gets all the requests you guys submitted. She says she will review them and take them under consideration. It’s very difficult to get that sort of thing sorted out, and she says it’s not something to be done lightly.”

“That’s all?” one man near the back scoffed.

“Heh, yeah, I’m sure it’s just so difficult do sign a couple approval forms. Her fancy little fingers just can’t grip a pen, can they?” a woman near the middle added in.

“Shut it! She said they’re reviewing them! You’re gonna get us all in trouble!” someone else hushed them quickly.

“And… if you would kindly return to your homes soon,” Katarina suggested, gesturing towards the sky, “The weather’s not very nice right now, so maybe you guys should get inside in case the storm picks up.”

The group in front of the house began to murmur among themselves, apparently seeing the merit in going back home for the day.

“Thank you, miss maid,” the little boy whispered, once again tugging at Katarina’s heartstrings.

After a moment, the crowd began dispersing, making their way off Malicia’s property and back down the mountain. As the group made their way past, Katarina could vaguely overhear their conversations as they spoke amongst themselves.

“I bet she just ignores the requests again,” one murmured.

“Shut it, Clyde!” another shot back, “At least she didn’t sic the hounds on us or somethin’!”

“Yeah, I thought this’d end a lot worse!” a third chimed in, “We’re lucky her maid’s so nice!”

Katarina couldn’t even imagine how hard their lives must be if they considered a villainess such as herself to be nice! She still wished the real heroine was here; she knew Clara would handle this much better than she had! The proper heroine knew exactly the right words to pacify the commoners!

As she stepped back inside the carriage, Katarina noticed Malicia looked even more unhappy than she usually did. Prince Max, however, looked somewhat amused.

The prince chuckled lightly, arching an eyebrow at her, “You certainly are pretty good with people, aren’t you, Miss Rina?”

“Ehh?” Katarina blinked in shock. Reminded of the circumstances for her own exile, she blurted, “No way, everybody hates me….”

“What in the world are you talking about, maid?” Malicia fixed her with an odd look, one she hadn’t seen before, “Who hates you?”

“Eh? W-well, everybody does, I thought…?”

Malicia opened her mouth, the closed it again. After a moment, she shook her head, “You are just… ugh.”

Katarina tilted her head. She was what?

“You did a good job just then, though,” Malicia praised her genuinely.

“Yeah,” Max agreed, “It seemed like there were a couple of them trying to stir the rest up. You did well by not responding to their provocations.”

“You were of no help whatsoever, you know that?” Malicia turned to the prince across from her with a huff.

“I was going to step in if you and Miss Rina couldn’t handle it…” Max nodded, “… but it looks like she had it all under control.”

“You’re a prince! Dealing with commoners--”

“—is my brother’s forte, not mine,” Max interrupted the blonde, “And clearly not yours either.”

“I cannot imagine any proper noblewoman would take kindly to a herd of peasants defiling their lawn!”

“Sure, sure,” Max waved his hand airily, “Still, I’m impressed with your restraint, Mal.”

“S-shut it,” the blonde went pink, looking away. After a moment, her eyes flicked back over to the prince, “I-if you happen to discuss this matter with your brother… surely mentioning my… benevolence towards the plebians would come up, wouldn’t it?”

“Is this your super clever way of asking me to put in a good word with Alexander?” the prince arched an eyebrow at her.

“N-no!” Malicia’s eyes widened as if she’d been caught.

“I’ll tell him you asked me to mention it,” Max winked at her.

“Do not!”

“‘Lady Malicia specifically asked me to tell you she didn’t have her dogs chase the crowd of commoners off her property, brother’,” the prince recited, amused.

“Do not phrase it like that! I showed restraint, you said so yourself!” Malicia shouted, hands balled up in fists.

Max chuckled loudly, clearly enjoying watching the blonde squirm.

The carriage rounded the front of the estate, stopping shortly before the front door. Katarina gathered Malicia’s umbrella, seeing as there was now a light snow drifting down, and led her Lady down from the carriage.

“Hey, Malicia?” Max called out as the heiress stepped down.

“What?”

“Thanks for approving the rations distributions,” he smirked at her.

“I never said I would!”

“Yyyyeah, but you will,” Prince Max shot her a knowing grin.

“I--!” Malicia looked even more annoyed than before.

“It’s great ‘cause it’ll take some of the burden off us. We’ve already been on the brink of having to crack into the national surplus,” Max admitted.

“R-really?” Malicia blinked, eyes widening for a moment.

Katarina was a bit shocked too. She had been eating well every day here, so she hadn’t really realized quite what the situation was like for the commoners here.

“Anyways… thanks,” Max concluded with a rare, genuine smile of gratitude.

“Y-yes, well…” Malicia brushed a strand of hair over her shoulder, face growing pink, “If I’m to be Queen, I need to ensure the people can survive, surely.”

“Hm,” Max hummed, smile widening a tiny bit.

Katarina thought she saw Malicia’s face get a bit redder as she looked away.

“Well, I’m gonna head on a bit further to the forest,” Max shrugged, shifting in his seat in the carriage. He shot Malicia a wink, “I’ll see if I can head some deer off this way so you can snag them with your lasso.”

“Ugh… you’re never going to let that go, are you?” Malicia rolled her eyes.

“Nope!” Max grinned back.

With that, the prince closed the door to the carriage, and it began rolling off towards the forest beyond the mountain to drop him off for his hunt.

Katarina turned to her charge as the pair entered her manor, “Hey, Malicia?”

“Yes?”

“Why don’t you just marry Prince Max?”

“Hah?” the blonde gaped at her as if she’d just said the most ridiculous thing in the world, “Don’t be foolish maid. That isn’t--! We don’t--! He… doesn’t like me at all! He just enjoys making fun of me!”

“Are you kidding? You guys get along great!” Katarina blinked in surprise. Did Malicia really not see it?

“We absolutely do not! He’s an idiot! An utter idiot!” Malicia glared at her, stomping her foot in protest.

“I mean, he is Alexander’s brother…” Katarina pressed, “If you want to be in the Royal Family, that would probably be an easier way, you know?”

“As if I would marry someone like him! Even if he is a prince!” Malicia declared, face burning red. She gazed off deep in thought as she added, “And besides… I made a promise. I have to marry Prince Alexander.”

The blonde turned on her heel, not elaborating any further on what she meant by that.

As Katarina followed Malicia into the house, a small smile crept up her lips. Malicia felt like there was some big reason she couldn’t marry Prince Max, but… it wasn’t because she didn’t like him, hm?

Notes:

If only a heroine who was good at dealing with people were here instead of Katarina! Alas!

I hope this chapter came out okay. This chapter and the next were originally 1, but this part wound up pretty long, so I split it up. The next one should be up quickly though!

Thank you once again for reading!

Chapter 15: How Many More Times

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

The sun was cold and distant, but still shining a few weeks later as Malicia and her maid rolled through town once again, this time destined towards an auction house. A number of priceless and rare valuables were up for sale today, but the Baudelaire heiress had her sights set on one in particular.

“Be diligent, maid,” the heiress informed her subordinate with a flick of her fan, “Today is an important event: The Annual Antiquities Auction.”

“Ohh, this was an event!” the maid muttered obliviously.

Malicia arched an eyebrow at that choice of words, “It is an event, maid! One we are attending presently.”

“There was a Chevalier flag here,” Rina tapped her chin, lost in thought.

“…what?” Malicia gave her maid a look. What in the world did that mean?

“And Lady Lena LaCroix was here too; she was the rival in that part, right?” Rina continued murmuring to herself.

“Rina, what on earth are you muttering about?” Malicia shot her a sharp questioning look.

“Eh?” Rina’s attention apparently snapped back to the present moment, eyes wide with surprise, “O-oh! Nothing!”

Opting to ignore the brunette’s senseless ramblings for the moment, the heiress instead stated, “Lady LaCroix will not be attending today.”

Rina turned to her, “You know Lena LaCroix, Malicia?”

“Of course I do; I know everyone!” the blonde sighed, “Who do you think I am?”

“W-well…” the maid shifted awkwardly.

Suddenly, a thought occurred to Malicia. Facing her maid with a scrutinizing gaze, she asked, “Why do you know of Lady LaCroix?”

“Well, I saw her at the opera house,” the brunette explained, “She was watching you.”

Malicia arched a brow at that. Lena LaCroix was watching… her? Why? Hm, it probably didn’t concern her, but she couldn’t really imagine what she could have done to get that spectral lady’s attention.

“That ghost never comes out of her shadows unless she has to, trust me,” the blonde murmured, “She won’t be attending, I can guarantee it.”

Their carriage rolled to a stop before the lavish manor in the center of the city that would serve as host for the day’s event.

“What do you want me to do, Malicia?” Rina asked as they stepped down from the carriage.

The blonde sighed. It seemed ‘Lady Baudelaire’ was a lost cause at this point.

“Go to the servants’ quarters,” the heiress instructed her subordinate, “Talk to the other maids. Pay close attention to anything important. Any gossip, any rumors, anything new and interesting. Keep your purse closed and your pockets guarded; someone may try to frame you for stealing something.”

“E-eh?” Rina looked startled.

“It has happened before,” the blonde explained, “Some of the smaller houses grow jealous of families like mine… they like to stir petty drama wherever they can.”

Rina nodded, looking worried.

“And don’t say anything about me! You are here to hear rumors, not spread them. Understood?” Malicia concluded with a sharp order.

“R-right! Got it!” the brunette affirmed.

The blonde let out a breath, hoping her maid could handle herself here without making a scene. Gracefully, she turned and led the way into the awaiting hall before them.

---

Katarina tailed along a pace behind her charge as they entered the auction house.

The items up for auction, much like the estate itself (and, really, everything in this over-the-top country) were all extremely opulent and… kind of gaudy, if Katarina was being honest. She knew people liked gold and jewels and stuff, but the valuables here just looked tacky.

Malicia was carefully inspecting each vase in the glass case with a scrutinizing gaze that gave Katarina the chills. If looks could break glass, her boss would be cleaning up half the wares here, the maid mused.

The auction itself wasn’t what interested her right now though. This had been an event in the game; a love flag scene for Clara and Sir Chevalier.

In the game, Malicia had dragged Clara along, purchasing the heaviest statue on the lot, and ordering the maid to haul it out for her. However, one of the guards working at the event was Sir Chevalier, who encountered them as soon as they entered and wound up talking to Clara in the servants’ quarters during the auction. After the auction ended, the knight offered to carry the statue out for her, but not before bumping into the lady who had intended to win the Sir Chevalier’s heart- Lena LaCroix. The pale woman had intervened, attempting to derail their moment. From what Katarina remembered, this was one of the trickier love flags, since Lady LaCroix was surprisingly manipulative.

Yeah, if she remembered correctly, they would bump into Sir Chevalier as soon as they stepped in the building. Right… about… now.

Katarina blinked. Nothing happened. There was no trace of the poetic knight her charge had befriended at the theatre last month. Maybe she’d remembered wrong. There was no Sir Chevalier to be found here; just a lot of stuffy looking old nobles quietly inspecting the wares up for auction.

“Fufu, to think I’d see you here, Mali~” a light, lilting voice came from behind them.

Turning around, Katarina and her charge were met by a pair of sleepy, distant eyes that seemed to gaze right through them. Katarina vaguely recognized the owner of said eyes as one of Malicia’s friends from the opera; a pink haired girl who seemed to have no urgency to any action she made, but somehow still felt kind of imposing in a weird way. Behind her stood another maid, a girl with a darker shade of pink hair who quite obviously worked for the sleepy-eyed girl before them.

“Lucille,” Malicia greeted the pink haired girl curtly, “What items on the lot have caught your interest this time?”

“Oh, nothing at all. I’ve just come to enjoy the show,” the pink haired girl smiled, eyes eerily lifeless. Flicking her gaze to Katarina for a moment, she added, “I hadn’t realized dogs were allowed in this hall.”

“Eh?” Katarina blinked. Dogs? Wait… did she mean…?

“Hey! That’s--” Katarina started to scold the woman for insulting her, briefly forgetting herself.

“Maid, hush,” Malicia silenced her coldly.

“…not a very nice thing to say….” Katarina muttered under her breath.

Right. She was a maid here, not a noblewoman anymore. She’d never been particularly attached to the status of ‘duke’s daughter’, but she was pretty sure if someone back in Sorcier had called her a dog, she’d have been able to tell them off for it. Here, not so much, it would seem.

Lucille’s expression did not change, but Katarina could have sworn she saw her mouth twitch up a tad. She was enjoying making Katarina squirm, wasn’t she? Behind her, her own maid with darker pink hair was watching the exchange with a similar look of amusement.

“Do be well, Mali~,” the sleepy eyed girl smiled as she turned away, “I do hope you succeed in acquiring whatever it is you’re bidding on. I’m quite sure you deserve it. After all, your collection of treasures can only gather so much dust if you don’t keep adding to it.”

As Lady Lucille slithered off into the darkness of the auction hall, Katarina could have sworn she heard Malicia mutter, “If they didn’t allow dogs, you’d never get past the gate.” 

Lucille made her way over to the seating area, splitting off from her maid, who meandered over to a set of curtains. Katarina assumed those were the servants’ quarters, and followed her over there. As much as she really didn’t want to spend time around somebody like that mean girl’s maid, who was clearly just as amused by insulting her as her charge, she didn’t really have much a choice at the moment, it seemed.

---

Making her way into the main hall, Malicia flipped idly through the catalogue of the items up for auction here once again. Honestly, there wasn’t anything too appealing to her here other than a few pieces of antique jewelry, but these auctions were less about the items up for bid, and more a front for noble houses to ostentate their wealth and authority.

Naturally, as heiress of the Baudelaire archduchy, she had to make a play for something expensive just to assert her house’s superiority.

The three most valuable items on the lot were a gilded statue of the ancient Emperor Archaias, a crystal table which had belonged to King Alec II, and a solid sapphire vase with platinum inlays, which had belonged to one of the kings of the neighboring kingdom Regony.

She had no place for a statue, and the table was just ugly, so she would be making a play for the vase. With a starting bid of over 850,000 au-reis, she was sure its final price would easily reach into the millions. It was hardly enough to put a significant dent in her family’s finances, but it wasn’t exactly cheap either. Still, if that was the price for reminding the rest of the nobility that her house could easily buy and sell any of them, it was a price she was willing to pay.

Slipping the catalogue into her purse, a flicker of movement in her periphery caught her attention. The blonde arched her brow at a shadowy silhouette slinking around the line-up of items of for auction today. A pair of round, silvery glasses glinted in the low light of the auction hall, making it apparent even from a distance who the young woman was.

Was that… Lena LaCroix? She was here today?

“Maid, how did--?” she turned, only to find the air next to her empty.

Hmph. Her useless maid had already vanished, eh? Well, she’d ask another time.

For now, she had to focus on the auction.

And, if the glass-obscured eyes of Lena LaCroix happened to linger on Malicia a tad too long, suffice it to say such a thing went entirely unnoticed by the heiress.

---

“So… hi,” Katarina fidgeted awkwardly in the maids’ quarters beside the main hall.

The other maid simply stared back.

Katarina never considered herself bad at making conversation, but… where was she supposed to start here?

The maid in front of her was the one who worked for that Lucille girl who had insulted her earlier. She had the same dead-fish eyes as her charge, and was even less talkative than Nicol. Part of her wanted to ask why Lucille had been so mean earlier, but decided it probably wouldn’t look good for Malicia if she went around picking fights with the other ladies’ maids.

Plus, she had to do what her charge had asked of her, and keep her ears open for whatever the other maids were gossiping about. The only problem was… this was a silent auction!

The general volume of the whole building was about as low as it could reasonably get, and the maids’ quarters here were close enough to the auction room that they could clearly hear the auctioneer through the walls, so it wasn’t like they could really do too much chatting back here without disturbing the main hall.

“I’m Rina!” Katarina whispered, offering a handshake as she introduced herself to the mean girl’s maid.

“Cerise,” the sleepy-eyed maid replied simply, shaking her hand.

Katarina frowned. She had to figure out a way to get gossip out of these maids that would be useful for Malicia!

She pursed her lips, “S-so. Um… what’s new with you?”

Cerise’s sleepy looking eyes stared back blankly for a long moment, then she turned on her heel and walked away.

Katarina sighed, shoulders slumping, and opted to just listen to whatever other whispers she could hear for the time being.

The last couple of weeks had been rather uneventful, but Malicia had made some progress in terms of helping out the commoners.

As she had promised, the heiress had indeed signed off on a few of the surplus ration requests after careful review. She wound up not giving out too much food, but it was better than nothing, Katarina supposed. She hoped it would be enough to keep the people in her archduchy fed for a few months.

The maid tapped her wrists idly. She wished she hadn’t been conned out of her jewelry the first day she arrived; it would probably sell for a good price here and she could contribute that money to buying food for the peasants. It might not be much, but it would be something.

Not to mention, they had a bit of sentimental value too. Geordo had given her one on the 3rd anniversary of the day she’d bumped her head, and Keith noticed and bought her one for the other wrist to match. Geordo and Keith were her oldest friends, and she felt like they were right beside her as long as she had her bracelets on. Of course, Geordo and Keith probably hated her now that she’d been exiled like the villainess she was, but she still liked to remember them fondly.

She clicked her tongue. If she ever saw the little weasel of a capture target who had scammed her, she’d have some words for him!

Turning her attention back to the current moment, Katarina glanced around the servants’ quarters to see if Sir Chevalier actually was here somewhere. To her surprise, she didn’t see him at all.

Maybe if Clara is on another route, he just doesn’t show up here? Katarina mused as she shuffled quietly around the room. At a certain corner of the room, she noticed she couldn’t hear the auctioneer as clearly. The other maids seemed to have noticed this as well, and had begun whispering amongst one another.

“Have you heard?” one maid asked another quietly. The second mad shook her head, so the first continued, “The rumor about Duke Durand and Baron Kaplan? It seems the baron spent a late evening at Duke Durand’s mansion!”

Katarina’s eyes widened. Ooh! Spicy Ritallian BL action!

She spun around discreetly and focused her attention on that conversation as best she could.

As Katarina surreptitiously listened in, the maid continued on telling the sordid tale, “Yes, Duke Durand came over to Baron Kaplan’s estate a few nights ago…”

“…yeah?” the second maid leaned in.

Katarina leaned in too.

“The Duke made preparations to stay late…”

“…yes?”

Katarina leaned in further, eagerly preparing for the spiciness.

“And, well… rumor has it…”

The brunette was absolutely on the edge of her seat now, heart racing as she wondered just how electrifying this tale would be!

“…they finally negotiated an effective taxation rate on the transport of Baron Kaplan’s silver through Duke Durand’s harbor,” the dark haired maid concluded.

Katarina deflated, slumping onto the floor wearily. That wasn’t a spicy BL tale at all! Just some boring trade negotiations!

Having nothing better to do, she continued listening to the terribly un-spicy details of the trade route negotiation they worked out.

As she drooped around on the floor, bored out of her mind, a movement out of the corner of her eye caught her attention. Lucille’s maid Cerise was standing silently in a corner facing the main doors of the room, when a silver haired maid Katarina hadn’t noticed before crept up behind her.

Deftly, the silver haired maid quietly crept up right next to her. Katarina thought she saw a sparkle of something gold in her hand… and then, she just turned around and left.

Katarina blinked, confused. What was that all about? Should she tell Cerise, or would it be better just to ignore it?

A few moments later, the silver haired maid returned with one of the guards who had stood at the entrance of the building. She whispered something to him and pointed to Lucille’s maid before he walked over towards her.

The man pulled Cerise aside with a stern look on his face, “Miss, what exactly are you doing here?”

The maid seemed a bit perplexed, but kept her face neutral as she replied, “I am simply waiting here for the duration of the auction, as my Lady instructed.”

The guard pulled her purse away from her. Reaching inside, he pulled out an ornate gold chain, “Really? Then what is this doing here?”

Cerise’s usually sleepy eyes widened in surprise, “I-I… that’s not--! I didn’t--!”

“Do you expect us to believe Item Number 224, the golden necklace belonging to Queen Marie, just happened to climb into your bag by itself?” the guard glared at her skeptically.

“I didn’t take it!” Cerise tried to defend herself.

The guard didn’t reply, but began to pull her by the wrist towards the back door of the room. Katarina frowned. She had to do something.

“Hey, what are you doing?” she called out to the guard, marching over to them.

“Miss, please,” the guard held up a hand, “This woman has been attempting to steal a valuable item from tonight’s auction.”

“No, she didn’t!” Katarina blurted out, “That other maid put that in her purse, I saw it!”

The guard hesitated, arching an eyebrow, “Who, exactly?”

“The one who called you in here in the first place!” Katarina turned to point out the silver haired maid who had snuck the jewelry into the Cerise’s bag… and found she had entirely disappeared.

“Hm. I see,” the guard frowned skeptically, before turning an accusing gaze towards Katarina herself, “Are you, perhaps, accomplices? Working together to split the reward maybe?”

“We are absolutely not,” Cerise scoffed, sounding offended at the mere idea.

Katarina shot her a look. Was the idea of the two of them working together really that hard to consider? Wait, no. She was supposed to be convincing the guard guy they weren’t collaborating! This was bad, she didn’t know how to convince somebody she didn’t steal something!

“Ahem, Sir Pascal,” another voice suddenly interrupted the guard’s accusations, “As it so happens, we had a report of a suspicious maid closely inspecting the wares a few minutes earlier. By the time ours guards responded, she had left, but the description we were given does not match Miss Cerise here, but the maid who led you in here a moment ago.”

Katarina blinked up at the man who had intervened. Sir Chevalier!

“And now, it seems a witness corroborates this,” the blue haired knight nodded toward Katarina. Crossing his arms, Sir Chevalier continued, “I think this may simply be a common case of false accusation.”

“Do you really intend to just let her go?” the first guard looked at Chevalier skeptically.

“I believe this necklace was all that was stolen?” the knight gestured to the gold chain in the guard’s hand, “At worst, she would get away empty handed if she is guilty, and if not, it would do no good to stir drama for the families here where it needn’t be.”

“Hmph,” Sir Pascal frowned, “You are far too soft on these matters, Antoine.”

Evidently, the guard decided not to push the matter further and turned to leave.

“S-sir Chevalier!” Katarina greeted him with a smile, “You are here today!”

“Yes. Well, I would have been earlier, but I went into the wrong building,” the blue haired man admitted, “You are Lady Malicia’s maid, aren’t you?”

“Yeah!” the brunette nodded, “Thank you so much! You really helped us out there!”

“Oh, it’s no problem at all,” the knight shook his head, “I have served as a guard for many similar events, and things like this are fairly common, you see. I am not fond of seeing innocent maidens lose their jobs and freedoms as consequence of some other house’s schemes.”

Cerise still looked fairly rattled, but managed to take his hand, “Yes, thank you, so, so much.”

“Think nothing of it, mademoiselle,” Chevalier answered with a smile, “I will let you know if we discover who the true culprit was. She can’t have gotten far, but certain thieves can be very difficult to track, and even harder to make an actual case against without solid evidence.”

With that, the knight gave them both a charming smile, and turned to further investigate and pursue the vanished maid.

As soon as he was gone, the pink haired maid turned to Katarina, “Why?”

“Why what?” Katarina blinked back.

“Why did you defend me?” Cerise narrowed her eyes at the brunette.

“Why wouldn’t I? You didn’t steal anything!”

Cerise stared intently at her, scrutinizing her reaction. After a long moment, that look of deep focus melted off her face, replaced by her usual expression of tired amusement, “Well, I suppose some dogs can be friendly, hm?”

Katarina shot her a glare. She was getting pretty tired of being called a dog. Plus, she didn’t get along well with dogs! She was a monkey girl, after all!

---

A few hours later, Katarina let out a sigh of relief as she exited the auction hall.

She counted her lucky stars she’d been able to easily resolve that situation inside without causing a big scene, but she still wondered who that silver haired maid was, or where she had disappeared off to. She also had to wonder why the maid had done it, but chalked it up to what Malicia had said earlier about smaller noble houses trying to stir drama with the wealthier families.

To her surprise, the blonde hadn’t wound up bidding on a giant gold statue, walking away with only a sparkly, ornate vase and a platinum brooch. The brooch was one of the more tasteful things on the lot, at least in Katarina’s opinion. And probably a pretty expensive one too….

The maid was in charge of hauling the vase Malicia had won out to their carriage, but luckily, it was not nearly as cumbersome as the statue Clara and Sir Chevalier had to lug out of here in the game.

“Did you hear anything of note, maid?” Malicia turned to her as they made their way to the carriage.

“No… just boring trade route negotiations,” Katarina frowned, being extra careful not to jostle the box Malicia’s vase was in.

“Such as?”

Katarina sighed, recounting what she could recall of the tedious conversation she’d been eavesdropping on for half of her time in the back room.

“Th-this is… surprisingly useful,” Malicia sounded surprised.

“But it’s not spicy,” Katarina slumped.

“Maid, sometimes I truly wonder what goes on in that brain of yours,” the blonde flicked her forehead lightly as they arrived at their carriage, “You did well today, come on.”

Katarina smiled, happy she had been useful to her charge. She was about to tell her charge about helping to stop that Cerise girl for being framed for theft, but decided it could wait a moment. Right as they reached their carriage, she gently set the vase box down inside, but for some reason, a distant voice caught the brunette’s ear.

“Ah, you see, I happen to be the best handler of rare valuables ever to grace the nation of Ritallia,” a young man’s voice carried from a side door to the auction hall, “I can see you’ve got a keen eye for antiquities, my good sir! It would be a damned shame to let them be mishandled in transport. For a very reasonable fee, I can have these delivered to your house by the day’s end with the absolute best care imaginable!”

That voice… sounded a bit too familiar, Katarina thought, turning to face the speaker. By the side door of the hall stood a well dressed nobleman whose butler appeared to be having trouble hauling a large, silver armoire talking to a young man who was evidently offering to help deliver it.

He was dressed in a slightly-too-big suit, and a gentleman’s hat rather than the cheap straw one he’d had before. But still, she couldn’t help but notice that smirk, those freckles, that strawberry blond hair….

Katarina narrowed her eyes. That was none other than the secret capture target himself: Tommy Finch. The guy who had conned her out of her bracelets, and was clearly trying to con some guy from the auction hall right now. She closed her eyes, deciding it would be for the best if she did something about the current situation.

And so, she handled it with all the grace and subtlety she could muster.

“Hey! You’re the guy who tricked me out of my bracelets!” she cried out, dashing over to intercept him.

With a cheeky grin, he tipped his hat to her, “Ah, another satisfied customer!”

And, quick as a flash, he was gone. Like a bolt of lightning, the thief spun around and bolted down an alleyway she hadn’t even seen before.

“Get back here!” Katarina took off in a full sprint, once again forgetting where she was as she pursued the hidden capture target down a hidden route.

---

Malicia glared in the direction her maid had just vanished, barely processing what had just happened.                                               

“Maid!” the blonde cried out, but it was clearly too late to stop her. She gripped her fists, “Rina!!!”

Still no response. The brunette had already disappeared around a corner, apparently chasing down some petty thief who had conned her in the past.

“Ugh…” the blonde gritted her teeth. Honestly, some days she really cursed the fact that, out of everyone, this imbecile was the one she had hired.

And, for what she was increasingly sure wouldn’t be the last time, Malicia Baudelaire threw away her common sense and began sprinting at full speed down the alley after her maid.

Notes:

This wound up way longer than I'd intended, so I hope it came out okay lol. Anyways, here's another chapter! A few familiar faces reappear, and the plot begins to take off (I hope). I kind of moved the order of the chapters around a bit, there was supposed to be another scene on the end of the previous chapter, but I decided to save that for later.

This time, Katarina and Malicia attend the auction! I do hope the scenes of 'Kat and Mal attend X noble event' aren't too boring to read. They can be a bit dry to write, so I hope it comes across okay.

Anyways, thank you for reading! I'll try and have the next chapter done soon; it should be more fun than this one!

Chapter 16: Distant Icy Plains

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

Tommy Finch chuckled as he hoisted himself up to the highest branch of the old oak at the end of Augustine Lane. It had frosted over a bit from the recent snow, and it was a rather secluded tree to begin with, so he knew no one would be able to track him down here.

He let out a sigh, having finally evaded that pesky maid Rita, or whatever she’d said her name was. She’d put up a good chase, but some fancy gal like her was no match in a footrace against someone who’d grown up on these streets. He’d lost her a fair ways back, and had made his way pretty close to the place he called home by now.

He was a bit miffed at her for crashing his plan to fleece some fancy silver furniture off some nobleman, but it was hardly the first time it happened. Leaning back on the branch, the scruffy haired boy let out a breath, wondering if there would still be any way to quickly make off with any of the stuff from that auction--

“Heh heh heh…” a creepy laugh from just behind him interrupted his thoughts.

“What the-?!” he startled upright and spun around, nearly falling off the limb he was perched on.

From one branch below him hung the maid, gripping onto it with one hand like an ape. She had actually tracked him here, and then clambered all the way up this frosty tree in mere minutes!

“To think you’d hide from a monkey in a tree!” she smiled predatorily.

“Wh-what kinda maid are you?” Tommy gaped. He was getting a bit nervous now. Even the cops and knights weren’t this persistent!

“You thought I was merely a maid? How foolish! You should know… I am a villainess!” the brunette grinned, eyes glinting, “So… ready to hand over my bracelets yet?”

“Heck no, I’m getting outta here!” he cried out, leaping down the branches as he dodged the lemur-like pursuant maid.

Dodging her grabs for him as he descended the tree, Tommy realized he’d screwed up. This wasn’t good at all!

He’d had a few run-ins with the law and folks who had chased him down before, but not like this! None of them had ever managed to follow him so close to where he had been living the past few months!

A few of his hideouts had been discovered in the past, so normally he wouldn’t care that much, but this place was different. He didn’t want any authorities or maids or whatever the hell she was to track him down here. He’d lived a lot of places, but this one had kind of started to feel like home….

Tommy shook his head, focusing on the task at hand. This maid was a tenacious one, but she didn’t know this area like he did. Peeling around a corner, the con artist set his eyes on his last bet for getting her off his tail.

---

Katarina’s flat buckled maid shoes screeched across the frosty gravel as she rounded the corner Tommy had slipped around, only to find a mostly empty field and a barn. The little weasel was nowhere in sight, so she advanced determinedly on the barn.

Scattered throughout the field were the pieces of the suit he had worn during his attempted scam back at the opera house, evidently ditched as he ran to… wherever he was going.

She dashed into the barn door Tommy had presumably disappeared through seconds earlier… only to notice a faded wooden sign over the door. In sun-faded paint that had once been cheerful, the aged sign read: Welcome to Kettle Farms! The best Carrots, Cabbage, and Cauliflower this side of Monte Martre!

This was… the Kettle farm, where the heroine lived? If Tommy was here, that meant… Clara was on his route, hm? she mused idly, once again wishing she’d actually finished the whole game, rather than ditching it for Fortune Lover halfway through the Alexander route.

She strolled cautiously into the barn, eyes adjusting to the low light from the white snowy fields outside. She blinked a few times, scanning the area for Tommy. As she stepped in, she felt an odd feeling of nostalgia. How long had it been since she’d seen farm equipment? The last time she’d actually held a hoe was the day she was exiled. The gardening tools she used around Malicia’s manor weren’t the same as proper field tilling equipment used on a farm….

The thoughts faded quickly from her mind as she heard a shuffling sound from behind her. Leaning against the back wall was a man in overalls with his hat pulled down low over his face.

“Hey, have you seen a sleazy looking guy run through here? About this tall?” she asked him, holding out her arm to indicate his height.

The farmer tilted his head away from her, “Well, I saw a handsome young lad run through here a few moments ago… Rugged good looks, charming smile?”

Katarina frowned. She didn’t know if she would use those words to describe him, but nodded anyways. It wasn’t like many other people came through here.

“He went that-a way,” the young man pointed her towards the opposite barn door.

“Thanks!” Katarina waved to the man with the oddly familiar voice and dashed out the side door of the barn and… and… and stopped dead in her tracks!

“Hey!” she whirled around, only to find Tommy had already abandoned his overalls disguise and had fled out the door they had entered through glancing back at her every now and then to gauge her chase.

Letting out a frustrated growl, the maid clenched her fists as she continued the pursuit. This place was clearly an area he was familiar with, wasn’t it? He was able to easily watch her over his shoulder while fleeing because he knew the terrain here… or, at least, he thought he did.

Katarina’s lips quirked upwards as she reached her arm out, “Earth… bump!”

The con artist’s attention was focused on Katarina as she called out the spell, so he didn’t notice as a small chunk of dirt crumpled its way upwards through the thin, patchy snow right in front of his outstretched foot.

“Keh!” Tommy groaned, tripping head over heels on the well-placed lump of earth.

“Hehe… that finally worked!” Katarina pumped her fist victoriously. Wasting no time, she quickly advanced on the fallen form of Tommy Finch. She placed her hand on his shoulder and smiled ominously at him, “Now, I have….”

Katarina startled as she felt a hand on her own shoulder, and a familiar voice in her own ear, “…some questions for you.”

The maid jumped a foot in the air, whirling around in surprise, “Whoa, wait! Malicia! What are you doing here?”

Before her stood a very angry, breathless heiress with her hands on her hips, “I could ask you the same, maid! What on earth are you thinking, running off like that against my explicit instructions?!”

Katarina winced, noticing a genuinely angry look in her boss’ eyes. She started to apologize, but a streak of movement in the corner of her eye reminded her of what had brought her here in the first place. Malicia was only yelling at her for a few seconds, but it seemed Tommy had taken that instant as an opportunity to bolt.

“H-hey! Wait!” she tried to call out.

“Maid, hush,” Malicia instructed calmly, holding up her hand. In her palm was the end of a length of rope… and the other end was tied firmly around the con artist’s ankle.

“Gah!” Tommy tumbled off balance as Malicia pulled the rope taut.

“Wow! When did you even tie that?” Katarina gasped incredulously, “You gotta teach me how to do that, Malicia!”

“Shut it, you imbecile,” Malicia scolded her, eyes dangerously angry, “I have some words for you, but first, it seems this man has wronged you.”

“Wait… why do you care that he wronged me?” Katarina asked suddenly. It seemed like Malicia was really angry with her, so shouldn’t she just drag her back home right away?

The blonde averted her eyes, “W-well… it is against my house’s code of honor to allow anyone in our employ to be stolen from. It is a slight against the Baudelaire family to abide such low treachery!”

---

Malicia frowned, finally regaining her breath after chasing her maid all the way across town and into some beaten down, slum farm on the outskirts of Dumont. She couldn’t even imagine what sort of trash would wind up in a dismal place like this, and felt her lip curl at the thought of anyone seeing her on such a low estate.

She advanced on the fallen boy, tightening her grip on the rope with each step.

The thief attempted to undo the tangled bindings around his foot, but Malicia yanked it, pulling him closer to where she and her maid stood, “You may find it difficult to untie a water knot, you amateur.”

“Who you callin’ ‘amateur’?” the boy scoffed.

“The kind of thief who looks over his shoulder as he flees,” the blonde answered coldly. She had witnessed a few instances of thievery in the past, and the perpetrators never looked back as they disappeared into the night.

“Well, I never run from the devil herself before, have I?” the scruffy, strawberry blond boy glared at her, “Awright, fine, ya caught me! Whatcha gonna do, huh? Turn me in? Take me to yer dungeon?”

The heiress frowned, keeping her eyes firmly fixed on the foolish con artist before her, “Dungeon? What on earth are you talking about?”

“Aw, come on, everybody knows about the Baudelaire dungeon!” the freckled boy scoffed, “It’s where y’all chain up anyone who’s wronged you!”

Malicia frowned. She wasn’t sure where anyone got that idea, but her manor didn’t have any dungeon. It barely even had a wine cellar due to its precarious construction on the edge of a cliff. She sighed, not bothering to explain as much to this fool.

There was something a bit… refreshing about this, in a way. Normally, when people were angry with her, they would smile and lie through their teeth, waiting for the right moment to whisper something behind her back, or spread some vicious rumor about her to try and undermine her authority.

But with this idiot? He must be cut from the same cloth as her maid. He wore his heart on his sleeve, despite being a con artist, and was painfully easy to read for someone like herself who had grown up surrounded by people who never had any fewer than two faces.

“What is your name, boy?” Malicia pulled the rope a bit tighter.

“It’s Edgar J. Chutney,” he blatantly lied.

“It’s Tommy Finch,” her maid interjected, correcting him. Tommy Finch glared at her.

“It seems you have taken something from my maid,” the heiress glared down at him.

“Y-yeah! Where are the bracelets, Tommy?” her maid spoke up.

The scruffy haired boy chuckled, “I already sold ‘em.”

Rina gasped in horror.

“Why are you going around scamming people and stealing from my maid?” the blonde arched an eyebrow at him.

“Ya wanna know why?” Finch gave her a cocky smirk, “Because I wanted to! That’s why!”

For a proper con artist, this man wasn’t a very good liar, Malicia decided.

“Hey, Malicia? What are you--” her maid spoke up.

“Maid, hush,” the heiress, turned to her attendant, cutting her off, “This man is a thief and a con artist who has gone so far as to steal from a member of my own household. These matters require a firm hand. Clearly you are very skilled at running across the entirety of the town, maid. Go to the constable’s quarters and fetch some law enforcement to take out this trash.”

---

Katarina paused, unsure what to say.

As happy as she was to have finally cornered the guy who scammed her (and presumably many others), there was a part of her that wanted to deal with this by herself. And now, here he was, about to be arrested on Malicia’s orders, all for tricking Katarina out of her own bracelets.

He wasn’t exactly a good guy, but the maid couldn’t help but feel a tad guilty about the whole situation.

Not to mention… would that throw the game off-course?

If Clara was on his route, then surely him getting arrested would be a serious bad end. How that would affect Clara herself and the overall series of events around the revolution would be a significant unknown. And she already had way too many unknowns!

Malicia’s expression left no room for argument when she ordered Katarina to fetch the police, though, so she didn’t have much of an option.

She began walking toward the barn she had entered the farm through, when a slight motion to the side caught her eye. Curiosity getting the better of her, Katarina decided to quickly meander over and see what the movement was… only to be caught entirely off-guard when the shadowy figure came into view.

“Y-you!” Katarina’s eyes widened in surprise at the unexpected person, “What are you doing here?”

“Shh,” the figure held up a hand to quiet her, “Let’s just see how this plays out….”

---

Tommy gripped his fists anxiously, cursing the situation he’d gotten himself into. He’d led that maid right back here, to his home; this nice, warm place, full of all the good people who had been kind enough to take him in and give him a roof over his head. She’d just run off to fetch some police to have him arrested. And it wasn’t exactly a stretch to think the good folks of this farm would wind up in chains too, considering how they turned a blind eye to all the thieving he’d gotten up to recently.

What really had him worried, though, was the name that maid had called her boss.

Malicia Baudelaire, the Gold Devil, the most infamously pompous and domineering person in modern noble society. Even the lowlifes on the street knew her name.

Honestly, he had wanted to pull a heist on Baudelaire manor someday. The place was so large and opulent, they probably wouldn’t even notice if he pilfered a few of their coffers and some hefty handfuls of jewelry while he was at it. But now, here he was, face to face with the Baudelaire heiress herself.

So this was it? How it all ended for him?

Seeing her in person wasn’t really on the top of his to-do list for the day, especially since she had him tied up. If he had his knife on him, he could cut through this stupid rope and try to bolt, but he’d left the damned thing in his coat, which he’d ditched when he ran into the barn!

The heiress standing over him narrowed her eyes slightly. The cold, golden gaze of Lady Baudelaire somehow felt so much colder and so much… softer than he’d ever expected from the Devil herself. And beautiful. Lady Baudelaire was downright gorgeous, one of the prettiest ladies he’d ever seen.

But that was hardly the priority right now.

She was cruel, merciless. That was the word on the street, at least. Anyone who read The Publication knew she was the worst of the worst as far as nobles went. Her daddy was as greedy as they came, and she was somehow even more despicable than that.

Although, he had to admit, for all the rumors he’d heard about Baudelaire’s infamous cruelty, she didn’t quite seem like the monster he envisioned her as. After all, he really hadn’t expected somebody as innocent as that maid girl to have lasted at Malicia’s house for more than an hour…

“Big brother?” a small voice interrupted his thoughts. Tommy felt his heart go cold at that voice. Of all the people he wanted to stumble in on him in this situation, Charlie was the very, very last.

“Hey, I told you to stay inside, Charlie!” the scruffy haired boy turned to the small boy who had run up out of nowhere at the worst time possible.

Charlie Coe was a street kid, just like Tommy himself. Back in his early days, Tommy had bumped into the Charlie a few times, left some slices of bread for him here and there, and hadn’t thought much more about him than that. After a while, he stopped seeing the little kid. He assumed the worst, but most kids didn’t last that long on the streets here, especially in the winters.

And then, he wound up here.

Somehow, he washed up at this old farm after running from the law late one evening, and Old Man Kettle just ‘accidentally’ happened to leave the barn door open for him as he ran past. The old man basically told him that everybody had their own rough lot in life, and it wasn’t his place to judge somebody else as long as they weren’t hurting anybody. And Tommy, for all the stuff he’d done, had never hurt a single person; he’d just stolen from them.

So, he’d been living here for a while. And the last person he expected to run into here was Charlie.

And, of course, after he figured out the truth about the little boy, well, he had to step up his game from just conning and stealing for his own survival. He had to get enough money for….

“What are you doing to big brother?” Charlie cried out, stepping defensively, uselessly, in front of him, “Leave him alone!”

“Shut the hell up, kid!” Tommy hissed at Charlie, praying he’d get lost before Baudelaire set her sights on him. The last thing he wanted was for the Gold Devil herself to get pissed off at his little bro.

To his surprise, the heiress ignored the child and addressed him, “Why don’t you get a proper job instead of going through all this trouble?”

“I have one,” he muttered, “I work on the farm here, which ain’t really enough back when we were actually growin’ food, but since this drought or whatever, we haven’t even brought in enough to get by.”

“So, you steal and trick people to provide for yourself,” she fixed him with that terrifying glare of hers, “Then take on another job. Surely you don’t need to resort to such base thievery.”

“I steal for myself… and for him,” Tommy gestured to Charlie, who was still standing protectively by his side.

“So… this child is your brother?” Baudelaire asked, voice a tad less cold than he expected from her.

“Yeah. Well, not actually, but… we’ve grown up together. He lost his parents, same as me,” Tommy admitted softly, recalling the fragments of Charlie’s life he’d been able to put together from what he’d been told, “I… look out for him. Keep ‘im fed and that.”

Lady Baudelaire’s face remained inscrutable.

He decided there was probably nothing to lose by just telling her what was actually going on here, so he sighed and began to explain.

“He’s sick. Etran flu. I’ve been… payin’ for his medicine. Costs more than what this farm brings in, so, y’know… I gotta scav money off folks who’ve got some to spare. Dunno if y’all rich folk even know about it, but it’s… it’s a real bad thing ta get,” Tommy muttered, trying not to let his little bro hear him. He knew Charlie was aware he was sick, but he was pretty sure the little kid didn’t quite know how bad it could get. He kept his voice down as he told the Gold Devil, “It can last years sometimes… but ya never know when it’s gonna kick in an’ get real bad--”

“I know,” Lady Baudelaire cut him off. Tommy’s eyes flicked up to hers; he could have sworn her voice cracked a bit just then, but she looked like her usual, cold self by the time he met her gaze.

“Look, I… I know I ain’t a good person, but…” Tommy threw away his pride and kneeled down in front of Lady Baudelaire, “Don’t let him get caught up in all this. If you’re gonna arrest me… just do it somewhere he won’t see. Please.”

---

Malicia felt a lump in her throat.

Etran flu. She was far too familiar with those words. A child shouldn’t have to go through such a thing.

No. She shook her head. This man was a thief and a con artist. This was probably all part of some scheme; some contingency plan of his to guilt trip any authorities pursuing him into letting him go.

She looked closely at the little boy, at his threadbare clothes and sockless shoes… and noticed the pale white veins creeping around his eyes. She noticed the painful way they pulsed with each breath he took, and the dried patches of blue skin around his fingernails.

A stab of cold in her chest reminded her how familiar those markings were.

Well. That certainly wasn’t part of a scheme.

Whatever else this scrawny thief may have said was dubious at best, but… this child was definitely sick.

She looked down to Finch’s ankle, where he had finally nearly managed to get the knot undone while she wasn’t looking. He’d probably be able to run away right now, but he hadn’t yet done so.

No, he wouldn’t run.

Malicia could read him pretty easily, and she could tell he wouldn’t go anywhere as long as his little brother was still here.

This was her decision to make. This child, Charlie, needed Finch in order to survive. The boy needed Finch to continue stealing things in order to buy his medicine. She cursed this idiot charlatan for entrusting this child’s well-being to such an idiotic, dangerous endeavor.

But the fate of Finch, and by extension, the boy, rested on her.

What would she do? What would she, as Malicia Baudelaire, heiress of the largest and wealthiest archduchy in Ritallia do?

She knew what her acquaintances would say.

Lady Rousseau would incline her head, ‘The commoners are responsible for their own lives, just as we are responsible for ours. It is not the place of nobles to meddle in peasant affairs’.

Lucille would smile her usual, sleepy smile, ‘A piggy dying on a farm? What’s so odd about that?’

And Malicia Baudelaire, the most respected and venerated noblewoman of her generation, she would… she would….

---

Katarina watched on silently from her vantage point beside the barn as Charlie begged her to let Tommy go. A heavy weight in her heart pounded with each word she heard. She recognized him as the cute little child who had gone up to Baudelaire manor a few days ago, which only made watching this scene hurt that much more.

She wanted to help, but she couldn’t. She was a nobody here, not a duke’s daughter, not even a woman with a title. She was just a maid. She wanted to help, but all she would do was watch, and hope and—

The silence in the field was broken by a soft, clinking noise of a small piece of platinum on the icy soil.

“O-oh no… It seems I have accidentally dropped my brooch…” Malicia looked away, tossing a lock of hair behind her head, “I purchased it for 95,000 au-reis, which could feed a family for months. I hope no one steals it….”

On the ground, just in front of Tommy laid the trinket the blonde had won at the auction merely a few hours ago. And she had… dropped it?

No… she’d taken it off and given it to him.

Katarina blinked, unsure whether she should be more impressed by her charge’s behavior just now, or disappointed by her painful-to-watch acting skills.

Tommy’s eyes flicked back and forth between Malicia, who was feigning difficulty in bending over to retrieve her jewelry, and the shiny brooch on the ground. After a split second, the thief slipped the rope off his ankle, grabbed the brooch, and sprinted off as quickly as he could while carrying his little brother.

And of course, Malicia, master of the lasso, didn’t even make a move to stop them as they vanished off the edge of the farm.

Katarina exchanged a look with the other person watching on from beside the barn… and felt a grin creep up her face.

---

Malicia tapped her toe, irritated.

She didn’t quite know what she was irritated at exactly, but she certainly wasn’t happy. She was irritated with this thief for resorting to such underhanded methods for providing for an innocent child. She was irritated with her maid for dragging her into this stupid situation. And, of course, she was furious with herself more than anyone.

She had… let him get away.

The blonde squeezed her fists tightly by her sides, mentally kicking herself for doing something so stupid, so impulsive. Face flaring hot, she did her best to kick out the idea that her maid was rubbing off on her.

It wasn’t as if that brooch was valuable to her. It wasn’t an heirloom or anything of sentiment, it was simply something pretty she had purchased on a whim. Its value was irrelevant to her, but it was one of a kind. And she had been seen wearing it.

And… if anyone were to see a filthy thief with the brooch she had purchased earlier that very day, they would think she had been robbed.

They would begin to whisper she was getting soft, showing weaknesses. That House Baudelaire was no longer the impenetrable bastille it was known as. That she was allowing people to tread upon her, on her family, on her pride.

She closed her eyes, hoping whatever shady venue that Finch character decided to sell that trinket at wouldn’t recognize it. And she also very much hoped it could be enough for the boy’s medicine….

“Malicia!” a delighted voice came from behind her a second before a pair of arms wrapped around her, “Th-that was so… nice! I can’t believe you just did that!”

Neither can I, the blonde thought wryly, turning to push the maid’s embrace off her. That idiot hadn’t gone to fetch a constable at all! She was still here, gazing up at her with wide, sparkling eyes, like a child who had just been given a great reward. Malicia couldn’t bear to look into those eyes, “S-shut it! I merely dropped my brooch! I-if he happened to steal it, then… ugh…” she trailed off, unable to finish her thought.

“Nuh-uh,” Rina shook her head, “You gave it to him. You wanted to help that little boy, Malicia! You really are a nice person!”

Malicia’s face was suddenly burning. This wasn’t unlike how she’d felt after allowing Grace to stay on as a maid after damaging her mother’s earring. And why did this fool have to sound so impressed by it all? She cleared her throat, twirling a strand of hair around her finger. Barely above a whisper, she mumbled, “W-well… If I am to be wed to a prince someday, there would be no honor in being Queen of a country where ch-children die in the streets….”

“I’m so proud of you, Malicia!” Rina exclaimed, taking her hands.

“As am I,” another voice chimed in.

The blonde froze.

Directly behind Rina was a figure she hadn’t noticed at first…? It couldn’t be! Not here, of all places!

She turned, unwilling to believe it. Her mind whirled, trying to process just what exactly that voice would be doing here! She had halfway prepared herself, but even so, when her eyes met his, she still startled at the sight.

“P-prince Alexander?!”

Notes:

This chapter took a little longer to write than I'd hoped, but here it is!
(The next one should go up a little quicker, hopefully)

Here's the first real look at Tommy Finch, who, ever since getting taken in by the Kettles, has been working try try and scrounge up money for fellow orphan Charlie's medicine. (He is an otome game capture target, after all, so his motives are fairly pure, relatively speaking). With the money he'll get from Malicia's brooch, he should be able to take care of not just Charlie, but some of the others on the farm for a while!

This certainly isn't the last we'll see of him, and Prince Alexander has returned as well!

Thank you for reading, comments and constructive criticism are welcome!

Chapter 17: All the Way Home

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

“P-prince Alexander?!” Malicia gaped at the young man standing beside her maid in the middle of a barren farm.

Before her stood the unmistakable visage of the First Prince of Ritallia, Alexander Valois.

And yet, a far cry from his usual golden epaulets and navy blue suit, today the prince was simply clad in a set of baggy tan overalls. The heiress would have balked at the sight of any other nobleman in such attire, but she could hardly bring herself to outright complain about the way a prince was dressed (especially when she had no idea what he was actually doing here).

“Lady Baudelaire,” the first prince smiled in a way she hadn’t seen him smile before, “We meet again.”

“Y-yes,” the blonde replied stupidly. Her brain still hadn’t quite caught up to the current situation. She was here… on a farm. With Prince Alexander. Who was dressed as a farmer.

She suddenly became very conscious of her own disheveled state. The heiress wasn’t quite sure how she looked after sprinting across the city for over an hour, but she was certain her current appearance was not worthy of meeting the First Prince!

The First Prince, who evidently had just been talking to her maid for several minutes. When that revelation clicked in her brain, the blonde felt panic set in as she recalled her maid’s previous encounter with the prince, “H-has she been saying things to you?”

“Hm?” Prince Alexander arched an eyebrow, glancing at the maid, “Not particularly. In fact, I only crossed paths with Miss Rina here a moment ago….”

Long enough for her to introduce herself, apparently, Malicia thought wryly. She knew her maid hadn’t given her name the last time she had… spoken with the prince, but now he knew her as ‘Miss Rina’. Lovely.

Malicia leaned over to her maid and hissed in her ear, “Just… don’t say anything!”

Rina nodded and stealthily gave her a thumbs up.

Malicia winced, but hoped for the best as she turned back to the young man before her, “Ahem… may I ask what you are doing here, Your Highness?”

The prince looked slightly abashed as he admitted, “I am here… as an act of goodwill. You see, the recent strain between the common folk and the nobility has been increasingly putting the nation in a difficult position….”

“Ah yes. The recent strain between the common folk and the nobility, of course,” Malicia nodded, pretending she knew what he meant.

She wasn’t really aware of any strain between the commoners and the nobles, other than the plebians being more needy than usual since this drought started. Was their need for surplus food really putting that much of a strain on the other nobles? She would admit it had been rather irritating coming home to find dozens of dirty peasants on her lawn, but she hadn’t given it much more thought than that after approving the rations.

Prince Alexander continued, “So I have been traveling around to various farms and villages to better understand the plights common folk of this nation face, so I can better prepare myself to help them overcome those problems.”

“That’s dangerous!” the blonde protested, “What if somebody kidnapped you or something?”

“I have a handful of guards who I trust with my life waiting at the inn just up the street. If I were not to return by the set time, they would… retrieve me,” he informed her with a serious look, “And… I am quite capable of handling myself. I have studied the blade with Sir Antoine Chevalier, you know. I’m not sure if you know him, but he’s a brilliant swordsman.”

“I… I do know him, actually,” Malicia admitted, thinking back to her night at the opera house.

“In any case, aside from a select handful of individuals, most of the people here, and on the other farms I visit are not aware of my real identity,” Prince Alexander explained, gesturing to his tan overalls, “You see… the people on this farm think I am simply an itinerant worker.”

Once again, she was taken aback by the sight of a prince wearing tattered rags such as these. Before she could stop herself, she blurted, “I see you’ve dressed for the occasion.”

Immediately, she clapped a hand over her mouth. Damn it all! Her maid didn’t need to say a thing, she had gone and botched the job herself!

To her great surprise, the prince merely laughed and shrugged, “Well… what can I say? I’d look a bit out of place in my usual suit in a place like this.”

“R-right,” Malicia nodded, face still burning.

“I like it!” Rina interjected, “Farm clothes are comfy!”

“Be quiet!” the blonde shot her maid a glare.

“And, if I may,” Prince Alexander turned his gaze to her, “What brings you to Kettle Farms?”

“Ah, yes, well,” Malicia sputtered for an answer, waving her hands awkwardly as she tried to explain, “M-my maid was… chasing some thief who had taken her bracelets. And I was… chasing her. Ahaha,” she forced a laugh, feeling more and more foolish by the second.

The black haired prince chuckled again, “I see.”

Malicia cleared her throat, fighting back the rising blush on her cheeks, “And the Palace? Do they know of this?”

“Officially, I am meant to be attending a private tutor session right now,” the prince winked at her, “So, I suppose this will be our secret.”

The blonde’s throat was suddenly dry. She still would not forget how cold the prince had looked at her on the day of their interview. She recalled all too clearly the way he had spoken to her then; he did not consider her a worthy suitor, that much was obvious. And yet, when he smiled at her like that… she couldn’t help but think perhaps there was still a chance she could change his mind….

“As it so happens, I am due back at the Palace soon,” the dark haired young man said suddenly.

“O-oh. Right. Go right ahead, Your Highness,” Malicia shuffled awkwardly in place.

“Thank you. This chance meeting was truly a surprise, but a very pleasant one,” the prince’s eyes sparkled magically as he smiled warmly up at her, before a look of confusion crossed his face, “Do you… not have a carriage waiting here?”

“Ah, no. I ran. All the way here,” the heiress recalled, glancing around at the empty, snow speckled fields around her as she realized just how far she was from the city. She could barely even see the looming cliff her mansion was located atop from here!

“Well, it would be terribly inappropriate of me to simply leave you here to walk back. As it so happens, I have two coaches waiting at the inn down the road. I mentioned I have a handful of guards on call, and I believe the second carriage has room for two extra passengers,” Prince Alexander offered generously, “If you are so willing, I would be glad to lend their services to you so that you and your maid may return safely and expediently to the city.”

Malicia hastily nodded, “Yes, Your Highness, that would be… very welcome. Thank you.”

“Very well. Follow me to the inn, and we shall be off,” the prince told her, gesturing to the rusty front gates of the farm, “I assume your maid is coming as well?”

“Um, yes, unfortunately,” Malicia whirled around, suddenly aware of the absence of someone who was all too often by her side nowadays. No longer able to spot her trusty idiot, she began marching back towards the barn, “Maid, where are you? We’re leaving.”

After a moment of scanning the area, she noticed the brunette awkwardly crouched down among the snow tufted plains where the fields would normally be. She had no idea what in the world that idiot wanted to be outside for right now; neither of them were properly dressed for the chilly midwinter breeze. And, as if the maid hadn’t met her daily quota of irrationally stupid decisions, Malicia cringed as the maid stuck her finger into the dirt and tasted it.

“Do commoners often eat dirt for dinner?” she sighed, walking over to where Rina was kneeling down.

“I hope not, it tastes awful….” The brunette replied, as if there was nothing wrong with that statement.

“What are you doing?” she marched over to her dolt of a maid and grabbed her hand, “Come on. We have just been granted the honor of riding in one of Prince Alexander’s carriages back to the city you so brilliantly led us away from.”

“But I wanna check their crooooops…..” the brunette whined as Malicia dragged her back to the barn.

“It! Is! Winter!” the blonde scolded, “And we are leaving!”

Despite everything, and as annoyed as she was by… a great number of things that had just happened… the blonde couldn’t help but feel a little twinkle of warmth in her heart. She had, through pure chance, been given another opportunity to impress Prince Alexander, in the last place she would have ever expected.

---

Tommy Finch collapsed breathlessly as he slammed the oaken door of the Outliers’ cottage in the woods north of the Kettle farmland. As he stepped in, he attempted to regain his breath, gently setting his little bro down on the ground.

“G-go hang out with the others,” Tommy instructed Charlie, who was still clinging to his arm. After a moment, the little boy slowly let go and warily shuffled off to the next room, eyes not leaving Tommy the whole time.

After a long while of running in circles to make sure he wasn’t being chased again, and to be extra sure this whole thing wasn’t a trick by the Gold Devil, the scruffy haired boy had finally returned to the place he called home on the Kettle farm.

Of course, the actual Kettle farmhouse was only built for the actual Kettle family, so the Outliers such as himself, Charlie, and a handful of other misfits the Kettles turned a blind eye to had taken up residence in the remains of an old cottage of to the east of the main homestead. ‘It ain’t much, but it’s better’n an empty alleyway, yeah?’ Old Man Kettle had said when Tommy had first drifted in here that day.

Off to the side of the field stood another house. ‘Stood’ was a bit of an exaggeration, though. The place was leaning heavily to one side, and a good chunk of the roof had fallen through, but it was still the closest thing to a home Tommy had ever had.

He still couldn’t believe what had just happened.

Part of him - most of him, really - felt like this was all some trick. Like he was being set up or something. But he’d made sure, beyond all doubt this time, that he wasn’t being followed.

Lady Baudelaire had dropped her brooch for him. She’d actually gone and set her own damn jewelry down on the ground for him to steal!

Why? Was it really just so he could pay for Charlie’s medicine?

That just… didn’t make any kind of sense!

She was the Gold Devil! The worst of the worst!

Or, at least… that’s what everyone said about her. She was… the worst. Right?

Now that he thought about it… nobody who’d said stuff like that about her had actually met her….

“Heya, Tommy, what’s new?” a young man asked as Tommy began to pick himself up off the floor.

“Hey, Jean,” Tommy answered with a wave, “Same old, same old.”

Jean was another of the Outliers, as they had taken to calling themselves, and was few years older than Tommy. He had shaggy brown and red hair, and was the closest thing to a leader their misfit group had. He was, in fact, the guy Tommy had learned most of his scams and swindling routines from.

“Oh, Tommy? Is that you?” another kind voice called to him from the other room, shaking him out of his thoughts.

“Hey, Clar,” he waved breathlessly at the auburn haired young lady standing in the kitchen doorway.

Clara Kettle was a genuine angel, Tommy was convinced. She came here out to the sticks to bring food, or occasionally cook dinner for him and Charlie and the other Outliers. She was gorgeous and kind and too damn generous for her own good.  The auburn haired girl was the adopted daughter of Old Man Kettle, and she was pretty much a saint.

“Oh, for heavens’ sake…” she girl let out a frustrated sigh as she caught a glimpse of him, “What on earth did you get into this time?”

“You’ll never believe this. Looks like our little family here’s gonna be okay for a little while,” Tommy pushed his hair out of his face, regaining some strength after running for hours. He reached into his back pocket and carefully procured the platinum piece of jewelry that had been so bizarrely left for him mere hours earlier.

The auburn haired girl’s eyes went wide at the sight of the brooch he placed in her hands, “O-oh… my goodness! This is… probably worth a small fortune!”

“Damn, bro!” Jean’s eyes lit up at the sight, “Who did ya swipe that from?”

Before Tommy could answer, Clara glared sharply at him, “You need to stop stealing things! This is wrong!”

“Worth enough fer food ta last a couple months, plus Charlie’s medicine,” the strawberry blond winked, recalling what the Gold Devil said earlier, “At least 95,000 au-reis. An’ the best part is… I didn’t even have ta steal it!”

Clara put her hands on her hips and frowned dubiously at him.

“It’s true!” he protested, holding his hands up, “She basically just gave it to me!”

“Who?” Jean tilted his head curiously.

Tommy felt himself crack a grin at the faces Clara and Jean made as he told them, “Lady Malicia Baudelaire.”

---

Far from the half-cottage with the drooping roof, a frazzled pair of young women made their way back through the streets of Dumont after having finally arrived at the auction hall where the Baudelaire carriage awaited. Katarina slumped breathlessly in the back seat, exhausted from a day of running all the way across town.

From the look of her charge, it seemed Malicia was even more tired, evidently unused to running so far. Honestly, Katarina was pretty impressed the heiress had even been able to run all that way in the first place. And yet, the blonde’s eyes sparkled delightedly, despite their weary edges.

The pair had just ridden back to this part of the city in Prince Alexander’s second carriage, so they hadn’t actually gotten to share a ride with the prince. Katarina understood, but she still felt kind of bad for her charge not having more time to talk to him. Still, the heiress had gotten to spend at least half an hour chatting with him as they walked to the inn up the road! Katarina hoped that counted for something!

And now, they were back in Malicia’s own carriage, which they had had left attended only by the Baudelaire family coachman, a man named Matis. Eager for a chance to get off their feet, they each wearily greeted Matis and quickly sat down in the back.

“S-so! Um, I’m glad you won the vase you were bidding on, Malicia!” Katarina gestured towards the vase box, hoping to gloss over everything that had happened in the past few hours.

(She had gotten a week tending the hounds just for talking out of turn to Prince Alexander. She hoped she would be able to navigate this conversation so her charge could just forget she’d just caused the heiress to run across the whole city and give up her new brooch).

“Yes, well… winning in an auction for me is a matter of time, not a matter of money,” the blonde sighed rubbing her eyes, deep in thought. After a moment, she murmured, “Ugh… that Lucille….”

Katarina frowned. She had gone off to the servants’ quarters, and didn’t exactly know what had happened at the actual auction given everything else that had happened, “Did Lady Lucille do something, Malicia?”

The blonde folded her arms, “She always drives the price up of the items I’m bidding on. She figures out which items I’m after, and bids again and again, just to make them ridiculously expensive before letting me win. I really ought to find a way to get back at her….”

Katarina pursed her lips, considering how she would handle such a thing. After a moment, an idea came to her, “You could call her a ‘baka’. She won’t know what it means. Probably.”

Malicia arched an eyebrow at her, “What does it mean?”

“It basically means ‘idiot’, or some variation of that,” Katarina explained.

“Hmmm,” Malicia narrowed her eyes in a way that was decidedly not reassuring.

Katarina shifted uncomfortably under her scrutinizing eyes, “Hey, um, by the way….”

“Oh, whatever is it?”

“Can you order something?”

“I can order many things. First and foremost, I order you not to run off like an utter fool to chase down some two-bit street urchin.”

She hadn’t forgotten at all! Katarina gulped. She quickly apologized, “I-I’m really sorry about that, Malicia! I just got… carried away…. And… W-we-welllll… I, uh…” she fidgeted awkwardly in her seat, “A-at least you got to see Prince Alexander again, right? And this time you didn’t even have to tie me up! And you won a nice, new, antique vase at the auction! That’s… nice, right?”

The blonde sighed, giving her a pointed look.

Katarina took the hint and shut up.

“Anyways, why are you so cheerful?” Malicia arched an eyebrow, “I thought that thief had stolen something of yours?”

“Well… he didn’t steal my bracelets exactly…” Katarina muttered, recalling how easily she’d been tricked as soon as she arrived at the Ritallian port, “But anyways, I don’t really need them.”

“They were your property, and he tricked you out of them,” Malicia declared resolutely, “You have every right to be upset.”

“Yeah, but… he probably needed them more than I did, right?” Katarina shrugged, “If they helped out that little boy, then… it’s okay.”

Malicia opened her mouth to argue, but paused. The maid knew what she was thinking; she had done exactly the same thing, after all.

Katarina took that as her cue to continue with her earlier request, “Anyways… can you… import something?”

“Of course I can. I can import anything. The Baudelaire Archduchy spans most of the Eastern coastline, and hosts all the ports and harbors in this region,” the blonde replied flippantly.

“W-well… I just wondered if you could import this stuff?” Katarina held out a list she had scribbled up during their ride home in Prince Alexander’s spare carriage.

Malicia stared at her for a moment, before accepting the list and glancing over it, “What is all this?”

“I-it’s just some farm supplies,” the maid hastily explained.

The heiress started at the list, scrutinizing each item intently, “And why exactly should I import farm supplies?”

“I think… if Prince Alexander hangs out at that farm sometimes, maybe if you order that stuff for them, it would really impress him? He said he visits there most weeks on Tuesday and Thursday, right? So maybe you could go back there sometime with the supplies, and he’d be like ‘Oh, you really care about the commoners now! Marry me, Lady Malicia’,” Katarina did her best Alexander impression.

“Oh, please cease your rambling,” Malicia cut her off by lightly bonking her head with her fan, “Baka-Rina.”  

Notes:

Here's another, smaller update!

This and the previous chapters were originally one, but I decided to split them up so it wouldn't be too long!

Thanks for reading, comments and criticism are welcome as always!

Chapter 18: Communication Breakdown

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

About a week later, Katarina found herself confronted by a friend she hadn’t seen much as of late. Just after her round of chores first thing in the morning, the slightly messy bob of hair belonging to her fellow maid Grace popped up before her as she made her way back towards the maids’ quarters.

“Th-this is for you, Miss Clayton!” the other maid offered a small paper box to the former duke’s daughter.

“Eh?!” Katarina blinked in surprise, but accepted the gift. Curiosity getting the better of her, she opened it to find, “It’s… a necklace?”

“Y-yes! I made it from materials I purchased from the market,” Grace rambled on, cheeks pink, “I know it’s not much, but I hope it can in some way repay you for your kindness… and…” she gently took Katarina’s hand, “…and show you how deeply I care for you, Miss Rina.”

“Thank you so much, Grace! I love it!” Katarina grinned, as the other maid’s face lit up brightly as well, “And you can call me ‘Rina’, you know?”

“Y-yes!” the mousy girl straightened up with a look of determination, “Now I can stay by you forever!”

The brunette felt a glowing warmth in her heat, one she hadn’t felt in a long while. Grace was truly a great friend!

“Oho? It would seem the scullery maid got the drop on us, sister,” another familiar voice popped in from behind Grace.

“Yeeep!” Grace startled at the sound of Nellie’s voice.

“You may have been a bit quicker,” Nellie drawled, sidling around Grace right side.

“But you should know… twins always have an advantage in these pursuits,” Ellie added from her left.

Katarina tilted her head. What pursuits?

The twins turned their attention to her then, each offering a small paper bag with a thin ribbon bow on each.

“This is,” Nellie presented her bag.

“From us,” Ellie presented her bag.

“Miss Rina,” they spoke in unison.

Curiously, Katarina opened the two bags. Each only contained half a gift, but together, they were….

“A new pair of gloves?” Katarina held up the gift she had just been presented.

“Indeed,” they said at the same time.

“Now I can always be holding your left hand,” Ellie explained.

“And I can always be holding your right,” Nellie added.

“Seriously?” Katarina gaped in amazement at her co-workers’ generosity, “You guys are amazing! But… what’s the occasion?”

“Occasion?” Nellie tilted her head left.

“Does one need an occasion to tell someone how important they are?” Ellie tilted her head right.

“Y-yes, Miss Rina! We… rarely meet people as kind as you and… simply wished to show our gratitude and… appreciation!” Grace added with a blush.

“Th-thank you so much!” Katarina could hardly contain the smile on her face!

This was a happy moment… a really happy one!

And yet… her heart was heavy. It was the same feeling she got when Geordo or Mary or Nicol or any of her other friends back home got her presents; that unshakable feeling that they were all wasting their money on her.

Surely there was someone else more deserving of these gifts?

That look of kindness, of generosity and joy in their eyes as she received their gifts felt totally unearned. It was unearned because no matter how much she may consider them friends, she was still a villainess. Maybe, she pondered, that was why Malicia got along with her so easily: because they were both villainesses. She just hoped her influence wasn’t leading her Lady down the same dark path she had gone down not that long ago.

(And even though she knew she was a villainess, and she had been exiled, she was still selfish. Because, deep down, there was a part of her that wanted nothing more than to see that look in her Sorcier friends’ eyes again as they gave her gifts.)

Maybe someday there would be some big gala here in Ritallia, and they’d invite the Sorcierran aristocracy to visit. Maybe Geordo and Alan and Nicol and Keith and Mary and Sophia and Maria would come to visit, and Katarina could apologize to them for being who she was. Maybe she could ask them to reconsider her exile, and ask for a chance to maybe come back to Sorcier. Maybe, with enough time, she could even be friends with them again….

She shook her head. Now wasn’t the time for such thoughts! She had moved on to another new life here, so she couldn’t spend all her time reminiscing about her previous ones!

And, more importantly, she needed to get something for her fellow maids in return for their lovely gifts!

Katarina was suddenly grateful for a well timed knock at the front door of the Baudelaire estate, which interrupted her rapidly deteriorating thoughts.

“Sorry ladies, I gotta get that!” she apologized hastily, making her way to the front door.

“No problem at all, Miss Rina!” Grace, Nellie and Ellie waved happily at her as she slid out of the room and up the secret servant passage that led to the front door.

Katarina was caught slightly off guard as she opened the door.

“Is this the Baudelaire residence?” a very frazzled looking Antoine Chevalier inquired.

“Y-yes, it is! Come on in!” Katarina replied quickly, welcoming him inside. Taking in his slightly unkempt appearance, she couldn’t help but ask, “Ahem, how many houses did you visit before you got to this one?”

“I’d rather not say,” he replied through a strained smile.

Katarina chose not to press the issue, instead leading him into the living room of the manor where she told him, “Wait right here, I’ll tell Malicia you are here.”

Honestly, Katarina was thrilled by his sudden appearance! This was normally the time of day she’d have to deal with Malicia’s dogs, a chore she had been tasked with after her recent… derailments of her charge’s life. And, as far as Dalmatians went, they were pretty friendly, although they were kind of… barky. She’d had enough run-ins with dogs in her past life that the sound still was enough to startle her!

Happy to avoid another day of dog sitting, the brunette quickly ran upstairs to get her charge and soon returned to the main hall with the blonde in tow.

“Sir Antoine!” Malicia greeted him brightly, taking a seat across from him at the big table in the center of the room, “To what do I owe the pleasure?”

“Well… I actually had wished to follow some business with your maid about the recent auction,” the knight explained.

“Maid? Why does Sir Chevalier wish to discuss the auction with you?” the heiress glanced towards her with a look of irritated curiosity.

“Ack! I totally forgot about that!” Katarina gasped as she recalled the other big event of the auction day.

“About what, exactly?” Malicia sounded like she was in the early stages of being very annoyed.

“Another maid was evidently framed for stealing something, and Miss Rina intervened on her behalf,” Sir Antoine explained politely.

“Yeah… I saw somebody slip some jewelry into her purse, but I didn’t even realize what had happened until later when a guard came to arrest her,” Katarina recounted the events of her time at the auction, “So I told the guards she had been set up, like you said might happen. And then Sir Chevalier showed up and helped to stop her from getting arrested.”

“Yes, indeed. Your maid showed great initiative and courage, standing up for another so gallantly,” the blue haired man gave her an appreciative look.

Katarina blushed. That wasn’t really fair, was it? She hadn’t done anything too good; she just didn’t want someone to get in trouble for something they didn’t do!

Malicia started intently at her as if there was something she wanted to say, but remained quiet for the moment.

“At any rate, I was dropping by to inform you that, unfortunately, we haven’t had any leads on who the perpetrator of that false accusation case may be,” Sir Antoine explained with a slight frown, “In fact, we inquired further with a number of other maids in attendance, and the one matching your description seemed to have vanished about halfway through the event.”

“O-oh, I see,” Katarina nodded understandingly.

Still, it was disappointing; she had hoped someone could have tracked down whoever it was that had been trying to stir up trouble for someone who hadn’t done any wrong as far as Katarina knew. And… she was disappointed in herself for not paying closer attention to the silver haired maid or stepping in sooner.

“We did, however, find a silver wig stashed behind a bookshelf on the second floor,” Sir Antoine added after a sip of tea.

Katarina glanced up hopefully.

“It would seem our culprit is a rather crafty one, and probably fairly familiar with the auction hall’s layout,” the knight deduced, adding, “Not that such knowledge narrows the search all too much, considering most nobles have attended auctions with their long term servants and maids over the years.”

After a beat of silence, Malicia startled Katarina by asking, “Speaking of the auction, how did you know Lady LaCroix was going to be in attendance of that auction?”

“Uhhhmmm…. Lucky guess?” she shrugged, avoiding her charge’s eyes.

“Ah, are you good friends with Lady Lena?” Sir Antoine spoke up at the mention of the raven haired woman’s name.

“I’d hardly say that,” Malicia sighed.

Katarina tilted her head at her charge’s words. She didn’t sound angry exactly, but the name ‘Lena LaCroix’ clearly didn’t make her happy either.

“How odd,” Sir Antoine pursed his lips, “She seemed to have quite the interest in you, especially when I mentioned I would be visiting your estate today.”

Katarina froze.

He told… Lena LaCroix he was coming here?!

She admittedly hadn’t really seen much of the LaCroix daughter apart from her appearance in Love’s Uprising, but she had seen enough shoujo anime to know her type pretty well. And, well, her yandere detector was blaring some pretty loud sirens anytime the bespectacled young lady was around Sir Antoine….

“Lady Lena doesn’t go out much, but she does enjoy spending time around my estate. She says she enjoys the vistas there,” the knight explained casually, “I’m not sure how different they really are from her own estate, but the company is nice.”

The maid cringed. How dense could a person be? She came to his estate all the time? Wasn’t that totally obvious that she liked him?!

“And during her previous visit a few days ago, she asked me about you,” Antoine concluded, gesturing towards Malicia.

“About me? R-really?” the blonde blinked in surprise.

“Yes,” he nodded, “She seemed very interested in you, especially in the past month or so. I had assumed you were on good terms with her.”

Malicia opened her mouth, but quickly closed it. She gazed down at her teacup with a complicated expression Katarina couldn’t quite read.

The maid gulped. Lady LaCroix had taken an interest in Malicia in the last month, ever since she’d seen the blonde and Sir Antoine chatting happily backstage at the opera. It seemed that in her quest to absolve her charge of her doom flags, she may have accidentally led her right into another one!

“In any case, Lady Malicia, my other reason for visiting was to inform you of this,” the knight interrupted her thoughts as he produced a pamphlet from his suit pocket, “It is a rather small affair compared to the venues I’m sure you are familiar with, but I wished to offer you an invitation.”

“A colloquium for performing artists?” Malicia scrutinized the invitation closely.

“Now that I know of your fascination with the performing arts, I wondered if you may be interested in attending,” Antoine offered.

“I-I’ll consider it,” Malicia blushed, twirling a strand of hair around her finger.

So that’s a yes, Katarina thought to herself with a smile.

Sometimes, she noticed just how much her charge had loosened up in her everyday life than how she had been when Katarina had first come to her estate a few months ago. It was a sharp contrast to how the game Malicia had progressed in Love’s Uprising. Katarina couldn’t quite figure out what had caused such a drastic change for the heiress, but she hoped it was enough to help her dodge some of her doom flags!

“I suppose I should take my leave now,” the knight explained as he stood politely from the table, “I am due back at the Palace in just over an hour.”

“Ah, I see,” Malicia sighed, setting down her teacup as she rose to see him off.

“I do hope I have not wasted your time this day, Lady Malicia,” the blue haired man frowned.

“Not at all!” the blonde waved her hand airily, “You are more than welcome to visit anytime you’d like, Sir Antoine!”

“Very well, then,” Antoine shook her hand and smiled, “Perhaps I shall. The vistas from this estate do inspire some unique and bold emotions; a perfect place for crafting a new script!”

“I’d be honored by your company,” Malicia smiled sincerely at him as they reached the main door at the end of the front hall.

With that, Sir Antoine courteously bid them farewell and promptly departed from the premises. Once he had left, it was just Katarina and Malicia in the living room.

“Do you want me to make preparations for you to attend the performing arts event?” Katarina offered, glancing over the invitation.

“Yes, I suppose so,” Malicia did her best to seem like she wasn’t super eager.

“Right, I’m not surprised,” the maid shot her charge a wink, “You’re a big theater nerd after all!”

“I do not know what a ‘nerd’ is, but if you call me that again, I may happen to accidentally change yours and Grace’s schedules around,” the blonde sent her a menacing look, “She is set to tend the hounds for the next week, you see….”

Katarina gulped, handing her charge the invitation, “Ehehe, i-it means somebody who’s really smart and elegant and outgoing,” Katarina bent the truth a teensy bit.

“Mm-hmmmm~” Malicia narrowed her eyes, clearly dubious. She cleared her throat and asked, “In any case, may I inquire as to why you didn’t feel that it was necessary to tell me you intervened on behalf of another maid at that auction?”

“Well… I was going to tell you, but… we got sidetracked….” Katarina gestured indistinctly, recalling the ambling quest they’d gone on to the Kettle farm and back following the auction.

“You dolt!” Malicia clinked her teacup down on its saucer angrily, “How in the world did you fail to inform me of something so significant?”

“I didn’t realize it mattered so much!”

“Of course it matters!” the blonde waved her hand dramatically, “Maids don’t simply go around defending servants of other households!”

Katarina was confused, “Why not?”

“Actions like that have consequences! If you worked for some insignificant household, it would be of no concern, but since you work for me…” the blonde pointed to herself, “Whichever maid you defended will be seen by the others as having the protection of House Baudelaire! Who was it, anyways?”

“Cerise,” Katarina told her, and then when it was clear Malicia didn’t know the other maids by name, she added, “Lady Lucille’s maid.”

Malicia’s eye twitched.

“D-did I screw something up?” Katarina suddenly felt really guilty. She didn’t exactly know what the deal was with Lucille, but she and Malicia clearly weren’t on the best terms. She bit her lip, “The other maid with the wig tried to frame her for something she didn’t do. I just wanted to help. I didn’t mean to--”

“Haaaah,” the heiress cut her off by letting out her trademark long, withering sigh, “It is… not an unsolvable problem, maid. Do not concern yourself with it.”

The brunette slumped; she really hadn’t meant any harm by it, but it seemed she still was causing problems for people! It was true, she really wasn’t good at doing anything good. Even here as a maid, she was still just a villainess, and a screw-up one at that!

Malicia was glaring sharply at the invitation in her hands, the maid noticed. Just like she glared at the vases at the auction hall, and Charlie when she looked at him up close back at the farm, and her legal books, and…

“Hey, Malicia?” Katarina broke the silence.

“Yes, maid?” the blonde sipped her tea.

“Do you need glasses?”

“Haaaahhhh!!?”

Notes:

It seems Katarina has +3 to her harem in the form of her fellow maids at House Baudelaire! Not that she'll ever notice....

Anyways, here's another chapter; this took a little longer to write than I'd hoped, but the next one should be faster. I kind of write these chapters in blocks, so there's a gap where I write out the bulk of a handful of them and then I can hopefully post multiple chapters in relative quick succession.

I've mentioned in a lot of the previous chapters how Malicia is always glaring at things she's looking at; that was always meant to be a 'subtle' setup for her needing glasses. Which will be her next quest.

The gifts from Nellie and Ellie and Grace were nice, but unfortunately, they managed to kick Kat's low self esteem back into action. I headcanon that Kat often thinks lower of herself when she's getting gifts and praise, and the fact that she got it so often back in Sorcier was part of why she had such a complex about thinking she's a bad person. In any case, she's still going to be working through her own issues while trying to help Malicia out across the next few chapters!

Thanks for reading, comments and constructive criticism are welcome as always!

Chapter 19: Shattered

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

“O-o-of course I don’t need glasses!” Malicia stammered out, face growing crimson in the blink of an eye, “How in the world could you even ask that of me, maid?”

“Ehh?” Katarina blinked in surprise at her reaction, “What’s the big deal? It’s only glasses….”

“The ‘big deal’?” Malicia quickly stood up, slamming her hands down on the tea table, “The big deal is that… I am a daughter of House Baudelaire! We are a family much vaunted for our impeccable eyesight! Every single one of my venerated ancestors achieved their accomplishments for this nation with clear, un-bespectacled eyes! No one in my family has ever needed glasses!”

“I don’t get it… Why would anyone care?” Katarina was really confused now, “Glasses are cute, Malicia! Trust me!”

“They most certainly are not!” the heiress snapped, adding, “And I don’t need glasses!”

“Okay… then…” Katarina quickly jotted something down on a piece of paper and held up it a distance from her charge, “What does this say?”

“…‘I am reticulated’” Malicia eventually said after squinting for a long moment, “… what sorts of outrageous things are you making me say, maid!?”

“Ehehe, nothing important,” Katarina quickly crumpled up the note which read ‘I am reincarnated’. She quickly put her serious face back on and declared, “Unfortunately, I can’t give you full marks on that reading, Malicia. Your eyesight is clearly unclear.”

“Perhaps you have bad handwriting, maid,” the blonde folded her arms.

“And perhaps you need glasses, Malicia,” the brunette quickly countered. After a moment of silence, she pressed on, “It’s really no big deal! I know a lot of noble ladies have glasses!”

“Ugh… that’s not the point,” the blonde rubbed her temples, “Because it would be… I would be a blight on my family’s perfect history of perfect eyesight! …I cannot be the first to break that lineage, no matter what….”

Katarina frowned. She really didn’t see the problem, but Malicia was obviously very shaken up by it.

Another knock at the front door of the manor shook them both from their conversation.

“Did Sir Antoine forget something?” Katarina muttered as she made her way to the entranceway with Malicia a few steps behind her.

Opening the door, the maid quickly realized the knight was not at all the one who had come knocking, but instead a pair of vaguely familiar figures. One was an older gentleman with a curly mustache and wrinkles around the corners of his eyes, and the other was a younger man with dark hair and a proper demeanor.

Katarina felt a bit uncomfortable, noticing the sudden shift in atmosphere as the two figures appeared in the mansion doorway. She frowned as she noticed the look on her charge’s face; gone was the pouty air Malicia had just a second ago when denying she needed glasses.

No, now the heiress looked like she’d seen a ghost.

“Chancellor Riviere,” the blonde greeted the well dressed man apprehensively, “I wasn’t expecting you. Is… everything alright?”

“Hello, Lady Baudelaire,” the mustachioed older gentleman greeted her politely, “Yes, all is well for the time being. I simply had a few matters I wished to discuss with you, if that is quite alright.”

Malicia nodded curtly, gesturing towards her office at the end of the hall, but she didn’t say a word. Katarina wanted to ask what was wrong, but she got the distinct impression now wasn’t the time for such questions.

That other guy, Lawrence, was here too; Malicia’s dad’s butler. Katarina had seen him around a few times, but hadn’t really said anything to him beyond a few greetings here and there.

“Wait here, maid,” Malicia commanded.

“Sure thing!” Katarina saluted cheerfully.

Despite her smile though, she was worried. Malicia seemed off since the Chancellor showed up, and when she had spoken just then, her voice sounded like it was about to break. The maid wished she could stay by her Lady’s side right then, but this was apparently a very private conversation.

That left Katarina alone with Lawrence.

“H-hi,” she began awkwardly.

“Hello,” the stoic butler nodded.

“I’m… Malicia’s maid.”

“I know.”

“I’ve been… taking good care of her, I think….” Katarina scratched her neck uncomfortably.

“I’m very glad to hear it,” Lawrence replied, face still impassive as ever.

Katarina resisted the urge to fidget. This guy was like a brick wall, she had no idea how to have a chat with him! He was very proper and professional; he kind of reminded her of a male version of Anne. But he was about as talkative as Nicol on a bad day.

“You were present for her marriage interview with Prince Alexander, correct?” the dark haired man finally prompted her.

“Yes, I was,” Katarina nodded.

“Would you say the interview went well?” the butler turned to face her.

Katarina thought back to how gently Malicia had lassoed her and stuffed a cloth in her mouth that day. Compared to the oftentimes outright violence she was known to show the heroine of Love’s Uprising, Katarina considered herself to have a much better relationship with the heiress!

“Yeah! She tied me up and gagged me right afterwards!” she replied with a grin.

Lawrence arched an eyebrow, “I… see….”

And, once more, they lapsed into a long, uncomfortable silence.

---

After what felt like an eternity of awkwardly trying to converse with Lawrence later, Katarina glanced up as the door to Malicia’s office clicked open.

The Chancellor stepped out, while her charge remained in the office. Malicia murmured something indistinctly from behind the door, to which the older man nodded. Katarina couldn’t quite hear what they were saying from this distance, but it felt very serious. After a beat, he smiled reassuringly at the blonde, and then turned towards the main room where Lawrence stood up, apparently having concluded their business.

As the butler made his way to the front door, the Chancellor unexpectedly called out to the maid.

“Miss Rina?”

“Y-yes?” Katarina blinked, caught off guard.

“May I speak with you in private for a moment?”

“Eh?” she was decidedly surprised by that request, but decided to go along with it, “O-okay.”

As she walked with the Chancellor, Katarina couldn’t help but notice something familiar on his suit jacket.

“Something the matter, young miss?” the mustachioed man arched an eyebrow.

“Eh? Oh, no, it’s just your pins,” Katarina pointed to the decorations adorning his lapels.

“My medals, you mean?” he corrected.

The brunette tilted her head curiously, recognizing the emblems on one of the medals, “You’ve got the same thingy as Sir Antoine.”

“Ah, you know Sir Chevalier?” the Chancellor smiled amusedly, “Yes, he’s a good lad. As I recall, he was knighted after leading a team of ten men against a band of corsairs in the south sea. Later, I found out he had been trying to find a blacksmith’s forge, and wandered down the wrong path. He’s a skilled soldier, but not much for following maps it would seem,” the old man chuckled to himself.

“Yeah…” Katarina nodded at the fairly apt description of the playwright, “Are you a knight too then?”

“Oh, no, I’m nothing quite so glamorous as a knight…” he waved his hand, “Just an old soldier. I served in the war against Regony 20 years ago… I suppose it was a bit before your generation?”

“Just a bit…” Katarina admitted sheepishly. She had realized she looked a bit more mature with her haircut, but surely she didn’t look that old, did she?

“I might not be a knight, but I’ve still got some fight left in these old bones!” the Chancellor chuckled to himself, shadowboxing for a moment. He straightened upright, clearing his throat as a more grave expression washed over his features “In any case, dear maid, I do have a private matter I wished to discuss with you regarding Lady Malicia.”

“I-is she okay?” Katarina asked, concerned.

She got the vibe this guy had just discussed some very personal matters with her charge. And, while she wouldn’t pry if the heiress truly didn’t want her to, she still wanted to do the very best she could for Malicia’s sake.

“Well… I’m afraid I just don’t know sometimes,” the Chancellor murmured, brows furrowed in concern, “The truth is… I’m worried about her. Her father and I are very close friends. I’ve watched over her since childhood, helping her out wherever I can. And, in recent years, she has become increasingly… isolated,” the grey haired man frowned, gazing out the tall glass window.

“She seems pretty okay most of the time…kind of,” the maid murmured. Thinking back, it didn’t really seem like Malicia had any close friends, aside from maybe Prince Max, and she didn’t even hang out with him very often. “She’s getting friendlier though, I think. She’s not as closed off as she was a few months ago….”

“I’m truly glad to hear that,” the Chancellor told her with a grateful smile, “But that is why I wished to speak with you. You are, as it happens, very close with her.”

“Eh?” Katarina blinked in surprise, “I’m… not really that close to her. I work close to her, but…”

“Don’t be modest, dear maid,” the mustachioed man cut her off, “Lady Malicia has never kept a personal attendant on her staff as long as she’s kept you. I’m quite sure there’s a reason for that.”

Katarina felt her heart grow a bit warm at that. She really hoped she could be close to Malicia… she hoped she could be the friend the heiress clearly needed.

“Just… let me know if everything is alright with her, okay?” the old man smiled sadly, patting her on the shoulder as he looked into her eye, “If Lady Baudelaire ever needs anything… let me know right away.”

Katarina glanced over her shoulder to the door of Malicia’s office which was still slightly ajar, and back to the Chancellor, “Okay. I’ll tell you if anything is wrong, sir.”

She really hoped that, if something went wrong, he might be able to help! Of course, it would be better if nothing went wrong, but she recalled how things had gone for Malicia in the game…. Maybe this guy would even be able to help with her doom flags in some way! The Chancellor was pretty well liked by both the people and the nobility, if her memory of the game served her well enough.

The older gentleman gave her an appreciative smile, “Thank you, young miss. I do want what’s best for Malicia.”

Donning his hat, the Chancellor bid her farewell, and stepped over to the front door where Lawrence was waiting. Katarina saw them off, leading them out to the waiting carriage, and returning to the manor.

After the pair had left, Katarina quickly made her way to check on her charge. She stepped into Malicia’s office, where the honey colored late afternoon sun dripped in through the windows, but the room still seemed blue and icy somehow.

As she walked over to the enormous desk where Malicia was scrawling something on parchment, a piece of paper on the adjacent desk caught her eye. On the desktop was a handwritten letter, stamped with the House Baudelaire coat of arms. It was partly covered by one of the heiress’ books, but Katarina could slightly make out parts of the text:

… have been rumors of the young lady tarrying with commoners on a farm east of the city… The Archduke expresses his concerns and requests Lady Malicia not be seen in such an unbecoming location…

Katarina felt a pang of guilt in her chest. Malicia’s dad was angry at her for going to the farm? That had all been her own fault, not Malicia’s! If anyone should be getting reprimanded here, it was Katarina herself!

Actually, come to think of it, that raised another question. Her own dad was a Duke, so the vast majority of the time, other nobles came to him at the Claes estate rather than the other way around. And Malicia’s dad was an Archduke, so he should have even less reason to leave his estate, right?

So… where was he all the time? What business did have to attend that kept him from even spending the night at his own house?

He’d only ever visited this house once that Katarina knew of, and Malicia had sent her into town that day, so she hadn’t even met the guy.

“So, Malicia…” she started, hoping to clear things up.

“Maid, leave,” the blonde cut her off coldly.

Katarina turned towards the door. Malicia was once again in one of her villainous moods, clearly angry and upset; the maid had learned it wasn’t good to be around her at such times. But….

“…no,” Katarina decided, “I’m not going anywhere.”

“…what,” Malicia slowly lifted her head up. Her eyes were red and swollen, as if she’d been crying. A flicker of anger crossed over her features, “I said… leave!”

“Y-you’re upset, Malicia,” Katarina reached out towards her.

“Yes, I absolutely am,” the blonde scoffed.

“You’re upset… so I’m going to stay with you,” Katarina declared. A look of shock and rage flashed over the blonde’s eyes, but before she could speak up, the maid continued, “You know, I’m a maid this time, so I’ve got the keys to every room in this house. I wouldn’t even need to chop the door down with an axe to get in here to be with you. But I’m not going to leave you alone in here, no matter what.”

Katarina reached out, quickly embracing the blonde.

“Wh-what are you--?” Malicia gasped in shock, struggling slightly against the hug, “Get off!”

Katarina didn’t relent, holding the heiress close in a comforting embrace.

After a long moment of silence, she felt Malicia slump against her. Eventually, she felt the blonde’s arms wrap around her, pulling her closer.

Katarina didn’t know what had made her so upset. She didn’t know what the deal with her father was, or what the Chancellor had told her a few moments ago.

But… she could tell her fellow villainess really needed a hug. So she could do that for now, if nothing else.

They stood there like that for some time, quietly embracing. Katarina could tell her charge wasn’t crying, but she could feel the unspoken emotions in the way she held her tightly.

“Honestly… not even being able to leave my side,” Malicia eventually mumbled into her shoulder, “You truly are just the worst maid….”

Katarina smiled. She already knew that. She’d never be Anne… she’d never be a pro maid. But, she mused, she wouldn’t mind being the worst maid if it meant preventing Malicia from crying again.

Notes:

Malicia's dad evidently found out about her visiting the farm. Katarina's dad might be okay with her going farming, but it's a bit more frowned on by more uptight nobles, unfortunately...

I'm not sure if I've mentioned it in previous chapter notes, but Malicia's dad never being home is actually going to be relevant to the plot. So will Malicia's need for glasses! That plot point will have to wait just a bit though. Next chapter, we return to Sorcier to see how the harem's investigation is faring + more scheming from a certain young lady....

This chapter might seem kind of light, but it's setting things up for bigger events down the line.

Thanks for reading, comments and constructive criticism are welcome as always!

Chapter 20: One Step Forward...

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

“I just wished to travel overseas briefly to visit some of our wheat trading partners in Quid,” a young brunette explained, a hint of nervousness on her features, “I didn’t encounter Lady Claes at any point in my journey. I apologize I couldn't be of more assistance.”

“I see,” Prince Geordo frowned, “Thank you for your time, Lady Marisbury. I suppose we shall take our leave then.”

Anne did her best to keep her face impassive as she followed the third prince, exiting the premises of a lesser noble estate overlooking a bustling Sorcierran harbor. She was currently accompanying Master Keith and Prince Geordo on a visit to the port town of Brighton, just a few hours east of the Academy.

Lord Nicol and Lady Sophia had taken the neighboring town of Windham, while Lady Mary, Prince Alan, Miss Maria and Mister Rafael were currently investigating Portsmouth about an hour to the south. Per the third prince’s estimations, it was highly likely that, if Lady Katarina had indeed fled the country, it would be from one of the six ports closest to the academy, so that was where they were concentrating their efforts. That wasn’t to say they had ruled out the other ports in the nation (they had royal knights pursuing inquiries in the more distant ports) but it was highly likely that those regions would turn up few, if any, promising leads.

The Duke and Duchess Claes had returned to the estate to handle business there, at least, that was the official reason they had given. Privately, Anne was fairly sure the Duchess had simply wished to retire to the estate to hide how utterly crestfallen she was over this whole ordeal. With every day that passed, the weight of Lady Katarina’s absence hung more heavily on all of them, and of course Lady Miri Diana was no exception. In fact, Anne was rather certain the Duchess had nearly been hit the hardest out of all of them. 

The maid knew just how tirelessly Duchess Claes worked to uphold her daughter’s reputation amidst all the improper behavior Lady Katarina was known for, but whether Lady Katarina realized it or not, Anne was also acutely aware of just how tirelessly the Duchess doted on her daughter. Lady Miri Diana always did her best to uphold her typical noble grace, but beneath that, Anne could always see just how deeply the Duchess loved and cared for her daughter. 

So naturally, now that Lady Katarina was… absent, Anne could feel the palpable sense of unease that surrounded the Duchess. The maid suspected Lady Claes was on the verge of an emotional breakdown, and had retired to the estate to be in a quiet place and out of the public eye.

Anne herself would be tending to the Duchess, but Lord Keith had requested she be present for the investigation. As Lady Katarina’s personal attendant, she had a perspective on her Lady’s actions others might not, and may be able to pick up clues the others might miss.

After their initial tactic of reviewing all harbor reports from the night of Katarina’s disappearance had turned up nothing of note, they had all been very disappointed.

However, a handful of smaller ports had returned reports with minor irregularities or mentions of nobles traveling within a few days of her charge’s vanishing.

One such port was their current destination of Brighton. After interviewing a number of port merchants and deckhands from local ships, Anne had felt a glimmer of hope in her heart when a dock worker told them of a young brunette noblewoman who had departed by boat around the time Lady Katarina had vanished.

Unfortunately, that hope had quickly been dashed when they arrived at the home of Lady Annette Marisbury, a local baroness who had simply been traveling on business to the nearby nation of Quid.

It seemed their early hope had ultimately been for naught, but neither Anne nor any of the others were willing to give up just yet.

As they made their way through the center of the village, freshly fallen snow crunching beneath their boots, Anne watched the golden haired prince scribble a few notes down in his journal. Although Prince Geordo was an expert at keeping up his usual princely façade, Anne could see the strained lines at the edges of his mouth, the red in his eyes from many sleepless nights.

(Anne was clearly able to recognize such things on others because she saw them in the mirror every morning for the past three months.)

The past few months had been difficult for them all.

She knew that, if Lady Katarina were here, she wouldn’t hesitate to throw her decorum out the window if it meant comforting a friend.  Deciding to take a page from her charge’s book, the maid took the prince’s hand.

“It will…. be okay, Prince Geordo,” the maid squeezed his hand comfortingly, “I have faith that my Lady is in good health, wherever she may be.”

“Is my concern really that evident, Miss Shelley?” the prince asked, accepting her gesture of kindness.

“I have watched over you nearly as closely as my own charge, and for just as long, Prince Geordo,” Anne replied with a hint of a wry smile, “The others might not see it, but it is a maid’s job to be aware of such things, you know?”

The prince returned her gaze with a smile that didn’t quite reach his sharp blue eyes.

Anne followed the prince as he entered the local inn they were staying at for the evening. In the lobby of the inn, the maid spotted the distinct copper hair of Lady Mary Hunt as she conversed with Master Keith, having evidently returned already from hers and Prince Alan’s quest a few towns over. 

She and Prince Geordo had gone off to investigate the Marisbury estate, while Master Keith had gone to inquire at the Richmond estate, claiming he was certain that would be the definitive step in finding his sister. Unfortunately, as things often turned out, both Master Keith and Prince Geordo returned empty handed in their pursuit of Lady Katarina.

“Any luck?” the voice of Master Keith called out, rushing over to meet them at the inn’s door.

“I’m afraid Lady Marisbury was simply visiting some trade partners in Quid,” Anne took the liberty of explaining, “She… doesn’t know anything.”

“What of Portsmouth?” Prince Geordo inquired of the group before him.

“Nothing useful, unfortunately,” Prince Alan sighed.

“Did you check thoroughly enough?” the third prince pressed.

“Believe me, Prince Geordo, I left absolutely no stone unturned,” the copper haired girl met the prince’s eyes with frightening intensity.

From the look in Lady Hunt’s eyes, the maid didn’t doubt her words for a second. Anne feared for the residents of Portsmouth.

“I suppose that just leaves Bresley,” Prince Geordo tapped the notepad in his hand, “We can collect Nicol and Sophia on the way.”

“Have you not already reviewed the reports from the Port of Bresley, Prince Geordo?” Miss Campbell asked curiously.

“I have, but…” the blond prince scratched his head “I’m not sure. Something felt… off about them.”

“‘Off’?” Prince Alan tilted his head.

“The reports from the week of Lady Katarina’s disappearance indicated they imported 300 cases of Xiarmanese tea,” the prince explained, glancing over his notes.

“Is that unusual?” Lady Hunt asked.

“Not overly so, but…” Prince Geordo tapped his chin thoughtfully, “Generally we import tea from Xiarmah, around 500 crates every few months. But it generally comes from the south, so it wouldn’t pass through an eastern port.”

Anne frowned, curious what that all could mean.

“It may just be a clerical error or an weather related issue with shipping, but…” the prince narrowed his eyes as he scanned over his notes once more, “I would like to check a bit more thoroughly, just to be certain.”

In the shadows of the inn overlooking the icy village commons, Noelia Flores tapped her toe spitefully. Her vantage point allowed her to hear what the group of inquisitors Prince Geordo had assembled were discussing. She had been eager to be waiting in the wings for the moment when her prince ultimately realized his fiancée would never return so she could be at the top of his list of candidates to replace her!

Unfortunately, that was taking a bit longer than she had hoped. 

Really? They were truly going to investigate Bresley again? That was absurd! They had already tried once and failed, so why?

Why were they still this dedicated to keeping up this farce of an investigation? All she wanted was a future by the side of her beloved prince, knowing in her heart he was with someone he truly loved. Was that really too much to ask?

Her father’s position at the Ministry allowed him access to many novel forms of magic. And, never one to turn down a business investment, Marquis Flores had taken full advantage of that, distributing some of the more enticing developments overseas for a very reasonable price.

It wasn’t smuggling per se (her family wasn’t a bunch of pirates after all!), but Noelia’s father had taught her it was in their family’s best interest to keep all fronts of business available. (And to keep any fronts of business secret from any other fronts of business. What one buyer didn’t know wouldn’t hurt them, after all.) 

There were a significant number of interested parties overseas, and with the right associates, it wasn’t long before the Flores Marquisette was fairly well connected in some neighboring nations.

And, if her family happened to turn a pinch of profit from dealing experimental potions to nobles of other nations, well… what else was that but the icing on the cake?

All of that was to say- the dockworkers at the port of Bresley were well accustomed to destroying and forging documents. Noelia didn’t doubt their skill at that particular task for a moment, considering how consistently they had passed inspection after inspection.

But… the standard annual harbor inspections were never this in-depth….

She bit her nail apprehensively. If her Prince was truly investigating the current matter this thoroughly, then there remained a chance that he could still uncover some trace of where Lady Claes had vanished off to.

No… that wouldn’t do. That wouldn’t do at all….

“Send word to the harbormaster,” Noelia quietly instructed her maid, “All ships currently docked in the harbor are to have a complete keel inspection and rudder refitting beginning today.”

“Lady Flores, are you sure?” the incompetent maid asked skeptically, “Something like that would prevent any ship from setting sail from our harbor for nearly a month–”

“Send word to the harbormaster at once,” the Marquis’ daughter reiterated, cutting her off, “to immediately begin refitting all rudders and inspecting all keels.” 

It might be a bit much, but it should buy her enough time to send more specific instructions on what documents to terminate, and which reports should have more thorough forgeries prepared. And… if she was able to buy enough time to do that, then, suffice it to say, Prince Geordo would effectively be hers.

Noelia wasn’t exactly an expert on meteorology, but she knew enough from living in a coastal territory her whole life to know: the Eastern storm system was fast approaching. 

And, if she could keep her prince dallying about until it arrived… there would be absolutely no way for him to discover where Lady Claes had gone.

Notes:

Noelia keeps digging herself deeper... and bringing almost everyone else down along with her.

Geordo is pretty close to being on the right track, but they're one breakthrough away from knowing quite where she went. And Anne, meanwhile, is starting to realize she learned a lot more about helping people from Katarina than she'd thought.

This chapter was just a brief interlude to show the Sorcier crew starting to close in. Next chapter will be back to Kat and Malicia again for a few chapters, and then back to these guys!

Anyways, thank you for reading. Comments and constructive criticism are welcome as always!

Chapter 21: Beneath Purple Moonlight

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

High upon the highlands of Ritallia, amidst the manors of the nobility stood a structure known by many as the crown jewel of Ritallian architecture - the Crystal Palace. It was a structure composed of a great number of pristinely crafted windows forming an octagonal fortress of glass. Within it was a vast garden of flora from various countries around the globe. It was by all means a truly impressive feat of design and display of wealth, and served as a social hall for any number of noble weddings and other events.

It was at this glass citadel where Malicia Baudelaire currently found herself.

Wine glasses clinked and ambient chatter flowed as freely as the water from the fountain at the center of the indoor garden. The popular social hub was abuzz with activity; the gala for performing artists Sir Antoine had invited her to well underway.

“Do you want me to get you a drink or something, my Lady?” Rina asked from her side as they stepped out of the glorious indoor garden and into the main hall.

“No, I’m quite alright for now, maid,” Malicia replied, scanning the crowd.

The maid gave her a curious look, “Is… everything alright, Malicia?”

“Yes,” the blonde replied calmly, although she was slightly disappointed that, as she gazed across the crowd, there was one pair of eyes she didn’t find. She sighed, “I do not need you to accompany me any further this evening.”

“Oh. Okay,” Rina looked a bit surprised, but quickly added, “Just ring if you need me, my Lady!”

The ever cheerful maid grinned at her, stepping off into one of the back corridors leading to the servants’ quarters. The heiress let out a little breath after her attendant disappeared, taking a moment to observe which playwrights were in attendance, when a figure appeared by her side.

“Sir Antione!” Malicia greeted the knight with a smile.

“My, my, imagine seeing you in a place like this,” the blue haired man chuckled, leading her into the main hall.

“Well… as you’re quite aware, I do have a passion for theater…” the blonde replied, all too eager to begin talking with one of her favorite playwrights this evening.

And, as Lady Baudelaire sauntered off, chatting idly with Sir Antoine, she entirely failed to notice the pair of dark eyes which followed her across the hall….

Katarina once again found herself impressed by the beautiful building she found herself in. She had no idea why Sir Antoine undersold this place so much; it was by no means a small affair! 

Inside the Crystal Palace was a garden unlike anything she had ever seen, and vast enough to even make Mary jealous!

While Mary’s garden was one of bright, blooming flowers, the plants that filled this hall were strangely dark and exotic looking, with only a few hints of vibrant colors on the edges of leaves. With the purple moonlight streaming through the overhead glass windows, it reminded Katarina of looking at a blacklight poster or something.

And, speaking of lights, this place also stood out distinctly from most of the other estates and establishments Katarina had visited here in Ritallia for one more reason. It had electric lights!

However, that shining hall of vibrant, exotic plants and new technology was not where the brunette would be spending her evening this night. Beneath the buzzing crowd of nobles and playwrights was a bustling underworld: the world of maids and butlers! It was just as alive as the indoor garden overhead, but in a very different way.

Unlike the fancy halls above, this area was much more like the servants’ quarters Katarina was becoming accustomed to. There were no electric lights to be found down here, only flickering candles on the dimly lit stone walls.

Despite the low lighting, the maid could tell right away that this place was in full swing. Butlers and maids darted about, dashing up secret passages going this way and that all throughout the vast Crystal Palace.

Katarina glanced over the wall by the main passageway, where a series of bells were hung. She took a moment to familiarize herself with them so that, if Malicia rang, she would quickly be able to find her.

There was an elaborate system of bells connected to almost every room in big buildings like this, and most of the noble ladies and gentlemen had set up little codes for their personal valets and maids to respond to at a moments’ notice. In Malicia’s case, three long rings and three short rings was her call for Katarina’s aid. If she got such a call, the web of secret passageways through the walls of this palace would allow the maid to be at her Lady’s side right away.

As she made her way through the maids’ hall, the brunette suddenly took notice of a figure just in front of her. Before her stood a tall woman with blood red hair and a suspicious look in her eyes directed at Katarina herself. She looked to be a few years older and wore a maid uniform similar to Katarina’s own, but slightly more… imposing somehow.

Behind the crimson haired maid, there was another young maid with sandy blonde hair watching Katarina intently. Something about her gaze made the brunette slightly uneasy.

“Um… hi,” Katarina waved, awkwardly trying to break the ice, “So… how are you guys doing?”

“Oh, just fabulous,” the crimson haired maid sneered sarcastically. Behind her, the sandy blonde maid rolled her eyes.

“Do you… want to talk about something?” the brunette offered hesitantly. It was clear these women wanted to say something to her, but she didn’t know what or why.

“Talk away,” the sandy blonde gave her a look.

Katarina pursed her lips, trying to think of something she could say to lighten the palpable tension.

“Oh! I could tell you guys about the time my friend Acchan got her head stuck in a beehive!” the brunette snapped her fingers.

Across the seas, Sophia sneezed.

“Are you alright, sister?” Nicol turned to her, a hint of concern in his voice.

“Yes, I’m fine,” Sophia smiled back at her brother, then added, “But I have a sudden urge to bonk Katarina in the head when we find her.…”

Nicol arched a confused brow at his sister.

Back at the Crystal Palace, the crimson haired maid folded her arms, unimpressed, “Really? You think this sort of tripe qualifies as conversation?”

“W-well… I did, until you scoffed just then…” Katarina recoiled a bit at the sharp tone, “What sorts of things do you guys usually talk about?”

“Why don’t you begin by telling us all about the house you serve?” the red haired woman asked predatorily.

Katarina furrowed her brows, remembering what her charge had told her at the auction, “W-well… Malicia says I shouldn’t talk too much about her….”

“My, my…” the other maid scoffed, leaning in to inspect her closer… until her eyes landed on the Baudelaire coat of arms on Katarina’s sleeve. The maid’s eyes widened, “You really do work for House Baudelaire?”

Recalling how Malicia’s family was one of the most influential in this country, Katarina decided to try and put her foot down. Maybe some stern words from a maid of House Baudelaire would be enough to get this mean maid to back off!

“Yes, I do. I'm Rina Clayton, Malicia's personal attendant. So maybe you shouldn’t–” Katarina started.

“Oh, how the mighty have fallen,” the crimson haired maid cut her off with a dramatic breath, evidently paying her status no mind, “To think Lady Baudelaire would sink so low as to hire on a D-rate maid like this. I can only wonder what her father would think of such rabble serving his daughter.”

“Hey! I’m not D-rate!” Katarina protested. She might not be Anne-level, but that was just mean!

“I doubt he knows at all. Lord Baudelaire hasn’t exactly been the most present since… well…” the sandy blonde maid trailed off indistinctly, ignoring Katarina’s outburst. 

The other woman nodded, evidently understanding what she meant.

“Since what?” Katarina furrowed her brows, not quite sure what they were referring to. She wished they would just spell it out, since she really ought to know more about the family she was serving.

“Yes, yes,” the crimson haired maid nodded, turning to the other as if Katarina was invisible, “I can only imagine House Baudelaire’s… ahem, affairs, are difficult to manage at the best of times, and with the head of the house so consistently unavailable….” she sighed with mock concern.

“Chancellor Riviere must truly have his hands full with such work, mustn’t he?” the sandy blonde maid asked with a frown, “I suppose Lady Baudelaire sees more of him than she sees her own father.”

“I suppose it’s for the best that the young lady at least has a godfather who cares about her good fortune,” the red haired one murmured back, continuing to entirely ignore the brunette.

Wait… what? Katarina blinked, caught off guard by that sudden revelation.

“Eh? Chancellor Riviere is Malicia’s godfather?” the brunette interjected.

She had never heard any mention of that, in the game or real life. Although, she supposed, it did explain why he was so concerned about Malicia. The image of the old man’s concerned expression from a few days ago popped into her head.

Even so, it felt like there was something they had just said that didn’t add up, but she couldn’t think exactly what.

“What’s this? You didn’t know?” the red haired woman crooned, as if speaking to a child.

Katarina could only shake her head in reply.

“Hmph. You really are useless, aren’t you?” the older maid huffed, looking away.

As she turned, the candlelight caught the profile of her face… and something clicked in Katarina’s mind.

“H…hey!” the brunette blurted out, “I know you! You’re the maid that tried to frame Cerise for stealing that necklace!”

“Oh? Is that what you think?” the red haired woman replied dismissively.

“Yeah! You might have been wearing a wig, but I remember your face!” she accused the older woman, “Who are you?”

And, in that moment, Katarina felt something was very, very wrong as the crimson haired woman smiled a decidedly ominous grin.

Malicia stood by one of the golden indoor fountains, watching on with interest as Sir Antoine and a handful of other stage workers discussed the materials used for the palace interior set in an upcoming production of a play called LeBlanc.  

Honestly, this event was just a dream come true!

Every one of her favorite playwrights, each of the nation’s most esteemed stage designers, all the greatest musicians who crafted scores to accompany her favorite productions…. They were all here!

Although… there was one person who Malicia had hoped would be in attendance. She supposed it had been overly optimistic to think that person would be here, but, considering who had invited her….

“Lady Baudelaire?” a voice from behind her shook her from her thoughts.

The blonde turned to face the shadow-obscured speaker… and felt a sudden apprehension as she realized just who she had come face to face with. 

“I have taken the liberty of reserving the veranda, Most Esteemed Daughter of the Archduke,” the shadowy figure offered a hand towards her, “If I may… would you care to join me for an evening drink?”

Malicia glanced over to see Sir Antoine had not yet noticed she was no longer by his side, still chatting with the other members of his upcoming stage production. Turning back to the person who had called out to her, she wordlessly nodded… and followed the figure up a spindly spiral staircase up to one of the upper floors.

“My name is Colette Hawthorne,” the red haired maid introduced herself proudly, “I am a distinguished member of the Hawthorne family; a family which has bestowed the nobility with the finest maids and servants the nation of Ritallia has ever seen.”

Katarina nodded, not particularly impressed by this lady or her show-off-ish attitude.

“And… who is she?” Katarina finally addressed the other, irritated maid just behind Colette.

“Hm? You mean you don’t know?” the other maid asked, sounding a bit frustrated. She jabbed the House Baudelaire emblem of Katarina’s sleeve and huffed, “I would think you might have a hunch.”

Katarina shook her head. Had they met before somewhere?

“I am Abigail DeMoray,” the small blonde introduced herself, “I was Lady Baudelaire’s personal attendant just like you… until she fired me.”

Oh. Right.

Katarina often forgot about that, but despite how nice Malicia was around her, she still had a reputation in this country. And it wasn’t the type of reputation she could get without good reason.

“L-look… I know Malicia can be kind of… prickly sometimes, but underneath it–” Katarina started to try to defend her charge.

“Oh, please don’t try and spin the old ‘she’s really nice deep down’ tale,” Abigail scoffed indignantly, “She fired me for cracking a single saucer! Her household has dozens of them, at least!”

Katarina frowned. She had a hunch why, but doubted bringing that up right now would help things here too much….

The sudden ringing of one of the bells labeled as the ‘Overlook Room’ shook the maid from her thoughts. It was Malicia, signaling she wanted Katarina to come assist her with something. The brunette made a move to go and help out, but suddenly realized she couldn’t go anywhere.

It was then that Katarina realized she had been backed into a wall quite literally. Colette and Abigail had maneuvered the conversation so she was blocked into an ill lit corner near the back of the servants’ quarters.

“Umm…. anyways, if you’ll excuse me, I need to get to Malicia’s side–” Katarina started to take a step between the pair of maids, but they stepped forward in unison, blocking her path.

“Oh… I wouldn’t worry too heavily over that, Miss Clayton. If the hour is quite right, Lady Malicia will already have been… dealt with, shall we say,” Abigail chuckled darkly, a smirk creeping up her face.

“Wh-what do you mean by that?” Katarina gulped, suddenly having a terrible feeling in her gut.

“My Lady is set to be meeting with your charge this very moment,” Colette replied, gesturing towards the clock, which had just chimed the eight o-clock hour only five minutes earlier. With a giggle, she added, “And her drink should contain a rather… entertaining surprise.”

Katarina felt a shiver wash over her. She had to help Malicia out… fast!

Steeling herself, she took a step closer to the red haired woman, “Wh-who exactly is your Lady?”

Within a sleek enclosure of glass overlooking the indoor gardens of the Crystal Palace, Lady Lena LaCroix kept her face neutral as Lady Malicia Baudelaire rang the bell calling her maid before taking her seat across the small, two person table she had arranged ahead of time. In the center of the table stood a pair of champagne flutes, filled with sparkling liquid.

Lena gestured silently toward the pair of glasses before them, inviting Lady Baudelaire to take a drink.

Surprisingly, the ‘Golden Devil’ as she was sometimes known had been utterly silent thus far. 

Hm. Lena tilted her head slightly, unbothered by her companion’s quiet nature. All things considered, that silence shouldn’t last all too much longer, in any case.

The bespectacled young woman allowed the hint of a smile to creep up her lips as Lady Baudelaire took a sip from her glass.

Oh yes, drink to your heart’s content, Malicia, Lena smirked to herself, After all, tonight’s entertainment… is you.

Notes:

For anyone curious, Malicia's bell signal to Katarina -- -... is Morse code for MB, her initials.

This time, Katarina and Malicia both find themselves in tight spots! Some drama on the Ritallian front is finally beginning! The next chapter is a lot of fun in my head, I hope I can write it well enough!

I like having the various houses in Ritallia have various feuds and rivalries without going into too much detail about them; I feel it adds some depth.

Anyways, thank you for reading! Comments and constructive criticism are welcome as always!

Chapter 22: Black Mountain Side

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

Lena LaCroix watched on patiently as the blonde across from her unwittingly swallowed her drink. As she watched the Archduke’s daughter imbibe her subversively spiked champagne, Lena thought back to the path that had led her here.

The road to her current status as one of the most feared ladies of their generation was not a simple one, especially considering her less than shining origins.

She thought back to the whispers she overheard as a child–

“Who is her mother?”

“Who knows? Probably not even the Marquis himself remembers…”

–muttered just loud enough that everyone could hear at dinner parties and feasts she had to attend. As much as she pretended not to, she heard the whispers about how she was a creepy looking little thing, how she looked like a miserable ghost, unworthy of being a Marquis’ daughter.

Her father, for his part, seemed to have done all he could to absolutely ruin their family’s name.

The Marquis LaCroix was the most infamous drunkard and lecher in the country, sleeping around shamelessly with any and every woman he set his sights on. The reputation of their family had been in decline for generations, and ever since Lena could remember, her father had absolutely no mind for such things.

And, as his drinking and lusting chipped away at House LaCroix’s finances, the estate began to crumble. All the servants had left, and their trade partners were eager to abandon them for other, more reliable estates in Ritallia. It was only due to the rarity of resources on their land, as well as its location and access to the sea that had allowed House LaCroix to remain a Marquisette as long as it had, but it seemed that good fortune may not last all too much longer. Unless something was done.

And so, it fell to Lena herself to pick up the pieces.

While her father was off doing… whatever it was he always did, and she never had the desire to ask, Lena had to take his place as the acting head of the house ever since she was eight years old.

It had taken all her mental and physical willpower to take on all her father’s burdens, but someone needed to oversee her estate, or it would surely fall to ruins. She spent every day overseeing the profits and losses of every guild in her territory, and every night, she studied law until she passed out in her books.

The bespectacled young lady started small, sneaking into her father’s study to change numbers in his ledgers, or to write and stamp letters in his name. She doubted he would approve, but equally doubted he would ever notice.

She hired on a maid for herself– Colette Hawthorne, someone competent and cunning, capable of assisting her with handling her assets and acting as a secretary as she attempted to be the shadow lord of her own house. Miss Colette was a few years older than herself, and had experience as a servant of several other major noble houses, so Lena asked the maid to be her tutor for how to behave as a noblewoman.

Being the de facto acting head of House LaCroix entailed a lot of social interaction, which Lena did not particularly have a knack for. But still, she persevered, attending a number of dances, dinners and other such meaningless events as far as she was concerned. 

After all, her main priority was reviving her declining estate. Spending money on frivolous things like jewelry, make up, or any of the other irrelevant things other noble ladies considered essential for attending such things felt like an utter waste of her hard earned money.

And, as she attended various garden parties and sat in the shadows of estate dinners, she caught on to the fact that her father was not the only noble who had such affairs. She hardly spoke in public at all, much preferring to simply listen. 

And as she listened, Lena overhead quite a lot. 

She overheard how the Baroness Clemonet had an illegitimate son with one of her butlers, and how the Duke LaFayette had gambled away half the funds he was meant to allocate to repairing the handful of schools on his land.

No, her father was not the only lecherous noble, not by a long shot. So why should her house be the only one to be scorned so deeply for it?

Sure, her father was more… shameless in his approach than most, but the degree to which her house fell into disrepair over something so commonplace felt… unfair. Not to mention, despite all his misgivings, her father had never once been cruel to her. A bit absent, sure, but when he was around, he was always very kind in his own way. And, for whatever else could be said about him, the bespectacled young lady did love her father.

Thus, Lena LaCroix set out to… level the playing field, so to speak.

She would expose all the other noble houses’ misdeeds, bring to light every affair, expose every embezzlement, and make it clear that if House LaCroix was deserving of disdain, half the other noble houses in the nation were as well. 

Of course, undertaking such a crusade would make her a great number of enemies… but then, it seemed she had plenty already, simply for being born into the wrong family.

After one of her first exposés of a nobleman who had an affair with a sailor, to her great surprise, the first letter Lena received was not the aforementioned nobleman cursing her name and vowing revenge, but instead a note from an anonymous writer for something simply called the Publication . Evidently, it was some small journal distributed to commoners, often detailing noble scandals and the like. Ever since then, Lena had been collaborating with whoever it was who distributed the Publication to both learn about and expose noble affairs and scandals.

Lena did not come to distrust every noble, but she did decide to… evaluate everyone. She was a highly logical woman, and after years of watching nobles act out the same exact social patterns over and over again, they quickly became transparent to her. There were a handful of good noble houses, and it was none too difficult for her to sift them out from the rest.

A gala she had to attend on behalf of her house had been Lena’s first encounter with that woman . She stood just a few feet from her when their eyes first met.

Malicia Baudelaire, daughter of the Archduke Baudelaire, and probably the most important young woman of their generation.

And she was angry at Lena.

She was glaring daggers at her even though they had never even exchanged greetings. What could Lena possibly have done to incur her ire so suddenly?

She didn’t know, nor did she plan to stick around to find out.

Never a fan of social situations, Lena did her best to simply nod quietly until she could excuse herself to the balcony and quietly listen in from afar. Her acute sense of hearing made up for her heavily impaired vision, it seemed.

As soon as she stepped out, Lena turned around… and she was met with the eyes of a beautiful young man with long blue hair.

“Sir Antoine Chevalier, my Lady,” the young man introduced himself.

Sir Antoine was the child of a rather irrelevant barony on the outskirts of Ritallia, who had risen to the rank of knighthood after a heroic deed a few months earlier. He spoke to her under the moonlight, telling her of his passions for the written word, and his ambitions to entertain the masses. She could see it in his eyes that he knew the reputation of her house, but he could just as clearly see he wasn’t bothered by it at all.

It was the first time she felt someone had actually… seen her.

He spoke about his work as a poet and a playwright, although much of it went over her head. Always focused on the numbers from her estate’s profits and the nation’s laws, she hardly had any time to study something frivolous like theater.

But, to hear him talk about it was an enchanting thing, one that could only come from true passion for his craft.

It was… a lovely evening.

Not long after that event, Lena received an invitation from Lady Baudelaire, asking her to attend a tea party at her estate. 

In her years of keeping her ears open to the various tricks of nobles, she had quickly learned of things like this; when a prominent noble decided they didn’t like someone of a lesser house, they would invite them out to a public affair and humiliate them publicly.

It was something Lena doubted she could endure, for financial reasons if nothing else. Nobles who fell prey to those types of tricks usually significantly lost value of their estates, something Lena could not afford after having worked so hard to raise the value of her father’s house to barely above the minimum.

Lena quickly invented an excuse to decline Lady Baudelaire’s invitation.

To her surprise, after declining, she never heard another word from the Archduke’s daughter. The Golden Devil must have either forgotten entirely, or decided Lena was simply not worth her time.

Whatever the case may be, Lena chose not to question it.

Needless to say, she was not particularly fond of Malicia Baudelaire.

On the other hand, she was very, very fond of Sir Antoine.

He was kind and caring, humble but ambitious, someone she could easily tell truly recognized her for who she was.

And, on the very evening she prepared to deliver her request for a marriage interview, she saw… them .

Lady Malicia and Sir Antoine.

Traipsing about on stage, laughing and chatting casually, discussing all the intricacies of the theater that Lena herself had never understood. The way Lady Baudelaire hung on his every word, the way she eagerly asked him question after question… Lena could tell right away what the blonde’s intentions were.

Naturally, this led Lena to her current undertaking, beneath the shimmering purple moonlight trickling down through the sunroof of the Crystal Palace, and onto the tainted beverage Lady Baudelaire had just gulped down.

Yes, while other nobles might choose to settle their scores more viciously, Lena preferred the simple things in life. 

Like Truth Serum, for instance.

Imported straight from Sorcier, it was a verifiably potent formula. A single drop, and even the most practiced deceiver would spill all their darkest secrets at the drop of a hat. Lena had tested the stuff on a handful of other nobles in recent months, each attempt resulting in a juicy new tale for the Publication ’s readers.

The black haired woman thanked House Flores for their generous decision to distribute potions which would otherwise be reserved for elite members for Sorcier’s nobility overseas. It truly provided a most entertaining method of confronting her adversaires.

There was a part of her that was shocked at Lady Baudelaire for having the gall to flirt with a knight so brazenly mere days before her marriage interview with Prince Alexander, but she wasn’t sure why. Such infidelity was a problem with so many noble houses in the nation, so of course, House Baudelaire should be no exception. It shouldn’t come as any surprise, but considering the rumors about the Archduke and his wife, it was rather… disappointing. 

In any case, Lena would not have to worry about this particular problem after tonight.

A few drops of Truth Serum in her drink should make Lady Baudelaire open up about her intentions with Sir Antoine, and then, once Lena was certain the serum was in full effect, she would lead Malicia down to the main hall and ask her to spill all her darkest secrets in front of everyone.

It was a fairly efficient method of turning these overindulgent nobles’ illicit behavior against themselves with minimal work on her part. Truly, it was the most logical solution to her problems here.

The dark haired woman unfolded her hands and leaned forward in her chair, meeting the golden blonde’s eyes.

“Now then, Lady Baudelaire….” Lena’s lips twitched upwards, “Shall we begin?”

Within one of the secret passageways hidden in the Crystal Palace’s walls, Katarina rushed up the stairs, raced around a corner, darted through a corridor.

She had to get to her Lady, right this instant!

The markings on the walls indicating which direction to go blurred past her as the maid raced up to the Overlook room. It had only been a few moments since she had barged her way past the pair of LaCroix maids who were evidently scheming something against Malicia. Katarina didn’t know what they were up to, but it couldn’t be good.

She rushed along as quickly as the narrow passages would allow her, shoving past other butlers and maids, until she finally reached the final stretch of corridor leading to the Overlook room.

She dashed headlong towards the end of the passageway….

…. and slammed hard into the stone door that stood before her. 

Katarina had hit a dead end.

“Oh, you’re not going anywhere,” Colette’s voice came from behind her, “Not without the key.”

Katarina clenched her fists. 

LaCroix’s maids had planned this all out, hadn’t they? The Overlook room was at the very end of the secret corridor, which meant she would have to run all the way back down to the servants’ quarters, then all the way back up here via the main hall with all the noble guests! She doubted she would be able to do so without causing a scene, not that such a thing was her main worry at the moment.

The bigger issue was… she didn’t know if she had the time to race all the way back down and back up here again! If she turned back now, Malicia might be well beyond helping by the time she got there!

No, the only option here was to get through this stone door….

“Where’s the key?” Katarina demanded, turning to the pair of maids just behind her.

“Oh, wherever could it be, Abigail?” the crimson haired maid’s voice was dripping with mock innocence.

“I haven’t the faintest idea,” the sandy blonde maid giggled.

Katarina glared at the pair who clearly had no intentions of offering up the key anytime soon, trying to think what she could do.

“Although, if you want to watch…” Colette smirked in amusement, “I suppose we can give you a front row seat to the fall of House Baudelaire.”

“What are you going to do to her?” Katarina took a step forward, pushing the older maid back a pace.

A momentary look of fright flickered across Colette’s face, quickly replaced by her usual smug smile, “Nothing at all, Miss Clayton. Instead, ask ‘what is she going to do to herself’?”

Katarina gulped, wondering just what kind of awful things the drink her charge had consumed would make her do.

Colette pulled a slat of wood on the wall upwards, revealing several pairs of eye holes carved through the wall, gazing down upon the private table where Malicia and Lady Lena were talking.

Katarina’s encounters with Lena LaCroix were limited to a few appearances as a game sprite in Love’s Uprising , and only once in person. And the only time she had seen her in this life had been at a distance on the third floor balcony of the Blanc Opera House.

All that was to say, she had never gotten a particularly good look at the real life Lena LaCroix. Thus, seeing her up close immediately led Katarina to realize something about the other rival from the game.

She was tall! Really, really tall! At least a foot and a half taller than Malicia, who was already on the taller side.

As Katarina watched, the black haired woman pushed her chair back and rose to her full height from her seat at their private table. Silhouetted by moonlight, she looked ethereal, almost like a ghost.

“You seem a bit… nervous,” Lady LaCroix intoned.

“I am,” Malicia replied instantly.

“Are you nervous about something in particular?,” the raven haired woman narrowed her eyes.

“About… being around you,” the heiress stared down at the tabletop.

“Mmm, how honest of you,” Lady Lena smiled predatorily.

“You see that, Miss Clayton?,” Abigail whispered from beside her, “This is how a proper noblewoman operates, unlike the two-bit tart you serve. My Lady has given yours a dose of Truth Serum. Soon enough, she’ll have Lady Baudelaire expose all her deepest, darkest secrets before the whole country!”

Truth Serum? This is bad! Katarina bit her lip, trying to assess the situation as best she could. Unfortunately, her memory of Love’s Uprising wasn’t really too much help at the moment.

Lena was totally a yandere for Sir Antoine, Katarina knew that much. If Lena had caught onto Malicia hanging out with him, then whatever she was scheming right now was probably due to that.

So she would probably ask Malicia if she liked the knight… to which, she would obviously say yes! Katarina could tell right away from the way Malicia acted around the capture target how she felt about him!

And, if Lena got the blonde to confess to liking Sir Antoine, then… Well, Katarina didn’t quite know what she would make Malicia do. But it couldn’t be good, whatever it was!

Turning her attention back to the private glass room, Katarina shivered at the sight before her.

The black haired woman loomed over Malicia like a specter of death. She reached out one spidery hand and tilted the blonde’s chin up so she was looking directly in her eyes.

With a wicked smile, she asked, “And what… is your true purpose for attending this event?”

Katarina felt her heart thundering in her chest. She wished she could break through this door… there had to be something she could do! 

“B-because…” Malicia started, trying to hold back.

In an instant it would all be over! Malicia would admit she was here for Sir Antoine, and Lady LaCroix would humiliate her in front of the whole crowd! 

Katarina glanced over her shoulder, back down the corridor. Maybe if she really sprinted, she could make it back to the maids’ room and back up to the Overlook room before Lena could do anything….

“Because…” Malicia murmured again, clearly fighting not to say whatever she was about to say, but the truth serum was overpowering her.

The other two maids watched excitedly. 

“Because!” Malicia slammed her palms down on the table and stood up sharply, staring Lena dead in the eye as she declared, “I need glasses. And you’re the cutest glasses-wearer in the country!”

There was a beat of silence. Utter silence.

One could hear a pin drop.

The domineering smile quickly vanished from Lena’s lips, replaced by a little ‘o’ of surprise.

And, after a very long silence….

“I-Illogical,” Lena blushed, slinking a step backwards.

“Cute!” Malicia pointed at her again, like a little kid pointing at a bunny.

In an instant, the room’s atmosphere had been turned on its head. The spiteful maids beside her had fallen silent. Katarina could only watch on, perplexed, as her charge spoke the very last truth she expected to hear that night.

Lena LaCroix rarely received compliments. The closest thing to praise she ever got came in the form of the basic flattery from her maids, or in the fear she invoked in the nobles of Houses who had crossed her.

When she was very young, she had always heard the same whispers.

She always heard about how she was a pitiable thing, a bastard child whose mother had run off right after giving birth to her and whose father couldn’t be bothered to even raise her.

And then, as she grew and learned and polished her skills at blackmailing other nobles and exposing all their secrets, their whispers turned from pity to vitriol.

The ones who didn’t fill her ears with easy flattery to try and tempt her away from scheming against them would murmur just loud enough for her to hear about how she was frightening, detestable, dour.

Occasionally, her father would offer some kind words when he was sober enough to speak, and at times Colette would do her best to genuinely offer comfort to her.

But even so, throughout it all there was one word she had never heard aimed at her. One thing she had always longed to be called…

And that was…

“Cute! Cute! Cute!~” Malicia gushed, bouncing up and down with excitement. 

Lady LaCroix’s face was growing redder and redder as she inched backwards away from the exuberant blonde, “H-how can you say such things?” 

“How in the world could I not?” Malicia gaped in surprise, “I have waited years to meet you properly!”

Lena merely gaped back at her, looking scandalized.

Regardless, Malicia continued, “The way you so cleanly and viciously revealed Lady Laurent’s senseless affair with the Duke Durand was executed absolutely brilliantly!”

“Y-you were paying attention to such things?” Lady Lena replied with a gulp.

“Of course I was! Who do you think I am?” Malicia huffed, “I pay attention to every major interaction between noble houses in this kingdom, and you cause quite a few ripples, Lady LaCroix!”

The black haired woman stared back at her speechlessly for a long while. Malicia felt like she could see something shifting the glass-obscured eyes of her idol.

Averting her eyes, Lena murmured, “How can someone like you think so highly of… me …? You shine brilliantly like the sun! I’m nothing more than a shadow. Just a pest who thrives on stirring trouble and exposing secrets….”

Malicia gaped in astonishment. How in the stars could this brilliant tactician and beautiful paragon of nobility think so lowly of herself?

“Absolutely false! If I am the sun, then surely you are the moon!” the blonde reached out, taking her hand, “For nothing else could compare to someone as radiant as you!”

“Y-you! This isn’t–!” the black haired woman sputtered.

Malicia couldn’t bring herself to stop talking. For some reason, she was much more… open tonight than she usually was. She chose not to think about it for the moment. After all, it was clear a lot needed to be said.

Ever since she first received Sir Antoine’s invitation to this event, she had held out hope the Woman in Black would be in attendance.

When she had met the mysterious beauty’s eyes back at the auction, she had been taken aback by the fact that the infamously reclusive woman had even attended such a thing. She was notoriously difficult to reach, and most attempts to contact her were promptly declined. Malicia herself had sent Lady LaCroix an invitation some years ago, but even she, as daughter of the Archduke, hadn’t been enough to bring the Marquis’ daughter out of her shadows. 

And then, when Sir Antoine had mentioned the other day how he was on good terms with one of the most isolated yet influential members of their generation, Malicia found herself hoping that perhaps his attendance of both the auction and this colloquium would be enough to draw Lady LaCroix out to a public forum. Her heart had nearly stopped earlier that night when the target of her interest had stepped out of the shadows and asked to speak with her privately; such an encounter was one of her deepest wishes! So surprised was she by noirette’s sudden invitation that she had hardly spoken a word at first. She was entirely lost on where to even begin!

Although… it was not simply her sense of mutual respect for Lady LaCroix or her praise for her delightfully subversive tactics that drove her to seek out her company; there was a much more real matter she wished to discuss with her as well.

Because… it was true. 

She did need glasses; she had known as much for some time, as much as she tried to deny it. But each passing day, it became more and more apparent. The way words on the pages mere inches in front of her face would blur and fade out of focus, forcing her to squint ridiculously at text right in front of her. She was able to make out things from a distance well enough, such as the details in Sir Antoine’s productions, but reading and seeing things up close was another matter.

Even her foolish maid was able to see how bad her vision was! And she knew she needed to do something about it.

But… she could never wear something such as a pair of glasses in public!

Setting aside her family reputation for perfect vision, she just wouldn’t look good in them! She had tried a few glasses frames on, and none of them suited her at all. 

No… there was only one woman who could look utterly stunning in thick, round glasses. And that was….

“Lady Lena LaCroix,” Malicia took the noirette’s hand as she backed her against the wall, “You are truly a remarkable, brilliant strategist, and a ruthless shark in the seas of high society. You are so absolutely devious, but so efficient in your methodology…. Don’t you realize how much I idolize you?”

“M-me?” the Marquis’ daughter seemed taken aback.

“Of course! The only person I look up to more than you is Lady Ka–”

“Enough!” Lena cut her off before she could say something else utterly embarrassing, “Everything you’re saying is entirely illogical!”

None of this, absolutely no part of this, made any sense whatsoever!

Nowhere in her deductions about Lady Baudelaire’s behavior had she accounted for the possibility that the Archduke’s daughter had even the slightest hint of admiration of her! Her behavior was entirely consistent with that of a petty noble simply shamelessly flirting around and looking down on her for her shameful family history.

So then, why…. Why did the Baudelaire daughter’s honesty have to be so… honest ? Why couldn’t she just admit to wishing to seduce Sir Antoine like Lena had predicted?

But… all along, Lady Baudelaire had been interested in her? She had been paying attention to all her actions? And she thought she was… cute ?

Everything the blonde had just said made her feel…. She didn’t even know how to feel! Her heart was racing and her face was hot… the shock of Lady Malicia’s outburst must have made her uneasy. On any other night, learning some shameful secret such as Lady Baudelaire’s need for glasses, would have been an excellent discovery which she could have used for leverage in any number of ways. But she felt out of sorts tonight, ever since the blonde had to go and start blurting out things like….

No! She refused to accept it! The truth potion must not be working properly or something, there was just too much about Lady Malicia’s explanation that simply did not make sense!

“Why were you glaring at me the first time we met?” Lena pushed her glasses up the bridge of her nose, glaring accusingly at the blonde before her.

“Because… I cannot see very well,” Malicia admitted sheepishly. She looked directly into the noirette’s eyes and said, “I was trying to see you as clearly as I can because you are just… mesmerizing.”

Lena felt her throat go dry. 

She wanted to run. She wanted to crawl up under the desk in her study where she would always go when the pressures of everything became too much for her.

Unable to do any of those things, she pulled her hair in front of her face to hide her blush as she murmured, “Y-you really are a shameless woman, Lady Baudelaire.”

Lady Malicia’s eyes widened, “Th-th-that’s even cuter!!!”

Back in the hidden corridor, the other two maids were frantically unlocking the door to the secret passage while Katarina simply stared on in surprise.

“What in the worlds just happened?” the brunette muttered, putting her hands on her hips, “Did that truth serum drain all the tsun out of my tsundere?”

Inside the Overlook room, the tables had, quite literally, turned.

At some point, Malicia had accidentally knocked the little table over as she advanced on Lady Lena, whose back was now up against the wall.

“Miss Clayton!” Colette ordered as she finally plied open the hidden doorway, “Go get a handle on your charge this instant!”

Katarina gave the pair a look, “Nope, not until you say please.”

Colette’s eye twitched as she forced herself to say, “Ahem. Please control your Lady at once .”

Katarina shot her a satisfied smirk before turning back to the scene unfolding in front of her.

Before the maid could make it over to her charge, Lady Lena asked a question Katarina had feared might come up from the very start. Attempting to regain her composure and quell her rising blush, the bespectacled young lady fixed Malicia with a sharp stare.

“T-tell me…” the black haired girl pushed her glasses up her nose, “What is your relationship with Sir Antoine?”

“S-sir Antoine?,” Malicia blinked, “He is… a friend. And a fellow lover of the art of theater.”

“‘The art of theater’?” the bespectacled woman arched a brow dubiously.

Katarina frowned as well. Did Malicia really not realize her own feelings for the knight? How could anyone be so dense about romance? It was obvious he liked her, and even being the tsundere she was, Malicia clearly enjoyed being around him too. Did she really think that was just friendship?

“Yes… I’m very fond of the detail and effort he puts into his poetry,” Malicia spoke reverently, quietly adding, “I think, perhaps, his talent for the written word may be the only thing able to adequately describe your beauty and elegance, Lady LaCroix, for my own mind certainly fails to do so.”

Lena, for her part, did her best not to actually burst into flames. At least, that was how it looked to Katarina, who watched with a hint of amusement as the Marquis’ daughter turned bright red. She was pretty sure her glasses steamed up a bit too.

“Okay, Malicia, that’s enough,” Katarina interjected, hoping to quickly stem the flow of utter romantic obliviousness filling the air.

“I haven’t said nearly enough!” Malicia shot back, “Lady LaCroix seems to be under the incorrect assumption that she is not as beautiful or deserving of respect as myself!”

“Don’t worry, my Lady, you got plenty of critical hits in,” Katarina patted her reassuringly on the shoulder as she started to lead her out of the room.

Come to think of it, it would probably be best to sneak her out of the building via the maids’ tunnels since the Truth Serum was clearly still in effect.

Katarina could practically see steam rising from the bespectacled Marquis’ daughter as she glanced over to where Lena was slumped in her chair, face still burning as red as her maid’s hair. A maid who, incidentally, was currently fanning her Lady to help cool her down. 

Katarina felt relieved this incident had worked out without any major damage to Malicia’s reputation or her person. Still… this could prove troublesome for a different reason. 

It seemed as if her charge was quickly losing her status as villainess of an otome game and gaining her place as the MC of a harem game. Katarina would have to keep a close eye on her to make sure she didn’t seduce too many others! After all, that could lead to even more doom flags!

“Wait,” a tug at Katarina’s sleeve interrupted her thoughts.

She turned around to face the hauntingly beautiful and still visibly flustered figure of Lena LaCroix.

“Take this,” the young woman held out a vial of silvery liquid, “It is the… antiserum for the truth potion your Lady has ingested. It should take effect fairly quickly. And... if your charge is interested in getting eyewear, we can... discuss such a thing at a later date."

Katarina looked into Lady Lena’s violet eyes, quickly recognizing she was being honest. Nodding, the maid thanked the Marquis’ daughter and accepted the vial. She took a step toward Malicia, only to be interrupted yet again.

“Just a moment,” another hand on Katarina’s arm stayed her hand before she could give her Lady the antiserum. 

This time, the hand belonged to the sandy haired maid who served as one of Lena’s aides.

Normally, Katarina wouldn’t let the maid who had just been so eager to undermine Malicia’s status anywhere near her charge, but something in Abigail’s eyes told the brunette this was something different. Even so, she took a steadying stance just between the other maid and Malicia as she allowed Abigail to speak.

“Do you… remember me?” Abigail asked Malicia hesitantly, as if she was afraid of the answer.

Malicia narrowed her eyes, inspecting her closely before answering, “Yes. You were my previous attendant. Abigail, I believe.”

The sandy blonde looked marginally surprised that Malicia had remembered her name at all. After a beat, she asked, “Why did you fire me?”

Malicia’s brow furrowed as she thought for a moment before answering, “You broke my mother’s favorite saucer. It was very… precious to me.”

Katarina bit her lip, watching as Abigail stared deeply at Malicia. It was clear the sandy blonde was going through a lot of emotions at the moment, but Katarina wasn’t quite sure how or if she could help at all.

And then, to Katarina’s surprise, Abigail asked, “Are you happy? With your new maid, I mean?”

Malicia stared back for a moment… and replied, “Yes. She is an excellent friend. I am very happy with her.”

Abigail held her gaze for a few seconds and then looked away, brushing some hair behind her ear, “... good. I’m glad to hear it. I only ever wished to serve you so that you would be happy, Lady Baudelaire.”

As the maid turned to leave, Malicia reached out, tugging on her hand. A complicated expression on her face, the heiress softly said, “I am sorry… that I fired you so impulsively.” 

Abigail turned back to face the blonde. The tiniest hint of a smile on her lips, she murmured, “Well… I suppose it all worked out for the best.”

Malicia stared back at her for several seconds before nodding politely, deciding to leave it at that for the time. She turned back towards the door and began leading Katarina quietly from the room.

As they descended the back stairs of the Crystal Palace, Katarina offered the vial of silver potion to her Lady, “Here, drink this.”

“What is it, Rina, my precious maid?” the blonde asked. 

Her usual disdainful voice had been replaced by a surprisingly gentle tone. It seemed the serum made honest about everything, even her own emotions.

“It’s the antidote for the Truth Serum you drank earlier,” Katarina explained.

“Truth Serum?” Malicia looked at her in surprise as she accepted the vial.

“Yeah?” the maid tilted her head, “You drank truth serum. Did you not realize you were just blurting out a bunch of outrageous things back there?”

“Ah,” the blonde reddened a bit, curling a strand of hair around her fingertip, “I thought that was just… the effect Lady LaCroix had on me.”

Katarina pursed her lips, choosing not to comment further on that for now. Tomorrow, though, once everything had worn off… this would make for some great teasing material.

A whole lot had just happened, and yet, her biggest takeaway from this evening was what Malicia had said about her right at the end.

‘She is an excellent friend’.

Katarina could barely hide her grin.

Notes:

Lena made the fatal mistake of taking the tsun out of a tsundere. Malicia's genuineness is not to be underestimated!

Last chapter, one of the maids called Katarina 'Lady Claes'; that was a typo on my part, and it has been fixed. The other maids don't know who Katarina really is, just to clarify.

This chapter was a fun one to write, I hope it turned out well! Malicia has once more added a +1 to her own harem! Lena has a rather complicated past, I hope it makes sense. She's kind of got a lot going on, so I hope it doesn't feel like too much for 1 character lol.

Also, I included Abigail's character because I wanted to touch on the fact that Malicia was, for most of her life, a pretty bratty noble girl who didn't respect the people around her at all. I just wanted to address the fact that she has maids and people from her past who are not that fond of her. Abigail was a nice girl who just wanted to make her boss happy, but Malicia fired her over something very minor from her perspective, so it hurt her a lot. Luckily, Malicia has softened up a lot by now, plus the truth serum helped her to open up more and help to start to mend things with Abigail.

Anyways, thank you for reading! Comments and constructive criticism are welcome as always!

Chapter 23: Maid for Disaster

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

Katarina sat at one of the many gold lined desks in an open area of Malicia’s house, tapping her pen anxiously against the page of her hastily constructed Doom Flag Avoidance Manual- Volume II. She once again reviewed her scribbled notes of the plot of Love’s Uprising, brows furrowing as she considered how the story was set to unfold from here on out.

There was something that had been on her mind as of late; something she wished wasn’t the truth. And yet, as each day passed by and each grain of sand slipped through the hourglass, the ex-duke’s daughter got the increasingly damning sensation that the climax of the game was ticking closer and closer….

Many things had changed from the game since she had arrived here, and she prayed her charge had managed to dodge a doom flag or two, but still…. There were certain events that Katarina was pretty sure she wouldn’t be able to avoid no matter what. From the moment she first arrived in this country, it seemed Ritallia was already on a path. 

And at the end of that path lay the fall of House Baudelaire.

Scribbling down a few more thoughts, the brunette worked once again to find some solution that could help her charge avoid a terrible fate.

Malicia made her way through the main corridor of her mansion in search of her maid, eager to set out on her quest for the day. It had been a couple of days since her fateful encounter with Lady LaCroix in the upper rooms of the Crystal Palace, and she had arranged to meet with the bespectacled young lady (and a certain other individual) again today in order to resolve a rather…ahem, private matter.

Rounding a corner into the main hallway, she caught sight of the target of her search, sitting contemplatively at a desk and writing something in a journal. 

“Maid!” the heiress called over to her, but the brunette stayed intently focused on her notes.

Malicia approached her quickly, impatiently moving to get her task for the day underway. As she got closer, however, she heard Rina muttering something softly as she wrote.

“I need to be careful now though,” the maid tapped her chin thoughtfully, staring down at the notebook in front of her deep in thought, “If the stage performers’ event already happened… that means the game is in its final arc. Soon, the King will fall ill, and that earthquake will destroy the food reserves… and then things could get really bad. I gotta make sure Malicia stays safe!”

The blonde felt a shock like ice in her chest as she listened in to the foreboding words her maid had just uttered. 

What the hell was that?! What on earth was that maid talking about?! It was clear she had just heard something she was not meant to hear. Malicia’s mind buzzed and her heart hammered as she tried to collect her thoughts.

Rina was mumbling about impossible to predict events in the near future. 

This wasn’t the first time either. Her maid often muttered strange things under her breath, only for whatever bizzare thing she said to invariably come true not too long after.

Truth be told, she really had no idea how exactly her maid knew the things she knew. It was, in fact, something she had been meaning to ask about for some time now….

“Ahem, Maid?” Malicia cleared her throat and approached the brunette again, finally shaking her from her stupor.

“Weeehhhhhh!!!” Rina jumped a foot in the air and cried out, startling Malicia. 

“Geh!” the blonde flinched back as her maid spun around, striking an awkward salute.

“Y-yes, Malicia?” Rina tried to close the journal on the table and shove it behind her with one hand.

Malicia’s eyes flicked briefly to the poorly concealed notebook, then back up to the shell shocked eyes of her maid.

“What… are you doing?” the blonde folded her arms, fixing Rina with her most scrutinizing stare.

“Ehhhh?!” the brunette gaped at her before eventually replying, “Oh! Um… Ehehe…. I was just, uh, writing a romance novel?”

Malicia arched a disbelieving brow. This imp was lying to her face… and she was terrible at it. 

Whatever the case may be, it seemed her maid had no intention of telling her the truth of her odd behavior just yet. 

And, honestly, that… hurt a bit. 

She had no idea how it happened, but somehow, that maid had wormed her way into Malicia’s heart. Rina was probably the person she was closest to nowadays, and learning that even her unnaturally free-spirited maid was keeping secrets from her… well, it stung more than the blonde would care to admit. Even so… she could tell Rina didn’t have any ill intent.

There was neither dishonesty nor cruelty to be found in her maid’s actions, so Malicia dismissed the possibility of Rina attempting to pull some sort of subversive trick.

That left her with two options. Either Rina was very unwell mentally, or… she had some ability to see the future.

Malicia frowned, not easily accepting the latter option. 

But still… The King falling ill? An earthquake? How in the world could a person predict such things?

No. Malicia shook her head. She didn’t know the full context of what her attendant was mumbling about and it wouldn’t do her any good to start jumping to conclusions baselessly. Not to mention, neither of the things Rina had just mentioned had occurred, so as far as she could discern, her maid was just muttering unintelligibly, par for the course.

(However, Malicia mused, if either of those things the maid had just mentioned did happen to occur in the near future… well, then that was a very different conversation she would need to have with her maid.)

She paused, deciding the best thing to do for the moment was to simply carry on as usual and keep her ears and eyes open for anything that could shed a bit more light on Rina’s behavior.

“Come along. We have an… appointment,” Malicia let out a breath, gesturing towards the main doorway of the manor. 

And, as Rina gathered her things to depart, the heiress took careful note of how she tucked the journal she had just been scribbling in into her back pocket….

Katarina set aside her thoughts about the upcoming events of Love’s Uprising for the moment and tried to focus on her tasks at hand for the day ahead. She really hoped Malicia hadn’t overheard anything she said about the game earlier; the last thing she needed right now was for Malicia to start delving into the world of doom flags now of all times! She was lucky she'd thought up such a great excuse about writing a romance novel though! It seemed like Malicia totally bought it too!

She took her seat beside her charge in the Baudelaire carriage, which slowly made its way through the rolling, snow-tufted hills outside Dumont. She felt her concerns fade a bit as she glanced over at Malicia, whose mind had clearly already shifted from their earlier encounter to the main focus of the day’s events.

“To think that Lady LaCroix went so far as to use Truth Serum on… me,” the heiress reddened, turning away slightly.

“I don’t think getting your drink spiked with strange chemicals is something to swoon over, my Lady,” Katarina tutted. As amusing as Malicia’s friend-crush on Lena was, the maid couldn’t help but worry about her charge’s poor taste in courtship practices.

“I-I’m not swooning!” the blonde swatted at her with her fan, “I just find it… rather fascinating that Lady LaCroix of all people thought it worth her time to take such a personal approach with me.”

Katarina smirked at Malicia’s flustered state, observing as she got redder with every word.

“Hm, hm,” the brunette nodded thoughtfully, “I suppose Prince Alexander will truly have some steep competition….”

“What in the world are you talking about, maid?” Malicia arched a brow, “What does Lady LaCroix have to do with Prince Alexander?”

Katarina pursed her lips. How in the world could someone be so oblivious to their own romantic entanglements?

She shook her head and leaned it against the carriage window… where she noticed a bartender outside his bar arguing with a man Katarina could only guess was some sort of police officer. The policeman pointed to some papers, and the downtrodden bartender shook his head. 

The policeman frowned and marched over to a little plaque on the front door of the bar and ripped it off. The bartender was clearly upset about it, but it didn’t seem as if there was anything he could do.

“Hmm… I wonder what’s going on there,” Katarina narrowed her eyes at the sight as the carriage slowly clicked down the cobblestone roads.

“Probably just a shop owner who couldn’t pay his bills,” Malicia waved her hand flippantly, not sparing the disagreement any thought, “It looks like the constable is revoking that establishment’s crest of authentication, meaning he will not be allowed to keep that shop open any longer.” 

Katarina’s eyes clouded as she recalled some of the general murmurs she heard among the common folk whenever she had ventured into town.

Due to the drought and increasing poverty in the country, people had less and less to spend on even the bare essentials… not to mention the fact that national alcohol production was in decline due to the recent shortages of crops. And, as she recalled from her hours studying with Malicia, import taxes had been steadily rising in recent years, meaning they hadn’t been importing as much alcohol lately; at least not the kind commoners could afford.

Katarina thought back to her notes about the final arc of Love’s Uprising … and, yeah. She definitely remembered the rising prices of alcohol as one of the things that sparked the outrage which eventually led to the revolution.

Her eyes lingered on the distant form of the shopkeeper as he trudged out to the alley beside his building.

Katarina felt a sinking feeling in her chest. 

The last sight she saw before the carriage rounded a corner was the bartender ripping the Ritallian flag off the wall of his establishment and tossing it in the trash can in the alley.

House LaCroix sat simply on a stretch of snow dusted land a few miles from the city of Dumont. Unlike the other noble houses, the property was not lined with an assortment of fancy trees and well trimmed bushes, nor was it located atop the jagged mountain with most of the other noble estates. 

It didn’t exactly seem like the type of place a noblewoman of Lady LaCroix’s status would live.

In fact, if Katarina didn’t know better, she wouldn’t think anyone lived here at all. It didn’t have most of the luxuries of even a very basic noble manor, instead looking almost abandoned. The maid tilted her head curiously at the rather barren estate as she followed her charge up to the front doors of the manor.

Malicia pulled her aside as they awaited the arrival of one of the house’s attendants after a polite knock upon the main door, “Maid. If you would, please be on your best behavior today.”

Katarina nodded tacitly, a slight twinkle of mischief in her eyes.

A moment later, the front door of the manor clicked open and Abigail welcomed them into the main room of the estate. At the far end stood the statuesque figure of Lena LaCroix.

“Hey, Lady Lena!” Katarina waved, gesturing to the heiress she was accompanying, “Malicia’s here to hang out and play!”

She watched with amusement as her charge’s face flickered a dozen shades of red, mouth gaping open indignantly.

Malicia awkwardly waved her hands around, stuttering out some semblance of a reply before regaining her composure. Folding her hands daintily, she cleared her throat, “Ahem. Pardon my maid, Lady LaCroix,” the blonde smacked her on the head, “As we previously arranged, I am here on behalf of your most generous offer for… the, ahem, appointment .”

Katarina snickered to herself as Malicia fumbled over her words, blushing slightly as she attempted to greet Lady Lena… and to finalize the details of an arrangement she and the bespectacled young lady had evidently set up in a series of letters exchanged over the past couple of days.

Yes, today Malicia was finally taking the plunge and getting glasses.

It had taken quite a bit of convincing on Katarina’s part, but she had finally talked the heiress into agreeing to what she had essentially already admitted she needed to do.

(After all, considering her Truth Serum induced outburst at the stage performers’ gala, even the blonde herself couldn’t deny anymore that she needed a fix for her vision!)

As she watched Malicia blushing slightly as she talked with Lady Lena and her optometrist, she noticed another glum figure watching the exchange sourly from the corner. Katarina was quickly reminded of her other task for the day. 

That’s right; her goal today wasn’t just to tease her charge about her admiration for Lady Lena or help her pick out a good pair of frames for her new glasses. There was something else on the docket today; something that, quite frankly, Katarina really should have remedied quite a while ago.

She marched over to the crimson haired maid she had first encountered a few nights ago with a look of determination in her eyes and quickly greeted her, “Miss Colette.”

“What do you want?” the other maid looked at Katarina the way one might look at a piece of trash in the gutter, “My Lady and her guest will be departing the main foyer shortly and I intend to accompany them….”

“Oh, don’t worry about them, I have a hunch they’ll be quite satisfied with each other’s company,” Katarina shrugged, glancing over to where Malicia and Lady Lena were still chatting. She turned her attention back to Colette, “Anyways, there’s something I want you to do for me.”

“For you? Why on earth should I?” the crimson haired woman scoffed, “I shall have you know, peasant, that I am a professional maid, and I do not intend on being bossed around by some foreigner with no sense of propriety.” 

Katarina pursed her lips. She’d been expecting a response along those lines.

“I shall have you know…” the brunette allowed her villainous eyes to glint ferociously in the low light of the hall, “...that being an accessory to unlawful administration of illegal drugs is punishable by up to 10 years in prison. And, as you so blatantly informed me at the gala a few nights ago, you aided and abetted your charge in the act of intentionally placing a foreign truth serum into the beverage of the daughter of an Archduke, with her personal attendant as witness.”

The crimson haired maid gaped back in horror as she took in the weight of Katarina’s words.

The brunette folded her arms, pleased that the knowledge she had gleaned from countless hours of helping Malicia study for her marriage interview had come in handy.

After a long minute, Colette deflated, “... just what is it you want from me?”

Katarina hesitated, glancing briefly over her shoulder to where Malicia was still talking with Lena. Turning back to Colette, she resolved herself.

“Could you…” Katarina took a breath, “...teach me how to be a better maid?”

Notes:

Sorry this took so long to update. Sometimes, I just write too much at once and get kind of burned out on writing for a while. I'm hoping to see this through to the end this time, though, so hopefully no more major breaks like this unless something comes up.

Anyways, here's a new chapter! Malicia's suspicions about Kat are higher than ever, and Kat is going to start her maid training arc lol. The story's going to start really picking up (by which I mean getting angsty and feels-heavy) in about T-minus 4 chapters!

I really enjoy exploring the other maids and their relationships with their Ladies; I just like writing situations where Katarina isn't immediately on perfect terms with everyone. It feels like more of a challenge for her to overcome than just having everyone be instantly charmed by her. There will be more of Colette and Abigail in the next chapter, as well as a bit of Lena and Malicia hanging out!

Thanks once again for reading, comments and constructive criticism are welcome as always!

Chapter 24: A Slight for Sore Eyes

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

As Katarina descended a hidden staircase in LaCroix Manor, she considered why she had asked such a favor of the maid who was leading her into the darkness.

She supposed that the vast majority of her duties as a maid weren’t really interesting enough to be a focus for scenes in an otome game. The game had mainly focused on Clara’s interactions with Malicia or any of the capture targets, so the bulk of the maid work had been skipped over.

However, reality wasn’t quite so easy to manage. Katarina couldn’t simply skip over her chores as a maid by jumping past a cutscene here or leaping to a dialogue choice there.

No, since the game was well and truly in its final arc, the brunette wanted to make sure she could be the very best maid she could be to try and reach as good of an end for her charge as possible.

She wasn’t sure if she could dodge Malicia’s doom flags (she couldn’t even dodge her own, after all!), but that didn’t mean she wouldn’t try!

Being a maid, Katarina had learned, was a lot more work than she had expected. It wasn’t terribly hard work, but she appreciated her former maid’s hard work a lot more now! 

On the subject of otome games, Katarina was a bit surprised that so little of Love’s Uprising had focused on the maid stuff at all. She was basically doing what Clara would have done in the game, and the actual maid chores took up a lot more time than what she spent interacting with Malicia or any of the other capture targets she’d briefly met.

Although, she realized, spending hours focusing on actual maid chores would have made for a fairly boring game.

After all, Anne didn’t have a sprite in Fortune Lover either, and Anne had wound up being one of the most important people in her life!

Speaking of Anne, Katarina was really eager to tell her own attendant just how much she had learned about maid life, the next time she-

There wasn’t going to be a next time.

No.

Katarina hesitated, missing a step, stumbling slightly as she tried to thoroughly shake that thought out of her mind.

She wasn’t going to think about that again. She needed to be the best maid she could be, and that meant letting go of her second previous life. Just like she’d let go of the first one.

Yep. All that stuff was totally and completely buried in her mind.

Thus, she forced down her thoughts of what had once been her home and followed the crimson haired maid into the darkness.

Malicia sat in a rather simple but comfortable armchair on the upper floor of LaCroix Manor, opposite a tall, thin man with a wispy mustache. Doctor Cartier was his name, and he was one of the foremost optometrists in the nobility, the same man who had prescribed Lady Lena’s glasses, in fact. He proffered a handheld contraption with a removable segment which could be fitted with interchangeable lenses. 

“Lady Baudelaire,” the doctor instructed, “I will now offer two lenses, which of these is clearer?”

The man inserted a pair of glass panels into the contraption, offering it to Malicia. She moved the device back and forth, looking through the left one, and then the right, cringing internally at the image of herself wearing some gaudy, inch-thick glass plates on her face. Just how bad was her vision, really?

“T-the right one,” the blonde replied hesitantly, face reddening, “Is all of this really necessary?”

“Hm, hm,” the doctor noted something on his notepad and prepared a pair of calipers to measure a piece of glass.

“Don’t worry, Lady Baudelaire,” the cool, crisp voice of Lena LaCroix came from somewhere behind her, “It isn’t painful. In fact, I have found wearing glasses helps relieve me of a headache more often than not.”

The blonde glanced up at the large mirror in front of her, meeting the bespectacled eyes of the other young woman in the reflection.

The sight of Lady LaCroix set her heart at ease… sort of. She felt an odd fluttering for some reason, but shook it off. Seeing the other woman reminded her just how beautiful glasses could be, but Malicia still doubted she could wear them as well as the gorgeous noirette. 

“Lady LaCroix?”

“Yes, Lady Baudelaire?”

“Wh-when did you first get yours?” Malicia fidgeted uncertainly as the doctor prepared another set of lenses, “Ahem, glasses, I mean.”

“Hm,” Lady Lena looked contemplative, then stated, “Six years, two months, eight days ago.”

The blonde tilted her head, confused at how she had arrived at that number so precisely.

Lady Lena apparently took note of her quizzical look, as her face grew a bit red, “D-did I say something odd?”

“I’m just a bit surprised you… remember it that accurately,” Malicia admitted.

“Ahem. It is only logical to… keep in mind certain important dates,” the raven haired young woman adjusted her glasses awkwardly.

“Hm,” Malicia pursed her lips, not entirely sure what had happened 6 years, 2 months and 8 days ago to make it important, but she opted not to pry.

As Malicia glanced around the room, she was once again made aware of the disparity between Lady Lena’s estate and her own. Perhaps the way the room was reflected by the large mirror in front of her exaggerated the effect, but wasn’t this house a bit… barren?

Downstairs, in an ill-lit maids’ corridor, a similar question had just been asked and answered.

“...so, Lady Lena sold all her stuff to help pay off her family debts?” Katarina asked, glancing out the hidden vantage points in the secret corridors, over the barren walls and furniture-free living spaces of LaCroix Manor. It stood in sharp contrast to the overly crowded halls of House Baudelaire.

“Yes, it is something you would likely not understand, given how spoiled you appear to be,” Colette shot her an irritated glance as she explained, “My Lady has no need of such a self-indulgent collection of furniture and portraits. It is only logical to keep one’s possessions to a bare minimum of what one can afford to maintain. It is the same reason she rarely attends public events unless absolutely necessary.”

She never goes out, huh? Katarina recalled that Malicia had said something similar, “Hmm, so she’s a shut-in?”

“She is not a ‘shut-in’!” the crimson-haired maid sent her a warning glare, then quickly regained her composure, “Ahem. My Lady simply realizes the lack of importance in such irrelevant… social…. Ugh, why am I even explaining this to you?”

Katarina opened her mouth to reply but stopped short. Colette was clearly very unhappy with their current arrangement, and it made the brunette feel a tad guilty (even if she still held a slight grudge against the other maid for her attempted schemes against Malicia). 

Actually, now that she thought about it, neither of her past encounters with the redhead had been particularly pleasant. She suddenly thought back to the first event where she had crossed paths with Lady Lena’s maid, and was reminded of a question which had lingered in her mind for some time.

“Can I ask something?” Katarina spoke up as Colette led her towards the empty dining hall which would serve as her training grounds for the day, “The first time I saw you… you were trying to frame Cerise for stealing that necklace. Why did you do that?”

“If I tell you, will you try to use that information to extort some other impossible favors out of me?” Colette asked her crossly.

“That depends, will you try to scheme against Malicia again?” Katarina folded her arms pointedly.

“No, I will not,” Colette met her eyes, before chastising, “And lesson one: Maids do not address their charges by first name unless specifically instructed! You should refer to her only as Lady Baudelaire!”

Katarina pursed her lips. Malicia said the same thing all the time, but it just felt a bit weird calling someone she was so close to in such a formal way. Even Anne called her ‘Lady Katarina’, not ‘Lady Claes’!

Anyways, that was neither here nor there! The brunette returned to the previous conversation abruptly, “So… why try and plant evidence on Cerise?” 

“If you must know…” the other maid sighed, “Lady Canion had been one of the major players in a series of veritably false rumors about my Lady. She insinuated that my Lady had been selling her possessions in order to finance illicit… private meetings with certain gentlemen in the nobility.”

“Hm,” Katarina frowned. She could see Lucille spreading some kind of mean rumor like that, but why go after her maid? She tilted her head, “What does that have to do with Cerise?”

“Hm? You didn’t notice?” Colette asked as if she had missed something obvious.

“Notice what?”

“Lady Canion’s maid has a similar shade of eyes as her charge. Not to say anything of their distinctly familiar hair color.”

“S-so… what does that mean?” Katarina was starting to put the pieces together, but she didn’t quite like the picture it painted.

“Lord Canion had an affair with one of his parlourmaids, which were naturally all swept under the rug, with a certain exception,” the crimson haired maid elaborated, “Lady Lucille’s maid is her half-sister, the illegitimate daughter of Marquis Canion. If the maid in question were to be caught doing something untoward, such as stealing something at an auction, the head of the house would no doubt fire her… unless of course, the maid was secretly his daughter.”

Katarina’s mind reeled as she took in everything Colette had just explained to her. Her whole purpose there was a lot more elaborate than she had originally suspected.

“You were… trying to get the Canions to…?”

“Expose their own hypocrisy?” Colette finished for her, “Yes, something like that.”

As Katarina scrutinized the other maid in the chilly blue light of the empty dining hall, one thing became clear to her. 

Colette… really cared about Lady Lena. 

She was willing to put herself on the line multiple times just to undermine people who might potentially bring harm to House LaCroix, and by extension, her charge. It was a bit sweet, albeit in a rather twisted way.

Even so… she couldn’t really overlook the underhanded methods the red haired woman was willing to use to ‘protect’ her Lady.

“But what if you had been wrong?” Katarina asked skeptically, “And Cerise had gone to jail or something?”

“Why would you care?” the red haired woman responded, clearly not concerned with any potential ramifications of her subterfuge, and quickly deflected, “And why did you ask me to teach you how to do ‘maid things’, as you say, and then sit around making idle chit-chat instead of actually learning anything?”

Katarina stiffened as she remembered just why she had prompted this detour in the first place.

“Your first lesson: Since you seem to have a very misinformed view of what a maid is, allow me to inform you…” the redhead began with a sharp point of her finger, “You are not just some dull servant who exists to do labor. Anyone could do that. No, you are a maid. And, as a maid, you are effectively a representative of your House. The responsibilities of House Baudelaire rest upon you just as much as they rest on your charge!” she explained, voice filled with fire. 

It was clear the woman was truly committed to the way of the maid. Her passion quickly snapped Katarina out of her musings and into student-maid mode.

“R-right!” she saluted her sensei, but added under her breath, “But you should be a little nicer! A good maid is nice, like Anne.”

“‘Nicer’?” the older woman arched an eyebrow.

Katarina gulped. It seemed she’d said that bit a little too loud.

“You asked me to teach you to be a better maid,” Colette scoffed, “You never specified that you wanted me to coddle you like an infant while doing so.”

Hmph . Katarina folded her arms. So that’s how it was, eh?

“Okay, I get it. I didn’t ask to be coddled,” she held up her hands. If she was going to be trained as a maid, she needed to really get down to it! Meeting Colette’s eyes, the brunette declared, “Hit me with your best shot!”

“Very well then,” the other maid gave her an appraising look, and then gestured to the silverware staked on the cart at the end of the dining table, “Set the table immediately.”

“Hm,” Katarina regarded the utensils before herself and began to arrange them as best she could remember. Back in Sorcier, her mother always said she didn’t mind her manners, and that was coming back to bite her now. She wished she had paid more attention to how the tables were set back before she was exiled!

After a few minutes of clumsily working her way around the dining area, Katarina nodded, confident she had set the table to the best of her abilities. She hadn’t broken anything this time, so she considered that a markedly improved version of her first attempt at table setting! She turned to her fellow maid… and received a decidedly less than approving look.

“What in the stars was that?” the redhead glowered, “An actual dog could set a table faster and more accurately than you!” she marched over to the table and began running down the list of mistakes, “First of all, you seem to have set the cutlery in Sorcierran style, rather than Ritallian, and you didn’t even get that correct! The forks go on the left in descending order of length and the knife is to rest at the top of the main dish! None of that is to say anything of your absurdly slow time in preparing the area!”

Katarina made careful mental notes of all the corrections Colette offered, making as much of an effort as she could to improve for Malicia’s sake. The crimson haired woman slid around the table, silently collecting the plates and cutlery and returning them to the cart at the table’s end.

“This… is how you set a table,” Colette announced, reaching towards the silverware….

And, just like that, the table was perfectly set.

Katarina blinked. What had even just happened? Did she blank out and have an Inner Council meeting while Colette set the table? 

No… that wasn’t it. It was simply that the other maid had moved imperceptibly fast just then, placing all the plates and cutlery in their proper spots in the blink of an eye, spinning plates and knives into perfect position across the table like a shinobi with throwing stars.

“Ooooooo…” the brunette marveled at the other maid’s speed.

“Stop gaping!” Colette chastised quietly, “A maid never makes unnecessary noise.”

“Like a ninja?” Katarina tapped her chin.

Colette emitted an irritated sigh. 

Upstairs, Malicia had forgotten about the rather empty state of the manor, distracted by many, many more lens tests. She hoped she was nearly done with them. The doctor was jotting something down in his notebook as she glanced out the window. Her distant vision was fine, it was merely close-up sight that eluded her. And, from here, she could see the landscape of the surrounding area had changed slightly from what she remembered.

“So… have you decided to refurbish that hillside, Lady LaCroix?” the heiress gestured to the far hill opposite the main manor, “I notice the line of oak trees that once stood there are gone now.”

“Ah yes, that… happened only earlier this year, I’m afraid. Whatever drought or blight it is that has affected the crops in this country caused the trees to take ill as well. I had to cut them down, as they were rotting from the inside,” the raven haired woman explained, and then regarded Malicia curiously, “I’m surprised you are familiar with this area, Lady Baudelaire.”

“Yes, well,” the blonde shrugged as she recalled her last visit out this way, some years ago, “I used to come over to this area rather frequently.”

Lady Lena smirked, a playful glint in her eye, “Don’t tell me you’ve come out here to keep an eye on me.”

Malicia felt her heart flip flop.

Why the hell had she allowed her maid to talk her into this?! Being this close to the most beautiful noblewoman in the country wasn’t good for her heart!

“Ahem,” she cleared her throat, hoping her face wasn’t overly red, “I will… permit you to call me Malicia. If you want to, that is.”

Lady Lena’s violet eyes widened slightly behind her glasses. After a moment, she smiled gently, “Very well then, Lady Malicia. And I insist you call me Lena.”

The blonde gulped. That may have been a mistake.

A shattering noise echoed through the otherwise empty dining hall of LaCroix Manor.

“Stop!” Colette commanded.

Katarina froze, lowering her arm from her stance in yet another attempt to throw a plate like a throwing star. Sure, she might have broken a couple, but she was certain she had the throwing technique right this time! Who knew throwing plates was so different from throwing snakes?

“Ehehe,” the brunette rubbed the back of her neck, “Sorry… I might have overdone it a bit….”

“Ugh…” the red haired woman groaned, procuring a broom and dustpan, “Sweep this mess up,” Colette ordered as she thrust the broom and dustpan into Katarina’s hands, “And then, let’s try something else.”

In the main hall above, Lena turned her head away as the blonde tried out yet another pair of glasses frames. The doctor had finished taking Lady Baudelaire’s prescription for the lenses, and she just needed to select a pair of frames for the lenses to be fitted for.

She ignored the floaty feeling in her chest she felt every time she looked at the beautiful blonde.

Ever since that night a few days ago, Lady Baudelaire was the only thing Lena could think about. She had no idea why; it wasn’t as if that was the first time someone had complimented her, but… hm.

Was it the Truth Serum? Something about the genuineness with which the blonde had spoken that night? Or was it simply the words she had said? 

Whatever the case may be, her opinion on Malicia Baudelaire had experienced a significant paradigm shift in the last 48 hours. There was significant… relief in knowing that there was at least one member of her own generation of the nobility who didn’t loathe her, and more surprisingly, actually admired her. And, more than that… there was some indefinable quality about Lady Baudelaire that made her just so fun to tease.

“Perhaps these,” the noirette offered a pair of glasses frames similar to her own, a slight smirk on her lips, “Then we could match.”

Lady Baudelaire’s face went red. Lena did her best to pretend her own face hadn’t done something similar.

“A-ah, well…” the blonde averted her eyes, glancing to the set of frames she was currently holding, “I was actually leaning towards these….”

“Hm?” Lena quirked her lips to one side as she saw the pair of glasses the blonde had selected. Wasn’t the color of those frames rather similar to…?

“What do you think?” the blonde looked at her uncertainly.

Lena couldn’t help but smile at the sight as she replied honestly, “They suit you perfectly, Lady Malicia.”

Unbeknownst to the pair of ladies in the main parlor, their maids were watching on the exchange through a hidden looking glass in the wall.

“As you can see, the maids’ corridors provide a private pathway for attendants to reach their charges without drawing attention,” Colette explained quietly.

Katarina nodded from beside her, watching in amusement as Malicia tried another goofy looking set of glasses frames. They were far too narrow for her eyes and made it look like she had gone cross eyed.

She had known about maids’ passages for a while now, and frequently used them to quickly move about Malicia’s house, but it was the first time she was secretly watching on to her charge’s behavior from the vantage point such a corridor provided.

Although, she supposed it did explain how Anne was always able to know when she needed something and be by her side in a heartbeat when she did.

“Ahem,” the crimson haired maid cleared her throat, “This is your next lesson. Always be vigilant to your charge’s needs. When you are not currently attending to one of her tasks, you should always be waiting in the wings, ready to help at a moments’ notice.”

“Hmmm… So, you’re always watching Lady Lena through a hole in the wall?” Katarina gave her fellow maid an amused look, “Suspiiicious~” 

“It’s not suspicious!” Colette chastised quietly, “It is… logical to be attentive and available for any needs that may arise!”

“Maid! Where are you?” Malicia called out from the other room, voice slightly muffled through the thick wall.

“I guess that’s my cue,” Katarina moved towards the exit from the secret passageway that led into the main hall. As she did, a thought crossed her mind, “So um… how did I do? Am I… a good maid?”

“I… do not know what you wished for me to teach you. You are utterly hopeless at having the manners of a maid,” Colette sighed, rounding the corner leading to the common area. Before stepping through the stone doorway, Katarina heard her mutter, “... but you have what matters most.”

The brunette tilted her head. What did she mean by that?

Malicia hesitated… and then committed. 

“I shall… select these. As my gl-glasses frames, Doctor,” she held out the pair she had decided on a moment ago.

“Yes, My Lady. It shall be just a few minutes,” he nodded curtly, and began implanting the lenses that had just been prepared into the selected frames.

From behind him, a familiar bob of brunette hair appeared. The blonde’s eyes met Rina’s as she and Lady Lena’s attendant entered the room quietly. Malicia was grateful for her attendant’s presence, though she would never admit it… although she arched an eyebrow at the suspiciously polite way her maid was carrying herself.

“Lady Baudelaire,” the doctor spoke up, interrupting her thoughts, “Your new glasses are ready. Allow me to know how well they work and what you think of the frames. I can make any corrections immediately if need be.”

The man offered her a small, open box, containing the newly minted pair of glasses.

Malicia nodded stiffly at the sight.

This moment… trying on glasses… it had plagued her mind for so long, despite knowing it needed to be done.

She didn’t know what it was about wearing glasses that unnerved her so deeply. She knew they weren’t painful, but… she couldn’t shake the feeling she was giving up some of her pride as a Baudelaire to wear such things. 

A glance at the bespectacled face of Lady Lena and the sharp but kind eyes of her maid help set her at ease.

Even so… what would her father think if he saw?

She shook her head and turned to face her maid. 

“Come with me,” the blonde declared, gesturing towards a private room where she could try on the glasses with Rina.

“Yes, My Lady,” the maid nodded politely.

Malicia felt another inkling of suspicion about her maid’s odd behavior (well, odder than usual), but shook it off and led her to the dressing room.

As soon as she was alone with her maid, she gingerly picked up the eyewear from their containment box and studied them as best she could. Part of her waited for some remark from her maid, but the brunette stayed oddly quiet.

No, now was no time for such thoughts. She took a deep breath, lifted the glasses to her face, and….

“Pfft,” a small giggle escaped Katarina’s lips as she took in the sight of Malicia in glasses.

Immediately, she realized her mistake.

“I’m not wearing them!” the blonde huffed, ripping the spectacles off her face and nearly throwing them away as she began to storm out of the dressing room.

“Yes-you-are!” the brunette awkwardly tried to wrestle the newly minted pair of glasses back onto her charge’s face. After a moment, the heiress seemed to realize she was fighting a losing battle and relented.

Malicia straightened up, attempting to play it cool as she looked in the mirror at her new eyewear.

Katarina took the moment to get another look at the blonde.

They didn’t look bad. At all. In fact, they made Malicia look a lot more beautiful, if Katarina was being honest. However… her charge usually squinted at everything, carving her eyes into a nearly permanent glare. Unlike Katarina herself, who had naturally sharp eyes, Malicia’s glare was the product of years of poor vision.

The glasses, it seemed, remedied that. Rather than slicing the air in front of her with icy daggers, her eyes were now wide open. The eyes which had once been glinting sickles of wickedness were gone, replaced by the wide, innocent eyes of a child who had just opened them for the first time.

“I’m sorry, Mal- ahem, My Lady,” Katarina corrected herself, “You just… look a lot softer.”

“I am the heir of House Baudelaire,” the blonde sighed, “I’m not supposed to look ‘softer’ . And you should not laugh at the heiress of a family as prestigious as mine.”

As she looked on, Katarina noticed there was something else off about the glasses. To her surprise, rounded rectangular frames didn’t fit her charge’s usual ‘gold-everything’ aesthetic, instead cast in a simple chestnut brown color. It actually suited Malicia rather well, but clearly she would need to do a bit of convincing.

“I’m sorry. You’re right, I shouldn’t have laughed,” Katarina apologized genuinely, “They… look really good, My Lady.”

Malicia eyed her dubiously, a look which was exaggerated by the glasses, which slightly magnified her eyes.

“Actually… hm,” seeing the blonde with such wide, soft eyes gave Katarina an idea. She reached out and took a handful of curly blonde hair in each hand, and plucked from her pocket a pair of ribbons.

“Wh-what are you doing?” Malicia flinched back, sounding flustered.

“Hm, hm,” Katarina didn’t answer, instead concentrating on the task at hand, until, “There we go! A twintailed Malicia, ready to go!”

The maid put her hands on her hips, grinning with satisfaction with her handiwork. Malicia’s ojou-drills had been done up in a nice pair of twintails to accentuate her new, cute look!

The blonde looked herself over in the mirror for a long moment. It didn’t seem like she hated it, but Katarina could tell she was hesitant.

After a long while, she muttered, “...this is not the hairstyle of a noblewoman.”

“Well… now it is!” Katarina patted her reassuringly on the shoulder.

“Mmm,” Malicia continued looking at herself in the mirror, unsure how to feel.

Honestly, she didn’t hate her new look as much as she had expected to, but such a blatant change in her style was sure to spark rumors. Especially since it was decidedly a change of pace from the look of any princess or princess consort in recent memory, and it was common knowledge she had just undertaken a marriage interview with Prince Alexander. Surely Lucille or some other gossip would go around saying her change in style was proof she had given up on seeking the engagement, which was the absolute last thing she needed right now.

But her maid was right, the glasses did help. In fact, she was rather shocked by just how vivid everything around her looked now. 

Perhaps she could just wear them in private. Yes, maybe that could work.

Malicia stepped out from the dressing room, trying to regain her usual noble stride and demeanor as she made her way out to see Lady Lena.

Unfortunately, as soon as she made eye contact with the other woman, Malicia realized the noirette’s face had gone red and she had averted her eyes. In fact, she had gone completely silent.

Malicia suddenly grew very self-conscious. Did the glasses really look so… unflattering?

She was about to make a beeline back to the dressing room when Lady Lena finally spoke up.

“My, my,” the black haired woman’s eyes glinted, “...how cute.”

 

Glasses Malicia by Daawnily

 

Malicia lay face down on the carriage cushion as Katarina did her best to console her.

“Come oooon, Ma- My Lady!” Katarina chided her, “They really do look good on you! And there’s nothing wrong with being cute!”

The blonde stiffened at that word, finally sitting up properly in her seat. It seemed Lady Lena’s teasing had really gotten under her skin.

They had just left the LaCroix estate, carriage rolling ambiently through the snowy hills. The coachman, Matis, was a very skilled driver, and made sure to guide the carriage so it wouldn’t slip on the ice. Malicia had begrudgingly accepted the glasses and thanked the doctor, barely able to meet Lady Lena’s eyes the rest of the encounter.

Malicia leaned against the window with a huff, the sudden breath fogging up her lenses for a moment. Katarina stifled a giggle.

It was nearly twilight by the time they left the LaCroix estate, a silvery crescent moon painting the wintry landscape an icy blue. As the carriage rolled along the seaside, Katarina couldn’t help but notice a glint of something behind Malicia’s glasses. Her charge was staring wistfully out the window… towards a particular house down by the seaside. 

“Eh?” Katarina blinked. The look in Malicia’s eyes seemed very… emotional, “Um, My Lady? Do you… know that house?”

Malicia didn’t reply, eyes still fixated on the small, empty looking home by the coast. Katarina frowned and turned towards the coachman leading the carriage, “Ahem, Matis?”

“Yes, Miss Rina?”

“Can you… take us there?” she pointed to the house, “Just for a moment.”

“Does Lady Baudelaire wish to visit this evening?” Matis asked, a familiar, distant look in his eyes.

“It seems like it,” Katarina replied, to which the coachman nodded.

She was curious, though, as to what this place was, or why Matis knew it. She did have a hunch, but stayed quiet for the moment. She moved back to her seat in the carriage as it began to turn.

“Maid? What… where are we going?” Malicia quickly realized the carriage had veered off course.

“You looked like you wanted to go there, so I asked Matis to drive us over real quick,” the brunette replied quickly.

“Th-that’s not… ugh,” the blonde glared at her through the glasses… or tried to. Her infamous glare didn’t have quite the same ferocity it usually did. The heiress lifted the glasses and rubbed her eyes, “Why are you so…?”

“So…?” Katarina tilted her head when the blonde didn’t finish her sentence.

“Never mind,” Malicia sighed, returning her focus to the quiet house before them. 

The last rays of sunset finally crept over the horizon, blanketing the landscape in darkness as the carriage pulled to a stop in front of the odd little house by the seaside. 

Without a word, Malicia stepped down from the carriage and promptly marched up to the building before them.

And that was how Katarina Claes found herself in the starlit entrance hall of an empty house late one winter night.

Notes:

"My Recently Blackmailed Maid is Suspicious"

For anyone who is familiar with the Fate series, Colette is loosely inspired by Illya's maid, Sella. She's not totally a bad person, but she's fiercely loyal to Lena, and actively schemes against anyone who might possibly bring any detriment or shame upon House LaCroix. She could tell Katarina had a similar devotion to Malicia, which is what she meant by 'she has what matters most'.

I'm sorry if this chapter was a bit on the boring side, it wound up a lot longer (and took a lot longer to write) than I'd anticipated. This and the next chapter were meant to be 1, but this was way too long already, so I split it.

The action will pick up in the near future though!

Malicia has finally gotten her glasses and things are going to start moving to a conclusion soon! I just wanted to have a chapter here for Malicia and Lena to have a little more time together, and for Kat to attempt to stumble her way through maid training a little bit. RIP Malicia, she took a direct hit in the form of an 'o kawaii koto'.

Edit 29 Dec 2024, Excellent new Malicia with glasses art by Daawnily!

Anyways, thank you for reading! I hope the next update will be faster than this one! Comments and constructive criticism are welcome as always!

Chapter 25: The House by the Sea

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

The air of the entrance hall was cold and quiet, but not unwelcoming.

Katarina could feel a hint of comfort in the house, even though she had never been there before, and ultimately didn’t even know who had once lived here. It was definitely a noble’s estate, but it was clear that their rank had been lower, probably a small baron’s home or something similar. It wasn’t very well furnished, and was located a good distance from the main noble district where Malicia and all of the other big families lived.

It was also quite apparent that the house had been uninhabited for quite some time. 

On the wall hung a portrait of a young woman with curled blonde hair and a bright smile. She sat with her hands folded in her lap on what appeared to be the small green sofa on the far side of the room. 

Katarina tilted her head, wondering why her charge had a portrait in this old home… and then she noticed that the woman in the painting looked slightly older than Malicia. Not to mention, given the state of the house, this picture had probably been here for years, maybe even before Malicia was born. And, as she looked closer, she could see that the girl in this painting had soft blue eyes, rather than the golden irises her charge was so proud of.

No, this wasn’t a picture of Malicia at all. 

This house was….

She turned to find Malicia standing by the trio of large windows in the center of the main room. The blonde was gazing distantly out over the seas, a hand resting absently on the wooden chair that sat nearby.

Katarina made her way over to where she stood, wordlessly taking her place by her side. 

Although the heiress’ face was neutral, she could feel Malicia’s emotions pouring out of her. This house was a very important place for her, wasn’t it?

Ever so gently, the brunette reached out and took Malicia’s hand in her own.

She felt a wave of emotion overcome her as she watched the look on the blonde’s face flicker between nostalgia and regret as she looked out over the sea….

The sweet summer air drifted through one of the open windows of the Beaumont family home, mingling with the brine of the sea just below.

A six year old Malicia Baudelaire, or Mali as she had been called at the time, hopped down from the Baudelaire carriage and ran excitedly up the main pathway to what had quickly become her favorite weekend getaway- her mother’s family home!

“Now, now, young lady! Don’t rush,” Lawrence chided her, stepping down from the carriage behind her with a smile, “You wouldn’t want to trip and get that new dress dirty, would you?”

“R-right!” Mali quickly corrected her demeanor, trying to act more like a proper noble girl as she opened the front door.

This little house was her Mama’s family home, and truth be told, Mali enjoyed spending time here a lot more than the main Baudelaire estate. It was right near the seaside, close enough to the docks that she could see the ships come into port, and had a vast open field for a backyard leading right up to the beautiful oak-lined borders of the DeLeon estate! Unfortunately, between her various duties as the heiress of the house and all the social gatherings she had to attend, Mali and her mother could really only visit this place on weekends.

Mali stepped inside eagerly, ready to meet her mother, Aurelie Baudelaire. She could hear voices from the study just off the main room; her mother was apparently in a meeting with someone. Mama said she had a bit of work to do in the morning, but it was past two, so the tiny blonde had hoped she would be free by now.

“...and have the spices routed to Quid via the southern port, Lady Baudelaire,” the other person was explaining something when Mali peeked through the doorway. It was someone who Mali recognized as one of the Baudelaire family associates, but she couldn’t remember his name. All the people she had to meet and talk to at events got so confusing for her.

“Yes, that sounds amenable,” Mama’s voice spoke professionally. Mali hoped she could sound as eloquent as Mama someday. Her mother continued, “You’re rather talented at this sort of thing, Lord Riviere. Perhaps you would be a good fit for the Minister of Finance.”

“Oh, I hardly think I’m cut out for such things,” the older man sighed, “Duke DeLeon was seeking out that position, in any case. I’d hardly want to compete against him.”

“Oh, nonsense! You have a knack for it!” Mama replied cheerily, “And Louis has always been a  good sport, he wouldn’t hold it against you if you won!”

“Well, I… Ah, it seems we have a guest!” Lord Riviere turned suddenly, gesturing towards the door, where Mali was peeking in.

“Oh!” Mama remarked, taking note of the small Mali in the doorway, “I hadn’t realized how late it was already! Pardon me, Lord Riviere, but…”

“Oh, not to worry,” the older man replied, standing and gathering some documents he had been writing on, “I was just leaving. The best of days to you, Lady Baudelaire, and Lady Malicia.”

With a tip of his hat, he was on his way and Lawrence was waiting out by the carriage, which left Mali and her Mama in the study alone. 

“Mama? Are you…?” Mali started hesitantly.

“Free to talk? For you? Always,” Mama smiled warmly back at her.

Mali grinned widely. She loved these weekends where she could just have some time with her family, away from the boring parties and complicated social affairs.

“What were you guys talking about?” the tiny Malicia asked her mother, young eyes filled with curiosity.

“Oh, just taxation, and trade routes and…” her mother trailed off, eyes drifting shut, “Oh, my dear send for help. I think I’ve died of boredom.”

Mali giggled at her mother’s antics, and after a second, her mother joined in her laughter. After a moment, a question occurred to the young girl.

“Papa does all his work at our house, so why do you work all the way over here, Mama?” Mali asked curiously.

“Well… I suppose it helps me think a bit more clearly. It’s the house I grew up in, and I find it easier to get things done in a place like this,” Mama explained, “I love our house, Mali, but it sometimes feels a bit too much.”

“Mm, mm,” Mali nodded knowingly.

Mama giggled at her response for some reason.

“There’s too much stuff at home,” Mali stepped back, spinning around in the open area of the main room, “This place is nice because it’s totally empty!”

“Hey!” Mama tossed a handkerchief at her playfully, “This is my home you know? I moved most of the important stuff into our house, so it might be a bit… sparse here now, but it’s full of heart!”

“Yeah!” Mali nodded eagerly.

“You really like coming here, hm?” Mama took her seat in the little wooden chair facing the sea.

“Yeah! This house is so nice!” Mali grinned, “You can see the ocean!”

“Our main house overlooks the entire coastline, you know?” Mama reminded her.

“Yeah, but it’s so high up!” Mali sighed, running up to the big window in the middle of the room, “This house is right near the water, so it feels like being on a ship!”

“You like ships, Mali?” Mama gave her a funny look.

“Yeah! Papa took me to the docks the other day to see the galleons! There were ones from Xiarmah and Etran and Saucier!” the tiny blonde rattled off the things she’d overheard in the port earlier that week.

“It’s ‘Sorcier’, dear,” Mama corrected her politely.

“I wanna sail around the whole world someday!” Mali declared, holding her hands up high.

Aurelie Baudelaire smiled lovingly at her daughter, “Take me with you when you do. I’d love to sail it with you, Mali.”

The young girl grinned widely back at her, brimming with hope.

A knock came from the door, and Mali’s eyes lit up with excitement. She turned and raced to the front entrance, where she would find that familiar head of auburn hair eagerly awaiting her.

Behind her, her mother rose from the seat, “Oh, that must be…”

“She used to sit here and watch the ships with me,” Malicia didn’t realize she was speaking out loud until the words escaped her lips. She spoke softly into the darkness, resting her hand on the armrest of the chair as she watched the ocean out the window. Tonight, the air was cold and silent, a far cry from the comfortable summer days she had spent here as a child.

Rina didn’t reply, quietly taking it in. The heiress felt the comforting touch of the maid’s hand against her own.

She turned her gaze towards the portrait on the wall.

Her eyes grew damp behind her new glasses at the image before her. It had been so long since she’d last seen her mother so clearly.

This estate, her mother’s family home which she had visited in the carefree days of her childhood, was all but abandoned now. She paid a handful of servants to dust the place thrice monthly and keep it in working order, but she rarely had the time to visit.

No, that might not quite be true. She could certainly make the time, but… it wasn’t something she could bring herself to do alone.

Her father was constantly unavailable and she knew better than to let any of her acquaintances from the rings of high society see such a weakness of hers. Yet somehow… this maid was here beside her right now. And that somehow made her feel… safe.

Maybe it was that strange, foreign feeling of comfort Rina offered that prompted her next words.

“... sometimes, I wish my house would just disappear,” Malicia muttered so softly, she was almost unsure whether she had spoken at all. Either her heart or her lips continued to whisper, “Maybe it could just fall into the sea and drift away. Just like the tide. Is it horrible of me to wish such things?”

“Why don’t you just move here?” Rina asked quietly. 

Hm. So she had been speaking aloud. And this ridiculous maid was actually entertaining her foolish thoughts?

“Hah?” the blonde dabbed at her eyes with her handkerchief, averting her gaze from the maid’s sharp but gentle eyes, “Do you really think it’s that easy?”

“I think it could be,” Rina answered simply.

Malicia stared back at the maid, feeling her lip tremble. She didn’t know if it would be best to wish something like that was possible, or to wish it wasn’t.

She turned away, “And what of my name? My family?”

Her maid couldn’t really have some easy solution for everything, could she? Malicia dared not even hope for it.

“This place could be the new Baudelaire house. You could sell the old one. Or your dad could live there, and you could live here. I don’t think it would be that weird,” the brunette shrugged as if it was the most normal thing in the world. Rina looked a bit uncomfortable, looking away for a moment as she continued, “The whole ‘noble lady lifestyle’ can be pretty stifling sometimes, I know. And I know it might be more complicated than just moving here…” she continued, meeting Malicia’s eyes with a surprising intensity, “But I think you deserve to live someplace where you’re happy!”

The heiress felt herself deflate. She had long prided herself on her steadfast convictions, but such things were difficult to maintain in the face of those far-too-caring eyes of her maid.

“You can always talk to me about this stuff,” Rina offered, walking up to her gently.

Katarina held her charge’s gaze.

Malicia stared back at her firmly. The blonde had the same hard look she usually did when she couldn't see something clearly, but now that she had glasses,  Katarina knew the look in her eyes wasn’t from inability to see. The maid wondered for a moment if she’d said something wrong, but then Malicia spoke.

“...the same goes for you,” the blonde said softly.

“Eh?” Katarina blinked, unsure what to make of that remark, “Wh-what do you mean?”

Malicia looked at her intently for a long while before turning her gaze back to the ocean, “You… are my maid. And, if you wish, you can tell me about whatever it is you’re always crying about.”

Katarina’s eyes widened, “Crying? I-I’m not–”

“On the inside you are,” Malicia cut her off, holding her hand firmly, “Ever since you got here, you’ve been crying.”

Katarina gulped. She wasn’t crying. 

She might have gotten a bit choked up thinking about everything Malicia had just said, but she certainly wasn’t upset about Japan or Acchan or her mother and father and brothers or Geordo and Alan andSophiandNicolandKeithandMaryandMariaandAnneandherparentsofthisworld or…..

She felt her knees grow weak as she thought about everyone she had lost. In this life and the last one.

No longer did she have a normal schedule of going to school in Japan, nor could she look forward to waking up and gardening in front of Claes manor until Prince Geordo or Nicol came over to visit.

No longer did she have her older brothers to tease her and steal her headphones, nor did she have her little brother to dote on at the Magic Academy.

No longer could she moan to Acchan about being unable to riddle out the black hearted prince’s route in Fortune Lover , nor could she try to struggle through the real route in her waking life in this new world.

All her friends, both her families… they were all gone now.

Yeah. She was crying.

And… darn it, she thought she’d been doing such a good job of not letting it get to her!

And yet, somehow Malicia had been seeing through her all this time?

Katarina choked back another sob. At some point, she had fallen to the floor, and Malicia had crouched down beside her, holding her close.

“I…. I lost everybody,” Katarina’s lip trembled. She lost them all. Twice.

Malicia didn’t speak, Katarina understood. It wasn’t like there was anything she could have said at that moment anyways.

“I lost them,” the brunette sobbed, hands resting on the floor, “I… deserved it.”

It was true. She was the villainess. She had gone and gotten herself killed back in Japan, stupidly throwing away her life there. So how could she ever think she deserved friends and a family as wonderful as the ones she had in Sorcier?

She didn’t know if the game had auto-corrected or what had happened to get her exiled, but she knew it was for the best. Her friends all deserved better than her. Her parents deserved a better daughter than her; one who wouldn’t go off and get killed or exiled and leave them behind. Or maybe she was the one who got left behind. She didn’t know.

She might have said that out loud or might have just thought it. Her mind was a blur at the moment. All those things she had fought for so long not to think about. All those things she had told herself were fine… all of the sudden, they weren’t fine, and they were pouring out of her.

“Shh,” Malicia hushed, cradling the back of her head.

“I-I’m sorry, my Lady,” the brunette sniffled, remembering who she was meant to be now, “I’m your maid, you’re not meant to be the one comforting me–”

“You are my maid… so if you need someone to lend you their ear, who else should it be but me?” Malicia murmured softly.

Katarina felt herself slump into the blonde’s arms, sobbing and crying and weeping for what felt like an eternity.

She wasn’t quite sure how long they stayed like that, but by the time she had wiped the tears from her eyes, it was well into the night.

“Hhaaahhh…” Katarina let out a long, weary sigh and shakily rose to her feet, “We should head back, huh?”

Malicia stared at her oddly, but nodded and stood to follow her. 

She wasn’t quite sure what, but as they made to leave, Katarina could have sworn she saw Malicia reach into a hall closet and pull something out.

Malicia sat in her study a few hours later. 

Their return from the Beaumont home was mostly in silence, but the blonde couldn’t help but feel she’d said more in the last few hours than she ever had before in her life.

It was past her usual bedtime, but something was weighing heavily on her mind. It had been nagging at her more and more over the last few weeks, but after the day’s events, she knew she wouldn’t sleep until she acted on it.

As she paced back and forth in the firelit office, the blonde recounted all her interactions with Rina since she hired her.

Embarrassing her in front of the prince, tripping and dropping things all over the floor, making her those gaudy pajamas, entertaining her childish notion of throwing away her title and moving to her mother’s old home….

Hmph. The blonde folded her arms with a huff in the empty room, casting her eyes to the desk at the far end. She walked over and reached into the top drawer. Inside was a document which had sat there waiting for several months now.

When Malicia had first hired Rina on, she had done so per her father’s decree that she needed to keep an attendant on for at least three months.

And now, those three months were up. This document was a release form, notifying a member of her staff of their termination. She was now free to fire Rina if she so chose. All it would take was a single signature….

Malicia tapped the paper with her index finger… and did something she should have done a long time ago.

Katarina was just about to fall asleep for the evening, feeling a bit exhausted from the whirlwind of emotions the past few hours had brought her, when a small bell on the wall of the maids’ quarters rang. The plate next to the bell indicated the call came from Malicia’s office. She couldn’t figure why the heiress would be in there at this time of night, but quickly gathered herself and hurried up the hidden passageway to the top floor.

A moment later, Katarina stepped into the study, unsure why she was being called here. The flickering light from the fireplace painted the room with dancing amber shadows. 

“Hello, my Lady,” the maid began carefully. She made sure not to call her ‘Malicia’, like Colette instructed.

“You have been acting unusual ever since we departed the LaCroix estate,” Malicia declared, once again seeing through her.

“Wh-what do you-?” Katarina tried to deflect.

“Hush. Why are you so… formal all of the sudden?” Malicia’s eyes were filled with scrutiny.

Katarina pursed her lips. She supposed there wasn’t any point in hiding it.

“I’m trying to improve,” she admitted, “I’m your maid now, so I want to be the best maid I can be, Lady Baudelaire.”

“Ahem. Rina,” Malicia stared at her with frightening intensity. The brunette wondered if she had done something wrong, as Malicia asked, “You do know who I am, do you not?”

“Yes. You’re Lady Malicia Baudelaire,” Katarina replied, confused where this was going.

“Let me be clear,” the blonde reached out and tilted Katarina’s chin up so she was looking directly into her eyes, “I would not allow someone to remain under my employ if their behavior was anything less than my standard of quality.”

Hm? So her behavior before hadn’t been a problem? Malicia had always complained about the way she talked, but she had never specifically called her out like this before. Then, that meant….

“I-is this your way of asking me not to change?” Katarina tried to puzzle together what her charge had just said.

The look in her charge’s eyes told her she’d hit the nail on the head.

“I want you… to make me a promise,” Malicia said, voice straining to be resolute. She pointed to the Baudelaire family emblem on the maid’s uniform Katarina wore, “Do you see this?”

“Y-yeah?” Katarina craned her neck for a better look at the emblem. Was Malicia about to tell her not to disrespect the Baudelaire family or something?

“So long as you bear the crest of this house, promise me you will treat yourself with the respect you deserve,” Malicia declared, a hint of finality in her voice, as if there was no room for debate.

“E-eh?”

“You said earlier that you deserved to lose your family,” Malicia said quietly, somberly, “I will not allow a maid of mine to have such a low opinion of themselves. It is… entirely unbecoming for a servant of this house to treat themselves so poorly. So… do not think so lowly of yourself, ma– Rina.”

“Y-yes, Lady Baudelaire,” Katarina answered breathlessly, finally getting the blonde’s honorific correct, “I promise.”

She answered quickly, thoughtlessly. She couldn’t go against a request like that. She had always, always prayed for someone to tell her something like that. As much as she hated herself for dying, for getting exiled, there was some part of her that truly, deeply wished she didn’t deserve it.

“Oh, hush. What is this ‘Lady Baudelaire’ nonsense?” the heiress scoffed, “It’s ‘Malicia’ to you.”

Katarina stood there frozen for a second… and then reacted instinctively. She reached out, pulling the blonde into a tight hug.

Somehow, the words Malicia had just spoken warmed her more than the fireplace beside her. A fireplace where, unbeknownst to her, a single piece of parchment was curling up, blackening into ash.

For the first time since she had washed into this country… she finally started to feel like she could call this place home.

It wasn’t her first home, and she wouldn’t soon forget either of her previous lives, but… this wasn’t the worst place to be either, was it?

Wordlessly, she pulled Malicia closer. Perhaps she was crying again. She wasn’t quite sure. But if she was, she wasn’t sad this time.

Malicia sighed as she embraced Rina. She smelled vaguely of fresh earth and clean linens, the blonde noted as she rested her head on the maid’s shoulder.

No, she couldn’t fire her.

And that wasn’t because she had grown attached to this particular maid or anything ridiculous like that, it was just a matter of logic.

It would be far more a hassle than it was worth to find a new maid at this point. Her father had decreed that she must keep the maid she hired for three months at least without firing them, so it was only reasonable a similar rule would be in place if she ever hired another one on, and that would just be a headache.

Yes. She felt herself relax as she thought about it. 

If she wasn’t careful, she might just wind up stuck with this idiot by her side for the rest of her life.

Notes:

When I first started outlining this story, I wanted to have a scene of Katarina and Malicia having a night out together where they got drunk and rambled about how annoying it was they had to deal with doom flags all the time. And, it seems that scene made its way into this story in a much less funny and more emotional way than I'd originally expected...

Malicia is still doing her darndest to be a tsundere, even if she's not fooling anyone lol.

A concept I had wanted to deal with in this story was the idea of each of the maids being a perfect fit for their respective charges. Cerise is smug and dismissive, just like Lucille, Colette is a yandere for Lena just like Lena is a yandere for Antoine (and now Malicia), and Katarina and Malicia have a lot in common, including their surprisingly high empathy and emotional intelligence. It's just kind of a running theme in this story, and I feel like this chapter finally gave me a chance to explore Malicia and Katarina's bond in the way I wanted to.

Anyways, Malicia and Katarina are finally totally opening up to each other. You know what that means (angst is rapidly approaching)!

Next chapter, we return to Sorcier for the final time, and the main harem make a shocking discovery or two!

Thank you for reading! Comments and constructive criticism are welcome as always!

Chapter 26: The Turn of the Tide

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

Prince Geordo frowned as the carriage rolled to a stop on the snow covered streets of Bresley. The gray clouds overhead churned ominously, their color a smoky blend of wintry snow clouds and sea fog.

The hilly northern town was small but lively, lined with a handful of pretty shops selling the wares brought in on the multitude of ships that often stopped at the port. In fact, this place was one of several locations Geordo had considered for his and Katarina’s honeymoon. The little cottages dotting the mountainside painted a rather pretty picture… at least, they would have on any other occasion. 

Today, this town brought nothing but frustration out of the prince.

The weather had not been kind to them.

En route to rendezvous with Nicol and Sophia, a sudden and treacherous snowstorm blustered in, forcing them to spend the night at a local inn. The amount of snow that accumulated in that time kept them in Windham for a couple more days before the roads cleared. As It stood, they were nearly a week behind schedule in their quest to reach the Port of Bresley.

At the top of the docks sat a small, quaint building that served as the main office for this port. If there was any information to be gleaned on the whereabouts of his fiancé, it would likely be in there.

It had been a little over a month since Geordo’s previous visit to Bresley’s harbor, and even back then, something about the place struck him as a bit odd. 

The only reason he hadn’t inquired further during the previous visit was because all the miniscule errors in the records seemed more indicative of embezzlement than anything to do with Katarina’s disappearance. And while he would surely look into such a matter at a later date, it was not his priority at the moment. 

Unfortunately, the rest of their search proved fruitless, so he decided to double back and give this a closer inspection. It was one of the closest ports to the Academy, so there was a moderate chance that, if Katarina did indeed flee the country, she could have done so through here.

And naturally, the last thing he expected to see upon returning to the nation’s northernmost port was the sight of every single ship in the harbor hoisted out of the water, partially disassembled.

Geordo arched a suspicious brow at the surprising state of the harbor, “What in the world is going on here?” 

Luckily, a pair of passing seafarers happened to overhear that particular question. The first of two grizzled old sailors looked as if he couldn’t care less whether Geordo was a prince or a beggar. He simply removed the pipe from his mouth and grunted, “Keel inspection.”

“And rudder refitting,” the other chimed in.

“At this time of year?” Alan gave the man a dubious look.

“Bit mad, innit?” the old sailor shrugged, “I suppose the storm’s comin’ in, so they won’t be sailin’ anytime soon anyways, but it’s a pain ta handle that kind o’ work in this cold. Although the local guild is coverin’ it though, so we don’t have ta do it ourselves fer a change, which is nice.”

The princes exchanged glances. Geordo could tell Alan was thinking the same thing; this whole situation was highly suspect.

Maria Campbell shivered as she walked up the dock behind the harbormaster’s office. The air here was chilly and as heavy with sea fog as it was with tension. The murmuring sailors on the docks gave the young light mage scrutinizing looks as she made her way through the port. The feeling of people staring at her and whispering behind her back was one she was fairly familiar with since childhood, but this time, it felt as if something was… different here.

While Princes Geordo and Alan asked around with some of the sailors, Maria was checking the docks and ships themselves to see if there was perhaps any trace of dark magic she had overlooked the last time.

They had actually visited this harbor once before, about a month earlier, but according to the harbor reports and witness accounts, no Lady Katarina Claes had ventured through here at all. 

She had gone through and checked every ship in the port back then, but none of them had any traces of dark magic. However, as was natural for a port of this size, there was a constant influx of new boats, as well as constant departures, so it was possible a ship was here now that she had missed before.

Even so, she just couldn’t shake that strange feeling that she had been missing something back then.

Maria had made her way out to the docks to try and detect any traces of dark magic she had missed during their previous stop in Bresley. Accompanying her was Mister Rafael, whose lingering dark magic residue was allowing her to cast tracking spells, and a pair of Ministry workers assigned to oversee Rafael during his temporary stay of punishment.

“Miss Campbell, if I may?” the redhead beside her broke the awkward silence lingering between them.

“Yes, Mister Rafael?” she turned to her companion curiously.

“I… know I have said as much before, but…” Rafael’s eyes were filled with crushing guilt and agony as he whispered, “I am truly sorry for all of this. I… I never wanted—”

“I understand,” Maria cut him off, eyes softening a bit as she patted his shoulder gently.

Quite frankly, it was hard not to be angry about everything that had happened, but she knew that being upset with Rafael was not entirely fair to him.

He hadn’t been fully in control when that curse was cast, and Maria doubted, even if he had, that the dark spirit inside of him would have simply allowed Lady Katarina to walk away after getting suspicious of him.

Not to mention, if he truly had genuinely evil intentions, there were much more effective methods he could have used to genuinely harm Lady Katarina. When cursing her to go somewhere far away, he had probably simply thought she would wander around the countryside and be found in a few days. 

No one could have predicted Lady Katarina’s concept of ‘far away’ was quite so far.

She could sense the young man’s emotions flowing out of him, and behind the regret and heartbreak, she could sense a loving side of him that she was rather sure even Rafael himself didn’t know existed.

“It is not okay,” Rafael murmured after a long moment. Maria could feel the guilt radiating from him as he added, “I… have to make this right… somehow.”

“We can start by finding her,” Maria advised, “And she can tell you what you can do to make amends from there.”

The redhead gave her an uncertain look, and she could tell right away what troubled him.

“She’s alright, Rafael,” the light mage smiled softly at him, “I have faith in her.”

Maria meant every word of that. She couldn’t truly believe the gorgeous, boundlessly kind brunette was truly gone forever. Someone like Lady Katarina, Maria was sure, would manage to overcome any obstacle that was thrown at her.

“Hm?” the blonde tilted her head slightly as something caught her eye. In the very periphery of her vision, a shadow seemed to recoil like a snake.

“Miss Campbell? Are you sensing something?” the Ministry worker asked.

This ship… wasn’t here the last time she had visited this harbor, was it? 

It wasn’t as if she could perfectly recall every vessel in every harbor she had visited, but this one had a very distinct aura to it. Maria had a hunch she would remember a boat like this if she had been on it before.

Maria focused her light magic, casting the spell to draw out the faint traces of dark magic lingering on Rafael and tracing it more precisely to where it ended up. It was very faint, almost undetectable, but…

“Yes. By the stairs to that ship,” Maria pointed to where the little tendrils of darkness had just slithered away. It was as if the lingering dark magic still present in Mister Rafael was pointing her in the direction of the unfamiliar ship, like a compass pointing her north. She turned to the Ministry workers, “Send for the others. Tell them we found something.”

A few moments later, Geordo and the others had made their way over to where Maria and Rafael had evidently found something of note.

The prince followed as the Ministry worker led the way through the maze of docks at the harbors, past the variety of ships it served as a home for. Everything from classic galleons like the Silver Sail and lower end boats to modern steamships and upper class luxury vessels like the Vinklem lined the docks, and not a single one was actually in the water. They had all been brought up out of the water with cranes for the ‘rudder refitting and keel inspection’. 

Geordo frowned once again at the thought of that. He couldn’t imagine why anyone would order such an odd thing for every ship in the harbor at the same time.

He shook his head, opting not to dwell on that for the moment. Evidently, Maria had found some trace of dark magic on one of the ships, so he would simply focus on finding out what he could about that for the time being.

If luck was on their side today… this could prove a valuable lead toward finding Katarina.

Finally, they arrived at the large freight ship The Golden Wind , where Maria and Rafael awaited.

“Miss Campbell?” Geordo approached her curiously, “You’ve found something?”

“Yes, Prince Geordo,” the blonde gestured to the stairs where the ship would be boarded, “There is a very faint trace of dark magic here, with the same signature as the lingering magic on Mister Rafael. I think… this is the ship Lady Katarina left Sorcier on.”

Geordo folded his arms, glancing up at the currently empty vessel, wishing there was some member of the actual crew around at the moment. He felt another flicker of annoyance at the fact that all these ships were being overhauled right now. If he didn’t know better, the prince would think someone was trying to get in his way.

As luck would have it, a sailor on the docks happened to be passing by just then.

“Whose ship is this?” Keith called over to the man.

“Captain Drake’s,” the sailor replied, not breaking his stride.

“And where can we find him right now?” Alan asked.

The sailor gestured to a rather crooked looking tavern at the very end of the docks, right along the seafront. Just beyond the torchlit entrance of the pub, dark clouds loomed on the horizon.

A few moments later, the group had made their way through the swinging doors of the brine encrusted tavern, aptly called The Sea’s Edge .

After asking the bartender, they managed to locate Captain Drake, a brown haired man in his forties sitting with some of his crew at one of the middle tables.

“Your ship docked at this harbor about four months ago, correct?” Alan asked.

“That’s right,” Captain Drake looked between Alan, Geordo, and the others, clearly a bit put off by having a group of nobles barge into this bar and start asking him questions.

“And where was it destined on the night it set sail from here?” Geordo inquired. 

“Huh… it’s hard to say without the ship’s log. We set out from this port a lot, y’know. I don’t remember exactly where we were heading on any given night,” the captain shrugged, sounding a bit annoyed.

Geordo was about to order the man to go crawl into his ship and dig out the logbook until a glimmer of gold caught his eye. 

As the brown haired man reached up to scratch his neck, his sleeve rolled up, revealing a gold bracelet with turquoise inlays. Wordlessly, the prince stepped closer to inspect them.

At first, Geordo was sure it was merely a similar kind of bracelet to the one he had given Katarina all those years ago, but…

“Oi!” Captain Drake glared at him angrily.

Paying no heed to his complaints, Geordo grabbed the man’s wrist and plucked the bracelet off of him, carefully inspecting it… and noticed the inscription on the interior: 

Dearest Katarina, I shall be at your hand, always. -Geordo Stuart

“This is…” the prince’s eyes widened at the familiar sight of those words. He felt a stab of pain and longing in his heart as he recalled the day he gave it to her. In a flash, Geordo reached out and grabbed Captain Drake by his collar, lifting him up, “Where did you get this?”

“Hah? The hell are you doin’?” the captain gaped in shock at being lifted out of his chair.

A flame encircled Geordo’s fist, “I’ll ask again. Where did you get this?”

“I bought it!” Drake gasped, suddenly much more cooperative, “I got that from some kid in Ritallia!”

“Ritallia?” Geordo’s eyes snapped closed, his concerns deepening by the second.

“Come ta think of it, I think that’s where we woulda been sailin’ to back when we docked here a few months ago too,” Captain Drake added thoughtfully, “That Ritallia… awfully weird place, that. Not my favorite place to trade with, but they sometimes have good rates on fancy trinkets like that one.”

Geordo felt a cold dread wash over him as he considered all the ways her bracelets could have wound up no longer around her wrists, and in a place like Ritallia no less. He shook his head, dismissing the thoughts for the moment.

Of all the places he hoped Katarina hadn’t ended up after disappearing, Ritallia was near the top of his list.

As a prince, he had a fairly comprehensive understanding of most of the nations surrounding Sorcier, so naturally he was familiar with the opulent northern nation. 

However… what he knew of Ritallia didn’t exactly bode well.

There had been a rather unpleasant exchange between Ritallia and Sorcier about four years ago, when a prominent light mage visited the mysterious nation as part of a goodwill mission.

On the day he was set to return, a ship arrived instead informing Sorcier of the light mage’s tragic passing, evidently killed by a beggar on the streets.

The official statement by the Ritallian government had been a fairly sincere seeming apology, but there was always something that seemed… off about the whole ordeal. Many among Sorcier’s nobility suspected that foul play had been involved, but without any way to prove such claims, and the Ritallian aristocracy becoming increasingly distant and difficult to communicate with, trying to escalate the matter further seemed unwise. 

It was, however, the last time any members of the Sorcierran nobility traveled to that cryptic foreign land.

Sorcier had done its best to retain trading relations with the other country, but they were becoming increasingly isolated in recent years, only accepting a handful of noble ships into their harbors, instead focusing on becoming a powerhouse of trade, continuing to churn out suspiciously high quantities of valuable exports. Exports which, incidentally, were just valuable enough to quell the questions of anyone who sought to investigate the other country too deeply.

In the end, the last proper exchange between Sorcier and Ritallia on a noble level had been the light mage incident, and even back then, the place was known for its crime and street urchins. All things considered, the prince could only conclude the local situation there had not significantly improved in the last 5 years.

Moreover, it wasn’t a place he liked to imagine Katarina ending up.

The very thought of her alone and frightened in some distant land in the depths of winter sent a shiver down his spine and a stab of pain through his heart.

No, that just wouldn’t do.

He wouldn’t allow her to stay in such a dangerous place for another moment.

Geordo turned to the captain tending to the overturned vessel, “How long would it take you to prepare your ship and sail us to Ritallia?”

“Oh, not before the storm hits, that much is for sure,” the captain sighed, not missing a beat, “Even if we worked day an’ night, it’d still take about two days, and that storm’s fixin’ ta hit before dawn tomorrow.”

“Storm?” Alan narrowed his eyes.

“I hate ta tell ye this, but thar be a Nor’easter a brewin’,” Captain Drake frowned, looking genuinely apologetic, “Ye’d have better luck learnin' ta fly than tryin ta sail in this weather, mister. No one’d be fool enough to cross the Strait of Sorcier at this time o’ year.”

“You just said we won’t be able to cross here for at least a month, and none of these ships can sail before the storm hits?” Alan glared at the captain crossly, “What if we left from a different port? Surely there are other harbors where the boats aren’t all undergoing maintenance!”

“I doubt it would matter,” Nicol spoke up in his usual, thoughtful way, “It would take too long to get to the next port town with the roads as icy as they are, and by the time we did, the storm would cut off this strait entirely.”

“Y-you can’t be serious!” Keith cried out in a voice caught between anger and despair.

Geordo folded his arms, silently echoing his rival’s displeasure with the situation. 

Offhandedly, he happened to glance back to the harbormaster’s office where the carriage was waiting.

The prince might have left it at that and turned his gaze back to the docks if not for the sudden movement he caught out of the corner of his eye; a carriage click-clacking away down the cobblestone street, just behind the carriage he had arrived in, as if trying to flee. And, on the side, the distinct insignia of House Flores.

“Hold on a moment,” Geordo’s lips twitched upwards coldly as he turned to the bartender, “Isn’t the town of Bresley part of the Flores Marquisette?”

“Yes sir, it sure is,” the barkeep replied quickly. 

Marquis Flores generally kept this harbor running fairly smoothly, even in the winter months.

Naturally, some ships were lifted from the waters in the winter to prevent ice damage. However, this was a major port town, and it was necessary to keep a handful of ships seaworthy once the harbor was cleared of ice. Geordo couldn’t imagine an order to overhaul every single ship in the port coming from the Marquis himself.

Even so, such an order must have been given by the lord of this land, or a proxy thereof.

A fleeting memory flickered through the prince’s mind; an image of Noelia Flores, traipsing up to him in the dark of night, suggesting he annul his engagement to Lady Katarina and take her as his bride-to-be instead.

And now, oh so conveniently, this port which was the key to finding Katarina, just happened to be located in the Flores’ territory.

“Well… isn’t that interesting,” Geordo smiled.

All the torches lighting the tavern flickered for a moment as a chill ran through the air.

Sophia Ascart clutched her hands together for warmth, staying close to her brother’s side as the others argued about how to get to Ritallia.

The small girl wasn’t paying any attention to the current argument though. There was something more pressing on her mind… even if she didn’t quite know what that ‘something’ was.

Something about all of this was really nagging at her brain. Especially that diary of Lady Katarina’s. It felt so… familiar somehow, despite being written in strange, foreign symbols.

Sophia’s brows knitted together with worry. She just couldn’t shake the feeling that it was really, really important somehow. 

She also couldn’t shake the feeling that they were in a really bad position here. They finally had a lead on where Lady Katarina had gone, but had no idea how to get there in time.

Sophia wished there was something she could do to help.

“Well, if this storm is supposed to roll in tomorrow, we need to find a way to get to Ritallia tonight,” Keith exclaimed frantically, planks of wood creaking under his every step as he paced up and down the dock.

“Oho? You sailin’ to Ritallia?” a gruff, jovial voice came from the back corner of the room, “And sailin’ tonight no less? I think ya might just be in luck!”

In the dim light of the tavern, there was one table at the far back, nearly entirely eclipsed by blackness. In fact, Sophia didn’t realize anyone was even sitting there until just now. But there, in the darkest corner where not even light dared to go sat a decidedly unusual looking man with a long, black beard.

Sophia couldn’t tell whether the man was rich or poor; he had a mishmash of fine jewelry mixed together with what looked like the cheapest and most tattered coat a person could find.

Nicol raised a skeptical eyebrow at him. Sophia recognized it as his ‘I really wish I didn’t have to interact with this person’ face, one she knew quite well from all the political visitors who dealt with the Ascart family.

“As it just so happens,” the shadowed man stood up, stepping forward into the flickering light with a toothy grin, “... I am a captain myself.”

“All the ships here are undergoing maintenance,” Prince Geordo gave the ‘captain’ a look.

“Not mine, though,” the shadowy figure took a gulp of his drink, “In fact, I was just getting in one last drink before my lovely crew an’ I take to the seas this very evening!”

With a dramatic turn, the captain pointed out the grimy window to the very far end of the dock, where a solitary, small vessel sat neatly on the water, looking just as seaworthy as a ship could look. Unlike most of the freighters here, this new captain’s ship looked more like a leisure vessel.

And, oddly enough, there were a number of men and women, evidently the bearded man’s crew, currently in the process of loading a series of large crates into the hatch on the side of the ship.

“What… are they doing, exactly?” Prince Alan spoke up, gesturing to the suspicious loading in process.

“Well, some o’ these lads here have goods they want delivered to Ritallia sooner rather than later,” the bizarre man gestured to some of the other patrons in the tavern, a few of whom acknowledged his gesture with a raise of their glasses, “I was plannin’ to take some of their cargo there… for a very reasonable fee, of course.”

“You’re a pirate,” Prince Geordo accused, folding his arms.

“Oh, perish the thought! That’s an awfully harsh accusation there, young mister!” the black bearded man held up his hands in mock-surrender, “I’m just a businessman, making do with what opportunities I’ve got.”

“Why isn’t your ship undergoing a keel inspection and rudder refitting?” Keith asked, dubiously glancing at the strange man. 

“Probably because it’s not officially licensed,” Geordo answered in the captain’s stead, seeing as the bearded man was too busy drinking from an uncorked bottle of some kind of liquor.

“Are you seriously planning on sailing to Ritallia tonight?” Keith asked the bearded man, a hint of hope in his voice.

“It’d be madness ta cross the seas before a storm like this!” Captain Drake declared, cutting back into the conversation.

“Ah, perhaps for someone who’s not quite of my caliber as a captain, but I know this Strait like the back of my hand!” the bearded man replied jovially, “It’ll be tight, but if we disembark right now, we should be able to just squeak past the stormfront and reach the Port of Dumont by sundown the day after tomorrow.”

“So… we either leave right now, or wait until this storm passes in a week or more,” Geordo considered.

“Not just a week,” Captain Drake replied, “The Strait o’ Sorcier will be unsailable for at least three months, due to how this particular storm turns the tide. It’s the worst storm o’ the year, hands own. If you want to get to Ritallia, I’d say you should travel down to southern Xiarmah, and sail up the eastern route. Course, that’d probably take nearly three months too....”

“So… the best chance we have of seeing Katarina again….” Prince Alan frowned, “... is in three months when the weather clears?”

“Impossible,” Prince Geordo scowled, “She can’t wait that long.”

Sophia squeezed her hands together tighter, silently agreeing with the prince. She didn’t want to let Katarina wait across the ocean in a dangerous country like Ritallia for even a day longer, let alone three months!

“Well, you’ll only have to wait that long if you can’t beat the storm,” the bearded man cut in, “And that’s what I’m just about to do!”

“Do you really think you can do that?” Prince Geordo asked the man skeptically.

“Of course!” he replied cheerfully, “I’m a first rate captain, ya see, and I’ve outraced plenty of storms on the high seas. This is nothin’ compared to the waterspout I wrangled five years ago! The lot of you look rather well-off financially, so, for the right price, I can get ya there, safe as can be!”

Sophia could tell the prince had his doubts about sailing with a man like this, and she couldn’t blame him. Obviously money wasn’t an issue, but this alleged captain didn’t exactly look like someone who would normally helm a vessel for noblemen… but she could also sense he wasn’t lying about his skill and experience as a captain.

Prince Geordo turned to the group, “What do each of you think we should–”

“I believe we should set sail immediately!” Mary Hunt declared without missing a beat, “Lady Katarina has been alone in this other country for so long, we owe it to her to be at her side right away! And it will take more than a stormy sea to keep me from her!”

The others began to nod their assent, but Sophia couldn’t help but be nervous. 

A glance to her left told her that her big brother was equally hesitant about such an undertaking. The others probably couldn’t see it, but to her, the ‘neutral’ expression on his face might as well have been begging the others to wait a moment before rushing into this.

She wanted to see Katarina again, more than anything, but sailing a stormy sea at night sounded really dangerous! Crossing the seas for love was a common theme in romance novels, and one she was actually quite fond of… but reading a tale about such a thing was one matter, while actually doing it was a different one entirely!

She wished there was some way to know what was right here… and then, as if in answer to her prayers, a tiny shimmer of glinting light caught her eye.

A rare flicker of sun gleamed down through the misty, gray clouds, onto the ship the bearded captain claimed as his own. Sophia squinted, the fog around the docks parting slightly as she tried to focus on the hint of light she saw.

At the very aft end of the yacht were inscribed a few words. It was written simply, in tasteful gold cursive letters, stating the port which this ship hailed from, as well as the name of the vessel.

“E-eh?!” Sophia suddenly squeaked, caught off guard by the name… and the weird feeling it gave her, deep in her heart. She took another step closer, just to be sure, “This ship is...?”

The captain seemed to have noticed her apprehension, “‘S there a problem with it, young lass?”

“That name…” Sophia murmured more to herself than anyone else.

The truth was, as foreign as some of those symbols were, Sophia… understood some of them. At least, she thought she did. Bits and pieces of it made sense to her, and through it all, there was a certain pair of words that popped up again and again in that little secret notebook. Not just in Sorcierran text, but in the other language as well.

She looked up at her brother, eyes filled with determination. 

“Are you sure?” Nicol tilted his head slightly.

“Mmm,” Sophia pumped her fists.

She had been a bit skeptical a moment ago, but now, she was sure. If Lady Katarina was to be found, this was the way. 

“Very well then,” Nicol nodded, turning to Geordo, “I believe we should set sail this evening, on this ship.”

“Good. It seems we are all in agreement,” Prince Geordo folded his arms, turning to the ship’s captain, “We would be very grateful if you could ferry us safely to Ritallia as soon as possible, Captain.”

“Right-o,” the bizarre man wasted no time popping open the cork of a new bottle of wine as he marched up the docks toward his weathered ship. 

Keith turned to Lady Katarina’s maid, “Anne? Can you send for Mother and Father? I would like to have them present if we are to do this.”

“I’m afraid there is no time to bring the Duke and Duchess here if we’re to sail this evening, Master Keith,” Anne replied solemnly, “I can relay a message to them, but there just isn’t time to get to the estate and back here before we depart.”

Keith looked troubled. After a moment, he let out a long sigh. Running his hand through his hair, he told the maid, “I know Mother and Father would want to be there, but I think they would much rather Katarina be safe sooner rather than later. Send a message to them telling them what we plan to do right away, and then let’s sail.”

“Yes, Master Keith,” Anne nodded curtly, and began writing a letter quickly.

Beside Sophia, Nicol had begun transcribing a similar note for their own parents. She gently squeezed his hand, reassuring him silently.

Before long, all the preparations were made, the princes and everyone in their little group had readied themselves, and the strange bearded man had led them up to his… curiously named ship. This excursion might be quite dangerous, Sophia knew, but she had faith that she would see her missing friend again soon!

Addressing his very unenthusiastic-looking crew, the bombastic captain declared, “Raise the anchor! Loft the sails! And prepare all hands for departure! Tonight, lads, we sail for the Land of Passion and Wine!”

Not long thereafter, the yacht had been prepared and fitted to sail as quickly as it could across the Strait of Sorcier.

Katarina’s group of friends were filled with worry, uncertainty, and doubt.

But through it all… they felt hope. Hope that they could cross this stormy sea, and hope that they would soon see their beloved friend again.

And, into the swirling black clouds did they depart with the mysterious captain, aboard the equally mysterious vessel, the Fortune Lover .

Notes:

At long last, the harem have a proper lead on where Katarina got off to! And Geordo also has a hunch who might have been slowing their investigation down....

This chapter was a tricky one to write, so I hope it turned out okay. TBH, I'm not really all that familiar with how ships were repaired in olden days, so just go with the whole 'all the ships got lifted out of the harbor' thing. I know they had the equipment to do that for individual ships, but idk if anyone ever did it with every ship in a harbor at the same time. I just needed the rest of the boats to be inoperable so they would have to sail with the mysterious 'captain'....

Next chapter, we get back to Kat and Malicia... and things start to go sour.

Anyways, thanks for reading! Comments and constructive criticism are welcome as always!

Chapter 27: Things Fall Apart (Part 1)

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

The sound of waves crashing against the rocks splashed through the humid air. Gulls cried out above as two young figures made their way down a secret staircase by the cliffs leading under the docks. The afternoon summer sun was starting to cast long shadows across the seafront. 

There, a long stretch of uneven rocks awaited them. This was dangerous… or it could be, for someone unpracticed. 

A young girl with bouncy blonde curls trailed cautiously a few steps behind the other figure. She carefully watched her step, focusing tightly on each rock she stepped upon, while the girl in front of her deftly pranced from stone to stone, as easily as walking down the street.

After some awkward, hopping steps between each rock, the two girls reached their secret spot; a little outcropping of rocks that jutted out over the sea. There was a single pine tree and a large chunk of rock that stuck up, as if it were specially designed to be a little bench for two friends to sit upon, gazing out at the sunset across the waves.

“W-we’re finally here!” the blonde gasped, nearly out of breath. She glanced up at her friend, who was gazing out at the sea, eyes wide with wonder.

“Hey Mali?” the other young lady asked. Unlike her usual playful voice, she sounded kind of… distant right then.

“Y-yeah?” the blonde walked to her side uncertainly.

Turning to face her, the other girl asked, “Will you… make me a promise?”

Malicia’s eyes flicked open, the empty clicking of the glass window panes stirring her to life in the small hours of the dawn.

Her mind was still buzzing, playing back that scene again. Absently, she pulled her handkerchief from her bedside table and dabbed at her eyes, where some wetness had formed.

Hm. 

It must have been all that rambling she’d done back at her mother’s home that brought that memory back. She shook her head, eager to forget something so meaningless.

Reaching beside her bed, she pulled the string on the wall, connected to a bell in the servants’ quarters to call for her maid.

Katarina awoke bright and early on Tuesday morning to the tinny ringing of the servants’ bell indicating Malicia’s bedroom. It was still the quiet hours of the night; the grandfather clock at the end of the servants’ quarters told her it was just past 4:30 am in the late winter, so the sun had yet to touch the horizon. Just outside the round little window on the wall, she could see a slight flurry of snow floating down slowly as she got out of bed for the day.

The brunette paused, glancing momentarily at the photograph on her desk; Malicia and herself sitting happily side by side, from that evening at the opera house. The photo itself was one of those old black and white ones so the quality wasn’t the best, but even so, Katarina could swear her charge was smiling a bit brighter than she usually did back when she first started.

The maid quickly gathered herself and a few moments later, she was humming an aimless tune to herself as she made her way through the tunnel connecting the servants’ house to the main estate, and up the hidden staircase to Malicia’s bedroom.

“Morning, Malicia! What do you need?” Katarina chirped, entering the room with a wave.

Instead of answering, the blonde simply stared at her with wide eyes for a moment. Katarina tilted her head slightly, unsure what to make of that face.

After a while, the heiress just huffed and pointed to the desk across the room, “Pass me that book, maid. The red one. Ahem… and my… glasses.”

Katarina couldn’t help but giggle at just how embarrassed Malicia still seemed to get when the subject of glasses came up. Quickly, she retrieved the aforementioned items and brought them back to the waiting blonde.

“Hm, hm, glasses and pajamas,” the maid murmured, setting the book down beside her, and placing the glasses directly on her face.

Malicia gave her a look but didn’t complain.

The brunette grinned at the sight of her charge laying sprawled out in her pajamas.

Between the glasses and the fuzzy carrot pajamas, Malicia laying on her bed while reading felt much more like a sight Katarina would see back in Japan than here. It was a heartwarming sight; nostalgic and novel at the same time. She certainly wouldn’t have expected this soft of a side to Malicia Baudelaire the first time they met!

With a smirk, she recalled the new hairstyle her charge had debuted a few days earlier, “You’re a pair of twintails away from the cute trifecta!”

“What are you blathering about?” Malicia scoffed, not even a hint of hostility in her voice anymore. 

Katarina grinned, happy to see her charge in good spirits again, “Need anything else?”

“No, that will be all,” the blonde regarded her for a moment, and then sighed, “Actually, first fetch me my morning tea!”

“As you wish, Cozy Carrot!” Katarina winked.

“Oh hush, Bakarina!” the heiress huffed, rolling her eyes.

Katarina pouted. That nickname wasn’t going anywhere, was it?

As she moved down to the kitchen to get Malicia’s tea, she mulled over something that had been on her mind lately. 

The game was nearing its final act, and Malicia still hadn’t met the heroine!

She had been trying to think up ways to get the two to meet, but Malicia didn’t go into town that often; at least, not the side of town where Clara would be found.

It wasn’t like she could just walk in and say ‘Hey Malicia, you need to meet a random commoner to avoid your doom’! And, on the flipside of that, she doubted it would be easy to go scoop up a commoner off the streets and drag her back to the dreaded Baudelaire mansion for some quality bonding time!

She really hoped she hadn’t totally screwed things up by stealing the heroine’s place!

Katarina bit her lip, as one solution became clear to her: she had to find some way to get Malicia back to the Kettle farm when Clara was actually there!

Come to think of it, when was Clara there? When she spoke to her in the village a couple months ago, the heroine had told her she came into town on Tuesdays, so maybe she stopped by the farm those days as well?

The ex-duke’s-daughter had a lot of various theories and schemes buzzing through her mind as she entered the estate’s main hallway. Outside, it seemed the flurries of snow had let up and the sun had risen, Katarina realized, as a golden ray of morning peeked through the living room window.

“Well, hello, hello, Riiina~,” Nellie sidled up to her left, just as she finished preparing her charge’s tea.

“A lovely winters’ morning to you, Miss Rina,” Ellie slid around her right side.

“Hi! What are you guys up to today?”

“Oh, we were simply tending to the front path,” Ellie replied casually. 

“Yes, yes,” Nellie nodded, a strange glint in her eyes, “I’m sure it’s a challenge an indoorsy maid like yourself would be poorly suited for.”

Katarina felt a flicker of irritation come over her. Just who in the world was Nellie to call her ‘indoorsy’? No one had more of a claim to the title of outdoorsy than the former monkey girl herself!

“Oho? So that’s how it is?” Katarina’s lips curved up in a wicked grin. She carefully set her Lady’s tea upon the side table and boldly declared, “If it is a challenge you seek, this is one area where I won’t be beaten!”

The twins exchanged a look, and then returned their focus to Katarina, amused smiles on their faces. The brunette could have sworn these two were a lot more expressionless a few months ago. They seemed pretty lively nowadays!

Unable to resist the urge, the brunette donned her winter coat, and stepped just outside the door, quite ready to do a quick path-clearing contest with her fellow maids.

“Eh?” Katarina suddenly arrived at a very peculiar revelation as her shoes crunched through the frosty ground. Her eyes widened with delight, “This is… perfect snowball snow!”

Clearing the front path could wait. This was much more important!

Malicia tapped her toe impatiently. It had been nearly half an hour since she had spoken to her maid; she had already readied herself for the day and changed out of her carrot pajamas. 

So where was her morning tea already?!

Letting out a frustrated sigh, she clambered out of her bedroom and marched down the main stairs, where a sharp burst of movement from the front garden caught her eye. Through one of the windows, she could see her utterly useless maid prancing about in the garden without a care in the world. Behind her, two of the other maids were following, tossing balls of snow back and forth.

Really?

She left this imp alone for a minute, and this was what she went off to do?

The blonde let out a frustrated sigh, marching up to the front door of the estate, and throwing on a light coat.

“Rina! What in the world are yo– oof!” the blonde flung the front door open, and was immediately silenced by a mouthful of snow.

Across the yard, Malicia could hear a pair of surprised gasps.

Slowly, deliberately, she reached up, wiping the snowball from her face, eyes flicking up to meet her maid’s. 

The other two housemaids scurried away like mice, but Rina stood her ground awkwardly at the end of the garden, holding a snowball in her hand. She smiled as innocently as she could, “Um… oops?”

Hm.

With a  dramatic flick of her hand, the heiress dusted aside any of the remaining snow on her face. Acting quickly, Malicia knelt down, gathering a handful of snow and making a solid orb, launching it straight back from whence the previous one was thrown.

“Um, sorry Malicia, I was–ack!” Rina was cut off by a snowball, crafted perfectly by the Baudelaire heiress, directly to her left eye.

The blonde smirked, satisfied with her shot. She might need glasses to see close up, but her little imp of a maid was far enough away that she could get a good enough read on her position from here. 

Not missing a beat, Rina’s eyes lit up with a dangerous grin as she lunged for a lump of snow, instantly forming it into a ball and firing back at Malicia just as quickly. Not one to fall for the same attack twice, Malicia swooped to the side, missing the incoming snowball by a few inches.

By the time the heiress looked back up, Rina was no longer right in front of her in the garden.

The maid made a dash for a hill; she was clearly aiming for a tactical advantage here, but something was odd. Neither of the brunette’s hands were wielding snowballs this time. And yet, something was different about her maid all of the sudden.

“Since when did you have such a large chest?” Malicia couldn’t help but ask.

It was true that Rina had always outclassed her in that department, but even so, this size change was just ridiculous!

With a mischievous grin, the devious little maid reached up under her coat, procuring a pair of pumpkin sized snowballs.

Malicia leapt to the side, quickly realizing the booby trap her maid had planned. Ducking to the left, the blonde dodged the first of two massive snowballs Rina had been using to enhance herself, trying to quickly make one of her own.

She dodged the second of Rina’s just in time for it to graze her shoulder as she quickly sculpted another snowball of her own. She turned and stood, ready to strike now that her foe was out of ammunition… and….

Thwack!

Malicia reeled back as a shock strike of snow caught her completely off guard!

Alas! She had fallen right for it! In the time the blonde had taken to dodge the previous pair, her maid must have whipped up a third snowball!

This was just…

Malicia couldn’t help herself.

“Ahahaha!” the blonde fell down into the snow on her back, letting out a very unladylike peal of laughter.

Another snowball pelted her knees as she rolled around, Rina quickly taking her side, flopping down next to her. The maid lay down in the snow, joining in her giggling fit.

The Baudelaire heiress honestly couldn’t recall having this much fun in many, many years!

And then, like a strike of lightning on a sunny day, a deep, thunderous roar of a voice cut through the air, slicing the moment to ribbons.

“MALICIA!”

Katarina jolted at the sound of the voice that just boomed her charge’s name. Beside her, Malicia bolted upright to her feet faster than Katarina had ever seen anyone move.

Standing on the main pathway leading to the mansion were three familiar figures. The first two, Katarina had spoken with previously; Chancellor Riviere and Lawrence, the Baudelaire family butler. 

The third, though, she knew quite well too, despite never having seen him personally.

Even before the blonde spoke, she could tell right away who this man was. Not because of his voice, not even because of his looks, which Katarina had seen in the ominous portrait looming in her charge’s office, but because of the look on Malicia’s face.

There was no doubt, this man was….

“F-father…!” Malicia dusted the snow off her outfit, struggling to try and look presentable despite just being involved in a snowball fight.

Before them stood the surprisingly tall, imposing figure of Archduke Charles Baudelaire, whose posture and scarred face gave the impression he had served in the military. He had a short, well trimmed beard, and his white gloved hands tightly clutched the top of a walking cane which looked as if it might crack under his crushing grip.

One of his eyes was obscured by an eyepatch, while the visible one had little veins surrounding it and was the same shade of gold as Malicia’s. The visible eye was also just as cold and vicious looking as Malicia’s had been before she got her glasses. Unlike Malicia, though, Katarina was pretty sure his harsh glare wasn’t due to bad vision as much as the blatant disdain overwhelmingly pouring out of him.

Lawrence and the Chancellor politely averted their eyes as the Lord of the Baudelaire mansion marched sternly over to Malicia, who looked utterly helpless, terrified.

“What in the devil are you doing? Rolling around in the snow with a maid, right in front of our mansion?” the Archduke asked her coldly.

“S-s-sorry,” Malicia stammered, staring down at the ground, unable to meet his eye.

“What would you have done if someone had seen this unbecoming display? Do you have any idea the rumors that would spread if you were seen behaving so inappropriately right out in the open?!”

“I-I’m sorry, f-father,” Malicia trailed along after him, barely able to speak, “I… I didn’t know you were coming today….”

“Oh? Then is this how you spend your days normally? And you only bother to look presentable when I visit?” the old man scoffed, turning on his heel and beginning his march towards the front doors of the Baudelaire mansion.

“N-no, that’s not–”

“Quiet. This is truly a terribly disappointing sight to return to after so long. The office, now. We have much to discuss.”

Katarina gulped as the Archduke led Malicia away.

She was torn between feeling angry and scared at the way he had spoken to Malicia just then, as well as a good dose of self-loathing for being the one who stupidly got Malicia into such a situation in the first place.

But more than anything, this wasn’t Malicia’s fault at all!

She rushed forward as quickly as she could through the snowy ground up to the Archduke.

“Sir, if I may, the snowball fight wasn’t Malicia’s fault. I was just–” Katarina hastened to explain herself and defend her charge.

“Silence,” the bearded man spoke coldly, not sparing her a glance, “A maid should neither be seen nor heard, understood?”

Malicia trailed behind the tall man, looking terribly lost as they entered the foyer of the mansion.

Katarina wanted to argue. She really did.

She was never one to be particularly shy about expressing her feelings especially when it came to sticking up for her friends, but right now, she could hardly bring herself to even breathe.

She was pretty sure that arguing back here any further would get her fired and kicked out of the house, and there was no way she’d be able to help Malicia at all if that happened.

“Come along, young lady,” Lord Baudelaire ordered, his march down the wide hallway punctuated by the clicking of his walking cane, “There have been some major developments as of late, and we have little time to discuss them.”

The dark, gothic estate felt even more cold and empty than usual right then. The aura in the room was that of an executioner leading a prisoner to the gallows as Malicia and her father marched down the hall to the office, their footsteps the only sounds permeating the air.

Just as the door to the Baudelaire office was about to close, Katarina finally started to make a move to follow. Unfortunately, just as she did, she felt a steadying hand on her shoulder.

“Ah, I have a hunch Lady Baudelaire would rather that conversation stay private, dear maid,” the Chancellor informed her, a note of polite regret in his voice.

As if to emphasize his point, the office door loudly clicked shut. 

The manor was silent once more, save for the wind rattling the gothic windows in the massive living room as Katarina was left alone with Chancellor Riviere.

“I… she’s…” Katarina tried to mumble some reply, but she felt totally outclassed here. 

She could handle most people, but nobles who actually acted super proper all the time and had no fun side were a type she wasn’t great at handling, Especially when they were her friends’ father and could have her fired and deported in the blink of an eye. 

“The Archduke Baudelaire has some pressing matters he needs to discuss with your Lady. I have a few matters to review with Lord Baudelaire as well, but they can wait,” Chancellor Riviere told her, taking a seat on one of the common room couches. He smiled sympathetically at her, “I understand that you care about her, but… I believe it would be for the best if she was alone with her father right now.”

Katarina slumped, realizing he was probably right. She could always scuttle up one of the secret maid passageways and listen in on their conversation, but somehow, that felt even more wrong.

Deflating, the brunette lowered herself onto the couch opposite the Chancellor, head in her hands, “I… what should I do?”

The mustachioed man looked at her thoughtfully, “What is it you want to do?”

“I want to apologize to her and make things right with her father and I want to help her and cheer her up, and… I gotta make sure she goes back to that farm again and meets somebody,” Katarina rambled absentmindedly, running a hand through her maid-like bob of hair.

“Hm,” the Chancellor narrowed his eyes at her, “You were the reason Lady Baudelaire was at the Kettle Farm, then?”

“Yeah,” Katarina admitted, distantly recalling that day. 

Malicia had been so nice and generous back then, and she had opened up even more since. She was a really nice person at her heart, as much as she sometimes tried to hide it, and Katarina owed it to her to find a way to win over the heroine and avoid Malicia’s doom!

“I see,” the chancellor closed his eyes thoughtfully.

Katarina frowned, feeling an odd tension in the air. Between admitting to starting that snowball fight and dragging Malicia to a farm, this guy must really think she was a poor maid, huh? 

Even worse, he might tell Lord Baudelaire to fire her or something! He was the Chancellor, after all, and it probably wasn’t great to leave such a bad, irresponsible impression on him!

After a moment, the Chancellor spoke again. To her surprise, he didn’t seem irritated, and smiled amusedly, “My, my, I do wonder what it is about that farm that is so enticing for nobles. I’ve heard rumors even a certain prince has taken to spending his Tuesdays there….”

“Oh, right!” Katarina snapped her fingers, recalling the other significant encounter that had transpired that day, “Prince Alexander hangs out there!”

She could tell Malicia he would be there again! After all, Malicia did mention she wanted to spend more time with the Prince to boost her chances of him approving her marriage interview! She even seemed open to the idea of going back to the farm again to see him!

That said, though….

Katarina hesitated, “I’m not sure Malicia would feel up to going back any time soon though, especially after that snowball fight thing…. She’s probably under a lot of stress right now, huh?”

“She can be rather unpredictable, Lady Malicia,” the Chancellor chuckled to himself, an unusual look in his eyes, “Her behavior lately has even been beyond my expectations….”

Katarina tilted her head. What did he mean by that?

He waved his hand, as if to dismiss what he had just said, “Well, in any case, Miss…?”

“Oh, I’m Rina,” the brunette introduced herself quickly.

“In any case, Miss Rina,” the Chancellor adjusted his glasses, “Are you familiar with the tale of Emperor Archaias?”

Katarina shook her head. She was pretty sure she knew the name from some history class back at the Academy in Sorcier, but she didn’t know much beyond that. History wasn’t her strongest subject back in Japan, and it certainly wasn’t here in this other world with a totally different history!

“Well, he set out on a series of conquests of distant lands, searching for the spear of destiny. It was a fabled weapon lost ages ago, said to change the fate of nations,” the Chancellor explained, “Unbeknownst to him, his chamberlain had the spear of destiny in his private room, having stumbled across it during a campaign a few years prior. 

“Every time the Emperor addressed his troops, he simply said he sought a great treasure, but never specified which, and the foolish chamberlain always thought it must be something grander than the rusty old spear in his room, and never made a point to tell Archaias of his discovery. Only upon reading the Emperor’s notes after his death did he discover the treasure he had always sought and never found was sitting just under his right hand man’s bedside table.”

Katarina listened quietly, nodding along with the story. The Chancellor seemed oddly captivated with the tale as he told it, as if he was speaking more to himself than to her.

After a beat, the older man snapped back to the moment, “My point, Miss Rina, is that you shouldn’t linger around on things that ought to be said. If you wish to ask Lady Baudelaire about something, and this is only my opinion, but it might be for the best to do it sooner than later.”

“Hmm,” the maid pursed her lips, thoughtfully considering everything she had just been told.

Some untold amount of time passed as she sat there quietly considering what to do, and how to cheer up Malicia. She didn’t know how long it had been before the door to Malicia’s study finally clicked open, and her father strode out, cane clacking on the floor as he marched. His butler flanked him, diligently making notes of the things the Archduke called out as he walked through the main hallway.

“Lawrence, send copies of the invoices to the Richelieu and Canion estates, as well as the Palace,” Lord Baudelaire coughed, clutching the grip of his walking cane like he was trying to crack it off.

“Yes, sir,” the butler nodded, scribbling the instructions down on a notepad as he walked.

Neither of them spared Katarina or the Chancellor a glance as they continued through the main room, making notes all the while.

“Ah, I’m afraid that’s my cue to depart,” the Chancellor rose from the couch across from her, politely nodding, “This was an enlightening conversation. Do think on what we talked about, Miss Rina. Au revoir.” 

With that, he turned and followed the departing figure of the Archduke out the main entranceway.

Even after the front door closed, Katarina clenched her hands together, half expecting the Archduke or one of the others to pop back in and tell her she was fired and no longer welcome in the estate. After a moment had passed, Katarina finally let out a breath she didn’t know she had been holding as it became clear no one was coming back. She heard the familiar sound of the carriage departing the manor, and quickly stood up to attend to her duties as Malicia’s maid.

She cautiously approached the door of the Baudelaire estate’s main office, knocking ever so gently on the front.

“Come in, maid,” an emotionless voice replied from the other side. 

It hurt worse than all the screaming in the world to hear that blank tone from her charge. She had only seen Malicia like this a few times, but it was by far Katarina’s least favorite state to see her in.

She just looked drained.

At least, Katarina thought she did. Malicia was sitting stiffly with her back to the doorway, pen in hand. The heiress was moving mechanically, signing her name on a series of stacked documents with official looking seals on them.

“I-is everything okay?” the maid hesitated to ask.

The pen in Malicia’s hand cracked in half.

Katarina felt her heart break.

She didn’t know what to say, what to do.

The best she could do for the moment, she thought, was to ramble some random thoughts and see if she could cheer her Lady up a bit.

“You know… the garden around your house here has really nice soil!” she offered awkwardly, “In a few months, I can grow some cute tomatoes and carrots for you if you’d like! You can have a nice, home grown meal!”

Malicia remained silent, unmoving. She just sat there motionlessly at her desk.

“And… maybe next Tuesday, if you feel like it, we could go back to the Kettle farm?” she suggested, considering the Chancellor’s advice from earlier, “I think Prince Alexander will be there again, since he goes there on Tuesdays and Thursdays, and–”

“Let’s go,” Malicia declared suddenly, interrupting the maid. 

“Eh? Wait, where?” Katarina blinked back in surprise at her Lady’s sudden declaration.

“Kettle Farm,” the blonde responded, still not turning to face her, “Tell Matis to prepare the carriage at once.”

“R-really? Right now?”

“Today is a Tuesday as well, there is no need to wait a week,” the heiress’ voice left no room for debate.

It was sooner than she would have expected, and Katarina wasn’t sure these were the best circumstances for it, but maybe if she was lucky, she could get Malicia to meet up with the heroine today!

At the very least, she might be able to cheer her up a bit by getting her out of the house. It always seemed like Malicia was happiest when she was… anywhere but here. And, from what Katarina could tell, if there was ever a moment when the blonde needed to be cheered up, it was now.

Wasting no time, she rushed down the stairs to the stables, requesting the coachman prepare the carriage quickly.

Minutes later, Malicia felt ice in her chest as she rolled down the mountain. 

Flecks of melting snow slid uneasily down the window, leaving little trails on the glass. Unable to face the maid beside her, the blonde let her mind wander as her eyes followed the little pathways the snow traced on the windows in front of her as the carriage clicked along the cobblestones towards the Kettle farm.

Yes. She had to go to that farm today… because she knew that, if she didn’t, she would never have the chance again.

In the faint reflection visible in the window, she could see her maid had turned and was gazing out the window herself. Turning a suspicious gaze towards Rina, the blonde thought back to what her father had just told her less than an hour earlier.

They had, in fact, discussed many things.

Many things which Malicia wished she never, ever had to discuss at all, and certainly not this soon.

Through it all, however, there was one thing her father told her that truly unnerved her to her very core.

The king had fallen ill.

Notes:

A bit of an emotional rollercoaster this week (although it's nothing compared to the next chapter...)

Katarina and Malicia get to have their last little moment of fun before everything comes crashing down. The final arc of this story is starting, so buckle up! The angst and feels are on their way!

Malicia's got the final clue that her maid has some kind of foresight, and Kat is desperately scrambling for a way to get Clara and Malicia to meet up! There's a whole lot of other things going on this chapter too, which may or may not come into play fairly soon!

Thanks for reading, comments and constructive criticism are welcome as always!

Chapter 28: Things Fall Apart (Part 2)

Notes:

Warning for slight violence this chapter.

(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)

Chapter Text

Tommy Finch leaned back against the broken remains of an old signpost on the outskirts of the farm, chewing on the tasteless hunk of bread that served as his breakfast. As he ate, he was chatting idly with one of the other kids who made the shed behind the Kettle Farm their residence, Jean Granger. The brown haired boy was something of a leader to them; a guy who always knew what was right and had no qualms about saying it.

Even so, what Jean had been saying lately just didn’t quite sit right with Tommy.

“I just don’t know about it, Jean,” the strawberry blond kid frowned, looking away, “I don’t think she is all bad. I mean, how much do ya even know about her outside what it says in the Publication ?”

“How much do you know about her?” Jean shot back, tapping the ash off his cigarette, “You met her once and she was planning to arrest you for most of that encounter, remember?”

“Yeah, I also remember what happened after that!” Tommy replied, “I just think she might have another side to her!”

“Why, cuz one of them gave you some cheap trinket as a handout?” the older boy asked skeptically.

“It wasn’t cheap,” Tommy scoffed, “That brooch’s been feedin’ us for weeks! You know that as well as me!”

“Yeah, it’s been feedin’ us,” Jean pointed to the ugly hunk of bread in the strawberry haired boy’s hand, “Some real high-quality food there, innit?”

Another memory sprang up in Tommy’s mind as he vainly attempted to defend Malicia Baudelaire, “Remember that thing a few months back, all those folks who went to the Baudelaire place ta ask for food?”

“Yeah, they gave only just enough to squeak by. Meanwhile, everybody up… there,” Jean gestured to the looming mountain lined with noble houses, “...has been partyin’ and dining to their hearts’ content!”

Tommy regarded the stale bread silently. 

It was true; no matter what price he sold that old brooch off for, he just lived in a different world. He couldn’t just waltz into one of the high shops and buy nobles’ food; the best he could do was bribing merchants at the docks, and he didn’t want to waste too much cash of what little they had left after getting Charlie’s medicine doing that. They needed to make the money last as long and feed as many as they could, so naturally they didn’t get the nicest food by doing it that way. Even so, the bread was better than nothing, and nothing was all they’d had far too many nights before.

“It might be worth a lot to us, but to them… They’re just tossin us a few stray ends here an’ there to keep us docile,” Jean continued, placing a hand on Tommy’s shoulder, “Listen, kid… they just don’t care about us. At all. So stop actin’ like their lap dog because they threw you some table scraps. You always get worked up lately when we mention that Gold Devil. I just don’t get what she coulda done to make you think she’s not a total witch.”

Suddenly, a movement by the front gates of the farm caught Tommy’s eyes. He couldn’t help but feel a strange excitement as he pointed, “Why don’t you ask her yourself?”

Jean arched his eyebrows as he caught sight of the scene taking place on the street outside the gates. A carriage was steadily approaching the Kettle Farm.

And not just any carriage; the personal chariot of one Lady Malicia Baudelaire.

Malicia could do nothing more than tap her fingers in rhythm with the clicking of the cobblestones as the carriage rolled ever forward. Her heart felt… numb, and her mind was…. Well. It was a bit… overstuffed, to say the least.

She couldn’t yet bring herself to think about her father’s primary reason for visiting, so instead she distracted herself with increasingly dark theories as to just how her maid knew the King’s case of the Etran flu would suddenly become so severe.

Her mind flashed back to what she had overheard Rina muttering about a few days before. 

The King will fall ill… an earthquake will destroy the food reserves…

Things could get really bad….

She shook her head, wishing there was something brighter to fill her thoughts with.

Honestly, how could Rina have known?

Part of the skeptical half of Malicia’s mind told her that, perhaps somehow, Rina was involved in some scheme to poison the King, but that honestly made even less sense than her other working theory.

Which was, of course, the utterly absurd notion that her maid somehow knew the future.

Unable to shake the notion completely, she desperately wondered just what her maid had been writing in that little notebook of hers.

An illness… that could be some kind of poison at work, but an earthquake was an act of god, something nobody could predict. If anything like that were to happen soon…. 

Well, then. Malicia would have no choice but to face that absurd possibility.

“Ahem,” the blonde cleared her throat, breaking the awkward silence which had permeated the air for too long, “Rina…?”

“Yeah, Malicia?” the brunette turned to face her with wide, curious eyes. 

Whatever notions she may have had about her maid scheming something dissipated as soon as she looked in her eyes. All else aside, there was no way Rina was cruel enough (or clever enough) to plan something like that.

So then, if not a schemer, what was her maid exactly? A psychic?

“Hm. It’s nothing. Never mind,” Malicia sighed, turning her head away.

The carriage finally rounded the last little bit of cobblestone laid streets and onto the equally bumpy dirt road leading from the edge of town to the nearby farms, bobbing up and down on the uneven surface until the sign for Kettle Farms became visible.

To most, it would seem a rather dismal looking place, but Malicia couldn’t help but feel an odd comfort to it. It was similar to the aura around her mother’s house. A rather ragged place, but filled with… heart.

The blonde felt another pain in her chest. No, not pain. More like… emptiness.

Snapping her usual fan open, the heiress pushed any unnecessary thoughts aside and prepared to visit this little farm again as the carriage rolled to a halt.

And, as the maid stepped out of the carriage, a slight breeze just happened to flutter the fabric on the back of her dress. The outline of a notebook became visible in her back pocket.

Malicia narrowed her eyes.

Katarina stepped down from the carriage, feeling increasingly worried about her charge. It was clear as day that Malicia was deeply troubled, but the maid just had no idea where to even begin helping this time. In any case, it still seemed like this little adventure might do some good to clear Malicia’s mind. As they got out of the carriage, Malicia made her usual, haughty hand-wave gesture as she flipped her hair back, descending the steps to the farm.

A handful of the farm workers had gathered around the carriage, curious why such a fancy vehicle had suddenly arrived out of the blue. 

“Excuse me, miss?” an old man walked over to her curiously, “May I ask who’s visitin’?”

“Hi, sorry for dropping by so unexpectedly,” Katarina smiled warmly at him, taking his hand in greeting. This was Mr. Kettle, the owner of the farm, and Clara’s adoptive father; she recognized him from his brief scenes in the game. Gesturing behind herself, the maid answered the farmer’s main question, “Lady Malicia Baudelaire is visiting today, if that’s okay?”

“Seriously?” Mr. Kettle looked quite surprised. After a minute, and some murmuring among the other farmers, he caught himself, “Of course it’s alright for her to visit, but… what brings ‘er by, if I may ask?”

“Um… she just wanted to…” Katarina glanced over at Malicia, hoping she would offer some explanation of her own. When the blonde simply stared back silently, the maid shrugged and turned back to Mr. Kettle, “She just wanted to drop by.”

“Is that so?” the old man raised a brow, seeming fairly skeptical still. 

As they talked, the group of other farmers began to disperse, going back to their tasks. Katarina and Mr. Kettle meandered over to the farm’s main barn, Malicia quietly trailing a few steps behind.

“It’s… not that weird, right?” Katarina tilted her head, “This land is part of the Baudelaire Archduchy, isn’t it?”

“It is,” Mr. Kettle conformed with a nod, before fixing Katarina with a dubious look, “But the thing is, not a single noble has visited a common house out here in years, and certainly not just to ‘drop by’. Don’t get me wrong, more company's always well an’ good, and we’d never turn down a visit by the Lady of the Land, but it’s a bit… sudden, to be honest.”

“Y-yeah…” Katarina furrowed her brows. She didn’t really know what to say; even she hadn’t expected Malicia to want to go right away first thing this morning!

“Well… just let me know if you need anything, alright?” Mr. Kettle offered with a kind smile.

“Sure thing!” Katarina waved to him as he made his way back to the farmhouse.

That left Katarina and Malicia standing by themselves at the barn with a handful of farmers awkwardly glancing their way every few moments. 

“So… what did you want to do here?” Katarina turned to her quiet charge. Her mind was already buzzing with ideas of all the fun things to do on a farm, even if some of them would be tricky with the snow on the ground.

Before she could make any suggestions of all the cute little veggies she could help cultivate here, they were rudely interrupted.

“Well, well, long time no see blondie,” a familiar, irritating voice called out from the back doorway of the barn.

“Ugh…” Katarina groaned, “This guy….”

In a way, Katarina was kind of glad she didn’t have any fancy jewelry or anything anymore; at least she didn’t have to worry about it getting stolen from her again by Tommy Finch.

Malicia seemed much less rattled by his appearance, meeting Tommy’s eyes with a patronizing smile, “Ah, the little thief. Back home after a long night of robbing people blind?”

“Hey now, I’m no thief!” Tommy held up his hands in mock surrender, a goofy smile on his face, “I con things off people fair and square! Except, of course, when they just happen to give me their jewelry out of the kindness of their hearts….”

“Hmph,” Malicia shunned him, “I haven’t the slightest idea what you’re talking about.”

Tommy gave her a devilish grin and winked, “Suuure ya don’t, Lady B.”

Malicia clicked her tongue, “You know, stealing jewelry from a high ranking noble such as myself is a serious crime.”

Not shying away in the slightest, the strawberry blond traipsed over to her, “Well then, you gonna arrest me or what?”

The heiress scoffed, “You certainly have some nerve walking right in here and asking me that.”

“Wouldn’t get very far in my line of work if I didn’t!” Tommy clicked his fingers and winked. After Malicia simply stared back in disgust, he let out a casual sigh and turned his back towards her, “So… why are you here?”

“None of your business,” the blonde huffed.

“My rugged good looks just too much for you to resist?” Tommy teased.

“Hardly,” Malicia rolled her eyes.

Katarina sat off to the side, quietly watching the exchange. If she didn’t know any better, she’d think these two were flirting! That was ridiculous though, Tommy had to be on Clara’s route considering how the game must have changed when Katarina had taken the maid’s job herself.

“Am I… interrupting something?” another voice called out from the back door, a voice Katarina was equal parts surprised and happy to hear.

“Pri- Ahem, Alexander! I wondered if I would see you here!” the heiress blushed, trying to play cool.

Katarina giggled at her charge’s sudden coyness, and the heiress swatted at her with her fan. It almost felt like things were back to normal between them. Almost.

“Am I interrupting an important meeting?” Prince Alexander had a slightly bemused smile as he stepped into the shed, an armful of lumber over each shoulder.

“It’s not important in the slightest!” Malicia fumed, “I was just telling this impertinent little weasel that he would find himself dealing with the long arm of the law if he ever attempts to wrong me or my maid again.”

“Jeez, tell me how you really feel,” Tommy rolled his eyes, ambling to the back door of the shed, “If you get lonely, don’t hesitate to give me a holler!”

“Oh, no need for that,” Prince Alexander gave the young con artist a smile which reminded Katarina of Geordo. The maid could practically feel the familiar tension in the air as the Prince narrowed his eyes, “I’ll be quite sure to give Lady Baudelaire the company she needs.”

Surprisingly, Tommy shot a dangerous grin back at him, “Yeah, until she gets bored of your fancy talking, and comes runnin’ back to me!”

“That will never happen!” Malicia declared loudly.

Tommy stuck his tongue out at her and then slithered out the back door silently.

Katarina arched an eyebrow at that exchange. It almost seemed to her finely trained romantic ears as if Prince Alexander was jealous!

“So, Lady Malicia,” the Prince turned to the heiress, “May I inquire what brings you to this lovely little farm this chilly morning?”

For a brief second, a flicker of… some emotion clouded the blonde’s features. In a flash, though, it was gone, and she was back to her usual, Malicia-y, self.

“Yes, well…” Malicia twirled a strand of hair around her finger, “I simply happened to be in the neighborhood, and decided to pay a visit….”

Katarina smiled, watching quietly from the sidelines.

She noticed that Malicia and the Prince were striking up a nice conversation, so she opted to just let them have their moment, and slid out the same back door Tommy had gone through to scan the area for her main target: the heroine!

In the south side of the City of Dumont, near a particularly grimy end of the south harbor, a young woman had just started her day hauling crates of goods onto a large outbound freight ship.

Clara Kettle had her hair tied back in a bun, gloved hands already aching from the arduous work. She let out a sigh, wiping a bead of sweat off her brow, despite the chilly weather.

She was just about to begin loading the next set of crates when someone spoke up.

“Ahem, young lady?” a voice she didn’t recognize called out to her from the top of the dock.

“Yes?” she turned, pushing her messy hair back out of her face.

“Are you Clara Kettle?”

“Yes, I am. May I help you?” the young woman tilted her head curiously. She didn’t recognize the newcomer, and they were dressed too fancy to be a dockworker.

“Well… it seems you are wanted back at the Kettle farm right away,” the stranger informed her politely.

“Is something wrong?” Clara felt a hint of worry, curious why she would get called back to the farm so abruptly, having only just started her workday here.

“I don’t think so, but it seems they wish to have your assistance with something,” the visitor informed her.

“Hm,” Clara tilted her head. She didn’t know of anything that would warrant her attention back home once she had already gone to work for the day, so it made her a bit nervous, “Alright, then… Thank you for letting me know!”

With that, Clara hastily grabbed her things and hastened her way back towards her childhood home, the Kettle Farm.

Leaving Malicia to her private moment with the Prince, Katarina began to wander around the farm. When she first got here, she saw a couple people heading towards the edge of the farm near the woods. Curiously, it didn’t look like anything of note was over there… until she got a bit closer.

Sticking up just over the tree line was a set of red and silver metal bars bolted together in a triangular grid.

That seemed… really out of place here. 

Katarina tilted her head, approaching the strange construction as a woman carrying two large satchels wandered by.

“Hey… is that a radio antenna?” the brunette couldn’t help asking as she let her curiosity get the better of her.

“Eh? Ya know what that is, Miss Maid?” the woman asked, seeming only halfway surprised by it.

“Yeah,” Katarina nodded, trying to think when the last time she had even seen a radio tower was. Certainly not in this lifetime, that was for sure!

“I take it you’re with the Commoners’ Alliance then?” the farmer lady gave her a wink.

“Eh? Oh, right! The Commoners’ Alliance!” Katarina snapped her fingers, recalling where she’d heard that term before. It was a big part of what wound up becoming the revolution in Love’s Uprising , composed of lots of common folk who had grown sick of the nobility’s ignorance to their plights.

“Huh,” the woman chuckled lightly, “Never woulda guessed one of Baudelaire’s maids was one of us. Nice to meet ya, I’m Dinah!”

“Eh?” Katarina leaned in. She didn’t quite catch the first thing the woman said, but decided to just go along and introduce herself, “Oh, hi! I’m Rina!”

“Come on,” Dinah gestured to the shed with the radio antenna sticking out of it, “Right this way…”

Katarina allowed herself to be led over to the little shed, and was surprised to see that a number of attachments on the back end of it made it a lot larger than it initially appeared. Stepping inside, Katarina gasped in wonder at the sight which lay before her. 

Back in Japan, this place could be an antique museum, but for this world, everything in the barn looked pretty advanced.

Radios, half-assembled cars, telegraphs, and electric light bulbs lined the tables and walls, blinking and glittering and making the reincarnated girl much more nostalgic than she would have expected. 

“Ooooooo….” Katarina bounced excitedly from table to table like a ping-pong ball. Overcome with wonder, her mind began racing as she started to contemplate just what the technological capabilities of the world were, “Do you think you guys could invent a kotatsu?”

“A what?” Dinah gave her an odd look.

“Uh, nevermind,” Katarina waved her hand. Absent-mndedly, she muttered, “I didn’t know you guys could design all this stuff?”

“Design it? Nah, we leave that to the boffins,” Dinah explained, emptying some bags of scrap metal, which were apparently being converted into car parts, “We just build it, luv.”

“Boffins?” Katarina arched her brow.

“Yeah,” Dinah nodded, “We get the designs we build here from the Professor, one of the higher ups.”

“A professor?”

“No idea who he is,” Dinah sighed, “But the designs he sends us sell pretty well most o’ the time. And the ones we don’t sell… well, we make use of those in other ways….”

Katarina’s mind was buzzing as she considered everything she was being told.

Now that she thought about it, ever since she arrived here, the technology had been a lot more advanced than the stuff in Sorcier. Cameras, electric lights, motor cars… it was certainly closer to the 20th century here than in Sorcier. Of course, Sorcier had magic to make up for that, but even so, her old home was pretty old-fashioned.

But not Ritallia, it seemed.

She hadn’t really paid it too much mind, but she was suddenly curious who it was that was coming up with all this stuff (and why they were using random farmers to build it).

Ritallia didn’t have magic, so it was natural that there would be technology developing to account for that, but even so, this all felt like a lot of very specific things to suddenly spring up. Not to mention, she didn’t understand how all these inventions would get designed and left to commoners rather than have some nobleman make a proper factory for them somewhere. 

It all felt very… off, somehow.

As she mused, the back door clanked open noisily as a young man lugged in a small wagon loaded with a large stack of metal components.

“Hey Jean,” Dinah waved over to him as they emptied the tubs of equipment onto one of the wooden worktables.

“What are those?” Katarina asked, wandering over to take a look.

“Automobile parts,” the man, Jean, replied, tossing a large tarp over the components before she could get a good look.

Katarina clicked her tongue curiously. She wasn’t all that familiar with automobiles (well, there was one truck in Japan she was a tad too familiar with for her liking), but even so…. 

The things this guy just covered up reminded her much less of anything on an automobile, and much more of the barrels of rifles….

“So… you’re working as Lady Baudelaire’s maid?” Jean gave her an odd look.

“Ah, that must be how she gave up that brooch the kid’s always talkin about, huh?” Dinah snapped her fingers as if she just figured something out, “You must’ve nicked it off her and given it to Finch, right?”

“Ah, that makes sense,” Jean nodded in agreement.

“Eh?” Katarina blinked, “No, no, Malicia gave it to Tommy herself.”

“Suuure she did,” Jean turned away, clearly not buying it, as he muttered, “Must be nice, bein’ a maid….”

“Yeah… it’s not so bad,” Katarina put her hands on her hips as she considered everything that had happened since she got here. 

Malicia had a very… complicated life sometimes, but she clearly tried a lot harder to be worth her title as a noble than Katarina ever had. Maybe doing chores and keeping a mansion clean was a life she was much better suited for. Maybe she should have been training in maidfulness with Anne rather than learning to farm…

“‘Not so bad’, eh?” Jean let out a mirthless chuckle, “At least you get to eat every night. Meanwhile, we’re short on food, out here in the cold, and gotta get by making these little knick knacks out of scrap metal….”

“Short on food?” Katarina pursed her lips. A few months ago, she had been able to talk her charge into distributing some of the food reserves among the peasants, and the heiress had softened up even more since then. She snapped her fingers excitedly, “Malicia might help with that!”

“Hah?” Jean gave her a look of incredulity. He looked like he was about to say something unpleasant in response, but never got the chance.

A sudden knock at the shed door interrupted whatever the brown haired guy was about to say as another farmhand stepped in and announced, “Clara’s back.”

Not missing a beat, Katarina made for the exit of the workshop. 

She wasn’t sure what had drawn Clara back to the farm just now, but she wouldn’t pass up the opportunity! If ever there was a chance to get Malicia to meet the heroine, this was it!

Malicia felt odd. Distant.

It was a hard-to-place feeling, but somehow, her life just felt so… bizarre right then that she couldn’t really think all that clearly.

She was standing here, in a barn, with Prince Alexander. It would be a perfect opportunity to try and get closer to him. To try and get him to accept her offer of marriage.

And yet… that all felt so pointless now. After this morning, she didn’t know what difference it would even make.

The heiress watched on quietly for a moment as the Prince prepared some old chunks of trees to chop into firewood for the farm. 

Prince Alexander, first in line for the throne.…

She was reminded again of what her father had informed her earlier that day.

“Um…” Malicia shifted awkwardly, trying to think how to best address the subject, “Prince Alexander… Your father…”

The dark haired young man glanced up at her, a flash of emotion in his eyes, “Ah, so… that rumor has already spread, hm?”

“Is it not true?”

“No, it is. I just hadn’t realized anyone in the small circle of those aware would go on to speak of it,” the Prince replied somberly, swinging the axe down in a sharp strike, cleaving another piece of firewood in half.

Malicia flinched back at the loud crack. She could tell Alexander was clearly very troubled by the King’s ailment, as was only natural. 

(It wasn’t as if she didn’t know how he felt…)

Setting aside the fluttery feeling she often had around the Prince, setting aside the fact that she was meant to marry him and become a Princess, just seeing the visible, barely hidden pain in his eyes made her want to help him somehow.

“If he is… unwell, why are you here?” she asked softly, taking a step closer to him.

The Prince held her gaze for a long moment, before his eyes softened. He looked down, face clouded with worry and pain, “To… get away from it all.”

“...I understand,” Malicia said. 

(And, in fact, she truly did. Better than most, really.)

“The Etran Flu is a tricky thing,” the Prince frowned, brows knitted together, “We can’t find a cure for it… and we’ve tried everything .”

“I’m aware. The medicines available can only keep it at bay for so long, but when it gets serious….” Malicia trailed off, thinking back to… that conversation.

“It’s not exactly new,” Prince Alexander admitted, “He’s been ill for months. Trying to keep up appearances, you know?”

Malicia nodded, again knowing far too well.

“But lately, it… took a turn for the worse,” Alexander said grimly, splitting a block of wood with a single swing.

Malicia felt a cold pang in her chest. She really had no idea if it was appropriate to ask about such things, but…

Leaning towards the prince, she took his hand, “Are you… alright?”

Katarina ambled anxiously around the front of the farm, hoping she could bump into the heroine before she got caught up in farm work or whatever it was that called her here… and to her luck, she saw her.

That familiar, adorable mess of hair, belonging only to Clara Kettle, the heroine of Love’s Uprising !

Quickly, the maid rushed forward to greet the heroine, hopeful that she could put an end to Malicia’s doom flags once and for all! (Or, at the very least, get started on the right path!)

As she made her way over, Clara was busy chatting with the owner of the farm.

“Hey, Pa?” the heroine called out to the old man as he stepped out of the farmhouse.

“Eh? Clara? Didn’t ya go into town today?” Mr. Kettle asked her curiously.

“I did! I was just at the docks, but someone told me you requested me back here,” the auburn haired girl explained.

“Huh. Who told ya that?” Mr. Kettle gave her an odd look, “I didn’t say anything like that.”

Clara frowned, “Hm. How odd….”

“Clara?” Katarina called out, finally getting close enough to her to talk.

“Eh?” the auburn haired girl turned to face her, eyes lighting up as she did, “It’s you, from a few months ago!”

“I’m surprised you remember me!” Katarina blinked, caught off guard by the heroine’s charms (Clara was no Maria, but she still had that indefinable ‘heroine’ quality to her!).

“Of course! You were very kind to me!” Clara smiled broadly, taking Rina’s hand in a grateful gesture, “Are you the one who called for me to come here?”

Katarina blushed at the blinding smile, turning her head slightly, “Nope, I didn’t, I was just dropping by. But I am glad you’re here. Actually… there is someone I want you to meet…”

Alexander held Malicia’s gaze with an odd, suspicious tinge to his eyes, before turning back to the wood he had to chop, “I’m not ill myself, if that’s what you’re asking.”

Malicia blinked, caught off guard by the coldness of his reply. Seeing him out here, working on a farm like this, she had nearly forgotten that Alexander was, in fact, a Prince. The first Prince, no less.

He must have to constantly deal with people trying to exploit that, and manipulate him. 

Malicia suddenly felt guilty for bringing up the matter at all. She briefly wondered what had even compelled her to say such a thing. It was hardly proper for a noble to be so… direct about such a matter. It was only natural for the Prince to be suspicious of her intentions when she asked such a thing.

A sudden image of Rina flickered through her mind. Her maid, as foolish and impulsive as she could be, was always there for her. Always ready to lend an ear, to share in an embrace. She truly was the closest friend Malicia had.

And now… she needed to be for Prince Alexander what her maid was to her. Someone to talk to, to lean on, when everything felt like it was falling apart.

“No, no, I meant… I realize this might be presumptuous of me, but…” she took a steadying breath, and reached out to take the Prince’s hand. She looked him deeply in the eyes and said, “I know it can be difficult dealing with family members in pain… so, if you… wish to talk about anything, I will be here to listen.”

Malicia looked up at him, eyes as soft as they could be without her glasses. She couldn’t quite read his expression up this close, but she really hoped he could tell she was being genuine. She didn’t care about the marriage interview right then, all she wanted was to help someone who was going through the same thing she was.

Just then, a knock came from the door of the shed, accompanied by Rina’s curious voice, “Hey, Malicia? Do you have a sec?”

“What is it, maid? I—” the blonde froze as she caught sight of the other young woman in the shed.

Just behind Rina stood a figure with soft, almond eyes and auburn hair, and… the blonde felt that emptiness in her chest get even emptier.

Had she been paying attention to herself at that moment, she would have noticed her hands curling into fists, or her lip curling upwards in disgust.

With a voice she barely even recognized as her own, the heiress growled, “What… are you doing here, commoner ?”

Katarina felt a sudden, palpable tension in the air.

It seemed like Malicia had, in a split second, gone from her usual self... right back to the Malicia from the game.

Something was really wrong here. 

Katarina didn’t know what, but… she had definitely screwed something up, big time.

“A-ah, I’m sorry,” Clara took a step back, clearly unsettled by the fierce glare in the blonde’s eyes, “Y-your maid asked me to come along, and I–”

“Oh?” the heiress stepped forward dangerously, “Now you’re trying to blame my maid for your insolence? How pathetic.”

Katarina gulped. The heiress was sneering at Clara just like she always did when bullying her in Love’s Uprising ! But… nothing like the game’s events had happened here. This wasn’t how her first meeting with the heroine was supposed to go at all!

The maid stepped forward, trying to mediate the situation, “H-hey Malicia? It’s okay, I did ask her to come in here. She’s–”

“Honestly! To think someone like you would intrude on a private conversation between myself and a prince!” Malicia shrieked, not paying her any mind, “Such an inappropriate, intrusive little wench!”

The blonde stormed forwards, advancing furiously on the shocked figure of Clara, who hadn’t even moved a muscle.

Malicia drew her arm back.

Katarina jumped forward.

Unable to quell the sudden burst of rage exploding inside herself, Malicia struck.

With a loud crack, the heiress brought her hand down, connecting solidly with the side of a face.

Unrestrained, she lunged forward, and slapped the foolish commoner as hard as she could, releasing the explosion of fury and heartbreak and everything else in one firm, heavy strike.

A thud echoed out as the person she slapped crumpled down to the floor.

There was a gasp, someone cried out, but otherwise the air was still.

The anger in Malicia’s heart suddenly, coldly faded away, and she couldn’t help but finally peek her eyes open.

…and she opened her eyes to find…

Rina…

…bruised and shocked, collapsed on the floor.

A slice of red on her cheek, a fresh cut from where the ring on Malicia’s finger had just struck her. Fresh blood, which Malicia had spilled just now, poured out of her only friend, her precious maid, Rina.

The blonde felt sick. That wasn’t the image she was supposed to see when she opened her eyes.

No, she was supposed to have hit that commoner… for some reason. Somehow, imagining that commoner lying injured on the floor like this didn’t seem right either. That sight would be just as painful, maybe more. She didn’t know why she had wanted to hit the commoner anymore, the anger had completely left her. Every feeling had completely left her by then, and she was just numb.

But she knew that wouldn’t last long. It wouldn’t be long until every feeling hit her, all at once.

Why?

Malicia turned on her heel–

Why?

She had to leave. Get away. Somewhere far, far away from here–

Why?

Immediately–

Why did she suddenly get so angry?

She ran out the door, paying no mind to anyone calling out to her, paying no mind to the look of utter disappointment on Prince Alexander’s face–

Why did Rina jump between her and that commoner?

Back to the carriage, and quickly ordered the coachman to take her back to the estate–

Why did that commoner have to look so much like…?

Malicia couldn’t think, couldn’t speak. She felt sick. Even more so than when her father came this morning.

She really wanted to talk to someone. About everything. So she ran back home, far from the wounded, betrayed face of her maid. She couldn’t talk to her maid, and without Rina, she really….

…really….

…really didn’t have anyone else at all.

With a rising nausea in her gut, the blonde suppressed her tears and turned her eyes to the road head, leading all the way back up to the manor. The empty, desolate manor, which felt more like a mausoleum than a home.

Katarina reached up, cupping her cheek, still shell-shocked from the sudden slap. 

It was odd. The slap itself… it definitely hurt, but that wasn’t what was bothering her here!

(Not to mention, it was nothing compared to getting slapped by Keith’s golem when she was a kid!)

But… what had happened? Why had Malicia suddenly snapped like that?

“Ah! A-are you okay, Miss Rina?” Clara fretted, dabbing at the cut on her face with a clean cloth.

“Y-yeah,” Katarina murmured after a moment, “I’m fine. Are you okay?”

Clara looked at her in surprise, “Of course, I’m okay because you protected me. B-but why? Why did you help me?”

“Because… it wouldn’t be right to let her hurt you,” Katarina replied, feeling a bit distant. 

She stared out the door through which her charge had just fled. Why did that happen?

Why did she suddenly get so angry?

The brunette felt her stomach turn as she thought back to how her recent attempt at resolving her own life in Fortune Lover had turned out. She gave it everything she had, for her entire life, and still wound up getting exiled. 

Malicia was a much kinder, gentler, more generous person than the game had ever shown her to be, and yet, as soon as she set eyes on Clara, she switched right back to the villainess she was in Love’s Uprising .

Was that really just destiny for villainesses in this world?

No matter how hard they tried, and how much they changed, their bad ends would find them, whatever route they took?

And Malicia, as kind as she could be to almost everyone else, was she just destined to hate the heroine, no matter what?

Just outside the farmhouse, Jean Granger let out a withering sigh as he watched the retreating form of the Gold Devil. He had seen the whole thing… and so had Malicia’s biggest fan, Tommy Finch.

He gave Tommy a knowing look. The kid just looked away disdainfully, as if not wanting to admit Jean was right.

He could tell Tommy saw it now, though.

Malicia Baudelaire was every bit the villainess the Publication said she was. A haughty, stuck-up snob, willing to get violent with commoners just for existing in her presence.

As for that maid…

The brown haired boy shook his head, unable to understand why any commoner would genuinely stick up for a noblewoman like her. Especially a member of the Commoners’ Alliance. Something about it just felt so… wrong. The thought just kept flicking through his mind as he made his way to the dilapidated old house that served as his home and one of the bases for the Commoners’ Alliance.

As he stepped inside, one of the others called out to him, “Hey, Jean.”

He simply gave a wave in reply, "Hey, Paul."

"Did you see Lady Baudelaire?" Paul asked curiously.

"Yeah, I saw her hit her maid, trying to attack Clara."

"Seriously?" Paul was taken aback by that news, "Did the maid say anything?"

Jean’s mind was still preoccupied thinking about the odd thing that maid had said earlier when he mentioned how low on food they were.

“Malicia might help with that!”

She really couldn’t have been serious, thinking that Malicia Baudelaire would help with anything at all!

Suddenly, an odd idea came to him. Come to think of it… maybe he had just misheard her. Not to mention, she had a foreign accent…Jean couldn’t help but let out a chuckle as he realized his mistake.

“Yeah… she said what we’ve all been thinkin’,” the brown haired boy told the other Outliers, finally seeing what the maid had really said. The others raised their brows as he told them the maid's words, as he'd heard them.

“A militia might help.”

Notes:

This was a painful chapter to write.

I am glad to finally write it, though. It's part of the story I originally had in mind from chapter 1. At least, the last section of 'Malicia might help' = 'a militia might help', lol. Back when I chose Malicia's name, I realized how similar it sounded, and thought it could be funny doing a story about what if Katarina accidentally started the French Revolution. The final product (this chapter, at least), wound up a lot darker than I'd originally expected...

Anyways, the final act of this saga is underway now. There's still quite a lot to wrap up, and a lot more drama and action yet to begin. (And, just to put a theory that might spring up to rest; the person creating all the inventions is not another reincarnated person, just someone clever with access to resources and turn of the century technology).

Thank you for reading, comments and constructive criticism are welcome as always! Until next time!

Chapter 29: Picking Up the Pieces

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

It was nearly sundown by the time Katarina reached the front door of the Baudelaire mansion. At least, she was pretty sure it was. It was hard to tell through the low hanging clouds and fog. Whatever the case may be, it had taken her quite a while to trudge all the way back here from the Kettle farm.

She had done her best to try and smooth things over there, but she was pretty sure she hadn’t had much of an effect.

“Are you okay?” Katarina asked the auburn haired girl just behind her a moment after Malicia fled the farm. 

She had slightly bumped into the heroine as she blocked the blonde’s strike a second ago, so she was a bit worried for her. It seemed her worries were unfounded, however, as Clara quickly brushed off the impact, seeming much more concerned about Katarina herself.

Clara looked at her in surprise, “Of course, I’m okay because you protected me. B-but why? Why did you help me?”

“Because… it wouldn’t be right to let her hurt you,” Katarina replied, feeling a bit distant. 

“But… your face!” Clara worried, running over to a nearby cabinet to fetch a bandage for the little cut that had opened up on Katarina’s cheek.

“It’s fine, it’s just a scratch!” Katarina waved off her concerns, but graciously accepted the bandage before any blood could drip onto the white frilly collar of her maid uniform. As Clara tended to her, Katarina tried to formulate some kind of defense of her charge, “Ummm…. I really don’t know what came over her just then. Malicia is usually a lot nicer. I swear…”

The maid wasn’t entirely sure how convincing that would be, all things considered, but she felt the need to say something.

Beside her, Clara looked thoughtful, “Huh. Malicia…”

“Yeah…” Katarina continued as a few other members of the farm hurried in as Malicia’s carriage disappeared around the curve in the road. 

“I…I… mmm…” Clara suddenly held her forehead, as if she had a sharp headache.

“Clara? Are you alright?” Katarina reached out a hand to her. Had she really bumped into her too hard after all?

“Get away from her, Golden Maid!” one of the farmers who came in called out, rushing to Clara’s aid, “We’ve had enough of Lady Baudelaire’s assistance!”

“N-no, it’s alright. She helped me,” Clara defended, still rubbing her forehead.

“Are you kidding? She works for Malicia Baudelaire!” the other farmer girl replied, voice dripping with disgust as she uttered the blonde’s name.

“...Malicia Baudelaire…” Clara murmured the name softly. 

Katarina couldn’t decide what to say, so she just stayed quiet for the moment. Was the game really resetting? Just like it had in Sorcier? The brunette furrowed her brows with worry.

The heroine wandered over to the nearest window. The little farm house was quite a ways from the city, but the jagged cliff Malicia’s house was perched atop cast a long shadow. Even on a foggy day, one could faintly make out the outline of the sharp, gothic steeples of the Baudelaire mansion. A looming black cloud out at sea outlined the spiky outcroppings of the cliff, a sure sign of a coming storm.

As if in a trance, the auburn haired girl leaned against the windowsill and repeated, “...Mali…cia Baude…laire?”

“A-Are you sure you’re alright?” Katarina walked over to the auburn haired girl’s side tentatively.

“Yes… yes, I’m fine,” Clara straightened up, regaining her composure, “You should probably go after her though.”

“R-right,” Katarina gripped her fists.

“And Miss Rina?” the heroine called out to her as she made her way to the barn door.

“Yes?” Katarina turned back to face her.

“Thank you for your kindness,” Clara smiled gratefully at her, “I truly appreciate it.”

“No problem!” Katarina gave a little wave, before adding, “And… I’m really, really sorry about how Malicia treated you just then. I’ll… find out what was wrong with her, right away!”

Resolving herself to help her Lady as best she could, Katarina ran out the door, sprinting across the barren fields of the Kettle farm and back towards the looming shadow of Baudelaire Manor.

That had probably been close to two hours ago, the brunette mused as she approached the dark, gothic house. Her walk up here had provided her plenty of time to contemplate her biggest worry: whether the game, or the world itself perhaps, was resetting to make a bad end inevitable.

And, while she hadn’t really been able to figure that stuff out for certain, she had arrived at a conclusion on what she would do about it.

As soon as Katarina clicked open the front door of the Baudelaire mansion, she was surrounded by a trio of familiar black and white uniforms.

“Miss Rina!” Grace fretted, quickly taking her place by the brunette’s side, “Oh, goodness! What happened?”

“Miss Rina,” Nellie greeted her a bit calmer, but still clearly upset, “I’m so grateful to see you return well.”

“Yes, yes,” Ellie agreed with a nod. Her brows were knitted together in worry as she stated, “Our Lady is deeply troubled, Miss Rina.” 

“What happened to rattle her so much?” Nellie inquired tentatively.

“I’m not sure,” Katarina admitted, “Where is she?”

“Our Lady is in isolation in her bedroom this evening,” Nellie informed her.

Katarina hastened her pace, quickly marching up the long, winding stairs to the black wooden door of Malicia’s bedroom. She couldn’t recall the other maids being particularly bothered by Malicia’s mood swings in the game, and distantly wondered when they had become so concerned for the heiress’ sake, but that wasn’t her most pressing concern at the moment.

She took a breath, debating how to approach this situation as she stood before the door. Nellie, Ellie, and Grace waited a few paces behind her.

Calming herself, Katarina reached out her hand.

A knock. 

No reply.

“Malicia?” Katarina called out, putting her ear to the door. She could faintly hear something shuffling on the other side, but no response was forthcoming. She knocked again, “Malicia? I’m coming in.”

Katarina was, in that moment, quite thankful for her position as Malicia’s maid. One of the privileges that position afforded her was a nice, complete set of keys to all the main doors in the mansion, including her charge’s bedroom. Not that the door being locked would stop her, but, well, she was pretty sure Malicia’s dad didn’t like her already, and she doubted chopping one of his house’s doors down with an axe would win him over.

In a moment, the door was unlocked, and Katarina carefully entered. 

It hurt, getting slapped. And it hurt, seeing Malicia run away from her, with such a pained expression. And it certainly hurt to consider the possibility of things here in Ritallia winding towards yet another inevitable bad end.

But nothing hurt more than seeing the proud, vibrant girl who had become her friend, crumpled up in the corner of her bedroom like a piece of garbage.

“Malicia!” Katarina cried out, rushing over to the blonde’s side in a heartbeat.

“Maid, go away,” Malicia replied, monotone, not lifting her head.

“Nope, not happening,” Katarina said firmly, plopping herself down beside the curled up figure of Malicia Baudelaire.

“House Baudelaire can compensate you sufficiently for your injuries,” Malicia stated as if she was reading a rehearsed script, “We can offer you 50,000 au-reis for your—”

“That’s not why I’m here,” Katarina cut her off.

“Would 100,000 au-reis be satisfactory?” the heiress offered again, still not lifting her head from her knees.

“Malicia…” Katarina sighed. She still didn’t get it, did she?

The maid slid along the wall, a bit closer to the curled up figure of the blonde, and reached out her hand. Ever so slowly, she placed her hand on the heiress’ shoulder.

The blonde flinched back at her touch, but didn’t pull away completely. Katarina smiled gently, rubbing her back in small, soothing circles.

“Rina…” Malicia finally lifted her head. Her eyes were red and sunken. She must have been crying the entire afternoon, Katarina realized.

“Hey!” the maid gave her a smile, happy to finally see her eyes, as broken as they may be.

Malicia wasn’t looking her in the eyes, though. Her sights were set just a bit lower, fixated on the little bandage on her cheek, covering her fresh wound.

“Oh, this?” Katarina tapped the little cut, “It’s no big deal! I’ve taken way worse hits than that!” she attempted to brag. Granted, one of those ‘worse’ hits had been from a flatbed truck, and it had kind of done a bit more than just scratch her cheek, not that Malicia needed to know that.

Malicia reached out, as if she was going to touch the bandage, but pulled her hand away at the last second. She curled back up, placing her head on her knees again.

A wave of pain washed over Katarina as she watched the blonde screw her eyes shut, trying not to cry.

Malicia had never, ever acted like this before. Neither in this life, nor in the game. Katarina had seen her weak before, much more often than she had expected, but she had never seen her charge so utterly broken looking.

The brunette thought back to her playthroughs of Love’s Uprising, where she recalled the blonde constantly lashing out at the heroine.

‘Don’t forget, I’m the one who hurt you!’ the Malicia character would shriek with a cruel grin, ‘You are my maid, and I will treat you however I like! I can treat you like trash if I wish to!’

The person she had been in the game, the person she had been earlier that very day when she lashed out at Clara… that person was nowhere to be found here. Katarina could only sit there quietly, doing her best to comfort her charge until she could figure out what was wrong.

Katarina had signed on to be her maid, and that meant making sure the heiress was the best person she could be, just as Anne had done for her.

Come to think of it, what would Anne do?

If, all of the sudden, Katarina had turned around and started treating Maria the way her in-game counterpart had? If she had struck Anne in a sudden fit of anger?

Would Anne simply stand back and let her turn into a villainess?

No. Anne certainly wouldn’t let Katarina do that to herself. The brunette wasn’t quite sure what the circumstances around her exile from Sorcier had been, but she had a hunch Anne would have stayed with her through anything the world threw at her.

And, come to think of it, the brunette suddenly felt a chill down her spine at the reaction Anne would have had if Katarina had slapped her, intentionally or otherwise.

On her walk back up here, she had already reached a decision about the state of the world.

It didn’t matter if the game was going to try to reset and change things. Because, every time it did, Katarina would just keep fighting back against it with all her might! It would take a lot more than a little slap to break her fighting spirit! If the game was going to get harder, she would just have to play it more seriously! 

And, more than anything, it was because she knew in her heart that Malicia Baudelaire was most assuredly not a villainess by any stretch of her imagination.

She wouldn’t give up. And she wouldn’t let Malicia give up either!

Earlier that day, she had told Clara that it was wrong to let Malicia hurt her. And Katarina meant that. It certainly wouldn’t be right to let her charge hurt someone; not because that someone was the heroine, but because Malicia was Malicia. 

And so, Katarina took a deep breath, and decided to be the best Anne she could be.

Malicia really couldn’t process in detail just how broken and lost she felt after leaving the farm. She had no idea what to do or where to go, so naturally, she did what she always did, and just went to curl up and cry in her bedroom.

Just like the pathetic, emotional little girl she clearly still was.

Whenever things got difficult, she just ran away. The same as always. 

The only difference was… this time, the thing she wanted to run away from was herself.

And then her maid came in, returning to her side, just as always. She said it was okay, that she didn’t mind the wound, that she wouldn’t go away. 

The heiress could do nothing but doubt the sincerity of her words.

She had no reason to stay; she was just a maid, after all.

So many maids had quit on her, saying she was too much of a handful. So many she had fired personally, for breaking the small number of things in this vast palace she actually cared about. 

It was clear Rina wouldn’t last either, no matter how much Malicia might wish she would.

The heiress just curled in on herself, waiting for the other shoe to drop. This was surely a formality, right? Even someone as boundlessly kind as Rina Clayton must have a limit. Her maid tendering her resignation was the only reason she would come here, right?

Malicia looked up at her, defeat in her eyes, and breathed in.

“Rina…” the blonde started again, “...why are you here?”

“Because you’re Malicia Baudelaire!” Rina said decisively, “Don’t you know what that means?”

“I know, I know,” she waved a hand, “As heiress to this archduchy, I need to have more composure than to simply strike someone–”

“That’s not what I meant at all. I don’t care about your title, or your responsibilities. You are Malicia Baudelaire. My friend,” the maid declared, reaching out to touch her shoulder again.

The blonde blinked, feeling as if the conversation, which had felt very distant from her this whole time, suddenly caught up to her very quickly. 

“And, as my friend, I will hold you to some very high standards, understand?” the maid continued, unabated.

What?

What?

Rina was… serious?

She actually intended to stay?

She wanted to believe that what the maid was saying was true, she wanted to believe it more than anything… but….

“A-aren’t you angry with me?” Malicia averted her gaze in shame.

“About this?” Rina pointed to her cheek, where a crescent of crimson had stained through the little bandage, “No. I’m concerned about you, but I’m not angry at you, Malicia.”

The heiress felt as if, somehow, the pain in her chest had gotten even worse. Somehow, the maid deciding to stay hurt her more than if she left.

Because… if she stayed… that meant she really did care.

And that meant Malicia had hurt the only person who cared about her.

This… didn’t feel right at all.

Malicia had hurt her. She had hurt Rina! The maid ought to be angry! She ought to be enraged, crying out for retribution! This wasn’t just something a person could shrug off as if it didn’t matter!

And so, she decided to say as much.

“You… aren’t angry?” Malicia stared at her maid in dumbfounded astonishment, “You really ought to be! I struck you! I made you bleed! You are my maid! I can’t just… treat you like trash, and be forgiven for it! You should be furious right now!”

“Maybe,” Rina rubbed her cheek, “But I’m not furious.”

The heiress could only gape.

“Malicia,” the maid moved a bit closer, “It’s just like I said. I’m your friend. I… am a lot like you, in a way. And I know that it can be difficult, with all the things you’re going through right now. I am upset by it… but I’m not angry. And I want to be here for you, if you need anything.”

Those sympathetic eyes, that unconditionally caring smile… it was enough to make Malicia nauseous. Every bit of kindness her maid showed her just made her feel that much guiltier about everything.

Malicia took a deep breath, “Rina… I feel like you are giving me far too much leeway with this. Surely… you should want some kind of… retribution?”

“Eh?” Rina looked confused, “No, no, I don’t want anything like that. I just want you to be okay. And, ideally, for you not to lash out like that again in the future.”

Malicia felt a lump in her throat, but she nodded. It seemed it was true; her maid really did mean the things she said. Even so, it felt like something was very wrong with the brunette just letting her off the hook so easily.

“Don’t forget, I’m the one who hurt you…” Malicia tugged on the maid’s sleeve, like a child, clinging to a parent. Tears threatened to burst forth at any moment. It was all the blonde could do to stop herself from breaking down into a sobbing mess again.

“I know,” Rina replied, looking out the window thoughtfully. There was a long, still pause. And then, “So you shouldn’t forget it either.”

Malicia looked up at her, confused.

“If you feel guilty, if you were hurt by what you did, then…” the maid said simply, “Then… don’t forget how you’re feeling now next time you think of treating someone like that, and be better next time. Because I know you can be.”

Malicia felt her tears spill over once again. She pulled the maid who had somehow become her closest friend into a tight, crushing embrace, “R-Rina… thank you. I’m… I’m so, so sorry. I promise I will never hurt you again.”

The maid returned her embrace, gently rubbing circles on her back. It felt warm, familiar. Caring.

Far more caring than Malicia deserved at that moment, but she didn’t back away from it. 

She felt sorry. Guilty. Lost. Probably more so than almost any other moment in her life.

But tonight, she didn’t run away from that kindness.

“Oh, and Malicia?” Rina added, taking a step back once the hug broke.

“Yes, Rina–” Malicia finally looked up to meet her maid’s eyes… and instantly flinched back as she was met with the visage of a demon. The blonde gulped, shuffling back a bit, “U-um, Rina? I… thought you said you weren’t angry?”

“About slapping me? I’m not,” the maid shrugged, taking a step closer to her. The brunette’s sharp, blue eyes snapped up ominously, cutting deep into her own, “But I need you to know… If you do hurt anyone again… it will surely spell your doom. Do you understand?”

Sh-she was still angry!

Malicia felt a chill run down her spine at her maid’s scrutinizing stare.

“Y-y-yes, ma’am!” Malicia squeaked, giving the terrifying being in the body of her maid a sharp salute, “I shall never, ever even think of hurting you or anyone else again!”

“Good,” Rina smiled, her sharp eyes still staring at her intently.

The heiress recoiled at that nightmarish expression. How could a maid be so scary?

Malicia silently vowed right then not to ever harm another person as long as she lived. The guilt of hurting Rina was one thing, but from the look on her maid’s face, she was pretty sure the brunette would haunt her into her next life if she ever so much as left a scratch on someone else’s shoes!

Katarina put her hands on her hips, curious why Malicia suddenly became so jittery.

Maybe she did go a bit overboard, using her villainess face, but she needed to make sure her charge understood. After coming this far, she couldn’t risk Malicia hurting the heroine or anyone else like that again, so she had to make absolutely sure the blonde knew the weight of her actions.

It was the most she could do to tell Malicia of her impending doom without actually spelling out her knowledge of the game.

After a minute, it seemed like her charge had calmed down more. The brunette reached out, gently brushing some hair out of her face.

“Are you… going to be okay, Malicia?” Katarina asked eventually.

After a long while, the blonde nodded slightly. Katarina could still see tears on her cheeks, so she stepped forward to wipe them away.

“Rina…” the blonde looked up at her, clearly shaken and wracked with guilt, “Once again, I am so… so sorry.”

“It’s fine,” the brunette exhaled gently, “It hurt, but it’ll be okay.”

“It’s not okay,” the blonde shook her head, still clearly wracked with guilt.

Katarina could tell her charge wouldn’t be so easily swayed, so she just patted her shoulder reassuringly.

There was something she was really, really curious about though. After everything, she felt she had to ask.

After a moment, Katarina asked, “Can you… tell me why?”

“‘Why’?” Malicia gave her a look.

“...why you got so angry,” the maid clarified, “When you saw that commoner earlier.”

Malicia’s eyes widened at the question. Katarina could see the guilt evident on her features, as well as an emotion she couldn’t quite place. After a long moment of heavy silence, the blonde’s lips parted.

And, just as her charge began to explain, the world began to shake.

The wooden infrastructure of the Baudelaire mansion began to creak and groan under the strain as a sudden, violent quaking tore through the room.

The paintings on the walls began to clatter to the floor, splashing shards of glass around. The sounds of smashing and clattering from outside the bedroom could be heard as well. The chandelier overhead threatened to give way as its chain jangled loudly back and forth.

“Get to the bed!” Katarina cried out.

She pulled her charge by the hand to the large four poster bed in the center of the room and away from the clanking chandelier. The blonde wordlessly tailed behind her as she pulled a pile of pillows and blankets over top of herself and Malicia, bracing herself against the bed frame.

It was a feeling Katarina hadn’t really experienced since back in Japan, but she could tell right away what it was. And, she mused distantly, she was very grateful that her school in Japan had given them regular instructions on what to do in case of such a disaster.

“This is the–” she began to murmur.

“The earthquake that will destroy the food reserves,” Malicia finished for her.

“Yeah,” Katarina frowned. 

That must mean the last act of the game would be soon! After that incident at the Kettle farm earlier, the maid doubted it would be very easy to win over a significant number of the commoners. It was good that Malicia had smacked Katarina herself instead of Clara, but still, the fact remained, most of the violence and villainous behavior Malicia had exhibited in the game had happened behind closed doors, rather than blatantly, and in front of a large group of commoners. 

That little incident had probably cost them any goodwill Malicia may have sowed among the members of the Kettle family, the maid frowned. That said, Clara’s understanding and optimistic nature gave her some sliver of hope that maybe, just maybe, Malicia could still–

Wait.

Then it hit her.

Katarina’s eyes bugged open in sudden surprise as she whirled around to face Malicia, “Wait. How did you know that?”

Malicia silently reached over to her bedside table and opened the drawer. From it, she pulled out a thin, cheap notebook, one which Katarina recognized immediately. That was all of her notes about Love’s Uprising !

She hadn’t even noticed it, but at some point, the blonde must have pickpocketed her! 

Malicia lifted her eyes to meet Katarina’s and took a deep breath, “Rina… what is this?”

Notes:

Happy Halloween, and sorry for the long wait!

I usually just write the chapter and publish it, but when I finished writing this one, I didn't like it, so I went back and heavily rewrote the last half of it. It ended up taking a lot longer than I wanted or expected it to. I'd like to say the next chapter will be quicker, but I am never good at estimating that.

Anyways, Katarina returned to comfort Malicia, but it seems Malicia swiped something from her earlier that day (For anyone wondering, Malicia stole the notebook right after noticing it in Kat's pocket in the previous chapter, and Kat didn't notice it missing because she was busy with other stuff all day). And of course, she had nothing to do all day but cry in her room and read her maid's notes....

Thank you for reading, comments and constructive criticism are welcome as always!

Chapter 30: When the Levee Breaks

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

Katarina sat frozen on the bed, eyes flicking back and forth between her charge and the little brown notebook in her hand.

Why hadn’t she noticed the book was gone sooner? How could she have overlooked something so important?!

If Malicia knew… that would change everything! 

The maid gulped, trying to calm her racing mind, and attempted to deflect, “W-we should be wary of aftershocks…”

“Rina, what is this?” Malicia asked again, moving closer.

“Ehe… ummm… who knows?” the brunette was well and truly sweating bullets now, mind racing for some way to explain it all away.

“Rina…” the heiress’ voice begged for some kind of explanation.

Katarina felt a surge of guilt, but… she really didn’t think she could handle explaining everything!

“I should check if anyone was hurt–” she tried to stand up from the bed, but felt the blonde’s hand on her wrist, pulling her back.

“There weren’t any injuries, it says so in here,” Malicia pointed out, waving the notebook in her hand around as she asked once again, “Rina, what is this?”

There wasn’t going to be an easy way out of this explanation, was there? She sighed, slumping back onto the bed beside Malicia, whose expectant, golden eyes were gazing at her curiously.

“You wouldn’t believe me…” Katarina slumped downwards, admitting defeat. 

“Maid, after you correctly predicted the King’s illness and an actual earthquake…” Malicia fixed her with a firm stare, “...I’ll believe almost anything.”

“Really?” Katarina got hopeful suddenly, “Even if I said I was reborn into a game from another world?”

“What?” Malicia arched a brow incredulously, “No, of course not, you imbecile! Just… tell me the truth…. Please?”

“Ehe… r-right,” Katarina rubbed the back of her neck, looking away guiltily.

Her mind spun, trying to think of some way to dodge the issue, but… No. She couldn’t do that here, could she? The look in her charge’s eyes told Katarina that she needed to explain herself for once.

Even so, this was difficult.

Not just thinking through how to actually explain any of it or where to start, but… she had to make absolutely sure nothing she said would inadvertently lead her charge to a bad end.

She had failed at preventing her own doom… so she couldn’t fail here.

She couldn’t let herself allow Malicia to suffer a bad end like she had. If there was one thing she had learned over the past four months, it was that her charge was absolutely not a villainess, no matter how much this world might want to make her one.

So she had to do her best. Katarina had to make sure her charge could find the happiest ending she could.

With that, the maid took a deep breath and began to tell her tale.

“So… I know… things. About things that haven’t happened yet,” the maid sighed, looking guilty, “Do… do you believe that?”

Malicia nodded patiently. She had worked that much out already from everything she overheard and would, for the time being, operate under the assumption that it was true. 

That her maid could, in fact, see into the future in some capacity.

She would do her best to withhold the plethora of overwhelming emotions that particular revelation invoked until after everything had been settled. For now, she just wanted answers.

“R-right,” Rina nodded awkwardly, glancing around the room, “So, yeah. I know about stuff that hasn’t happened yet, and that notebook is… kind of a rough outline of the ways things could go. In the ga… um, visions.”

“And these visions… are about me?” the blonde asked curiously. 

Rina nodded tacitly.

Malicia frowned. Based on what she had been able to work out from the notebook and the way her maid phrased things, she couldn’t help but feel an overwhelming feeling of dread at the prospect of Rina’s foresight.

Shaking off the sense of impending doom for the moment, the blonde pressed on with her interrogation, “So… you came to be my maid because you saw these… visions of my future?”

“Well…” the brunette rubbed the back of her neck sheepishly, “I came to be your maid because I needed a job.”

“I see,” Malicia closed her eyes thoughtfully, “And then you had the… visions?”

“Actually… I remembered them after you hired me,” the maid explained, “I saw them… a long time ago. It wasn’t until after I started working here that I remembered I knew you from the gam… ehh, futures I saw.”

Malicia again stayed quiet.

She felt a pang of something quite like guilt as she thought back to her first interview with the maid currently sitting before her, and how Rina had mentioned, even back then, that she felt like she knew Malicia from somewhere. She thought back to just how close she had been to passing over Rina and choosing another expendable nobody to be her maid instead.

(Malicia quietly thanked her stars that she hadn’t made such a horrible error in judgment as passing over the boundlessly kind and devoted woman in front of her; the mere thought of shoving Rina to the side in favor of anyone else somehow nearly made her stomach turn.)

“So… you have seen the future,” Malicia summarized, “And you have been using that knowledge of future events… to what end, exactly?”

“Eh? Oh!” Rina once again shifted nervously under her sharp stare, “I was trying to do my best so you could get the best ending!”

Malicia pursed her lips. 

Based on everything she read in the book, that was the same conclusion the heiress herself had drawn, but she felt relief at hearing her maid’s own admission. Still… there was one thing she was very, very curious about. And that was….

“Why?”

Rina blinked, holding her gaze for a long moment. After the quiet air filled the room for many seconds, she let out a breath and replied, “...I wanted you to get a better ending than me.”

Malicia arched an eyebrow at that, “What do you mean?”

“W-well… I, um…” the brunette wrung her hands together, “I kind of… saw my own future too. And I did everything I could to change it. But…”

She trailed off after that, but it didn’t matter. She didn’t need to say anything else.

The look in her eyes broke Malicia’s heart, or whatever was left of it after everything that had happened that day.

Wordlessly, the blonde reached out and took her maid’s – her friend’s – hand in her own.

Rina looked into her eyes for a while, before Malicia reached out to dab at the tears on her cheeks. After a long pause, the brunette managed to murmur, “But, yeah. I’ve been trying to do my best to prevent a bad end for you, Malicia. I know you’re a really nice person deep down, and I want to help you as much as I can.”

“Hm,” the heiress closed her eyes thoughtfully. Her face looked passive, almost serene, as she leaned backwards on the bed.

Katarina tilted her head, not expecting such a calm reaction. Maybe Malicia hadn’t believed her story after all? She couldn’t blame the blonde if she hadn’t; it was a pretty far fetched tale. Katarina sometimes had trouble believing it all herself sometimes.

“D-do you think I’m crazy?” the brunette asked shyly after a long, still moment.

Malicia’s eyes slid open and met her own, “Because you saw the future? No.”

Katarina felt a flutter of hope in her heart.

She had never in a million years dreamed of telling anyone about her reincarnation or the foresight that came with it, so the thought of anyone believing any of it felt entirely bizarre to her.

It also felt… really, really good. A small, fleeting warmth filled her chest as she took a moment to be quietly and thoroughly grateful for her Lady’s acceptance of her story.

“After hearing all your predictions come to life time and time again, it would be rather… foolish of me to write that all off as coincidence,” the heiress continued, eyes still closed. After a beat, her golden eyes opened once more, and fixed Katarina with a chilling gaze, “But there is something that makes me question your sanity, maid.” 

Katarina blinked. Had she said something wrong? If she was going to reveal everything, she really needed Malicia to believe her!

The heiress stepped forward and looked deeply in her eyes as she asked, “Why did you stay?”

“Eh?”

“This…” Malicia held up her notebook about Love’s Uprising , “... makes me sound like I would have treated you terribly in the futures you saw.”

“What do you mean?” Katarina blinked. She had never made any notes about Malicia meeting her at all in there; after all, the one who was supposed to have this job was Clara.

The blonde reached into her desk and pulled out her glasses. Looking endearingly professional, she flipped open the book to a certain page, and read aloud, “‘Malicia then orders her maid to scrub all the floors’. ‘Malicia demands her maid haul the gold statue back to the estate by wagon without a horse’. ‘Malicia strikes her maid for failing to deliver her tea within five minutes’.”

Had she really never made a note of Clara’s name in all those pages? Katarina frowned distantly. She had written a lot of it when she was pretty tired late at night when she first got here….

The brunette felt a sudden surge of guilt. Malicia must have read all of her notes about her being the villainess! 

After months of working here, she knew better than probably anyone else that the ojou-drill wearing heiress before her was not a villainess in the least! Maybe a bit on the tsundere side, but outside of her interaction with Clara earlier that day, she had always shown herself to have a huge soft side.

That said though… if someone were to read the notebook, it would sound like Katarina thought her charge was an absolute terror! The brunette prayed Malicia didn’t think that she thought of her like that!

“If you thought I would treat you like that… why did you stay here?” the blonde looked up at her, concern evident in her wide, golden eyes.

Katarina opened her mouth to reply, but no words came out. 

Why had she stayed?

Why, back before she knew who Malcia really was, had she tried to stick up for her?

Obviously, the fact remained that Katarina herself had been cast in the role of the villainess, and wished to change her own fated end. There was a part of her that believed Malicia might be just like Katarina herself, and might have been unfairly put in the position of being the nemesis of another heroine’s story. There was a part of her that hoped Malicia was capable of good (a hope that had been proven true beyond Katarina’s wildest guesses), and that she could find a better path for herself.

But… perhaps she stayed all this time, knowing what Malicia could have been because….

Because… well, if Katarina herself had been cast away for being a villainess… then maybe she did deserve such a life?

She didn’t say a word, but the look on her face must have painted a fairly clear picture of her thoughts. 

Malicia’s expression was complicated, but she quickly moved forwards and took Katarina’s hands in her own, “I thought I told you to stop treating yourself like you deserve to be punished for things?”

Katarina gulped, nodding quietly, “S-sorry.”

“Stop apologizing, Rina,” Malicia looked at her sternly, “You haven’t done anything wrong.”

“I’m not so sure,” the brunette murmured. She had gotten exiled, after all.

“Hush, please. You are Rina Clayton, my friend,” the blonde silenced her immediately, “And, as my friend, I shall hold you to some fairly high standards, do you understand?”

Katarina’s eyes sparkled with unshed tears and wonderment, a surge of gratitude filling up her wounded heart as she smiled warmly at the Lady she dedicated herself to serving. 

Not missing a beat, the brunette leapt forward and pulled her charge into another tight, thankful embrace. The night air outside had gone still, allowing a long moment of unbroken, comfortable silence as Katarina hugged her charge.

“So… what was it that you did differently?” the blonde shrugged after their embrace broke, “What was it that made me act so… unforgivable in those other futures you saw?”

“I mean… in those futures, you actually had a different maid,” Katarina murmured absentmindedly. 

She was shocked that she had either failed to make note of Clara’s name in that notebook, or that Malicia had skimmed over it, but it didn’t change the fact that… Katarina was not the heroine she was supposed to be.

(Although, she mused distantly, that might be for the best, considering Malicia’s apparent relationship with the actual heroine….)

“Hah?” Malicia looked up at her, looking genuinely surprised for the first time since this discussion began, “Wait, wait wait. Do you mean to tell me that you were not my maid in the futures you saw?”

Katarina shook her head. Guiltily, she admitted, “No. I kinda didn’t realize until it was too late, but I stole the heroine’s spot.”

Malicia blinked in surprise. 

From everything she had read, she kept getting the distinct impression that there was something she was missing. Some little piece of the puzzle that didn’t quite fit. 

She knew (now especially, as she reflected on her life before Rina) that she could be rather… unpleasant towards her maids. But… the abuse described in this notebook was utterly awful. And, even at her worst, it was difficult for the blonde to imagine herself treating any of her staff, especially Rina, the way she allegedly did in the other futures.

(Of course, she didn’t know if she had the right to doubt such claims after her outburst earlier that day…)

“And who is this ‘heroine’ that was meant to be my maid instead of you?” the blonde pressed, a sudden feeling of morbid curiosity overtaking her.

Rina leaned back, looking a bit upset as she admitted, “It was… actually that commoner we met earlier today. The one who made you really angry at the Kettle Farm.”

The blonde’s jaw dropped.

As soon as Rina said as much, Malicia felt yet another sharp stab of guilt hit her through the heart.

Malicia screwed her eyes shut tightly. Now that she thought about it, she would never abuse a maid the way the notebook described under normal circumstances, but… that wave of anger that came over her when she saw that girl, that hair…

“That’s why I wanted you to meet her, so you could… maybe avoid having a bad ending,” Rina continued, looking anxious and guilty.

Malicia could only assume whatever guilt the maid felt then was only a fraction of her own. She silently cursed herself once again for that outburst. If Rina brought someone to meet her, whether it was a matter of changing the future, or just a whim, she really ought to have been more considerate to her only friend.

“That commoner would have been my maid?” Malicia murmured.

She closed her eyes as she flashed back to the memory from earlier that day; that wave of vicious anger that overcame her; that shock of overwhelming pain and loss in her chest at the mere sight of that girl….

Perhaps Rina was right. Maybe she really was a villainess, just like it said in this book.

She knew her maid didn’t think ill of her, but… considering her behavior earlier that day, if Rina had foreseen a future where she acted like that all the time… well, she couldn’t exactly fault the brunette for describing her that way.

Malicia closed her eyes, a thoughtful frown on her features. 

That left just one thing.

There was one thing the maid’s notebook had mentioned; one which she had been dreading to ask about. But she had to know the answer.

“Why, in this book, does it mention different routes and endings?” the blonde asked carefully. 

Rina tilted her head, looking at her oddly for a moment before responding.

“Well… the future I saw… it kind of becomes several futures?” the brunette scratched her head, “There were several diverging paths that could happen, depending on certain choices.”

“Hm,” the blonde folded her arms, “And which… route would you say we are on right now?”

The maid glanced around uncertainly, “I’m… not really sure. I was thinking it’s probably the Tommy route, but I don’t know enough about that one to say for sure…”

“The ‘Tommy’ route?” Malicia arched an eyebrow at her maid’s odd phrasing.

“Ehe,” the brunette waved her hand, “It’s nothing. But anyways… I’m not really sure what route we’re on anymore.”

Malicia nodded. That made sense. Her maid had been changing things all along, after all, leading her down a nicer path, so it made sense that things would not be quite the same anymore as how she had foreseen them.

The heiress gulped, keeping herself steady as she asked, “Which route… has the best outcome?”

“The best outcome for who?” Rina glanced at her. 

“For both of us,” Malicia confirmed.

“W-well…” the maid shuffled nervously in place, “It’s kinda hard to say…”

Thinking back to the notes in that little book on the bed between them, Malicia forced herself to ask, “And why is that?”

“Because… in every route that I saw, there are good endings and bad endings,” Rina explained, reiterating what Malicia already knew from the notebook. The brunette elaborated, “But… the good endings are only for the heroine.”

“And for me?” Malicia asked. 

The candles had all been put out, and the house was terribly cold. She felt ice in her heart and on her skin, but she needed to know the answer to that question, the one that had been eating her inside all day long.

“In all of them, I saw bad things happen to you. Even the good endings aren’t really… good endings for you.”

The blonde felt a chill in the air. A shiver ran down her spine, as if her maid’s words sealed her fate. 

She slumped downwards, crumpling up on the bed. That was her future then? No matter what she did, things would turn out just how her maid said they would, and all routes would lead to her doom?

She clutched her head, which suddenly was feeling very light, as she slumped down to the floor.

“Malicia!” the brunette was at her side in an instant. Patting her shoulder more comfortingly than she deserved, Rina soothed, “You must be exhausted. It’s been a long day, you should get some sleep.”

Yes, that was rather true. The day had been quite draining in more ways than one, but she somehow doubted she would get much sleep this night. 

Especially in the broken, empty, shattered bedroom. This bedroom which always felt so terribly lonely even at the best of times. 

The floorboards creaked and cracked, groaning in a reminder of the violent shaking of the earth that had swept across the country less than an hour ago.

“Um… I should really check on Nellie and Ellie and Grace,” the brunette blinked, apparently recalling the earthquake as well, “They should be okay, I think, but earthquakes can kind of rattle people sometimes.”

The maid made a move to quickly step out.

Malicia knew she would be back in just a short minute. She knew the maid was only running out briefly to check if everyone was okay, and that she wouldn’t be gone long.

But she was already lonely, and she wasn’t even alone.

Rina was about to leave the room.

She knew from the notebook that her house was not damaged too badly from this earthquake, and the chandelier would not collapse while she was asleep.

She knew it would be safe to sleep in this bedroom, at least, for the night.

But still….

“Maid?” the heiress’ voice came out as an embarrassed little squeak.

“Yes, Malicia?” Rina turned to her, ready to help as always.

The blonde shuffled in place, glancing around the room as she mustered up the courage to ask, “Would it… be acceptable if I were to… spend the evening in the maids’ quarters?”

“Eh? Of course!” Rina’s eyes lit up happily, a wide, goofy grin on her face.

“Fetch my C-cozy Carrot and my glasses,” the blonde ordered, fighting the scalding blush on her cheeks.

Thankfully, Rina said nothing, but Malicia felt a steadying warmth in her heart as she saw the truest smile she had seen on the maid’s face since early that morning.

A short while later, the Baudelaire heiress and her attendant arrived at the little outbuilding hidden in the bushes behind the imposing edifice of her usual abode.

“Ahem,” the heiress announced herself as she awkwardly stepped into the slightly cramped shed which served as the Baudelaire estate’s servants’ quarters.

“L-lady Baudelaire!” the mousy, bespectacled maid whom Malicia had nearly fired a few months prior looked terribly surprised by her sudden appearance, “Do you need something of us this evening, my Lady?”

“I simply wished to… confirm that you were safe after the earthquake,” the heiress stated.

The maid she had nearly fired exchanged a surprised look with the pair of twin maids whom Malicia could scarcely distinguish from one another. At the same time, Rina gave her a little nudge forward. The blonde blushed and fidgeted as she announced the next part of her reason for visiting.

“I will be… sleeping here this evening. For… safety purposes,” she gestured to the manor, hoping the low light hid her blush, “T-the earthquake may have impacted the structural integrity of the main estate, so for… my own well being and peace of mind, it is imperative I spend the night in your company.”

“Hm,” one of the twins glanced at the other, a twinkle in her eye.

“Hm,” the second twin glanced back.

Malicia pouted in frustration as the pair shared an amused grin between themselves.

“W-wow!” the maid who Malicia had thankfully decided not to fire looked surprisingly elated at her arrival, “Lady Baudelaire will be spending the night here! I shall prepare one of the extra rooms for you at once, My Lady!”

“G-Grace?” Malicia called out to her hesitantly before she could run off too far, “Your name is Grace, right?”

“Yes, My Lady!” Grace nodded at her, looking delighted that she had gotten her name correct.

Malicia saw wide, caring eyes behind the small girl’s glasses and she once again was immediately grateful to Rina. If not for her, she would have fired yet another utterly kind hearted individual who deserved a far better home to serve than her own. Just like she had with Abigail. Just like she had with Ines and Mila and Ida who came before.

(Because, it seemed now more than ever, that her family name didn’t mean a damn thing if she never helped anyone but herself.)

“Thank you, Grace. And Nellie and Ellie… for your hospitality,” the blonde inclined her head in a slight bow.

Grace stood there gaping at her as if she had suddenly grown two heads. Malicia suddenly felt a pang of doubt. Was it really that odd of a thing to thank someone for?

After an awkward beat of silence, Nellie (at least, she was pretty sure this one was Nellie) spoke up, “Ahem, my Lady?” 

“It is your name on this estate’s edifice, not ours,” the probably-Ellie one continued.

Grace nodded courteously, “If anyone should be commended for their hospitality, it should be you.”

“That isn’t…” the blonde trailed off. Glancing around the tiny, grimy shed that served as the home for the people who had devoted their lives to serving her made her feel anything but hospitable.

“If you wanted to have a girls’ night out with us, Malicia, you should have said so sooner!” Rina broke the awkward silence with a wink.

“Th-this is purely precautionary! Who knows what damage that earthquake could have caused the main house?” the blonde huffed, feeling some of the nerves ebb from her, if only for a moment.

She knew full well the brunette beside her knew just how little overall damage her house had sustained, and thanked her for not mentioning it.

Before long, Malicia had bid the maids goodnight and settled into the little, closet-sized bedroom adjacent to Rina’s. The room itself was quite small, but… somehow, it didn’t feel cramped. She didn’t feel as… exposed here as she did on the giant bed at the center of her giant bedroom, with its massive window overlooking the sea. She could faintly hear her attendant through the thin wooden wall, as well as the other maids, settling in for the night.

Away from the prying eyes of the other maids, Malicia quickly changed into her pajamas. As comfortable as they were, she did hope the other maids did not see her wearing them; she wished to still have a bit of authority over some of her subordinates, and Rina was clearly a lost cause on that front.

Just as she began to lay down in bed for the night, a very soft knock sounded at the door to the little sleeping room.

“Hey, Cozy Carrot?” a certain brunette poked her head in the door.

“Yes?” shot her attendant a half-hearted glare.

“Did you… um,” Rina closed the door behind her and looked around furtively, “Did you want to discuss any more doom flag stuff?”

“‘Doom flag’?” Malicia gave her maid a curious look at the strange words.

“Yeah. You know… future stuff,” Rina whispered, leaning forward.

“R-right,” the blonde felt a panicked thumping in her chest as memories of the notebook came back to her. A notebook which, incidentally, her maid was carrying in her hand. Malicia donned her glasses and cleared her throat, “Ahem, yes. That would be acceptable, maid.”

“Alright,” Rina sat down beside her on the bed, “Where do you want to start?”

“At the beginning,” Malicia responded, taking a deep breath, “Tell me everything you can about my futures.”

That night, sleep did not find the heiress easily.

After several long hours discussing her maid’s visions, which she had apparently taken to calling ‘ Love’s Uprising ’, she finally began to grow so tired that even her anxiety couldn’t prop her eyes open any longer. 

Malicia learned about the visions Rina had about this mysterious heroine, Clara, who she had nearly attacked on impulse earlier that day. She learned of Clara’s various romances, and how her choices could determine her own fate, and potentially Malicia’s.

That scene, the ‘heroine’s’ look of shock as Malicia grew angry at her, kept flashing through her mind as the maid talked about her.

Why was it that her face had enraged her so much? Why did it hurt so much to see her there?

She had a lot to think about. 

Prophecies, earthquakes, villainesses. Her father’s visit, her assault of Rina, the little crimson scar on the maid’s cheek that burned deeply into Malicia’s soul every time she saw it.

The gnawing sense of guilt and impending doom in her gut kept her awake well into the dark of the night, before her eyes finally fluttered closed. Perhaps it was just that this shed didn’t have a giant, rattling window right next to her bed, but it was much quieter than usual this night.

Even so, the wind had gone still well before she entered the servants’ quarters.

And, as someone who had grown up on the seas, she knew well the meaning of the winds suddenly growing silent.

This was the calm before the storm.

Notes:

Here's the latest installment chronicling Malicia's descent into anxiety ridden doom flag hell alongside her favorite maid.

Yeah, as some of you guessed, Katarina didn't reveal everything about herself, just enough of the stuff that was relevant to Malicia's situation. She also may have skimped on a few of the details of Love's Uprising, but hey, it's not like missing a couple details will be hugely impactful to the plot, right?

This chapter was kind of tricky to write. I feel like I've written a lot of 'reveal' type stories, so I try to mix up how much of the reveal I go for each time, otherwise it gets pretty repetitive to write. I hope it turned out okay. I know there are a few major points Kat and Malicia didn't cover about the game, but they will in the coming chapters. I just didn't want this chapter to become even longer than it already ended up being.

Next chapter, the revolution begins to heat up, and Malicia starts to take some steps towards preventing her own bad end.

Anyways, thank you for reading! Comments and constructive criticism are welcome as always!

Chapter 31: A House of Mist and Lies

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

The break of dawn was hardly visible through the low-lying barrier of clouds that blanketed the landscape. A barely visible light flickering deep within one of the clouds pointed to the location of the Baudelaire mansion, which was well and truly enveloped in the heavy fog.

Clara Kettle had woken in the small hours of the morning, and found herself transfixed by that distant, shimmering light.

“Malicia Baudelaire….” the young woman murmured once again, idly twirling her auburn hair around her fingertip. 

She once again rubbed the creeping frost off of her small, chilly bedroom window as she wondered what it must be like to live in a mansion like that. She felt a shiver in the air as she thought quietly to herself that it seemed as if it would be rather… lonely.

Last night she had a dream… one that felt all too real. A dream of a humid summer day and waves splashing against the rocks of the coast. It had shaken her out of bed earlier than she would normally awaken on a day like this, but she couldn’t stop her mind from drifting back to the scene that had played out in that dream.

It almost felt less like a dream, and more like….

To her surprise, the cold still of the morning was broken by the familiar clunk of the farm gate swinging open, which heralded the arrival of a visitor. Clara quickly prepared herself to greet them. Although, she mused, she couldn’t imagine just who would be visiting at such an hour…

She saw a handful of other restless workers in the hallways of the farmhouse as she made her way to the entrance.

“Extra, extra!” the familiar voice of one of the town’s criers called out, a large bundle of newspapers under his arms as he ran into the Kettle farm. Waving one of the Publication’s freshly printed papers over his head, he called out, “Surplus food supply destroyed in fire during earthquake! Nobles decide not to distribute remainder among common folk! Extra!”

“Wh-what?” Clara murmured, feeling a dreadful shock at those words.

“The food reserves are gone?” someone else asked, “We’ve barely got enough on hand to keep us fed for the next week!”

Clara was swept up in the crowd of farmhands as they all ran over to the newsboy, concern evident on all their faces.

The newsboy was quickly swarmed by the other farmers, all eagerly grabbing their copies of the Publication .

Clara felt the dread in her veins deepen as she read the headline on the front page.

“That’s… they really are going to keep what’s left for themselves!” someone cried out.

“Would ya really expect anythin’ else from ‘em?” somebody else shouted back.

“Th-this is awful…” Clara murmured softly to herself.

The Kettle farm was running terribly low on supplies as it was, and if the warehouse that held the majority of the food accessible to commoners had been destroyed, she knew it was only a matter of time before the situation became even more dire than it already was.

“Well, here’s hopin’ the dirt around here tastes good,” Tommy joked, elbowing her gently, “Seems like that’s all the whole country’ll have for food soon enough.”

“No,” another voice spoke up, “There’s still food to be had around here.”

“Huh?” Tommy asked, scratching his head.

“What are you talking about?” someone else asked the voice.

Clara turned as the crowd parted to face the voice of the man who had just spoken up. Standing dramatically at the far end of the crowd stood a young man who had grown to be very well respected among their little group.

Jean Granger slowly advanced into the center of the group that had gathered on the lawn, with a large duffel bag slung over his shoulder.

“It was only a matter of time before the stuff we’re able to pilfer wasn’t enough to cover our backs. But… don’t forget what country we’re in, there’s plenty of food to go around,” Jean spoke to the crowd, turning around to meet everyone’s eyes. He tossed the duffel bag onto the snow. Inside, peeking out the top, were a large assortment of rifles. Slowly, he raised his eyes to meet those of the other farmers gathered around, “The question is, are we ready to get it?”

“U-um… Jean? I don’t think violence is the best option right now,” Clara murmured worriedly.

To her surprise, the young man spun quickly to face her, a spark of rage in his eyes.

“I don’t think…” the brown haired young man scoffed, “... we have much choice here. Do you really want to let us all starve because you’d rather not let those rich bastards go hungry? It’s us or them, Clara, and they’ve done all they possibly can to make me not give a damn about them,” Jean spoke coldly and evenly, loud enough for the group to hear. 

Clara gulped, shrinking back a step. Jean was a good man, and she had known him for years, but… when he got that look in his eyes, it frightened her.

“Oi, Jean! Are you sayin’ what I think you’re sayin’?” one of the farmers called out.

The brown haired young man nodded affirmatively, “Today’s the day. If they are going to leave us out to dry like this, it’s time we make ourselves known. We've put up with their failures and mistakes for far too long!”

“Yeah!” someone else agreed, “They’ve treated us like trash for years! We work harder than any o’ them, and they give us nothin’ in return!” 

“It’s all of our hard work that keeps them rich in the first place!” another farmer chimed in, “It’s time we remind them of that!”

Soon enough, nearly everyone began cheering their support for Jean, quickly joining in the barrage of complaints aimed at the nobility. Tommy stood awkwardly off to the side, looking unsure if he should join in or not.

Clara shivered in the cold, taking a hesitant step backwards, away from the cheering crowd. As she shrunk away from the growing clamor of the mob forming before her, she noticed a figure a few paces behind her. Olin Kettle, the owner of this farm, and the man who had taken on the role of being her father had a grim expression on his face as he watched the scene unfolding on the lawn from the doorstep of his farmhouse. Hoping her father could shed some light on what the best course of action was, she quickly ran over to him.

“It’s best you stay away from all of that, Clara,” the old farmer told her as soon as she reached the doorstep.

“Eh?” she looked up at her adoptive father, concerned, “Sh-should we try to stop them?”

“There’s no stoppin’ people when they’re like that. When they got that look in their eyes,” Mr. Kettle sighed, taking a steady breath. Somberly, he warned, “The best ye can do is stay out of their way. There’s a storm a comin’, and I don’t want you ta get caught up in it.”

In the middle of the lawn, Jean continued to rally the other farmers and members of the Commoners’ Alliance, listing out a long number of actions the nobility had taken or failed to take which had resulted in their exceedingly impoverished state. 

As the cheers of the mob began to grow louder, Clara felt a sinking feeling in her chest. As if… everything she considered to be her normal life was about to be whisked away. 

It felt like she was standing in the middle of a frozen lake, and this growing anger washing over her friends and family was about to split the ice once and for all.

The auburn haired girl gripped her fists as she once again looked up at that house in the clouds. The Baudelaire mansion still stood ominously at the very top of the mountain, as if tempting someone to challenge it.

That dream flickered through her mind’s eye once more, and she inexplicably felt a deep, searing pain in her heart as she thought back to the blonde woman who had lashed out at her.

As the others began to move towards the workshop, Clara Kettle took a deep breath of the cold winter air.

Quietly, she closed her eyes and whispered a thoughtful prayer that bubbled up from somewhere deep in her heart, “Be safe, Malicia Baudelaire.” 

The dawn came for House Baudelaire just as the previous dusk went, gray and gloomy. The large estate stood ominously, looming atop its precarious perch of a cliff, silent as the mountain it sat upon.

The same could not be said for the servants’ quarters, however. 

Morning found a surprisingly boisterous bunch of young women gathered around the small maids’ table in the outbuilding of the Baudelaire estate. 

Somehow, despite seeing the little shed almost every day for her entire life, last night had been Malicia’s first time actually entering the building. In hindsight, the blonde wished she had spent more time in here; the place had a nice, comfortable atmosphere to it, a far cry from the often overbearing weight she felt in her own mansion. 

In fact, this little house, despite its somewhat cramped interior, had the potential to grow into one of the heiress’ favorite places on her estate. Or at least, it might have, if not for one critical error she had made earlier that morning.

“Perhaps a nice tomato soup for our resident vegetable,” Nellie suggested with a smug smile. (And yes, Malicia was sure this one was Nellie, she had taken a good deal of time this morning making sure she knew which was which. It was only reasonable that the acting head of the house be familiar with her staff, after all.)

“I think onions go better with carrots, sister,” Ellie chimed in, a devilish smirk on her lips.

Malicia pouted, folding her arms at the table.

She had awoken later than usual; between the exhausting day yesterday and the… surprisingly soothing atmosphere of this small building, the heiress wound up sleeping just long enough to be awoken by the bustling activity of the other maids as they prepared things for the day. It seemed not even an earthquake could shake them from going about their business as usual.

Without a thought, she finally rolled out of bed and stepped out of her little room in the outbuilding. And of course, she had stumbled into the little hallway wearing her Cozy Carrot, bumping right into Grace.

And, well, word traveled quickly in a small, thin walled building such as this. She supposed it was unlikely that she would be able to wear those gaudy pajamas in such small quarters without being seen, but she had become rather addicted to them. They were far too comfortable for their own good.

“My maids are all so mean…” the heiress whined. 

Nellie and Ellie giggled impishly. Rina must be a bad influence on them, the blonde decided. Even the pure hearted Grace would hide her face at the sight of the heiress; Malicia could only conclude she was laughing at her too.

Only a few months ago, Malicia would have probably fired someone on the spot if they joked about her attire, but now, her servantry’s quips at her expense felt… relaxing? Maybe not quite that, but they didn’t make her angry anymore. It was… not a bad feeling, the blonde decided.

As breakfast began, the heiress fell into a somewhat awkward conversation with her maids at the breakfast table. She had spent so much time simply ignoring most of her manor’s staff that she hardly knew what to talk about with them. Luckily, it seemed Rina was something of a master at this type of thing, and in no time, the brunette had lulled everyone into a surprisingly easy and gentle conversation. 

In what felt like a much shorter time than her breakfasts usually took, their morning meal reached its end. The maids tended to their dishes in the tiny sink in the cramped kitchen of the outbuilding, and began preparations for the day ahead.

Despite all the objections she made, Malicia’s biggest complaint was one she would never voice aloud. The blonde couldn’t shake the feeling that it was a huge waste that this was the first time she had spent a night in this shed.

Of course, it was unbecoming of a noblewoman of any rank to sleep in a servants’ quarters. And yet… it just felt so warm here. 

Not the temperature, but the company.

It was odd, she mused, how she didn’t realize just how lonely being alone had made her feel all this time.

The blonde was shaken from her thoughts by the clanging of one of the bells on the wall, connected to the main house. She couldn’t explain why, but something about that ringing sent a chill down her spine.

Arching a curious eyebrow, she turned to Rina and asked, “What is that?”

“That’s the front door,” the maid replied quickly, preparing herself to answer the call.

Malicia nodded tacitly, but she couldn’t shake the feeling that the sudden ringing of the doorbell was a particularly bad omen.

Quickly springing into action at the sound of the bell, Katarina slid out of her casual attire and into her maid uniform with practiced haste.

“That bell chimes in here?” Malicia asked, pointing to the clanging brass bell at the top of the panel of bells connected to the main house

“Well, yeah,” Katarina nodded, chipperly explaining, “We gotta be ready to answer the door anytime someone comes by!”

“I didn’t… realize it was so… loud,” Malicia frowned.

“Well, you get used to it quickly enough!” Katarina shrugged, hoping her charge wouldn’t worry about little things like that, “Anyways, I’ll be back in a sec, okay?”

“Y-yes. Thank you, Rina,” Malicia nodded politely.

Katarina smiled warmly back at her. She really had changed a lot in these months, hadn’t she?

Wasting no time, she slid into her shoes and sprinted through the secret passageway to the main estate, and  over to the manor’s front door, where she found a bespectacled young woman, black hair swaying in sharp contrast to the white snow behind her.

“Ahem,” Lady Lena LaCroix greeted her adjusting her glasses coolly, “Is Lady Baudelaire here?”

Katarina quickly waved her inside, “Yeah, I’ll get her right away. What’s up, Lady Lena?”

“It’s… complicated,” the black haired woman replied cryptically, but the dark expression on her face didn’t exactly bode well.

Katarina nodded, quickly realizing whatever she had come here to discuss was for Malicia only. Welcoming the bespectacled young woman into the house, she sat her in the main parlor and quickly ran back to the outbuilding to fetch Malicia. Soon enough, the blonde heiress had readied herself for the day and returned to the main house with Katarina.

“Lady LaCroix?” Malicia asked upon stepping into the estate’s foyer, “What brings you by?”

“Ahem,” Lena reddened a bit, “In all honesty, I wished to pay a visit of my own accord. It is… only logical to stay on good terms with houses such as yours.”

“Y-yes, well, I do appreciate it,” Malicia turned a bit pink too. Katarina stifled a giggle at her charge’s behavior.

“U-unfortunately, that is not why I am here at the moment. No, there is some slightly more… serious business I wished to discuss with you. What brings me by today is…” the bespectacled young woman took a breath, looking apprehensive behind her lenses, “Well… I simply wished to tell you…” she lifted the pamphlet she had been carrying in her hand, proffering it to Katarina and Malicia as she murmured, “The story was not submitted by myself. I don’t know who it was that ran such a story, but I can assure you it was not by my design.”

By her side, Malicia pulled forth her newly minted glasses and put them on, scanning over the paper before her. As she did, Katarina could see the blood drain from her face as she focused on the large, bold headline at the top of the page:

‘Lady Malicia Baudelaire Advocates Reserving Remaining Food Supplies for the Nobility Only’

Jean Granger glanced surreptitiously over his shoulder as he led a group from the Kettle farm to the main city. He’d gotten a good number of the farmers to join up with him in addition to the groups from the Commoners’ Alliance he planned to meet up with here. All in all, he would have a pretty good sized crowd here by the time everyone showed.

Even so, he did feel a bit annoyed. Not everyone was here.

He clicked his tongue. That damn Finch! He had decided to hang back at the farm, and Clara had gone and stayed with him.

A few months ago, that brat would be right here by his side, helping him out with any scheme he could come up with, but now, he just wanted to sit around and wait for Malicia Baudelaire to swoop in and save them all.

Jean just didn’t know what had gotten into Tommy lately.

That Baudelaire devil had somehow gotten him wrapped around her little finger, and now he didn’t want to do what he was supposed to. Jean had no idea where he’d gotten it from that Malicia Baudelaire was anything less than the worst of the worst, but he didn't care. 

The nobility might be tricking some of his best crewmates into sympathizing with them, but it wasn’t as if he didn’t have a few tricks of his own. 

Over the past few months, all those little gadgets the Professor had been teaching them how to design had really come in handy. Tommy and some of the other Outliers had been using those wireless audio transmitters to distract people and swipe their stuff while they were looking the other way, which was nice for the occasional haul of bread or some jewelry, but Jean had slightly larger ambitions with them.

While the others were whiling away their time swiping petty trinkets, the brown haired young man had been preparing something a bit… bigger.

And, as he and the others quietly entered the largest public square in the city of Dumont, he decided this was as good a time as any to try it out.

It had taken a lot of sneaking around, but he had managed to set up a bunch of those sound amplifier things the Professor had them build around the town, and he’d hidden the microphone right under the main statue at the center.

The nobility might be doing their damndest to ensure that the commoners were silenced, but today, Jean decided he was going to make a stand. He would make his voice heard whether they wanted him to or not.

Of course, he couldn’t do it alone. Luckily, he had a few contacts. 

There were quite a few people, especially among the more low-ranking city workers and guards stationed around the town who were sympathetic to the plight of the commoners, and even a few who doubled as members of the Commoners’ Alliance. It was with their help that Jean had been able to rig up this speaker system around the town in the first place.

As the crowd he led filtered into the town square, some of the guards looked a bit concerned, but the ones who were in contact with the Commoners’ Alliance instructed them not to make an issue out of it, allowing them to gather quickly in one location.

Jean glanced around the square, making sure that all the factions of the Commoners’ Alliance were being led in. After confirming everyone was within range of the speakers, the brown haired young man took a deep breath. He just had to wait for his cue, and things could finally begin in earnest.

A nod from one of the guards and the brown haired young man deftly leapt into action.

Today was the day. He was finally going to make his stand!

Feeling his heart racing in his chest, Jean climbed up the base of the marble statue and pulled forth the microphone device the Professor had created.  Taking a deep breath, he turned to face the crowd, “Attention, Commoners of Ritallia!”

Malicia gaped, affronted by the brazen lies in the pamphlet. 

Who in the world was writing this drivel?! Who would have the nerve to accuse her of something so openly?!

More than that, though, she felt a deep sense of worry.

She knew already, from what she and her maid had discussed the night prior, how things were supposed to play out from this point forward, according to Rina’s visions. 

There would be an uprising.

She had been hoping her maid was exaggerating things, but it seemed the world had taken no time in correcting that feeble hope of hers. With a heavy heart, she read through the article in the Publication.

There were a handful of warehouses on the city’s edge used to store grains and other produce that would be sold off at markets, but due to the drought plaguing the lands recently, only one had been in use.

The owner of the guild in charge of the warehouse had decided to use it as a place to help with rationing food supplies during this current famine, and, evidently, the previous evening’s earthquake had knocked down a lantern, which had set fire to the warehouse, destroying all the food contained within.

Malicia felt a chill of cold as she read over the details of how it had happened, all unnervingly accurate to how her maid had described all of this unfolding.

Of course, if RIna knew so clearly all of this… that meant it was highly likely that her other predictions would come to pass as well. The revolution, and of course, her fate which awaited at the end of that violent uprising….

She shook her head, unable to think about such things right then.

No, there was another big problem here, and that was…

“This is… utter rubbish!” Malicia crumpled up the paper quickly as soon as she finished reading, “I only just woke up, I haven’t had any time to give an order not to distribute food rations to the commoners, and I w-wouldn’t give an order like that anyways!”

The blonde felt her voice falter a bit at the end of that declaration, recalling what Rina had told her the night before about how she had acted in the visions she had. Perhaps… she would have given an order like that, had things been different. No… she felt a growing pit of coldness in her heart as she realized just how easily she could see herself doing something like that.

“I had a hunch something like that was the case,” Lena nodded, shaking her from her thoughts, “There was little conclusive evidence presented in the article, and it all seems very rushed. There shouldn’t be enough information yet to run an article like this, which is why it struck me as odd they would distribute something like this so soon.”

Malicia frowned, somewhat comforted by the other woman’s words, but still very shaken by it all.

“Even so… there is going to be a meeting soon to discuss how to handle the earthquake,” Lena informed her, pulling a small notebook from her pocket and skimming over a few pages.

“Where and when is this all being decided?” Malicia asked, a hint of desperation creeping into her voice. If things were really going to go as bad as her maid described, she needed to get out in front of any rumors and stop things from escalating. 

“This morning,” Lena explained, gesturing down the mountain, “There will be a meeting at Marchioness Couillard's estate to discuss, among other things, the rationing of food supplies among the peasants.”

“I see,” Malicia nodded. The Couillard estate wasn’t exactly her favorite place to visit, but their family did have a lot of control over transportation, so if anyone would be in charge of distributing emergency rations, it would likely be her.

“I suppose that, given what you’ve already said, it isn’t worth asking whether the rumors were true or not,” Lena murmured offhandedly.

“Rumors?” the blonde arched a brow at her.

“Yes. The rumor that your mind on this matter was already made up, and that you did not wish to discuss it any further,” Lena explained.

“What? That’s ridiculous!” Malicia gaped, “Who is saying that?”

“I overheard it from Lady Lucille Canion earlier this morning at a breakfast party she was hosting,” Lena explained, “That was where I happened upon these… dubious news stories. I’m afraid these rumors are quite far reaching, however unsubstantiated they may be.”

“Ugh, that Lucille! Of course I will be attending!” Malicia dissented, quickly turning to her maid, “Rina? Prepare the carriage at once!”

Before the brunette could act, however, Lady Lena cleared her throat, “Ahem. I-if you wish to depart with haste, I already have my own carriage at the ready. It would… only be logical to join me, if you would be so inclined?”

“Th-thank you, Lady Lena,” Malicia smiled warmly with genuine gratitude back at the other woman. That was a surprisingly nice gesture, the blonde thought… and then she noticed the slight red dusting on the pale woman’s cheeks.

“M-mm,” the bespectacled young woman nodded briskly, pushing her glasses up her nose as she turned awkwardly away, “Yes, you’re very welcome.”

That strange reaction! Could it be? 

“Maid!” the blonde quickly called for Rina, who was beside her in an instant.

“Yes, Malicia?”

The heiress hesitated for a moment. She thought back to all the things they had discussed last night about the futures Rina had foreseen… and all the factors that led to Malicia’s ‘bad ends’, as the maid put it. Taking it all into account… that odd reaction from the LaCroix heiress could only mean….

“C-could it be that… Lady Lena is leading me to my doom?” Malicia asked her maid quietly.

Rina looked up at her with eyes full of surprise… and then, she laughed, “Ehehe… I don’t think that’s what’s going on, my Lady…”

Malicia looked crossly at her maid. What in the world did she mean by that?

The LaCroix carriage pulled around to the front of the estate before she could think on it further, and Malicia quickly pulled her maid in as they set off to begin the painstaking process of trying to prevent a revolution. Just as the carriage began to roll forward, the first few flakes of snow began to fall. The blizzard had finally arrived.

Notes:

I'm very sorry for the delay on this; some chapters are just really tedious to write, and I've had a lot on my plate irl recently too. Anyways, here's the next chapter. The revolution's a-brewin' and someone seems to be trying to set Malicia up to take the fall for all of it.

If there is one silver lining to the storm arriving, it's that the Sorcier crew are racing that storm, and they should arrive swiftly on the Fortune Lover soon enough!

I will really try not to have another break between chapters this long! I want to finish this up soon so I can get on to writing other things!

Thank you for reading, comments and constructive criticism are welcome as always!

Chapter 32: The Footsteps of Doom Approaching!

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

In the town square, the air was heavy with anger and distrust.

Tommy Finch stood near the back of the crowd which had gathered around the large marble statue of some old king at the center of the city. The first few flakes of snow were beginning to fall as Jean rallied the crowd of commoners into an ever-wilder frenzy.

The con artist could do little more than simply looking on from afar as his friend incited the masses. A handful of guards had moved to try and arrest Jean, but thus far, the crowd had held them back.

With a growing feeling of doubt in his gut, Tommy scratched his head as he thought back to just an hour or so ago back at the farm.

“I wanna come too!” Charlie pouted, looking up at him in frustration.

“Nah, it’s just gonna be boring stuff,” Tommy told his little bro as straightly as he could, hoping his little bro wouldn’t get involved in… whatever it was Jean was up to.

“Jean said there’s gonna be lots of fun action and adventure!” Charlie looked up at him, eyes sparkling with wonder, “He said the whole country’s gonna change today!”

“...Jean said that, huh?” Tommy frowned.

Really? The street thief could understand what Jean was up to here, and why he had to get everyone all psyched up for it, but… he really ought to know well enough to leave the kids out of it, shouldn’t he?

Tommy sighed and looked his little bro in the eyes, “Look, there’s nothing fun about what he’s plannin’. I’m sure of that much. When have I ever steered ya wrong?”

Charlie looked a bit let down, but he sighed, “Awright. If you say so.”

With that, the younger boy slunk away back to the farmhouse.

Tommy let out a weary sigh, hoping that, for once in his life, that kid would stay out of trouble.

Towards the edge of the barn, the familiar figure of Clara Kettle was silhouetted in the morning fog. The auburn haired young woman turned to him with concern in her eyes, “I’m worried, Tommy.”

Yeah, me too , he thought.

“Ah, I’m sure it’ll be fine,” he brushed it off with a toothy grin.

Clara shot him a glare, but he could tell she was truly nervous about the precarious situation they suddenly found themselves in.

It was strange, he thought.

Normally, he would be totally on board with an attempt to shake down the nobles, to make them squirm, and to make the country work a little better for the people at the bottom.

But… ever since that day….

Ever since Malicia Baudelaire had given him her brooch…

He just had this odd feeling that the nobles weren’t really all that bad. At least, not all of them.

And, of course, there had been that incident, just a couple mornings ago, when Malicia had come back to their farm, only to get angry out of nowhere and lash out at Clara. When she had struck her oddball of a maid and then ran off without another word…

And yet, even then… the young man couldn’t shake the feeling that something else had been wrong then. He had no idea what it was, and he would have better luck swimming the Strait of Sorcier in the middle of the Nor’easter than he would have convincing anyone else on this farm of that, but it was a gut feeling he just couldn’t get rid of.

Tommy loved a good trick, a successful con, a nice hustle to wheedle some gold or reis off a noble, but… violence was never his style.

And he knew quite well that was what Jean had in mind when he set out that morning.

Not to mention… the Publication said Malicia herself was almost solely responsible for keeping the remaining food out of their hands. 

Something about that didn’t add up to him. 

Despite Jean’s insistence, and counter to everything that made logical sense, Tommy didn’t believe that Malicia was the type of person who would do something like that. She was stubborn and prideful and stuck up, but… he could tell she had some form of compassion behind her golden eyes.

Yeah. he had no idea why, but… he didn’t want anything too bad to happen to her.

“Awright, I’ll go see what I can do,” Tommy shrugged as nonchalantly as he could, “You stay here and keep an eye on Charlie, yeah?”

“Okay,” Clara nodded, “Be safe, Tommy.”

The con artist nodded, giving her a cheeky grin before turning towards the farm gate. He was truly thankful for Clara; she was one shining light in the darkness, not just for himself, but a lot of the others, too. After all, he wasn’t the only member of the Outliers who decided not to rush alongside Jean into the city that morning, and he knew that the auburn haired young woman being hesitant to go along with it had probably been a big part of keeping a lot of them back. He hoped Clara couldn’t tell how nervous he was about the whole thing, but he kept himself steady and headed out.

With that, he had set out to the city, hoping he could do something to reign in whatever it was his friend had planned before it went too far off the rails.

And the sight he’d seen when he reached the town square was not a very pleasant one.

Up at the big statue, Jean continued his rant into the amplifier, “We have been starved! We have been forgotten! We have been left in the ice to freeze, while they dance and gamble and auction off relics worth more than any of us will earn in a lifetime!”

Jean’s efforts to rile the crowd up and push people into action were quite effective thus far. Even so, Tommy could tell from the air that not everyone in the crowd was totally on board with what Jean was suggesting just yet. 

“What about the King? He has never been cruel to the common folk!” someone near the middle of the crowd called out, “We just need to wait a bit longer for him to sign a royal decree! Surely that will force them to hand over food to us!”

“The King is dying in his bed this very moment!” Jean called back, “He won’t be of any use to anyone! At best, he’d simply give some trifling handout to pacify us for a few months, and things wouldn’t change at all! We need to make a real difference!”

The crowd cheered out in agreement once again.

Just as Jean was gearing up to make some other long winded rant, someone else shouted out to him, “What about the Chancellor? He has always been sympathetic to our plight, and tries to keep the people fed!”

That much was true, Tommy mused. Whatever little financial help the Kettle farm had during the food blight that had lasted for most of the last year had come from the Chancellor’s office.

Jean paused for a moment, acknowledging that question, before he replied, “Right now… we can’t count on anyone or anything but what we can take or make for ourselves. The Chancellor might be willing to lend some aid, but we need to be ready to forge a new path for this nation on our own!”

“Then what should we do?” someone called out.

“Today, we need to make a stand! We need to change things in this country, once and for all!” Jean replied quickly, raising his rifle over his head.

The crowd erupted in applause and cheers, eagerly awaiting his next instructions.

Near the back of the crowd, though, the waves of cheering commoners, some of whom were brandishing rifles and pitchforks, Tommy felt a flicker of anger at his friend’s words.

It was true, though. Everything Jean was saying was the truth.

The nobility had constantly treated them all like garbage, and Tommy knew that better than most. Sure, he might have brought some of that on himself by constantly trying to steal from them, but there was no question that the higher ups in this country couldn’t care less about anyone who wasn’t one of them.

As the strawberry blond boy watched on, the crowd raised their voices again and again, crying out in anger every time Jean named one of the misdeeds the nobility had perpetrated. They raised their voices in a cheer every time Jean told them that today would be the day they would take back what was rightfully theirs.

And the crowd all raised their torches and tools and rifles when Jean rallied them onwards.

Tommy wasn’t really able to say much over the loud crowd standing in the square, but he wished he could.

He didn’t like the nobility in this country more than anyone else, but still.

Something about this felt wrong.

In the LaCroix carriage, a group of young women were on their way to a very important meeting. 

However, an equally important meeting was currently being held deep in the mind of Katarina Claes.

“Attention!” Chairman Katarina called out, banging her gavel that stood at the center of Katarina’s mental sanctum, “I hereby call to order this meeting to discuss Lady Malicia’s doom flags!”

“This is awful!” Spineless Katarina squirmed in her seat, “We have decided to protect Malicia from her doom flags no matter what. But it seems like whatever we do… the game seems to be playing on hard mode right now!”

“Malicia hasn’t given any order to withhold the food reserves!” Fearless Katarina declared sternly, “In fact, she even went so far as to help distribute some of her land’s rations just a few months ago! And yet, there are still articles saying she did make such an order! It doesn’t make any sense!”

“Uwahh… She’s going to be doomed… just like us…” Spineless slumped down in her chair.

Happy Katarina munched pleasantly on a treat, watching the back-and-forth unfolding.

“No! We can’t think like that!” Fearless shot back, slamming her hands onto the tabletop, “This is no time to give up! We just need to think of a plan!”

“But… that flag shouldn’t have even been raised yet!” Spineless cowered, pointing to the game scene on the screen above them.

“True,” Logical adjusted her glasses, “In the game, it is not for a few days after the first earthquake that the people began to accuse Malicia of being responsible for it, and that was largely because the abuse she had put Clara through came to light. And yet, now that the Publication was released immediately, the very morning after the first earthquake!”

“It’s quite… suspicious…” Fearless folded her arms, an annoyed look on her features, “In the game, the Publication was an underground pamphlet distributed among members of the Commoners’ Alliance, which exposed a lot of misdeeds of the nobles and helped them organize into the revolution towards the end of the game.”

“And yet,” Logical folded her hands, “Between Malicia distributing food to the commoners and being much nicer to her maids, it is odd that such a critical article of Malicia would pop up so suddenly, and so baselessly.”

“Yeah… it’s like the game is speedrunning Malicia’s doom!” Happy chimed in chipperly.

“Eh?” Spineless looked at her with worry.

“It’s like someone published that story really quickly to get out in front of any chance Malicia had to deny those rumors!” Fearless agreed.

“You’re saying… someone is setting Malicia up?” Spineless fretted, before coming to an unfortunate realization, “Come to think of it… the game never said who was writing the articles about Malicia in the Publication . At least, not in the routes we played…”

“Then… what should we do?” Chairman Katarina asked the council.

“We need to find out who it was that sent that article out, and why they want to make Malicia look bad!” Fearless declared.

“That’s true,” Logical adjusted her glasses, “If we could find out who is casting such suspicions on Malicia, we might be able to convince them she isn’t a villainess anymore and avoid her doom.”

“Yeah! Plus, if we find out who has been saying all those mean things, we might be able to get them to use that Publication thing to tell the truth and help stop the revolution!” Happy added in with a wide smile.

“Any objections?” Chairman addressed the group.

“None!” they all agreed. 

“It’s settled then!” Chairman declared, banging her gavel again.

“Hai!” the rest of the council chorused, pumping their fists.

“Hai!” Katarina cheered loudly, pumping her fist in the air in the LaCroix carriage. 

“Gih!” the maid sitting across from her flinched back audibly at the sudden outburst.

As the carriage rolled through the city, towards Lady Couillard’s house, Katarina had been deep in thought. However, now that her inner council had come to a conclusion, she was shaken back to the reality of the situation, namely that she was sitting in the LaCroix carriage with her charge, Lady Lena, and Colette, Lena’s maid.

Katarina shrank back into her seat once she realized how loudly she had just cried out.

“She… does that sometimes,” Malicia explained with a withering sigh.

“Miss Clayton,” Colette chastised, “Your behavior is, once again, entirely unbefitting of a maid–”

The red haired woman’s scolding was interrupted by a light, lilting laugh from the opposite side of the carriage.

“Hmhmhm~” Lady Lena quietly giggled, violet eyes sparking behind her glasses, “Your maid is very… unique, Lady Baudelaire.”

“Yes, well… She is an excellent companion,” the blonde reddened a bit, smiling gently at Katarina.

Katarina smiled back… and then quickly turned to Colette and stuck her tongue out.

Colette recoiled at the sight, “With all due respect, Lady Baudelaire, this… individual is a poor fit for the profession of serving a noble house as venerable as yours! She clearly has no idea how to treat a noble lady!”

“I find her rather charming,” Lady Lena admitted, adjusting her round glasses.

Katarina sat next to Colette, who looked somewhere between frustrated and worried, before she seemed to make up her mind about something. Tentatively, the other maid faced Lady Lena and very slightly poked her tongue out.

Lady Lena tilted her head, confused.

Colette turned as red as her hair and quickly buried her face in her hands. Katarina couldn’t help but giggle at the scene. Colette shot her a scathing glare from between her fingers.

As the carriage rolled down the mountain into the town, Katarina could suddenly hear a loud commotion from close to the city center. It sounded like someone talking… but the voice sounded much louder than a normal person… and it seemed to be echoing throughout the city.

“Are those… speakers?” the brunette tilted her head, a feeling of dread creeping into her veins as she began to hear what it was that was being shouted through the speaker system.

“...the people will no longer sit idly by while the nobles indulge themselves in frivolities! We must act with haste! We must unite and stand together for the sake of ourselves and our nation!”

Katarina gulped. 

Discreetly, she turned to face Malicia, whose face had paled with worry. As the carriage approached the Couillard estate, Katarina couldn’t help but feel that this was going to be a very, very long day.

Outside the city, the palatial estate of Marchioness Couillard was situated near the bottom of the large mountain that was home to the majority of the noble houses, and sat closest to the port.

On any other occasion, the Baudelaire heiress would have taken a moment to admire the nice view of the ships docked at the harbor, but she had no time for that now.

(And she was also doing her best not to think too hard about the fact that the port was rather… abandoned this morning. As if all the usual dockworkers were busy with something else…)

Malicia marched up to the front door with Rina and Lady Lena a few paces behind her and gave the gargoyle shaped brass bell a loud ring. After what felt like a disrespectfully long wait, the door opened to reveal the languid form of one Marchioness Celeste Couillard, whose listless eyes regarded Malicia the same way one might look at a particularly boring piece of driftwood. Her dark green hair was curled elaborately over her shoulder and a long cigarette was held idly in her left hand.

“Why, Lady Baudelaire,” the Marchioness’ eyes showed no signs of kindness as she drawled, “How… unexpected to see you here. I take it you wish to complain about the extent of financial losses to your estate as well?”

The older woman spoke as if talking to a much younger child, and paid absolutely no mind at all to Lady Lena who stood beside her, as if she wasn’t even there. Yes, it went without saying, but the Marchioness Couillard was someone of whom Malicia was not particularly fond. The blonde thanked her years of practiced calm in the face of people such as this Marchioness for being able to keep a level head.

“Hmph,” Malicia scoffed as the other woman ushered them into the main foyer of her home, “I’m not here to discuss something as trivial as financial losses.”

“Then… why are you here, exactly?” the green haired woman asked, with no particular urgency.

“The earthquake last night caused significant damage to our country, in case you hadn’t noticed,” Malicia replied in an equally condescending manner, “I wished to see what could be done to repair and remedy the situation for everyone affected.”

The Marchioness exchanged a crooked glance with some other members of her retinue, before lazily turning back to the blonde, “And… what is your real reason?”

“Hah?” Malicia arched an eyebrow at the older woman before her, “I just told you, you insufferable–”

“Lady Baudelaire, far be it from me to doubt you, my dear Lady,” the green haired woman sneered at her, cutting her off, “And yet, given your… reputation, I can’t help but think you might have some other intentions here.”

“Like what?” Malicia frowned, thoroughly unimpressed by the Marchioness’ tone and general demeanor.

“As it so happens, I do read a certain publication, and they seem to think…” the Marchioness arched an eyebrow at her accusingly, “... that you intend to assess the damage caused by the earthquake to see what properties the Baudelaire Archduchy could purchase.”

The blonde felt a truly sickening twisting in her gut as she began to wonder just how deeply these wicked rumors about her had spread. Regardless, she kept her cool and brushed it off quickly, “That is a ridiculous thing to imply. I have much to discuss here, and more important things to do than try and buy up even more needless land or whatever else your rumors seem to be insinuating.”

Wasting no more time needlessly bickering with the older woman, Malicia marched forwards into the center of her mansion. The Marchioness scoffed rudely at her but didn’t put up any form of protest. Lady Lena and the maids followed tacitly behind her as she ventured into the gaudy mansion. Hastily, Malicia made her way towards the conference room at the center of the large estate, where Lady Couillard held up a hand for her to stop.

“Ah, my apologies,” the green haired woman’s eyes glinted remorselessly in the low light, “This meeting is for nobles only. Your maids will have to remain outside for the time being.”

With a sigh, Malicia signaled to Rina to wait there along with Lady Lena’s maid. The blonde felt a twist of worry as she parted with her maid; she really didn’t know when it had happened, but she felt so much more comfortable with Rina around. She felt practically lost without that maid by her side.

Without another word, the heiress stepped into the room, where a surprisingly large and lively crowd were arguing around the Couillard's enormous conference table.

“Can’t we import some more?” a nobleman was asking worriedly.

“Not for a month at the earliest! The channel is already closed due to the coming storm!” a rather frazzled looking lady replied to him.

Malicia pursed her lips. Were they discussing importing food? She had not considered that option, but it wasn’t too outlandish, was it? If they could, they might be able to at least pacify the peasantry for the time being. 

“Dammit!” the first nobleman replied, “My fountain is split clean in half from that blasted earthquake, and the soonest we can import another one is in a month? It looks horrid on my front garden like that!”

The blonde felt her eye twitch slightly at that. Was that really these people’s priority right now? Tending to some broken fountain?

She felt a pang of something a bit more painful than guilt as she realized she likely would have been concerned about something similar if not for Rina Clayton.

It was true that the nobles in this room might not realize the urgency of the situation, seeing as they didn’t have a handy maid nearby to tell them the future, but it was obvious the commoners were in need of some kind of help right now!

Clearing her throat, the heiress stepped into the bustling conference room, making her presence known to everyone in attendance.

“Ah, Lady Baudelaire!” a certain mustachioed man stepped up to greet her, “What a surprise!”

The blonde turned to find Chancellor Riviere at the head of the table, a number of notebooks and papers splayed out on the table before him. His eyes had dark circles under them, and the blonde could only imagine he had been very busy keeping track of all the damages incurred by the earthquake.

“Ah, good day to you, Chancellor,” she greeted him with a handshake, “I had not expected to see you here.”

“Yes, well… I do oversee commerce as part of my job, so naturally, meetings such as this fall under my jurisdiction,” the older man sighed, as if annoyed that he had to waste his time with such frivolous discourse. He opened yet another ledger on the desk and pulled forth his pen before asking her, “Shall I have some tea prepared for you?”

“Ahem. No thank you, Chancellor, I don’t need any tea this morning,” Malicia politely declined his offer, moving to take a seat at the long table. 

Lady Lena wordlessly moved in to sit next to her. Malicia was grateful for her presence; with all the chaos, it was nice to have someone who she could almost consider to be a friend nearby.

“Perhaps some eastern stonemasons could be called in to repair it?” the nobleman who had been complaining about his damaged fountain continued griping from the far side of the table.

Malicia sighed. Was this really all they were going to be talking about? Wasn’t it clear there were more important matters at play here? She leaned forward in her chair, “Can we discuss a different matter?”

“Yes, I think that would be wise,” Chancellor Riviere agreed, rubbing his eyes, “I’ve heard the Earl of Rhene prattling on about his precious fountain long enough that it could be made into a stage production.”

The aforementioned Earl shot the Chancellor a glare, but evidently decided not to speak up.

“Shall we discuss–” the Chancellor began.

“How about the commoners?” Malicia quickly cut him off, not wanting to waste any time here.

“I beg your pardon?” one of the noblemen at the table asked in surprise.

“We need to discuss how to distribute our food reserves among the commoners,” Malicia repeated herself, eager to get the important matters underway.

There was a sudden moment of awkward quiet at the table, as if no one knew how to respond.

“Hm, hm,” one of the ladies at the table quietly murmured after a moment, “I’ve heard the Baudelaire territory’s productivity has declined sharply as of late.”

“Ah, I see,” Marchioness Couillard nodded, flipping open her fan, “She must be trying to save face to motivate her peasants.”

The ladies sitting near her chuckled quietly amongst themselves. Malicia did her best not to scream at them, knowing it would do little to help her cause. Before she could continue, the Earl who had been complaining about his fountain interjected.

“I appreciate your concern for the lower classes, Lady Baudelaire,” he said in a tone which indicated he did not appreciate any such thing, “But I highly doubt that anyone’s priority here is to worry about rationing food among the peasants.”

“Ahem,” Lena suddenly interjected from beside her. 

The bespectacled young woman had thus far been so quiet that she might as well have been invisible. Quickly, though, the attention shifted to her, and the LaCroix heiress began to make her case.

“Actually, Lady Baudelaire has a point,” Lena explained, voice carrying no emotions at all, “If you wish for faster repairs for your estates, or sooner replacements for your fountain, it would be most logical to keep our workforce well nourished. They can perform labor tasks better when they are on a proper diet, you see.”

The Chancellor’s eyes quietly glanced back and forth from Lady Lena to the noblemen and women at the table, who seemed to be considering her point. Malicia gave the other woman a look, not expecting such a cold rationalization.

Behind her glasses, Lady Lena’s eyes glinted knowingly as she quietly informed her, “It’s just to convince them, Lady Baudelaire.”

The blonde nodded, quickly understanding. These old fools were probably a lot less inclined to go along with a plea to help people out of the goodness of their hearts than they were to help if their own property and productivity were in jeopardy.

In any case, no matter how poor her relationship with some of the noble houses in the room may have been, the act of the heiress of an Archduchy voicing her support for a motion like distributing food among the lower classes was sure to carry weight. 

As such, she brazenly announced, “Of course I will advocate for our estate’s reserves to be distributed to the commoners.”

The Baudelaire estate’s supply of food was not limitless, but it should be enough to keep the people sated for a month or so. With any luck, that would be long enough to get some new produce grown or imported, if need be.

Unfortunately, and to her surprise, her sudden declaration was met with strange looks from everyone at the table. The heiress felt a strange sense of unease as she looked around the room, where some had begun to murmur under their breath.

“She doesn’t know?” one of the other noblemen asked surreptitiously, to which another shrugged.

The Chancellor cleared his throat, drawing her eyes to him.

“Ahem, Lady Baudelaire…” the gray haired man spoke up, a look of concern in his eyes, “We have already received a missive instructing the withholding of food reserves from the commoners. I am sorry to inform you of this, but the Baudelaire estate moves against this motion.”

“Hah?” Malicia gaped at him. Who was he to tell her what her own house planned to do? Who could have sent such a missive?

And then, it struck her.

The blonde felt a heavy weight in her heart as she managed to ask, “On whose orders?”

“Your father’s, Lady Baudelaire,” the Chancellor confirmed.

“And the Publication just… gets delivered randomly?” Katarina asked.

“There are newsboys who deliver it, but… they aren’t really employed anywhere,” the Couillard housemaid answered awkwardly, “They are mainly street kids who carry it out to earn some spare money.”

“And you never asked them where they get the papers from?”

“No. I don’t see why it would matter?” 

“I see…” Katarina frowned, tapping her chin, “Sorry for bothering you, thank you for your time.”

The other maid looked at her curiously before nodding and continuing down the hallway. 

Katarina let out a sigh. She had tried to get some leads on who was starting all those rumors, but it seemed the maids in this house didn’t know much either.

The brunette paced nervously up and down the corridor outside the meeting room where Lena and Malicia were discussing things that could potentially decide not just the end of the game, but the fate of this nation.

She really wished she could listen in on the conversation going on in there! The brunette had asked the maid she had just been talking to, but it seemed she wasn’t any more knowledgeable than Katarina herself.

Standing on the other side of the hall, silently watching her interrogation of the other maid was Colette. Katarina suddenly noticed the antsy way the crimson haired maid was tapping her toe.

Walking over to her, Katarina asked her, “Do you need to use the bathroom?”

“What?!” Colette turned to her with a sharp glare, “No I certainly don’t! And it’s very rude of a maid to ask something like that!”

“Well…” Katarina considered any other reasons she might be tapping her foot like that, before asking, “Are you nervous, then?”

“My, aren’t you sharp,” Colette snipped back.

Katarina frowned. She could tell that, despite the front she put up, the red haired maid really did care a lot about Lady Lena. She reached out and gently took the other maid’s hand, “It’ll be okay, Colette, I’m sure of it.”

“My Lady is quite clever, you know. She had deduced the possibility of instability among the lower classes long ago. However, even she didn’t expect things to escalate this quickly. And now… the commoners are on the brink of revolt! If things go south, they could endanger the very lives of noble houses!” the other maid glared at her, “Do you have any idea the gravity of the situation?” 

Katarina had spent every night for the past four and a half months considering doom flags, reviewing any knowledge she could remember from the game, and preparing a number of ways to try and help Malicia dodge her bad ends.

So, yes, for whatever else could be said about her, Katarina Claes was quite sure that she, if anyone, understood the current gravity of the situation.

Eyes burning with intensity, she turned to Colette and nodded sharply, just once.

“G-good,” the crimson haired woman recoiled a bit at the severity of her gaze, “I just wanted to make sure you understood.”

There was a moment of awkward silence in the hallway, punctuated only by the occasional distant yells from the town square. After a long while, Katarina asked, “What do you think we should do?”

Colette turned to face her, a steely look in her eyes, and simply said, “If you truly care about your charge, you should run.”

“Eh?!”

The other maid looked solemnly out the window. This house was much closer to the city center than Malicia’s home… it was almost uncomfortably close to the central square, where the commoners were getting increasingly agitated. Colette sighed and leaned up against the glass.

“The Marquis LaCroix has several ships. If worst comes to worst, I will take my Lady and abscond with her to a safer nation until this crisis calms down. The protection of my Lady is my top priority,” the crimson haired maid explained, before turning to face Katarina, “And you? What will you do?”

“I can’t leave…” Katarina frowned as she considered the situation, “If we left now… things might get way too bad for us to ever fix. Plus… Malicia won’t want to leave. She loves this country a lot… I don’t think she’d turn her back on it, even now.”

Of course, that was to say nothing of Katarina herself! If she left here, she’d probably end up back in Sorcier, and she knew quite well they wouldn’t want her back!

Colette nodded silently, a look of understanding in her eyes.

As the pair of maids stood quietly in the hallway, Katarina racked her brain for any ideas of how to dodge doom flags when the game was progressing so quickly. Most of her ideas of how to get the commoners to warm up to Malicia needed a lot more time than the universe seemed to be willing to give them.

The door to the meeting hall clicked open then, shaking Katarina from her thoughts. A very frazzled looking Malicia stepped out, hands balled up in tight fists.

“Hey, Malicia!” Katarina ran up to her side, “How are things in there?”

The heiress didn’t reply, but the look on her face told Katarina all she needed to know. She frowned, concern growing worse by the second.

Outside the window, a sudden wave of movement caught the maid’s eye. Quietly, she turned and glanced out the hall window which overlooked part of the city. There were a group of commoners gathered there, gesturing wildly towards the mountain upon which the noble manors were set.

“Rina?” the heiress tugged on her sleeve, “Is this…? Is this truly the beginning of an… uprising?”

“Yeah,” Katarina frowned, looking worriedly out the window. The mansion sat low in the hills, and she could see the town square from here. And the dark and gloomy clouds made the torches burning there stand out just that much more.

Behind them, the conference room door opened once more, this time revealing the other woman whom Katarina had arrived with.

“Ah, Lady Baudelaire,” Lena greeted her, pushing the glasses up her nose.

“My Lady,” Colette rushed over to her side, “Is everything alright? Should we make preparations to depart?”

“No, no,” Lady Lena told her softly, “I have no intentions of turning my back on this.”

“B-but–!” Colette tried to protest, but the look in Lena’s eyes quieted her quickly.

“Did they… decide on something?” Malicia asked hesitantly, walking over to the dark haired woman.

“Yes,” Lena nodded, a dark look on her face as she explained, “Of course, nothing is official without royal decree, but the common consensus among almost every house here is that it is unnecessary to distribute their local food reserves among the commoners, and that their finances should primarily be used to repair any damage to their estates or to expand their guilds once trading resumes after the storm.”

Malicia closed her eyes, looking truly disheartened by that news. Doing her best to remain professional, she quickly changed avenues and asked, “The King has always been fairly neutral on matters like this. Isn’t there a chance he could order them to give out emergency rations?”

“In his current condition, it is unlikely,” Lena frowned, “And my sources tell me he likely won’t be well enough to make any official decrees anytime soon.”

At that moment, Katarina and Malicia exchanged glances as they were both reminded harshly of the ailment which had befallen the King.

Katarina screwed her eyes shut as she tried to think up a solution to the current, treacherous circumstances. Considering how things had gone in the game, she wasn’t all too surprised to learn about the decision the other nobles had reached, but she had hoped for a different outcome. 

In the game, of course, it had been Malicia herself who had championed the idea of keeping all the food for the nobles and giving none to the commoners (a move which seemed to Katarina to be done out of spite towards Clara more than anything), so she had been holding out hope that with Malicia opposing that decision, things might have changed.

Unfortunately, just as always, the game seemed to be doing its best to keep the status quo from changing.

She felt Malicia’s hand on her own as the blonde led her a few paces down the hallway, out of earshot of the other two women.

“How do we stop this from getting… worse?” the blonde asked quietly, clearly very perturbed by how things were escalating, “I-is… there anything that… heroine you mentioned can do here?”

“Eh? Well… there might be, but…” Katarina pulled the blonde in close, “You should probably apologize to her first. You did try to attack her the second you saw her, remember?” 

“EH?” the blonde’s eyes popped open wide before she quickly averted them. A look of guilt seared across her features again as she clasped her hands together, “Ah… yes… I suppose I should, shouldn’t I?”

Katarina nodded, “Yeah. You might not have done all the bad stuff to her that I… um, foresaw, but… it would be a good idea to have her on your side.”

Malicia nodded, face still dark, “Do you know what else she will do before the revolution begins? Is there any place where I can meet her to apologize?”

“Well…  since she was supposed to be your maid instead of me, she would normally be at your house when she gets her memory back in the last act,” Katarina closed her eyes deep in thought as she considered the endings from the game routes she played.

“‘When she gets her memory back’?” Malicia arched an eyebrow, “Memory of what?” 

“Oh, she used to be a noblewoman, but she was in an accident and forgot all about her past. She even started using a different name than she had before the accident,” Katarina leaned her head back, tapping her chin, “I guess I forgot to mention that?”

Malicia simply stared back at her, eyes wide with something akin to horror. 

Katarina blinked. Now that she thought about it, she probably should have clarified more about the heroine’s journey, but she had spent most of the night discussing the ins and outs of Malicia’s doom flags and how she should avoid them. Those were the most important things for the current situation, after all.

Weren’t they?

Taking a shaky breath, Malicia asked, “What was her name?”

“Clara?” Katarina tilted her head, “Oh! It used to be Claudette. Claudette DeLeon.”

Malicia gaped at her as if she had seen a ghost.

“Wh-wh-what did you just say?”

“Her name is Claudette DeLeon?” Katarina repeated hesitantly, somewhat uncomfortable by the way the blonde was staring at her.

Malicia continued to stare at her for a long moment, before she closed her eyes tightly and gripped her fists.

“Maid,” the blonde spoke evenly, and with a commanding voice, “We need to go. Right now.”

“Eh?”

“We need to find her immediately.”

Notes:

This chapter and the previous one were meant to be one, but they wound up way too long. I'm hoping I can still squeeze out another chapter or 2 before the end of the year, but no promises.

Anyways, things are heating up in more ways than one. The nobility doesn't have as favorable of an opinion of Malicia as she had thought, and things are falling apart on the commoners side too.... Luckily, a certain name drop at the end there might be enough to change things... but for better or for worse?

Thank you for reading as always, comments and constructive criticism are welcome!

Chapter 33: Roundabout Reunion

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

Katarina’s head poked out from behind the brick wall of a fancy shopping center near the middle of the city. Glancing around furtively, the brunette nodded to herself, before turning to the shrouded figure behind her.

“The coast is clear, Cozy Carrot!” the maid informed her charge discreetly.

“Ugh, must you call me that?” Malicia rolled her eyes.

“Wel… we don’t want people overhearing your name and getting suspicious,” Katarina reminded her.

“Even so…” the blonde blushed, “... there’s no need to say it so loudly.”

Malicia was wearing a large shawl, draped over her head to obscure her features, along with her handy new pair of glasses. It was the best disguise Katarina could prepare on short notice, but it did its job well enough, covering her iconic ojou-drills and obscuring her famous golden eyes. Katarina wasn’t sure how familiar the commoners were with Malicia’s appearance, but she doubted most of them would recognize her face at a passing glance, especially if it was disguised. 

(Katarina had suggested a fake mustache as well, but Malicia had opted against that for some reason.)

Katarina herself had donned a large coat to cover her maid uniform, especially the ‘House Baudelaire’ emblem on the sleeves. Just a few moments prior, she had told Colette and Lady Lena that they had an urgent errand to attend before sneaking herself and Malicia out of the Couillard estate and down into the city.

The ex-duke’s daughter tightened the thick coat around herself as another chilly breeze sliced through the air, leading her charge through the turbulent streets of Dumont in the direction of the Kettle farm. Katarina remained hopeful that she could get the blonde a chance to make amends with Clara before things got too bad. She still wasn’t totally sure what route the game was on, but judging by everything that was happening, it was clearly near the end.

And, Katarina vowed, she wouldn’t allow this one to be a bad end!

Tommy Finch was trying his best to shove through the crowded streets, hoping to get a chance to talk to Jean, but he was having no luck so far. The Commoners’ Alliance had a handful of members who were more prominent than others- an ex-baron, who had fallen to commoner status after his land failed to yield crops, a handful of high ranking soldiers from the Regony war, and of course, Jean, who was famous for stealing from and conning nobles out of their money to provide for the most impoverished people in the land.

And the lot of them, it seemed, were gathering at some social house near the middle of the city to discuss what their demands should be and how they should approach their upcoming confrontation with the nobles. At least, that was what Tommy had been able to piece together from murmurs in the crowd. Naturally, he wanted to have a few words with his friend before he did something too stupid, but that was easier said than done in the swirling crowds of the city.

The street urchin was normally pretty good at weaseling his way through crowds, swiping jewelry and money off people, and disappearing without a trace, so it came as a slight surprise to him just how dense this crowd currently was. He felt like he was just beginning to make some headway when he felt a hand grab his wrist. He flinched back, instinctively thinking it might be guards or police, or even some townsfolk thinking he’d swiped something off them, but was surprised when he turned to find….

“Clara?” the strawberry blond looked at her in confusion.

“Tommy!” she looked terribly upset as she held his hand, “Thank goodness I found you!”

“Hey, what are you doing here? I thought you were stayin’ back at the farm!”

“Oh… I was, but…” the auburn haired girl brushed a strand of hair off her face as the wind picked up. She looked up at him, eyes wide with worry as she explained, “Charlie ran off after you!”

Tommy’s eyes widened. Looking around the heaving crowds, he had not even the slightest idea where to begin looking for the young boy. He slouched slightly, feeling stupid for having expected the kid to do anything else. 

Rubbing the back of his neck, he murmured, “Aw, shit…”

Not too far away, a pair of young ladies discreetly made their way through the heart of Dumont, before finally exiting from the most crowded areas and into a less wealthy district.

Malicia could still hear her maid’s words ringing in her ears.

Claudette DeLeon ’.

That girl from the farm, the one she had lashed out at, was….

Each step the heiress took felt like wading through cement. Her feet felt like lead, she was barely able to will herself forward. She dared not even wish that what her maid said was the truth… but she couldn’t allow herself to turn back.

If there was even a small chance…

She was shaken from her wandering thoughts as a small figure bumped into Rina’s legs as she turned the corner. 

Rina and Malicia both came to a stop as they looked down at the form of a small child who had haplessly wandered right into them as they worked their way through the crowds.

“Oh! Sorry!” the maid apologized quickly, before her eyes widened in recognition. The child before them wasn’t an unfamiliar figure at all, now that Malicia looked closer. This was….

“It’s… the nice lady from before!” the little boy looked up at her hopefully.

Nice lady ’? Was that how he saw her? The heiress wasn’t really sure she deserved to be known as that anymore. No, she wasn’t nice at all. She was a villainess. Rina’s notebook had made that quite clear. But she still had a chance here… or at least, she hoped she did.

“Ahem. You’re that thief’s brother, aren’t you?” Malicia addressed the small child, “What are you doing out in a crowd like this? It’s dangerous.”

“I’m here to see all the fun action!” the child replied with a big grin. 

Malicia frowned at the sight of the little boy. She could tell that his Etran Flu symptoms had subsided a bit, but hadn’t completely gone away. His eyes were still red and bloodshot, and she could tell he was very frail. Someone this sick really shouldn’t be out in weather like this at all.

“You really ought to go somewhere warm,” she scolded him, taking his hand, “Come on. Rina, let’s get this child somewhere safe.”

“Aw, no fair!” the boy protested, “I just got here and I wanna see the fun part!”

“Hehe,” Rina giggled beside her, “You’re just as big a softie as ever, huh?”

“Hush, maid. It’s unsafe to leave a sick child out in this cold,” the blonde deflected quickly, feeling her face heat up a bit, before turning back to the child, “Ahem. You are… familiar with Clau- um, Clara, correct? You both… stay at the same farm?”

“Eh? You know Miss Clara?” the kid looked up at her, confused.

“W-well, I might,” she averted her eyes, “Where might I find her today?”

Before the boy could answer, another scruffy figure appeared before them, scanning the area before his eyes landed on the figure of the child beside the pair.

“Charlie!” he cried out as he rushed over to them, and quickly began chastising the boy, “Thank goodness I found ya! What the heck are you doing, runnin’ off like that?!”

“Is that…?” Malicia looked curiously at the figure before her, a memory from a few days ago flickering through her mind.

“Tommy?” Rina looked up at the young man in shock.

Tommy Finch blinked in surprise as he once again crossed paths with Malicia Baudelaire’s maid. He held Charlie’s hand tightly in his own, ensuring the little weasel wouldn’t disappear on him again, but his initial goal of tracking the boy down had suddenly become much less of a focus. No, the real bizarre thing here, the fact so strange and shocking that he couldn’t even speak for a moment, was that the lady herself was just a few steps behind her.

“Eh? What the heck are you doin’ here?” Tommy could hardly believe what he was seeing. 

Out here, the entire country had basically come out of the woodwork, torches and pitchforks all aimed at Malicia Baudelaire, and there she was, just waltzing through the crowd!

The Golden Devil herself! The one who had kicked off this whole ordeal by holding back the food supplies… or so the story went.

She was right here, in the middle of it!

And… she was wearing….

“Snrk,” the boy stifled a laugh, “What’s with the glasses? Are those a disguise?”

The blonde balked at that, before averting her eyes, “Y-yes. A disguise, that’s what they are.”

“She needs them because she can’t see things up close without them!” the maid chimed in chipperly from behind her.  

The blonde shot her a withering look from under her cloak.

Rina turned to her with an encouraging smile, “D-don’t worry, Malicia! The glasses really look cute on you!”

Chuckling again, much to the chagrin of the heiress, he looked at her curiously as he asked again, “What are you doing here? This ain’t exactly your normal open marketplace, ya know?”

“I know, I know,” Malicia shook her head, “But… we need to find someone, right away.”

“You need to… find someone?” the con artist asked her dubiously.

“We need to talk to Claudette DeLeon,” Malicia announced matter-of-factly.

“Who’s that?” the young man stared back at her blankly, the name entirely foreign to him.

“She means Clara!” the maid spoke up, “We need to find her as soon as we can!”

“Ya wanna talk to Clara?” the con artist looked at her dubiously, “And why exactly are you tryin’ to do that?”

Truth be told, he really didn’t trust Malicia Baudelaire all that much.

Yeah, the whole ‘dropped brooch’ thing was something he’d remember dearly for years to come, but aside from that… he didn’t really know her all too well.

He didn’t think she was as bad as everyone else made her out to be, but… he sure didn’t think she was a saint by any means either. After all… that image of Clara, standing shaken and scared in the barn after the heiress lashed out at her flickered through his memory.

As if reading his mind, the blonde quickly explained, “I promise I will not… act so… unpleasant towards her this time.”

“Unpleasant, huh?” Tommy shot her a look. He was pretty sure going on a tirade at someone and trying to hit them just for being in the same room was a bit more than unpleasant. It didn’t seem like she was being flippant though, he noticed. She just… wasn’t great at emotional stuff, he guessed. He rubbed his eyes wearily, “Well… why do you want to talk to her then?”

“I need to… apologize,” Malicia looked down somberly, “And to… clarify something.”

Tommy held her gaze for a long moment, scrutinizing her closely. He had to be pretty good at reading people in order to scam them effectively, and that meant being good at telling when someone was lying.

And, as best he could tell, Malicia wasn’t.

Whatever else was going on here… it seemed she really did want to apologize to Clara right then. Not to mention, with the atmosphere of this crowd being what it was, one wrong word, and she’d be eaten alive out here. Whatever it was she needed to talk to Clara about, she seemed to be willing to risk quite a lot to do it.

“Well… in this crowd, that might be a bit tricky,” the scruffy looking boy glanced over his shoulder at the ever-growing crowd in the city streets. 

It didn’t seem like anyone had noticed that the subject of all their ire was standing right in the middle of them all, and he couldn’t blame them. After all, who would be dumb enough to go out in the middle of an uprising like this?

Still… she wanted to apologize to Clara? Her heart was in the right place, if nothing else. He sighed, “Look, apologies are all well an’ good, but… the whole country’s goin’ up in smoke. Are ya sure that… whatever yer doin’ here is the best idea?”

Malicia stared at him, eyes firm, as she nodded, “I need to see her.”

“Do you know where she might be?” the maid asked him, eyes wide with worry.

Tommy sighed. He didn’t know why, but he found it difficult to say no to these two. He knew if Jean were here, he wouldn’t put up with any of this. So, perhaps it was for the best he wasn’t here, he decided.

“She told me she’d meet me at the LeRoux warehouse a few blocks that way,” Tommy pointed his thumb over his shoulder, but held Malicia’s gaze. He gestured to the crowd as he asked, “You do know what all this… is about, right? This is like the worst place in the world for you right now, ya know?”

“Well… why are you helping us, then?” Rina asked him, arching an eyebrow.

“Good question,” Tommy muttered to himself.

He wasn’t totally sure, but… he did feel like it was the right thing to do, somehow.

Still holding Charlie tightly, he led the pair of young women off the main streets down to the place where he had arranged to meet up with Clara. He had a hunch that Malicia didn’t have any bad intentions this time, but… well, he’d keep a close eye on her just in case.

Malicia stayed quiet, pulling the cloak tighter around herself as she walked. The wind was really picking up now.

Tommy led the pair down a relatively empty street, with only a handful of pedestrians on either side. Malicia had never ventured into this area of the city before, but she could tell right away that it wasn’t a place for nobles. Everything here was clearly not anyone’s priority as far as wellbeing was concerned. The buildings had fallen into disrepair, the streets were crooked and uneven, and the few people that passed them by looked utterly destitute.

She spared a glance over her shoulder at the boisterous crowd in the city center, and wondered just where things had all gone so wrong. When was it that the nobles stopped caring for the people? When had she?

After all, not all that long ago, Malicia had ventured down to the docks quite often. And when she did so, the commoners and sailors working there would always greet her with cheerful smiles, smiles that weren’t fake like the ones she saw at tea parties and soirees. 

And then, after her mother….

She had barely left the house for a few years. And when she started leaving again, anytime she caught sight of a commoner, they just gazed at her sullenly, as if they expected something from her. Everyone always expected something from her.

So she just learned to stop looking at them altogether.

If she hadn’t… maybe she would have seen what a state the country she had tried so long to lead was really in.

Claudette DeLeon, that name…

If her maid was right… if that commoner she saw at the barn truly was Claudette DeLeon….

Her heart twisted in strange ways, not daring to fully consider it a possibility just yet.

After several long, quiet moments, punctuated only by the crunching of snow beneath their boots, the four travelers reached the warehouse Tommy was leading them to.

The scruffy haired boy and his little brother stepped first into the small building, followed by Rina. Malicia herself hesitated. She didn’t know if she should.

If her maid was wrong, and she had come all this way for nothing, Malicia wasn’t sure she could handle that. And, if her maid was right, well… she wasn’t sure she was ready for that either.

After a long while, she let out a quiet breath, a puff of smoke forming in the cold air, before she slowly opened the door of the warehouse.

And it was there, in that grimy, half-collapsed warehouse at the edge of the city where Malicia saw her.

When their eyes had met the other day, that fleeting resemblance had passed in the blink of an eye, but with her glasses on, it was so much clearer.

The auburn haired girl stared at her from across the room and uttered a single word.

“...Mali?”

Notes:

A fateful encounter is close at hand!

Sorry once again for the long wait, the past month has been crazy. Thank you all for reading, comments and constructive criticism are welcome!

Chapter 34: Ten Years Gone

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

The summer sun hung overhead like a radiant flower blooming in the sky, shining down on the Baudelaire garden. 

It was in this lush, luxurious garden where a small blonde girl shuffled behind the rose bushes on the outskirts of the estate, trying to remain out of sight. Her blonde curls bounced as she snuck about, cutting quietly between the ambiently chattering guests at her estate’s garden party. She prayed none of them would stop her or try to talk to her…. It wasn’t as if she meant to be rude, it was simply that….

There were just… too many people here!

The big crowd of all these elite, imposing noblemen and women made her feel terribly small. Her mother and father had already become engrossed in a lengthy discussion with some Viscount, and left her to mingle on her own. But mingling with these people was far too stressful for the young blonde. All she could do was utter pleasantries, but she quickly became overwhelmed by any serious attempts at conversation. She never knew what to say or how to say it!

Her parents hadn’t been overly burdensome with it, but she knew quite well that her family was counting on her to uphold their image… and the thought of that just made her want to run and hide.

So she did just that.

The small blonde hurried to the edge of the garden and down a path leading to the cliffs overlooking the sea. There was a small cove among the rocks where some strange plants grew that she had come to use as a small hiding spot.

Letting out a small sigh, the blonde girl gently sat down against the rocks, listening to the distant, soothing sounds of the waves splashing far below. As she sat down, she closed her eyes, hoping to calm her nerves before going back to the party. And, as she did so, she failed to notice she wasn’t alone in the small cove….

“Hm?” the small girl opened her eyes, and looked up to find a pair of wide, hazel eyes staring straight back at her. With a startled cry, she jolted back, “W-waaah!”

Sitting just a few feet from her was a young girl about her age, dressed in a ruby red dress and long, auburn hair draped down over her shoulders like a lion’s mane. 

The young lady didn’t seem the least bit put off by her startled reaction, instead commenting, “You have beautiful eyes!”

“...Um… I… huh?” the blonde blinked at her, more confused than anything.

“Were you admiring the view too?” the other young woman asked, gesturing to the sweeping vista overlooking the coastline.

“I…I…” the blonde hesitated, not sure what to say. 

Was this some kind of trick? She had heard about people at these types of parties who started casual conversations and then twisted them to trip people up. She didn’t want to bring any shame on her family, so she didn’t know what to say. Under the scrutiny of the girl in red, she could only shift awkwardly and shy away.

“Hm?” the auburn haired girl tilted her head, leaning in curiously to look at the blonde, “What are you doing back here? The party is over there.” 

“Hiding,” the blonde admitted sheepishly, before finally asking, “Wh-What are you doing? You’re not at the party either.”

“Hehehe…” the radiant girl giggled brightly, “That’s because I’m looking for something fun to do!”

The blonde regarded her curiously. It didn’t seem like she wanted to trick her or bring any hardships on her family; this girl just seemed like she wanted to play.

“Who are you, anyways?” the auburn haired girl asked curiously.

“M-M-Malicia… Malicia Baudelaire,” the blonde stammered out a reply, trying to curtsy properly.

“Really? You’re the Baudelaire daughter? Wow! Nice to meet you!” the other girl asked her excitedly.

“H-hi…” Malicia shuffled awkwardly in place, waiting for the other girl to introduce herself. When it became apparent she wasn’t going to do so, the blonde prompted her softly, “Um… And you are?”

“Hm?” the auburn haired girl turned back from where she was gazing out over the seas, “Oh, pardon me! I haven’t introduced myself yet? I’m Claudette DeLeon!”

It wasn’t long after when Claudette came to visit again.  

Evidently, her family had met up with Malicia’s parents at the garden party and had gotten on better terms with them. Malicia would later find out that Claudette’s warm reaction to meeting her had helped push their families even closer. 

Malicia herself didn’t quite know what to make of Claudette just yet, but… she liked being around her. Normally, she didn’t care for other young ladies her age, but Claudette was different. She was kind and comfortable, and always eager to listen whenever the blonde was able to speak up.

So when the auburn haired girl began visiting the Baudelaire estate regularly, Malicia quickly became accustomed to the other girl’s presence. The pair would often just wander around the house, mainly the library, which had a large window overlooking the coastline.

Such was the case one autumn day when the DeLeon daughter came to visit, and the two young ladies found themselves in the serene quiet of the Baudelaire library. Just as she always did, Claudie was entranced by the Baudelaire estate and its view of the ocean.

The duke’s daughter perched herself excitedly on Mali’s windowsill and gasped as she stared out at the sweeping view of the landscape and seas before her, “Your house is so cool, Mali!”

“You think so?” the blonde looked up at her curiously. Claudie was practically pressed flat against the glass, trying to get as good a view as possible of the sweeping landscape outside.

“You don’t like it?” the auburn haired girl asked, giving her a look.

“I prefer Mama’s house,” Mali admitted, thinking back to her mother’s small, simple estate down on the seafront, rather than this large house high in the hills, “This place feels… kind of spooky. There are so many hidden passages and creepy antiques everywhere.”

“That’s what makes it cool though!” Claudie grinned back at her, not missing a beat, “What’s your favorite hidden passage?”

“Huh?” Malicia was caught off guard by that question. She hadn’t really considered having a favorite hidden route in her own house. Although… now that she thought about it, the blonde pursed her lips thoughtfully, “There’s one in Father’s study…. It’s a hidden stairway that goes down to the harbor.”

“Oho?” the other girl arched an eyebrow.

Noticing a curious glint in her friend’s eyes, Malicia tilted her head, “Wh-what?”

“A hidden passageway that goes down to the harbor, hm?” Claudie tapped her chin, a smirk forming on her lips, “That sounds well worth exploring, don’t you think, Mali?”

Malicia shuffled uncomfortably, pinned in place by a circle of young ladies who had cut off all her routes of escape. 

This… this was exactly why she hated public parties! 

She knew something like this was bound to happen eventually; that someone would try to press her into saying something that would reflect poorly upon her family. Without Claudie by her side, she often felt tongue tied. She scanned the bushes behind her, hoping she would catch a glimpse of a passing Claudie, but unfortunately, she came up empty.

That left the blonde cornered and alone, facing off against a group of young ladies who were looking at her like sharks eyeing their prey. And their ringleader clearly had no intentions of letting Malicia go so easily.

Lucille’s sleepy eyes gazed evenly at the small blonde as her lips twitched upwards, clearly aware of Malicia’s vulnerability, “I’ve heard rumors that the Baudelaire estate has made some rather… interesting financial allocations. That the Archduke has paid a sizable portion less taxes this year than any other estate. Is that quite right, Lady Baudelaire?”

“U-um, I… I don’t–” Malicia inched backwards until she was right up against the wall. 

She wished she could find her words around anyone other than Claudie! 

What Lucille was saying wasn’t entirely wrong, at least from what little she knew about her parents’ financial decisions, but from what she heard, her family had paid less taxes because they had personally paid for repairs to a lot of public areas and financed some new schools in their territory, so the Royal family had cut some of their family’s taxes that year. Still, she didn’t really know why Lucille was asking or what she was getting at, but the way the pink haired girl was staring at her made her very uncomfortable.

“You don’t deny it? My, my, you’re quite shrewd, aren’t you, Lady Baudelaire?” Lucille interrupted, smiling slightly as she pressed forwards.

“N-no! That’s not–” Malicia attempted to squeak out a reply, but Lucille cut her off again.

“To think, the much vaunted Baudelaire family would be so devious behind the scenes. I suppose a family cannot become as wealthy as yours without making some rather underhanded deals, hm?” the pink haired girl kept her gaze even as Malicia fidgeted, increasingly angry at Lucille, and at herself for potentially saying something that would hurt her family’s reputation.

“And I suppose you would know all about underhanded deals, wouldn’t you, Lucille Canion?” another voice chimed in from behind the pink haired girl.

Claudie! 

Mali’s heart leapt at the sight of her friend, having arrived heroically at the last minute to help her out here. The auburn haired girl stood with her hands on her hips, firmly staring at Lucille as she waited for her next move. To Mali’s surprise, the pink haired girl didn’t snip back at Claudie, instead turning on her heel with a smile.

“Well, this has been fun, but it is rather disappointing to find the Baudelaire heiress needs Lady DeLeon to defend her. How terribly boring,” the pink haired girl murmured as she led her followers away, back to the main tea party.

Like a fox who had found its prey, Lucille kept her eyes fixed firmly on Malicia as she slithered off into the crowd. The blonde shuddered, feeling certain she hadn’t seen the last of her.

Letting out a breath, she turned back to Claudie, but flinched back when she saw the look on the other girl’s features. She had expected her friend would be there to comfort her, but the sharp look in her eyes told a different story.

“C-Claudie?” Malicia asked hesitantly.

“You’re too shy, Mali!” the auburn haired girl scolded, “You shouldn’t just stand by and let girls like that pick on you!”

“I’m sorry,” the blonde looked downwards in shame.

“Don’t apologize. Just… be more assertive!” Claudie sighed, putting her hands on her hips, “Especially with people like her.”

“What if she starts spreading rumors about me?” the blonde murmured worriedly, “What if she tries to say that I said my parents weren’t paying their taxes and it gets our family in trouble?”

“Don’t worry about it. Lucille is all bark and no bite. She just likes to make people squirm. Do you really think she would try to single handedly pick a fight with your family’s Archduchy? Honestly, who do you think you are?” Claudie shot back without missing a beat.

“Huh?” Mali looked at her, shocked by the auburn haired girl’s sharp tone.

“You’re Malicia Baudelaire! Daughter of the Archduke! And, more than that, you’re my best friend!” Claudie declared confidently, “You shouldn’t be afraid of anyone.”

Those words hung in the air for a long moment before Mali blinked in surprise, “I… am your best friend?”

She enjoyed any time she spent with Claudie, she treasured it more than anything, but even so… she still spent most of her time at her own estate. She had always come to assume she was just one of many young ladies and gentlemen who considered themselves Claudie’s friends. She had never stopped to consider that the auburn haired girl cherished Mali’s company as much as Mali cherished hers.

Not missing a beat, Claudie grinned widely back at her, “Of course! Forever and always!”

Mali’s eyes widened. For a split second, she felt like she was about to cry tears of joy, but she shook her head, and instead grinned widely back at her best friend.

The next spring brought another series of beautiful blooms to the Baudelaire garden, along with some new faces. 

Most weekends, Claudie and her parents would come to visit the Baudelaire estate, although they would also often meet at Mali’s mama’s house or at Claudie’s house, but the auburn haired girl seemed to enjoy hanging out here the most. They would usually simply sit around the house and discuss simple things, but they would also occasionally venture into town, sometimes via the secret stairway.

Mali’s father was the Archduke, and naturally, he had a lot of dealings with the Royal family. So it should have come as no surprise when Prince Maximillian began visiting her home, along with a handful of other noble sons and daughters.

His brother, Prince Alexander, was evidently too busy with his etiquette and tutoring to attend, but Maximillian had no such reservations. The young boy was very exuberant, and eager to explore as many new locations around the country as he could. And, it seemed, the closer to the wilderness, the better, where Maximillian was concerned.

The young blonde was, in fact, quite surprised to learn Maximillian was a prince, considering he hardly acted like one. That was not to say he behaved inappropriately; he was a prince after all, so he did managed to act with the decorum expected of him at any public venues, but as the spring passed into summer and the spiky haired boy began spending more and more time around the Baudelaire estate, Mali quickly began to see a different side of him.

He was, in fact, much more interested in venturing into the woods past the Baudelaire estate to go on hunts with some of the wilder members of the Royal family than he was in attending tea parties and engaging in the general conversation most noble children were expected to participate in. 

In a way, Mali envied him for that. She wished she could just as easily go out to play with Claudie all the time. As much as she enjoyed reading stories with her friend in the library or exploring the hidden passages around her house, the blonde still spent the majority of her time studying diligently and practicing to succeed her mother someday and become the Archduchess Baudelaire. It was a truly tiring station to aspire to, but the young blonde dutifully carried out all the tasks before her as she worked her way towards inheriting the Baudelaire archduchy.

Even so… the weekend parties and get-togethers with Claudie were always her most treasured days.

This particular weekend visit from the auburn haired girl happened to also be a day when Prince Maximillian was passing through their estate, en route to the hunting grounds to the north.

Somehow, Mali rolled her eyes as she realized, Claudie had let slip to the prince about the secret stairway down to the docks, and before long, the nation’s second prince was eagerly begging for her to lead him down the secret pathway.

It didn’t take long before the blonde gave in.

Her newfound friendship with Claudie had done a lot to get her out of her shell, at least, more so than she had before her fateful meeting with the auburn haired girl, so she was willing to allow some others to join her admittedly tiny circle of friends. Even so, she was somewhat reluctant to take the quirky prince down to hers and Claudie’s secret spot.

“Hm, do you ever go fishing down here, Lady Malicia?” the prince asked as they reached the seaside.

“Eh?” the blonde reddened a bit, “N-no, no, that would be very improper. There’s no way I would be able to keep a dress clean doing something like that!”

“Just get a new dress afterwards then,” Maximilian grinned back at her, “Or get some fishing clothes like a sailor!”

Mali shied away from the taller boy, feeling unsure how to respond to the strange teasing. 

She turned to Claudie, who smiled reassuringly at her, “He’s just messing with you, Mali.”

“No, no,” the prince arched an eyebrow, “I’m being perfectly serious, Mali .”

The blonde felt herself gasp slightly at the informal way the prince had just addressed her. She glanced towards Claudie for a moment, before turning back to the prince and scoffing, “If I do become a fisherwoman, I’ll have to take care not to get a hook in that big mouth of yours, Max .”

The blonde’s snarky comeback hung in the salty air for a long moment, before there was a giggle. Prince Maximillian stifled a laugh, and Claudie began to chuckle as well. A few seconds later, even Mali felt her attempt at a stern look slipping, and before long, the three young nobles were laughing gleefully on the hidden stairs by the seaside.

The warm spring sun glimmered down on the children as they played for the first of what would be many bright, fun filled days down by the sea.

“I’ve decided,” Claudie declared, tapping her chin thoughtfully, “I shall call you Princess Mallycakes.”

“What a horrid name,” the blonde withered, idly tossing a stone over the cliff’s edge into the sea. Then, a thought occurred to her, “Hang on, I’m not a princess!”

“No, but… I’m sure you will be someday!” Claudie said a bit more softly than her usual enthusiastic way of talking.

“What do you mean by that?” Mali tilted her head, curious why she said it like that.

Claudie looked at her thoughtfully… and then grabbed her hand, pulling her along quickly to a familiar stairway.

~~~

The sound of waves crashing against the rocks splashed through the humid, late summer air as a pair of young ladies made their way down their secret route to the little cove with the pine tree down by the seaside.

Mali had no idea why her friend was leading her down here now of all times, but she didn’t object, allowing herself to be led along. She carefully followed along the little path of awkward rocks that led to their little hideout.

“W-we’re finally here!” the blonde gasped, nearly out of breath. She glanced up at her friend, who was gazing out at the sea, eyes wide with wonder.

“Hey Mali?” the other young lady asked. Unlike her usual playful voice, she sounded kind of… distant right then.

“Y-yeah?” the blonde walked to her side uncertainly. 

Was this about that ‘princess’ thing she had been talking about earlier? Mali felt a strange flicker of emotions in her heart in that moment as Claudie turned to face her.

“Will you… make me a promise?” the auburn haired girl asked on a bright sunny day…

… and met Malicia’s eyes across the room of a dusty, derelict warehouse on the outskirts of Dumont.

“Mali?” the other girl asked softly into the empty air of the warehouse.

The heiress fell to her knees, the snow beneath her emitting a soft crunch as she collapsed. Somewhere, what felt like miles away, Rina and that auburn haired girl were rushing over to her to check if she was okay.

How? 

How?

How was this possible?

“Malicia?” her maid called out from beside her, but the heiress barely heard her.

No, her ears were tuned to only one voice in that moment. Her eyes were utterly fixated on the simple but familiar figure approaching her in the chilly warehouse.

There was a crack in the ceiling of the building, and some flakes of snow, along with an ethereal blue light glimmered down on the simply dressed figure of the impossible young lady before her.

“M-Mali?” the girl dressed in commoners’ garb kneeling down in the snow in front of her asked again, “That was… what I used to call you, right?”

Malicia couldn’t tear her gaze away from the other girl, unable to believe what she was seeing. Breathlessly, the heiress felt a name slip past her lips, “Claudie….”

The auburn haired girl’s eyes widened. She stifled a gasp with her hand and startled back a step, “This… that dream wasn’t a dream, was it?”

“Eh? Miss Clara?” Charlie looked at the young woman curiously.

“Ya know her, Clara?” Tommy asked, looking confused.

“Y-yes…” Claudie looked down at her, hazel eyes sparkling in the low light filtering in through the ceiling, “She’s my—”

Katarina could do little more than watch quietly from the sidelines as everything unfolded before her.

From everything Malicia and Clar– Claud- the heroine had just said, Katarina had worked out that the pair knew each other somehow, but… it was still kind of hard for her to wrap her head around just how deep that went.

“She’s my best friend,” the heroine said softly, delicately taking one of the blonde’s hands in her own.

As she watched the scene playing out on the warehouse floor before her, Katarina felt a pang of strange emotions in her heart. She could only imagine what it must be like for a villainess to be best friends with the heroine! The ex-duke’s daughter could only wish she was so lucky!

And that was to say nothing of the heroine herself! She was truly a selfless person to be able to live as a commoner for so long!

Katarina clasped her hands together excitedly, happily watching on as her Lady stared wordlessly into the eyes of her old friend. It was something she had never even considered while playing the game or reviewing her notes of it, but the maid was just glad she could help in some way to reunite the two!

Heck, the fact that Clara actually knew Malicia might be the biggest blessing she could have asked for! With the heroine on their side, Malicia wouldn’t have to worry about any more doom flags!

Clara… Clara? Had that always been her name?

“Claudie…” the young woman with blonde curls sitting on the warehouse floor a few inches from her said softly.

That name sounded very, very familiar too. She… she remembered that name from her dreams. And she also remembered the name….

“Mali…” Clara murmured softly, kneeling down before the heiress. She reached out softly to brush some hair out of Malicia’s face and asked, “Are you alright?”

The blonde nodded mutely in reply, gazing into the former noble girl’s eyes, utterly dumbstruck.

“Wow… you look exactly the same,” the auburn haired girl spoke quietly. Her… friend… she looked just like she did in those dreams… in those memories. A few years older, but still, exactly the same Mali she had known before.

“H-hah?” Malicia squeaked awkwardly, looking confusedly at her old friend.

“Hehe…” Clara giggled mischievously, reaching out to tap the frames of the heiress’ glasses, “Except for these. They suit you though. They really highlight your pretty eyes.”

“I… I don’t…” Malicia seemed to be struggling for words, glancing around the room in confusion, “How are you…?”

“How am I… here?” the heroine finished for her, tilting her head, “I’m not quite sure myself. I’ve been trying to remember… ever since I saw you the other day, and there are some things I can’t quite recall….”

“You don’t remember anything?” Malicia asked softly, as if she was afraid to hear the answer.

Clara hesitated. She had some memories, memories which were sharpening more and more at the sight of her friend’s face, but even so, there was a lot missing.

“I…” the auburn haired girl paused, “I remember you. I remember… being your friend. And then… there’s a gap. The next thing I can remember is Papa taking me in at the Kettle Farm.”

“Um, Clara…” another voice spoke up suddenly, “What… are ya talkin’ about?”

“Eh?” the auburn haired girl jolted slightly. 

Suddenly reminded of the fact she and Malicia weren’t alone in the warehouse, she stood up abruptly and turned to face Tommy and Charlie, who were watching on with expressions of utter befuddlement. It suddenly began to sink in just how deep the implications of her suddenly reawakened memories ran. She had had an entire life and family and friends, long before she met Tommy or Charlie or Jean or any of the wonderful people of the Kettle farm.

Clara waved her hands awkwardly, blushing a bit as she turned to the other farm kids, “A-ah, well… it’s a bit… complicated.”

“You… used to know Malicia Baudelaire when ya were kids?” Tommy stared at her in astonishment.

“Well… in short… yes, I think so,” the auburn haired girl admitted, looking evenly at her friends.

“Wow! I’m so glad you met your old friend, Miss Clara!” Charlie grinned at her warmly. 

Tommy just gaped, unable to believe what he was hearing.

Clara felt herself giggle slightly at the sight. 

The absurdity of it all stirred with the floaty warmth she felt in her heart at the sight of her friend from her dreams. All of this felt like a dream, she mused. She… she had been a noble once, hadn’t she? She wasn’t Clara… she was Claudie. And her best friend, who she hadn’t seen in so, so long was Mali Baudelaire.

Closing her eyes thoughtfully, she murmured, “I don’t fully remember the details of it, but… I think I used to be from a noble family. And… somehow, I got separated from them…” 

Her dreams… memories… were still very muddled and unclear, but she could see herself playing happily with a younger, brighter Mali Baudelaire, watching the sun set over the ocean and feeling the warmth of her friend’s hand in her own.

It was a comforting feeling, one she couldn’t remember at all, but somehow remembered clearly.

“But now… everything will be o–” the heroine tried to continue, but was abruptly cut off.

Just then, a loud knock came from the warehouse door. Clara exchanged a glance with Mali, suddenly picking up on a strange feeling that something was wrong.

“Hey, anybody in here?” a voice called from the warehouse door, “We’re gettin’ ready to go face off with the Baudelaires at their mansion. We could use all the backup we can get!”

Clara felt a jolt of fear run through the air. In all the excitement, she had nearly forgotten about everything going on just outside the warehouse… and who their anger was directed towards.

Stepping through the front door of the warehouse were a handful of young men and women, some of whom Clara recognized as some of the members of the Commoners’ Alliance who mingled with Jean every now and then.

“Hey, it’s Clara!” one of them called out, stepping into the warehouse, “Did ya hear?”

“Hear what?” Claudette asked, a pang of worry in her heart. Their sudden arrival, now of all times, just left her a bit uneasy.

“Archduke Baudelaire is hosting some big meetin’ soon! Some kind of inheritance ceremony or somethin’; all the top nobles in the country are gonna be there!” the woman explained excitedly.

“Eh?!” Claudette, Malicia and Rina gasped simultaneously, exchanging glances with one another. 

“Jean said he’s gonna lead the Commoners’ Alliance up there and confront him and all the other top brass at once,” one of the men explained excitedly, far too quickly for Clara to process it all.

“Wait, wait, wait, what are you talking about?” Claudette held up her hands to stop them from rambling any further, overwhelmed by everything. She was still reeling from seeing Mali here, and from her dream-memories still causing her head to spin.

“Well, the King’s too sick to do anything right now, but the Chancellor might actually be able to help us out. So Jean and the Commoners’ Alliance are going to go up to those bastards at the Baudelaire mansion and show ‘em we mean business!” the young man declared.

Claudette glanced back to Malicia, who was still standing in the center of the room, looking terribly worried. It hurt her heart to see that expression on her friend’s face, but it reminded her even more of the situation at hand. She wasn’t sure if any of these commoners would recognize Malicia Baudelaire at a glance, but if they did, she doubted things would end especially well for her right now.

Taking a deep breath, the auburn haired girl quickly stepped outside, leading the pair that had entered the warehouse out after herself, allowing her long lost friend some privacy. It hurt her to turn her back on the blonde, especially since they had only just been reunited, but it was the best thing she could think to do right then. 

Tommy seemed to understand and followed her lead, pulling Charlie along as he stepped out into the snowy alley, leaving Malicia and her kind maid alone in the warehouse. She spared a reassuring look at Mali, who was still crouching on the warehouse floor, looking uneasy. Offering her friend a calming smile, the auburn haired girl stepped out into the alleyway, the warehouse door clunking shut behind her.

“So, what are y’all ramblin’ about?” Tommy started, giving the handful of commoners a pointed look.

“Jean and the guys laid out our next steps!” one of the men explained, “We gotta act fast to make this revolution stick!”

“We’re going to the Baudelaire mansion, where all the bigwigs are gonna be meetin’ for the Archduke’s conference,” the young woman explained, “They’re gonna confront the lot of them and lay out our demands for what needs to change in this country.”

“You’re just going to… list your demands?” Tommy arched a dubious brow.

“Yep. That’s how we’ll start off, at least,” the boy explained.

Clara shared an uneasy look with Tommy, before turning her gaze hesitantly back to the group of commoners before her. Hesitantly, she asked, “And… if that doesn’t work?”

“Then…” the young man’s voice grew cold, “... we’ll do what we need to do.”

Malicia stood, frozen and silent in the shadow of the warehouse as she listened to the other young lady talking with some commoners at the warehouse door. It seemed the whirlwind of events and revelations this day had in store for her had no intentions of ceasing anytime soon.

Claudette… Claudie… she was alive. She was right here, just as kind and beautiful and… alive as she had been back then.

Claudie… her dearest friend… was standing just outside the far end of the warehouse, the conversation still slightly audible through the cracked, aged wood of the building. She had just stepped out, but before she did, she glanced back at Malicia over her shoulder and smiled. Somehow, that little smile broke Malicia’s heart more than anything.

Beside her, Rina was looking at her, eyes wide with concern. Her dear friend, her maid, who had done so much to care for her when no one else would have even considered it.

For so, so long, Malicia had felt so alone… and now… there were these two wonderful people right before her. Claudie was still alive somehow, and Rina, who had sworn she would always stay by her side.

She didn’t know where Rina had come from, or why she stayed, or how in the world Claudie was here right now. There were so, so many questions she couldn’t even begin to answer.

However, despite all that, there was one thing the blonde quickly became certain of: Rina was right about everything. Every prediction she had foreseen was coming true, one way or another. And, if the maid had been right about everything thus far, that meant….

“Hey, Malicia? Where are you going?” Rina asked as the blonde made her way towards the door at the opposite end of the warehouse.

“My father’s meeting,” the heiress answered, not meeting her maid’s eyes, “I have to go, now.”

Not missing a beat, she began marching quickly to the opposite side of the warehouse, right back to the door she had entered from.

“Wh-what?” Katarina gaped, frozen momentarily in disbelief.

After all of that? After reuniting with her old friend? After everything they went through to get here? Malicia was just going to turn around and march right out the door without another word?

What in the world had happened?

Shaking herself out of her stupor, she hastened to her Lady’s side, “Whoa, whoa, whoa, hold on!”

“You said that… this event would be my final ‘doom flag’, correct?” Malicia asked her as she reached the far door of the warehouse.

“Yeah. That’s why you can’t go,” Katarina folded her arms, looking sternly at her charge.

And, Katarina thought worriedly, Malicia really couldn’t go there right now. 

Considering how Malicia’s fate played out in every single route of Love’s Uprising, and how the game always inevitably ended with the fall of House Baudelaire, her mansion was probably the most dangerous place in the country for Malicia right now. Especially considering how… oddly accelerated the revolution seemed to be in real life compared to how it had played out in the game.

“No. It’s my father. I must… I must go there,” Malicia was murmuring, still focused on reaching the warehouse door like it was the most important thing in the world.

Katarina followed a pace behind her, entirely unsure what was troubling her charge. The maid let out a sigh, putting her hands on her hips. Honestly, after everything they had been through, did Malicia really think she’d be able to get away with that?

“Just wait, Malicia,” the brunette placed her hand on Malicia’s shoulder.

And, to her slight surprise, she did wait.

Malicia let out a small sigh, and bent over, as if to tie her shoelace. Katarina frowned, but took her charge’s momentary respite from racing towards the warehouse door to continue speaking to her.

“Malicia… don’t worry. I’ll stay by your side through whatever it is that’s about to happen,” Katarina started to follow her charge towards the door… and then she tripped.

No, it wasn’t that she tripped… her ankle was caught. More accurately, it was tied to the wrought iron handle of the wagon in the warehouse with a thick, sturdy rope.

The maid felt a sinking feeling in her chest as she began to realize what was happening.

“I know,” Malicia turned to face her, “That’s why I can’t let you.”

“Eh?” Katarina gasped softly. 

In the low light of the warehouse, she could see small tears in the blonde’s eyes. The maid had no idea what was going on anymore. Why Malicia was leaving, or what had suddenly changed. She seemed so committed to reuniting with her old friend just a moment earlier, but in the blink of an eye, she was going to turn her back on all of that?

Voice barely audible over the din of the crowd, Malicia whispered softly, “You are… the one good thing in my life right now… so you don’t deserve to be a part of any of what’s about to happen. You and Claudie… should just stay here where it’s safe.”

“M-Malicia, wait, I don’t understand,” Katarina pleaded, trying to get free of the rope as quickly as she could, but to no avail.

“I’m sorry, Rina. Thank you for everything. You have been a good maid… and a good friend,” the blonde had a distant look in her eyes as she uttered those words, before turning sharply on her heel and dashing out the door.

That was the last she saw of Malicia, as the blonde whirled her cloak over her head and sprinted out into the snow without another word.

Katarina felt her heart plummet.

No… that wasn’t right! 

What had just happened? Why had Malicia just given up on trying to avoid her doom? Why did she just run away from the heroine, when she wasn’t even done with their reunion?

No, more than that… if she went back to the Baudelaire mansion right now…

The brunette felt her blood go cold as she recalled how the last arc of the game inevitably played out.

“Malicia!” she cried out, straining against the thick rope again in vain, scrambling to untie the knot, to somehow get free. 

She had to find a way to catch up to her, and soon! She couldn’t allow her friend to meet a bad end after everything they had been through. 

Tugging at the rope once more, she screamed into the snowy sky, “Malicia!!!!”

At that very moment, in the main harbor of the port of Dumont, a rather crooked looking luxury vessel thumped roughly against the long wooden pier. Down the gangplank marched a handful of cold, weary travelers.

“Ohhhh,” a small, white haired girl murmured, rubbing her eyes, “Thank goodness that’s over with…”

“Yes,” a blond haired young man agreed, visibly shaken from the long journey, “I’m not sure how much more of that style of sailing I could put up with.”

“Ah!” a copper haired young woman let out a weary gasp as she finally stood on solid ground once more, “And I thought Lady Katarina rowing me across the lake was a turbulent journey!”

Similar sentiments were shared by all the other members of the party that had just rolled into port. The Sorcier Magical Academy’s Student Council murmured softly among themselves as they descended onto the rickety dock of the harbor.

Bringing up the rear was an equally weary but decidedly resolved Anne Shelley. The maid was the last one off the strange captain’s ship as the group made their way up the dock and into the main harbor of Ritallia.

Although everyone was clearly quite frazzled by their long and perilous journey, it didn’t take long before the group began reorienting themselves, quickly moving to their biggest priority: finding Lady Katarina.

Anne scanned the harbor quickly. Although she wasn’t entirely sure what to look for, the maid decided to keep her eyes open for anything that could hint to what had happened to her Lady.

“What if she’s not here anymore?” Lord Keith fretted, voicing his worries for the hundredth time that day, “What if something has happened to her? Where should we start looking?”

Looking just beyond her charge’s brother, Anne caught sight of the scene in the city before them. There was a large, swirling crowd gathered in the streets, clearly very angry. Becoming a maid for the Claes family meant she had never finished her full noble’s education, but Anne still knew enough about history to have a good idea of what was going on here as she scanned the crowd.

Some waved torches, others pitchforks. And all were marching towards the center of the city, in the direction of the larger, noble estates. It was clear this wasn’t just a protest, it was a revolution. And, as she took in the revolution unfolding in front of her, Anne thought about her troublesome charge, and had an uneasy feeling in her gut. 

Furrowing her brow, the maid quietly murmured, “Somehow… I have a hunch she’s quite nearby.”

Notes:

Once again, sorry for the long break. I am trying to get back into the swing of writing this fic, but between computer troubles and being sick, it's been kind of tricky lately.

Anyways, the Sorcier crew have finally made landfall in Ritallia, just as the revolution fully gets underway. The backstory between Claudette and Malicia is finally revealed, and Malicia is off on a mission of her own now, while Katarina is at a series of major disadvantages! The next 2 chapters should be fun (and hopefully quicker to write), there a scene fast approaching that I know a lot of folks are eager to read!

Thank you for reading, comments and constructive criticism are welcome as always!

Chapter 35: The First Place You Look

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

“Gah!” Katarina gasped as she finally pried her foot out of the rope that had tied her in place.

Honestly, she had probably only been tied for a couple of minutes, but it felt like far too long. It was, at the least, long enough for Malicia to get a significant head start on her, especially with the crowd outside obstructing the main roads.

The brunette rose from the floor shakily, feeling a deepening sense of dread in her heart, a sense she felt once before, on the day of her own doom. 

Somehow, though, this felt even worse. When her own life was on the line, she had time to make peace with that fact. She was the villainess, after all. But Malicia was so much more than that! She was so kind and caring, as much as she tried to hide it sometimes, and she even managed to get on good terms with the heroine!

The heroine who, as it so happened, was currently stepping back into the warehouse from the door at the opposite end.

“M-Mali?” the auburn haired girl called out softly, looking around the empty room with a look of concern in her eyes.

“Hey! Where the heck did blondie go?” Tommy asked a moment later, as he and Charlie stepped back inside.

“Miss Rina?” Claudette looked at her, eyes wide with worry, “Where is Malicia?”

Katarina felt her heart sink. 

Had she really just screwed everything up? Again?

Everything… everyone… was counting on her being able to stop Malicia’s bad end. And she’d just let her Lady run off, into the snowy night, unable to do anything as she disappeared.

The worried look in Claudette’s eyes felt like a stab through Katarina’s heart as she murmured, “She… she just ran off.”

“Eh?” the heroine stared back, stunned.

“She said she was going to her father’s meeting,” Katarina gestured blankly to the doorway the blonde had vanished through a moment ago.

Claudette frowned for a moment before a look of determination came over her, “Well… let’s go then! There’s no time to waste!”

Katarina hesitated. The heroine was right, of course, but…

“I think you should go with the Commoners’ Alliance,” Katarina said suddenly. She thought back to everything she knew from the game, and the one who had the best odds of actually pacifying the revolution here was the auburn haired girl who stood before her.

“Huh?” Clara blinked in surprise. 

“What for?” Tommy shot her a look.

“You… might be able to reason with them,” Katarina explained, trying to think how to best explain it.

In the game, the heroine helped stop the revolution because she didn’t want anyone to get hurt. But right now, she mainly just wanted to see her old friend. How was an ex-villainess supposed to convince a heroine to save the day?

“I don’t think they would pay me any mind right now…” Clara glanced behind herself uncertainly.

“Yeah, they’re out fer blood. I doubt they’d even hear her over the sounds of their yellin’,” Tommy rubbed his eyes.

Katarina screwed her eyes closed, trying to think up some way to convince her, “They all look up to you. All of the Commoners’ Alliance know what a good person you are, so if you try to slow them down, they’ll listen.”

“I-I’m not sure that’s-” Clara hesitated, looking down uncertainly.

“It is true,” Katarina confirmed, reaching out to take her hands. This young lady might not know she was a heroine, but Katarina sure did. She looked at Clara reassuringly and told her, “They’ll listen to you. More than they’ll listen to me or Malicia, at least. You can try to talk some sense into them.”

Clara still looked a bit dubious. The maid couldn’t blame her; the circumstances around how she had wound up in town during the revolution were completely different now from how they had been in the game, so it was no surprise her opinions on all of it were a bit different.

“Trust me, I know you can do it!” Katarina confidently told her as she reached out to grab Clara’s hand. Though she didn’t say so out loud, she mentally added, As long as you select the right dialogue options!  

Clara took a deep breath and hesitated for a moment. Just outside the warehouse, the sounds of the uproarious crowd beyond were getting louder by the minute. Fixing Katarina with a resolved look, the auburn haired girl told her, “Okay. I’ll do my best.” 

“Um… are ya sure you’re up fer that, Clara?” Tommy gave her a skeptical look.

“Yes, it’ll be fine. Mali is counting on me, after all,” Clara smiled at her friend. Turning back to Katarina, the heroine tilted her head curiously, “What about you, Miss Rina? Where are you going?”

Katarina fixed the heroine with a look of sheer determination and replied, “To save Malicia.”

Back at the very edge of town, along the seaside, the Student Council and a few guests made their way up to the edge of the harbor, taking care to not draw any attention from the rather… unkempt looking crowd of angry commoners that filled the streets.

Geordo was thankful he had decided to wear his traveling clothes rather than his usual red and white prince outfit. The scene here told him the common folk of this nation might not take too kindly to a prince wandering the streets at the moment. 

As the group discreetly made their way into the main portion of the city center, Geordo approached an older man standing near a closed stall in the marketplace by the harbor.

Calling out to the man, Geordo asked him, “Excuse me, sir. Do you happen to know the name ‘Katarina Claes’?”

“Hmmm, can’t say I do,” the old man answered, grimly adding, “Not to be a bearer of bad news, but tonight ain’t exactly the best time to be searching for someone.”

“Yes, I realize that,” Geordo replied with a frown, “Thank you for your time.”

The prince turned to the rest of the Student Council, who had all broken off to ask other commoners wandering the streets the same question. From the shrugs and looks of confusion, Geordo could only assume the rest of them were receiving similar answers. 

After a few moments, they all regrouped near a flickering lamp post, rattling in the chilly, snowy wind. The Nor’Easter that the ship’s captain had warned them of was blowing into the Ritallian port, shaking every window and chilling all of them to the bone. Geordo pulled his cloak more tightly around himself as the group of shivering Sorcierrans convened once more.

“Where should we go?” Alan started by posing the obvious question.

Geordo frowned, glancing around the turbulent town. Turning to the companions he deemed most likely to have an idea, he asked, “Miss Campbell? Mister Walt? Any ideas?”

“W-well…”  Maria hesitated, quickly casting a spell with light magic over the nearby area.

“There are dark magic traces, but…” Rafael pursed his lips, glancing around the area, “They are very faint… and muddled.”

“Yes,” Maria frowned, “The traces of dark magic here… they overlap and weave in and out, as if she has walked back and forth here many times.”

“D-does that mean…?” Sophia’s eyes sparkled hopefully, “Does that mean Lady Katarina is nearby? That she… lives in this city?”

“The city… I’m not so sure,” Maria frowned, glancing at traces of light magic visible only to her, “From the looks of it, it looks like there are more traces that way,” she gestured towards the large, ominous mountain looming over the city, speckled with noble manors.

Geordo exchanged glances with the other members of the search party. He knew this wouldn’t be easy, but, as he watched the growing crowd of revolting commoners marching furiously towards the mountain where Lady Katarina might be found, he couldn’t help but wonder just how difficult this could turn out to be.

Despite the chilly air, there was a noticeable sweat running down Katarina’s face as she finally reached the Couillard estate. She didn’t quite know what she was planning to do, but she needed to do it fast.

Katarina swung open the door to the maids’ quarters with urgency, heart pounding as she tried to think of how to best catch up to her Lady.

Malicia might not be here anymore, but… she probably came through here to get to her carriage. That would be the fastest way to get back to her mansion, after all, and–

No, wait. That wasn’t right. They came here in Lady Lena’s carriage, not Malicia’s.

So, then, that meant, the person she needed to talk to here was….

It wasn’t long before the Katarina search party made their way to one of the nearby noble manors. Geordo wasn’t sure quite what had been transpiring in this estate on this particular night but it seemed everyone was quite eager to leave, quite contrary to Geordo and the others, who anxiously approached the large, green house at the base of the hill.

Maria and Rafael’s trace-casting spell was difficult to use in particularly crowded areas, so the massive, heaving revolution brewing in the street hampered any effort they had made to narrow down which noble house Lady Katarina might be found at. Thus, they had decided their best bet was to start at the nearest house and look for leads.

Out in the front, a handful of nobles were blithely conversing as they made to depart, all acting as if they hadn’t a care in the word for the revolution unfolding in the streets just mere blocks from them. As the search party approached the main door, a young woman with curled blonde hair briskly marched out of the building, accompanied by a mustachioed man.

“Excuse me, miss, but have you heard of a–” Keith asked the passing young woman, but she simply strode right past him, appearing deep in thought.

The sandy blond young man exchanged a look with Geordo, who simply sighed and continued up to the front door. He knocked on the ornate oak door…and waited. After a few minutes passed, he knocked again. 

The prince frowned. Perhaps whoever lived here was afraid he was with the protestors outside? Maybethey wouldn’t be lucky enough to speak to whoever lived here after all–

His thoughts were cut off by the loud creak of the front door slowly drifting open. Inside stood a tall, bored looking noblewoman who let out a long sigh and stared at Geordo with lifeless eyes. She offered no greeting at all, instead waiting for Geordo to speak.

“Ah, hello, Lady…?” the prince began.

“Couillard. Marchioness Couillard,” the green haired woman drawled lazily, “I don’t believe I’ve seen you around here before.”

“Yes, well… I’m from overseas,” Geordo gestured to the harbor, “My name is Prince Geordo Stuart, of Sorcier. This is my brother, Prince Alan Stuart and some of our companions. We are here in search of a missing person who we believe may have entered this country about four months ago: Lady Katarina Claes.”

The Marchioness arched an eyebrow, but didn’t seem fazed at all by any of that information. She simply stood there, idly smoking her long pipe and watching them, as if waiting for one of them to say or do something.

“May I ask what all the commotion outside is about?” Nicol spoke up politely.

“Oh, just some little peasants thrown into a tizzy over some missing food, nothing to concern yourself with,” the woman waved her hand lazily as if she couldn’t care less about anything happening in the town. She let out another sigh and murmured, “In any case, I haven’t heard any news about a ‘Katarina Claes’ in this country, but if she did pass through here, it’s possible her name is on the docket.” 

“Would it trouble you if we were to look over that docket, Lady Couillard?” Geordo asked her, hopeful there could be a lead.

“Yes, it would,” the woman replied bluntly, letting out a puff of smoke from her pipe.

Geordo exchanged glances with the others. He had only been speaking with this woman for a few moments, but he could already feel his patience waning. After searching frantically for months, only to be stopped in his search by some noble who just didn’t feel like letting him look around was doing nothing to improve his already very strained mood. 

Still, he composed himself, allowing a hint of poison into his smile as he focused his eyes sharply on the Marchioness, “Ahem, Lady Couillard? It is very urgent to me that I locate Lady Katarina at once. May we please have a look at your itineraries for any records of her travel?”

“Yes, yes, come right in,” the green haired woman let out a withering sigh as she waved them in. As she slowly meandered back into her house’s main room, she muttered under her breath, “Nobody has any bloody manners these days….”

Geordo’s eye twitched, but he decided not to comment any further on that for now, opting instead to quickly follow the older woman into the gaudy, green house. Arguing with random nobles was hardly his priority at the moment, after all. He turned to the other members of the search party and quickly decided on a plan of action.

“Miss Campbell? You and Mister Walt should search the area to see if you can detect any dark magic remnants,” Geordo instructed, gesturing towards the center of the estate. 

“Yes, Prince Geordo,” the light mage replied, and departed with the former Student Council president and the pair of Ministry workers who were overseeing him.

“Alan, Nicol, and Sophia will find the Couillards’ itineraries and check them over for Katarina’s name or anyone matching her description around the date of her disappearance,” the prince continued, before turning to the rest of the party, “Mary, Keith, and myself will ask around in the conference room down the hall, where some nobles are convening, and ask them if they know anything about foreign nobles visiting.”

With a nod to the other members of the council, Geordo and the others set out on their quest.

Behind him, Lady Katarina’s maid quietly excused herself into the servants’ hall behind the main estate to inquire around back there. Geordo sighed; he doubted the maid would turn up any useful leads, but nonetheless, he decided it was in everyone’s best interests to cover all their bases. 

He stepped into the conference room, where it seemed whatever meeting had taken place here was winding to a close.

Starting with the nobleman nearest the entrance, Geordo approached him and quickly asked, “Excuse me sir. I’m sorry to bother you, but does the name ‘Katarina Claes’ sound familiar to you at all?” 

“‘Catalina lies’?” the man looked up at him mournfully, “Yes, I know she does! She told me that fountain could withstand any earthquake!”

Geordo took a breath. This day was sure to try his patience, and he had a hunch it was far from over.

Katarina found Colette in the main building’s basement, preparing what looked like a large duffel bag full of miscellaneous supplies. As she approached, Colette acknowledged her presence, but didn’t say anything, evidently too engrossed in her work.

“What are you doing?” Katarina asked the other maid.

“Packing,” the red haired maid answered, “Just in case.”

The brunette frowned, recalling what the other maid had said before about sneaking out of the country if things got too much worse. Honestly, leaving the country didn’t sound like too bad of an option right now, but there was no way she could turn her back on Malicia right then. 

Taking a breath, Katarina composed herself and asked, “Where’s Lady Lena?”

“Upstairs,” the red haired woman replied, not glancing up from her work, “She is still attempting to work towards a solution that is more favorable to the common folk. Unfortunately, most of the nobility present will not listen to her suggestions, and I believe many have already begun to leave.”

Katarina furrowed her brows. She’d had a hunch that would be the case, but it still hurt to hear. In any case, that wasn’t her main goal right now. The brunette took a breath and asked, “Has Malicia come through here recently?”

“Yes, as it so happens, she did,” the crimson haired maid answered evenly.

“She’s… not still here by any chance, is she?”

“No, she came flying through here like the devil was chasing her and caught a ride with the Chancellor,” Colette replied, “Where they were going, I do not know, though I can only assume she wisened up and decided to get out of this country before things truly get bad.”

Katarina frowned, “What’s the fastest way to get back to the Baudelaire mansion right now?”

Anne Shelley stepped quietly into the Couillard home’s servant rooms. Unlike the magic crystals and candles that illuminated dark corridors in Sorcier, the back room here was lit by small, glass orbs containing glowing wires. She idly tapped one, curious about the odd contraption, but shook her head, not wanting to get distracted, and turned to take in the scene before her.

To her left, a pair of butlers were scrambling to prepare a tray of tea and biscuits.

To her right, a dutiful brunette maid was arguing with a maid with bright red hair. 

It was a significantly more subdued scene that she expected to find based on the turbulent crowd swirling in the streets outside. Anne furrowed her brow; did the nobles here not see the revolutionaries storming the streets?

It was as if they were either completely oblivious to the protestors outside, or they just didn’t care.

In any case, Anne shrugged her shoulders. Meddling in the affairs of the nobility and their servants in this nation wasn’t her goal here, as much as she had a few choice words for some of them.

But no, she was here to find Lady Katarina, and she needed to act quickly to do so. Thus, she turned her back to the bickering maids and scurrying butlers, and moved towards the shelf of travel logs and ledgers towards the opposite wall and began to scan through them for any travelogs or itineraries that could help her to locate her Lady as quickly as she could.

“Back?” Colette glanced up at her in shock, “Why in the world would you want to go back there? The Archduke Baudelaire is planning to have some conference there soon, and it’s clear that the commoners outside are planning to crash it. Although, why Lord Baudelaire would choose now for such a conference is beyond me….”

“That’s exactly why I need to go back,” Katarina took a step forward determinedly, “Malicia is going to her father’s meeting, and I can’t leave her alone there. Can I borrow your carriage?”

“No. You may not,” Colette told her evenly, “I cannot leave my Lady without transportation.”

Katarina frowned. That was… fair enough, really, but how was she supposed to get back to the mansion without a ride?

Colette stared intently at her for a long moment, and then exhaled, pinching the bridge of her nose, “Haaah. You… truly are dead set on getting to the Baudelaire estate, aren’t you?

“Mmm,” Katarina nodded, gripping her fists determinedly.

“I’m not sure how well versed you are in the occupations of the various houses in this nation, but the Couillards are a family that oversee a sizable portion of domestic trade. They have a fair share of carriages and other vehicles at the ready on this estate all the time,” Colette informed her.

“E-ehh?!” Katarina’s eyes lit up. That was… good news, kind of!

“The ledgers over there should give you some idea of where to find them,” the crimson haired maid gestured to a small bookshelf of travelogs at the end of the hallway.

“Thanks, Colette!” the brunette grinned at her as she turned on her heel, “This really means a lot!”

Katarina walked briskly through the tight maids’ quarters, quickly making her way to where the Couillards kept their records of the vehicles and transportation they had on hand. She would try and pick out the fastest option and then fly back to the main estate as fast as she possibly could.

She made her way to the wall of little books Colette had directed her to. In front of her, another maid was perusing the selection of notebooks as well. Katarina’s eyes quickly landed on a leather notebook which looked as if it might contain some information on what transportation options were available.

“Anne, would you hand me that ledger?” Katarina asked the other maid.

“Yes, here you go, my Lady,” her maid replied, quickly handing her the notebook.

The brunette graciously thanked her and flipped open the book in her hands.

Well… if the protestors were taking the main avenue up Mont Martre, then that street would probably be totally congested. She would need to take the other street that ran up the back of the mountain, even though that took a bit longer.

But then… Malicia had taken a horse drawn carriage, and she had at least a fifteen minute head start on her. She needed a way to get to the top of the mountain, and fast!

She considered taking one of the Couillards’ horses, but even so, she didn’t know how easy it would be to ride in this weather. The snowstorm was really lashing down now, and…

And…

And…

And…

Wait, no, hold on.

All of a sudden, Katarina froze.

The ledger she was leafing through fell from her hands.

Slowly, as if she was turning to face the grim reaper himself, the brunette inched her head around, until she met the eyes of the last person she expected to see here right now.

Gaping back at her with an expression equally as shell shocked as her own, her former maid Anne was standing just a few paces away, illuminated by the electric lights of the Couillard basement.

There was a long beat of silence, punctuated only by the distant howling winds outside, before Katarina finally found her voice.

“A-A-A-A-Anne?”

“L-Lady Katarina?”

“What the heck are you doing here?!”

“What in the world are you doing here?!”

Notes:

*cue Spiderman pointing meme*

Chapter 36: So Long Without You

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

It was a strange thing, to see a snowstorm at sea, Anne mused. 

As she stood at the front window of the Fortune Lover, the maid couldn’t see more than a few feet beyond the bow of the ship. The turbulent waves rocked the ship sharply back and forth, high and low, as the lashing sheets of snow and ice blustered about, obscuring any vision of what lay ahead. Anne had been quite terrified at the time; no matter how certain the Captain seemed that he could lead his ship to port without incident, it did nothing to soothe the maid’s strained nerves.

But through it all, Anne never once wished to turn back.

And why was it that she could stand so resolutely? How was it that she could have such faith that their ship would find its destination?

She closed her eyes and saw the bright, grinning face of her Lady. It had been many months, but Lady Katarina’s visage still shone just as brightly in her memory as it always had. 

As the rickety ship lurched and thrashed its way through the snowstorm, Anne held on tight, both to the ship itself, and to the hope that she would one day soon see that cherished face again.

And as she stood, shivering, in the basement of a Ritallian mansion, Anne once again gazed upon those bright, beautiful eyes in what was quite possibly the most unexpected way she could ever have imagined.

Just a few feet in front of her, Lady Katarina herself was staring right back at her, looking just as perplexed as Anne herself, and yet, every bit as young and radiant as she had the last time Anne had seen her.

The maid could barely even find her voice as she stared in utter shock at the young lady who stood before her.

“L-Lady Katarina?” Anne asked breathlessly, “What on earth are you doing here?”

“Anne! What the heck are you doing here?!” Katarina blurted out again, then clapped a hand over her mouth, as if she’d just said something she wasn’t supposed to.

Anne?! What? Why was Anne here?! Katarina’s mind was struggling to process this new development. Unless… could it be?!

“Anne… did you get exiled too?!” Katarina bit her lip. Were her misdeeds so great that they even exiled her maid along with her? Had Anne been working in Ritallia for months too?!

“Exiled? What in the world are you talking about, Lady Katarina?” her former maid stared back at her in disbelief, quickly dispelling that theory, “Why are you here, my Lady? And… why are you dressed like that?”

Katarina glanced quickly down at her maid’s uniform, not all too different from the one Anne herself was wearing. She awkwardly shrugged, “Well… I…”

“No, never mind,” Anne quickly grabbed her by the wrist, cutting her off before she could explain, “Come with me, we need to get you to the others, right away.”

Katarina gulped, feeling dread stab through her heart. As Anne dragged her up the stairs, she feebly squeaked out, “O-others?”

“Did you find anything, Miss Campbell?” Geordo asked as the light mage re-entered the conference room.

“I-I’m afraid not, Prince Geordo,” the blonde replied sadly.

Geordo gave her a nod in reply, disappointed but unsurprised.

The prince’s eyes were dry and tired; between the sleepless night on the boat and the stuffy, perfume filled atmosphere of the Couillard mansion, he was extremely weary.

The mood in the conference room was determined but doubtful. Everyone, including Geordo himself, had no expectations of finding Katarina anytime soon. She had been lost in a foreign country for over four months now, and they had only just arrived. The prince prayed on everything he could that he could locate her soon, but his hopes were low that it would take less than a week at best to track down his missing fiancée, especially with this uprising brewing in the streets.

He was just about to suggest they all find some place to seek shelter for the night and continue their search in the morning, when he heard a door click open just behind them.

“Ahem, everyone?” the voice of Anne Shelley called out from the servants’ doorway just behind them.

Geordo turned to find Lady Katarina’s maid…. And Lady Katarina herself.

Just behind Anne stood the ever-beautiful form of Katarina Claes, dressed in a somewhat unkempt maid’s uniform, looking back at Geordo with an expression just as perplexed as his own.

There was a sudden beat of silence that punctuated the room. No one seemed to know how to react for a second, and then….

“Katarina!”

“Lady Katarina!”

“Sister!”

A cacophony of shouts from everyone present filled the Couillard home’s meeting hall.

Everyone in the room suddenly cried out in disbelief, quickly running over and surrounding Lady Katarina in a flash. Geordo simply couldn’t find his voice. He simply stared in utter befuddlement, feeling his knees nearly go weak at the sight of his fiancée.

After a long moment, the prince took a step forward… and Katarina shrunk back a pace.

Geordo paused. Was she afraid of him?

The last thing he ever expected was to find his fiancée standing a few paces behind Anne Shelley, almost cowering behind her, dressed in a Ritallian maid’s uniform. Even stranger, she didn’t seem the least bit excited to see him or anyone else again. It almost seemed as if she wanted to turn and run at the first opportunity.

Why would she be so afraid? Could the dark magic still be affecting her? From what he knew, it shouldn’t last this long, but he wasn’t an expert in curses like this.

He furrowed his brows, entirely confused by the sudden change of events. In any case, Katarina was here. She was safe and alive, which was what mattered most. Now… he just had to convince her she didn’t need to be afraid of any of them.

“Lady Katarina,” he held up his hands reassuringly, “Please calm down. We came here to find you.”

Katarina bit her lip.

She stood frozen a pace behind Anne, trying to think how to get out of this sudden doom flag.

They came here… for her?

Did they decide exile wasn’t good enough, and that they should track her down and execute her anyways?!

Katarina shuffled awkwardly in place, trying to drown out her friends’ angry shouts. They were all talking over top of one another, so she couldn’t quite make out what each one was saying, but she could only imagine they were all furious with her for intruding on whatever event brought them over to Ritallia in the first place.

After not seeing any of them for so very long, her heart was a whirlwind of emotions. She never thought she would look in any of their eyes again… and right then, she couldn’t bear to.

She squeezed her eyes shut and tried to think up some way to wiggle out of the situation before she made things even worse for them.

After a few moments of frenzied screaming, her former friends began to calm down and address her one at a time. The brunette took a breath and hoped she would be able to talk her way out of this one!

“Lady Katarina, what are you doing here?” Prince Geordo started, “Is everything okay?”

“Ehhhh… I think you have me confused with someone else?” she tried, “I’m just a simple maid, Rina Clayton! I’m definitely not Katarina Claes!”

“I didn’t say ‘Claes’,” Geordo folded his arms, giving her a look.

“Ehhhhhhh…” the brunette averted her eyes. 

“Lady Katarina, please tell us what’s going on here!” Mary urged, taking a step forward.

“I… duu not speeka da Sorcier dialecto…” she averted her eyes, twiddling her thumbs innocently.

“That’s not even a Ritallian accent!” Alan huffed, “Come on, Katarina! Just… tell us what’s going on!”

Katarina shuffled in place, worry growing deeper by the minute. 

She had no idea what her friends were all doing here, but if the game ended with Geordo getting Maria’s good end, then probably….

“I’m sorry, Prince Geordo,” the ex-Duke’s daughter bowed her head, “I didn’t mean to intrude on yours and Maria’s honeymoon.”

There was a moment of silence in the room. Katarina gulped, hoping her apology would suffice, and then….

“H-Hah?!?” 

Almost all at once, everyone in the room gaped at her like she had gone mad, none looking quite as surprised as Geordo himself.

Katarina tilted her head. Perhaps it was Keith’s honeymoon? She had never really been clear which route Maria was on, after all. She turned to her little brother, but found he looked just as baffled by everything she had just said as everyone else.

“Sister, what?!” Keith was the first to speak up.

“What in the world are you talking about, Katarina?” Geordo stared at her in utter bewilderment.

“H-honeymoon?” Maria, meanwhile, had gone utterly scarlet, barely even able to meet her eyes.

So this… wasn’t their honeymoon? What other reason would all of them have to come visit Ritallia?

“...hang on,” Katarina tapped her chin thoughtfully, “What… are you guys doing here, anyways?”

“W-we’re here for you, Lady Katarina!” Mary cried out, rushing over to her in a heartbeat.

“Y-yes!” Sophia looked at her determinedly, “We came a long way because we couldn’t stand being apart from you, Lady Katarina! You disappeared and we were all so worried about you!”

“Mm,” Nicol nodded tacitly, eyes gazing into hers filled with deep emotion.

Maria reached out, pulling her into a hug, “I was so worried about you! I’m so glad you’re okay, Lady Katarina!”

The brunette could only gape, trying to process everything. Maria was worried… about her?! But why?

She had less and less of an idea as to what was going on here by the second!

“W-we came here for you!” Mary blurted out at once.

“Yeah! You just… disappeared! Did you really think we wouldn’t try to find you?” Alan put his hand on his hip.

Katarina blinked in surprise, pausing for a moment to take it all in. If they came here to find her… to bring her back home, then….

“Wait… you guys… didn’t exile me?” the brunette asked, brows furrowed in confusion.

“Exile you?” Mary gasped.

“Of course not!” Keith looked appalled at the very idea.

“Why in the world would we?!” Alan asked, utterly perplexed.

“We all love you, Lady Katarina!” Maria gazed up at her with wide eyes, “We want to be by your side for the rest of our lives!”

“We came here because… we would go any distance for you!” Mary declared resolutely.

“We would even cross a stormy sea, just to see you again!” Geordo added, “As a matter of fact, we just did!”

“Yes, my Lady. We came all this way to make sure you were alright. We all… truly miss you, Lady Katarina, more than anything,” Anne smiled at her reassuringly. It was a smile Katarina had never seen on her maid before; sad and sweet, the smile of someone who had finally found someone who had been missing for far too long.

Katarina blinked. 

Her eyes wandered between each of her friends’ faces… they were all… worried about her!

They came all this way for… for her!

The brunette suddenly felt little tears spring up in the corners of her eyes. The gravity of the situation suddenly began to hit home. She hadn’t seen any of her friends in so, so long. 

Her friends… her family!

They didn’t hate her! They didn’t exile her!

She suddenly felt very foolish for thinking that they ever would.

It suddenly clicked.

Everything that had just happened… being able to see her family again after so long apart…

Mary was standing just a few inches from her, firmly holding her hand. Even in the cold of the Ritallian winter, she somehow kept a fresh orange rose bloom in her headband. And she was staring up at Katarina like she was the most important thing in the whole world.

Keith stood by her side, resting his hand comfortingly on her shoulder, looking at her the same way she had looked at him back when she chopped his door down when they were kids. Like he wanted nothing more than to see her smile.

Nicol’s expression was, at first glance, not that different from usual. However, as she looked at him for a moment, she could see the dark, sparkling affection in his silent eyes. It was the look of someone filled with both relief and worry… all for her sake.

Sophia almost looked a bit angry. Her cheeks were puffed up in a slight pout, but in her eyes, Katarina could see the kindness flowing forth from the small girl. It reminded her a bit of when she returned to school in Japan after forgetting to tell Acchan she was sick.

Geordo stood to her side, gently holding her other hand. On his lips was a small smile, but not the smile of a black-hearted prince. The smile of someone who had found a long lost friend.

Alan had an expression as if he was doing his best not to show how concerned he was and failing miserably. His hands were clenched in tight fists, but Katarina could see he had relaxed his posture far more than he usually did. And, to her surprise, she was pretty sure she saw tears in his eyes.

Maria also had tears in her eyes, but it was clear they were tears of joy. Katarina had never in her life imagined the heroine would save that expression for Fortune Lover ’s villainess, and the mere sight of something so beautiful was enough to stop her heart for a moment.

Anne, her trusty maid whose footsteps she had been attempting to follow for these past months, was standing right behind her once again. Anne was a relatively quiet person, so Katarina didn’t know how it was that her calm presence did so much to fill the room after so long away from it.

And the Student Council President was looking at her with a mix of regret and relief in his eyes….

Wait. The Student Council President?

Her eyes flicked back to him. To his bright red hair and grey eyes…

And… And…

Katarina Claes… just go away. Someplace far, far away, where you’ll never bother anyone again.”

Like a shock of static electricity, Katarina flinched slightly as that memory suddenly snapped back into her mind. 

His words on her last day at the academy had been drowned out by all the darkness, but all of the sudden, she remembered it. She remembered sneaking out of the academy with her exile bag, she remembered hopping on the first carriage to the coast and boarding a ship in the middle of the night, and she remembered….

“Are you okay, President?” Katarina quickly reached out and took the red haired boy’s hands.

“E-eh?” he blinked back in surprise, “W-what do you mean?”

Katarina frowned, thinking back to the last interaction she remembered with him, “The last time I saw you… you looked so sad…”

“I…” the red haired boy looked at her mournfully, “Lady Katarina, I’m not sure how much you recall, but… your being here, in this country, is entirely my fault. I cast a curse on you to make you run far from home.”

The brunette frowned. That… certainly explained a few things, assuming she hadn’t actually been exiled. But still, she couldn’t help but worry for him, “W-well… even so. Are you okay?”

“Hah?” he gaped back at her, “I could have killed you!”

“Yeah, but you didn’t,” Katarina pursed her lips, “You sent me here, and I found a new home and new friends, and… and Malicia!”

In all the commotion, Katarina had totally forgotten her main objective here! She had no idea how much time she’d wasted talking to everyone, but the revolution wasn’t going to sit around and wait!

Just outside, a loud shout came from the crowd, which was slowly making its way up the mountain. Katarina gulped. How long had she been talking to everyone here?

How long had Malicia been up there by herself?

Had the revolution gotten to Baudelaire manor yet?

Katarina whirled around to face her friends, “We need to—!”

“Come on, Katarina! We need to go, right now!” Alan declared, cutting off her desperate plea.

“Yes, sister, we should leave at once,” Keith agreed, nodding quickly, “The harbor will probably be closed for a while due to the weather, but we can at least move out of the city.”

“Keith–” the brunette tried to cut him off, but he continued.

“Things are rapidly deteriorating here, it seems, so we should leave this area as quickly as we can,” her brother continued, pulling her towards the door.

“Keith!” she cried out again, pulling back out of his grasp.

“What is it, sister?” he turned to her, concerned, “Are you alright?”

Katarina took a deep breath as she met his eyes, “I can’t go with you.”

“Wh-what?” Anne gasped, along with several of the others.

She knew her charge had realized by now that her friends from Sorcier were here to help her, not harm her, and it was obvious from everything happening outside that this place would not stay safe for much longer. So then… why was it that this foolish young lady of hers was so obstinate about leaving?

“Lady Katarina… what are you talking about?” Maria asked her gently.

“You know we didn’t actually exile you!” Prince Geordo reminded her.

“We all miss you so much! We came all this way, just for you!,” Lady Hunt pleaded, tugging on her sleeve.

“I know that, but I can’t leave!” Katarina cried out, “Malicia needs my help!”

“Who is this ‘Malicia’ person you keep mentioning, anyways?” Lady Mary put her hands on her hips.

“She’s my Lady… the heiress of the Baudelaire house, and the woman I’ve been serving for the last four months,” the brunette explained, quickly following up with, “I can’t just leave!”

Anne frowned, pursing her lips. Well, she supposed, that explained the maids’ outfit at the very least.

“Yes, you can!” Lady Mary declared, “And yes, you will! We’re getting out of here right now!”

“No, I won’t!” Lady Katarina shot back instantly, “I’m a servant of House Baudelaire, and I can’t turn my back on it right now!”

“Lady Katarina, you are not a servant of anyone! You are a daughter of House Claes, and that house has dearly missed you for far too long,” Master Keith explained urgently, “We cannot simply leave you here in the middle of a dangerous, violent uprising! We need to go at once!”

When the young woman remained fixed in place, clearly not intending to budge, Prince Geordo sighed, “Lady Katarina… I can see you hold this Malicia person in high regards, but… it’s just too dangerous.”

“That doesn’t matter!” the young Lady Claes looked back at him defiantly, “I need to help her right away!”

Anne felt her eye twitch slightly. After everything they had gone through, after crossing the sea… did Lady Katarina really think that continuing her job as a maid here was more important than her own life?

This felt all too similar to the stubborn tantrums Lady Katarina had thrown when she was a child, back before she bumped her head. The maid thought her charge had grown beyond that, but it seemed there were still things that would put her in this state.

Even so, it wasn’t as if Anne was unprepared to deal with a very stubborn Lady Katarina. She did have some experience in the matter, after all.

The maid took a deep breath and considered how best to approach this situation. Ever since childhood, Lady Katarina had always been, for lack of a better phrase, a bit of a handful. And, in that time, Anne had often been the one to convince her Lady to do many things she didn’t especially want to do, like eating her vegetables, knocking before opening doors, and in this case, leaving the scene of what could easily escalate into a full-blown revolution.

“My Lady, I understand that a lot has happened since we last spoke, but do take a moment to consider what is best here,” Anne started, “Your mother and father are both terribly worried about you, and wish to see you again as soon as possible. Your home, your friends from school… all of them are eagerly awaiting your return. Please, Lady Katarina, don’t be so rash as to turn your back on all of that.”

For a moment, Anne could see her charge’s face cloud over with doubt, but to her surprise, Lady Katarina turned to her with a shockingly determined look on her face, “Anne, why are you here?”

Anne took a breath, and pushed down her emotions. She fixed her Lady with an equally determined look and began to explain.

“Because I care about you. You are a dear member of my family, and no matter how far you may be, I will go that distance for you,” the maid reached out and took her charge’s hands, “Because you are my Lady.”

Rather than backing down, however, Katarina’s stance didn’t waver in the slightest as she pointed to the house on the hill behind her, “And what would it say about me if I can’t even go that far for my Lady?”

There was a beat of silence. Anne blinked, dumbfounded. The maid could not think of a single reply to give in that moment.

No.

That was right, wasn’t it?

She didn’t care for Lady Katarina simply because she was her charge. She didn’t care so deeply that she would cross a stormy sea for her simply because of her station.

She cared so deeply for Lady Katarina because Katarina Claes was the type of person who would go to any length for her friends.

She would chop down a door with an axe to stop her brother crying, she would climb a mountain in a snowstorm to help the woman she had been serving as a maid, and Anne was quite sure that, under different circumstances, Lady Katarina would cross any stormy sea for her just the same.

And, in that moment, she knew. Although Anne didn’t know who Malicia Baudelaire was, the maid knew right away that she was yet another person Lady Katarina would never give up on.

Hm.

Despite her best effort, the maid couldn’t help but feel the corners of her mouth twitch up into a smile.

Yes, she was well and truly beaten this time, wasn’t she?

The maid took a breath. She supposed that crossing a stormy sea wasn’t going to be the last bad decision she made on this journey after all.  Anne turned to her charge’s brother, “Master Keith. See if you can locate some transportation to get us up the mountain right away.”

Lady Katarina’s eyes suddenly lit up. The look of dazzling hope in her charge’s eyes told Anne right away she had just made the right call… even if it would be a rather difficult one to follow through on.

“W-what?!” Keith, however, was not quite so easily swayed, “Anne… what are you talking about? We have to get out of here right away!”

“Unfortunately…” Anne furrowed her brows, “...I don’t think that will be possible right now.”

“Mmm!” Lady Katarina beamed, “Anne’s right! I’m not going anywhere until I can help Malicia!”

Anne turned to the others, but it was clear they weren’t so easily convinced. She sighed, knowing it wouldn’t be quite so easy, but it was clear as day to her that Lady Katarina had no intention of changing her position on this matter.

“Honestly… can any of you really see Lady Katarina backing down right now?” Anne asked the group, arching a dubious brow.

“B-but–!” Master Keith’s protest died in his throat as he met his sister’s eyes.

“I… suppose you may have a point,” Prince Geordo conceded, but his expression clearly showed he was still trying to think of some way to flee with Lady Katarina without delving any further into the chaotic mess unfolding in the streets here.

“It wouldn't be very fun if we had to literally tie her up and drag her back home….” Lady Mary murmured, quietly adding, “Even though I had prepared for that….”

Anne pursed her lips, making a mental note to have a proper conversation with Lady Mary about her intentions for Lady Katarina, but filed it away for a matter to be addressed another time.

“Y-you guys…” a quiet murmur came from the lips of Lady Katarina herself. 

Anne and everyone else present turned to the brunette to find her dabbing away small tears in her eyes. In that moment, Anne could tell the others all knew: there was no turning back now. Maybe there never had been; perhaps they were always far too deep in Lady Katarina’s clutches for their own good.

“Are you ready, My Lady?” Anne asked her charge.

Katarina straightened up at once, “Yeah! Let’s go!”

Anne felt herself smile looking at the bright young woman before her. Perhaps it was wrong of her to think so, but she couldn’t help the upwelling of pride she felt at just what an upstanding maid her Lady had become.

“So… where is this Malicia?” Prince Geordo sighed, resigning himself to whatever misadventure Katarina was about to drag him into, “Where do we find her?”

If they were lucky, this Lady whom Katarina had been serving was in one of the nearby estates, and hopefully was not a target of this uprising. It seemed like the commoners were marching towards the top of the mountain, so if she was in one of the manors near the bottom of the hill, there remained a slim possibility for them to retrieve her without incident.

But, as luck would have it, the prince’s fiancée instead raised her arm to point a tad higher than he would have liked.

“Up there,” Katarina pointed to the very top of the mountain.

“That house?” Geordo followed her gaze.

“Yeah,” his fiancée replied calmly.

“The spooky house at the very top of the mountain?” he pointed to the very top of the ominous precipice that stood before them.

“Yes.”

“The one surrounded by the angry mob with torches?”

“Yep”

“The mob who are currently hauling a guillotine up the hill?”

“That’s the one, Prince Geordo,” Katarina looked back at him without a care in the world.

Geordo took a deep breath, eyes closing thoughtfully. And then…the prince clutched the sides of his head, bending over as he let out a pained groan, as if all the world’s frustration was fighting to escape him at once.

“Geordo, are you okay?” Katarina looked at him, concerned.

The prince hardly heard her. He squeezed his eyes shut, mentally asking himself a question he had asked many, many times before: Just how in the world does Katarina Claes wind up in these situations?

Geordo suddenly felt envious of his brother’s hair. At the very least, he was already gray.

Without a word, he straightened himself up, brushed off his clothes, and put on his usual composed face, “Alright then, let’s get going.”

Lady Katarina still seemed a bit concerned about his outburst a moment ago, but the others all steeled themselves in preparation. 

However, before he could make a move, a cool, refined voice the prince hadn’t heard before cut through the brief still of the moment, “If I may…”

Prince Geordo turned to find a tall, slender woman with long black hair and large round glasses gazing back at him from the doorway. He turned on his heel to face her, surprised by the sudden and silent arrival of this new stranger.

The raven haired woman stood coolly as she pursed her lips, “I believe you may not want to set out quite yet.”

Katarina turned to find Lady Lena standing in the doorway of the Couillard home, pushing her glasses up her nose.

“Pardon me,” Lady Lena took a breath, “I couldn’t help but overhear some of what you just said. I’m… not sure I quite understood all of it,” she tilted her head, clearly a bit perplexed, but continued, “But… you intend on helping Lady Baudelaire, don’t you?”

“Yes!” Katarina pumped her fists, “We’re gonna save Malicia!”

Lady LaCroix gazed back at her, scrutinizing her for a long while, before a small smile formed on her lips, “In that case… Allow me to assist you as best I can. The main road is quite obstructed at the moment, but I happen to know a rarely used access road up the back of the mountain. I can guide you there at once.”

“Lady Lena, you can’t!” Colette insisted, stepping between the raven haired woman and the rest of the group, “It’s far too dangerous to stay here! Surely the most… logical thing to do now would be to flee before it’s too late!”

The bespectacled young woman smiled serenely at her maid, “Colette… I truly do appreciate your concern. But… I will not lead a life like my father; I will not abandon my responsibilities. If I were to turn my back on this, I could never face myself or any of my countrymen again.”

“L-Lady Lena…” Colette bit her lip, clearly very worried for her charge.

“So yes, Miss Clayton, I will assist you as best I can,” Lady Lena concluded.

“Thank you so much! I’m sure Malicia will give you a big, warm hug if you help her out!” Katarina gave her a little wink.

Lady Lena reddened a bit, and averted her bespectacled eyes.

Katarina hardly noticed, instead turning to her other friends. She could see that they had no idea who this woman was, so she quickly introduced her, “Lady Lena LaCroix is one of Malicia’s friends! We can trust her!”

“I see,” Prince Geordo nodded, “Thank you very much for the assistance, Lady… LaCroix? Ahem, in that case, can we borrow your carriage?”

“You are welcome to use it if you must,” the raven haired woman answered, but hesitated, “However… I’m not sure it will be fast enough at the moment. Not to mention, that carriage can only comfortably seat six at most. And that is to say nothing of the… obstruction in the road here.”

Prince Geordo frowned, looking unsure how to proceed.

“There’s… another option,” Katarina admitted hesitantly, glancing sidelong towards the outbuilding beside the Couillard’s main estate, “But I had hoped it wouldn’t come to… that .”

“‘That’?” Geordo shot her a look.

“Lady Katarina,” Anne tugged on her sleeve, “I understand something is troubling you, but… if you are so intent on helping your charge, I think now may be the time to act, no matter how unfavorable an option may be.”

Katarina screwed her eyes shut. Anne was right! Of course she was! Now was no time for things like this to slow her down! Anne came this far for her, so it was time for her to do the same for Malicia!

She turned on her heel and marched over to the unassuming building to the right of the main estate. As she swung open the front door, the brunette felt a dreaded memory rise up to the forefront of her mind.

“What… is that thing, Lady Katarina?” Mary asked her curiously as she stepped into the small building.

Katarina took a shaky breath. It had been a long time, nearly ten years now, but it still felt like just yesterday. This was an older model, of course, but still, it felt far too familiar, especially looking at it directly from the front.

Stepping inside the small room, Katarina let out a breath, “... my old arch-nemesis.”

The rest of her friends gathered around behind her as she stepped forward, placing her hand on the hood of the large, green flatbed truck that sat waiting before her.

Notes:

Next time- The Dense and the Furious: Ritallia Drift.

This chapter might seem a little quick, but they will all have more of a proper reunion later when they have a bit more time to discuss things. I hope their reunion here was okay for now though!

The drama hasn't even begun yet; they still need to get to Malicia's house, not to mention everything they'll have to do once they get there!

(Sorry for comment moderation being turned on, hopefully it won't have to stay on too long.)

Comments and constructive criticism are welcome! Ranting about unrelated anime powerscaling is not welcome!

Thank you for reading!

Chapter 37: She'll Be Coming 'Round the Mountain

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

A silent figure stood at the window of the Baudelaire estate’s living room, gazing calmly down at the tumultuous crowd roaring through the streets of Dumont.

The crops had failed. The plague was spreading. The reserves had burned. The commoners had come to riot.

All according to plan.

The shadowy form tapped a finger on the windowsill, marveling at just how well it had all played out. It was a long time in the making, but the time was nigh at hand. 

The kingdom would fall and the revolution would drive this nation’s fate towards a new future.

It was a fait accompli, no?

After all… who could stop this now?

Katarina Claes tightly gripped the old, wooden steering wheel of the flatbed truck she had… borrowed from the Couillard estate as Anne Shelley watched on with a mix of confusion and worry from the back of the truck.

Lady Katarina was safe.

That was the most important thing.

Even so… the maid couldn’t help but feel a sense of impending… doom, for lack of a better word. Everything that had happened since she had arrived in this country told her she would be better off anywhere else. 

This place was dangerous.

However, she was here for the explicit purpose of retrieving Lady Katarina, who was currently quite dedicated to retrieving someone else.

In front of her, Lady Katarina was intently turning knobs and dials in the interior of the strange carriage as it slowly made its way down the Couillard’s main pathway. She seemed so entirely focused on the task at hand that she was barely paying any mind to Anne or any of the rest of her friends or family from Sorcier.

Anne wasn’t entirely sure her charge was even fully aware that they were here at all.

Whoever Malicia Baudelaire was, Anne felt inclined to commend her. She had certainly done an impressive job of winning over her charge.

Her charge, who was currently doing her best to drive this motor carriage up the drive. It had fallen on Lady Katarina to actually drive the vehicle, since it seemed she was the only one with training on how to operate it. When she had learned such a skill, Anne did not know, but it put her Lady in the drivers’ seat, while the rest of the group sat just behind her in the flat back. It wasn’t exactly Anne’s ideal way to travel, but at least it was big enough for all of them to ride in. 

Not to mention, Anne would have preferred to sit beside Lady Katarina in the front, not just because she had finally been reunited with her long lost charge, but because she thought she might be able to guide her Lady along the road. Lady Katarina had never been very skilled at riding horses, and this thing seemed significantly more complicated than horses’ reins. 

However, it wasn’t Anne who was riding in the other seat in the front end, nor was it Prince Geordo or Master Keith or even Lord Nicol.

No, it was in fact Lady LaCroix who sat in the front end of the vehicle. 

Prince Geordo had made the request to ride beside his fiancée, but Colette was absolutely adamant about not letting Lady LaCroix ride in the back of a ‘filthy old truck’. It seemed the ranks of ‘prince’ and ‘earl’ were largely irrelevant to the red haired maid, considering they were not from this country.

And the vehicle they were in was… well….

It was moving forward, technically speaking.

“So… how did you guys get here, anyways?” Katarina called back to her friends in the back of the motor cart.

“We sailed across the Strait of Sorcier, Lady Katarina!” Mary Hunt chimed in quickly, “It was an… odd journey, but we managed to beat the storm, if only barely.”

“Yes… the Captain who sailed us here was a rather interesting character,” Prince Alan added.

“Captain?” Lady Katarina asked, not taking her eyes off the driveway.

“Yes,” Prince Geordo nodded, “Though I think he may have been a smuggler or something. He was importing a bunch of odds and ends…. Elixir of Rosensprice, boxes full of Letyssil extract…”

“I can only imagine he was some kind of charlatan,” Master Keith cut in, letting out a sigh, “Most of those concoctions are fairly useless…. Um, Sister? Are you listening?”

“Hmmm…” Lady Katarina appeared lost in thought, “Oh, yeah! Sorry, Keith!”

Anne was suddenly unsure whether she had heard anything the prince or her brother had just said at all.

She was intently focused on driving the motorized vehicle forward… as fast as it would go? 

Anne had never operated something like this before, but she had a hunch it could probably go a bit faster. Beside them, a small rabbit idly hopped past in the snow. Yes, Anne concluded, this was almost certainly not the top speed of this vehicle.

“Lady Katarina, I think it would be faster just to walk!” Lady Mary chimed in from the back of the truck.

Anne looked curiously at her Lady. She didn’t know why, but for some reason, Lady Katarina seemed very… averse to operating this particular contraption.

Katarina gritted her teeth and tightened her grip on the steering wheel.

This truck wasn’t like modern ones that required a key to start, nor did it have doors that locked, thankfully, since they did not have the time to run back inside and ask the Marchioness for her keys, nor did she think the woman would actually give them to her.

Luckily, she had managed to get it started quickly enough, and was slowly making her way up the Couillards’ driveway.

Slowly.

Slowly but surely.

Slow and steady wins the race, right?

In the back of the truck sat all of her friends from Sorcier, holding onto the wooden railings around the back flatbed of the truck. However, her mind was elsewhere at the moment. 

In fact, she had barely processed the fact that she had just reunited with her friends yet at all.

It was good to see them again!

But Love’s Uprising was in its final arc, and Malicia had run off and there were cars and revolutionaries and her friends had sailed here and…

Her mind could hardly keep up with everything going on at the moment!

As it so happened, she was far more preoccupied by the situation she currently found herself in… namely, in the driver’s seat. It was perhaps the very last thing she ever wanted to do, but unfortunately, none of the others here knew how to drive! Not even Lady Lena or Colette!

(Admittedly, she wasn’t exactly an expert herself, but at least she knew what a truck was… perhaps a bit more than she would have liked, at that!)

Focusing every cell in her body, she stared intently at the road before her, ever-so-slightly pressing on the gas pedal as the vehicle inched forwards… loud and clunky as it may have been.

A grinding sound loudly echoed through the air as the brunette shifted back and forth in the drivers’ seat.

“D-don’t use both feet!” a small voice scolded from behind her.

“Right. Thanks, Sophia!” Katarina quickly gave thumbs up, grateful for the reminder. 

“I do realize none of us have experience in operating… whatever this vehicle is, but if we are to beat that mob,” Prince Geordo chimed in from the back, “We should really go a little faster!”

Faster?

Katarina steadied herself, taking a long, deep breath. 

Driving scared her. Automobiles scared her.

And yet….

Malicia was counting on her. Her friends were counting on her. She couldn’t let her fellow villainess meet a bad end, especially after how kind the heiress had turned out to be.

So she needed to go faster.

Yeah, she could do this.

She had to do this.

Slow and steady might win a race, but it wouldn’t save her Lady!

It wasn’t as if she had no experience driving a car before, but it had been, well, a lifetime.

Her older brothers taught her a few car tricks back in her last year of high school, out in an old, rarely visited park on the outskirts of town. She never actually got a license, per se, but the few impromptu lessons she had gotten back then… well, they might be enough to squeak by, especially if no cops were around.

“You’re right,” Katarina winked at them in the rear view mirror, “I’ll go faster!”

In the back of the truck, a chill ran through the air. Not a word was spoken, but somehow, it was universally understood that… perhaps they would have been better not asking her to speed up at all.

“I need to go faster. I need to go faster…” Katarina murmured to herself.

With every fiber of her being, she reached into the depths of her mind; her Inner Council dug through every file they had to dredge up every piece of information on driving and cars she could think of.

She thought back to her brothers teaching her to drive around the old parking lot… and the time she played that racing video game with them….

Returning to the present moment, the brunette steadied her hands on the steering wheel.

“I need to go…” her eyes snapped open, “ Banzai !!!”

With a loud slam, Katarina stomped on the gas pedal like her life depended on it.

A loud, sharp screech rang out through the air. Tires spun and rubber burned.

In the back of the truck, everyone present held on for dear life as the vehicle reared to life, screaming forward off the Couillard estate, and up the long and winding back road to the top of Mont Martre.

Amidst the furious shouting and wailing of the commoners, a pair of threadbare handmade boots pounded the pavement as a certain con artist raced up the treacherous slope, dodging and weaving his way through the uproarious crowd.

Tommy Finch felt his heart hammering in his chest as he plowed forward, searching left and right for Jean. Every fiber of his being was telling him it might already be too late, but for the sake of his friends, he really hoped it wasn’t.

Tommy had a few friends down on the streets of Dumont. Mostly enemies, but a few friends.

One of them was an older fishmonger, a man who had no intentions of joining in the revolution this evening. Tommy had left Charlie in his care, hopeful that the boy would not try to sneak away again. He had a hunch things were about to get dangerous, and he wanted his little bro as far from this mountain as possible.

His mind raced as fast as his feet as he thundered up the hillside road, constantly flicking back to one person.

Clara… Claudette?

He didn’t know.

A few days ago, he would have said he knew the auburn haired girl fairly well, but now, he didn’t even know her name.

To be honest, he really didn’t know a lot about her early life.

There were a lot of kids who lived on the farm whose backgrounds were sketchy at best, and he knew better than to pry.

Admittedly, he never would have guessed she used to be a noble. How that all worked out, or why she’d wound up on the Kettle farm was an utter mystery to him, but he didn’t have time to worry about that just yet.

What he did know, though, was that… the Clara he knew was a good person.

He didn’t know a whole lot about Malicia Baudelaire. 

He’d seen her mean side. He’d also seen the side that would give up her jewelry to pay for his little bro’s medicine and help him when he was lost in a crowd.

Overall, Tommy had a hunch she probably had a bit more to her than a lot of the nobles up on this gilded mountain. 

And most of all, he had faith in Clara’s judgment. If she said Malicia wasn’t a bad person, he’d believe her in that. From what he had seen in that warehouse just a few moments ago, it wasn’t too hard to think she might be a lot softer than she let on.

And, if that was the case… all that stuff he’d read earlier in the Publication wasn’t true at all.

And if it wasn’t… then this whole revolution thing… it all felt off to Tommy. 

He knew a thing or two about hustling people, and as much as he wanted to trust that Jean knew what he was doing, some part of his mind told him he might not know quite as much as he thought he did.

He wanted to stick it to the rich bastards who had left his family starving in the dirt as much as any of the others, but… he couldn’t shake the feeling they were all getting hustled.

“Jean!” Tommy called out, catching a glimpse of a familiar mop of brown hair near the front of the mob, “JEAN!!!”

A few paces in front of him, Jean turned his head at the sound of his yell, scanning the crowd before he eventually found Tommy, “Oi, Tommy! Good to see ya! And here I thought ya were gonna miss all the fun!”

“What the hell are you doin’?” Tommy leveled a glare at his friend, “You’re leading all these people up here to pick a fight with the Baudelaires… that ain’t gonna end well.”

“What?” Jean’s expression quickly soured, “Why are you here, Tommy?”

Tommy paused for a beat, trying to collect his thoughts.

“I’m here to tell you this is a mistake. This…” he gestured to the swarming mass of angry commoners marching up the mountain, “It’s not right. Somethin’s off here, Jean.”

“Yeah, there certainly is,” the brown haired boy quickly agreed, “The damn nobility’s keeping all the food for themselves while we starve in the streets. That’s what’s not right here!”

“Hold on,” Tommy held up his hands, “Just take a minute and think all this through…”

“Tommy, listen,” Jean cut him off, putting his hand on Tommy’s shoulder and fixed him with a firm stare, “These people don’t care about us. They don’t even care about each other. They’re all two faced liars who just want money and gold and fancy garbage to fill up their fancy, garbage houses.”

“Jean, hear me out,” Tommy held his ground, “I don’t think the Publication is right. Malicia Baudelaire isn’t the one behind the food hoarding, so don’t go after her family.”

To Tommy’s surprise, a flicker of burning anger flared up in Jean’s eyes at that, “Her family? They don’t give a damn about family. Not about ours or theirs or anyone else’s. And who cares if it was Malicia Baudelaire herself who ordered food to be kept for the nobility? You saw how she was! She tried to attack Clara! She hit her own maid! She’s just as rotten as the rest, and I have no idea how you don’t see that!”

Tommy opened his mouth to reply, to explain, to find some way to sway Jean even if only a bit, but no words came out.

Instead, he found himself coughing, much louder and longer than he would have expected. He covered his mouth with his sleeve… and drew it away to find a few drops of blood.

He’d had a hunch for a while now, and the symptoms weren’t exactly subtle. 

He had felt the disease spreading through himself more and more every day for the past week or so. He spent plenty of time around Charlie, so the odds he would pick up the Etran flu from him were pretty high, but he couldn’t leave his little bro by himself.

He took a deep breath, steadying himself, and tried to continue on with what he was saying.

Once his coughing fit was over, he looked back up to Jean, but quickly found his friend was no longer standing in front of him.

The moment had passed.

Jean had moved back to the front of the crowd and began shouting orders, leading the revolutionaries onwards, and no one was listening to him anymore.

“Ghhh….” Tommy growled under his breath, glaring down at himself, cursing himself for being so weak.

He didn’t know what this uprising was really about, but he had a growing feeling it couldn’t be stopped anymore.

Tommy glared up at the looming silhouette of the Baudelaire manor ahead of him, wondering if anything could be done to stop any of this.

Inside the Baudelaire mansion, the conference room was bustling with activity. Dozens of the nation’s highest nobles and politicians milled idly about, sipping wine as the meeting came to convene.

At the center of the room, directly in front of the main window stood an enormous, ornately decorated globe, crafted by the finest jewelers in Ritallia. The oceans were made of sapphire and the kingdoms were cut from a different gem each. 

Lazily, a tall woman with cherry red hair tapped the globe as if it amused her.

“My, my, it seems the peasants are all in a tizzy,” she let out a bemused chuckle, “I do wonder what has them all in such a fuss.”

“Perhaps they are on their way to beg for more table scraps,” a smaller figure answered, a sliver of a smile on her lips.

The taller woman sighed at that, then turned to her daughter, “Lucille, dearest, the princes are in attendance this evening. Do keep an eye out for them, if you would.”

“Yes, Mother,” Lucille smiled back at the Marchioness Canion, and turned back to the milling crowd of nobles in the Baudelaire conference room.

At the head of the table, the melancholy figure of Malicia Baudelaire was watching the scene before her mutely.

She really wished this did not need to be such a large affair… but all things considered, there was no helping it. The blonde tiredly lifted her eyes to meet those of some of her acquaintances in the room.

Through the large doorway opposite the table, Prince Alexander stepped in, dressed in his usual sharp blue suit, silently reading over some of the paperwork that had been distributed among the guests moments earlier.

Prince Maximillian was present too, marking another rare occasion where he was dressed in his royal attire rather than his hunting outfit. He was making polite conversation with a few of the other noble dignitaries who were gathered at the Baudelaire estate.

The two princes were in attendance in lieu of the King, who was too ill to leave the Palace.

Malicia could see the worry and sadness in Max’s eyes, no doubt concerned for his father, who was lying ill in bed. Alexander looked equally distraught, but he seemed more skilled at hiding it, managing an acceptable poker face.

(It was a face Malicia herself was quite versed in wearing.)

As the nobles and princes and politicians gathered around the Baudelaire estate’s main conference table, it seemed the moment was finally nigh at hand.

Malicia could do little more than simply stare down at her hands folded in her lap. She took a steadying breath, making sure her expression was at its practiced neutral state, not betraying any of the emotions churning in her heart.

The Chancellor rubbed his weary eyes, “Well… if it’s all the same to you, I would like to begin the proceedings at once. Lord Baudelaire, if you would?”

At the head of the table, Malicia turned to find her father marching into the room, cane sharply tapping on the marble tiles. The rhythmic clacking of his cane quickly silenced the murmuring among the nobles at the long table.

Taking his seat beside Malicia, the eyepatched man reached into his briefcase, gruffly clearing his throat. From within, he pulled forth a tall stack of papers, and set them down onto the tabletop with a loud thump.

“Now then, Malicia,” the Archduke fixed her eyes with a stony gaze, “Shall we begin?”

Across the table, the Baudelaire heiress could hardly meet his eyes. She spared one last glance out the enormous window, towards the writhing crowds in the streets below, before turning back to face her fate.

“Yes, Father,” Malicia replied resignedly, folding her hands politely on the tabletop.

Somewhere down in that city, Rina was hopefully making her way out of the dangerous areas, and away from this revolution.

That maid… she had foreseen all of this.

So, if things went the way Rina had written in her journal… Malicia could only hope she had enough sense to stay far away from what was about to happen. With any luck, she would take Claudie with her….

Ugh.

She truly had been a terrible charge to her maid, hadn’t she?

All of her maids, really. She thought back to Abigail, who was now serving the LaCroix house. Malicia could only assume Lena LaCroix was a significantly better Lady to serve than she was.

She had, in fact, dismissed all the others as soon as she returned home. Nellie and Ellie and Grace and Matis should all be on their way down the mountain. With any luck, they could avoid that crowd and go on to live nice, simple lives away from this horribly ungrateful home and terribly unqualified nobility.

In front of her, her father began to prepare a pen, readying himself to begin signing off on all the papers that lay before her… to begin this terrible process.

Somewhere, Malicia’s mind wandered to a time before things had all gone so wrong.

‘Will you make me a promise?’

The blonde screwed her eyes shut, driving out that voice.

If everything was going to play out like Rina had foreseen, tonight would be the end of House Baudelaire. That promise… maybe in another life, she could have fulfilled it.

But it was too late now.

Ever since that day. 

It always was, always would be… too late.

Claudie ran as fast as the icy, stone road would allow.

Tommy had taken towards the front of the crowd, while she focused on a portion of the crowd more in the middle. In the center of the crowd, several of the Outliers from the Kettle farm were rallying people onwards, pushing them even further up the mountain.

Claudie took a breath. This wasn’t going to be an easy sell, was it?

Stepping up on top of a large rock, she cupped her hands around her mouth and yelled out, “Everyone, listen! You don’t have to do this! If you keep going… innocent people will get hurt!”

“Hey, it’s Clara!” someone called out.

“What are you talkin’ about?” another asked incredulously, pointing to the mountain of mansions, “None of them are innocent! They’ve been responsible for all the poverty and famine in this country right now!”

“Yeah!” someone else cried out, “Why the hell should we stop now?! Malicia Baudelaire is up there, hoardin’ all the food for herself, and if we stop now, they’ll just keep doin’ the same thing ‘til we’re all dead!”

Claudie gulped. 

She really wanted to know who ran that story about Malicia hoarding food… she had some strong words for them! Everyone really believed Mali was the main culprit behind all the catastrophes befalling the nation… and they were all on their way to settle the score!

The auburn haired girl gripped her fists; she couldn’t let that happen! Not after she had just regained her memory of her precious friend!

“Because… Malicia Baudelaire… is my friend!” Claudie declared as loudly as she possibly could, telling the crowd the truth as blatantly as she could. 

There was a brief moment of pause from the crowd as they stared in surprise at that revelation. 

The auburn haired girl took the opportunity to continue, praying they would listen to reason, “She’s not the monster you all think she is, trust me! We can find another way! I know there are issues with the nobility of this country, but I think most of you don’t want to hurt anyone! Please wait and think this through!”

There was a beat of quiet from the members of the crowd close enough to hear her. It didn’t seem like there were that many people listening to her, but as long as she could get through to some of them, they could help convince others!

Claudie felt a brief flicker of hope, feeling for a brief second that she may have gotten through to them.

And then….

“Clara’s always been too nice fer her own good,” one of the older women near the front of the crowd spoke up, “She’s comin up with all these tall tales cuz she doesn’t want anyone to get hurt.”

“That’s not it–!” the auburn haired girl tried to yell back, but was immediately cut off.

“Clara!” one of the farmers cried out, “I know you mean well girl, but I haven’t eaten a damn thing in two days!”

Claudie faltered at that. It was true… things in this country were clearly falling apart, and getting far more dire with each passing day.

“You say we can find another solution, then let’s hear it!” another young woman yelled up at her, “We can’t eat nice words, Clara!”

“E-everyone…!” Claudie held up her hand, but it was too late.

The crowd that had paused to listen to her started to disperse, joining back up with the main flow of the revolutionaries marching up the street. The torches and pitchforks continued their slow progress towards the Baudelaire mansion at the top of the cliff.

As they did, a few of the farmers lingered behind for a moment.

“Look, kid, I get that you don’t want anyone to get hurt, but you gotta think this through,” one of them told her as the rest of the crowd began to continue onwards, “There just ain’t enough to go around. At the end of the day, it’s either them or us. And I don’t intend to turn my back on my family right now.”

With that, he turned away, joining back up with the main crowd and continued his progress towards the Baudelaire manor. In the distance, closer to the front of the crowd, she could hear an uproarious cry as they broke down one of the gates along the noble road.

Claudie felt her heart sink, allowing her worried eyes to follow the direction of the crowd, “Ohh… Mali… why did you run off?”

On a small access road just behind the Baudelaire manor, a greasy old flatbed truck screeched sideways around a hairpin turn. These roads clearly weren’t made for cars and trucks… but it wasn’t as if a certain reincarnated girl had no experience!

Automobiles were, naturally, a bit of a sore spot for her, so she wasn’t too keen on driving one again.

That said… once she got going, it seemed her muscle memory kicked in fairly quickly!

Luckily, the access road was fairly devoid of protestors, who were mostly taking the road on the front of the mountain. Equally luckily, her memory of driving around the hilly park with her brothers lingered enough in her mind for her to navigate the steering wheel and pedals… and her memory of that racing game they used to play every night gave her a few good ideas of how to dodge and weave her way up the winding back road.

At long last, the back road met its end in the form of a large boulder marking the very top of the access road.

With a sound not unlike the automobile wreck that ended her last life, the Couillard’s truck crunched and screeched to a halt, leaving a pair of long black skid marks along the cobblestone street.

The Manor itself was still a short ways away, but the access road didn’t go any further, so the rest of the trek would have to be on foot.

Katarina stepped calmly out of the cab, letting out a relieved sigh as she wiped a bead of sweat off her brow, “Fwahhh. Thank goodness we made it! I knew I still had it in me!”

She turned to her friends… only to find they were all slowly slumping out of the truck, crumpled up on the ground, looking utterly traumatized. 

Geordo appeared to be on the verge of a heart attack, clutching his chest tightly. Mary looked shell-shocked. Sophia… Sophia looked downright betrayed.

“Ehhh? Are you guys okay?!” Katarina rushed over to them at once. What happened? Did they all get sick or something?

“Huuurrk!” Alan clapped a hand over his mouth, as if trying not to vomit.

Nicol’s face remained stoic, but he was curled up, sucking on his thumb.

“Th-there, there…” Maria looked shaken too, but patted Nicol comfortingly, “It’s all over now.”

“S-s-sister! What in the world were you thinking?!” Keith gasped for breath, shakily staggering to his feet, “That was… madness!”

“What was?” Katarina blinked in confusion.

“That… driving! How can you operate such a machine so recklessly?!” her brother had to cling desperately to a nearby tree to remain upright.

“Ehhhh??” Katarina gaped in utter shock, “You guys told me to go faster!”

The brunette put her hands on her hips. Honestly! It was as if none of them had ever driven on a highway before!

“Let’s… never do that again,” Geordo did his best to remain steady, “You have many admirable qualities, Katarina, but I’m not sure driving that… thing is one of them.”

“I didn’t run anyone over!” Katarina defended herself crossly.

“As if that’s the only thing that matters!” Sophia let out an angry squeak.

“It’s the most important thing!” the brunette shot back.

“Wh-what in the world was all of that?!” Colette interrupted, marching up to Katarina, face as red as her hair, “You call that driving?! How in the world can you transport a noble and her maid in such an utterly ridiculous manner!?!”

“Hm. I rather enjoyed it,” Lady Lena spoke up, stepping out of the cab, “It’s… something of a thrill, no?”

In contrast to everyone else, it seemed the raven haired beauty had been relatively unfazed by Katarina’s drive up the mountainside. The ex-duke’s daughter smiled at that; at least someone here could handle taking the scenic route!

“B-but–!” Colette protested weakly, crossing her arms before turning her focus back to Katarina, “That’s a terribly improper way for a maid to drive!”

The brunette paused for a moment, thinking back to the drive up the mountain. It might not have been the gentlest of journeys, but in this case, it was necessary! She smiled slightly, recalling something Anne said to her once before, many years ago.

“‘If it is a maid’s duty to assist, she will find a way to get there in time’,” she quoted, glancing towards Anne.

Anne smiled back at her with a look Katarina hadn’t seen in her eyes before, but it made her heart feel strangely happy. 

Colette frowned, but didn’t press the issue any further. Katarina took that as her cue to continue the journey towards the Baudelaire manor… but then she paused, hesitating by the truck for a moment. After a beat, she reached out and softly touched her hand to the hood of the vehicle.

“Checkmate, old friend.”

Anne tilted her head curiously. Most of the others looked on in confusion. Sophia patted her reassuringly on the shoulder.

After a moment of silence, Katarina turned on her heel towards the ominous mansion in front of her, “Alright, let’s go!”

As she made her way to the Baudelaire mansion, she quickly became aware of a problem, and a very big one. She supposed she shouldn’t be too surprised, considering the head start they had, but she had still hoped her truck would outpace the revolutionaries. 

Unfortunately, it hadn’t quite panned out that way.

At the front door of the mansion, there was a guy standing up on the base of one of the statues in front of the house, giving some big speech to the crowd that had gathered there.

“It looks like the front door is blocked,” Lady Lena said somberly.

“Don’t worry, there’s another way!” Katarina said quickly.

She wouldn’t be a Baudelaire maid if she didn’t know the ins and outs of the mansion she had been working in for the past four months!

She quickly turned to begin leading her friends to the servants’ quarters in the small outbuilding just behind the main estate. There was a small, hidden route that led through the hedges around the manor and back up to the servant’s quarters.

Her friends followed her quickly up the little stone trail and over to the back door of the outbuilding. As she stepped in, she was delighted to see some familiar faces inside.

“Nellie! Ellie! Grace! Matis!” Katarina called out happily to the maids and coachman who waited within.

“H-hello!” Grace waved her inside.

“Yes, Miss Rina?” Nellie and Ellie asked in unison.

“Welcome home, Miss Clayton,” Matis tipped his chauffeur’s cap politely.

“How are you guys?” Katarina asked frantically, “Is everything alright here?”

“N-not really,” Grace frowned, “L-Lady Baudelaire… she’s-!”

“Our Lady has a rather difficult meeting to attend today, Miss Rina,” Nellie told her somberly.

“I know,” Katarina nodded, “That’s why we’re here.”

“That… mob is coming here, isn’t it?” Ellie asked, a hint of nervousness in her voice.

“Yeah. They’re coming for Malicia,” the brunette told the other maids, but quickly added, “But I’m going to stop them! So can you guys help me get into the meeting?”

“Lady Katarina?” her maid spoke up before the other maids could answer.

“Yes, Anne?”

“You say you mean to stop these revolutionaries… but how exactly do you intend to do that? Once we are inside the manor… what exactly is your plan?” Anne arched an eyebrow, “Please tell me you actually have one.”

Katarina nodded, then shrugged, “I have most of one.”

Her friends and the other maids exchanged dubious glances, before Anne stepped forwards and asked, “So? What exactly is it? What do you need us to do?”

Jean Granger stood his ground at the base of a grand marble statue as the revolutionaries around him swung a pair of axes, chopping through the wooden base of the gate to the Baudelaire mansion. He had just finished giving one last speech to all the commoners gathered there, rallying them forwards for the moment of truth.

He cast a stern, distant glare at the enormous house that stood before him.

He wasn’t sure how well some of the others here understood just how greedy the nobility could truly be.

But he knew. He knew all too well.

These people… these greedy bastards… they would just as soon watch every commoner in the country starve in the streets as they would buy a new gaudy gold bauble for their museum-sized houses.

Jean just didn’t understand it. He didn’t see the value of any of it; not a single piece of jewelry or bar of gold.

All his life, he had only ever wanted a family.

Nothing fancy, just a simple life on the farm with a wife, and someday, a child. When he was little, it seemed a dream like that was entirely possible.

But the Etran flu took his parents, and soon after, his house began to deteriorate. His father had been a workman and had done repairs on the house, but Jean was too young and weak to properly continue the work. Before long, it fell to ruins, and he had nowhere else to turn.

He was left on the streets to steal and lie and cheat his way to just getting enough to eat at night. Finding the Kettle farm… it was so far from the simple life with the family he had dreamed of, but after living in the gutter for so long, it was a paradise.

Even if it was a slightly decrepit old shed, having a roof over his head was a big step up. And that was to say nothing of the people he shared that old shed with.

People like Tommy and Clara… they were the closest thing to family he had. He had spent the last several years living by their sides on the Kettle farm.

And now, both of them were trying to stop him.

In a way, he valued what they were doing by trying to stop him. They cared enough to worry about his safety, and he appreciated that.

But he was doing this for them. 

He was doing this because, through it all, all he wanted was to be their family.

These nobles… these people didn’t care about family. They didn’t understand it at all.

He knew damn well what family was to them. It was just a bargaining chip. Just a status symbol.

Weddings were more like financial transactions than unions of love. The only thing nobles wept about at funerals was loss of assets. 

Jean had made his peace with the fact that not everyone in this country saw the same value of family as he did. He wanted to live in a world where he could simply live by Clara and Tommy on a farm, making an average living and quietly carrying on his life.

But what he needed was enough food and money to live that life. 

And if something big didn’t change, he wouldn’t be able to.

And so, Jean tightened his grip on his rifle and rapped his fist against the door of the Baudelaire mansion.

Just behind the Baudelaire mansion, a group of young men and women were quietly discussing a rather delicate topic.

“A-are you sure about this, Lady Katarina?” Maria looked at her nervously.

“Ahem, Miss Rina,” Colette cleared her throat, “You do realize what you are suggesting, don’t you?”

“If this plan of yours doesn’t work…” Lady Lena chimed in, “It would be no less than treason.”

“Yeah… I figured it might be something like that,” Katarina confirmed, but turned back to Lady Lena, “Do you have a better idea right now?”

“I can’t say I do,” Lady Lena admitted, but folded her arms as she said, “But I do hope you know… if this scheme goes wrong, you’re sure to find yourself in that guillotine on the front lawn before long, and the rest of us soon after.”

Katarina frowned.

She had spent her whole life feeling like she had a blade hanging over her head; a doom flag just waiting to fly, so she knew just how nerve-racking it could be. That said… if it wasn’t her, it was Malicia who was at risk of meeting her end here tonight.

And as much as she didn’t want to willingly step onto the route to doom, she just couldn’t bear the thought of leaving Malicia to her fate.

Malicia Baudelaire was her charge. And Katarina was her maid. So she would be there for her Lady, no matter what.

“I understand,” Katarina replied finally.

“Good,” Lady Lena adjusted her glasses, “In that case, let us proceed. What is the first step of this plan of yours?”

Katarina tapped her chin, thinking through how to best go about this idea of hers, “Well… I’ll need Anne… and Colette!”

The red haired maid blinked in surprise, “Wh-what? Why me?”

“I need you, Colette! You’re very important for this!” 

“But I need to remain by my Lady’s side–”

“It’s fine, Colette,” Lady Lena nodded, “I will… trust Miss Rina’s judgment here. Her plan is… plausible.”

Katarina nodded back, grateful for the trust the noblewoman was placing in her.

“Ahem, my Lady?” Anne leaned in close to her, “I can’t say I understand why you need me for this plan.”

Katarina reached into her pocket and pulled forth her frilly white cap. Placing it atop her head, she straightened her uniform and declared, “Well, because… this is a mission for the maids!”

Notes:

Katarina finally got to face off against her arch nemesis- automobiles. She might be their world's first street racer, in fact.

All the big players are at the table now, and things are really heating up. Kat and the crew have arrived, but will they be able to stop things from getting even worse? And who is really behind the revolution? Stay tuned to find out!

By the way, sorry I haven't been replying to as many comments as usual. I've got my hands full and I often just don't know what to say. I do read all of them though, so thank you very much for all the comments and feedback!

Thank you for reading, comments and constructive criticism are welcome as always!

Chapter 38: A Recipe for Disaster

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

Tommy had fallen a few paces behind the foremost section of the mob, but was doing his best to catch back up. 

His lungs were screaming, burning both from the run up the mountain, and the illness spreading through them. He forced down the sharp pain and pushed his body onwards. He didn’t know why, but there was a growing sense in his heart that all of this was leading somewhere terrible.

As he reached the front door of the Baudelaire mansion, Tommy paused slightly. Stepping over the threshold, he couldn’t shake the feeling that this was very much the point of no return.

“Geez…” the boy murmured, glancing up at the ornately painted ceilings of the entrance hall.

He’d never even considered a ceiling being good for anything other than keeping out snow and rain, but these Baudelaires even had those decorated up with gold and elaborate relief carvings.

He had little time to marvel over the opulence of the house, though. The crowd behind him was pushing him forward, and he couldn’t afford to wait around.

Up in front of him, some of the nobles in the house were marching out of what looked like a big meeting room, and Jean was stepping forward to confront them.

“Now listen up!” Jean called out, “We’ll be settin’ the rules around here now! We’ve been stepped on for too long, and tonight, you noble bastards are going to start listening to the real people of this country!”

“Who the hell do you think you are?” one of the noblemen growled at him angrily, “This is a private conference, go back to your homes, peasants!”

Not wasting a second, Jean raised his gun at the chandelier hanging right over the nobleman’s head. The crack of a rifle shot rang out through the air as the massive glass chandelier of the entrance hall came crashing down, exploding into countless slivers of crystal as it hit the floor.

The nobleman jumped back as screams echoed through the conference hall.

Tommy felt his nerves straining at the sight.

He knew he should feel some kind of gratification at seeing the nobility frightened like this, but still. All of this just felt very… wrong.

Malicia felt her heart beating in her throat, tightly gripping each armrest of her chair nearly tight enough to crack the wood.

Some part of her had been praying it wouldn’t come to this, but no.

As usual, Rina was right.

Malicia knew what was coming, she knew how it would happen, or at least, part of it, from what she had read in her maid’s diary. 

Even so, as she sat there, the fear gripping her was worse than anything she could have predicted. Her eyes were on the verge of tears, and her stomach was tied in knots.

She could feel the floor trembling from the crowd stomping their way into her home. A short while ago, she would have been furious about commoners marching into her private estate, but right now, she felt nothing but dread.

Some of the other nobles and ladies weren’t quite so easily swayed. In fact, it seemed that most of them didn’t think the angry mob was anything more than a nuisance.

“You have no right to be here!” one of the noblemen called out angrily, “Go back to your own homes!”

One of the revolutionaries raised his gun, aiming it at the man who had just spoken up. The nobleman held up his hands in surrender, but the look of rage on his face didn’t fade in the slightest.

To Malicia’s relief, the man with the gun didn’t shoot the loudmouthed Marquis who had spoken up, instead taking his silence as a victory and lowering his weapon for the moment.

Her father held his place at the head of the table, not standing to meet the crowd. In fact, it seemed as if he hardly acknowledged them.

Lucille and her mother were also remaining tactfully quiet, just watching on from the edge of the room. Her eyes appeared sharper than their usual sleepy gaze, but she somehow didn’t seem too concerned by anything unfolding.

Malicia squeezed her eyes shut in a moment of silent prayer. She knew from Rina’s notes and the raging crowd she had encountered a few hours earlier that she was the main target of many of the peasants’ rage. It didn’t seem any of them had noticed her just yet, but it would only be a matter of time.

Malicia almost felt detached from everything happening; it was all just too much.

Tears threatened to overflow, but she held them back. She couldn’t let herself cry here, not now. She had to say something, to face the crowd.

Just as she was about to speak, another figure stepped between her and the angry mob, sparing her from their rage if only for a moment.

“Excuse me,” Chancellor Riviere held up his hands, facing the roaring crowd, “I understand you–”

“Get out of the way!” one of the mob leaders shouted, cutting him off.

“No, hold on!” the brown haired young man leading the group held up a hand to stop the others, “That’s the Chancellor!” 

“So what?” one of the others asked, clearly uninterested.

“He’s been helpin’ us out financially,” Jean told him, “If anybody here can help us make our point properly, it’s him.”

The revolutionaries seemed placated by that, if only momentarily. At the very least, it seemed they weren’t focused on attacking Malicia herself just yet.

As the room calmed slightly, the Chancellor continued, “I understand you have grievances with the current state of affairs, but I don’t think any violence is necessary.”

“Khh!” one of the noblemen scoffed at that remark and marched over to Malicia’s father, “Can’t you talk some sense into these maniacs, Archduke Baudelaire? They are trespassing on your property!”

“Silence,” the Archduke growled, meeting the nobleman’s gaze with a simmering fire in his eye that immediately hushed the other man.

“Shall we start with introductions?” the Chancellor asked calmly, paying no mind to the handful of enraged noblemen and turning to focus on the angry mob before him, “As you said yourself, I am Chancellor Henri Riviere. If you could please clarify what your grievances are, I think we could make this meeting more productive.”

“Jean Granger,” the brown haired young man at the front of the mob introduced himself, “As for our ‘grievances’... Y’know, I feel like y’all know exactly what the issues are. You really need me to say it?”

“You mean the food shortages,” the Chancellor confirmed, to which Jean nodded.

“And the sickness goin’ round!” someone else in the crowd shouted out.

“Yes,” the Chancellor frowned sadly, “I’ve heard of the Etran flu that has plagued this land for so long. I cannot imagine the hardships you’ve all faced.”

Jean crossed his arms, taking a step forward, “It’s been hell down there, not that any of you lot would know.”

“Ah… I’ll admit many of us here have been less than attentive to some issues which would have warranted our intervention,” the mustachioed man said regretfully, gesturing to an open seat, “It seems you aren’t here just to talk.”

Jean quickly sat down across from him, “Damn right we’re not.”

“If you are willing, Mr. Granger, I would like to try to negotiate something–” the Chancellor began.

“Riviere, what the hell are you saying?” Lord Benoit hissed at him, “You can’t seriously be considering negotiations with these barbarians?”

The Chancellor ignored the older man, taking his seat at the table, “Shall we talk this over?”

Lord Benoit looked affronted, and turned on his heel, marching over to where the princes stood, “Prince Alexander! Can’t you order the army to drive these criminals out?! They are trespassing and intruding on a private meeting!”

“I see,” Prince Alexander stood resolutely at the end of the hall, looking thoughtful, then replied, “We will hear you out, Mr. Granger.”

Jean nodded, apparently satisfied with that response.

Lord Benoit, on the other hand, was quite nonplussed, “What?!” 

“Yeah,” Prince Maximillian chimed in, taking a step forward, “It has been especially bad out there for the commoners lately. If they have grievances severe enough that they would all go this far, we should at least do our best to listen to them.”

“This is outrageous!” the nobleman glared at the princes furiously, “These peasants are out of line, and you would actually hear them out–”

“Lord Benoit, please refrain from saying any more,” the prince held up his hand, silencing the man. Lord Benoit looked enraged by Prince Alexander’s decision, but held his tongue. The prince moved beside the Chancellor and laid his hands on the table, “It is true, the commoners of this country have endured a terrible plight these past years. I think addressing these issues directly is something long overdue.”

Some of the revolutionaries cried out in agreement, while others looked even angrier. 

Malicia felt her pulse pounding in her hands as they squeezed the arm rests of her chair. She glanced over at her father, who was sitting darkly across from her, not reacting in the slightest.

She wanted to say something… to say many things, but she couldn’t find her voice.

The fear was overwhelming.

As her maid put it, the moment of her doom had arrived.

She turned ever so slightly to glance out the wide window behind her, and felt a sliver of ice in her chest as she caught sight of the scene unfolding on the front lawn of her estate.

In the center of her front garden, in the freshly fallen snow, the revolutionaries had raised a guillotine, and were pulling the severing blade up to its highest point.

Just outside the window, the blade glinted ominously in the torchlight as it was raised higher and higher.

“The food shortages, the Etran flu…” Jean tilted his head back, “All those things are issues, but I’d say the main issue I have here is something else.”

“Oh?” the Chancellor arched an eyebrow, “And what would that be?”

Malicia felt her blood chill cold in the next instant.

Raising his rifle until it was aimed directly at the blonde’s head, Jean simply said, “Her.”

Katarina led the other maids through the narrow passageway connecting the outbuilding to the main estate. Geordo, Alan, Keith, Nicol, Maria, Sophia, Sirius, and Mary all followed behind as they worked their way through the stone walkway and up the stairs into the main building.

“Nellie, Ellie, Grace, you can handle carrying everything outside,” Katarina instructed, keeping her pace.

“Yes, Miss Rina,” the twins nodded dutifully.

“I’ll do my best!” Grace replied with a salute.

Katarina smiled back at them, then continued to think through her plan and how to best carry it out.

“And Colette?”

“What?”

“You can–” Katarina started, but cut herself off as they reached the main building, “Wait, we’re here.”

Slowly, they snuck up the little staircase into the manor’s kitchen, careful not to make too much noise. Katarina wasn’t quite sure what was happening above, but she didn’t want to draw any unnecessary attention to herself.

Overhead, she could hear muffled shouts and banging from the mob forming inside the manor. The entire building seemed to shake from the bustling crowd above. The brunette bit her lip nervously, hoping she could actually pull this off.

As she stepped into the kitchen, Katarina narrowed her eyes, scanning the kitchen for anything that would be of use. To her surprise, she encountered a familiar face preparing some tea in the large kitchen, pink hair tied back under her white maid’s cap. 

“Hey!” she called over to the other maid, “Cerise!”

Katarina waved to the pink haired girl, recalling their encounter at the auction hall. If Cerise was here, that meant she was probably working for Lucille, who was likely also here somewhere.

“Oh, the doggie,” the pink haired maid replied with a roll of her eyes, “I must admit, I’m surprised you’re still employed, and by House Baudelaire no less.”

“Ahem, what did you just say?” Mary stepped forward, a surprisingly vicious smile on her lips, “Do you have any idea who that is?”

“Someone who shouldn’t be working as a maid,” Cerise replied without missing a beat.

“Well… you’re not wrong about that,” Geordo sighed, exchanging a look with some of the others.

Katarina felt a pang of sadness at that. Did her friends really think she was that bad of a maid?

She shook her head, turning back to the matter at hand, “You’ve been working here for a while, right? What’s the situation out there?”

From the main hall, there was a loud shout and a crashing noise.

“A fairly tame conversation between the peasants and nobles,” the pink haired maid deadpanned.

“We’re going to stop this before anyone gets hurt,” Katarina told her, “We could use your help, Cerise.”

The pink haired girl held her gaze, not moving to help in the slightest. 

Hm. So that was how she wanted to play it, eh?

“If I recall… you do owe me one,” Katarina narrowed her eyes, allowing them a villainous glint in the low light of the kitchen.

“Hmph,” a small smile formed on Cerise’s lips, “Is that so? What exactly is it you want from me?”

Claudie shoved and strained her way through the crowded entrance hallway of the Baudelaire mansion.

Somewhere in the depths of her mind, this place felt so familiar. Like a dream she had nearly forgotten, she could hear echoes of laughter and lively conversations filling the air of the main hall.

Although, she mused, it also felt very different than anything she remembered. She didn’t remember this house feeling so… lonely.

She shook off the thought, focusing instead on the matter at hand.

“Tommy!” she called out, seeing her friend’s strawberry blond hair just around the corner.

“Hey, there you are!” Tommy turned to face her, “What’s going on?”

“I’ve been trying to tell people who I really am… I’ve been asking them to stop,” Claudie explained sadly, “No one will listen…” 

The auburn haired girl felt her mind racing as she recalled more and more of her life as Claudette DeLeon. It was almost too much for her; it made her want to just lay down and take a very long nap. But she had no time for that tonight. If she could inform some of the nobles here she was the DeLeon heiress, perhaps she could sway some of them. And If she could convince the revolutionaries Malicia wasn’t their enemy, maybe she could convince them.

But all of that hinged on her being able to convince any of them of anything she said, which so far, she’d been having little luck with.

She turned back to Tommy, “How are things going here?”

“It’s… goin’ about as well as you’d expect,” Tommy shrugged, but his face betrayed his clear unease with the situation.

Claudie pushed forwards through the thick crowd, before she finally squeezed her way into a large conference hall which was teeming with activity.

“Hey, it’s her! Malicia Baudelaire!”

“It’s the Gold Devil!” someone else cried out.

“You’re the one who’s been stealin’ all our food!”

“Do you have anything to say for yourself, you villainess?!”

The screams and anger began overlapping as the crowd rushed forward into the conference hall, louder and louder every minute. 

“We have been starving out there for months!” Jean shouted, pointing the rifle at Malicia, “And now, this Gold Devil here decides to withhold the remaining food supplies for herself?”

“Why did she withhold the food?” someone shouted angrily.

“She’s got all of this, why does she need any more?” another cried out.

“All she cares about is being Queen!” someone else answered, “She’s obsessed with money and power, and doesn’t care about any of the people or their families!”

Claudie felt her heart drop as she saw the scene unfolding before her.

Jean was standing at the table, staring across at Malicia with his rifle in hand, aimed directly at her.

In the instant, Claudie’s body seemed to move on its own.

In a flash, she ran over to the brown haired boy and jumped in front of the gun, holding up her arms.

“Wait!” she cried out, praying she could stop this before it was too late.

“Clara?! What are you doing?” Jean gasped, lowering his rifle instantly.

The auburn haired girl paused, taking a moment to let the pounding in her chest subside. As she did, she chanced a look over at her childhood friend.

Malicia was staring at her, wide eyed, from across the table. It seemed the blonde had jolted out of her chair and stood up at some point, but Claudie didn’t know when.

It was clear as day that the blonde didn’t want her to be here right now, but she couldn’t turn back. Claudie wanted nothing more than to run over to her friend’s side and help her out, but she wasn’t sure that was an option right now. She had to find a way to diffuse this situation before anyone got hurt.

She met Jean’s eyes and asked, “What are you planning to do here, Jean?”

“I’m getting us what we’re due!” he shouted.

“Hey, it’s Clara!” someone in the crowd caught sight of her.

The auburn haired girl took the moment to try and quell the unrest in the angry mob swarming through the manor.

“Everyone, please calm down!” Claudie held up her hands, beseeching the crowd to stay their anger.

“Don’t you realize what’s at stake here?” Jean shouted, “The current state of affairs can’t continue, Clara!”

“I know that, but violence should be a last resort!” the auburn haired girl tried to reason with him, “Please! If they want to negotiate, we should work this out peacefully if we can!”

Jean glanced back at the crowd, gauging the mood of the room.

Among the angry mob, Claudie could see a fair few hesitant faces as well. It seemed Jean recognized this, and hesitated slightly.

“They don’t want to hurt anyone, Jean!” Claudie told him quietly, “If you do, there’s no coming back from that….”

The brown haired young man closed his eyes thoughtfully, considering the options. 

Claudie bit her lip, sparing a stray glance at Malicia, who was now staring straight downwards at the tabletop, no longer meeting her eyes. The auburn haired girl felt her heart break a bit at that sight. The once vibrant figure of Malicia Baudelaire, her former best friend, looking utterly defeated.

Jean, meanwhile, seemed to have arrived at a conclusion, as he took his seat at the table, “Fine, let’s negotiate.”

Claudie breathed a sigh of relief at that. It seemed he wasn’t planning to hurt anyone just yet. She prayed she could keep it that way.

“But I’ll make one thing clear. We’re not going home empty handed,” the brown haired young man declared, “Things are gonna change tonight, no matter what.”

Some of the revolutionaries seemed unhappy with Jean’s decision to negotiate, while others seemed very relieved. Jean leaned forward in his seat at the table, preparing to cite his demands to the Chancellor and other nobles present. Behind him, a handful of the revolutionaries moved up, standing behind his chair.

Across the table sat the Chancellor, surrounded by a handful of noblemen, and by his side, Malicia Baudelaire and her father. The blonde sat directly in front of a large window, through which the orange torchlight haloed her coiled hair.

Claudie gulped. Her throat felt tight. The tension in the room could be cut with a knife.

The Chancellor motioned for a maid and leaned forward, preparing the negotiations, “Now, gentlemen, shall we begin?”

The Baudelaire kitchen had a long, narrow slit that ran the length of the wall, allowing a small glimpse into a few of the main rooms in the estate, designed so maids could keep an observant eye on when the lords and ladies of the manor required service. Through this, Katarina was keeping a close eye on the scene playing out in the main conference hall while detailing her plan to Cerise.

It seemed the revolutionaries were going to negotiate, which meant that things were still going somewhat close to how they went in the game. 

In the good ends, they started off trying to negotiate for more food, then one of the nobles would declare it all outrageous, at which point the revolutionaries would disregard all the nobility and take the food for themselves. And then, Claudette would come in and work with one of the princes, depending on the route, to restore order and work towards a compromise.

The compromise would ultimately end with the fall of House Baudelaire, with Malicia and her father stripped of their titles and forced to work harsh labor for the rest of their lives.

In the bad ends, things went much worse for everyone. The revolution escalated into a bloody coup, and heads would quite literally roll.

Regardless of which path they were on, it would end very badly for Malicia either way. And, considering how things were shaping up in the meeting hall, it seemed they had mere minutes to act.

Katarina turned back to the other maids after recounting the outline of their plan, “Alright, so does everyone know what they have to do?”

Grace, Nellie, and Ellie all nodded quickly. Cerise and Colette looked frustrated, but acknowledged their roles.

Anne let out a worried sigh, but wearily signaled her agreement. 

All the maids except Anne, Cerise and Colette turned to leave the kitchen through the back door. Meanwhile, Katarina turned and made her way towards the kitchen door that led out to the main dining hall.

As she moved to exit, she felt a hand grab her by the wrist.

“Wait, Katarina?” Geordo spoke up suddenly, “You aren’t going with the other maids? What are you planning to do here?”

“I’m going to save Malicia!” she replied right away, gesturing to the house above.

“Surely you don’t mean to go out there with that angry mob?” Keith fretted, taking her other hand cautiously.

“Of course I am!” Katarina shot her brother a confused look, “How else would I get her out of there?”

“But that’s…” Alan groaned, rubbing his eyes, “Don’t you know that’ll be dangerous?”

“We just went over this, Alan,” Katarina folded her arms, “I’m going to save Malicia, and that’s that. I know it’s not safe, but I’m not going to leave her up there by herself.”

“W-well, if you’re going out there, then I am too!” Mary declared a moment later.

“Me too,” Keith agreed a moment later.

Nicol nodded, a silent look of determination in his eyes.

“I won’t leave your side in a place like this, Katarina,” Geordo told her decisively.

As she glanced around the group, all of her friends from Sorcier were quickly joining in, motioning their assent.

The brunette felt her heart flutter for a moment. She felt an incredible sense of gratitude that her friends were here. As overwhelming as the odds against her were, with all of them by her side, it felt like it was possible.

“Alright…” Katarina steeled herself as she opened the doorway, “Let’s do this.”

Notes:

Ah, this chapter was kind of tricky to write, I hope it turned out okay. This is one of those 'getting people in the right places' chapters, and they're never very fun to write. The next chapter, however, should be much more fun!

All the major players are at the table, and Katarina's plan is about to go into action!

Next chapter will have thrills! Chills! Betrayals! Stay tuned!

Thanks for reading, comments and constructive criticism are welcome as always!

Chapter 39: The Moment of Truth

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

Malicia’s ears were ringing slightly as the arguments around the conference table heated up. 

When she weighed the original purpose of this meeting against the current one, the blonde was hard pressed to consider which she less wanted to be present for.

She spared a stray glance at Claudie, who was standing beside Jean across the table. The auburn haired girl was focused intently on the arguing factions, trying to calm them down.

The heiress couldn’t think of anything she wished more than for her former best friend to be anywhere else right now. Malicia knew her doom was at hand, and she did not want to face Claudie when it happened. She didn’t even know if she would be able to.

Although, she mused, perhaps it worked out this way for a reason.

Malicia averted her eyes, no longer able to look right at Claudette. She turned her attention to the servants’ doorway, where the Chancellor had motioned for some maids to bring them all refreshments.

And then… she felt her heart drop as she noticed just which maid had entered the hall to serve the tea.

Waltzing into the conference hall as if nothing was amiss, Rina Clayton carried the usual Baudelaire tea tray confidently up to the table and began passing out the beverages.

Malicia could only gape in disbelief.

Why? Why in the world was Rina here?

Didn’t she know what would happen tonight?

As if sensing her trepidation, Rina made her way to Malicia’s side, setting the cup of tea down gently right in front of her. Malicia stared at the cup for a second, then glanced up to her maid.

“Don’t worry, Malicia,” Rina smiled at her as she whispered, “It’ll be okay!”

Malicia gulped, feeling a lump in her throat.

“W-why are you here?” the blonde asked quietly, pleadingly.

“Hm?” the maid tilted her head, “I came here for you, my Lady!”

Malicia bit her lip.

She had no idea what she could have done to deserve a maid as loyal as Rina. 

Had coming here even been worth it? Claudie and Rina were here… in the heart of danger, all because of her.

But, if she hadn’t come here, then….

Her throat felt dry, and her eyes stung. 

To keep herself from crying and screaming, the blonde quickly took the teacup from her maid and took a shaky sip. 

As she did, she glanced up at her maid, who had turned to pass out the remainder of the tea on her tray. Just before the maid stepped away, however, Rina glanced back at the heiress one last time… and winked.

Malicia felt a pang of something between hope and terror.

Just what in the world did this maid have planned here, exactly?

The Baudelaires’ conference hall was tattered clothes and scarred hands, adorning the commoners who glared angrily across the hall at the lavish decorations and jewelry-laced suits and dresses of the nobles.

Katarina remained steady as she slowly made her way through the hall, passing out the fresh tea to everyone she could. A few steps behind her, Anne, Cerise, and Colette were doing the same.

She could see the trepidation on Anne’s face and the slight frustration on the other two maids, but she pressed on regardless. Everything had come to a head so quickly, this was the best plan she could come up with on short notice. The brunette felt a sense of nervous anticipation coursing through her; the same kind she felt when facing down a potential doom flag! She really hoped this plan of hers worked!

After all, if it didn’t, then this would all be a big doom flag… the biggest she’d ever faced.

Still… she was pretty sure it would work. Probably. Hopefully.

Based on what she knew about the game (combined with a few things she had learned since reincarnating), Katarina had pieced together enough to have a pretty good hunch about what was going on here.

Even so, she couldn’t help but have her doubts. Everything was riding on this, after all.

Around the room, Geordo, Maria, Keith, Alan, Nicol, Sophia and Mary were making their way through the crowd of nobles, doing their best to not attract too much attention.

Katarina smiled, reassured by their presence.

Even if things went wrong, the brunette felt a sense of comfort with her old friends nearby. With them here, it felt like things really would all work out.

But for things to work out, she had to do what she planned to do. Straightening her maid’s uniform, Katarina continued around the room, passing out tea to everyone present. Most of them didn’t even acknowledge her, focused much more on the back and forth arguing between the commoners and the nobles.

The atmosphere in the room was genuinely stifling. The crowd was far too thick, and the tensions were hot enough to boil the tea she was passing out.

“Where in the world is the Marquis LaCroix?” one of the ladies asked, brows furrowed with frustration.

“That old fool didn’t even attend the coronation, you really think he would show up to this?” the nobleman beside her replied with a wave of his hand.

“Tsk,” the woman scoffed, taking the teacup from Katarina without any thanks, “Honestly… doesn't he have any sense of priority?”

Katarina opted not to linger too long around those nobles. They were just idly bickering on the sidelines, seemingly uninterested in the commoners confronting the nobility tonight. She turned her attention to her right, where her former maid was carrying out her own duties.

Malicia’s father was sitting silently at the head of the table, watching intently as the commoners yelled out their complaints and the nobility fired back indignantly. Anne walked up tacitly to the bearded man and presented him with a cup of tea politely.

“Ahem,” Anne cleared her throat, politely presenting Malicia’s dad with his tea.

The one-eyed man accepted the cup without a word, not even glancing at Anne as he did so.

“Thank you, miss,” his butler Lawrence replied curtly in his place, accepting a teacup of his own.

Anne shot Katarina a look… a weary, frustrated look which Katarina recognized as her maid’s ‘please tell me you thought this through’ face.

“...Ehe,” Katarina smiled weakly back at the older maid across the room. She had thought this through! More or less….

Anne sighed and closed her eyes, turning back to the task of passing out the tea to everyone while moving into the proper position.

Katarina glanced back at the main table where the commoners and nobles were furiously arguing.

“We have sent letter after letter asking for more food to the offices of every estate in the kingdom, and haven’t heard a single reply!” one of the commoners raged.

“You certainly haven’t!” one of the noble lords shot back, “We have not received a single letter of that nature!”

“You liars!” several of the commoners roared back, clearly getting more worked up by the minute.

“I don’t believe Lord Martin is lying,” Prince Alexander interjected, “The Royal Palace has not been made aware of any indication that any noble estates other than the Baudelaires have received requests for extra supplies.”

“Then they must have hidden them from you too!” one of the commoners shot back, “All of us have been begging for anything we can get for months! You expect me to believe they never heard us?”

“The noble estates have been dealing with many plights of their own,” Prince Alexander explained sadly, “No one here is immune to the Etran flu that has plagued our land recently, and many of the lords and ladies who aren’t present tonight are at home with the illness.”

“And what about the ones who don’t have it?” someone asked angrily, “The Chancellor’s office is the only one to respond! All of these nobles couldn’t care less about ignoring our every request!”

One of the other nobles began to argue back, and as he did, Katarina took the chance to move in close and proffer a teacup to the prince.

“Hey, Prince Alexander,” the brunette smiled slightly at him as she stepped closer.

“Lady Baudelaire’s maid,” the prince acknowledged her, “I’m glad to see that you are well.”

The brunette tilted her head, slightly confused, before recalling the last place she had seen the black haired prince.

“You know, that whole thing back at the farm… Malicia slapping me was a big misunderstand–” Katarina started, only to be interrupted.

“Now is not the time for such things,” Alexander cut her off, holding up his hand.

Katarina closed her mouth quickly. She felt a pang of worry in her chest. She really needed to convince some people here that Malicia wasn’t as bad as she seemed!

“In any case, thank you for the tea,” he concluded politely, turning back to the heated debate flaring up at the main table.

The brunette decided not to pester him any more about it for the moment and turned to the other Ritallian prince in the room.

“Yep! And one for you too!” Katarina said to Prince Max, who was standing just beside his brother.

“Thanks!” Max replied warmly, though Katarina could see his eyes were strained. 

She was once again reminded that the King was lying ill at the Palace and felt another pang of sympathy for him and his brother. She knew that if Geordo and Alan’s dad were sick, they would both do everything they could for him.

“Is Malicia okay?” Max asked her softly, so softly she barely heard him over the chatter in the hall.

“She will be,” Katarina reassured him. She glanced over to Malicia hesitantly, feeling a cold weight in the pit of her stomach as she saw the utterly miserable expression on her Lady’s face.

Max nodded, taking a sip of the tea, a complicated expression on his normally jovial face.

“She’s been…” the brunette trailed off, glancing from her charge to the auburn haired girl seated across the table from her.

Evidently, Max followed her line of sight, landing on the heroine, who was working diligently to ease along the negotiations. And then, as the second prince’s eyes landed on Clara, the teacup slipped from his hand.

Katarina quickly caught the cup before it fell and hit the floor, glancing up to find Max was staring across the room at Clara with an expression of surprise that rivaled Malicia’s when she had seen the heroine earlier that night.

“T-that’s…” Max gasped, staring intently at the auburn haired girl.

Katarina glanced from him to the heroine and back again, curious what he was so intrigued by.

The prince shook his head after a minute, turning back to the table. As he did, he noticed Katarina standing before him, holding his teacup. 

“Oh, sorry miss,” the prince said, reaching out to take the dropped cup.

“Oh, it’s okay!” Katarina waved off his concern, still curious why he was looking at Clara like that. 

Though, she supposed, he did fall in love with the heroine at first sight in the game, so it only made sense he’d still react to her like that, even if their first sight was a little later than it was supposed to. Katarina mentally flipped through her notes about the game as she made her way back to the table over to the revolutionaries.

“Hello!” Katarina poured a cup of fresh tea for Jean, the other guy from Tommy’s farm, “Here you go!”

“Didn’t that Gold Devil hit you?” Jean turned to her, a twinge of anger in his eyes, “Why in the world do you still work for her?”

Katarina frowned. The slap was kind of difficult to explain, and quite frankly, Katarina didn’t quite understand what had sparked that rage in her charge’s heart either, but if anything she said reflected poorly on Malicia right now, it could cost them everything.

“W-Well… that was all a big misunderstanding,” Katarina tried to explain, “Malicia isn’t–”

“She’s the type of awful noble who treats anyone under her like garbage,” Jean cut her off with an angry glare.

“That isn’t true at all,” Katarina corrected him, “She has a very kind side to her, once you get to know her.”

“Hmph,” Jean scoffed, taking the tea from her,  “You of all people ought to know what a monster she is. You’ve worked with her for however long.”

“Yes I have,” Katarina replied quickly, “So I of all people should know what a monster she isn’t.”

Jean held her gaze for a moment, scrutinizing her every move, before he finally relented, turning his attention back to the debate at the table.

Katarina let out a breath she didn’t know she had been holding. 

This was way more stressful than she thought it would be! 

She chanced a peek at the other maids around the room. Not too far away from herself, Cerise was presenting her sister with some tea, 

“Here,” Cerise offered Lucille the cup, “Are you enjoying the show here, my Lady?”

Lucille nodded, “This meeting is turning out to be quite fascinating to observe.”

“Fufu,” the pink haired maid giggled, “You have quite the vantage point for it. Do enjoy the tea, my Lady.”

With that, Cerise turned on her heel daintily and made her way back to the table to pass out the rest of the drinks.

Finally, the brunette made her way to the end of the table, where Chancellor Riviere was sitting. The mustachioed man was diligently taking notes on a piece of paper laid out before him on the table, glancing back and forth from the commoners’ side of the table to the nobles.

“Here you go, sir,” Katarina set his teacup down on the saucer in front of the Chancellor.

“Thank you, miss… Clayton, was it?” the Chancellor smiled at her, taking a sip of the tea.

“Yep, that’s right!” Katarina replied cheerfully, “Can I get you anything else?”

“No, this should be quite enough,” Chancellor Riviere nodded politely, “Thank you very much Miss Clayton.”

Katarina nodded and made her way back to the other end of the table, having fully emptied the tea tray. She spared a sly glance over to where Colette stood by the kitchen. The crimson haired maid gave the slightest of nods.

Katarina nodded back, acknowledging that everything was in order.

The center table of the conference hall was a long, dark oak table arranged directly in front of the Baudelaires’ enormous window. Out the window, Katarina could see the front lawn of the manor, wherein the people had raised a guillotine, all the way to where the lawn tapered off into the jagged cliffs revealing the distant town and sea below.

Katarina took a deep breath. The Baudelaire manor was perched ominously at the top of Dumont’s highest peak… quite literally on the brink of doom.

And then, with all the confidence she could muster, Katarina stepped up to the front of the table and began clinking a spoon on one of the teacups to get everyone’s attention.

“Ahem, hello everyone!” the brunette called out, stepping up on top of one of the chairs in the hallway.

Around the room, she could see expressions of shock and worry appearing on the faces of her friends from Sorcier. The brunette spared them a quick look of sympathy… she had, in fact, neglected to mention a few details of her plan... namely, the part where she personally got everyone's attention. From the look on Anne’s face, she doubted some of the others would have approved of it.

“What the hell do you want?” one of the revolutionaries called out angrily.

“What do you think you’re doing, maid?” one of the nobles shouted, “Sit down if you have nothing to say!”

“I’ll sit down in a second,” Katarina said quickly, holding up her hands, “I just wanted to ask something real quick.”

“Well, whatever it is, hurry it up already!” Jean shouted.

“Yes, Miss Clayton,” Prince Alexander arched a brow at her, “We do have important matters to discuss here.”

“I know, I was just wondering…” Katarina sucked in a deep breath, and asked clearly enough for everyone in the room to hear, “...who was it that poisoned the fields?”

“Oh, that would be me,” a voice called out in response, just as clearly.

All at once, a silence fell throughout the room.

The worried murmuring of nobles, the angry shouts of the crowd… they all ceased in the blink of an eye.

Everyone present in the room slowly turned to face Chancellor Riviere, who was staring back at the entire nobility and the enraged revolutionaries looking decidedly confused.

“You poisoned the fields?” Katarina pressed him, “Why did you do that?”

The silence in the air remained as the mustachioed man replied, “Of course I did. To starve the people out and drive them to overthrow the nobility, obviously.” 

There was another beat of silence in the crowd. Some of the nobles glanced at each other uncertainly. The simmering anger of the commoners seemed to have nearly disappeared, replaced by a baffled shock.

“...what is this?” the Chancellor asked, a look of something between anger and confusion clouding his features.

Katarina reached into the pocket of her maids’ uniform and plucked out a certain vial holding it up for everyone to see. She spared a thankful look over to Colette, who had graciously provided her with the spare dose.

“Y-you!” the old man glared at her, eyes blazing with rage, “You dosed me with Truth Serum?!”

“Sorry, hehe,” the brunette winked at the older man, “I dosed everyone with it, actually. I think it would be good if we all have a long, honest discussion about how things work in this country!”

In a matter of seconds, the chaotic back-and-forth arguments of the nobility and the commoners had faded away. In fact, the hall was suddenly quite silent.

Many of the nobles looked utterly terrified, some clasping their hands over their mouths, while the commoners were all looking on in anticipation. Well, some of them, at least. Some of the commoners looked even more terrified than the nobles. 

Katarina glanced around the hall, bracing herself for the outbursts that were sure to erupt soon. 

Everyone was on the edge of their seats, just waiting to see what would happen next.

And yet, despite it all, Katarina couldn’t help but notice that the one who looked most terrified of all was Malicia herself.

Notes:

Ah, this chapter was so much fun to write!

I hope it turned out okay, it was one of the moments I was looking forward to writing the most!
Several of you guys correctly guessed the Chancellor was up to no good, but I am happy that no one (I think) guessed Kat would use Truth Serum to reveal that. I hope that worked okay as a reveal, since it was a point I was really looking forward to getting to in the story.

There's still quite a few more twists and turns to go, though! There are a few reveals left to be had, and lots more drama!

Thank you all for reading! Comments and constructive criticism are welcome as always!

Chapter 40: The Secret Ingredient

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

Anne Shelley smiled despite herself.

Lady Katarina had just stepped up on a chair, putting herself in front of the entire nobility and revolutionary congregation of Ritallia, and announced she had just drugged them all. It was a terribly unorthodox and dangerous method for solving any kind of problem, especially with what was at stake.

Even so, Anne supposed she really shouldn’t expect any less from her Lady.

Lady Katarina was very… simple.

Before they entered the mansion, she made it clear that she really didn’t know what was going on in this country. She had a few hunches about things, but there were a lot of questions she couldn’t answer.

As is often the case, the best solution Lady Katarina could come up with was also the simplest. 

And the simplest, in this case, was to just step up in front of the whole country and ask.

Anne couldn’t help the strange sense of pride brimming in her heart as she looked up at her Lady, dressed in full maids’ attire, staring down the wrath of an entire country with that same charming optimism (and boundless obliviousness) she always had.

She was afraid. Afraid for her charge’s safety, afraid for the safety of Lady Katarina’s friends, for herself, and for nearly everyone in this room. And yet… she decided to put that fear aside for the moment and just… put her faith in Lady Katarina for the moment.

Katarina held her ground as she stood in front of the crowd of baffled commoners and horrified nobles.

After a few moments of mute surprise, eventually the crowd began to find their voices again.

“Wait, wait, wait!” one of the nobles held up a hand, “What do you mean ‘poisoned the fields’? What are you talking about?”

“The Chancellor has been switching out the fertilizer used on you guys’ fields for Redgrave potion!” Katarina told the crowd.

“Redgrave potion! That means…” one of the revolutionaries snapped his fingers knowingly… then looked confused, “What does that mean?”

Katarina frowned, thinking back to how she’d come to discover just what Redgrave potion really was.

It all started on a sunny spring day, back in Sorcier when she had been testing out a few new methods to spruce up her own fields.

Skimming through an old textbook about magical farming techniques, she came across a rather tricky potion used to enhance the effect of fertilizer and boost the amount of produce that could be grown in a given field.

Nobody else had been using the potion room at the academy that day, so she went ahead and brewed up a batch of the stuff herself. Naturally, she was eager to test it out and spread it across her whole farm at the academy right away.

But then, tragedy struck.

She came out of her dorm first thing the next morning… only to find her whole crop ruined!

In horror, she turned back to the textbook and discovered she had missed a crucial ingredient in the potion!

Just like that, the magic fertilizer had turned to a crop killer!

Katarina learned far too quickly why the tricky to brew potion wasn’t widely used by farmers to enhance their crops. The duke’s daughter went to bed weary that night, after many reassurances by her friends that she could simply plant some new crops and everything would be okay.

It was a pretty simple mistake, but a terribly costly one! A few missed ingredients cost her a whole season's worth of cute veggies!

Katarina quickly explained the treacherously tricky fake fertilizer to everyone present at the Baudelaire manor as simply as she could.

She had a hunch that none of the farmers here would intentionally buy crop killing fertilizer. Especially since they said they had tried a number of different fertilizers from all over, and all yielded the same results. 

The one common factor all the farmers shared was that their crops just couldn’t seem to take on any water. It was just like what had happened to her own crops; the Redgrave potion leeched all the water out of the plants, killing off everyone's crops!

And, well… she may or may not have nibbled on the Redgrave potion when she sprinkled it on her own crops. It smelled so tasty, after all! So when she taste-tested the soil at the Kettle farm, she had a pretty good idea of what was going on here.

It was clear to an experienced farmer who had attempted magical remedies to her farm, such as Katarina, that someone had been switching out all the real fertilizer for Redgrave potion.

She had thought about telling Malicia about it, but decided it wasn’t a good idea for her Lady to go actively prodding potential doom flags. Not to mention, Malicia was a lot of things, but a farmer wasn’t one of them. Katarina doubted her charge would understand the intricacies of fine farmcraft and likely didn’t want to hear it explained to her.

That didn’t change the fact that the farms here had all been laced with a high-level magical plant killer disguised as a fertilizer. It shouldn’t be an overly difficult problem to fix, but that was only with magical ingredients grown exclusively in Sorcier.

And, come to think of it… those ingredients….

“Y-you!” one of the nobles turned to the Chancellor furiously, interrupting Katarina’s line of thinking, “You’ve been sabotaging the whole country!”

“You sanctimonious bastard. All of this…” a noblewoman growled angrily,  gesturing to the mob of angry commoners, “... is your doing?”

“Oh, I can’t say that,” the older man replied, his previous anger replaced with an unnerving calm, “Do take some of the credit yourselves, Ladies and Gentlemen. I couldn’t have done it all myself.”

“What are you saying?” a nobleman asked, fury clear in his eyes.

“I’m saying that, in order to cast all of you as greedy monsters willing to overlook the needs of your people…” Chancellor Riviere leaned back in his seat confidently, “... you need to be greedy monsters willing to overlook the needs of your people. At least, enough so that it took very little effort on my part to sway all the commoners against you so quickly.”

“You liar!” someone on the nobles’ side of the hall glared at him.

“Liar?” the old man asked mockingly, “Au contraire. I can only speak the truth right now, after all. So if I say that all the nobility of this country has become so out of touch with its people that they couldn’t care less if everyone starved to death, surely you know where the truth in that statement lies, no? And, of course, no one exemplifies that as much as the Lady of the hour, isn’t that quite right?” Chancellor Riviere turned his gaze towards Malicia, who was still sitting silently at the head of the table, hands clasped tightly over her mouth. 

Katarina, mere moments ago, had felt like she had just figured things out. And yet, all too quickly, it felt like the tables were turning on her once again.

“It seems Young Lady Baudelaire has something she really wishes not to say to any of you,” the Chancellor prodded them.

Katarina frowned.

She knew the guy responsible for this big scheme to ruin the crops would have to be fairly smart, but she was still surprised how quickly he had adapted to the effects of the Truth Serum. He wasn’t lying per se, but he was clearly manipulating everyone, trying to take their attention off of him, and still make Malicia the scapegoat.

Some of the commoners murmured amongst themselves in response to the Chancellor’s words.

It seemed that, despite the revelation that the Chancellor was sabotaging the food supply, their previous ire towards the nobility, and specifically Malicia, hadn’t faded entirely.

“Don’t you see how hard she’s trying not to speak?” the Chancellor gestured towards Malicia, “It’s blatant that she wishes to hide her true nature!”

“She’s still the Gold Devil, ya know!” someone familiar sounding called out angrily through the crowd of commoners.

Katarina turned to the crowd, but she couldn’t tell through the thick congregation who it was that shouted out just then. She quickly turned back to Malicia, who had once again become the center of attention somehow. Malicia’s golden eyes were wide with terror, clutching her mouth shut tightly with both hands.

The brunette stepped down from her chair and began squeezing her way through the crowd, back towards her charge. Even after all of this, it seemed her Lady’s doom flags weren’t averted quite yet.

Even Clara looked a bit surprised by the blonde’s behavior.

“M-Mali?” the auburn haired girl asked, looking at her old friend worriedly.

Malicia glanced away from the other girl, unable to hold her gaze.

Katarina finally arrived at the blonde’s side and reached out, placing a hand on her charge’s shoulder.

“Mmm?” the blonde looked up at her pleadingly, not taking her hands off her mouth.

Katarina closed her eyes for a moment. 

Given everything she knew about Malicia… well, she didn’t 100% know what her charge was so hesitant to say, but she did have a guess. And if that guess was true, then….

“It’s okay, Malicia,” Katarina patted her on the shoulder, “I really think… you should just speak your heart.”

Malicia stared back at Katarina for a long moment, before her eyes welled up with tears. She blinked silently, choking back a sob as she cast her eyes across the table, locking eyes with the heroine across the hectic conference hall.

The heiress’ hands fell away from her mouth as she sucked in a sharp breath… and began to tell a tale.

Notes:

Short chapter this time, but quicker to post! The next one should also be done fairly soon!

The culprit behind all the food shortages may have been revealed, but Malicia isn't out of the woods just yet!

Thank you for reading, comments and constructive criticism are welcome as always!

Chapter 41: The Promised Day

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

The sound of waves crashing against the rocks splashed through the humid air. Gulls cried out above as two young figures made their way down a secret staircase by the cliffs leading under the docks. The afternoon summer sun was starting to cast long shadows across the seafront. 

There, a long stretch of uneven rocks awaited them. This was dangerous… or it could be, for someone unpracticed. 

A young girl with bouncy blonde curls trailed cautiously a few steps behind the other figure. She carefully watched her step, focusing tightly on each rock she stepped upon, while the girl in front of her deftly pranced from stone to stone, as easily as walking down the street.

After some awkward, hopping steps between each rock, the two girls reached their secret spot; a little outcropping of rocks that jutted out over the sea. There was a single pine tree and a large chunk of rock that stuck up, as if it were specially designed to be a little bench for two friends to sit upon, gazing out at the sunset across the waves.

“W-we’re finally here!” the blonde gasped, nearly out of breath. She glanced up at her friend, who was gazing out at the sea, eyes wide with wonder.

“Hey Mali?” the other young lady asked. Unlike her usual playful voice, she sounded kind of… distant right then.

“Y-yeah?” the blonde walked to her side uncertainly.

Turning to face her, the other girl asked, “Will you… make me a promise?”

“A…a promise?” Mali asked, clasping her hands together uncertainly.

Claudie stared out over the ocean, a distant look in her eyes.

“My father said that… since I’ve been spending so much time with Prince Maximillian…” the auburn haired girl looked away shyly, “That I might have a chance at marrying him when I’m older.”

“Eh? Ehhh?!” Malicia’s eyes widened in wonderment, “Th-that’s amazing, Claudie! No one is more suited to be a Princess than you!”

“That’s not true at all!” Claudie folded her arms, “You are much more suited than me!”

“Ehhh?!” Malicia felt her jaw drop, unable to even comprehend how someone as amazing as Claudie could say that about her.

“So… when you’re older…” Claudie stepped close to her, a strange look in her eyes, “Will you try to marry Prince Alexander?”

“Eh? Wh-wh-what in the world are you talking about?” the blonde felt her face heat up, entirely unsure she had heard correctly.

“Because… if you marry Prince Alexander and I marry Prince Max…” Claudie took Malicia’s hands in her own and looked deeply into her eyes, “Then we will be sisters!”

In the distance, a pair of seagulls cried out and some gentle waves lapped at the rocks, but otherwise, the moment was nearly silent.

Malicia’s eyes widened.

In front of her, Claudie’s radiant face shined brighter than the setting sun.

“H-huh?” the blonde’s mouth didn’t seem to want to move properly. 

She couldn’t find any words, right when she needed to speak more than she ever had. Tears began welling up in her eyes and breath was hard to come by.

“Wh-why would you…” the blonde found it hard to even meet her friend’s eyes, “...you would really want that?”

“Yeah!... Um, I mean…” Claudie looked at her hesitantly, “... Would you?” 

Malicia felt her breath hitch.

“O-of course I would!” she jumped out and took the auburn haired girl’s hands in her own, “There is nothing I want more…”

“...than to be your family!” Malicia gasped through her tears, slamming her hands down on the table as her chest heaved with shaky breaths.

That was her deepest wish, something she had yearned for from the depths of her heart for so, so long.

And yet… she dared not ever voice that wish. She dared not allow herself to even think of such a thing.

Especially tonight.

After all, how could she?

How could she wish to be the family of someone she had treated so poorly?

Someone she had left to starve on the streets?

It didn’t matter that she hadn’t known Claudie was alive all that time, it was still on her.

She could have been doing everything to help the commoners of this land. She could have been… should have been working non-stop to dig the nation out of poverty, but she never did.

Malicia had only ever sat up here in her gilded cage of a house, staring down on the world, filled with resentment.

Her mother would be so disappointed in what she had become; she knew that truth deep in her heart as well.

It was true… deep down, she was nothing more than just a villainess, stewing up here in her tower while everyone else suffered. While Claudie suffered.

That thought broke her heart for the thousandth time this night.

And yet… it was so hard for her to step out. To go out into the world that had taken her mother and her best friend and left her with a promise she could never keep.

No… it was a promise she could have kept, if only she had known.

If she had ever tried to help any of the people of this country instead of shutting them all out for so long.

In that moment, the blonde wasn’t conscious of how much of any of this she was saying out loud, or how much any of it made sense, but it didn’t matter. She might have been spilling her heart… every word she wished she could say right then, but she couldn’t hear any of those words herself. Her heart was searing through her chest, pounding harder than it ever had before, deafening her to the world.

All she could see through her tear-warped vision was the beautiful face of Claudette, just across the table from her. 

So close, but farther than ever from her heart.

Even the sight of Claudie the other day, back at the farm… it ignited that hatred she felt every time she thought about just how much she had lost.

She had so much, so much money, so much property, so much time… and yet, the only thing she had ever really wanted was…

“...the truth is, I never wanted the crown or the throne!” Malicia gasped between shaky breaths, “All I ever wanted… was to be your family!”

For the second time that night, the room had fallen utterly silent.  

“And… all this time… you’ve been down there… living as a commoner!” the blonde wailed, against the silent backdrop of the entire nation, “All of this time… I could have been helping you! But I’ve been so selfish! Claudie… I’m so… I’m so, so sorry!”

The chandelier’s flickering light glinted off a glistening trail left by a tear streaming down the cheek of an auburn haired girl sitting across the table from Malicia Baudelaire.

Behind her, people were murmuring.

“H-huh?”

“Clara?”

“Why’s she talkin’ to you like that…?”

Claudie was barely listening to the words of her friends from the farm right then, though. Her mind could only perceive one thing in that instant.

That promise….

So she did remember….

The auburn haired girl stifled a sob of her own at the sight of her long lost friend’s tears.

To think Mali had been carrying the weight of that promise all these years, all by herself….

No.

Claudette steeled herself.

She would not allow her best friend to cry up here all alone anymore.

Mali seemed to be blaming herself for Claudie’s absence, which was just… ridiculous, really. If anything, the fault was so much more on the shoulders of the auburn haired girl. She had gone so long without her memories.

If only she had remembered sooner, then she could have come back up here and…

Claudie shook her head.

Now wasn’t the time to worry about what could have been.

Now was the time to ensure what would be.

She stood up from her seat, turning to face the other commoners as she announced, “It’s like I said… Malicia Baudelaire is my friend,” she glanced back to the weeping blonde across the table and softly added, “My first, best friend.”

“W-what are you sayin’?” one of her friends from the farm asked, “How do you even know her?”

“Because…” the auburn haired girl paused, hesitating for a moment as she glanced down at her hands, “For so long… I forgot who I was. My memories were buried… but just earlier, I remembered everything. I remembered who I am.”

“What do you mean ‘who you are’?” Dinah looked at her dubiously, “You’re Clara!... aren’t you?”

She shook her head and moved to stand up on her chair, “My name isn’t Clara Kettle. It’s Claudette DeLeon, the heiress of House DeLeon… and Malicia Baudelaire’s best friend.”

“What?!”

“No way!”

“What are you talking about?”

“That’s not possible!”

A series of surprised gasps rang out among both the commoners and the nobles across the table.

“Young miss…?” the butler working with Malicia’s father looked at her in shock.

Claudie smiled back at him. She remembered Lawrence, if only barely. Every so often, he would drop by to relay messages to Mali from her parents. The memories of those warm spring days so long ago made her heart ache again.

“My god…” one of the noblemen murmured, “... I think that really is the DeLeon girl!”

“That’s impossible. She died ten years ago,” a woman replied in a tone too unbelieving to be fully hushed.

“You’re still alive?” a young lady who Claudette recognized as Penelope LaPierre held a hand over her mouth as she gasped.

“How… unexpected,” Alice Rousseau looked entirely perplexed by the revelation.

Claudette remembered the two ladies who had just spoken as a pair of young women about her age who used to attend many of the parties at both the DeLeon estate and the Baudelaire mansion. Now that she thought about it, Claudie probably owed a lot of her old friends and acquaintances from before her memory loss a proper visit, but she had more pressing matters at the moment.

“Yes,” the auburn haired girl admitted, closing her eyes thoughtfully, “I don’t… fully understand it myself, but… I am alive, and I’m here. I have been living as a commoner for the past ten years, but I remember now.

“I remember my childhood as a daughter of one of this nation’s largest noble houses,” she explained to everyone present, gesturing to the blonde who sat right in front of her, “And I remember my friendship with Malicia Baudelaire.”

Another murmur ran through the crowd, commoners questioning how it could be true and nobles wondering how she stood here right now.

Claudette paid it no mind and instead turned to face the crowd of commoners gathered behind and around her; commoners whose anger, it seemed, was rapidly dissipating.

“So… if I could make a plea to you all,” she folded her hands over her heart in a simple, deep prayer, “Please don’t turn your rage towards her.”

It seemed her words carried weight, as in that moment, many of the raised torches and pitchforks in the room slowly lowered. The looks of anger marring the peasants’ faces slowly gave way one by one to looks of surprise and regret.

“I know she may not have been present recently to hear out the troubles of the people of this land… but I know how kind Malicia truly is,” Claudette declared, “I have no doubt right now that she is still the wonderful person I knew when we were children.”

With that, the auburn haired girl turned to face her old friend again.

“And Mali?”

“Eh?”

“I won’t leave your side ever again,” at the center of the table, Claudette’s hands took Malicia’s as she met her old friend’s eyes with sheer determination, “I promise.”

At the last two words, Malicia’s eyes widened.

There was a momentary pause as her maid stepped up by her side. The brunette maid, Rina Clayton, who had stood by the blonde’s side all this time, squeezed her hand comfortingly for a moment… and then the dam burst. 

All at once, Malicia crumpled down into her chair, fresh tears streaming down her cheeks.

“Wh-why?” the blonde looked over to her with pleading eyes, “Why don’t you hate me, Claudie? I… I left you… for so long…”

“I could never hate you, Mali,” Claudette shook her head, unsure how her friend could harbor such guilt over something she had no control over.

However, in that moment, it seemed that the only party in the room who thought Malicia was guilty of anything was Malicia herself.

One of the farmers who had screamed at Claudie to stop standing in their way just a few moments earlier, who had brandished his pitchfork with rage, now looked utterly disappointed in himself, “My god… what are we all doing?”

“This girl is just a child,” one of the older ladies among the commoners admitted mournfully, “How could we have been so blind to think she was the one responsible for all of our suffering?”

A murmur of soft agreement echoed through the crowd.

“...yeah,” Jean agreed unsteadily after a moment. 

Claudette could see in his dark eyes that he was coming to a revelation.

It was rare to see that expression on him, but she was thankful for it. It was clear that he was admitting to himself that his assumptions about the blonde had been wrong.

“She isn’t the one at fault for all of this,” Jean admitted pensively.

“That doesn’t change the fact that the Baudelaire estate has been overtaxing us and ignoring all of our needs,” another farmer chimed in, sounding significantly less angry than he had minutes ago.

“But Malicia isn’t the head of the Baudelaire estate,” Jean replied, frowning thoughtfully. After a moment, he pointed across the table, just beside Malicia herself and added, “He is.”

Beside Malicia sat another figure, one who had remained so silent through this entire ordeal, Claudie had nearly forgotten he was there.

The auburn haired girl’s eyes followed Jean’s, along with everyone else’s, as the crowd turned to face Archduke Charles Baudelaire.

Notes:

Sorry so many of these chapters end with cliffhangers. There's just a lot to cover in this climax arc and I don't want to try and stuff too much into one chapter!

Anyways, here's the next chapter!
Thank you for reading! Comments and constructive criticism are welcome as always!
(And I'll try to start replying to all the comments again!)

Chapter 42: A Dose of Honesty

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

Under Katarina’s hand, she could feel Malicia stiffen at the mention of her father. She had been comfortingly patting her Lady’s back, but as Jean cast his gaze upon Archduke Baudelaire, around the room, the mood changed in a flash.

It seemed the previous ill will aimed at Malicia was gone… but in its place was a palpable ire focused intently on the heiress’ father.

It was clear that no one had forgotten the Chancellor or his part in what was happening, but it was equally clear that the crowd gathered here didn’t view him as the only guilty party present.

The eyes of the commoners, and even a good number of the nobility, had all turned to the man who sat at the head of the table. The tall, gold-suited enigmatic figure of the Archduke Baudelaire was still sitting silently, unmovingly, at the head of the table, eyes hidden by dark shadows.

Charles Baudelaire, the head of the Baudelaire house, responsible for a number of tax hikes on the estates and people of his land, and a very close associate of Chancellor Riviere had called a meeting of the highest ranking aristocracy of the land on the very night the commoners anger boiled over. 

As guilty as the Chancellor was, the people in this room had long held ire for another, one who slowly opened his golden eye to meet the faces of the masses just then.

“Wait… hang on,” Katarina blurted out before the inevitable rush of arguments filled the still air again, “Lord Baudelaire isn’t the one responsible for all this!”

“Like hell he isn’t!” Jean narrowed his eyes, “The Chancellor might have been the one to poison the fields, but he’s hardly the only one who's been ruining the country! This bastard Baudelaire here has constantly been raising taxes on every property in his territory for years! Ever since the Etran Flu started spreading, he up and disappeared! He hasn’t responded to any attempt we made to negotiate! He hasn’t been there for the people at all! You can’t just sit there and pretend he’s not responsible for anything that’s wrong here!”

Jean’s voice grew louder with each word, face growing red with anger as he slammed his fists on the table. Behind him, a number of the commoners were beginning to agree, nodding along with his claims.

And, unfortunately, the Archduke himself was not doing himself any favors by remaining completely silent throughout it all.

Katarina screwed her eyes shut as she thought back to everything that had happened since she had arrived, trying to think how to explain it.

If her assumptions were correct, and she was pretty sure they were, then Lord Baudelaire wasn’t exactly a great guy, but… well, per her assessment, he was pretty similar to Malicia in a way.

“U-um,” Katarina turned hesitantly to the Archduke, who barely paid her any mind, instead staring stoically back at the crowd of commoners gathered across from him.

To be honest, he intimidated her more than a little, but she really needed him to start explaining things here. He did drink the Truth Serum along with everyone else, so his claims shouldn’t be in any doubt. However, the veracity of his story was likely to be the least of her concerns for a few reasons. After all…. 

Katarina shook her head and focused on the mission at hand, “Lord Baudelaire… could you explain why you haven’t been present at this estate recently?”

The eyepatched man opened his mouth.

No words were spoken, but in an instant, Katarina could tell right away that the flame of ire directed towards Lord Baudelaire had flickered a bit just then.

Because, the truth was… Katarina had worked out at least part of what was going on with Malicia’s dad quite a while ago. The very first time she’d met him, in fact.

She didn’t know the entirety of his story, but she had worked out enough to know that the Archduke was the same sort of person Malicia was.

That was to say….

Flecks of blood sprayed from the Archduke’s mouth into his handkerchief as he let out a long, rasping cough. 

Across the table, Katarina could see the rage in Jean’s eyes turn to something closer to pity.

As she watched, the brunette mulled over what she had learned about the lord of this land.

Malicia’s dad was never at her house… so where was he all the time?

Well… it wasn’t that hard to figure it out, although Katarina could understand why neither of them wanted to talk about it. The eye-patch did a good job of obscuring one of his eyes, but Katarina could see the bluish veins creeping around his cheekbones. And his hoarse, raspy voice was pretty self evident too.

It hadn’t really been clear in the game, but as soon as she met Charlie and saw the way the Etran Flu had affected him, she noticed right away when she met Malicia’s dad just how similar the symptoms were.

“....I have taken an indefinite leave of absence from my home in order to protect my daughter,” Archduke Baudelaire spoke bluntly once his coughing fit abated, “I couldn’t risk her catching this dreadful illness.”

There was a brief moment of silence in the crowd as those words hung heavily in the cold air.

Across the table, Jean’s face remained unchanged. He closed his eyes thoughtfully and murmured, “Hm, so that’s how it is.”

Beside him, Tommy’s eyes widened as a thought seemed to dawn on him, “Wait… tonight was an inheritance ceremony, wasn’t it?” 

“Yes,” the Archduke confirmed among a ripple of murmurs throughout the hall, “As of tonight… Malicia shall be officially declared the head of House Baudelaire.”

Katarina felt another pang of sorrow in her chest.

She had pretty much figured that out earlier when she overheard what those commoners had told Claudie back in the warehouse, but hearing it confirmed was still a hurdle. 

The look on Malicia’s face broke her heart.

All this time, the blonde had been trying so hard to make herself ready to be the heiress of the Baudelaire estate, but Katarina knew far too well she didn’t want to achieve it like this.

Turning back to the gathering of commoners across the table, Lord Baudelaire addressed the people of Ritallia.

“Yes… I have raised the taxes many times. Yes, I ignored the needs of my people,” the eye-patched man explained straightforwardly, “I understand it took a toll upon the people of this land. After… after Aurelie passed… I wished to do everything I could to give my daughter the brightest future I could….”

Around the room, a tense silence hung in the air.

“Hate me if you wish, you have every right to,” Lord Baudelaire continued as he met Jean’s eyes. Gesturing quietly towards Malicia, he finished, “I just wanted… to leave as much behind for her as possible.”

If there was one thing Katarina knew for certain, it was just how deeply committed Malicia was to her house and her family. She spent so much time and effort trying to be the ‘perfect Lady’, trying so hard to uphold her house’s image to try to impress her father.

And… all this time, Malicia’s father had been doing everything he could for her sake.

And none of that mattered to her at all either.

Katarina was pretty sure at this point Malicia wanted nothing more than for him to just be there for her .

The maid bit her lip, glancing at the cups of tea spiked with Truth Serum. After all, that had been her main goal here.

Not just to find out who had really been responsible for all the disasters in Ritallia recently, but for her charge’s sake.

She knew that what Malicia really needed, more than anything else, was to just sit down and have a proper conversation with her father. 

Granted, this might not be the best place for it, but Katarina didn’t really have a choice.

By her side, the heiress opened and closed her mouth, but no words came out.

The brunette couldn’t blame her; after all, hearing all of that, right from her father’s mouth, having it all laid bare before the entire nation… She could only imagine it was a lot for her charge to process.

However, before Malicia could get a word in, Katarina spared a glance back across the painfully tense tabletop, where Jean was sitting silently in front of the mass of commoners. There was an eerie, strained silence in the air, and it didn’t seem as if anything Malicia’s dad just said had helped to ease the situation at all.

Katarina’s heartbeat matched the pace of the pronounced ticking of the large grandfather clock at the end of the main hall.

“...I’m not sure now’s the best time for all of this,” the brunette murmured hesitantly, checking the clock on the wall. Midnight was fast approaching, and from what she recalled of the game… 

Well, she’d certainly rather hurry this discussion along if she could….

Across the table, Jean tapped his fingers in annoyance as he listened to the Archduke’s admission.

So… the old man had the Etran flu all this time, huh? 

That was his excuse for all the neglect he’d offered his people?

The Archduke had always been absent from his house to keep his daughter safe from catching his illness… and he’d raised the taxes so she would have a larger inheritance as soon as he died.

Hmm.

In honesty, the thought crossed his mind once or twice, but he never seriously considered that it was true.

Overall, Jean had learned a few things tonight.

First of all, he realized he had been wrong in his assumption that these nobles didn’t care about anyone but themselves.

There was compassion… there was caring, shown beyond doubt. 

Malicia Baudelaire was not the villainess she had been portrayed as in the papers; she was just terribly ignorant to the reality of life in this nation. Additionally, Lord Baudelaire had been withholding resources and raising taxes for the sake of his family. It was an action borne of good intent. 

All of that said, though… it really didn’t excuse anything in his eyes.

After all….

“... what about the rest of us?” the dark haired boy finally murmured.

The Archduke held his gaze, but didn’t reply.

In that beat of silence, it was quite clear what he meant. It was quite clear that to the Archduke, it was of no consequence what became of the commoners, as long as he collected his dues.

“You…” Jean scoffed, gesturing broadly at all the noblemen and women in the room, “ All of you sit up here in your fancy castles working your hardest to leave a couple extra gold bracelets for your kids, and the rest of us can’t even feed ours! It doesn’t matter if you have the Etran flu or what, you’re one of the people we are all meant to rely on; you can’t just turn your back on your people like that!”

He glanced around the vast main hall of the Baudelaire estate, where countless noblemen and women had dined and danced just a few moments earlier.

All of this, just for some kind of inheritance deal. Surely they could just meet in any old office and sign off on a few papers and be done with it! How much did a meeting like this cost, exactly? Everything these nobles did was just massively wasteful!

He’d be lying if he said he didn’t still have quite a few grievances with how the nobility behaved in this nation, but he also wasn't going sit here and let himself be used as a pawn. 

He shook his head, trying to focus clearly on the situation at hand.

Thinking through everything that had happened so far, it seemed there was really only one person truly deserving of his ire, and it wasn’t Lord Baudelaire. He spared a glance back over at the unsettlingly calm figure of Chancellor Riviere, the one who was most directly to blame for the commoners’ current state of affairs.

Even so… it was clear now more than ever that, even with the Chancellor out of the picture, things really needed to change around here.

A stern and solemn frown marred the face of Charles Baudelaire as he sat at the head of his table for what he knew would be the last time.

A part of him wondered how it had come to this, but deep down, he very much knew the answer to that.

Earlier that day, the eye-patched man had focused intently on nothing more than returning to his estate one final time; passing all of his wealth onto his daughter. 

Ever since he had learned that this illness had spread, he excused himself into solitude at a quarantine facility several miles from the city. He spared no expense, hiring on the best doctors in the land, but to no avail.

(Not that he had expected any luck, considering he had done all the same things back when Aurelie had fallen ill all those years ago.)

Throughout it all, the older man had held onto hope that he would be able to either recover from this damned flu or, at the very least, that he could pass all of his money onto Malicia, the one truly good thing left in his life.

She was his pride and joy, the only legacy he had left behind that he could truly cherish. 

What she lacked, though, was strength.

She was far too lenient, far too soft to be the next Archduchess Baudelaire.

So he did his best to toughen her up. He needed to make sure she could handle the burden that came with being the lady of the land, especially if she was to become Princess someday.

Of course, doing all that required a firm hand.

He recalled just a few days ago when he had visited this estate; Malicia had been playing out on the front lawn with that new maid of hers.

As a father, he wished to enjoy the scene of his daughter playing so happily with a look of bright, free joy he hadn’t seen on her face since her mother passed. 

But… as the Archduke, he needed his daughter to uphold her image. She needed to be reigned in before anyone saw her acting so uncouth. Naturally, if anyone had seen, he knew far too well how rumors could spread. How easy it was to tarnish the reputation of someone of her standing was something he knew all too well. This nation was no longer at war, but among the nobility, it was always a battleground. 

Thus, he had called out to her in anger.

He had been harsh, perhaps too harsh, but he needed to know his daughter could endure whatever hardships the world threw at her, and it had already thrown a fair few.

Playing in the snow, laughing along with maids far beneath her station… activities like that could easily ruin her if she didn’t play her cards right.

And yet, the scene playing out before him was nothing he could have ever anticipated.

All the commoners had barged into his home, demanding payment, demanding change, demanding all sorts of things he had never given much thought to. 

Well, that wasn’t necessarily true. 

He understood that the harvests of the past few years had been terrible, and that it left the common folk with much less than usual, but he hadn’t quite realized it was bad enough to warrant a response of this scale.

But, as far as the commoners’ attempts to contact him went, “I… truly had no idea.”

And the reason for that, he suspected, was that traitorous bastard Riviere, who was sitting quietly, watching the scene unfolding patiently. Charles had no idea what the man’s plan was anymore, but he knew Riviere was cunning and he knew that, even after his intentions had been laid bare before the whole country, he would still try and weasel his way out of it.

“Huh?”

“We sent you letter after letter!” one of the commoners called out. 

“Do you truly really mean to tell me you received none of them?”

“No… I think he’s right,” the one commoner who seemed to be leading them, Jean, admitted, “He did take that Truth Serum after all. If he says he didn’t know about our requests… then I think there’s probably a certain someone who’s been stopping any of them from getting through,” he gestured towards the Chancellor on the other side of the table.

So… that’s what this all came down to.

This whole uprising was all part of his scheme, hm?

Charles had never trusted the Chancellor completely, even back during the war, but to think he would go this far… That he would work so hard to undermine everything Charles had fought for, everything he hoped to build for his Malicia’s sake, for Aurelie’s memory.

And yet, in that moment, the Chancellor’s betrayal was the last thing on his mind. 

All he could see was the blonde young lady just beside him.

Abandoning his people had been a mistake, es, but the mistake he truly regretted was abandoning Malicia.

The look on his daughter’s face told him everything.

Yes… he really should have just asked, shouldn’t he?

All this time, he had worked so hard to give her everything he wanted for her, but… he really never asked what it was she wanted for herself, had he?

Now, he could see. Perhaps far too late, but he could see.

He had gone wrong somewhere along the line. Everything he had done, he had done to give his daughter a bright future. 

But that wasn’t the right way, was it?

He shouldn’t have been trying so hard to leave her as much money as possible, but to leave her as many happy memories as he could.

There were far too many nights he had spent either in his own study, or at the quarantine room many miles away when he thought to himself that he ought to spend more time with her.

It was simply a matter of… well, any time Malicia fondly reminisced upon her childhood days with Aurelie, he could see the pain in her eyes. Losing her hurt Malicia so deeply because of how close they had been. If he allowed himself to be any closer with his daughter, he knew it would end up being only another wound in her heart when his time came, and he knew that time would be sooner rather than later.

He didn’t want to cause her any more pain than necessary.

Ever since he had been diagnosed with Etran Flu, the Archduke had been staying in hospice care, far from the Baudelaire estate. He had been doing his best to keep his daughter at arm's length, despite her many attempts to reach out to him, or to visit. He rarely returned any of her letters, and if he did, the reply was short and blunt. 

He tried his best to keep her away… it was all for her sake. Or so he told himself. 

And in the end… he was wrong. 

He should have been by her side… maybe not physically, since he did not want to risk her getting ill, but he should have been there for her more. He should have tried to leave her with memories rather than money.

Whether it was the Truth Serum or just the old man realizing what he should have said long ago finally slipping out, he didn’t know. 

“I am sorry, all of you,” Charles Baudelaire admitted… and then he turned to his daughter, “And… I’m sorry, Malicia, for being absent. I didn’t want to risk you catching the Etran Flu, but… I should have been there for you.”

With that, the old man closed his eye, and became silent once more.

He really didn’t think things would end like this, but from the pain in his chest, he knew he didn’t have long left.

And, if this was to be his last night, he at the very least wanted to be by his daughter’s side one last time. Surely she hated him now, and he couldn’t blame her, but… well, he really hoped that after he was gone, that she could find something good in this world.

A myriad of emotions mixed together in Katarina’s heart as she watched the scene playing out in front of her. 

She really didn’t know all that much about Lord Baudelaire from the game, but she was sure of one thing. 

Her earlier assessment of the Archduke was pretty accurate. He was very much the same type of person as his daughter.

Yeah, Katarina nodded to herself. He was a big old tsundere, just like Malicia. 

He loved his daughter deeply and did everything for her sake… even if he didn’t really think it through that well. 

That didn’t make it any easier though, considering what they had both been going through all this time.

Another murmur echoed throughout the crowd of commoners; among them all, there was one very close to Katarina that caught her ear.

“Etran… flu?” Maria closed her eyes thoughtfully.

“Eh?” Katarina gave her a look, “Is something the matter, Maria?”

The light mage appeared to be deep in thought for a few seconds before she shook her head, “Ah, no, it’s nothing, Lady Katarina!”

Katarina pursed her lips curiously, but opted not to press her further for the moment.

No, she had a much bigger problem at the moment, namely, her charge’s terribly tormented emotions, which seemed to be near the brink of overflowing again.

In the seat to her side, Malicia, who seemed to nearly have recovered from her previous tears, was now on the verge of falling apart once more.

Katarina knew that everything being said tonight couldn’t be easy for her charge, in more ways than one. So, she did what she always did, and tried to help.

Katarina nudged her slightly, “Hey, Malicia?”

“Mmm?” the heiress made a little noise, clearly not daring to speak, lest she start crying again.

“I think… if you have anything you want to say to him… now is the time,” Katarina took her charge’s hand gently, rubbing a circle on it with her thumb.

Malicia tightened her jaw, keeping the same cold face she always forced herself to wear when she thought about… this.

It was more difficult than usual tonight. How odd.

She had known for quite some time. She had been one of the first to know, actually. 

But hearing it all over again, especially in a place like this… it never hurt any less.

Not to mention… this Truth Serum… why did it have to be so effective?

It wasn’t as if the things her father had just said were anything especially new to her. She had known about his illness for many months… since just before Rina arrived, actually, and she had suspected her father’s rationale behind raising the taxes was to garner a larger inheritance fund for her….

But hearing her own father say everything that had haunted her for so long, to say it so bluntly… it was more than enough to break her heart yet again. She bit her tongue even harder, enough to draw blood.

She couldn’t cry again.

He had been so distant lately… so cold and absent from her life. 

On some level, she felt it might have just been easier to think he just saw her as most nobles see their children; a useful tool for advancing in high society. She had tried her best to marry the prince all to please her father; all to keep that illusion going that she could just be the same type of child as any other noble daughter.

She wanted to just be useful to him, before he–

But… to hear that he had done all of it for her sake, that he did it out of love for her, not apathy… that made it hurt just so much more.

She glanced up for the briefest of moments at her maid, her best friend who had come so far to stay by her side even now. Rina was looking down at her with gentle, understanding eyes, ready to stay by her through even more.

Her uncertainty melted away then. All her doubts and fears took a back seat for the moment, and with renewed clarity, she turned to the man before her.

Resolutely, Malicia stood and faced him as she began to speak her heart, “Father! What you’ve done is… unforgivable! You might not have known how badly it was affecting the people, but you claim to be raising all this money for my sake and… I never wanted any of this! I never wanted money, the house, the inheritance, or any kind of title! I just want you to be okay! I want you to be here for me, and you never are! I no longer intend to live my life by this House or follow the path you set out for me!”

The entire hall had fallen quiet during that outburst. The blonde hadn’t quite realized how loud she was getting, but she didn’t care.

That was… something she had wanted to say for a very long time.

“Hm,” a slight smile appeared on her father’s face as he murmured softly, “Your mother would be so proud of you.”

A flicker of anger flashed across Malicia’s face. Why couldn’t she have a moment to breathe tonight? Why couldn’t she have a moment to get all her complicated feelings in order?

Why did her father have to make everything so… difficult?

She was furious at him for thinking he needed to tax his people to the brink of starvation just for her inheritance! And for not even bothering to tell her any of this before tonight!

And… he did it all for her sake.

All those years she had spent feeling like he never cared about her at all… she was wrong. She had always been his priority, in the end. And even now, he had arranged this massive event to be her inheritance ceremony, just because he thought she deserved something grandiose like this.

She was angry, sad, confused… but…

He was her family… and she loved him. For all the pain he had put her through… she still cared about her father very, very deeply. 

In what would prove to be one of the last moments of peace that evening, Malicia reached over and embraced her father tightly, feeling like she had finally managed to break the shackles this house had put on her.

Notes:

I'm sorry for how long the delay on this has been. I really want to finish this soon, but irl has been busy lately. I had wanted to finish this by the end of the year, but idk if I'll even get another chapter up in that time.

Anyways, here's this. I hope the quality hasn't dropped too much since the last update; I am trying to get back into the groove of writing more in my free time.

Thanks for reading, comments and constructive criticism are welcome as always!

Chapter 43: Last Words

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

Katarina tapped her toe impatiently.

As much as she wanted to comfort her charge, she really just wanted to wrap things up quickly.

From everything she could remember from the game, this event (as off the rails as it had gone), was very, very near the end. And, considering how the game ended….

“Ahem,” Prince Alexander cleared his throat, interrupting her worried thoughts and calling the attention of the gathered commoners, “People of Ritallia, I understand you all have many very valid concerns with the governance of this nation in recent years. It would be in everyone’s benefit to discuss those grievances in an organized open forum in the very near future. However… I believe there is someone else more in need of attention at the moment.”

“Are you really trying to detract from the real issue here?” one of the commoners spoke up, “We’re here to demand change!”

“No, he’s right,” Jean cut in, and turned to address the other commoners, “Oh, believe me, we aren’t done here. But if we’re serious about changing things around here, we need to talk priorities. And priority one… is him,” Jean pointed to the mustachioed man calmly staring right back at him.

Things were starting to wrap up here, it seemed, and in a much calmer manner than most of the endings of the game. The commoners appeared to be falling into agreement with Jean, and the tension between the two opposing factions in the room was dissipating, with the focus of everyone’s collective ire changing to the most responsible party, the Chancellor.

Katarina let out a breath she didn’t realize she had been holding.

Maybe things would work out okay after all.

(Even so, she couldn’t shake the feeling she was forgetting something… important.)

The commoners in the hall were still quite disgruntled and continued bickering amongst themselves.

“But… what about the Publication ?” another one of the commoners asked, “There were dozens of stories in there about Malicia Baudelaire’s cruel deeds and how she was constantly looking down on the rest of us!”

“A lot of the stories in there were exaggerated or outright false,” Lady Lena spoke up for the first time, drawing a few looks from the nobles around her, “They were merely trying to goad you into this exact situation, it seems.”

“It’s true,” Tommy chimed in, “I seem to recall Miss Malicia there givin’ up her precious brooch out of the goodness of her heart. An’ I wound up sellin’ that for medicine money. I don’t think she’s the type to give an order to withhold the food reserves like that.” 

“Yeah,” Katarina nodded, “Malicia never ordered the food reserves to be withheld. She didn’t even have enough time to do that since we only got the news that the warehouse where the food was stored was destroyed when the paper arrived!”

“That was the Chancellor too, wasn’t it?” Jean asked, simmering with anger.

There was a brief murmur among the commoners and nobles, all casting their angry glares at the Chancellor once again. The older man did not speak, but simply smirked slightly in reply.

“Tsk!” one of the commoners spoke up, “You really were willing to let us all starve! All while pretending you were on our side! And for what? What was it you hoped to get out of all of this?”

“I think he was trying to start an uprising here to rile up an army,” Katarina speculated, tapping her chin. 

After all, the more she thought about the game, the more she realized that the uprising in that story never seemed like it had a real endgame. The commoners had risen up against the nobles, yes, but… even in the epilogue scenes, they were still holding weapons, still ready to fight. It was like overthrowing the nobility wasn’t where that revolution stopped.

And, from what she had gathered during her time here in Ritallia, she had a guess why that might be.

“He wanted to try to restart that war with Regony, I think,” Katarina concluded with a nod.

“My, my, how right you are,” the Chancellor chuckled darkly, “A well armed populace is ideal for revolutions… as well as settling old scores against other nations. The drought here could easily incite the desperate people here to help invade some of the nearby nations with much more abundant crops, no?”

Prince Maximillian glared at the mustachioed man, “Starving your own people to try and seize power. All for what?”

“For an empire, dear boy,” the Chancellor leaned back in his seat, “This world is changing, you know? Sorcier is revolutionizing its control over magic, and the balance of power is shifting in Ethenell and Xiarmah. If we want Ritallia to stand at all in the future, we need to take some serious steps right now, while we can. And, of course, that means some aggressive expansion for our dear nation.”

“You’re despicable,” the prince scoffed, “A victory like that would make you nothing more than a tyrant.”

“Perhaps… but a victory nonetheless, no?” Chancellor Riviere replied, a smile playing at the corners of his eyes. There was something unsettling in his tone, as if he didn’t think he had lost yet.

“Knights,” Prince Alexander gestured to some guards who had made their way into the main hall and were standing by, awaiting orders, “Take him away.”

The armored figures advanced, moving to flank the Chancellor’s sides. As they approached, however, the Chancellor turned to face Katarina herself.

“Miss Clayton?” Chancellor Riviere asked from across the table, "May I ask something of you?”

Katarina hesitated.

She wanted to get Malicia and Clara out of here right away. She knew those two had a lot to catch up on, not to mention how distraught Malicia looked overall. Her Lady clearly needed some rest, as it had been a very long day for her.

Even so, the brunette still felt very suspicious of the Chancellor.

“What is it?” she eventually asked him, folding her arms as she stepped between Malicia and the older man.

“I must ask… How in the world did you figure it all out?” the Chancellor asked her, looking significantly less angry than she expected.

“Huh?” Katarina blinked, caught slightly off guard by that question.

“How was it that you figured I was the one responsible?” the older man looked to the maid curiously, “Surely since you thought to dose me with that Truth Serum, I must have been one of your suspects for some time…”

Katarina paused. 

He wasn’t wrong there. She did suspect him more than some of the others for a while now. And, now that she thought about it, the way she figured that out was, well…. 

She had figured it out initially because in the game, none of the endings, good or bad, showed the Chancellor do anything to save Malicia or lighten her punishment.

In the good ends, where she was forced to do labor, Katarina supposed she could understand it; he was a leader of the people following the revolution, and trying to get Malicia out of that punishment could jeopardize his relationship with the commoners. 

But in the bad ends? 

Malicia got dragged out of her house and executed right in front of him! And he didn’t make a single move to help her at all there! In fact, if she remembered the game right, he said it was necessary for their nation to move forward!

But since she had actually gotten to Ritallia, Katarina had learned something that made it even more confusing. That being, Chancellor Riviere had been named as Malicia’s godfather. And, if he was Malicia’s godfather… then why didn’t he do anything to save his god-daughter’s life?

It would only make sense if the bad ends of the game were entirely his goal; his endgame.

But, of course, she couldn’t say anything about the game here. No one would know what she meant, after all.

So… she had to make a guess. 

A total shot in the dark, but it was the best she could do without mentioning her knowledge of the game.

“Because…” Katarina pointed to him, snapping her fingers, “...if Malicia and her dad are gone… then you would inherit the Baudelaire estate, right?” 

Malicia mentioned something about that, didn’t she?

‘The Baudelaire Archduchy spans most of the Eastern coastline, and hosts all the ports and harbors in this region.’

That was what she said once, right? If that was true, it made sense why the Baudelaire house was as big and wealthy as it was. They pretty much had the final say in anything coming into or out of the country.

Ritallia was basically an island, an island covered in mineral-rich mountains and gold mines. So naturally, the most important person on an island full of gold and jewels was whoever could get them across the seas to sell to other nations.

“So… if you were in charge of this estate plus most of the people… you’d basically rule the whole country, right?” Katarina concluded, glancing over to the older man.

“I see,” he regarded her quietly, face thoughtful, “And… the Redgrave potion? How were you able to identify such an obscure concoction?”

“Well… the flavor of it was obvious in the soil,” Katarina explained, “And like you said, if there wasn’t any food, people were more likely to get pushed towards a breaking point. If there weren’t any crops, there wouldn’t be any tasty veggies, and if there was no food, people would be pushed to rise up against the nobles, who had plenty.”

“Hm,” Chancellor Riviere leaned forward, tapping the tabletop quietly, rhythmically. 

Katarina frowned, feeling something was a bit off about his reaction.

After a moment, the older man clapped once, then again, and again.

“I must admit, you are a smart one,” the Chancellor chuckled, “In fact, to figure that out, you must truly have one of the finest deductive minds of our generation!”

“Yes, I’m very observant,” Katarina nodded confidently.

Beside her, Geordo and Mary wore expressions of utter agony.

The Chancellor continued watching her as if he was quite amused by her mere presence.

Katarina clicked her tongue. 

She really didn’t care what this guy had to say anymore. She had figured out his scheme and revealed it to everyone before it was too late. She just wanted to get Malicia out of here as soon as possible.

Despite her wishes, the gray haired man chuckled again, “Yes, young miss… you have seen through me, I’ll admit. However…”

In that instant, Katarina’s blood chilled cold as she felt the icy touch of a steel blade against her throat. It happened far too quickly for her to react.

Across the table, the Chancellor Riviere smirked wickedly in the glimmering light of the chandelier as he finished, “...I don’t ever recall saying I was acting alone.” 

Ever so carefully, Katarina turned her eyes so she could get a glimpse of who had drawn their sword.

The maid gasped involuntarily; nothing she knew about the game had suggested this was a possible outcome!

“S-sir Antoine!”

Notes:

Sorry again for the long delay. I really want to get back on a more regular update schedule, but I know better than to promise anything at this point.

Chapter 44: The Cracks Begin to Show

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

Katarina winced as the cold steel of Sir Antoine’s sword scraped against her neck. Her mind whirled as she tried to process what was happening… and how to get out of it.

Her years of sword training hadn’t prepared her for this!

She knew how to dodge, how to parry, how to strike… but a sneak approach like that had caught her completely off guard! She hadn’t even felt any sense of danger until the blade was already on her throat!

Her days as a maid must have caused her adept ability to detect impending doom grow rusty!

A bead of cold sweat dripped down her face as she glanced around the room, where a number of the other knights were also drawing their blades. This was all planned!

And yet… she never knew of any ending in the game quite like this!

As if he was simply rising from his seat after a casual dinner, Chancellor Riviere stood, flanked by a pair of knights, and marched towards the head of the hall.

“I must say, this isn’t quite the ending I had hoped for, but this should still be salvageable,” the old man murmured, straightening his suit.

“Unhand her immediately,” Malicia paid him no mind, focusing intently on Sir Antoine, who was still standing like an animal ready to pounce, sword resting icily on Katarina’s neck.

“I’m afraid I can’t do that just yet,” Antoine responded coldly, eyes glinting like the steel of his blade, “We still have business to attend to, Lady Baudelaire.”

Across the table from her lady, Katarina noticed as the heroine also gasped, standing shakily “Y-you..?”

Clara seemed more than a bit perplexed by the sudden turn of character for the usually polite knight.

“You know him?” Malicia turned to her friend, noticing her clouded expression.

“He was…” the auburn haired girl frowned thoughtfully, “He was the one who told me to go back to the farm that day….”

“Huh?” Katarina’s eyes widened. The day Malicia had slapped her? She had thought it was odd that Clara had popped up at the farm out of the blue that day. So it had been Antoine that told her to go there?

“S-sir Antoine…” a shaky voice called out from near the back of the room. Katarina turned to see Lena LaCroix, utterly aghast, a look of abject betrayal marring her pale features. After a moment, the bespectacled young woman composed herself, eyes cold and devoid of emotion as she simply asked, “Why?”

“Why…?” the knight arched a brow at her, as if surprised by the question. He scoffed, tightening his grip on the sword at Katarina's throat, "Why, it's all too simple, Lady LaCroix!"

A few weeks earlier, Sir Antoine Chevalier marched quietly to a private room in Chancellor Riviere’s estate for another clandestine meeting.

As he walked, he considered all the recent events that had led him here.

The information Lady Lena provided to him worked wonders as articles for the Publication . Taking her tales of scandals among the noble class not only inflamed the minds of the people with gossip and glamor, but it also served to highlight the stark contrast between the lives of the common folk and those of the nobility. In any case, it was working wonderfully to agitate and disturb the commoners, stirring those dangerous sentiments and bringing them to the forefront of conversations.

He was quite fond of Lady Lena, truly. She served her purpose well. The knight was sure he could put her to good use in his new empire when the time came.

The Chancellor welcomed Antoine warmly as he stepped into the parlor, gesturing for him to take a seat at his ivory chess table. Not long had passed before the two were engrossed in a delightfully treacherous conversation.

Yes, it’s clear that Lady Baudelaire doesn’t seem to be behaving as I’d expected of her recently,” the Chancellor swirled the wine in his glass, watching it spin around thoughtfully.

Hm,” Antoine frowned, “What do you think the cause might be?”

Well,” the mustachioed man chuckled, moving a pawn forward on the chessboard, “I suppose the human mind is a complex thing. Changes can stem from any number of factors. But… if I had to guess, that new maid of hers has something to do with it. For someone so notoriously difficult to please, the young lady seems to have quite a bit of patience for someone so decidedly lacking in any tact or grace.”

The maid, hm?” Antoine tapped his chin, eyeing his moves on the chessboard. He hadn’t really paid her much mind, but it did seem Lady Malicia held her in fairly good esteem.

Yes,” Riviere confirmed, “So do keep an eye on her. If things should become... complicated, she could prove to be a very useful bargaining chip.”

Antoine nodded thoughtfully. He wasn’t exactly planning to brute-force this attempt to overthrow the kingdom, but he supposed it would do well to have some contingency plans in place....

The Chancellor’s ability to read people’s intentions was something he truly admired about him. In fact, it was the Chancellor’s keen eye that had determined just how dissatisfied Antoine himself was with the current order of things.

He had been playing his part for quite some time, maintaining the facade of a good-hearted knight, constantly getting ‘lost’ to cover his tracks, just in case anyone were to question why he always managed to be in certain places at certain times. And thus far, it had worked quite well. Antoine was quite skilled at reading the pulse of this nation, and he was confident that no one had any indications of his true intentions.

I suspect that, in the weeks to come, an opportunity will present itself to carry out the final stages of the plan,” the Chancellor announced calmly, “Lord Baudelaire doesn’t have long left, and by my estimations, he will soon leave the House to his daughter once he realizes he’s beyond saving,” he paused dramatically before adding, “Of course, that might change if the young lady does succeed in her attempt to get engaged to Prince Alexander.”

From what I’ve heard, her interview was rather unorthodox, but it didn’t leave the Prince with a poor impression of her,” Sir Antoine informed the mustachioed man, “I wouldn’t rule out the possibility that she could secure such an engagement.”

Hm, I’ve thought the same,” the old man nodded, pasuing for a moment before turning to the knight with a glint in his eye, “Would you care to know a secret?”

Antoine smirked, always eager to learn the nobility’s dirtiest secrets. Even the most mundane mishap could become a sordid affair when he set his pen to crafting the right narrative.

The daughter of the DeLeon family is actually still very much alive, despite the tragedy at sea a few years back,” the Chancellor informed Antoine in a hushed tone, “And has been living a very modest life on the Kettle farm to the southeast of the city for the past several years.”

The knight narrowed his eyes, unsure what to make of that particular revelation. After a moment, he pursed his lips, “You think that she could be a valuable asset in raising the commoners to revolt?”

Indeed, she does have that charisma,” the older man nodded, “But more than that, I think she could be useful for provoking a certain reaction from Lady Malicia.”

Hm,” Antoine didn’t quite know what the mustachioed man meant by that, but he shrugged it off, “I suppose it would be advantageous to get the two to meet somehow... though it seems they live in very different circles.”

I shall arrange for Lady Baudelaire to pay a visit to the Kettle Farm," the Chancellor explained carefully, a plan clearly forming in his mind, “All you need to do is give Young Miss Claudette a push to come visit her at the appointed time. I think that should be enough to drive a wedge between Lady Baudelaire and the First Prince."

"I see," Antoine scratched his chin, contemplating his remaining moves on the chessboard.

I shall also make arrangements for His Majesty,” the Chancellor reached out with a pawn, making a rather clever gambit.

And you think this might push Lord Baudelaire to sign the Baudelaire estate over to Malicia?” Antoine asked curiously as he studied the older man across from him. It was oh-so interesting to watch the mastermind coming up with new plans right before his very eyes!

I do,” Chancellor Riviere took a sip of tea, “And when he does, we can leverage that to incite a wide scale revolt among the masses. From there, it’s just a matter of getting the little pieces to fall into their places.”

"I'm not entirely sure some of the commoners will care quite enough about the king's ailment taking a turn for the worst to riot over it," Antoine murmured.

"Perhaps not just yet, but there's always room for them to change their... perspective, no? You are quite a talented playwright,” the Chancellor gave him a look, “I’ll leave crafting the narrative to you.”

Hm,” Antoine chuckled to himself, “I can certainly manage that.”

I’m well aware,” the older man nodded, “Your words can change the fate of kings and paupers alike.”

Riviere had no idea, Antoine mused.

As soon as his little scheme to undermine the nobility reached its fruition, the next one to go would be the Chancellor himself. After all, Antoine knew how close the Chancellor’s connections were with the nobility. It was something of a double edged sword, though, as it allowed the Chancellor to be in a good position to undermine the kingdom at its highest levels, but it also made him look like he was just one of the nobles to many commoners.

And, in time, Antoine would be able to twist that knife and turn the commoners against the mustachioed man, ousting him and taking his place as the next leader of the New World.

There were many ways to get rid of him when the time came, so he would cross that bridge when he came to it. But, for the time being, he needed to focus on making the Chancellor’s plan to dissolve the Ritallian monarchy reach fruition.

So he decided to play his part for the moment; he would be his master’s trusty servant right up to that fateful moment.

The mustachioed man chuckled to himself as he reached out, toppling the King piece on the chessboard, and quickly deciding the match.

Meanwhile, Antoine remained calm and stoic as he watched the Chancellor celebrate his victory, entirely unaware that Antoine had allowed him to win so easily.

The knight applauded Riviere’s swift victory, quietly awaiting his own chance to turn the tables. After all, it should be quite soon now....

“Why? Isn't it obvious?” Antoine pursed his lips, thoughtfully considering the question, “Well… for a ‘grand finale’, of course!”

“W-what?” Lady Baudelaire seemed utterly perplexed by the response, but he couldn't really understand why. Should it not be quite obvious by this point?

“Hah," the knight scoffed, holding firm on the blade pressed against the maid's throat, “Don't you know? It is every playwright’s dream to have the whole world dancing in the palm of their hand!” Antoine announced dramatically, “And tonight, my dear, is the opening act of the greatest show in the world!”

He chuckled to himself as he took his place on the stage. Though he was much more accustomed to scripting the scenes rather than starring in them, tonight was the opening act, and it was time for him to take his place.

Despite all the complications, things were all coming together. Soon enough, all these troublesome nobles and dull commoners would all be put in their places.

And, once the old guard was gone, the Knights would give a firm display of force, and the people would fall back into line or be executed for treason. Quite frankly, if the current King had any backbone, he would have done the same the moment the commoners started talking out of line!

But then, if the King had done even a half decent job of running his kingdom, he wouldn’t have backed down from his conquest of Regony with that weak peace treaty in the first place. If there was one thing Riviere was completely right about, it was that much! This grand kingdom of Ritallia would be so much better suited to being a glorious empire!

The curtains had risen and the play had begun. The King would soon fall to the blades of peasants, and the Chancellor would soon follow him.

After that, it would all be his. Ritallia first, then Regony. Beyond that, Sorcier beckoned to be conquered, and all the vast world that lay beyond.

Tonight was indeed the beginning of the Grand Finale of the current world order as they knew it.

And when it was over, the once-humble knight would sit atop a throne of gold and watch as his new kingdom prospered.

Katarina shivered.

She really had no idea what to do now.

The clock was ticking down far quicker than she’d have liked, and she certainly hadn't anticipated this particular doom flag!

Antoine was working for the Chancellor? There was nothing about that in the game!

Although, she supposed, now that she thought about it, his route was a bit unconventional. He had always been rather stoic and silent, but went out of his way to get close to Clara when she started working as Malicia’s maid. He had first met her after getting lost in the Baudelaire mansion and Clara had helped him get back to the main room.

Back when she’d played it, Katarina had just assumed that Clara had that protagonist charm and Antoine getting lost all the time was merely a character quirk, but with his blade as her throat, the brunette now began to think the knight’s actions weren’t quite so genuine back in that route.

She glanced helplessly around the grandiose hall, past the clock ticking down the minutes over to where her friends were watching on, faces contorted with surprise and rage.

Geordo moved forward a pace, a flicker of fire magic sparking in his palm, but the thick crowd didn’t give him any room to get close.

Mary discreetly moved her hand, a coil of water slithering out of one of the teapots like a snake, but she hesitated, clearly worried that he might hurt Katarina if she made any kind of direct attack on him.

Katarina herself was just as unsure what to do. In her many plans to dodge doom flags, this was not one she had prepared for.

“Archduke Baudelaire and Lady Malicia, if you would,” Antoine turned his cold eyes to her Lady, “Kindly renounce your estate and all your wealth to this grand revolution. Otherwise....” he trailed off, gesturing to his sword against Katarina’s neck.

“Y-you...” Malicia looked utterly lost, barely able to understand why any of this was happening, and Katarina couldn’t blame her. She hadn’t seen any of this coming either!

“D-don’t listen to him! He’s not part of any revolution! He just wants all the money and power for himself!” Clara interjected, but she was quickly cut off as another knight approached her.

“Oh, it’s quite the opposite, actually!” Antoine announced in a grandiose manner, “The good chancellor here and myself have both come from humble beginnings among the commoners and worked our way up to earn out statuses. We merely seek to make the living conditions of the common folk more fair for everyone. If you think the methods we have used to achieve these ends are extreme, need we merely remind you the hardships you have endured under the inept leadership of this kingdom?”

---

Many of the commoners were clearly faltering, unsure who or what to believe anymore.

But amid all the chaos, one person’s gaze was fixated on a very specific spot. As Sir Antoine did his best to sway the ire of the common folk to be directed at anyone other than himself and the Chancellor, the knight tightened his grip on the sword, moving his hand just ever so slightly forward, away from Katarina’s neck.

Prince Geordo and Lady Mary both took notice of the opening, small as it was.

And yet… neither of them were fast enough.

Before the prince or Lady Hunt or anyone else could act, another blade fell.

In the blink of an eye, a silver sword sliced through the air, slashing down very near Lady Katarina’s head… and…

...and...

... and Sir Antoine let out a howl of pain, staggering backwards as blood spilled from his wrist.

His hand… had been sliced clean off.

The knight gasped in shock, reeling from the agony of the unanticipated injury and jumped away from Lady Katarina and the one just beside her who had delivered that decisive blow.

And the one wielding the fell blade that had struck him was....

“My apologies for ruining your shirt, my Lady,” Anne stated calmly, her eyes still fixed coldly on the injured knight staggering away from them.

“I... you... huh?” Lady Katarina blinked in surprise, gasping out, “Anne! Where did you even get a sword?”

“... I figured it would be prudent to carry one from the moment we left the port,” the maid replied coolly, keeping her blade aimed sharply against the now one-handed Antoine.

Anne did her best to maintain her calm and steady demeanor, hoping she wasn’t letting on how utterly shaken she was by that. The sight of some insane stranger holding a blade to her charge’s throat was one she would care to never see again. She had no idea what the status of Ritallia’s nobility and revolution really were, but there was one thing she had been sure of for many many years: she would do whatever it took to protect Lady Katarina.

Naturally, venturing into a foreign land to seek out and rescue her charge from stars only know what, she decided it would be wise to bring one of her Lady’s personal swords along with her, just in case. And now, she was quite grateful she had. It was always Lady Katarina who had been training with the blade, but Anne had spent a good deal of time watching on and assisting her, so... perhaps she had picked up a few tricks here and there.

(Or, at the very least, her status as a maid allowed her to keep a low enough profile to land a decisive strike against this villain. Either way, she was rather proud of herself.)

In a matter of seconds, all of Katarina’s other friends rushed over to her side, checking that she was okay.

And, in that same matter of seconds, the knight who had been threatening Katarina’s life managed to weasel himself away from that portion of the crowd, moving closer to the older man with the mustache.

As much as Anne would have liked to pursue the cruel knight, there were a number of other heavily armed knights surrounding the Chancellor and his wounded servant.

Although the Chancellor had a handful of his knights by his side, a number of them had been sent out to corner some of the revolutionaries that had been speaking up against him. And to Anne, it seemed as though the tide was turning once again.

“You get the hell away from us,” a boy around Katarina’s age growled, stepping between one of the knights and the young lady with the auburn hair.

“You lot got a lotta nerve, trying to run us around like this,” another commoner joined in.

“You best remember, there’s more of us then you!” called out another.

In a matter of moments, the commoners began to turn their weapons against the knights, separating them away from the Chancellor and Antoine.

Anne felt a satisfaction at that sight. It wasn’t as if she could even presume to know the full details of why everything was unfolding the way it was, but... it felt good to see this crowd turning against someone who had held a blade to her family.

---

Jean Granger readied his rifle, watching on coldly as the Chancellor and his cohorts wound up cornered on the far side of the large conference table in the center of the Baudelaire manor’s main hall.

“I said back off,” Jean declared again towards some of the knights that were trying to round up the commoners in the hall.

That scummy knight Antoine had managed to wriggle himself away from the maid and her crowd, one-handed though he may have been. Though his primary sword had fallen to the ground, along with his right hand, he managed to pull a smaller blade out with his left. He also appeared to have tied some fabric around his severed wrist to try and stem the blood loss, but it was clear he was badly injured.

“Y-you really want to do this?” Antoine asked through strained gasps, raising his dagger against them. Beside Antoine, several of the Chancellor’s other knights had also stepped up to defend the older man, some of them armed with guns as well.

Jean narrowed his eyes. He was pretty sure that the knights there knew they were outgunned, but it still seemed like they were planning something.

“Tsk,” the Chancellor frowned, stepping backwards toward the end of the hall as the knights around him, “Honestly, what a disappointing turn of events....”

Jean’s blood was boiling. For so long, he had been filled with righteous anger directed at this kingdom’s nobility. He had always thought that the Chancellor was the one force of decency fighting against their greed... but in the end, that couldn’t be further from the truth.

The nobility had been erroneously negligent of the people, and he had no intentions of letting that go just yet... but for the moment, his anger and his rifle were both aimed elsewhere else.

And to hear the old man scoff everything off as a ‘disappointing turn of events’? How callous could he be?! It was due to him that their nation was in a famine to begin with!

“You’re not going anywhere,” Tommy joined in by his side, and Clara a few paces behind.

The other knights around the Chancellor were beginning to look a bit nervous now, and deservedly so... or so Jean thought.

“Heh,” the mustachioed man chuckled cryptically, “Not going anywhere, eh? I wouldn’t be so sure of that....”

Across the table, Katarina was still working to get her heart back under control. That was the closest brush with doom she’d ever had!

Having her friends all gathered around her and Anne safely guarding her from the side made her much more comfortable, but she still couldn’t help but feel a bit shell shocked by that encounter!

Incidentally, there was one more figure in the room who wished to confirm Katarina’s safety....

“Rina!” Malicia rushed over to her side in an instant, “Are you alright?”

“Yes, but–!” Katarina tried to get a word in, but the blonde was far too energetic.

“Thank goodness!” her charge gasped, “I cannot believe that utter lout dared to raise a blade against you! I swear to you, Rina, I shall make sure they face justice for that.”

“Okay… Malicia, we really need to get out of here!” Katarina gasped frantically, eyes glancing towards the clock once more.

“Maid, what are you talking about?!” Malicia gasped in surprise, “We need to pursue them at once!”

The floor beneath them shook as the agitated crowd in the main hall grew ever more restless.

“No, we can’t!” Katarina warned, holding her charge back, “We’ve gotta leave!”

“Why?!” the blonde looked at her in astonishment, “Who knows what other tricks that fiend has up his sleeves! If we don’t corner him and Antoine here, we might never have another chance to bring them to justice!”

Katarina gulped, feeling her heart thumping in her throat. One one hand, it was nice to know that Malicia was so concerned for her sake, but it was hardly the most important thing right now!

“It’s just… when I mentioned in that journal about the fall of House Baudelaire…” Katarina began, feeling the floorboards under her shoes vibrating.

“Yes?” Malicia gave her an odd look.

“I… didn’t mean that metaphorically,” the brunette concluded.

As if on cue, the rhythmic shaking of the manor suddenly intensified. Paintings fell from the wall, and a few cries of shock rang out from the other end of the main hall.

Malicia’s eyes widened as she suddenly became aware that the shaking from below her was very much not the result of the crowd of commoners clamoring around in the main hall. The opening rumble of the earthquake that marked the finale of the game officially made itself known.

“Oh.”

Notes:

At long last, another update!
I have, for once, written out the next three chapters in advance, so there won't be such long breaks between updates.
Thanks for reading (any of you who are still here), comments and constructive criticism are welcome as always!

Chapter 45: Night Flight

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

Once, many years earlier, a much younger Henri Riviere stood in the crumbling remains of a fallen castle in the highlands of Regony.

The faint, dismal rays of mid-morning sun crept through the grey clouds of that fateful morning, the day that the Ritallian army triumphed over Regony.

And what a victory it was.

The Ritallian army had taken heavy losses as they forged ahead, sustaining far more casualties than expected. By the time they had worn down the enemy’s forces enough that they had surrendered, they no longer felt that glory and pride they had when they first stepped on the field.

But still.... to the victor go the spoils, no?

Henri held hope that no matter how poorly with the battles themselves, at the very least, the prize awaiting at the end of all of this would be thoroughly worth the fight. He may not have hailed from a noble bloodline, but if Ritallia fully conquered Regony, as a vice commander on the front lines, Henri knew he would be first in line to have a fairly high rank in governing the new territory.

And yet....

A few miles to the North, in the heart of Regony’s capitol city, a delegation from Ritallia had arrived to iron out the details of the treatise that would end the war. Henri had overheard some of the points outlined in the draft and objected heavily to them, but if rumors were to be trusted, his objections were ignored altogether.

The vice commander tightened his jaw apprehensively as a group of couriers arrived from the capitol.

The King has announced a decree to end the war,” one of the elite knights announced, marching in with a stack of papers detailing the specifics of the arrangement.

Henri felt his eye twitch slightly as he skimmed over the papers. The final decisions were even worse than he had feared.

His lip curled in poorly veiled disgust, “And withdraw our troops?”

We have thoroughly defeated Regony’s forces; there is no need for us to stay for more than a few more months,” Commander Baudelaire answered.

Tsk. Of course Baudelaire would think that. He was oh so smitten with that Aurelie and far too eager to return to her, though Henri couldn’t see why.

What was the point of this all in the end, if not conquest?” Riviere asked halfheartedly, trying not to let the true depths of his disappointment show.

Regony was amassing an army,” Baudelaire clicked his tongue, “They clearly intended to advance against us. We stopped them and maintained the balance of power. What more is there to it? In any case, I can hardly see any reason why we would need to occupy their nation any longer.”

Who knows? Perhaps today we could take Regony, and tomorrow, the world!” Riviere chuckled idly, looking out at the battlefield laying before the crumbled castle they had taken up temporary residence in.

Taking the world isn’t something one does in a day, Riviere,” Charles Baudelaire frowned, lighting a cigar as he took his exit from the fallen castle.

A few long moments of silence passed as Henri Riviere pondered everything. The war, the King, the peace treaty....

...the future.....

Henri chuckled darkly to himself in the shadows of the broken castle, “No… not in a day….”

Chancellor Riviere felt his ire growing more and more by the moment. As much as he was loath to admit it, it seemed as though his designs were coming thoroughly unraveled. All things considered, it would seem all his carefully crafted ploys had failed.

But that did not mean that the older man was ready to admit defeat; far from it.

No, this was the time when he would fight his fiercest.

He was surrounded twofold.

By his sides were his knights, including that foolish Antoine, allowing himself to get caught off guard like an amateur and losing his grip on that maid. If he had her, Henri would be able to negotiate with Malicia. And with Malicia on his side, it would have been far easier to sway her father.

And outside that small circle of knights, the rage of the common folk bore down on him. Honestly, after everything he had done for their sake! Didn’t they realize that, even though he had to use... slightly underhanded methods to get here, the revolution would clearly benefit them much more than turning against him now?

“You’re not going anywhere,” one of those scruffy louts growled, raising a gun against him.

“Why, I think you might be mistaken about that, my boy,” the Chancellor murmured under his breath.

“What was that?” the commoner glared at him, trying to move forward past the knights, who were reluctantly guarding him.

“You do know... the substance used to poison the fields of this nation... only I can fully understand it!” Henri declared. Still under the effects of the Truth Serum, he was quite sure he could convince everyone here.

Even so, his voice was frantic, desperate, anything to buy him a few minutes.

The room was beginning to tremble; another earthquake was rippling through the kingdom. A thought had formed in his mind, a way to get himself out of here... but it would need a distraction.

And that earthquake seemed like just the thing.

So he continued his desperate ploy, inching backwards discreetly, matching the rhythm of the trembling earth below.

These commoners were utter buffoons, all so fixated on their grievances that half of them either hadn’t noticed the earthquake, or just didn’t care! And the nobles weren’t much better...

In fact, that damned maid was the only one here who seemed to have any sense of urgency!

Whatever the case may be, that might just work in his favor right now....

“If I am not in charge of this nation...” Henri declared ominously, “... there will be no way for you to ever restore this country! If you don’t wish to starve, then it would be wise for you to listen to me now!”

He had an exit strategy, but perhaps, if he played his cards right, he wouldn’t even need to use it. Yes, perhaps there was still time to salvage this! He chuckled under his breath, working through what truthful things he could say that could ensure his survival.

“Actually… I think the fields can be fixed fairly easily,” one of the maids with flowers in her short blonde hair spoke up.

Riviere arched a brow.

“Hm?”

---

Katarina smirked as she remembered something else she had set up a while ago. Well, ‘set up’ might be a bit of a stretch, but in any case.

The idea that the Chancellor would be the only one capable of fixing the problem with Ritallia’s land was pretty far fetched. If anything, there were at least half a dozen people in this room alone who had more experience with this kind of thing!

“Yeah… come to think of it…” Alan chimed in.

“What?” the Chancellor arched a brow, still slowly slinking backwards.

“That ship we were on… it was filled with crates of Rosensprice and Letyssil extract,” Keith tapped his chin thoughtfully, “The main ingredients you would need to counteract an application of Redgrave potion.”

“Indeed. Enough to cover acres of fields if it’s brewed correctly,” Geordo added thoughtfully.

“What? How?” a look of utter confusion washed over the Chancellor’s features, “Who ordered such a thing?”

“Fufufu…” Lucille Canion spoke up for the first time in a while with a light giggle. She clinked her teacup back down on the saucer before her, “Why, as it so happens, I did think it was rather odd when the Commerce Guild received an invoice ordering such obscure ingredients. And those shipments were personally requested by…” the pink haired girl let her eyes dance across the room until she landed on her target, “... Malicia Baudelaire.”

There was another pause as everyone in the main hall turned to face the blonde heiress, who looked just as surprised as everyone else.

“Lady Malicia sent the request for that stuff?” one of the commoners furrowed his brows disbelievingly.

“She did?” someone else gasped in confusion.

“I did?” Malicia herself glanced around dubiously.

“Yeah,” Katarina quietly reminded her, “Back after we visited the farm, I asked if you could order a few things, remember?”

“That was… to heal the farmland?” Malicia blinked at her disbelievingly.

“Yeah!” Katarina smiled warmly at her Lady, “Thanks for actually doing it, Malicia! Those supplies will help a lot with revitalizing the soil here!”

Malicia stared back at her, flabbergasted, “W-why didn’t you tell me that?”

“Why didn’t you ask?” Katarina shrugged innocently.

The blonde narrowed her eyes at her. Okay, sure, she might have been skirting the issue a bit at the time, but really, would Malicia have believed her if she said that stuff was necessary to fix something nobody even knew was wrong yet?

Throughout the main hall, many of the commoners looked equally perplexed by that revelation.

“Wh-what?”

“Lady Malicia ordered all the stuff to help us fix our crops?”

“Then… she was looking out for us?”

“The DeLeons were the best family in the country as far as looking out for their people. If Malicia’s friends with her, then… maybe...”

The commoners in the hall were buzzing with murmurs, and Katarina for one, couldn’t help but feel a bit proud at the sight. Malicia might not have been the nicest to the people of Ritallia, but she wasn’t the heartless monster the Publication had portrayed her as. She did have a heart, and it seemed the people were beginning to see as much.

The rumbling prologue of the massive earthquake brewing made sure to roil again, hampering her brief moment of happiness as the brunette was reminded once more of just how dire the current situation truly was.

As if to drive the point home, just behind her, the clock struck midnight.

The moment House Baudelaire truly fell in Love’s Uprising. The final doom flag.

---

The room trembled again, mirroring the Chancellor’s nerves as he watched the scene playing out before him.

All his work… all for naught.

Antoine’s papers had done so much to undermine the Baudelaires’ credibility, and somehow Charles’ idiot daughter managed to win all that trust back in a matter of minutes. It was a feat he had worked years to achieve.

All to reclaim his rightful conquest of Regony. All to expand the territory of the grand nation of Ritallia all across the continent.

Naturally, it was impossible for him to become King through legitimate means, so he had merely needed the Baudelaire fortune. So it all came to this.

Gaining Charles’ trust enough (and eliminating any alternatives) such that the Archduke would appoint him as Malicia’s godfather, playing both sides of the commoners and the nobility to destabilize the nation and deepen the distrust, to sow the seeds for a revolution that would put him at the helm....

And then, when all else had failed, he tried desperate ploys, one after another, but to no avail.

Damn it all! He couldn’t even have the satisfaction of knowing that these fools would starve now! Who the hell thinks to import bulk quantities of antidote for Redgrave potion? And to do so directly through the House of Canion, rather than any commerce guild that would report back to him?

Who the hell was this maid? She was no fool; if anything, she was the cleverest person in this room, loath though he was to admit it!

No… his initial plan might not have worked out, but that did not mean Henri had no alternatives to get himself out of this situation. Nor did it mean he considered his plans to be fully lost.

To the West, in Quid, Riviere had developed a modest crew of traders and dealers who he could turn to. They may not be the most reliable lot, but they weren’t the smartest either. He should, given the right chance, be able to sway them to his cause. Plot a return course. Infiltrate this kingdom again, or play it all off as some big misunderstanding; some act of treason against him by House Baudelaire!

He could think of something. He just needed time.

It was just a matter of getting there. Getting out of this house.

If there was an earthquake here, even better!

He knew this estate well; all its ins and outs.

All its secret passageways.

And, he knew all too well that there was a secret passageway that led down from this house to the shores below. Right beneath his feet.

The Chancellor smirked as another tremor of the earthquake tore a massive glass mirror from the wall, shattering it to splinters on the floor. People cried out in shock, apparently finally realizing how grave the situation with the earthquake might just be.

And, of course, it all served to distract everyone at just the right moment.

---

Lena LaCroix found herself rather blocked off from the place she wanted to be right now.

Lady Malicia, her maid, and a crowd of people she had never seen before, all dressed in butler and maid outfits were all swarmed up at one end of the table, blocking her route to confront Antoine.

The past few minutes had been nothing short of a whirlwind of emotion for her.

Antoine... he had been manipulating her all along?

The raven haired girl cursed herself for being so easily fooled. All this time, she had trusted him, thought of him as an ally.

She had seen him as one of the only people in this sea of noble mischief and mayhem who could really see her for who she really was.

And in the end, that couldn’t be further from the truth.

Even when she first saw him draw his blade on Lady Baudelaire’s maid, there was some small part of her hoping it was all some kind of ploy by him. But no, it was clear.

Ever since the start, he was always just being kind to her, getting close to her, all to get her to tell him more and more about the sordid affairs of the nobles.

It was clear now. He had been the one behind The Publication, the one crafting twisted tales to incite the rage of the common folk against the nobility, and she had played right into his hands.

Well, his hand.

She couldn’t help but be a bit envious of the maid that was able to slice that two-faced fiend’s hand off before Lena herself could.

In any case, she had finally managed to shake off the nerves, refocus herself on the current issue, and slink through the surging crowd over to where one of the Chancellor’s knights was standing in front of the DeLeon girl intimidatingly.

She wasn’t all too familiar with things like combat, but she had learned a handful of moves when daydreaming about how to greet her father if he ever decided to return home.

Approaching the knight quietly, Lena’s hand struck like a snake, palm-heeling him in the back of the head, and quickly knocking him unconscious. He wouldn’t be out long, but it should be enough to get Lady DeLeon out of her situation.

“Are you alright, miss?”

“Y-yes!” the auburn haired commoner answered with a gulp, “Thank you, Lady LaCroix!”

“Lena is fine,” the Marquis’ daughter answered, “And think nothing of it, Lady DeLeon.”

Lena pursed her lips, still working through all of the revelations that had come out tonight. Lady Malicia had once been friends with the DeLeon heiress, who had been presumed dead in the shipwreck that had claimed the lives of her parents several years prior. But it turned out that was false; Claudette DeLeon was still very much alive, but had lost her memories and been living as a commoner for the past decade.

It certainly was not something Lena would have ever even guessed was a possibility. But she would set aside the lengthy list of questions she had for the time and focus on the matter at hand. Namely, the Chancellor and Antoine openly colluding to commit high treason.

Well, that and the earthquake.

A sudden lurch beneath her feet caused the usually poised noirette to stumble slightly. She quickly regained her balance grabbing against the wall and, along with the DeLeon heiress, made her way over to where Lady Malicia was worrying over her maid.

Lady Malicia truly cares about that maid. How cute’, Lena’s lips twitched up into a slight smile for a moment. She shook her head, now was hardly the moment for such things.

Closing in on the pair, Lena noticed that the maid was surrounded by a number of other butlers and maids... or were they butlers and maids? Some of them, especially the blonde young man, gave off an aura of people more refined than typical servants. Disguises perhaps?

Lena opted not to delve too much into it for the moment, as it seemed they were all trying to assist Lady Baudelaire, or at least her maid, which made them tentative allies for the time being.

“We need to get out of here!” Miss Rina cried out desperately just as the house began to shift and shake beneath their feet.

“Don’t worry, sister,” one of the ‘butlers’ with sandy hair placed a hand on her shoulder reassuringly, “I’ve heard that Ritallia frequently has earthquakes. It shouldn’t be too much of an issue for this type of house. The crowd is blocking the exit, it would be dangerous to try and leave now.”

“No, Keith, trust me!” Miss Rina warned anxiously, “We have to get everyone out of this house, now!”

Lena stayed back a pace quietly, listening in on what the maid was saying, as well as Lady Malicia’s reaction to it. It seemed to her that the maid fully believed there was a legitimate reason they needed to get everyone out of the house soon. Perhaps she knew something? A crack in the house’s foundation, or some other critical structural flaw that could cause this earthquake to be more dangerous than it seemed?

Lena frowned, considering the maid’s words. Given the earthquake, she could tell why the young woman was worried, but earthquakes weren’t unheard of in Ritallia, and they rarely damaged any major structures.

That said, the maid seemed very convinced of herself. She seemed truly scared that this house might fall.

But, more than anything, it was the look in Lady Baudelaire’s eyes. She could see it clearly, that look of horror and borderline defeat, despite having turned the tables on the Chancellor and his knight.

Whatever this maid knew, it could be the difference between life and death.

Miss Rina was interrupted by a shout from some of the commoners who had been gathering around the Chancellor and his knights.

“Where the hell did he go?!”

“What? The Chancellor disappeared?”

“H-he must have gone down the secret stairs...” Lady DeLeon murmured beside her.

From the look on Lady Malicia’s face, and the direction she was gazing, it seemed the blonde had come to a similar conclusion.

“‘Secret stairs’?” Lena arched a brow.

“Yes, Mali and I used to play in them all the time,” Lady Claudette answered, a wistful look in her eyes, “There’s a very narrow staircase that runs from this hall down to the shore right below the mansion. I didn’t know anyone else knew about it....”

“We need to get everyone out of this mansion, fast,” Lady Baudelaire tapped her toe, a look of deep concern etched into her features.

Lena took a deep breath, contemplating everything for a moment. With the Chancellor on the run, it wouldn’t be too hard to get the mob to chase after him, but... a narrow staircase was a terrible pathway for this many people to escape through. People would certainly get trampled and crushed by the crowd if everyone pursued that way. It didn’t look like anyone had noticed quite where the older man had gone just yet though, other than Lady Claudette and Lady Malicia. So, perhaps there was a chance that....

“Leave it to me,” Lena replied coolly, turning on her heel.

The raven haired girl had never been particularly fond of crowds (or, at the least, crowds that she couldn’t control), but it seemed the moment was calling for it. Her years of observing people from the shadows would have to carry her here.

Well, that and Malicia telling her how radiant she was.

No one had ever said anything like that to her before, not even Antoine. The raven haired girl focused on the feeling that moment had evoked in her heart; that confidence.

She steeled her resolve and marched up to one of the large wooden tables near the head of the hall.

“Everyone!” Lena called out, dramatically flourishing the long sleeves of her dress as she stepped up onto the table, “As you have no doubt noticed, Chancellor Riviere has made an attempt to escape his judgment! But there is still time for us to detain him, so if you intend to seek out the one most directly responsible for your shared misfortunes, listen carefully to my instructions!”

Malicia was looking up at her with wide eyes and a slight blush on her cheeks. Lena’s heart skipped a beat at that sight.

“Ahem,” the raven haired girl adjusted her glasses, “We need to cut the Chancellor and his men off! If he left this house through that back passageway, he will surely be heading towards the harbor via the side road down the mountain! We must make haste, but do not run; let us all steadily exit the building, and then cut him off at the harbor! Follow me!”

She looked back, exchanging glances with Malicia and her maid, quite sure that this was what needed to be done.

With that, Lady Lena turned and began leading the massive crowd towards the main doors of the house.

---

Disappearing into the hidden corridor, Chancellor Riviere felt himself chuckle darkly at that.

That fool of a girl was really planning to try and cut him off by going down the mountain’s front side?

Hah!

She must not have any idea about this little passageway, must she?

Well, it worked out in his favor, didn’t it?

The older man staggered slightly, feeling the earthquake intensify again.

For a moment, the older man hesitated. Was this pathway stable enough for an earthquake like this?

He shook his head, it wasn’t as if he had any options. Back up there was an angry mob ready to take his head if he dared to show it again!

And, in any case, he only needed to reach the beach waiting below and he would be free. He could easily commandeer a boat from the harbor, and once he made it to Quid, he could work something out there. Perhaps he could even raise an army over there and return to Ritallia someday to have his vengeance on these imbeciles for ruining his plans!

---

Maria Campbell hustled towards the front door of the Baudelaire manor, trying to remain calm despite the explosive atmosphere unfolding within.

Beside her, Lady Katarina looked unbelievably worried, a more desperate look on her features than she had ever seen. Even moments ago with an actual sword to her throat, the brunette didn’t look as nervous as she did now!

Maria didn’t quite know why, but it felt like Lady Katarina knew something she didn’t....

She didn’t have long to dwell on the matter, however, as the crowd was moving at a fairly fast pace, all eager to get down to the harbor and catch the Chancellor. To her left, the blonde heiress Lady Katarina had been working under for the past few months reunited with her friend she had called out to at the table earlier.

“M-Mali!” the auburn haired girl (who apparently wasn’t a commoner, despite her garb), took Lady Baudelaire’s hands in hers with a wide grin, “It’s so good to see you again!”

“Claudie!” the blonde heiress gulped, “W-we have to get out of here!”

“Don’t worry, Mali,” the commoner girl reassured her friend, “I’ll make sure everyone gets out of the house safely!”

“B-but--!” Lady Baudelaire reached out after her, but the other young lady had already disappeared again into the crowd, moving towards the back to ensure everyone made it out safely.

Maria smiled at the sight; both at the reassurance that she would ensure everyone else’s safety and the look in the commoner girl’s eyes. She had that same look that Maria herself knew she had whenever she saw Lady Katarina.

The blonde reddened slightly at the thought, instead focusing on getting everyone together and moving outside the dangerously rocking house.

“Quick,” Lady Katarina grabbed hers and Anne’s hands as they reached the front door. Even when they stepped outside, Lady Katarina continued pulling them away from the structure as the ground beneath them continued to shake.

It seemed that a lot of the commoners around her believed the dark haired woman’s claim that they needed to go outside to stop the Chancellor, so Maria decided to roll with that for the moment. It was clear to Maria herself that they were trying to get everyone out of this house quickly because the earthquake had the potential to collapse the entire structure, but a lot of the other people here hadn’t caught on yet.

Still, there was one thing puzzling her.

She could fully understand Lady Malicia trusting Lady Katarina’s judgment that they needed to move outside the house, but... how did Lady Katarina know that the earthquake would get this bad?

Come to think of it, ever since they arrived, it felt like Lady Katarina knew something the others here didn’t, though she couldn’t put her finger on quite what it was....

In the back of the blonde’s mind, a sliver of an idea was forming, but right now was not the moment to entertain it.

No, right now.... now was the time to run.

Unfortunately, due to the narrow halls of this Baudelaire mansion and the large, surging crowd, running didn’t seem to be much of an option.

She did her best to keep the crowd moving forwards, using herself to keep the pace steady and helping more than a handful of people back to their feet when they stumbled from the rocking earth beneath them.

Before long Maria, along with her other friends from Sorcier, arrived at the front door of the mansion. Even the sturdy oak door frame was creaking under the strain of the earthquake, pieces of fine porcelain shattering on the ground just behind them.

“Is everyone alright?” Prince Geordo asked the group as they poured out into the snowy night.

“I’m fine,” Alan answered, turning to his fiancee, “You okay, Mary?”

“As long as Lady Katarina is safe,” Lady Mary nodded, confirming her companion’s safety, “Then all is well!”

“I-I’m alright, but... goodness, what a horrible earthquake!” Keith fretted, moving closer to Lady Katarina.

“Mm,” Nicol nodded tacitly, turning to Sophia, who also gave a quiet nod affirming her well being.

Maria did a quick headcount of her friends from back home, as well as the handful of other nobles and maids who had helped them along thus far. And yet, she had scarcely a few seconds to acknowledge they had made it out unscathed before the earthquake suddenly intensified tenfold.

With a mighty lurch, the rocky outcropping of earth, as well as the gilded Baudelaire manor that rested atop it, completely cracked clean through. The mansion was now barely attached to the cliff side, cracking and creaking further and further away, just a few pieces of old foundation of the building retaining their attachment to the mountainside.

The crowd of commoners and nobles alike all began crying out, as if only just realizing the stakes, running as fast as they could from the colossal collapse of the once grand Baudelaire Manor.

The cliff side estate crumbled forwards, a few feet at a time.

In front of the house, the ground began to split apart.

Maria gasped, feeling more and more nervous as to just how badly this situation was going to fall apart.

“Don’t worry, Maria!” Lady Katarina reassured her, “Let’s just get further down the mountain a bit!”

The brunette’s cheerful smile was all she needed to keep going.

The young light mage had a lot of questions right now, about Lady Katarina, what she knew, how she knew it... but she would put her trust in her friend here. For whatever reason, Lady Katarina had a plan for how to get out of this.

And, if Lady Katarina’s plan was as advanced as Maria thought it might be, then she really needed to reevaluate just how much of a genius her companion truly was!

In front of the golden Baudelaire mansion, the panicked crowd seemed to be a mix of people still searching for the Chancellor, and those who were more concerned by the crumbling mountain beneath their feet, all rushing downwards and away from the rapidly deteriorating facade of the massive manor that stood at the top of the mountain.

Right before the front door, the large crack in the ground was widening more and more by the second.

Maria turned and spared a glance back at the mansion, hoping everyone had made it out safely.

---

Clara’s hands were clenched in tight fists as she ran through the main hall of the mansion, bringing up the rear, making sure that everyone had made it out. She had noticed a handful of the Chancellor’s loyal knights sneaking down the secret stairs once the crowd had mostly cleared out from the main hall. There was a part of her that wished to warn them of the danger of taking that route, but there was nothing for it now.

After all, they had chosen their side, and she doubted they would listen to her at this point.

She glanced once more around the main hall of Malicia’s house, feeling a pang of nostalgia for the place. She hadn’t been here in years, and only faintly remembered it. The auburn haired girl’s memory was still a bit foggy, coming back in bits and pieces.

But... turning back and seeing this house, seeing it empty, without that huge crowd blocking everything...

She could see the clock, just past midnight. The clock where Mali had hidden a spare key to the kitchen when Lawrence had ordered it to be locked after they had snuck some treats out.

She could see that massive window, overlooking the whole harbor. Back then, she loved looking out that window, but Mali had always been scared, hadn’t she?

It must have been rough, growing up in a place like this with a fear of heights.

“Claudie!” Malicia’s voice cut through her muddled thoughts.

Was that voice calling her in the present, or in a memory?

The auburn haired girl blinked, tightening her fists as she refocused on the current moment.

A loud cracking sound tore through the air, paintings falling from the walls and shattering on the ornate wooden floor as the earthquake picked up steam. At this rate, it wouldn’t surprise her if the whole building collapsed soon!

Clara turned on her heel and began running as fast as she could towards the front door of the Baudelaire mansion, where Malicia was awaiting her, eyes wide with worry.

“Mali!” the auburn haired girl cried out.

She leapt forward towards the door frame and reached out to the blonde... just as she felt the ground beneath her feet fall away.

The last thing she saw was a look of pain and horror on her best friend’s face, eyes widening in disbelief as the cliff the Baudelaire manor was on split clean through.

“...ah,” a breathless gasp left Clara’s lips.

Her fingers passed just inches in front of Malicia’s.

She didn’t make it in time.

The auburn haired young lady saw the world turn, felt her heart drop, felt everything go cold as she fell along with the house downwards to the jagged rocks waiting below.

 

Notes:

... and y'all said the last chapter was a cliffhanger.

Anyways, we're really getting into the thick of it now!
I'm sure some of you are thinking there's a lot of characters, and only a few of them are getting focus right now. I know; there's a lot happening very quickly, and I just wanted to zero in on a couple peoples POVs to keep the pace moving. In future chapters, I will reflect on what some of the others were thinking while all this was going down. I hope it turned out okay so far, but it's not over yet! Like I said, I've pre-written a lot of the remainder, so I should hopefully be able to post up the rest without any other major breaks!

Thanks for reading! Comments and constructive criticism are welcome as always!

Chapter 46: Out On the Tiles

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

No.

Before her very eyes, the face of Malicia’s childhood friend turned to one of utter despair as she failed to reach the doorway in time.

No.

The entirety of the Baudelaire manor crumbled off the cliff side, with Claudette’s shattered expression burning into her mind before disappearing over the edge of the cliff.

No.

Malicia felt like the rug had been pulled out from under her. After all that; after reuniting with her best friend, who she thought was gone forever for so long, only for her to fall away right then and there...

No. She wouldn’t let things end like this.

Absentmindedly, the blonde happened to remember what was in her hand, and....

“Claudie!” Malicia moved without thinking, lunging forward towards the crumbling remains of her house.

It all happened in a matter of seconds. Maybe less than a second. Her body just moved on its own.

And, before she was even fully aware what she was doing, Malicia leapt off the cliff right alongside the crumbling remains of the manor... and Claudie.

---

Many meters below, at the crumbling exit of the secret passageway leading out of the Baudelaire mansion, Chancellor Henri Riviere limped hurriedly towards the egress. A piece of falling wood had clipped his leg, striking right on an old wound from the war. And, of course, he hadn’t been able to bring his cane with all the commotion. He had barely managed to slip away in all that hubbub, only just sneaking into the hidden corridor undetected.

The older man still couldn’t believe his luck that those fools upstairs had decided to try and cut him off at the harbor! If they pursued him down the passageway, there was no way he would have been able to evade them! Little did they know, he knew of a rarely used boathouse just a short distance from where the tunnel under the mansion exited.

The mustachioed man was already beginning to plot out how he would convince his contacts in Quid and gain enough status to raise an army there and make his return here sometime in the future when his scheming was interrupted yet again.

“W-wait!” a voice called out behind him, gasping for breath, “...wait!”

Henri felt a flash of ire at that familiar voice, “Antoine! You blasted failure, what the devil do you think you’re doing, following me?”

The Chancellor’s eyes widened in rage as he saw not only Antoine, but a handful of the other knights who had sworn their loyalty to him rushing out of the secret passage. These blithering morons!

He had expected them to stay up there and hold off that crowd long enough for him to properly make a getaway! And they couldn’t even manage to do that right!

“Hah?” a spark of desperation in the knight’s eye, “Why wouldn’t I? You have a plan, don’t you? You always have a plan! You must have some way to turn this around, right?”

“You utter fool! You let yourself get beaten by that idiot of a maid! You really think I would have a place for you in my future?” the Chancellor shouted, voice shaking with anger.

“Fool? M-me?!” the traitorous knight looked appalled, “Do you have any idea how much I’ve done for you?! I have been working tirelessly to write all those articles, to craft all those narratives and bring this to fruition!”

“And then you went and held a sword to the maid’s throat?” Henri raged, “All the potential you had to influence her, ruined by using a brute force approach? Foolhardy! Utterly idiotic!”

“What did you expect me to do, ask her nicely?” Antoine spat back, “Not to mention, you are the one who drank that Truth Serum and let everything slip in the first place!”

In their heated argument, the pair failed to notice just how bad the earthquake was getting. After all, they were outside now, so it should no longer be a concern for them.

And yet, their argument was cut off by a thunderous crunching sound from directly overhead, drawing them back to the deterioration unfolding around them.

“...oh.”

Neither Chancellor Henri Riviere, nor Sir Antoine Chevalier, nor any of the other knights present could muster much more to say as they turned their gaze upwards to see the full weight of the Baudelaire estate being deposited directly upon their heads.

---

On the night of the great snowstorm, the largest earthquake Ritallia had ever known tore through the land, causing great devastation. However, nowhere in the kingdom was hit harder than the peak upon which the Baudelaire mansion rested.

Just past midnight, the earthquake reached its highest intensity, causing the cliff beneath House Baudelaire to be entirely destabilized.

The entire Baudelaire manor collapsed forwards onto the sharp rocks and waiting sea below, burying any of the unfortunate souls who happened to be present.

---

...

......

“Ahhh...” a soft gasp of agony choked out a few meters down the cliff side.

Malicia’s body was wracked with pain, being torn apart limb from limb.

She had never really done all that much physical training, never having any reason to do so, making the choice she had just made all the more difficult.

But still, very much a worthwhile decision, she concluded.

Claudette was holding tightly to her, arms wrapped around her torso.

And Malicia was... hanging by a thread. Quite literally.

Right from the moment Claudie said she would go back and make sure everyone made it out safely, Malicia just knew that fool of a friend would get herself into trouble. Right then, she started tying a length of rope. At the time, she didn’t really put too much thought into what she would use it for. Maybe somewhere in her panicked mind, she thought she could tie her house down and stop in from falling?

She didn’t know.

What she did know, though, was that when even the ground below gave way, Malicia realized it was nigh impossible to accurately throw the loose end of the rope to Claudie. As she screamed for Claudie to snap out of whatever it was she was thinking about, she had absentmindedly tied that rope around her own wrist.

And then, right when the structure finally gave way, she had still been holding that rope.

So, she jumped.

In hindsight, it wasn’t a great plan.

Her arm was thoroughly broken, she was quite sure. Her whole body felt like it was being torn in half.

And yet, however she looked at it, it was far better than the pain of having to lose Claudie again.

She had tossed the rope tying her arm to her maid just before she leapt, entrsuting hers and Claudie’s lives to Rina. So she felt fairly safe, really. The only thing she needed to worry about was keeping her grip on her friend.

“Don’t you dare leave me again,” Malicia murmured softly, ignoring the splitting pain wracking her whole body.

“S-sorry for all the trouble,” Claudie mumbled against her chest.

“I left you to live a miserable life on a farm when you could have been by my side all along,” Malicia scoffed, “I’m the one who has been causing trouble for you all this time. Let’s call it even, shall we?”

“Hmph,” Claudie sighed, “You do know it wasn’t miserable, right? I lived a rather comfortable life there, in fact. It always just felt like I was... missing something.”

Malicia’s heart skipped a beat, seeing her best friend look up at her with such wide, vulnerable eyes. She had to avert her gaze, feeling her cheeks heating up, “L-let’s continue this conversation when we aren’t on the verge of destruction, okay?”

---

Back at the top of the cliff, Katarina strained, holding tightly to the rope Malicia had thrown to her just before leaping off the cliff after her house.

The brunette’s heart had nearly launched out of her chest when her charge pulled that maneuver; just leaping off a cliff outright like it was the most natural thing to do.

As soon as it happened, Katarina struggled to gather a sturdy grip on the rope. As she grasped at it, urgently trying to get a grip before it went taut, it nearly slipped out of her hands!

And right then, in that fateful moment when her charge’s life very nearly slipped through her fingers, another hand appeared just in time and seized that loose thread of fate.

Katarina was quite grateful for the assist at that critical moment, moreso than she could say, since otherwise, she would likely have been pulled over too! She would have to give her charge an earful over that a bit later, but for now she still had to pull her up!

The maid strained with all her might to stay steady and stabilize the rope so it didn’t sway too much; she didn’t want Malicia or the heroine to be shaken loose somehow!

Katarina, along with the other person who grabbed the rope, passed the end of the length of rope off to her friends to tie it to something more stable.

“Did you get it?” Katarina called over her shoulder to where Alan and Mary had worked quickly to tie the rope to the sturdy trunk of a nearby tree.

“Yes, we’ve got it, Lady Katarina!”

“Good!”

Katarina was firmly clutching the rope in her calloused hands, Geordo and Nicol at her sides, helping her to pull the two young ladies at the end of it back up. Nellie and Ellie had also joined in, diligently attaching the rope to a winch to more easily loft the two up the cliff side.

And, at long last, Katarina finally took notice of who the other person was who had come to her aid in her moment of need....

... and felt herself immediately do a double take in surprise.

---

At the top of the cliff, Malicia felt her heart lighten at the sight of her trusty maid, holding steadfast to the other end of the length of rope tied to her left arm. By her side were the other maids and butlers; some, she recognized from her own estate, but several of them were unfamiliar. Considering how kind and caring Rina was, Malicia figured it was quite likely she had made a fair few friends in the servant community.

The blonde bit back tears, trying to keep the pain under control. She still had to hold on to Claudie for a few more moments, just until they got to the top of the cliff....

After what felt like an excruciatingly long and thoroughly agonizing process, Malicia and Claudie finally made it to the clifftop. The blonde allowed her friend to climb up first, partly out of chivalry, but partly because she couldn’t really move half her body at the moment.

As soon as Claudie had pulled herself up, the auburn haired girl bent down to help Malicia herself over the cliff’s edge and back onto stable land.

“Malicia!” Rina rushed to her side, eyes wide with worry, “Are you alright?”

“You are quite strong, you know that, Rina?” the heiress asked softly, rather surprised by her maid’s ability to pull both herself and Claudie up the cliff side. Malicia staggered slightly, body feeling entirely broken from that stunt. She really hoped the local doctors weren’t too overworked from everything else happening at the moment, as she could really use some painkillers.

“Well, it wasn’t just me...” the maid answered awkwardly, allowing Malicia to lean against her.

As she faltered off balance, Malicia felt another arm supporting her from her other side. The blonde’s eyes widened when she noticed who else had been pulling the rope up.

“Honestly, how can you dare to do such a reckless thing?” a gruff but all-too-familiar voice growled in her other ear.

“F-father?” the blonde jumped back in surprise, and immediately wished she hadn’t. A jolt of agony wracked her broken arm and shattered wrist, causing her to jitter in pain.

“What in the world...” her father rasped with blood dripping down his chin, “... were you thinking? You could have gotten yourself killed!”

“My Lord, do be careful,” Lawrence attended to her father dutifully, “In your condition, you shouldn’t over exert yourself.”

“Y-you helped pull me up?” Malicia began to fret, “B-but you’re ill, Father! You should be resting!”

“Khh...” her father reined in a coughing fit, leveling a fierce glare at her, “... you think I would go this far for you, then let you fall?”

Malicia blinked, feeling an uncertain flip flopping in her chest, “...eh?”

“If you never wanted that house or its fortune,” her father let out a weary sigh, “...then surely you shouldn’t be burdened with it anymore, no? You certainly shouldn’t go down with it....”

“...I...” Malicia felt a strange sense of trepidation at those words, unsure how to respond to that. Did... did he mean...?

Her stomach twisted into knots, pushing upwards into her throat. She felt another panic attack coming on as she watched her father and his butler standing silently the snow.

Her father... just how long did he have left?

Malicia’s woes were quickly interrupted by a particularly grating voice calling out through the snow, “You alright, blondie?”

The aforementioned ‘blondie’ gritted her teeth in annoyance, but inwardly felt a sliver grateful for the interruption. This night was long and dark and painful, inside and out, and she was well overdue for a distraction.

“I’ve been in better company,” Malicia glared halfheartedly at Tommy Finch, as weaselly little con artist made his way over.

“Oh really? When?” Tommy shot her a cheeky grin.

“Hah,” Malicia tried to muster what was left of her haughty facade, “I’d sooner share my time with the lynch mob!”

As soon as the words left her lips, the blonde glanced furtively towards the gathering of commoners on the lawn, momentarily worried she had jinxed herself. Many of them had retreated further down the mountainside, likely concerned at the possibility that the earthquake would tear down even more of the mountain.

“Izzat so?” the strawberry haired boy smirked, “I’ll make sure to tell ‘em that, right away!”

“Don’t--!” Malicia prepared to swat at him, but was quickly reminded how dire a state her arm was currently in, “Aa-auughhh...!”

The blonde curled in on herself, cursing her impulsiveness. Ugh. It really hurt. Everything hurt.

“O-oi!” Tommy’s expression changed to one of concern instantly, “Don’t tear yourself in half there, now.”

“Oh, shut it,” the blonde scoffed, trying not to let on how badly she was hurting.

“No, I’m serious,” Tommy gave her an uncharacteristically somber expression, “You’re hurt bad, Lady B. You gotta get to a doctor, quick—” the strawberry blond was quickly cut off by a coughing fit; one that sounded all too familiar to Malicia.

“Seems you need to as well,” the heiress frowned, noticing the small droplets of blood on his lips as he coughed.

“...psh,” Tommy scoffed, though she could sense his confidence was waning, “I’ll be fine.”

The blonde would have said something to try and get this idiot to accept some kind of treatment, but her attention was quickly drawn away by a familiar voice calling out through the blowing snow, “Lady Baudelaire!”

“Prince Alexander?” Malicia swept a lock of hair behind her ear, noticing a handful of figures rushing up towards her through the snow.

“I... I thought I saw you leap from the cliff side...” the prince appeared to be slightly out of breath as he arrived.

“She did,” her father coughed, “This unreasonable child, honestly....”

“Are you alright?” the prince fretted, quickly noticing her injured arm.

“It hurts... a lot...” Malicia admitted sheepishly. The initial adrenaline had worn off, and the pain was beginning to sink its fangs into her. More than just the shattered bones in her arm, she was pretty sure she had broken a rib or two when the rope had swung back into the rocky cliff....

“We can attend any injuries back at the Royal Palace, right away!” Prince Alexander declared, moving through the crowd to call for one of his assistants to procure a carriage to transport them.

All things considered, Malicia doubted they would be able to get a carriage up here, between the crowds and the general damage caused by the earthquake. From what she could overheard of the exchange between the Prince and his attendant, she was quite right there. Hence, she would have to go ahead with what she had been expecting from the start, which was the decidedly painful and lengthy walk back down to the harbor town below.

“Mali, you okay?” another concerned voice checked in.

“Considering the circumstances,” Malicia did her best to put on a tough face. She had allowed too many tears to fall tonight, and she didn’t want to let herself look like a crybaby again in front of Max.

“Well, uh...” Max’s usual cocky smirk faltered, replaced by a more genuine look of compassion, “...I’m really glad you’re alright, Mal.”

Malicia stammered, heart thundering in her ears. She wasn’t used to that kind of approach from Max, of all people! Honestly, that softer look on his face was dangerous!

“Max!” Claudie’s cheerful voice called out from beside the blonde, breaking the awkward pause, “I never thought I would see you again!”

“H-hey, Claudette,” the younger prince gave their mutual friend an awkward wave, “It’s, uh, been a while....”

“Well, what’s a decade or so between friends?” the auburn haired girl shuffled slightly, smiling back at the brown haired prince.

“You look well,” the athletic prince gave her a smirk, “... aside from all the dirt and rocks. Though you manage to make the look work.”

“Always such carefully crafted compliments,” Claudette rolled her eyes at Max’s usual snark. Even in all the years of separation, it seemed the pair hadn’t missed a beat, had they?

As Max and Prince Alexander fell into pace beside her, the group began to descend into the town below to board a carriage for the Palace.

“So, you’re sure you are okay, Malicia?” Rina asked her cautiously. By her maid’s side, stood several other people in servants’ attire who she didn’t recognize.

If the entire day hadn’t been such a mess, and her mind wasn’t seconds away from shutting off from sheer exhaustion, Malicia probably would have paid more attention to the butlers and attendants currently surrounding her maid. Incidentally, the blonde one Rina had been talking to earlier had also moved over to support Malicia as they walked. The heiress didn’t know why, but as soon as she did, it felt like the pain subsided a bit....

The blonde swallowed, even that small movement causing her body to be washed over with shattering pain. But yes, she was okay.

She was here, and Claudie was here, and Rina was...

...angry.

Malicia gulped.

This was a look she had only seen from her maid once before, and, well... it was something that made her more than a bit nervous. Even back then, it was just a fleeting look on the brunette’s face. Now, it was a full-on, burning anger!

The blonde could do little more than cower in fear as her maid and her father marched towards her.

“What in the world were you thinking?!” the maid put her hands on her hips, a fierce glare in her eyes, “Jumping off a cliff, tying that rope to your own arm... do you have any idea how risky that was? You could have been killed! You could have lost your arm altogether! That was far too reckless a maneuver for anyone, let alone a noblewoman of your standing! Honestly, Malicia!”

With each word, the maid marched closer and closer to her, cornering her against a tree.

“I... errr...” Malicia faltered under the maid’s piercing gaze. In this light, Rina’s sharp blue eyes were curved like daggers under the silver moonlight.

“Indeed,” her father folded his arms, “Your behavior was entirely reckless and unacceptable.”

The blonde shifted uncomfortably under their critical eyes. This day had been such a massive whirlwind, and the sharp glares of everyone burning into her was rather... overwhelming. Against her best efforts, Malicia began to feel tears prick the corners of her eyes.

“It’s alright, Malicia,” Claudie reassured her softly, “They are just concerned for you, you know?”

“I...” Malicia blinked, feeling her cheeks turn slightly pink at the realization that she was surrounded by a tight knit circle of people who were genuinely concerned for her well-being. All these years atop this mountain, there had been some part of her mind nagging at her, telling her that no one would even notice if she just disappeared.

But now....

Huh.

Somehow, those tears of fear and regret welling up in her transformed into a surge of overwhelming gratitude. Forcing down tears... of joy, Malicia gulped, “Th-thank you. All of you...”

Around her, all of the others looked for a moment as if they wanted to chastise her further, but the blonde felt she had finally caught a bit of mercy that night, as they opted to relent for the moment.

But it seemed that mercy was a short lived peace.

Before anyone else could say anything, the crowd of commoners gathered around the cliff side had moved in a bit closer.

And the, Malicia was coldly reminded where she stood.

All those brief moments of comfort aside, she was still stood at the edge of a cliff, corralled in by the hordes of angry commoners. It hadn’t been all that long since their collective ire was aimed solely at her.

In fact, it was more than possible that their revolution was still very much in effect, which meant she might not be anywhere near out of the woods just yet.

As the commoners nearest the front approached, the blonde buckled up, preparing herself to once again face their wrath.

And then....

“I-is Lady Malicia alright?”

Malicia’s eyes opened tentatively, unsure if she was hearing correctly.

Huh?

As the blonde glanced around, she finally noticed. The faces of the people, they were no longer filled with that anger she had seen earlier that evening. In fact, she was caught off guard by just how worried the commoners around her looked. If she didn’t know better, she’d think they were all concerned about her too!

“I-it’s Clara! She’s okay too!”

“She saved Clara!”

“Did she really just... jump down there to save her?”

“Are they alright? Thank goodness!”

“Lady Malicia!”

“Clara!”

In just a few moments, the crowd of commoners rushed up around the lot of them, all gushing with worry, as if their priority had shifted entirely. No longer were they worried about the revolution, they were now worried about her.

(... and somehow, that made her feel even worse.)

Clearly, that didn’t apply to the whole crowd; Malicia could see more than a few groups scattered around discussing where the Chancellor could have gotten off to, and how to track him down, but the fact that any of them even cared about her at all was... surprising, to say the least.

The blonde felt oddly shy at the sight of the cheering crowd. Given how the day had began, it almost felt wrong to have the commoners of Ritallia lining the streets, wishing her their best.

Malicia could hardly accept the praise. She didn’t feel that she had shown the nation her best side today.

No... not just this day.

She had been derelict in her duties as a Lady of the Land for far too long. All this time, she had this idea in the back of her mind that her Father would handle it... but in the end, all his efforts were simply exacerbating the issues!

Malicia screwed her eyes shut, trying to force out all the extraneous thoughts.

“E-everyone...” the blonde started shakily, facing the surrounding crowd. Between the snowstorm, the chatter of the people, and Malicia’s very soft, hoarse voice, no one past the group in her immediate vicinity could hear her. She took a deep breath, and tried again.

“Ahem, everyone! Commoners and nobles alike, may I have your attention?” Malicia addressed the people of the kingdom, icy breath stinging the back of her throat, “...t-to the people of Ritallia... I, Malicia Baudelaire, hereby pledge to work my hardest to ensure you can all live better lives in the future. I know... I have neglected that responsibility for my whole life, but... from this moment on, with all my strength, I shall make it my primary objective to improve this kingdom for all of your sakes.”

The blonde noticed that the people closest to her... her friends and family... they were all looking at her with admiration.

“Yes… I know I don’t have the beauty and intelligence of someone like Lena LaCroix...” Malicia continued a bit softer.

The dark haired girl gave her an odd look from behind her glasses.

“... or the wit and poise of the great Katarina Claes...” the blonde continued.

“Well, it’s not… wait, what?” Rina looked slightly befuddled for a moment.

“... but… I do promise all of the people of this land that I will do my utmost to repair all the damage I have done,” Malicia concluded, facing the people of Ritallia, nobles and commoners alike.

She knew she alone wasn’t solely responsible... but to deny responsibility altogether would be truly impudent. It took the sight of Claudie living among the commoners, the night she spent sleeping in the maids’ quarters, and several long days of contemplation for it to fully sink in just how immodest her lifestyle was. And it wasn’t merely the fear of some other ‘Claudie’ living among the commoners that gave her pause, it was the sight of herself and Rina in the mirror back at her mother’s house that night.

The status she held in this land was one she never truly felt she... earned.

So she would try and make right, starting this very moment. From here on out, she would work tirelessly to improve the lives of the common folk of this kingdom in every way she could.

And it seemed that the people who had gathered here could sense her earnestness. She prayed they could, in any case. The people closest to her were looking towards her with what looked like a small spark of hope in their eyes. She could tell many of them were still dubious of her claims, and all things considered, she couldn't blame them.

But the fact than any of them were willing to give her a chance... that was all she needed to fully commit herself to this cause.

The blonde felt flecks of falling snow dusting her cheeks in the biting cold of the Ritallian winter. It was only just then that she noticed quite how cold it had really gotten.

“We should probably get indoors,” Claudie told her softly, that warm voice of hers suddenly making the blonde feel unimaginably tired.

“I can call for the inns in town to accommodate you all for the night,” Malicia told the crowd that had gathered there, “Th-there are a lot of things I cannot guarantee for the future... but tonight, I can assure you the House Baudelaire will ensure you can rest comfortably for tonight, at least.”

A murmur of approval echoed throughout the crowd. And yet, there still seemed to be a palpable unease in the air.

“What about the Chancellor? Or those knights?” one of the commoners called out after some time. It seemed most of them had already worked out the answer to that on their own, but Malicia couldn’t blame them for wanting a more clear-cut answer.

A few paces in front of Malicia, Prince Alexander nodded, “We will dispatch a search party to secure the area below, but.... All things considered, I have a feeling we don’t need to worry about him anymore.”

“Heh,” one of the commoners chuckled darkly, “Well, what say some of us head down there and make sure he stays down this time?”

“Sounds good to me,” another nodded back.

A handful of commoners made their way towards the path that led down towards the rocky beach below. It seemed that the earthquake had finally come to a standstill, the ground beneath their feet having regained its rigidity.

Even so, Malicia still felt like everything was spinning.

---

Katarina walked at pace with Malicia, allowing the blonde to lean against herself and her father as they crunched through the snow towards the town.

After everything that had happened that night, Katarina felt an overwhelming sense of relief just to have her charge resting her head on her shoulder. To have Malicia back at her side, safe and (mostly) in one piece.

She distantly wondered if Anne felt anything similar when she saw Katarina earlier that night....

She was also very, very proud for Malicia’s declaration that she would start working to help the commoners of Ritallia! Compared to how the heiress had acted when she first met her, Katarina couldn’t help but be overjoyed at who her charge had grown into!

(Although, she couldn’t help but feel something strange had slipped into Malicia’s speech back there....)

As they rounded the final stretch of mountain, the brunette was surprised to find the harbor seemed rather unperturbed by the uprising. It seemed that the majority of the truly passionate revolutionaries had converged on the Baudelaire mansion, leaving the town to the more moderate supporters.

Not to mention, after the massive earthquake that had only just begun to quiet, it seemed everyone’s priorities had shifted a bit.

There were some panicked cries and people out in the streets, clearly concerned that other buildings might collapse from the earthquake, but luckily, it looked like most of the rest of the harbor city had held up pretty well. A few empty storehouses and seaside establishments had caved in roofs, but it didn’t seem that too many of the commoners had been injured in the calamity.

For once, Katarina hoped things had played out exactly like in the game. After all, the Happy Ends always made a note that no one in the town was hurt by the big earthquake, since most of the commoners were outside, participating in the uprising. Meanwhile, all the noble estates had withstood the earthquake due to their sturdy construction, and the Baudelaire mansion was only so badly affected because it was on such a precarious bit of cliff!

The brunette let out a sigh.

At least, for now, it seemed she would have a bit of time to rest. Even in the heat of the confusion, Katarina knew there would be plenty to do tomorrow, but for the moment, she leaned her head gently against Malicia’s as the blonde rested on her and they made their way towards the streets of the town.

It wasn’t over. There was still much to be done.

But for now... she could rest.

---

“Right this way, Lady Baudelaire,” Prince Alexander gestured towards one of the streets where the crowd was beginning to part, and some carriages approached.

The blonde paused, thinking back to when she bumped into the prince a few moments ago, “D-did you run all that way just to prepare a carriage for me?”

“Well, yes,” the Prince explained, running a hand through his unusually unkempt hair, “Right after the earthquake, I set out to ensure that the injured could be tended to and made arrangements for several carriages and transports to make haste to this location.”

Malicia pursed her lips. So that’s why he was so out of breath earlier!

Honestly, it was quite a distance to run during a snowstorm, let alone during fair weather. It seemed Max wasn’t the only athlete in the Royal family.

“In any case, all things considered, I hereby extend an invitation for both you, Lady Baudelaire, and you, Archduke Baudelaire, to temporarily stay at the Royal Palace until your new home can be constructed,” Prince Alexander continued. As if reading Malicia’s mind, the prince smiled gently, “And before you say anything, Lady Baudelaire, we already have plenty of medical staff tending to the other commoners out here, treating them for frostbite and such. But we do still have some spare doctors to tend to your injuries and your father’s ailment for the time.”

“R-right,” Malicia reddened slightly, hoping it wasn’t visible, as her cheeks were already quite pink from the cold. She took as deep a breath she could without sparking that sharp pain in her ribs, “Thank you very much, Prince Alexander, we would be most grateful for the hospitality.”

The prince merely nodded politely and led the way down towards where the carriages had gathered.

Malicia spared a glance back towards the shattered outcropping of rock where her family home had stood for her entire life. She looked out at the crowd of commoners, many with harrowed expressions on their faces, looking just as uncertain what to do now as they had at the start of the night.

After all, not much had changed for them. Malicia’s life had been turned upside down, but for the average person, it was just another day.

The blonde winced, feeling the consequences of her reckless jump searing through her arm and torso as she stepped into the carriage. She was thoroughly exhausted, inside and out, and admitted to herself that there wasn’t a whole lot more she could do today.

That would change, though, come sunrise tomorrow.

She truly did intend to make good on her promise to the people of this kingdom, whatever it took.

Malicia, aided by her father and her trusty maid, stepped into the waiting carriage, and departed for the Royal Palace, as the most overwhelming day of her life finally came to a conclusion.

And, to no one’s surprise, it wasn’t long at all before Malicia and Rina had fallen fast asleep, heads resting against one another, as the carriage rolled off into the night.





Notes:

Well, at the very least, this one isn't too much of a cliffhanger. I must admit, I'm a big fan of big heroic acts right at the climax; it feels like a nice way to conclude the hero's journey imo.

I did have one other scene at the end of this chapter initially, but decided to postpone it til the next chapter, since it broke up the flow a bit.

Anyways, we should be done with the main action for now, and start moving into the resolutions for everyone. As some of you guys noticed, Kat's friends definitely have some suspicions about her, and those will be addressed shortly, but first, the Ritallia cast needs to tie everything together. (Luckily, someone on their crew is an expert in knots...)

I'm glad I was able to get these three chapters out in quick succession, so I wouldn't leave you guys hanging for too long....

I'm going to try to keep posting these chapters weekly or maybe bi-weekly, but I won't be taking any more breaks til I finish this thing!

Thanks again for reading! Comments and constructive criticism are welcome as always!

Chapter 47: Ramble On

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

...the sounds of an angry mob filled the main hall...

...violent shaking and crashing roared as the mansion shook...

...Claudie looked up at her with wide eyes filled with fear...

...and her hand just missed Malicia’s....

....

---

The blonde shot bolt upright in bed, cold sweat dripping down her forehead.

Where was Claudie? Was she safe? Where was Rina? She wasn’t still annoyed with her, was she?

The blonde’s mind pulsed and squirmed uneasily. Her throat was dry and her heart was still thundering, chest feeling painfully cold.

Oh.

It was a dream?

Or... nightmare.

She was safe and sound, back in her bedroom.

The blonde ran a hand through her hair, sweat running down her brow, as she glanced around her bedroom and... her bedroom....

...not her bedroom?

The blonde blinked, unsure what she was seeing. This place was thoroughly unfamiliar.

...wait, where even was she?

...

....oh.

Right.

She was in the Royal Palace, because her house was currently in shambles at the bottom of the cliff.

It wasn’t a dream. Or a nightmare.

At least, not the kind she could get out of just by waking up.

“Uuurgh...” Malicia let out a decidedly unladylike groan as she shifted uncomfortably in bed. Her arm was set in a splint and bandages, and her torso was also wrapped tightly with gauze. She hadn’t noticed it last night, but when she had slammed back into the cliff side, the rocks had scratched her up pretty badly.

Her head was pounding still as well. Everything felt like it was spinning, and she had only just awoken!

Last night, she promised that she would start working for the commoners’ sake starting this morning, but... even getting out of bed felt like it would be a bridge too far for her right now!

Indeed, her arm and shoulder was indeed screaming in agony at the moment. So too was her torso, softly confirming she had broken some ribs last night.

And yet, the pain was... not overwhelming.

It hurt, but....

As a matter of fact, it hurt a lot less than she expected. In fact, she was able to move her fingers. It was painful and slow, but she could do it. Last night, she was pretty certain she had damn near lost her whole hand. The rope had been tied off on her forearm, which had shattered completely, and her hand had swollen up to the point of immobility. All things considered, she was pretty sure she would have to get it amputated.

But now, come this morning, it felt like life had been breathed back into it...

...like magic.

As if on cue, a soft, polite knock was tapped out on the door.

“Ah, Lady Baudelaire?” an unfamiliar voice asked gently from the door to her bedroom, “I see you are awake. Do you mind if I come in, or would you like a few more moments?”

“Mmm,” Malicia shifted awkwardly on her bed, somewhat disappointed that it wasn’t Rina who had come to check on her. Nevertheless, she answered, “Y-you can come in.”

“Thank you,” the young woman replied with a kind smile.

She was probably about the same age as Malicia and Rina, and had a handful of pink flowers woven cutely into her blonde hair. The young lady walked politely over to a small seat next to Malicia’s bedside and took a seat.

“My name is Maria Campbell,” the other blonde introduced herself, “I am a light mage from Sorcier, and I have been tending to your injuries, Lady Baudelaire.”

“Ah, I... see,” Malicia frowned. She hadn’t expected anyone from Sorcier to be present.

Now that she thought of it, this girl looked somewhat familiar. Where had she seen her before?

Wait, that was it! She was one of those other servants that had been talking to Rina last night! Why was a Sorcierran dressed up like a maid? And... why did she know Rina?

“Um, I’m sure you have lots of questions,” the young light mage spoke up, as if reading her mind, “And I will do my best to answer them. But for the moment, do keep in mind that it would be best for you to remain here and rest. I’ll do my best to tend to your injuries, and---”

“W-what? Why?” Malicia cut her off, eyes wide.

Maria looked somewhat confused by either her tone, or just the question in general.

“I-if light mages from Sorcier are here, then... aren’t there other injured people out there?” the heiress continued. After everything last night, Malicia thought the kingdom had much bigger issues to deal with than her broken arm.

“Well,” Miss Campbell’s cheeks turned a bit pink as an amused smile crossed her lips, “Your, ahem, maid asked me to treat your injuries with the utmost urgency.”

The way Miss Campbell said ‘maid’ just then felt a little odd. It almost seemed like the other blonde was in on some private joke that Malicia herself wasn’t privy to. Normally, feeling left out of something like that would annoy her something fierce, but right now, her usually firey temper had been decidedly quelled.

Maria continued, “And to answer your other question, there actually weren’t that many major injuries last night, Lady Baudelaire. I have offered to treat those who were affected as best I can, but most of the wounded can be treated with conventional medicine.

“In fact, a majority of the buildings that collapsed from the earthquake were already empty. The people who lived and worked in most of those buildings were, err... gathered at your estate during the incident. So most of the injuries sustained last night were primarily related to frostbite,” the Sorcierran girl concluded.

“Hm,” Malicia nodded attentively, hoping the light mage’s assessment was accurate. Even so, there was something much more important on her mind. Ignoring the jolt of pain in her shoulder, the heiress swung her feet out of bed “Where are Claudie and Rina?”

“Lady DeLeon is currently involved with a major negotiation between the Commoners’ Alliance and the nobility in the Royal Palace’s conference hall. And Lad- um, Miss Rina is tending to a number of domestic matters at the moment,” Maria replied, still wearing that distantly bemused look, as if there was some joke Malicia wasn’t in on. The light mage continued, “Additionally, she has been attending some of the meetings with the commoners, some of whom are apparently quite fond of her, not that I’m surprised,” Maria added the last part under her breath.

Malicia sat still for a moment, taking in her words. Claudie and Rina were out dealing with the commoners on her behalf. Hadn’t she done enough? That maid had gone to such lengths for her sake, surely Rina should be the one resting in bed today, while Malicia herself was out dealing with local issues, shouldn’t she?

And Claudie...

Ugh.

So many thoughts were rushing through her mind... too many for her to focus on any one of them in particular.

“I would like to join the negotiations,” Malicia announced, swinging her legs out of bed despite the stabs of pain in her arm and back as she tried to move.

“You should really rest,” Maria cautioned her gently, “Even with the application of light magic, there isn’t a fast fix for some of the wounds you endured.”

Malicia listened to the light mage’s advice, and yet, she was already standing up from her bed, moving over to don some proper clothes. She did intend to rest, she really did, but... right now, she couldn’t shake the feeling she had more important issues to address.

Maria let out a sigh, as if she was used to dealing with troublesome people, “... very well, then. The palace has allocated some clothes for you, in that wardrobe over there.”

Malicia spared the light mage a thankful smile and began preparing herself for the day.

(She felt a pang of loneliness, noticing this was the first time in months she had prepared for the day without Rina by her side.)

---

A short while later, Malicia had dressed and readied herself well enough. She didn’t go overboard with makeup and hair accessories, not just because there weren’t many of them on hand in the Royal Palace. After last night, stuff like that just felt so... insignificant all of the sudden.

She shuffled down one of the main hallways, passing some nobles and even a handful of commoners who gave her odd looks, but she didn’t pay them any mind. Her mind was dead set on finding Claudie and Rina right now.

Before she encountered either of her targets, or even the conference hall they were supposed to be meeting in, Malicia happened upon another meeting room, one that was rather familiar.

It was, in fact, the room where she had met with Prince Alexander for her marriage interview. That felt so long ago now, she mused.

And, as if to remind her of that day even further, a familiar voice could be heard from within the meeting room.

“... you deny any involvement in the recent attempted coup, and yet, your designs were found in the Commoners’ Alliance’s headquarters,” Prince Alexander was speaking coldly from inside the meeting room.

“Your Highness, I genuinely did not know Monsieur Riviere’s intentions!” the other man in the room replied, “He had taken a recent interest in a number of the Institute’s designs! I had no idea he sought to commit a coup d’etat!”

“I see...” Prince Alexander narrowed his eyes coldly, “... and at no point did you find it suspicious that Riviere was only interested in inventions that could be used for military purposes? Automobiles, airships, rifles... all of these are obviously inventions that can be used for war.”

“Not at all,” the man in the tweed jacket answered, “The Chancellor oversees commerce and trade, it simply seemed to me that he was seeking out to improve the nation’s infrastructure to facilitate safer, easier trade! At least, that was what he had told us....”

“Mmm,” the prince tapped his chin thoughtfully, considering the man’s words. After a pause, he sighed, “Very well. You may return to the Institute for now, under the guards’ supervision.”

“Y-yes... thank you, your highness,” the professor nodded. He stood from his chair and followed a pair of guards to the doorway at the other end of the room.

Malicia watched on from the door frame at the interview... or, perhaps, interrogation, playing out in the conference hall before her. As the man left the room, Prince Alexander sighed, rubbing his eyes.

Clearing her throat to announce herself, Malicia cautiously entered the room.

“Lady Baudelaire?” the prince turned to her, a slight look of surprise in his eyes, “I thought you were supposed to be resting?”

“Ah, yes,” Malicia paused.

After losing her entire estate, she supposed she wasn’t really trying to win his heart anymore. After all, what prince would be interested in an heiress to a (quite literally) fallen house?

In fact, all things considered, she really had no reason to bother with what the other noble houses thought of her right now; those types of things would be the least of her worries. With that in mind, along with her current state of exhaustion, she opted to just be a bit more casual around Prince Alexander.

With the casual shrug she had seen her maid offer many times, she cracked a crooked grin, “Well, I’ve never been good at staying still. There’s too much trouble to be caused out here, you know?”

“Eh?” Prince Alexander blinked, looking a bit surprised by that reply.

“Anyways....” Malicia leaned against the wall, looking around the room, where Alexander had several notebook sitting on the tabletop. Lists of names, some of which had been crossed out. The blonde narrowed her eyes, “Is this a bad time?”

“Ah... well, all things considered, there won’t be much of a ‘good time’ for quite a while, I’d estimate,” the Prince replied, eyes weary.

From the look on his face and the general circumstances, she wasn’t sure if the dark haired boy had slept at all. Once again, she felt guilty for being seemingly the only one of the lot of them who had been treated to a full night’s rest in a comfortable bed.

“What are you discussing in there?” she changed the subject, glancing curiously through the double doors into the atrium, where several other well dressed people were waiting, surrounded by guardsmen.

“We have apprehended a number of academics and high ranking members of Ritallia’s universities,” the prince explained, “After discussing things with some of the more cooperative members of the Commoners’ Alliance, I don’t believe most of them were aware of Riviere’s true motives. It seems that snake kept his objectives hidden from everyone except a very select few, Sir Antoine being among that number.”

“So you’re handling those interrogations and the negotiations with the Commoners’ Alliance at the same time?” Malicia was incredulous.

“I am... bouncing back and forth,” Alexander answered, eyes heavy with exhaustion, “We have been working to ensure that no one in our employ were Riviere’s co-conspirators. So far, only one aide has been in regular contact with Riviere, and he gave no indication that he had any knowledge of Riviere’s goal to topple the monarchy.

“Which leaves the people the Chancellor was most often in contact with: the staff at Ritallia’s National Academy. We believe Riviere was colluding with a number of them to mass produce the weapons he was intending to use to overthrow the throne, some of which you no doubt saw last night. But even then, it doesn’t seem the Chancellor made it clear to any of them what he wanted that technology for.

“In fact, many of them had only hypothesized inventions, without ever getting around to even building prototypes. Which means much of the manufacturing process was Riviere’s own doing.

“However, there are certainly a few co-conspirators who were aware of his true aims. Antoine was one, along with some of the newer knights.”

Malicia frowned, hesitating for a moment, “Have you... investigated the knights?”

Alexander nodded, “Yes, that was our top priority. It wouldn’t do us any good to conduct an investigation when we can’t even trust our own men to carry it out. Luckily, Lady LaCroix was able to provide us with a generous amount of Truth Serum to ensure none would slip through the cracks.”

“I see,” Malicia sighed. She was once again grateful to the raven haired girl for her cooperation in all of this.

“It seems that the majority of the knights loyal to Riviere were present at the uprising last night,” Alexander explained, “So a large chunk of the problem... resolved itself, so to speak.”

Malicia nodded, recalling exactly where the Chancellor and his knights had been when her house had fallen off the cliff.

“It will take some time to iron everything out, but I am quite confident that we can cut out the traitorous factions from our ranks quickly enough,” the prince offered her a polite smile.

“That’s... good,” the blonde exhaled, hoping that any lingering Riviere loyalists wouldn’t cause too much headache for anyone, commoner or noble. Hearing a rather noisy outburst from down the main hallway, Malicia inclined her head a bit, “The... Commoners’ Alliance?”

“Yes,” Alexander replied, straightening up, “We are currently hosting a negotiation with them in the meeting hall. There are still some rather... high intensity discussions to be had, but a lot of their more outspoken members have been significantly less aggressive after the incident last night.”

“I see,” Malicia nodded.

“For what it’s worth, Lady Baudelaire, you did this kingdom a huge service last night, intentionally or not,” Alexander placed his hand on her uninjured shoulder, looking her in the eyes.

“I... mmm...” Malicia closed her eyes. She understood what he was trying to say, but it felt entirely wrong to accept that type of accolade. Everything that happened last night was a mix of Claudie, Rina, and pure luck saving the day. She hadn’t done a thing!

“... thank you, Prince Alexander,” the blonde eventually murmured. She took a deep breath, “I... suppose you have your hands full at the moment?”

“Very much so,” the dark haired prince admitted, glancing back to the papers on the tabletop.

“Then I shall leave you to it,” Malicia straightened herself up, “I also have some... personal matters I wish to attend.”

“Very well then. And if you should ever need assistance with anything, be it related to the reconstruction of your family estate, or anything else, I shall do all that I can. Not just out of a debt of obligation or anything similar,” Alexander reassured her, “But because I truly want to assist you as best I can, Lady Baudelaire.”

“Hm,” the blonde smirked, feeling that sense of carefree abandon that came with her currently unstable living arrangements. With a cheeky wink, she turned, “No need to bother with the ‘Lady Baudelaire’ anymore. Just call me Malicia.”

Prince Alexander stared back at her with a look she couldn’t quite place. His cheeks appeared a bit red. Perhaps her lack of decorum was just embarrassing to see, she mused.

Anyways, she didn’t plan to linger on thoughts like that anymore. Let the princes and nobles be as embarrassed by her as they pleased. She had no title to bother living up to anymore.

She shook her head, thinking back to what Alexander had just said. ‘Reconstruction of her family estate’?

Ugh. She didn’t even want to think about how much of a headache that could prove to be!

And honestly, she didn’t even have the faintest of ideas of where to start with rebuilding her home.

In the next hall, she could faintly hear the chatter of some of the nobles that had gathered here to meet with the Commoners’ Alliance. It seemed the hall didn’t have enough space for everyone to meet within, so a number of noblemen and women were gathered at the door, idly gossiping amongst themselves.

“...suppose it couldn’t hurt to ration more supplies to the commoners if the fields will be repaired...”

... amazing that she was able to figure it all out...”

“...to think she would come all this way, and work deep undercover for the sake of...

... very unique young lady, really. I can’t imagine...”

... say she is the daughter of an eminent Duke in Sorcier. Yet, she has been working here as a...

Malicia pursed her lips as she caught pieces of a fragmented conversation through the door. Who in the world were they talking about?

“Ooohh~” a sleepy voice crooned from behind her, “It’s Mali~”

The blonde’s expression quickly soured as she turned to find a familiar head of pink hair just a few feet from her.

“Lucille,” Malicia greeted her with an annoyed look. Honestly, this little weasel was among the last people she wished to speak to today.

“My, my, aren’t you the heroic one,” Lucille smiled that sleepy, smug smile of hers, “Leaping off a clifftop to save your dear old friend. You sure do like to make a spectacle out of yourself, don’t you, Mali~”

“You seem rather talkative...” a cool voice slithered in from just behind Lucille, “... for someone who has yet to be provided with an antidote for the Truth Serum you were dosed with last night, Lady Canion.”

For the first time in Malicia’s life, she saw Lucille’s perpetually sleepy eyes spring wide awake as Lena LaCroix appeared just a pace behind her. Her long, spindly fingers crept around Lucille’s shoulders like a spider creeping out of the shadows. After a moment, that rare look of worry on Lucille’s face was replaced by her ever-present sleepy smugness.

“Fufu~,” the pink haired girl chuckled, a spark of challenge glinting in her usually soft eyes, “I seem to recall that the effects of Truth Serum don’t last more than a few hours, isn’t that correct?”

“Hm,” Lena arched a brow behind her silvery glasses, “A fair point. And, if I may, Lady Canion, why did you depart early from the Operatic Society’s Gala last year?”

Malicia arched a brow, thinking back to Lucille’s unusual disappearance from that particular event. Well before she ever met Rina, the blonde had always been striving to appear at every big noble occasion in Ritallia, and Lucille would often be right behind her... annoying her to no end every step of the way.

Without a pause, Lucille had already begun answering Lady Lena’s question.

“Because I was so busy toying with Mali that day, I wound up not making it to the toilet in time and---” the pink haired girl’s words were forcefully cut off as she physically clamped a hand over her own mouth.

“Snnrk~” Malicia stifled a laugh, just imagining how that sentence would have ended.

“Who knows, Lady Canion, perhaps you are a rare case,” Lena intoned, “Maybe you’ll never be able to stop telling the truth for the rest of your life....”

The pink haired girl merely blinked, still holding her mouth closed, a look of utter horror in her eyes.

“Do have fun with that,” Lena smirked ominously towards Lucille’s maid, Cerise. A glint of of mischief appeared in the small maid’s eyes as Cerise realized just what a golden opportunity had been given to her. Lucille had already scurried off, but Cerise was eagerly tailing her charge.

“I slipped her an extra dose of Truth Serum this morning,” Lena told her, preemptively guessing what Malicia was about to ask, “Her and a few others, actually. Your maid’s plan to facilitate an honest discourse between the nobility and the common folk wasn’t entirely a bad decision.”

“I... see... hehe...” Malicia nodded, still giggling at Lucille’s expense. After a beat, she hesitated, “Ahem... Actually, are you sure that’s a good idea? What if one of the nobles says something unpleasant about the commoners while under the effects of Truth Serum?”

“Oh, don’t worry,” Lena reassured her, “I didn’t give it to everyone. Just a few of the people who have been more sympathetic to the plights of the common folk than they let on.”

“Huh,” Malicia nodded, understanding what the raven haired girl was playing at.

“Lady Baudelaire,” another familiar voice spoke coolly from behind her.

“Lady Rousseau,” Malicia greeted one of her other acquaintances from the high nobility.

(Malicia wasn’t sure how much of that exchange with Lucille that Alice Rousseau had been present for, but she would like to think the dark-red haired woman had overheard all of it.)

“I must say, I have never paid especially close attention to the commoners’ struggles before last night,” Alice frowned thoughtfully, “They live in such a different world to us, it often escapes my mind just how many challenges they face.”

“I... um...” Malicia blinked, not expecting such a heavy turn in the conversation.

“You... inspired me, Malicia Baudelaire,” Alice smiled gently, stepping towards her, “Your speech last night... you are quite right. We must strive to do better. To earn the right to stand as a lord or lady of the land, we must first ensure our people are happy and healthy. And, from this day forth, I shall follow your example and do just that.”

Malicia could do little more than stare back at her in surprise for a long moment.

After some time, she inhaled, “I... shall do my best, Lady Rousseau. And I’m quite sure your efforts will be well received.”

The red haired young lady smiled at her, a look of hope sparkling in her eyes as she made her way back to the conference hall.

Malicia couldn’t believe Alice had just said such a thing to her.

For the longest time, she had always felt Alice Rousseau was much more the prime example of what a noblewoman should be than she ever was. It was only her rank as an Archduke’s daughter that put her so much more in the spotlight, but most of the time, she was secretly following the other girl’s example of how to conduct herself in public.

And now, Alice was going to be following her lead? She couldn’t help but feel a twinge of pressure at that idea.

As a matter of fact, this was quite a different reaction than she had expected from any of the other noble houses!

“There have been many such sentiments shared in the meetings today,” Lena informed her, a kind smile on her silvery pale features, “You have done quite a lot to bolster the commoners’ resolve, as well as sway other noble houses to their cause, Lady Malicia.”

“...mmm,” the blonde nodded tacitly. After a moment, she decided to ask the question that had been hanging in her mind for several minutes now, “And you, Lady Lena? How are you... holding up? You and Sir Antoine were... close, right?”

The noirette’s face remained impassive, but Malicia could tell there was a twinge of pain in her eyes as she eventually admitted, “Evidently not close enough for me to see him for what he truly was.”

“I... um,” Malicia hesitated, “I’m not sure what to say.”

“There is nothing to be said, Lady Malicia,” Lena pushed her glasses up, “He got what he was due, and the score is settled.”

Malicia frowned. It was clear to her that those words rang hollow, but she supposed there wasn’t much to be done about the matter just here and now.

Before she could linger on it too long, a rather unsettling smile slithered onto the pale woman’s lips, “And, in any case, that knight was hardly the only one worthy of my... attention, was he?”

“Eh?” the blonde blinked, entirely unsure what her friend meant by that.

“Malicia!” a familiar voice cut through the quiet of the hallway before she could question it any further.

“Eep!”

“What in the world are you doing out of bed, young lady?” Rina approached her at a dangerous pace, eyes glinting like daggers in the light of the Palace’s main hall, “Maria was quite clear that you need to be resting!”

In contrast to her usual Ritallian maid’s outfit, Rina was now wearing a simple, but rather flattering light blue dress and matching shoes. If anything, she could almost pass as a noblewoman, the blonde thought for half a second, before being reminded of the terror that maid’s eyes inflicted on her.

“W-well, I, err...” the blonde back stepped away from the enraged maid. She had initially gotten up to look for Rina, but now that she had encountered her, she rather wished she hadn’t....

“Maria said you need to rest!” Rina pointed her directly towards the ward where she had awoken, “So you. Will. Rest!”

“F-fine...” Malicia relented, allowing herself to be escorted back to her temporary bedroom at the Palace. She couldn’t help adding on, “But mark my words, maid, I have no intention of staying.”

“...is that so?” the maid arched a brow, blue eyes shimmering dangerously.

“I shall stay,” Malicia relented.

“Yes, you shall,” Rina nodded, a severe look in her eyes.

From the parlor, Prince Geordo watched the lively exchange between Lady Katarina and her ‘charge’ with mild amusement. If anything, he was just happy to hear her voice again. Seeing her so spirited was very reassuring to the prince, especially after so long feeling that he had lost her altogether.

If anything, she was more like her usual self than ever, a fact which made him happier than he could explain.

The past several hours had been filled with a number of very energized discussions between the upper nobility of Ritallia and the organized forces of the common folk, who were clearly hoping to negotiate for more equitable living standards.

Geordo, for his part, had barely had a chance to get a word in, nor did he have much of a reason to. After all, Ritallia’s affairs were its own to resolve. It wouldn’t do any good for a Sorcierran prince to start meddling in their affairs during such a crucial moment. Naturally, if it came down to it, he would be willing to lend aid to Ritallia, but things were currently a bit more complicated than that.

But, from the looks of it, it seemed the princes and some of the nobles of this land were quite capable of settling the commoners’ unrest civilly. Clearly, some of the nobles here weren’t exactly the wisest, hardly any different from back in Sorcier, but a handful of them shone amongst all the others.

Chief among those, of course, being the boisterous blonde currently being led by the ear back to her bedroom. Naturally, it would be the one that Lady Katarina had latched onto like a barnacle from the moment she set foot in this kingdom.

“Hm, those two get on quite well, don’t they?” Prince Geordo remarked offhandedly to another butler working in the Palace.

---

“Ah, yes, that’s Miss Rina I believe?” Lawrence tilted his head, thinking back to the handful of encounters he had shared with the eccentric maid since she was first hired.

He wasn’t entirely sure of the young lady’s circumstances, but she must have a rather unique past for the third prince of Sorcier to take an interest in her.

“Do you know if she has faced any hardships here?” Prince Geordo asked, clearly concerned for the young woman’s sake.

“Not at all,” Lawrence replied, “I cannot imagine Lady Baudelaire would allow any harm to come to her concubine.”

“Hm, I see...” the prince nodded thoughtfully. And then, after a beat, a chill ran through the air, “...pardon?”

“Hm?” Lawrence arched a brow.

“Did you say... ‘concubine’?”

“Well...” Lawrence tilted his head, thinking back to his rather awkward conversation with the young miss’ personal maid right after her marriage interview.

---

Would you say the interview went well?” Lawrence had asked of the maid, curious whether things had panned out for Lady Malicia. She had been so looking forward to the interview for such a long time, after all.

And yet, the answer he received instead was nothing to do with the interview itself, but instead:

Yeah! She tied me up and gagged me right afterwards!” Miss Rina had cheerfully replied with a wide grin.

Hm, Lawrence mused. That was rather... shameless, but if that was how the young lady of the house chose to celebrate a successful interview, who was he to judge.

Not to mention, on one of his early morning visits to the estate, he had seen the brunette maid stealthily departing Lady Malicia’s bedroom. It was hardly a secret what type of relationship they had, as far as Lawrence could see, nor was it particularly uncommon among the Ritallian nobility from what he overheard.

He simply hoped the maid had a bit more discretion about revealing such things, as it could surely cause something of a stir if it were to get out....

---

“...yes, I believe that have that sort of relationship,” the butler nodded confidently.

Whatever the case may have been, Lawrence decided in that moment to swear off acting as Lord Baudelaire’s intermediary for dealing with such affairs.

The look on Prince Geordo’s face was one that would haunt the butler for years.

In that moment, he couldn’t help but wonder whether Chancellor Riviere really would get his wish to go to war with Sorcier.

---

Katarina let out a sigh, gently tucking Malicia back into bed.

It wasn’t as if she didn’t understand why her charge was so eager to get out and meet up with everyone.

It’s that post-doom flag urgency, the maid mused. Right when she first got her memories back, she’d been hit with a similar wave of ‘I gotta fix everything right now’. It must just be a villainess thing, Katarina sighed.

It was nice though, seeing Malicia so eager to help the people. She would surely make a lot of progress towards avoiding any potential future bad-ends this way!

It was quite a change of pace, though. Both from the game and from the Malicia she had come to know as her charge over the last several months.

The day so far had been a hectic mess of arranging things between the commoners and nobles, trying to settle all the grievances, all while hashing out all the other issues the earthquake last night had caused.

There were still a lot of nobles who were quite hesitant to meet up with the commoners. Some of nobles were just plain scared of the common folk after last night, while others still blatantly looked down on them.

Katarina hadn’t expected things to be perfect right away. Obviously there was a lot of work needing to be done.

But without the Chancellor’s scheming and poisoning the fields, the food production should start to be on the rise as soon as the next harvest came around, which meant a lot more of the common folk could get back to their usual routines.

Of course, there were still other issues they took with the nobility, and Malicia’s pledge alone wasn’t enough to change that. The rising taxes, the overly demanding requirements, and more than anything, the general lack of understanding of the commoners’ plights....

Yeah, it wasn’t going to be fixed up quite so quickly.

But still.

The negotiations were going relatively well thus far, Katarina supposed.

At the very least, it didn’t seem like anyone was outright calling for anyone else’s death anymore, which was a start.

Before she could dwell on those matters for too long, Katarina suddenly found herself surrounded by all her friends from Sorcier... and they all looked utterly devastated.

“E-ehhh?!” the brunette blinked back in surprise, unsure how to react to the sudden onslaught of companions, “Wh-what’s wrong? Are you guys okay?”

“Just what were you doing with that woman just now, sister?” Keith looked like he was on the verge of a heart attack, face red and sweaty.

“Ehhhh?!” the maid blinked, “I was just helping her back to bed! Maria said she needed to rest!”

“‘B-b-back to bed’?” Alan looked shaken.

“What do you mean by those words, Lady Katarina?” Sophia stepped forwards, face as red as her eyes, “Elaborate!”

“Uh!” the brunette had no idea what to say to placate this sudden, inexplicable stampede, “I was just tucking her in!”

“...tucking her in...” even the ever-silent Nicol murmured something softly, cheeks reddening in the low light of the hallway.

“But Katarina... you must tell me...” Geordo stepped up to her, a rare ferocious look in his eyes.

“Have you... have you...” Keith spluttered, face dripping with sweat.

“Have you slept with Lady Baudelaire?” Sophia eventually squeaked out, hiding her face behind her book.

“Eh?” Katarina tilted her head. Why did they all want to know about that? She shrugged, “Of course I did, lots of times!”

A look of soul crushing despair washed over all her friends in that moment.

Katarina tilted her head. It was always so cold up in Baudelaire manor; of course she had slept in Malicia’s bed most nights! It always seemed like her charge stirred less in her sleep when Katarina was by her side, so it only seemed like the right approach.

“Guh-!” Mary clasped her chest, looking devastated.

“Mary, what’s wrong?” the brunette gasped. Was Mary ill?

“T-to think that conniving little...” the copper haired girl bit her thumbnail, a thinly veiled look of passionate rage igniting in her eyes, “Honestly, who does she think she is, treating Lady Katarina like a common bed-warmer?”

“What’s wrong with being a bed-warmer?” Katarina responded, utterly confused.

A clamorous outcry filled the hall, deafening anyone present.

---

Some time later, that particular... misunderstanding had been put to bed, so to speak.

Luckily, Prince Geordo had managed to piece together that his fiancee’s definition of ‘sleeping with someone’ was a much more innocent concept than the common understanding of the phrase.

(Even once they were fully on the same page, Mary still looked thoroughly betrayed at the idea of Katarina spending nights in the bed of someone other than herself. Quite frankly, Geordo understood the sentiment, though he would never admit as much to this crowd.)

“I must say... I am... impressed by how... diligently you care for Lady Baudelaire,” Keith strained to turn the situation into praise.

Katarina nodded, “But we need to be gentle. Malicia had a near death experience last night, and Maria says she has to take it easy.”

“I feel I had a near death experience just now...” Mary murmured under her breath.

“Anyways,” Katarina clasped her hands together, still none the wiser as to why any of them were so concerned about such a thing, “Malicia is resting now, so we should probably get back to the conference hall!”

Geordo sighed, unsure how his fiancee could be so capable, but still so utterly blind to something so obvious.

---

Several long hours later, the flickering of the fire in the hearth at the center of the Royal Palace of Orleans cast warm shadows over the handful of people who had gathered there.

Malicia had, with Maria’s (and Rina’s) permissions, been allowed to leave her room later that evening for dinner, and after dinner, she had come to the palace’s parlor for a meeting.

After that long day of negotiations, a handful of Malicia’s close... well, she supposed she could call them friends, right? They wished to sit down and talk with her about everything. Apparently Rina had arranged the whole thing, somehow, despite being involved in all those negotiations all day.

In hindsight, she was grateful to her maid for bringing her back to her temporary accommodations to rest. Her arm was feeling better and better the more time that passed.

According to Maria, she would still need to wear a cast for a few weeks, possibly longer, and should avoid moving more than necessary. However, due to the light magic, and with proper rest, Maria said there shouldn’t be any permanent damage, and she should be able to use her arm like normal again within six months.

She sighed, wishing she had some way to scratch her arm inside the somewhat itchy cast.

The itchiness subsided immediately as her eyes met a pair of hazel ones across the parlor she had stepped into to talk with the others that night.

“Claudie...” Malicia felt her breath hitch.

It wasn’t a dream.

Claudie was still here, still breathing.

“Mali!” the auburn haired girl ran over to her in a heartbeat, “I’m so glad you’re okay!”

“... you’re really here,” the blonde breathed, taking one of Claudie’s hands with her uninjured one.

“I am,” Claudette smiled, “Thanks to you.”

Malicia felt a jolt spark through her.

That wasn’t a compliment she could accept! Not in the slightest! Not after abandoning her friend for so long! Not after--

“And before you try and convince yourself that you aren’t good enough,” Rina’s voice came from her other side, “I just want to remind you how much you are willing to give for the people you care about. You ran through a snowstorm, Malicia. You jumped off a cliff! If there’s anyone who should take credit for things turning out as well as they did, it’s you!”

The maid appeared out of nowhere to comfort her right when she needed it. Again. Rina just kept doing that.

The look in Claudette’s eyes seemed to echo the brunette’s sentiments, a reassuring smile on her lips.

Malicia didn’t have long to take in that brief moment of peace, however. As she glanced up, she noticed as another, all too familiar figure entered the soothing atmosphere of the parlor.

“Father,” the blonde greeted the eye-patched man solemnly.

“Malicia,” the Archduke approached her with an air of cold formality that never seemed to waver.

Except for last night, she supposed.

Her heart flip flopped, thinking back to what he had said last night, under the effects of Truth Serum.

He had done everything for her sake.

Her heart twisted into knots thinking over everything that had come up last night.

Lena LaCroix entered the parlor a moment later, along with the young light mage Maria Campbell, and some other faces who looked distantly familiar. She couldn’t quite place them, but opted not to ask for the moment.

And, at the end of the line of guests that wished to speak privately, was someone who Lena didn’t think fit in here at all. It was a very tall man in a tattered Captain’s coat, with a long black beard. Around his neck hung many gaudy necklaces, and in his hand was a flask.

“Ope, pardon me, Ma’am, still gettin’ my land legs,” the bearded man reassured a table he bumped into, before apparently noticing Malicia and the others, “...mmm?”

“...and you are...?” Malicia arched a brow at the rather out of place character who had just stumbled into the room.

“Damn, though. I went up to tha’ big shindig at the Baudelaire house last night, but by the time I got there, ev’ryone had left. Even the house,” the man with the black beard let out a disappointed sigh, “I always show up late to the party don’t I?”

Party’? Did he mean the revolution that had just stormed her estate?

Malicia was even more confused when her father of all people spoke up, “What in the blazes is that maniac doing here?”

“My goodness, is that... him?” another noble asked, looking outright disgusted at the sight.

“What are you doing here?” Lena also took a particularly negative interest in the bearded man standing awkwardly before them.

“Ey! It’s been ages; good ta see ya, lass!” the man in the tattered Captain’s coat greeted her with a cheerful wave.

“Who exactly is this man?” Malicia couldn’t quell her curiosity any longer, turning stealthily to the bespectacled beauty beside her.

“He is the Captain of a particularly sleazy private yacht, the head of a fleet of miscellaneous and ill attended ships, a terrible investor, and an extremely irresponsible man...” Lena adjusted her glasses.

“Hm,” Malicia pursed her lips.

Lady Lena took a breath and quietly added, “He is also the Marquis Lucien LaCroix... my father.”

“Ah,” Malicia nodded... and then fully realized what Lena had just said, “...eh?”

Wait, what? Malicia blinked in surprise. Of everything that had happened today, she thought she had seen it all. But the idea that this... well, evidently he wasn’t a vagabond, but it was rather hard to tell... The idea that he of all people was Lady Lena’s father?!

Malicia couldn’t even make heads or tails of how that worked....

“I see you’re droppin’ houses on the harbor, kiddo,” Marquis LaCroix chuckled, “You’re really learnin’ to party like your old man!”

“Don’t speak to me,” the raven haired girl walked right past him, as if he didn’t exist.

“Aww,” the eccentric Marquis sighed, casually taking a drink from his flask.

“This man is a Marquis?” Malicia asked Lady Lena surreptitiously. She didn’t wish to outright insult a nobleman to his face, but at the same time, this man was hardly what she could call ‘noble’.

“Aye!” the Captain-Marquis LaCroix winked, evidently overhearing the exchange, “No point in havin’ money if you can’t have fun!”

Malicia’s lip curled in slight disgust at the sight. She certainly had a different sense of what was considered ‘fun’.

“How ya doin’, Chuck?” the bearded man turned to her father with a crooked grin.

The blonde felt a hint of nervousness; she couldn’t recall anyone having ever addressed her father so casually in her life!

“Don’t speak to me,” her father walked right past him, as if he didn’t exist.

“Aww,” the bearded man sighed.

Malicia frowned, entirely unsure what to make of that series of interactions. So, the mysterious Marquis LaCroix was this haggard-looking ship captain? And he was the one who had ferried the materials they needed to repair the fields into the country?

How odd. He certainly wasn’t what she had expected Lady Lena’s father to be like. In fact, that was about the furthest thing possible from the mental image she had conjured up of her bespectacled companion’s family.

“So, have you unloaded all the Rosensprice and Letyssil extract from your... yacht?” one of the young men Malicia didn’t recognize spoke up.

“Ohhh yeah,” the Marquis nodded after a beat, “Sure did.”

“I’m dubious,” Lady Lena folded her arms.

“Oi, come on now!” the bearded man sighed, “I’m not completely useless! I said I’d get those shipments to their rightful destinations, and I did. Ye can ask my crew if ya can’t take me at my word.”

Lena’s eyes still remained skeptical, but she opted not to push the matter for now.

“So... he is the one who brought those supplies that will help regrow the farms here?” Malicia ventured a guess.

“Yes,” Maria Campbell nodded, “He also ferried us across from Sorcier.”

“I see....” Malicia frowned, though she really didn’t see at all. She really had no clue what set of circumstances could have led to a handful of Sorcierran citizens boarding a quasi-legal yacht loaded with farming supplies from Sorcier to Ritallia during a massive blizzard.

But her mind was quickly drawn away from that line of thought.

“Khah—” her father coughed loudly, pulling a handkerchief from his pocket to catch the blood.

Malicia again felt a stab of cold in her chest at the sight of her father in pain. She didn’t see eye to eye with him on many, many issues, but the idea of being without him was....

She still couldn’t bear to think about it.

“Um... Lady Baudelaire?” a gentle voice spoke to her.

“Yes?” Malicia turned to her right to find that Maria was standing beside her again, a kind smile on her face.

“Your father... he has the Etran flu, correct?”

Malicia did her best to remain impassive, keeping her face neutral as she nodded tacitly.

“Well... the Etran flu was a terrible illness that caused a lot of death and suffering for the people of Etran. For a very long time, the people thought there was no cure for such an ailment.”

“Y-yes, I know,” the heiress nodded, well aware of everything that she had just been told.

“But that was well over 80 years ago,” Miss Campbell stated, with an optimistic twinkle to her smile.

Malicia blinked, unsure what the light mage was getting at.

“As I have come to understand more about the situation here in Ritallia, I have realized that Chancellor Riviere must have been preventing certain pieces of information from passing the borders of this country. From what I can gather, the Chancellor must have been convinced that a deadly disease spreading would help to make the common folk more desperate, in order to push them along towards the... incident last night,” Maria explained, “However, there have been a vast number of medical advancements, including magic-assisted remedies from Sorcier.”

Those words hung in the air for a long, quiet moment.

Malicia couldn’t quite believe what she was hearing. She didn’t dare to believe it. Despite herself, the blonde found the question slipping past her lips, “...d-do you mean...?”

“The Etran Flu has been cured, Lady Baudelaire. For more than 50 years.”

Notes:

This ended up way longer than I expected it to (and I still ended up removing what would have been the second half of this chapter and making it a separate one!)

Anyways, things are beginning to wind down, and wrap up. There are still a few more big reveals to be had, of course, but I did want to have a chapter of Malicia recovering from everything.

As a side note, for those who may have forgotten, Alice Rousseau did appear before in the chapter where Malicia attends the opera. Lucille has appeared a few times, always nagging at Malicia and teasing her. (There's supposed to be a slightly buried plot thread about how Lucille has a crush on Malicia and lightly bullies her because she doesn't know how to flirt, but that's a whole other kettle of fish)

Also may be worth noting that, after losing her auburn-haired friend, all of Malicia's closest acquaintances in the noble circles have hair some shade of red or pink. Perhaps someone has a type....

Anyways, the next chapter is probably the one most people are looking forward to, this one is just tying up a few loose ends and settling some character relationships.

Thanks for reading! Comments and constructive criticism are welcome as always!

Chapter 48: Guess Who

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

“W-wait,” Malicia felt an odd mix of hope and… distant shock, “...wait, wait wait, what do you mean, it has been cured for 50 years?”

The blonde sat there in mute surprise for several moments, quite unsure how to even process that revelation. She could do little more than stare blankly, silently begging for someone else to step in and explain this to her.

“This… plague that has cursed our lands for years now, it was all part of the Chancellor’s plan to destabilize the kingdom?” Malicia eventually managed to gasp, “...and you’re saying it has been cured the whole time? How is that even possible?”

“We’ve been discussing that,” Maria replied thoughtfully, “To be honest, the disease was never especially widespread outside of Etran, and though it was a difficult illness to treat at first, once it reached Sorcier, the light mages there were able to quickly concoct a cure.”

“My guess would be that the Chancellor learned of the disease at some point in his travels,” Prince Alexander chimed in, “As for how he managed to conceal the treatments for it, I have a few ideas. His duties as Chancellor included overseeing all trade and commerce, so he was able to appoint people to monitor whether anyone who was aware of things like foreign diseases entered our ports.

“I believe it was less a matter of preventing anyone with outside knowledge of the Etran Flu into the kingdom, and more of preventing the details of the illness here from getting out. After all, if news of the Etran flu resurging here made it across the seas, other nations would likely send someone to treat it. In the meantime, he made quite sure copious amounts of gossip and scandal from across the seas got across; enough nonsense to keep the nobility thoroughly distracted and convinced that nothing was wrong,” Alexander concluded.

Malicia listened in rapt silence, taking in every word carefully.

She felt… a lot of things.

Confusion, mostly. How in thw world was all of this just coming to light now?

Anger towards Riviere for working so hard for so long to ruin the lives of so many people she cared so deeply for.

But… beyond all that….

“...and do you think you could… make this cure, Miss Campbell?” the question slipped through Malicia’s lips, quiet, hopeful.

“Yes, absolutely,” Maria responded confidently, “In fact, the treatment for the Etran Flu has a very similar structure to a compound I just studied in Medicinal Potions class! With the application of Light Magic, the cure is fairly easy to manufacture in mass quantities, and I would be more than happy to assist. Today, I have been working to gather up as many ingredients as I can to begin manufacturing the treatment medicines right away.”

“Y-you’re sure they will work, though?” Malicia couldn’t shake that feeling of dread, like it couldn’t possibly be that easy.

“The one I took earlier seems to be working fairly well so far,” her father spoke up. He coughed again, and yet… it seemed like the cough wasn’t as bad as it usually was.

“E-eh?” Malicia blinked, once again caught off guard, “B-but Father! You… you...”

“I’m feeling much better already,” the older man interjected, an uncharacteristic spark of life in his eyes that had grown dull for so long, “Miss Campbell here came to offer me this treatment earlier today, and considering I would probably be dead within the month anyways… I figured that it was worth a shot.”

Malicia stared up at her father, listening to his words carefully. He sounded much clearer than usual, much less hoarse.

She felt hopeful.

The blonde felt tears welling up in her eyes as she stepped forwards towards her father. She had a lot of complicated emotions towards him. And, truth be told, she was still quite angry with him for how little thought he had given towards the commoners (and towards herself) in his plan to get as much money for her as he could.

But she felt hopeful. After all, Maria’s light magic had worked wonders on her own injury, so maybe, just maybe… there was a chance that….

“The symptoms may remain for a few more days, but…” Maria spoke up gently, “...I think the treatment I created should be well on its way to fully curing the disease.”

“Yes,” her father nodded confidently, “I can feel it working already, young miss.”

Malicia felt her breath catch in her throat. Without another word, she stepped forwards quickly, pulling her father into a tight hug.

She truly, really felt hopeful for the first time in as long as she could remember, really.

Wasn’t all this too good to be true?

---

Keith watched on from the sidelines with a thankful smile.

He didn’t know Malicia Baudelaire at all, nor was he especially familiar with any of what was going on here in Ritallia. In all honesty, he was a bit uncomfortable standing here as a representative of Sorcier’s nobility. Once they had arrived at the Royal Palace, they were all required to disclose their identities and their reasons for coming to Ritallia. Considering Geordo and Alan were present, there wasn’t much use trying to pretend or downplay anything. After all, their reasons for coming here were fairly benign, even if the timing might seem a bit suspect to the local government.

It couldn’t be helped, though, he supposed. The way everything had worked out ultimately ended up for the best, so Keith wasn’t going to worry too much about it.

However, it did mean that while staying at the Royal Palace, he would have to formally represent the House Claes. Just as Nicol would formally represent House Ascart, and the princes were effectively working as diplomats.

Which made things a bit more complicated than he would have liked, really. If it had been his decision alone, he would simply have grabbed Katarina and left last night, but seeing how everything had ended up, Keith was quite thankful that things had worked out the way they did.

As concerned as he could often be for his sister’s sake (and rightfully so, really), he did know just how capable she could be of helping people in their times of need. He needed to look no further than his own past as an example.

And, as he watched the scene unfolding in front of him in the parlor of the Royal Palace, it seemed that Katarina’s unmistakable charm had managed to win the day once more. After all, if not for Katarina’s… ‘exile’, Maria wouldn’t have wound up in Ritallia to help Lady Baudelaire and her family out in the first place!

Not to mention, her plan last night to get the truth behind the famine in Ritallia had wound up saving the day and exposing a dangerous scheme to overthrow the country.

Hm. Perhaps he would have to give his sister more credit.

“Thank goodness you were here,” Keith told her softly.

“Eh?” Katarina looked thoroughly confused, “You’re happy I got exiled?”

“Hah? O-o-of course not!” Keith waved his hands around frantically. Honestly, where did Katarina get some of these ideas?! He shook his head, “I was just saying it’s lucky that you ended up here when you did! A lot of people are going to be saved because of you!”

“I didn’t do anything! Malicia saved the day last night!” Katarina looked away, “And the disease getting cured is just Maria being the heroine she is, just like always!”

Keith was about to respond, but his sister’s particular turn of phrase there caught his ear.

‘Heroine’?

---

Lena watched on with a warm smile at the sight of Malicia embracing her father.

Although some of the details had been obscured from the public, and even her insightful inquiries into the scandals of the higher nobility had yielded no clear answers, it was always obvious to her that the heiress had a rather rocky relationship with her family. The conversations that were shared the previous evening - those emotional confessions from Lady Malicia and her father revealing the extent of just how deeply they each cared for one another - had confirmed Lena’s private theories regarding just how similar the two of them were, despite the cold fronts they put up on the outside.

What was it Lady Malicia’s maid had called it? Tsundere?

In any case, seeing Malicia tearfully embracing her father, learning that he had a path to fully recover fro the dreadful illness that had nearly claimed his life… it was quite touching, really.

Her smile faltered, however, when she noticed a certain sleazy ship captain stumbling his way over to her.

“You sure picked quite the time to return,” Lena remarked, a flicker of annoyance in her eyes.

“What can I say? I like a good dramatic entrance!” her… father chuckled. He turned towards the doorway leading into the parlor and noticed the emotional scene unfolding in the next room as well, “Looks like Malicia’s getting’ on better terms with her dad.”

“Seems so,” Lena sighed, not wanting to speak to this man right now, maybe not ever.

A beat of silence passed between the two of them.

“Was I a good father, Tina?”

“My name is Lena.”

“Awww….”

---

Meanwhile, Katarina smiled contentedly, stepping outside the little parlor to allow Malicia and her father a moment to themselves. Her friends from Sorcier followed her lead, moving out to the relative quiet of the hallway, as gently falling flakes of snow drifted past the windows.

Those two really had a lot to work out, didn’t they?

It must be hard, especially with all the stuff that had happened last night. Malicia had lost her house, and pretty much everything she had ever owned. And, of course, most of the things in that mansion were investments from her father, that he had intended to leave for her!

Katarina sighed, running her hands down the light blue dress Anne had brought from Sorcier. She was quite thankful for it, seeing as her maid uniform hadn’t exactly come out unscathed from all the chaos of last night. And yet being in this dress felt… odd, somehow. Like she no longer fit it correctly (and she didn’t just mean size-wise).

It seemed strange to her, wearing something she had worn back during her stint as a Duke’s daughter, now that she was a maid.

“Is the dress uncomfortable?” Anne asked, noticing the face she was making.

“No, it’s fine, Anne,” Katarina frowned uncertainly, “But… how are you always so prepared? You brought a sword and even a change of clothes for me!”

“Think nothing of it, my Lady,” Anne reassured her, “You are just something of a special case when it comes to making preparations.”

“You really are a top tier maid, Anne! I’ve still got a long ways to go.…” Katarina sighed.

Malicia was a pretty special case too, she thought. If anything, she really should have done more prep work and had more tools on hand to help get her charge through some of the predicaments she had found herself in over the past few months.

The brunette quirked her lips to one side as she thought it over, “Maybe I should get a utility belt.”

“A utility belt?” Anne arched a brow, “For what, exactly?”

“Yeah, a utility belt would help a lot I think,” Katarina nodded, “I need to be the best maid I can be for Malicia!”

“Ahem… Lady Katarina… why exactly do you think…?” Anne trailed off, a look of worry on her face.

“What do you mean, ‘best maid’?” Alan gave her a look of annoyed confusion.

“What do you mean, ‘what do I mean’?” Katarina put her hands on her hips, giving her friends a look, “Malicia’s having a really emotional time right now! She needs a good maid by her side now more than ever!”

“Katarina, why do you think we are here?” Geordo stepped forwards, “Do you really expect to just continue being a maid, even now?”

“What do you mean by that, Prince Geordo?” Katarina tilted her head

---

Malicia spent a good amount of time talking everything over with her father in the relative quiet of the parlor. She could tell, just by his demeanor, that he was different now. And not just because she could hear his breathing was more even now and less haggard, but he seemed… gentler. The fact that the usually distant Archduke was willing to talk so openly with her at all was incredibly reassuring. She had spent so very long so far away from him, unable to communicate by anything other than letters and the occasional visit to the estate.

And being able to hug her father was nice too.

It was a… rather foreign sensation, just hugging her family. She didn’t think she had really had a moment like this since her mother passed, actually. Their brief embrace last night had been tarnished by all the chaos that followed.

(And she missed it like nothing else in the world, really).

Once they had talked over all the major points – mainly, what to do now that their House had fallen, and what her father planned to do now that he was going to be recovering from the Etran flu. And, to be brief, neither of them had much of a clear plan.

Although one thing was quite clear, Malicia was fully intent on working to help the common folk of the kingdom now. Which, it seemed, wouldn’t be quite as easy as it might have been a few months ago, considering she now had… effectively no funding to work with.

But, most of all, the two of them were just happy to be with one another. She could tell how much less stressed, less angry her father appeared in every word he spoke. It reminded her of how he had been back when mother was still with them.

After several long moments of discussing things, her father eventually moved to stand up from the red leather chair he sat in, “If you will excuse me, Malicia, I do have a few other matters to attend to before bed. I am… quite tired, after the past days.”

“Y-yes… I understand,” Malicia nodded. She gulped quietly, “F-father?”

“Yes?”

“I… I really hope you feel better!”

“I already am, Malicia,” he smiled back at her with a gentle look in his eye that she hadn’t seen in a long time.

No longer was that lingering shadow of darkness hovering over their every word. After what felt like an eternity of suffering in silence, Malicia finally had a chance to voice her concerns, to speak her mind.

The blonde’s eyes still brimmed with joyful tears as she watched her father walk away. She sat quietly for a moment, listening to the ambient crackling of the fireplace. It seemed like things were finally starting to look up, finally starting to balance out…

She let out a soft sigh, allowing her mind to wander to other things, drifting in and out of the soft chatter coming from outside the parlor doors. Somewhere in the midst of the halfway muffled conversation from beyond the half-open door, a certain name caused Malicia’s ears to prick up.

“What do you mean by that, Prince Geordo?”

Eh?

Prince Geordo?

Suddenly, just like that, Malicia’s mind abruptly switched gears.

It was as if two pieces of a puzzle finally clicked together in her mind. That blond young man who had been talking with Maria Campbell and Rina all evening… that was why he looked familiar!

He was… Prince Geordo! The third prince of Sorcier!

There wasn’t much communication between Ritallia and Sorcier, but there was a general understanding of the royal families of other nations, and Malicia had seen some pictures of Sorcier’s princes at some gathering a few years ago.

But… why in the world was Prince Geordo of Sorcier here?!

And, wasn’t he… engaged to….

Oh!

Spinning on her heel, Malicia quickly moved across the room to face the golden haired prince who had unexpectedly appeared in

---

Geordo frowned, unsure how to move forward.

After all this, did Katarina still not realize they were here to bring her back home? Or… no, that couldn’t be it.

At least, Geordo prayed it wasn’t the case. He prayed she hadn’t grown so attached to this life in Ritallia that she genuinely did not want to return home.

And yet, before he could think how to proceed, how to further convince Katarina that she was truly wanted, truly missed, a bouncy head of blonde hair slipped into his field of view, between himself and Katarina.

“Ah… Lady Baudelaire?” Geordo frowned, unsure how to react to her sudden appearance.

“Hey, Malicia!” Katarina chimed in from behind her.

“Hello, Rina,” the blonde replied politely, before turning back to Geordo. She leaned in and asked quietly, “May I… speak with you privately?”

“Ahem…” the blonde woman leaned in conspiratorially, “Y-you are the third prince of Sorcier, correct?”

“Yes, Lady Baudelaire?” Geordo gave her a scrutinizing gaze. The twinkling look in her eyes gave the prince the unpleasantly familiar feeling he might have to fend off some international offer of marriage.

“From what I know… it is the third prince who is engaged to L-l-lady Katarina Claes,” Lady Baudelaire’s cheeks reddened slightly.

“I am indeed,” Geordo replied diplomatically, “We have been engaged for several great years.”

“...ehe,” the heiress giggled softly, before composing herself, “Ahem, would you mind telling me more?”

“More?” Geordo arched a brow, “About what, exactly?”

“Anything! Everything! About her! About the great Lady Katarina Claes! I’ve always wanted to know!” Lady Malicia bubbled happily, a glimmer of excitement twinkling in her wide, golden eyes.

“Wanted to… know…” Geordo furrowed his brows, thinking everything over. Surely she didn’t mean….

“Yes, of course!” the Baudelaire heiress bounced, barely able to contain her giddiness, “She has always been something of an idol of mine, so… forgive me if it comes across a bit presumptuous, but… I would love to know any stories about Lady Claes you would be willing to share!”

Last night, the young heiress had mentioned something about the ‘wit and poise of the great Katarina Claes’. At the time, Prince Geordo had taken it to be just an odd turn of phrase, but…. Could it really be that, in all her time working as this young woman’s maid, his fiancee had never divulged her true identity?

Were it anyone else, Geordo would have felt such a thing was nearly impossible. But, when it came to his betrothed, he knew well enough by now that he should have a very different set of expectations when it came to… comprehending certain things.

“Lady Baudelaire,” the prince turned to her curiously, “Would you like to meet Katarina Claes?”

“E-eh?” the blonde gaped at him, “Y-y-you mean, she’s… here?!”

---

Malicia could hardly contain herself.

This… truly was like a dream come true. Something out of a fairy tale.

Managing to make it through that treacherous night in her mansion had been such an ordeal that she would never have even thought to dream something like this. But it seemed it might actually be true! She would finally meet her lifelong idol, the Lady Katarina Claes, in the flesh!

It was by all accounts a magical experience!

Her father was recovering from his illness, Claudie was alive and well, and now… Lady Katarina?!

She didn’t even know where to start! It was like the universe suddenly decided to drop a lifetime of good fortune on her head out of the blue!

Malicia waited patiently in the side room Prince Geordo his companions were standing in, surrounded by a handful of others (many of whom seemed to be giving her dirty looks), feeling a strange sense of mystique and elation at the thought of meeting Lady Katarina Claes.

The prince motioned for her to wait where she was for a moment, as he turned to Rina. With a gesture, the prince called for the maid to follow him to the edge of the room.

Malicia didn’t know what the prince needed with Rina, but she was willing to wait for as long as it took if it meant getting to meet… her.

Still, she leaned in with rapt attention, straining to hear what the prince was murmuring to her maid. Or maybe… he was talking to someone else, waiting just out of sight in the darkness of the next corridor. With a bit of focus, she thought she could hear him ask, “Would you go over and talk to Lady Baudelaire?”

“Ehe…” Malicia felt her heart jitter as it dawned on her that she really, truly might get a chance to meet….

Before she could think on it any longer, however, the blonde turned to notice that the prince was already returning to where she stood, another figure trailing just behind him…. And yet….

To Malicia’s confusion, it wasn’t the radiant form of Lady Katarina Claes who appeared from around the corner, but the familiar figure of Rina Clayton.

“Maid, what are you doing here?” Malicia arched a brow, “A special guest should be arriving soon.”

“Special guest?” Rina tilted her head obliviously, “Like who?”

“You probably wouldn’t know her,” Malicia waved her hand, “But according to Prince Geordo… I’m about to meet Katarina Claes?”

“E…..Eeehehhhhh?!” the brunette’s eyes widened in utter surprise, “Wh-what do you mean, Katarina Claes? Wait! Hang on, Malicia, how do you know my-- er, that name? You said that last night too...”

“Well, of course I know… wait,” Malicia paused. Did she hear that right?

Was that what Rina just said?

Heh. No. Couldn’t be. She shook off the absurd thought.

Even so, she narrowed her eyes at her maid, “Hold on, what do you mean by…?”

“May I present, my dear fiancee,” Prince Geordo stated in a near-monotone, “Lady Katarina Claes.”

And, with that, he gestured….

...to Rina.

“Eh?” the brunette blinked, apparently unsure what was going on.

“She’s only your fiancee for now, dear Prince,” the copper haired girl with the fan narrowed her eyes.

“Because she will be my wife later,” the blond prince replied with a smug smile.

It seemed that Rina wasn’t listening to any of it, however. And, quite frankly, neither was Malicia.

There was just one thing on her mind right at that moment…

“You… why exactly did Prince Geordo of Sorcier refer to you as… Lady Katarina Claes?” Malicia asked nervously, dreading the answer. But… that answer couldn’t be true, could it? It was totally impossible!

“Um… because that’s my real name,” the brunette shakily admitted, glancing around uncomfortably, “I...uh… thought it would be better to use a different name while I was working for you, you know?”

“Th-then… that means… you are…?” Malicia gasped, staggered back a pace or two.

Rina Clayton… Katarina Claes? But… how?

“...ehe,” the maid rubbed the back of her neck sheepishly, “S-sorry I didn’t mention it. I thought you might... I dunno. I thought it might be more trouble for you...”

“N-no… that isn’t possible! You cannot be… Lady… Katarina… Claes…?” Malicia staggered back, trying to process this. Was it some kind of trick?!

Every rumor that made its way across the seas painted a very clear picture of the Lady Katarina Claes.

She was a beautiful, but humble young lady….

...just like Rina.

She was surrounded with a circle of very caring, dedicated companions….

...just like Rina.

And, more than anything, she was capable of winning over anyone she met, brimming with boundless kindness, always willing to help others….

...just like…

...oh.

“Th-that’s…” Malicia clasped the sides of her head, reeling off balance as she finally put the pieces together.

Before she could fall over, however, a sturdy arm wrapped around her shoulders, bringing her back to her feet. She looked up to find Rina… Lady Kata...rina… looking at her with a mix of confusion and guilt clear in her eyes.

“Ehe… sorry, Malicia,” the brunette said again, “I didn’t think you’d even know who I was! I’m from across the sea, and all! Plus, I figured it would just be easier to just… start over again, you know?”

Malicia blinked. No, she didn’t know. What did this agent of chaos mean, ‘start over again’? Had she already started over before? Was ‘Katarina Claes’ even her real name?

No, wait, that wasn’t important right now. What mattered was….

---

Katarina felt an odd sense of displacement after her conversation with Malicia.

Really? Her charge had looked up to her all this time? But why?

Why would anyone from Ritallia even know about someone as boring as herself?

“Katarina, did you truly never inform her your actual identity?” Keith gave her a look.

“Well, I thought it was best to not let anyone know who I was after I got exiled,” Katarina rubbed the back of her neck sheepishly, “I thought it might be bad for our House...”

“Honestly, sister…” Keith sighed, shaking his head, “Where did that whole ‘exile’ thing even come from?!”

“Well, when I woke up on that ship, considering everything that had happened…” Katarina shuffled awkwardly, “I just assumed you had wanted to get rid of me…”

It was something she had been quite convinced of for many months now, but… seeing the expressions on everyone’s face here told her she had, perhaps, possibly, maybe… misunderstood something.

“That couldn’t be further from the truth! Lady Katarina I hope you understand… why we are here?” Sophia spoke up, tugging lightly on her sleeve.

“Eh?” Katarina blinked, taken aback by the way Sophia said it just then.

Why they were here? Well… if it wasn’t for Maria and Geordo’s honeymoon, and if her exile had been a big misunderstanding, then…

W-we’re here for you, Lady Katarina!”

We came a long way because we couldn’t stand being apart from you, Lady Katarina! You disappeared and we were all so worried about you!”

You just… disappeared! Did you really think we wouldn’t try to find you?”

We want to be by your side for the rest of our lives!”

...oh.

Her friends’ words from last night echoed between her ears, finally striking a chord within her.

That was right, wasn’t it? They didn’t just show up out of the blue to help her save Malicia and stop the Chancellor. They had been trying to take her away from the revolution last night!

They were trying to bring her back home!

Last night, she couldn’t turn her back on Malicia because her charge was in danger. She had no intention of leaving Malicia when half the country wanted her dead, and she was all alone with no one else to turn to.

But… there was no way she could turn her back on her friends from Sorcier either! Not when they looked at her like that!

The brunette felt her heart flip flopping, totally unsure of what to say or do.

Everyone from Sorcier wanted her to come back with them! But… Malicia clearly wanted her by her side too!

What the heck was she supposed to do here?

---

Meanwhile, a few paces away, Malicia was still reeling from the previous revelation.

Rina?

Her maid? Her personal attendant?

She was actually… Katarina Claes?

The Katarina Claes?

How in the actual world did that work? How did that happen?

An image flashed through her mind of that clumsy maid sliding into her room to deliver tea while wearing socks to slide across the floor faster.

An image of her maid swinging between the branches of the trees like a monkey, and digging up the weeds in the garden. Sewing a carrot pajama for her and throwing snowballs at her and telling the prince she had a big backside…

Ugh. Her face reddened at all the embarrassing memories her maid had unleashed on her.

And that maid was….

…. the great Lady Katarina Claes.

That golden image of Katarina Claes, the perfect, ideal noblewoman... shattered.

And yet... there was something else she immediately thought of.

Just as those memories of Rina flowed through her mind, other memories surged forth as well.

Memories of herself… screaming at Rina. Telling her she was a fool. Asking how she could be so uncouth. Leaving her to sleep in the freezing servants’ quarters.

Slapping her across the face and abandoning her.

A spear of ice pierced her heart.

All those mistakes, all that guilt, came rushing back once again.

She had acted so poorly! And to her idol, no less! She hurt Lady Katarina Claes!

She felt like crying, like running away and curling up in a little corner somewhere!

But still, was it really her fault for not guessing it sooner? Honestly, how could she have ever expected something like her personal maid being… Lady Katarina, of all people?!

That maid didn’t behave like a noblewoman at all!

She couldn’t really bring herself to be annoyed with the brunette, but she did feel a strange anxiety bubbling up inside her.

Her maid had been Lady Katarina Claes all along. And her friends, the nobility of Sorcier had come to find her....

If they came here to find Lady Katarina... did that mean…

As if on cue, one of the Sorcierrans spoke up, cutting through her thoughts.

“That’s right!” the sandy haired boy in the white suit nodded, “We came here to bring you back home, sister!”

Malicia blinked, feeling her heart skip a beat.

‘Sister?’

Did that mean the flustered-looking, sandy haired boy was Keith Claes? The presumed heir to the House of Claes?

And the others here were….? The dark haired, beautifully stoic boy very much matched the descriptions she had heard of Nicol Ascart, and the small but adorable white haired girl by his side must then be Sophia Ascart!

She recognized the fourth prince Alan Stuart as well, which would make the copper haired girl beside him the infamous Lady Mary Hunt.

And… well, she had never heard of Maria Campbell before today, but she did know light magic was pretty rare, even in Sorcier, so it seemed the kind-eyed blonde was some kind of magical prodigy!

So then… a gathering of the most important Sorcierran nobles of their generation had all converged on Dumont on the eve of revolution, just to find Katarina Claes?

And she was pretty sure she had seen most of them dressed up as maids and butlers last night!

They were all here to... bring Lady Claes back home?

… to steal away her closest friend?

A flash of something between jealousy and anger flickered in her heart for a moment. That Baudelaire possessiveness burned bright as she tightened her fists and turned back to everyone in the parlor.

No. She had no intention of letting this particular matter slip through her fingers quite so easily.

---

Katarina fidgeted uncomfortably as she glanced back and forth between everyone in the room.

She felt like she needed to say a lot to everybody here, but she really didn’t know where to start. The brunette wanted to talk more with her friends about their goal to bring her back home, but it looked like Malicia was really upset too, and everybody here was looking at her and…

Before she could think about any of it for very long, Malicia broke the momentary quiet.

“Well, Lady Katarina Claes,” the heiress narrowed her eyes, “I must say, I would never have guessed that you would make such a change in careers from Duke’s daughter to my personal attendant, but I suppose it all worked out for the best,” she declared, grabbing the brunette’s wrist as she began to lead her maid away from the others.

“Ahem, Lady Baudelaire,” Prince Geordo interjected, a cold edge to his tone, “I don’t recall my fiancee ever having announced any abdication of her noble status.”

With that, he walked over and grabbed Lady Katarina’s other wrist.

“And I don’t recall her officially resigning her post as my maid,” Malicia shot back, tugging on her arm.

“Wah!” the brunette let out a little yelp of surprise as she unceremoniously became the ‘rope’ in a game of tug-of-war.

“Of course she will resign!” the copper haired girl declared, also grabbing onto Lady Katarina’s arm and pulling her back towards the group from Sorcier, “Lady Katarina has no business being a foreign maid!”

“Wah!”

“There is no shame in being employed by such a prestigious estate as mine!” Malicia declared, pulling her back towards her side of the room, “In fact, Lady Katarina, I’m quite sure that, once the House is rebuilt, I can provide even better accommodations for you than any you would have in Sorcier!”

“Wah!”

“When you rebuild your house, perhaps you can talk!” Keith shouted, yoinking Katarina back towards the Sorcier crew, “For now, though, I hardly think my sister should be employed by a House that has no estate!”

“Wah!”

Katarina, for her part, could hardly seem to get a word in despite her best efforts. She had, it seemed, been reduced to the rope in a game of tug of war between her friends and her Lady.

And, if being torn apart by her friends physically wasn’t bad enough, she felt she was being equally split in half on the inside!

---

The Inner Council of Katarina Claes was in a state of disarray.

“We must return with our friends from Sorcier!” Logical Katarina slammed her hands on the conference table, “It is clearly the most sensible option here!”

“B-but what about Malicia!?” Timid Katarina yelped, “She’s in such an emotional place right now! She needs someone by her side now more than ever!”

“She’s basically family too at this point, isn’t she?” Happy Katarina chimed in shyly, “So surely we should take her feelings into account as well!”

“Of course we should take her feelings into account!” Aggressive Katarina shouted, “We need to be there for our… friend, whether she’s our Lady or not!”

“That doesn’t mean that we should turn our backs on everyone from back in Sorcier?” Timid murmured sadly.

“Absolutely not!” Aggressive slammed her hands down… and then immediately realized the issue.

“So… what should we do?” Timid asked, sounding terribly uneasy about all of it.

None of the others had an answer.

---

Back on the outside, Anne couldn’t bear to watch this scene much longer.

Not just because it was rather unbefitting of a noblewoman to be bounced back and forth between two overly possessive parties (no, Anne had long given up on trying to get Lady Katarina to stop doing things unbefitting of her station), but moreso because of the very uneasy look on Lady Katarina’s face.

Stepping forwards, the maid moved in towards her charge.

“Ahem, if everyone wouldn’t mind,” Anne placed a hand on Lady Mary and Lady Malicia’s shoulders, “I think Lady Katarina does her best work when in one piece, regardless of what line of work she pursues.”

Katarina gave Anne a grateful look for putting a stop to her arms being repurposed as a tug-of-war rope, but didn’t speak up quite yet.

Anne had a hunch why, but had a feeling it would be a little bit of a difficult matter to face directly. Especially considering her charge’s… perceptiveness issues.

“S-sorry, Katarina,” Prince Geordo appeared ashamed, releasing her wrist.

“My apologies, Lady Katarina!” Lady Hunt also reddened, apparently realizing what a spectacle she was making.

“Ahem,” Lady Malicia also quickly unhanded the brunette, “I… pardon my presumptuousness, Rin… err, Lady Katarina.”

The others stepped back a little bit, allowing Anne to move a bit closer to her charge.

“My Lady,” Anne smiled softly at her, “Are you alright?”

“Anne…” the brunette looked up at her with wide, pleading eyes, “...wh-what do I do?”

Anne let out a soft sigh, taking a moment to consider everything.

Lady Katarina was a truly loving, kind, pure person. It was a big reason why she had gained so many admirers over the years, and was arguably her greatest asset.

It was also, however, a big hurdle for her charge, and she was seeing that more clearly now than ever. The issue here was a much bigger problem than Anne herself knew how to face, now that she thought about it.

Being torn between two places that were effectively family….

When her own father had come knocking at the Claes estate, trying to pull out of her life as a maid to be a pawn in a political marriage for the Baron’s own ends, Anne had very little hesitation in turning her back on that life as soon as it became clear that Lady Katarina wanted her to stay.

However, in Lady Katarina’s case, things were currently a bit more complicated. She fit in too well, wherever she went. Only a few months as a stranger in a strange land, and her Lady could find herself grafted so deeply into the local lifestyle that they would fight tooth and nail to keep her from leaving. She supposed she couldn’t expect any less from the young lady she had dedicated herself to serving.

But right now, Lady Katarina was clearly unsure which direction to go, which side of the sea to settle down on.

“If I may, Lady Katarina…” Anne rested her hand gently on her charge’s shoulder, “If you are unsure which way to go… may I ask, where do you consider your home to be?”

---

There was a moment of silence as everyone around the Inner Council table considered the question. As hesitant as some of them were to admit to it, there was a very clear answer; one they all knew deep down.

With a heavy heart, Chairwoman Katarina raised her gavel.

---

Katarina took a deep breath as she came to a clearer understanding of her circumstances.

Her exile, really, had never actually happened. It was just a misunderstanding.

So… there was nothing keeping her from going back to Sorcier! Not to mention, all her friends wanted her to return too!

There was a very large part of her that wanted to remain here, by Malicia’s side, helping the young lady she saw as nothing short of family through whatever hardships awaited her….

And yet… the place she would consider to be her home…

As much as she could consider any place in this world to be her home, it would have to be in the comfort of her house in Sorcier, surrounded by her parents and Keith, going down to the front door to let Geordo or Alan or Sophia or Nicol or Mary in, tending to her favorite veggies in her little patch of garden that she had cared for over all those years….

All those warm memories that had turned to ice in her heart came bubbling back to the surface.

“I… have to go back to Sorcier,” Katarina murmured under her breath, more to herself than anyone in particular, “I have to go back home….”

---

Malicia knew the words the brunette was about to say before she opened her mouth. She could see it in her eyes.

And yes, coming of the heels of the revelation that her maid was actually the prominent noblewoman Katarina Claes, who had mistakenly been sent into exile, it shouldn’t come as too much of a surprise.

“...hah,” Malicia let out a half-chuckle, stepping back, accepting the defeat.

“...Malicia?” Rina… Katarina reached out to her, concerned.

“I’m fine,” she lied.

“Malicia…” the brunette frowned, clearly seeing through the front she was trying to put up.

“No, it’s like you said,” Malicia inhaled, “You have your own life to return to, right? If you really are… Lady Katarina Claes… then you really don’t have any business being in a place like this, do you?”

Surely that much was true. As much as Malicia didn’t want to admit it, she knew deep down that, if Katarina Claes really had ended up working as her maid here, it must have all been some big mistake. Someone like Lady Katarina surely didn’t deserve to be stuck in a place like this.

Besides, Malicia didn’t even have a house anymore for a maid to stay in! Not that Lady Katarina Claes should have been a maid in the first place….

“I’m not leaving right away, you know?” Katarina put her hands on her hips, “Prince Geordo told me that when they crossed the Strait of Sorcier, it was probably the last time any ships could cross it for the next few months! So… I’ll be here for you all you need right now, my Lady!”

“Y-you really don’t need to call me that…” Malicia shuffled in place, embarrassed to hear someone she considered to be so far above herself refer to her as ‘My Lady’.

Still… a few more months to spend with her close friend would be… very appreciated, really.

“Plus, it’s not like we’ll never see each other again!” Lady Katarina cracked a hopeful smile, “I need to go back home to see my family there, but… I will definitely return to see you again!”

“Hm,” Malicia smiled warmly at that idea. It was possible, right? To maintain a close friendship with someone who lived across the seas?

“So, don’t worry, Malicia!” Lady Katarina patted her warmly on the shoulder, “I have to go, but that doesn’t mean I’m going to be gone forever!”

---

Some time later, Malicia closed the door to her temporary bedroom in the palace quietly. She tried not to linger on the fact that it was the first time in months that she had gone to bed without her trusty maid there to tend to her.

But no, she realized now, Rina had never been her maid. It was all a big misunderstanding.

She had asked herself just a few hours earlier, wasn’t this all too good to be true?

Somewhere deep down, she cursed herself for thinking that yes, it had been too good.

Yes, Claudie was alive.

Yes, her father could be saved.

It seemed Ritallia was on a path to healing, in more ways than one. It should be a thoroughly happy moment, shouldn’t it?

Malicia was grateful for all of it. She truly was.

And yet, the thought of parting with Rina… her precious friend...

...someone she trusted with her life…

...someone she considered to be part of her family…

...part of her life….

The blonde stifled a quiet sob as she curled into herself on the soft bed in the Royal Palace.

This was going to hurt.





Notes:

And at long last, Malicia learns the truth about her maid!

Although that truth might be a bit more than she bargained for...

There will be a couple chapters wrapping everything up, and then an epilogue to tie everything together.

Hopefully this came out okay. I wanted to have it done a couple days ago, but I decided to polish a couple areas a bit more.

Anyways, thank you for reading!

Comments and constructive criticism are welcome as always!

Chapter 49: In Through the Out Door

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

No, it’s a really good series, Kicchan, trust me! It’s about this female knight who gets sent into a forbidden kingdom... She ends up outwitting the Shadow Lord, and rescues the princess from the Tower of Doom! Its so much fun and so well paced, not to mention, the animation is great!”

I dunno Acchan, it doesn’t sound very... original. Or cute.”

It’s not so much about the story itself, but how its told, you know?”

Well, yeah, but.. I’m not sure I’d want to watch a show with a villainess protagonist...”

Eh? Villainess?”

You said she got sent to that dark kingdom as punishment, right? Surely she did something bad.”

Well... the exile isn’t really important, you know? It’s just a plot device to send the character on her journey. Anyways, were you really paying attention, Kicchan?”

Eh?”

I mean... the main character definitely isn’t a villainess! If anything, she’s....”

---

A lingering twinge of bittersweet nostalgia pulsed in Katarina’s heart as she awakened in the downy soft sheets of a rather unfamiliar bed.

Come to think of it, most beds she slept in were a bit unfamiliar....

And she had never felt further from home than she did right now.

She wasn’t in Japan, nor was she at the Claes mansion, nor the Academy dorms. She wasn’t even in the not-quite-comfortable servants’ quarters at the Baudelaire manor, or even sharing her bed with Malicia.

She was sleeping in a spare bedroom reserved for foreign dignitaries at the Ritallian Royal Palace.

Katarina was sharing the room with Anne, Sophia, Maria, and Mary, while next door, Geordo and Alan were rooming with Keith, Nicol, and Sirius.

The Royal Palace had a vast array of suites and rooms, but considering the current circumstances, the majority of them were being used as impromptu meeting rooms to hash out all the commoners’ complaints and deal with all the legal and economic consequences of a large scale attempted coup.

Most of it went over Katarina’s head, but the long and short of it was that the Sorcier crew had to share their accommodations for the time being.

Luckily, Mary, Maria and Sophia didn’t seem too unhappy about their current arrangements! In fact, Mary seemed overjoyed by the opportunity to share a room! Katarina didn’t know Mary had missed her so much, but she had even caught the copper haired girl murmuring something about keeping close watch over Katarina while she slept. It seemed Mary was worried she might wander off or something while she rested! She never knew herself to have a sleepwalking problem, but it was reassuring to know her old friend cared so much!

Katarina rubbed her eyes. The gentle illumination of the grey mist outside the window indicated another foggy, snowy morning had dawned in Ritallia, on this newest chapter of her second life.

She thought back to that dream, that memory.

She wasn’t sure what it was that brought that memory back out of the blue. Memories of her life in Japan had a way of flickering through her mind at the oddest moments. Maybe it was Anne’s question a few days ago about what she truly considered her home to be. Sorcier felt like the most natural answer to that question right now, but her life before... it would always linger in her heart as something precious.

But still, that memory... Hm.

Thinking it over, all those things the character did in that show she had Acchan had watched way back when... didn’t it feel a bit familiar now?

---

A few weeks had passed uneventfully.

Well, ‘uneventfully’ was a slight understatement.

A number of important meetings were held to determine the course of the nation from here on out. The Commoners Alliance was pushing for more representation for the people in the governance of the nation, and of course, there was significant push-back from a lot of the major noble factions. Luckily, the commoners having the support of the Baudelaires, the LaCroix, and the recently reinstated House of DeLeon, the negotiations were leaning in their favor more often than anyone would have guessed before.

And, of course, Maria Campbell stayed true to her word and quickly produced a large quantity of potions to treat the illness spreading among the people. It was a miracle, truly.

The people in Ritallia had even begun referring to Maria the same way her former maid once had, as a ‘heroine’.

But for Malicia Baudelaire, the her new life here at the temporary accommodations at the Royal Palace were rather dull. Due to her... prominence in all the events that had unfolded at the Baudelaire estate, along with her sweeping promises made that evening, she couldn’t really expect to just shy away to a corner and sit it all out. Nor did she have any intentions of actually shirking her duties or her promises to make the peoples’ lives better.

Even so... she really wasn’t cut out to be at the heart of all the policy-making and negotiating commerce deals. She had spent her life up until now learning all the laws of the lands, but never had she really considered the application of any of those laws. Being in the center of all the moving pieces felt odd, like all her knowledge hadn’t taught her anything at all.

Not to mention, now that she spent most of her time actually devoting herself to working with the Commoner’s Alliance and the various factions of the nobility, doing actual, tedious work, it meant she had less time to sit idly by, talking with the other noble ladies or leisurely whiling away her days.

She really could use a good maid by her side right about now, Malicia thought. Perhaps a selfish thought, but she really missed being able to call upon Rina’s aid at moments like this, if only for the company.

But now, she couldn’t even call her ‘Rina’!

Malicia was still a bit unsure what to make of the mysterious young lady by the name of Katarina Claes, but now that she had learned even more about her former maid, she felt she knew even less than she had at the start.

And now, now that she did know the truth, it made the absence of her once-ubiquitous maid all the more noticeable. She was just working the proper job of a noblewoman, the one she ought to have been doing from the start, and though she knew in her heart it was all for the best, it felt like a return to life before Katarina Claes had appeared in her life.

Throughout it all, the thought of Rina -- Lady Katarina -- leaving... it still weighed on her mind....

---

Katarina made her way down from the accommodations towards the bustling main halls of the Royal Palace.

The Palace had a very different atmosphere than it had when she and Malicia came here for the marriage interview. Back then, it felt more like a museum than a working office of government, like a lot of the noble houses she visited during her time as Malicia’s maid. Back when she lived in Sorcier, all the noble estates she visited there were all well maintained, but they generally felt busier and more like everyone was actually doing something rather than just resting on their laurels.

It was a change for the better, Katarina supposed. Even if they had a lot of issues, it was a good thing that this incident had kicked the nobility here into action. At the very least, they couldn’t turn a blind eye to the commoners’ problems anymore, and it seemed many of them had realized this.

As she made her way to one of the less busy halls, she caught sight of her Lady walking briskly through the corridor with an stack of important looking documents in her right hand. Her arm had made a nearly-full recovery thanks to Maria’s amazing light magic, but her left arm still remained in a cast.

She had been helping Malicia out recently of course (there was no way she was going to leave her Lady to fend for herself right now after all!), but considering Malicia now knew her true identity, the blonde insisted on not allowing her to return to work as her maid. Naturally, Katarina wouldn’t have minded, but for the moment, she had a lot of other things to handle on her end.

Apparently, a lot of the commoners had assumed she was a member of the Commoners’ Alliance (and in spirit she was; she did support their cause after all), and even with her true identity revealed to everyone now, it seemed that a surprising amount of the common folk placed a solid amount of trust in her. Because of that, she was working alongside Claudette to serve as an intermediary between the commoners and the nobility, which ultimately meant she had her hands full almost all of the time right now!

She was very grateful for the presence of her friends from Sorcier, now more than ever! Geordo, Alan, Nicol, and Keith especially; they ere all quite adept at understanding all the intricacies of the legalese in the documents she had to read over when managing the commoners’ requests. Not to mention, it seemed like Geordo and Alan were getting along pretty well with the Ritallian princes!

As for Malicia, Katarina wasn’t too worried about her.

As it so happened, Grace, Nellie and Ellie had all been pitching in!

It wasn’t too much of a surprise, considering Katarina knew that all three of Malicia’s other maids were quite fond of her, even if they didn’t see Malicia as much as Katarina herself did.

But especially after that night Malicia spent in the servants’ quarters, they had all taken quite a liking to their charge, and it showed. Nellie and Ellie were mainly experienced at cleaning things, and Grace’s forte was the kitchen, so they weren’t quite experienced in the role of being Malicia’s personal attendant like Katarina herself was, but the made sure the blonde did not want for anything.

Even so, Katarina could tell Malicia missed having her by her side, and to be honest, Katarina missed being by her side. She had settled into a nice routine there, working alongside her erstwhile companion in the weeks leading up to the attempted revolution, and it was a strange comfort she would miss nearly as much as Malicia herself.

Though, really, she couldn’t blame Malicia for feeling that way. The time she had been away from Anne felt like she was missing her left arm!

A good maid like that was such an important part of just making it through the day, and, well, Katarina wasn’t entirely sure she counted as a ‘good’ maid, per se, but she knew Malicia appreciated her company nonetheless.

As Katarina watched on, Malicia paused from whatever it was she was doing to sit down and look out the window where some snow had begun to fall.

Katarina put her hands on her hips. That was no good.

She had a tentative idea of Malicia’s schedule for the day, and she knew the blonde couldn’t afford sit around idly right now!

With her friends from Sorcier by her side, the brunette wandered over to meet her Lady.

“Hey, Malicia,” Katarina nudged her lightly, “You are a noblewoman, don’t forget. You shouldn’t shirk your duties!”

“Is that so?” Malicia arched a brow, “That’s a bit rich coming from you, Baka-Rina!”

Katarina pouted, putting her hands on her hips. Malicia shot her a look... but upon closer inspection, it seemed like something was a bit... off about Malicia today.

“Are you feeling alright Malicia? It isn’t like you to sit down in the middle of a busy workday,” the brunette arched a curious brow.

“Ah, I’m quite well, thank you,” the blonde answered, “And in any case, there’s no need to stand on ceremony now, is there? I’ve... turned over a new page in my life, so I’ll live it as I see fit.”

She was lying. Katarina could tell it by now as soon as she saw Malicia’s golden eyes.

(At the very least, she was wearing her glasses all the time now, so she didn’t have to strain her eyes so much, but they did make her eyes look bigger, making the dishonestly in them that much easier to spot.)

But it didn’t seem like Malicia wanted to talk about such things at the moment, so Katarina opted to drop it for now.

“‘Baka-Rina’?” Geordo gave her a look.

“Don’t ask,” Katarina huffed, blushing slightly.

Katarina noticed a decidedly bemused look on Sophia’s face. She shot the white haired girl an annoyed glare.

“Must be a Ritallia thing,” Alan shrugged.

“Yes, let’s say it’s a Ritallia thing and leave it at that,” Katarina sighed. She would have preferred to leave that particular nickname on this side of the sea when she left, but from the mischievous look on Sophia’s face, she doubted that would happen now.

---

Malicia paused for a moment, sparing a glance back over her shoulder at Lady Katarina standing casually in the hallway of the Ritallian Royal Palace.

It still felt so surreal, to share the halls with Katarina Claes herself.

She carried herself with an unflappable confidence, one that could be mistaken for ignorance to an outsider such as herself, Malicia mused, watching on idly as the the height of Sorcier’s nobility made light conversation with her friends.

“Are you doing alright, Lady Baudelaire?” a semi-familiar voice called out to her as she watched her former ‘maid’ with her friends.

“Eh?” the blonde blinked, not realizing how long her gaze had lingered on the brunette. She shook her head, turning to focus on the older woman standing before her, “Oh... you are Lady Claes’ maid, correct?”

“You can just call me Anne,” the dark haired maid introduced herself politely. Actually, now that Malicia thought about it... was she really a maid?

“Y-you aren’t secretly some foreign princess or something. Are you?”

“I’m afraid not, Lady Baudelaire,” Anne replied with a chuckle. Her dark eyes turned thoughtful after a moment, “I suppose I could have become a Baroness, had my life unfolded differently. But luckily, Lady Katarina stopped that from happening.”

Malicia tilted her head, “You consider yourself lucky for becoming a maid rather than a Baroness?”

“Considering I am Lady Katarina’s maid...” Anne turned her gaze to meet Katarina’s eyes across the room, “..yes. Without a doubt.”

“Hm,” Malicia let out a little sigh as she thought back to all the brunette’s antics, “She’s very... unique, for a noblewoman, I mean.”

---

Unique, hm? The corners of Anne’s lips quirked upwards to a slight smile.

“Oh... you have no idea,” the maid chuckled.

Anne was quite sure her Lady’s time in Ritallia had been far from uneventful, but even then, the maid still imagined her own experiences with Lady Katarina would be a surprise to anyone not wholly familiar with her.

Anne turned her gaze back to Lady Baudelaire. It seemed something was troubling the young woman, but Anne was not quite sure what to say.

(Of course, her hunch was Lady Baudelaire was troubled over Lady Katarina preparing to leave in the coming month, but that seemed like an issue she didn’t have much ability to weigh in on).

The blonde heiress paused for a moment before moving closer to Anne.

“Perhaps this is an... impertinent thing to say, considering she is the daughter of a Duke, but...” the blonde young woman leaned in towards Anne conspiratorially, “...Lady Katarina Claes was the singular best maid I could ever have wished for.”

Anne blinked, taking a moment to fully consider the young woman’s words. After a beat, the maid couldn’t help but grin at that.

Sure, Lady Baudelaire was correct, it wasn’t an especially flattering thing to say of a Duke’s daughter, but it wasn’t as if Lady Katarina had ever held that position in especially high regard. Anne had always seen the position of ‘maid’ as one dedicated to helping a family she truly cared about, and upon further thought, it really did seem like a line of work her charge was especially well-suited for.

“And, if I am to understand correctly, you have been serving as her maid for many years, no?”

“Yes, that’s correct,” Anne nodded.

“Then I am truly grateful to you as well,” Lady Baudelaire offered her a kind smile, “I can only assume she learned her... tact and dedication to her craft from you. So... thank you very much, Miss Anne.”

Anne felt her lips twitch slightly at that. All things considered, that might not be the compliment Lady Malicia thought it was, but she opted to take the more generous interpretation of her words.

“You’re very welcome, Lady Baudelaire,” the maid nodded. As she looked over the blonde, she noticed a similar look of dejection to the one in Lady Katarina’s eyes in the days just before she had disappeared. Anne pursed her lips, “I... suppose I cannot fully understand your situation. But... I do know my Lady has a curious habit of making things all work out for the best. She has her home back in Sorcier, but I do fully believe she considers you just as close a friend as any of the others in that little group she has accumulated, if not closer.”

Malicia turned to her, eyes wide with curiosity and hope.

“So don’t think this will be the last you will see of her... Because she is just as committed to her friends as we all are to her,” Anne smiled reassuringly at the young blonde, hoping she could go some way towards soothing her of her worries.

---

Back in Sorcier, hm?

Malicia mulled those words over as she walked towards the scribe’s office to deliver the documents she had just signed off on. It was an agreement she was all too happy to approve; a rather bold plan of her father’s, and one she wholeheartedly supported for once.

And yet, that was hardly at the forefront of her mind any longer.

When she was a little girl, the kingdom of Sorcier always sounded like a wild and wonderful place, some magical land a world away from Ritallia. Back then, she had always liked the idea of traveling abroad, seeing other lands and experiencing what lay beyond the seas.

And now, it somehow seemed even farther than ever.

Rina... Lady Katarina was going back there soon, and that stretch of frigid waters would feel utterly endless.

Malicia sighed, glancing down at the documents Katarina had just reminded her to deliver.

Yes, she really should get back to her appointments shouldn’t she?

Hm.

Without a thought, Malicia suddenly found herself walking in the direction opposite the next meeting she was meant to attend.

Maybe it was something Rina told her at some point, or perhaps she was just exhausted from not having slept well the previous few nights, but she decided right then and there that she needed a bit of time for herself.

And she knew just the place to take such a moment for herself.

---

A certain auburn haired young woman walked as leisurely through the palace halls as her limited time would allow.

Although Claudette was very busy, using her newly discovered dual-identity to work through the commoners’ many grievances, this was a very special occasion for her. For many reasons, really.

It wasn’t just the relief of making it through that dreadful night with Malicia safe and sound. Nor was it the indescribable joy of being able to help distribute the cure for the Etran Flu to everyone and watching them begin to heal up over the past several days.

No, it was the simple knowledge that they had all made it. No matter how dark things had looked, Malicia and Tommy and the Outliers and Old Man Kettle and everyone else she cherished had made it through that night and could now rest easy, knowing they had a bright tomorrow awaiting them.

So, she tried to take her time here, when she could.

Being a graceful noblewoman was not quite the life she felt she needed to lead, nor was being a simple farmer out in the narrows.

Even her name felt a bit confusing now. She had been Clara Kettle for so very long, and had become rather attached to it. And yet, acting as a noblewoman to delegate the commoners’ issues meant taking up her proper name of Claudette DeLeon... a name with a bit more weight to it that she was fully sure she could carry.

For the time, she had taken to thinking of herself just as ‘Claudie’, though. It was the name Mali called her by, and it felt... right. Familiar and comfortable, but not as stuffy as her full name.

And as she walked through one of the windowed palace halls, Claudie happened to catch a glimpse of curly blonde hair out of the corner of her eye.

“Mali?” the auburn haired girl asked herself softly in the corridor.

She turned to find her closest friend, the one who had nearly killed herself to save her, her heroine, Malicia Baudelaire, riding a horse away from the Royal Palace just as the snowy winds kicked up again.

Claudie bit her lip, a sudden twinge of unease running through her as she noticed that the blonde seemed to be quite alone as she set off into the snow.

Suddenly, out of the corner of her eye, Claudie also happened to notice another familiar figure wandering the palace halls.

“Miss Rina?” Claudie made her way over to the brunette before quickly correcting herself, “Oh! No, I meant... Lady Katarina? Pardon me...”

“No, no, it’s fine!” Malicia’s former attendant waved her hand casually, “I’m actually pretty used to ‘Rina’ by now, so feel free to call me that! What’s up?”

“Up?” Claudie blinked, unsure what she meant.

“I meant... you look worried, is something wrong?”

“Ah, no, it’s just...” the auburn haired girl shifted bashfully. Perhaps it was just a misunderstanding and she was getting worried over nothing. She glanced over her shoulder towards the window, “I happened to see Mali leaving just now. You two are quite close, so i thought you might have an idea where she was going...”

“Eh?” Lady Katarina blinked, apparently caught off guard by that development.

Claudie frowned. It was as she had expected, then.

“Where’s Malicia?” the brunette asked her, a look of worry flickering in her pretty blue eyes.

“She just rode off that way,” Claudie pointed out the side gate of the palace in the direction she had seen Malicia’s horse disappear to just a bit ago.

“That way....” the brunette frowned, tapping her chin curiously.

“Is everything alright, Lady Katarina?”

“Um, yeah, I think so...” Katarina hesitated, “Can you get a carriage together? I think we need to go after her. Well... maybe not ‘need to’, but...”

“I understand,” Claudie reassured her, “I would like to make sure she is doing well too.”

“I think I might know where she is…” Lady Katarina murmured.

And to tell the truth, Claudie was pretty sure she had a hunch too....

---

The small Beaumont house sat alone in the gently falling snow by the seaside, whirls of dusty ice spiraling past in the chilly air.

The wooden planks of the roof creaked slightly under the weight of the snow as Malicia gently closed the front door behind her. She gingerly placed the small travel bag she had taken with her on the front table, being extra careful not to damage the contents.

This small house had weathered worse storms, Malicia knew. She had spent more than one night here, curled up in her mother’s arms as the thundering torrents of rain assaulted the windows outside.

That used to feel like a lifetime ago, but now it felt like two lifetimes.

Letting out a sigh, the blonde took a seat at the cold, empty dining table. She sat quietly in the chilly room for a few moments before opting to at least light some candles for herself. The flickering flames provided a bit of warmth, illuminating the gray of the snowy atmosphere.

Everything felt so... odd, now. It was like she had started a new chapter in her life, but she had no idea where it would lead. It didn’t feel bad, but it didn’t feel good either.

Before the revolution, her whole life had been laid out for her. Work all day to be the perfect noblewoman, to be the ideal heiress, to make herself to be a bride, to marry into the Royal family and obtain as high of a status as she could.

It was a life she loathed, but a life she understood. As tiresome and dreary as it was, there was a certain... comfort perhaps, to knowing exactly where she was meant to go.

And now that she could go any which way she liked, she had no idea what to do.

And she could really use some guidance from....

“Malicia? Are you here?” a familiar voice interrupted her wandering thoughts.

The blonde’s eyes widened in surprise.

As she moved around the corner to the corridor, Malicia startled as she found that all too familiar figure standing in her entrance hallway yet again.

“Rina... what are you doing here?” the blonde asked halfheartedly. She knew ‘Rina’ wasn’t even the right name anymore, but it felt so familiar on her tongue by now.

“Claudie said you ran off,” Rina walked over, looking a little unsure what to say.

Malicia let out a sigh. Did everyone really have to worry over her quite so much?

“It’s snowing, Malicia...” the brunette sat down next to her at the table, “I didn’t want you to catch cold or something.”

“I...” the blonde folded her arms, averting her eyes. Outside, the snow had picked up a bit... and Katarina had really put herself in danger again just to come all the way out here? For her sake?

Ugh, why was she still so....?

“What’s this?” Katarina suddenly took notice of the little travel bag she sat on the table in the entrance hall.

“N-nothing!” Malicia answered perhaps a bit too quickly.

Katarina let go of the little bag, and hopefully wouldn’t ask about it again. She didn’t want to try and talk about that on top of everything else.

“I thought you told me you wished you lived here?” Katarina suddenly changed the subject, “You can just move in, you know?”

Malicia blinked for a moment, shuffling in place as she considered that prospect. After a beat, she replied, “I... am not sure that would be appropriate at this juncture....”

“Do you really care?” Katarina shot her a look.

“Hah?” Malicia put her hands on her hips.

“No need to stand on ceremony at this point, is there?” Katarina shrugged, “You said it yourself. You aren’t going to be living the same life you had before... so you might as well make the most of the next chapter of your life, right?”

Malicia stared back at her for a long moment, then let out a sigh, “Is that how you approach things?”

“Hm?” Katarina tilted her head, a look of innocent confusion in her eyes.

For some reason, that look sparked some flicker of annoyance in Malicia’s mind.

“You thought you got exiled and immediately became a maid? You didn’t even try making a case for yourself or reaching out to any other nobles or embassies here in Ritallia? As soon as one chapter in your life ends, you just immediately start the next without looking back?” Malicia took a breath as she finally let those pent up frustrations spill out.

She hoped that hadn’t come out sounding harsh. It was just all the troubles that had been buzzing around her head the past few days all bubbling out at once. Ever since she learned that her trusty maid was none other than Lady Katarina Claes herself, it had been nagging her.

How could someone so important to so many people allow herself to just be thrown away?!

“Yeah, I guess so,” Katarina shrugged, finally answering her question, “I don’t really see much point in lingering too long on things I’ve already lost...”

“And you... didn’t even have any qualms about acting below your station?” Malicia continued, still sounding very annoyed.

“My station?” Katarina narrowed her eyes.

“You’re a Duke’s daughter for goodness sake! Aren’t you the least bit bothered doing chores and bringing me tea?”

“Nah, not really!” Katarina waved her hand dismissively, “Why would I be bothered by that?”

Malicia held her gaze for a long moment, scrutinizing her closely. Katarina felt a little uncomfortable under those piercing golden eyes.

“Hah,” the blonde eventually relented, “You really are a different kind of person, aren’t you?”

“Different from what?” Katarina tilted her head, unsure what she meant by that.

“Different from... me...” the blonde sighed, slumping down into the chair she had been sitting in moments earlier.

“Everybody’s different from you, Malicia,” Katarina smiled warmly at her.

Malicia reddened slightly. The straightforwardness of this young lady always made her feel a bit...

Ugh. She clicked her tongue. Something about Katarina’s attitude just didn’t quite sit right with her. And more than that, she could tell that Katarina was dodging the main subject here!

“You say you aren’t concerned about lingering on things you’ve lost...” the blonde eventually murmured, “... but isn’t that just as good as saying you’ve given up on yourself?”

---

‘Given up on herself’? Katarina paused, unsure exactly what Malicia was saying.

“No, of course I haven’t given up on myself!” she shot back after a minute.

“But... you got sent here, and immediately threw away your own name! You decided to become my maid, and let me treat you like a dog!” the blonde almost looked angry, but Katarina wasn’t quite sure what she was angry at.

“Malicia, you really weren’t that bad, trust me...”

“That’s not the point!” Malicia whirled around to face her, eyes burning with some emotion Katarina couldn’t place, “Are you... do you really respect yourself so little that you would live like that?”

Katarina blinked. Was that what Malicia had been worrying about lately?

The past few weeks, the brunette had thought Malicia had just been concerned about her having to leave soon, but... she was still hung up on what they talked about that night?

“Eh?” Katarina stood up, walking closer to her, “Malicia, if I had really given up, I wouldn’t have looked for a job at all! I’ve spent my whole life trying to avoid my doom, and there’s no reason I’d stop just because I got exiled!”

“I thought that your ‘exile’ was a misunderstanding?”

“Whatever, that doesn’t matter! My point is, I got a job as a maid because I wanted to keep going! I didn’t use my real name because I thought that if I had been exiled, nobody would want to hire me. It was nothing to do with ‘giving up on myself’!” Katarina declared decisively.

“Really?” the blonde challenged, arching a dubious brow.

Yes, really! Everything she said there was true!

...right?

Although... now that she thought about it... maybe Malicia had a point. Maybe... if she had tried a little harder to get in touch with them, or even just hopped on the next boat back to Sorcier, she could have resolved everything without worrying any of her friends.

After all, no one ever told her she was exiled. She just felt like that was the only possible explanation.

But... really, why would they exile her?

They all... really did care about her in the end, didn’t they?

“I’m not upset that you’re leaving,” Malicia leveled a sharp glare at her, “I’m upset that you’re going to go back to that place feeling like you deserve to be thrown away!”

“M-Malicia, I--!” Katarina staggered back a step, suddenly feeling very flustered.

“Because you don’t! Look at me! Look at all those people who would cross the Strait of Sorcier during a snowstorm to see you again!”

Katarina could only blink in mute surprise at that outburst.

After a beat, Malicia stepped back a little bit, but that same intensity flickered in her eyes.

“Y-you... ugh...” the blonde huffed, “You do realize you ask a lot from people?”

“Eh?”

“You... You are incredibly likeable, Katarina Claes!” Malicia suddenly blurted out, before quickly clasping her hands across her mouth. Her eyes widened behind her glasses. A slight blush dusted across her cheeks for a second before she averted her gaze.

“Likeable? Me?” Katarina’s eyes widened at that. Surely she must be mistaken! Or was it... the fact that they were both villainesses? Was that why Malicia saw her as ‘likeable’?

“Yes!” Malicia repeated in a lower voice, “You are incredibly likeable! Which is why you should take it a bit more seriously when you...” the blonde faltered, her voice growing quiet as she added, “... when you leave people behind...”

“...Malicia...” Katarina suddenly felt a sharp stab of guilt. That same feeling that skewered her back when she finally realized her friends from Sorcier hadn’t abandoned her after all.

“I just... I don’t want you to go back there thinking you deserved any of this...” Malicia sighed, slumping forwards.

Katarina paused. She knew Malicia cared about her, but... she really cared so much about something like... that?

Well... huh.

Maybe.... Did her friends all care that much about how she felt too?

...hm.

Had she perhaps been a bit... oblivious this whole time?

She shook her head. That was a thought for another time.

Anyways, she refocused her mind on what Malicia was saying.

“...maybe I didn’t deserve it,” Katarina eventually relented. She stepped forwards and took Malicia’s hands in her own, “But I don’t regret it. After all, I never would have met you otherwise!”

“But... ugh,” the blonde shook her head, mumbling under her breath, “Maybe... it would have been better that way....”

“Huh?” Katarina felt more than a bit hurt by that, “D-don’t say that! It all worked out for the best in the end, didn’t it?”

Malicia shifted back and forth, eyes deep in thought, “... if I never met you, then I wouldn’t have to... let you go...”

Katarina felt a pang of cold, piercing sadness at the sight of regret on her Lady’s face.

“Without you….” the blonde sniffled pathetically, “I don’t have anyone else.....”

---

Malicia’s cheeks were warm with embarrassment.

She knew she was acting like a child. For all the events of the past few weeks, she hadn’t fully grown up quite just yet, it seemed. She still wanted to pout and scream and complain until she was blue in the face about how unfair it was that perhaps the closest person she had anymore was going to leave her, but she couldn’t do any of that. Or, at the very least, she had enough self restraint not to.

But even so, she couldn’t bring herself to not be upset about Katarina leaving her behind after everything they had been through.

After a long pause, she eventually lifted her eyes to find Katarina gazing back at her with a look of slight amusement on her features.

“Malicia… I really don’t think that’s true,” the brunette folded her arms.

“Eh?” the heiress tilted her head.

Without another word, Katarina just turned around and opened the curtains covering the front window of the Beaumont estate.

Malicia opted to follow her former maid’s lead, and cast her gaze out in front of the little house in the snow....

...and felt her heart flip flop at the sight awaiting her.

It seemed Katarina hadn’t followed her alone on horseback as she had anticipated. No, she hadn’t come alone at all.

Instead, just outside the little Beaumont house was a two horse carriage, which seemed to be carrying half the occupants of the Royal Palace.

The two princes were standing side by side, Alexander dressed suavely in his princely attire and Max dressed in his roguish hunting gear.

Beside the two of them, for whatever reason, that little weasel Tommy Finch had shown his face too. He shot her a smirk from beside the carriage, snow falling on his straw farmer’s hat.

In the shadow of the carriage, looking like a specter, the mysterious figure of Lena LaCroix offered her a sultry smile, eyes hidden by her glasses.

And, of course, Claudie herself, who looked every bit like the heroine Rina had once described her as.

Silhouetted by the sunlight which had begun peeking through the snow clouds, little bits of glistening snow flitted around the group, giving them a shining, magical aura. It was enough to make Malicia’s heart start racing a bit faster than she would have liked.

“Wh-wh-what are they all doing here?” Malicia startled backwards, suddenly feeling like she had been put on the spot.

“I mean... you say there’s a lot of people who care about me, who would worry if I went missing...” Katarina turned to her, eyes shining brightly, “...but there’s just a many people who care about you, Malicia! Maybe even more!”

Now it was Malicia’s turn to simply stare back in blank surprise.

“Wh-why...” the blonde started awkwardly, feeling her face growing redder and redder, “Y-you didn’t need to bring everyone here!”

“Well...” Katarina rubbed the back of her neck, “Claudie was the one who noticed you leaving... and we kind of ran into the others on our way out of the Palace. When they heard you had ridden out in the snow, they all volunteered to come and help you with whatever it was you were doing.”

Malicia felt her eye twitch. She had been sitting here in this comfortable little house while nearly everyone she cared about was sitting outside in the cold!

She pared one last glance at Rina before turning on her heel and marching outside to confront everyone waiting there.

“Well, I must say, I didn’t expect to catch you around this old place!” Max gave her a wave as she trudged out across the snow.

“Ugh... I... didn’t expect all of you to come out here!” the blonde huffed.

“Well, ya really oughtta!” Tommy Finch clicked his tongue, taking a step forwards, “After all, you’re our meal ticket, blondie! Without you, there’s no shot those negotiations work out in our favor!”

“And that’s why you came out here?” Malicia shot him a glare.

“Oh, please,” Claudie stepped between the two of them, “That’s just his way of saying he’s worried about you!”

“Oi, come on now--!” Tommy reddened a bit, but Claudie cut him off.

“...and, for the record, I was a bit worried about you too, Mali,” the auburn haired girl looked at her, eyes filled with emotions that made Malicia’s heart flip flop.

“Yeah,” Max moved in a bit closer, flashing a hint of a smirk, “...you do know carrots don’t do well in the cold?”

Malicia’s face went bright red. Why did he have to bring that up now?!

“Ugh, all of you...” the heiress shuffled uncomfortably. Everyone coming out here for her sake? During such a busy time, no less!

“Oh, don’t pay them any mind, Lady Malicia...” Lena LaCroix swished forwards from the shadows, “I do quite understand the urge to find a quiet place to... contemplate things. Although, given the weather, it is only natural for your... close companions to worry for your well being.”

Malicia blushed at the tall, imposing figure of Lady LaCroix.

Close companions? Was that what they were now?!

Somehow, this sudden influx of all her... friends? Whatever they were, they were all making her heart race!

But... surely it was different from the way all of Lady Katarina’s friends cared about her! This was just... her causing trouble for everyone by leaving when she was meant to be attending meetings; that was all there was to it.

She shook her head, opting to leave it at that for now and not let her thoughts wander to anything dangerous....

“Shall we head back then?” Prince Alexander suggested, clearly taking note of the chattering of everyone’s teeth.

“R-right,” Malicia took a deep breath of the cold winter air, “Let’s... get back to work...”

“Back to the Royal Palace, everyone?” Matis asked from the front of the carriage.

“Yes, sir!” Katarina gave the coachman a cheerful salute as the horses reared up and began to lead them back to the Palace.

---

Before long, the carriage had returned back to the Royal Palace she had set out from just a few hours earlier. Even though it had been just a short trip to her mother’s house, it felt like so much had happened today.

Just having a moment to vent her frustrations, to speak openly with Katarina... it really had gone a long way towards alleviating the stress she had been feeling the past few days. She still had lingering worries about Katarina’s impending departure, but she did feel a bit better about it all now.

The Royal Palace somehow felt a bit less imposing than it used to.

Perhaps it was a result of having lived there for a few weeks now, or perhaps it was the fact that the front gates were now wide open, allowing a constant flow of common folk in and out all day, but it didn’t hold the same mystique for her it once had. Out front, instead of the lineup of gilded carriages it once boasted, there were now a handful of those gaudy ‘automobiles’ as well.

As the group stepped out of the horse drawn carriage, Malicia cringed inwardly again as she realized just how much of a hindrance she had caused for everyone just by running off like a petulant child.

“Ugh...” the blonde averted her gaze, “I really... don’t want to be such a burden to you all...”

“You are never a burden, Malicia,” Claudie gave her a glowing smile that could melt all the snow in the land.

“Yeah, what was that thing you said about having self respect just now?” Katarina patted her head, “There’s no point regretting everything, Malicia!”

“I-in any case!” the blonde reddened, turning her gaze back to the imposing silvery-blue structure of the Royal Palace that lay before them, “We should... go inside, shouldn’t we?”

“Sure thing, my Lady!” Katarina saluted her awkwardly.

“P-please stop that!” Malicia swatted at her embarrassedly, “It’s... odd hearing someone as... eminent as yourself saying ‘my Lady’!”

“It’s fine, it’s basically habit by now!” Katarina waved her off casually, “I mean... we’re basically family, right?”

“That makes it even more odd to hear you address me that way!” Malicia swatted at her. After a beat, she felt a fluttering in her chest as she fully registered what her former maid had just said to her, “...you see me as family?”

“Of course!” Katarina reassured her gently, “That’s how you can be sure I won’t be gone forever, you know! I do have a home I need to go back to, but there will never be a time when I don’t consider this place home too!”

Malicia paused for a moment, letting those words sink in.

Yes, that was right. For all her... unorthodox methods, Rina Clayton had always been an unimaginably reliable maid. So she had no reason to think that Katarina Claes would be any less capable of being there for her, regardless of the distance between them.

She supposed that was what the brunette had been trying to say all this time; that this was hardly and ending, just a new chapter.

“Actually, speaking of family...” a puzzled expression passed over Katarina’s features, “..that reminds me of something...”

The blonde arched a brow as she fell into step beside her former ‘maid’ as they made their way back into the Royal Palace, “What do you mean?”

“Well... I was just thinking about what you said about Claudie that night...” Katarina tapped her chin.

“Hm?”

“You said that you wanted both her and you to marry the princes so you could be family, right?”

“..yes?” Malicia reddened slightly, still feeling rather embarrassed by having blurted that out in front of the whole country.

“Well... if the whole point is to be her family, why not just marry Claudie yourself?” Katarina asked as if it was the most normal thing in the world.

“Hm?” Malicia pursed her lips. Well, that was simple, wasn’t it? It was because....

...well...

....eehhhh?!?

Malicia blinked, almost tripping over her own feet as the question she had just been asked fully registered in her mind.

What? Why in the world was Katarina asking something like that so shamelessly?!

“Because... ah... err---” Malicia felt her face turning redder than Cerise’s hair as she desperately fumbled for an answer. She had to say something quickly!

“Hey, Mali?” Claudette suddenly appeared by her side, scaring the living daylights out of her.

“Ehhhh?!?!” the blonde jumped a foot in the air at the sudden appearance of her old... friend?

Ehhh? Why was it even difficult to think the word ‘friend’ all of the sudden?!

Malicia stumbled back a few feet, overwhelmed by an unexpected onslaught of thoughts she never thought she would think!

---

“Hehe,” Katarina giggled at the sight of her Lady suddenly turning beet red. With her glasses, it made her look especially cute!

“Ah, did I say something wrong?” Claudie looked a bit uneasy at Malicia’s awkward overreaction.

“Oh, no, not at all!” Katarina waved her off happily, “In fact, I think you might be just what Mali needs right now!”

“Hm?” Claudie gave her a curious look.

“My, my, playing favorites, are we?” Lena LaCroix intoned, a slightly ominous aura radiating from her, “Well, that just won’t do, now will it? Perhaps Lady Malicia and I should go for tea soon, no?”

“Eh?” Katarina held her hands up. She had forgotten for a second that Lady Lena seemed to look at Malicia in that way too!

“Hm,” Prince Alexander nodded, a distinctly Geordo-like smile on his lips as he added, “In that case, perhaps now would be a good time to follow up on our previous conversation during your marriage interview, Lady Baudelaire?”

“Weh?” Malicia blinked, turning even redder, if such a thing was possible.

“Oh, please, she don’t wanna go back to a bunch of boring meetings!” Tommy chimed in, shooting Malicia a wink, “Betcha’d rather go for a little stroll with me, blondie?”

“Aw, come on, as if you even know what she likes,” Prince Max cut in, “I’m sure she’d rather go exploring with me like we used to!”

“Eh? Eh? Eh?” Malicia’s face was burning as she blinked back and forth from each of her ‘friends’ as they argued over her.

(Katarina couldn’t shake the feeling that it felt... oddly familiar, somehow).

Of course, she wasn’t entirely sure just how much of that Malicia had overheard, or what of it she would understand of she did; her red-faced charge had quickly turned around, muttering something about being late for a meeting as she scrambled away.

But still, the tint of pink on her cheeks was progress, she supposed. Katarina might not technically be a maid anymore, but she still considered it her foremost duty to assist her charge wherever she could! After everything that had happened, she was pretty confident in her Lady’s ability to dodge doom flags all by herself now!

Dodging romance flags, on the other hand.... Well, she’d leave it to her charge to figure that stuff out!

Thus, Katarina grinned as she watched Malicia blushing her way through all her friends. The only thought in her mind right then was: ‘Just which one of them will she end up with?’

---

And, unbeknownst to Katarina, in the Beaumont house by the sea, a little, lovingly wrapped package was waiting just inside the front door. To most, it would look rather unassuming, but most wouldn’t know how desperately Malicia had scoured the servants’ quarters of her former clifftop estate.

After all, it was only the main estate that had tumbled into the sea. The maids’ quarters were largely undamaged by the whole affair, and just a few days earlier, Malicia had set out to try and recover a few rather... precious items. They weren’t valuable, per se, but, well...

A certain little picture from a rather unforgettable night at the opera was currently resting on the tabletop just inside the door of the little Beaumont estate. Signed with a rather unladylike scribble, the words: ‘Fun night at the theatre! Malicia and her favorite maid/bestie, OXRina XO!’ were scrawled across the back of the slightly blurry, black and white image.

And if Malicia had her way, it would stay right there for the rest of her days.





Notes:

This took a bit longer than I'd hoped, but it's finally here. I am still committed to getting this whole thing done by the end of the year, so next chapters should be up fairly soon (I hope)!

Malicia and Kat are starting to wrap things up; I wanted to have one last scene of the two of them addressing their more... emotional stuff privately. Also, Malicia's harem has finally fully assembled, and Mali is in for quite the chaos! Both she and Katarina are slowly starting to wake up to the idea that the people around them actually care just as deeply for them.

Anyways, thank you for reading! Comments and constructive criticism are welcome as always!

Chapter 50: Bring it on Home

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

Katarina felt more than a minor twinge of nervousness as she stood in the throne room of the Royal Palace of Orleans.

The past few nights, her sleep had been restless, ever since she had gotten the news. Honestly, even now, she really couldn’t believe it. Out of everything that the Kingdom of Ritallia could do to show their appreciation for her efforts... this was just too much!

It wasn’t like she could refuse, though. Nor could Anne. But still, Katarina felt her face growing warm as what felt like everyone in the country gathered in the central hall of the Royal Palace for today’s ceremony. Although, she did feel a little twinge of excitement on top of everything else....

She turned to see the princes, Alexander and Maximillian, walking in step behind an older man who unsurprisingly looked a bit like both of them.

Their father, King Alain Valois, walked purposefully down the main aisle, approaching where Anne and Katarina were waiting at the top of the room. It was the first time Katarina had seen the King of Ritallia in person, and while she could see the pallor on his features and the grey in his hair, she could also see that despite it all, he wasn’t unhappy.

The King had a jovial air to him, a light of happiness and gratitude in his eyes as he stepped up to the center of the chamber to formally announce the purpose of their gathering.

“Lady Katarina Claes of Sorcier,” the King turned towards her, “For your commitment to the House of Baudelaire, and the lengths you were willing to go to ensure the safety of the House Baudelaire and expose the treachery that threatened our Kingdom....

“And Miss Anne Shelley,” the King turned to Anne, who was kneeling beside Katarina, “For your bravery in the face of danger, and your ability to overcome the foremost swordsman of our kingdom when he dared turn his blade against us....”

The older man stepped forwards, tapping the end of his sword on Katarina’s shoulders, before moving over to do the same to Anne.

“As the Regent of this grand kingdom, I do hereby anoint you both as Honorary Knights of Ritallia,” the King decreed with an air of practiced dignity and honor, “For your acts of selflessness, bravery, and devotion, I personally congratulate you both and bestow upon you the highest accolade in our kingdom, the Medal of Honor.”

A round of applause rang out through the main hallway as the red and blue medallions were handed out to Anne and Katarina.

The brunette felt a flutter of happiness and excitement whirling around in her insides as the shimmering sun through the stained glass windows washed over her, making the entire scene feel like something from an otome game’s particularly happy ending.

---

Anne smiled contentedly as she followed her Lady down the main steps of the Ritallian Royal Palace to the waiting carriage out front.

In truth, she had never expected to visit the nation of Ritallia at all. Being formally declared as an Honorary Knight of this kingdom was not even something she could have dreamed of in her wildest imaginations.

The benefits of knowing Lady Katarina, she supposed.

A few steps ahead of her, her charge was poking happily at the little medallion hanging around her neck.

“Pretty cool, huh, Anne?” the lively brunette grinned.

“It looks lovely on you, My Lady,” Anne returned her glee with a kind smile of her own.

“Sir Antoine was a bad guy, however you look at it...” Lady Katarina quirked her lips to one side, “... but I did always like his necklace thingy!”

“The Medal of Honor, you mean?” Anne gestured to the awards they had both just received.

“Yeah! It’s cool!” Katarina held up her own, “And now, I’ve got one too! And so do you, Anne! Or should I say, my Knight?”

“Anne is just fine as always, Lady Katarina,” the maid assured her. After a moment, Anne hesitated, “Hmmm...”

“Something the matter, Anne?” Master Keith gave her a look.

“I was just thinking...” Anne pursed her lips thoughtfully, “...how much of a raise do you think I should ask for after this?”

“Eh?” Keith blinked in surprise.

Beside Anne, Lady Katarina nudged her lightly, gesturing down towards the medals they both wore, “The best part is... We’re officially the same rank Anne! Forever!”

Anne blinked in surprise, taken aback by that revelation. The idea of being the same rank as her charge felt... strange, but oddly enough, Anne was rather happy about the prospect.

“L-Lady Katarina...” a sudden fluttering of happiness warmed Anne’s chest.

“Hehe, I might not be a maid anymore, but we’ll always be fellow knights, right, Dame Anne?” her Lady shot her a quick wink.

“Hm,” Anne let herself show a rare, bright grin, “Right you are, Dame Katarina.”

---

A short while later, Geordo Stuart kept a brisk pace as he led the group from Sorcier down the pathway from the end of the cobblestone roads to the docks, already very much looking forward to returning to the kingdom he knew and loved.

The carriage from the palace had taken himself and the rest of his friends from Sorcier down to the docks promptly after Lady Katarina and Anne’s knighting ceremony came to its conclusion. It seemed that the busy schedule of the Ritallian nobility had worked out just such that the day Lady Katarina would receive her honorary knighthood also happened to be the first day when the Strait of Sorcier was calm enough for them to return home at long last.

The prince sighed, wondering why every his trip to and from the gilded land of Ritallia always had to be curtailed by unfortunate timing.

He had spent the past months working in conjunction with the Ritallian Royal family to iron out the details of the new public constitution and Ministry of Public Affairs they were working to create so the commoners could have a voice in the government.

Needless to say, the Royal family Geordo hailed from had a much better relationship with the people of Sorcier. Naturally, there were some detractors, but on the whole, it was a much better situation by any metric. As such, Geordo had been using his moderate degree of experience to help the princes of Ritallia iron out some of the details of their plans for how to better incorporate the needs of the commoners into the decisions of the nobility.

Overall, the process was... quite tedious. Which, if Geordo was reading the room correctly, was quite a relief to many of the people there, considering the alternative to tedious paperwork was... that whole fiasco at the Baudelaire estate.

Nevertheless, it was work he wasn’t particularly fond of. The prince had his fill of troublesome nobles working to undermine his every move back home, so having to deal with all the same here was hardly a welcome experience.

Naturally, he was eager to put this chapter of his life behind him, and return back home to hopefully some semblance of normalcy. It wasn’t simply a matter of wishing to get out of this rather hectic land of Ritallia, but also because he had quite a few matters back in Sorcier he needed to attend to. Having been absent for months, the prince was quite sure to be overwhelmed with piles of paperwork pertaining to his usual duties, not to mention his schoolwork. And, on top of that, there was the meddling of one Noelia Flores that still remained to be addressed....

Geordo was so preoccupied with all the matters back in Sorcier that needed attending that he didn’t even realize he was walking so quickly he had nearly left everyone else in the dust.

“Alright, alright!” Alan called out, “They’re not going to leave without us, you know!”

“Bit of a cramped schedule though, isn’t it?” Keith frowned, just a few paces behind, “The knighting ceremony is on the same day the boat leaves?”

“Hey, that’s just how we do it here!” a rather obnoxious voice rang out from a few paces up the docks.

And, as it so happened, there was one more thing about Ritallia that annoyed Geordo. It mostly went without saying, but, honestly. Having to spend so much time apart from Katarina had been difficult on its own. But coming here to Ritallia, and having to spend so much time around all these other new rivals? This was just torture!

“Dang, I’m really movin’ up in the world, huh?” the young man who Geordo had come to know as Tommy Finch sidled up towards the group of Sorcierrans, “Friends with four princes from two countries? Never saw that comin’! They do say is not what ya know, its who ya know! Maybe someday I’ll head over ta Sorcier myself, and--!”

“--And if you do anything illegal, you’ll get the same treatment as anyone else,” Geordo finished the sentence for him, folding his arms.

“Yeah, don’t get ahead of yourself there,” Alan shot him a look, “We talked twice, I wouldn’t call that friends.”

“Aw, come on,” Tommy’s shoulders slumped, “I helped Blondie meet up with Claudie, and I helped out back at the estate that night! That ended up helping Miss Rina, so, basically helpin’ you out to, wouldn’t ya say? Plus, I haven’t done anything illegal!”

“If I recall correctly...” Geordo reached into his travel bag, procuring a pair of bracelets he had carried since he retrieved them back at the port of Bresley, “... the sale of these was under rather dubious pretenses, was it not?”

He made sure to ask Katarina to explain in detail the exact circumstances by which she had parted with them, just to make sure she wasn’t harmed in any way. And while it was true that she hadn’t been hurt, he held no high regard for someone who would take advantage of her naiveté in such a manner.

“How in the heck...?” Tommy startled backwards a pace.

“Hm,” Geordo narrowed his eyes, “Clearly in your days of scamming, you’ve developed some... methods. I have some methods of my own. So if you do happen to make it to Sorcier... don’t expect those little tricks of yours to go over so well there.”

The prince took a moment to relish in the look of surprise on Tommy’s face as he warned him. From his expression, Geordo decided the message had been received.

If there was one silver lining here, it was that the potential... ‘threats’ in Ritallia all seemed much more interested in Lady Baudelaire than Katarina herself. Although Geordo definitely noticed a few more glances aimed towards his fiancee once it came out that Lady Baudelaire’s personal maid was in fact the eminent Duke’s daughter, Katarina Claes of Sorcier.

However he looked at it, he would be entirely grateful to get out of this magic-forsaken kingdom and back to a world he knew. And with that, the prince turned and continued on his way to the awaiting ship moored at the harbor.

---

Meanwhile, a few steps away, Katarina was the last in the pack, gingerly allowing herself to be led along, like she was being taken to the dentist or something.

It was true that she was happy to be reunited with her friends and family from Sorcier, and she was certainly eager to get back to her garden and maybe grow her hair out again.

And yet....

Katarina Claes!”

The brunette shivered. Even across the sea, she could already hear the fierce shriek and feel the ice cold glare of the Duchess Claes. That was going to be a rather difficult reunion, wasn’t it? She expected an absolute earful from her mother as soon as she stepped in the front door.

At the moment, though, she had a much more pressing worry.

It suddenly struck her that, well... she found it more difficult than ever to say goodbye to all her new friends from Ritallia!

When she had been sent away from Sorcier, she never had a proper chance to sit down and say goodbye to everyone one by one! She had just woken up on the boat with no idea how she’d gotten there.

(And her previous... departure from Japan hadn’t exactly given her a chance to say her goodbyes there either).

Having to go through the process of actually telling people that she would see them again, in a situation like this, where they would all be so far away for so long? It really... kind of hurt. More than she wanted to admit, actually.

She knew she had told Malicia that moving on was something she was used to, but, when it came down to it, it certainly wasn’t something she found easy. As she mulled it over, her mind began to wander.

How would Malicia fare without her there to tend to her?!

She might not have been the best maid, but she also knew Malicia was more open around her than most of the others. Would she really be okay without Katarina by her side to help her talk through all the difficult stuff going on in her life?

Her thoughts were wandering so far that she hardly noticed that Malicia’s carriage had also finally arrived at the docks.

“Wh-why are you wearing that?!” Malicia gawked at her from the end of the cobblestone pathway at the top of the docks.

Katarina blinked, caught a bit off guard by that question. She glanced down at herself, barely even paying any mind to her current state of dress. She didn’t really have many options, so she wound up wearing this to the knighting, and didn’t have any time to change afterwards. Although, now that she thought about it, wearing her full Baudelaire family maid uniform to the knighting was probably why she had gotten so many odd looks this morning....

“It felt fitting, you know?” Katarina eventually answered her charge, but looked away sheepishly, “Plus, I... kinda spilled some soup on my other dress, and Anne only brought the one...”

“You really wore that to a knighting?” Malicia walked over to her, brow arched skeptically.

“Anne wore her maid clothes too, you know?”

“Yes, but she is an actual maid, Katarina Claes,” Malicia put her hands on her hips.

Katarina pouted dramatically, “Was I really such a poor maid that I don’t even count?”

“That--!” Malicia huffed, “You know that’s not what I meant!”

“Where would you be without me?” Katarina grinned proudly.

Malicia stared back for a moment, and then her expression clouded over slightly.

“Malicia, are you alright?” Katarina stepped over closer to her.

“I...” the blonde shuffled awkwardly, cheeks reddening slightly, “You... helped me. So many times, in so many ways.... There must be some way I can make it up to you?”

“Eh?” Katarina waved her hands worriedly, “‘Make it up to me’? I don’t need you to do anything like that!”

“I’m aware I don’t need to!” Malicia huffed, “...I want to. I want to properly thank you for... everything.”

Katarina paused. She really didn’t have anything she wanted at this moment (aside from not getting chewed out by the Duchess Claes, but Malicia wouldn’t be able to help her on that front), but she still took a moment to think it over.

“... You can keep these on,” she reached over to tap the blonde’s glasses, “You know you get a headache when you don’t wear them...”

“Honestly... is helping others really all you think about?” Malicia folded her arms.

“Of course not! I’m a v—”

The word villainess died on her lips.

It really didn’t fit her that well, now that she thought about it. No... Malicia had told her this just recently, hadn’t she? It never was the right word for her, was it?

Malicia was meant to be a villainess too, and she was one of the nicest people Katarina had ever known! She was working around the clock to help the people of Ritallia, and spending her little free time hanging out with all the people who loved her from the bottoms of their hearts!

And Katarina herself, she had so many close friends too. She cared so deeply for all of them, and it was finally beginning to set in that they all cared just as deeply for her!

Malicia had just told her this a few weeks ago, but for some reason, it was hard for her to really accept it as true. For her whole life, she had lived with the expectation of being the villainess of the story, but... she was a really good person too, wasn’t she?!

“You’re a...?” Malicia prompted her after a long, awkward silence.

“I’m a very dedicated farmer!” Katarina announced, putting her hands on her hips confidently, “I spend plenty of time thinking about my veggies!”

“Haaah,” Malicia sighed, rubbing her eyes. After a beat, she glanced up, meeting Katarina’s eyes, “It does... look good on you...”

The blonde gave her a final once-over, looking over her House Baudelaire maid uniform from top to bottom. Katarina was pretty sure it was in good condition, too! She had always done her best to conduct herself as much like Anne as she could!

“Hehe,” Katarina grinned. Being a maid wasn’t something she was cut out for, clearly, but she had to admit, it had its moments!

A few paces behind them, the shadowy figure of Lena LaCroix giggled at the sight. The bespectacled beauty leaned in towards Katarina, “I would like to take this moment to extend my utmost gratitude for all that you have done, both for our kingdom, and for... Malicia.”

By her side, the aforementioned heiress turned bright red at Lena’s words.

“Yes, Lady Katarina,” Claudie nodded, appearing alongside the others, “Thank you for everything you have done to assist our kingdom and the commoners during our most desperate moments. None of us here will ever forget you.”

The auburn haired girl smiled gently with a shimmering genuineness that rivaled even Maria’s! Katarina could definitely sense that pure, heroine energy Maria had coming from Claudie too! Although, now that she thought about it, Claudie smiling at her didn’t make her heart race in the same way Maria did. Katarina had always thought it was just Maria’s protagonist charm, but... was it something else?

Katarina was shaken from her thoughts by a sheepish tug on her sleeve. The brunette turned to find Malicia shuffling awkwardly in place by her side.

“N-now… I know you don’t owe me anything… but...” Malicia glanced down, cheeks glowing bright red, “Will you still keep our promise?”

“About the... project?” Katarina tilted her head. She wasn’t totally sure of the details yet, but she’d certainly do what she could. Not to mention, she had a contact at the Ministry now!

“No. I meant this...” the blonde reached out, re-wrapping the soft scarf around Katarina’s neck, “Promise me… you will always wear the crest of the House Baudelaire... like you said you would, that night....”

Katarina blinked. Why did Malicia want her to wear that? It wasn’t like she had a problem with it, after all, it was a nice memento to remember her time here by, but….

Oh.

Ohhhhh….

That night at Malicia’s mom’s house flickered through her mind again. That promise she made... she never had any intention of breaking it!

“Of course!” Katarina grinned, “I’ll wear it always!”

“Good,” Malicia finally smiled. It was the smile Katarina had come to recognize as the one she had when she was actually at peace. The one when she was actually happy and not just putting on a face.

Katarina felt a similar sense of peace in her own heart.

Yeah. Malicia would be okay. She’d be just fine.

The two stepped forwards, pulling each other into a tight hug. Katarina knew it wouldn’t be their last, but it would be some time before they would meet again.

The embrace eventually parted, many unspoken words lingering in the salty harbor air.

“Goodbye, Malicia,” Katarina felt a pang of sadness welling up in her as the words left her mouth, but she did her best not to show it, “I can’t wait til we meet again!”

“Oh, I’ll make sure that day comes sooner than later, Katarina Claes!” the blonde gave her a cheeky little salute as Katarina made her way up the gangplank to the ship, “Bon voyage! Until we meet again!”

Katarina could tell Malicia was doing the same thing as she was; trying to hide how upset she really was with this parting. But Katarina opted to do the nice thing and not mention it.

No, she would leave their goodbyes at that for now; after all, it wasn’t the last time they would meet, and Katarina was quite certain of that!

Without another word, Katarina stepped off the gangplank and onto the deck of the ship, to once again set sail, and this time destined to return to the land she was foretold to be exiled from.

---

Malicia did her best to hide her dismay as Lady Katarina boarded the ferry bound for Sorcier.

Perhaps she was wrong, but it looked like Katarina was pretty sad too, and doing her best to hide it. But there was no need to mention something unbecoming like that at a time like this, so she opted to just let it be.

Her heart felt heavy as she watched the Sorcier-bound vessel raise its anchor and unfurl its sails, making its way out of the Dumont Bay and into the Strait of Sorcier. Lady Katarina, her lifelong idol, and through some bizarre stroke of fortune, one of her closest and most trusted friends slowly vanished into the distance.

She stood at the small iron fence that ran along the seaside, waving her handkerchief over her head, sending her very best wishes to her most cherished companion as she faded away across the sea.

Malicia let out a sigh as the boat began to fade from view.

After a while, it became clear that she had been standing there for far too long, and was reminded that she still had other items on her agenda for the day. The knighting ceremony and farewell were important tasks only for herself and her immediate friends, after all. The business of the kingdom as a whole had no intention of slowing just for her sake.

Just as she was about to turn her mind back to the bigger picture, she was shaken from her thoughts by a small figure running up to her.

“Hey!” a little girl, no older than ten ran up to her with wide eyes, “You’re the lady that saved Miss Clara, aren’t ya?”

“Ah...” Malicia hesitated. Technically, yes, but she couldn’t help but feel Claudie wouldn’t have been in that predicament at all of not for her own foolishness.

“Yeah, she sure is!” the voice of Max cut in before she could answer, “She risked her life to save your friend, young miss!”

“Miss Clara was always really nice to me,” the young girl smiled up at her, “Thanks for helping her out, gold lady!”

“Y-yes...” Malicia hesitated, but the little girl had already run off back in the direction of the poorer side of town. The blonde felt a strange feeling she couldn’t quite place in her heart, “...mmmm.”

“Why do you always look so upset every time somethin’ good happens to ya?” Tommy Finch appeared by her side, cutting into her nervous introspection before it could go too far.

“Eh?” Malicia gave him a glare.

“Yeah, Malicia,” Max chimed in, “You used to brag about so much useless stuff, but now that you’ve got some real accomplishments, you always shy away from it.”

Malicia shot him a glare. She really didn’t think she had ever ‘bragged about useless stuff’ before! Honestly!

Even so, she felt an ever-present weight of guilt bearing down on her mind.

“It’s not that...” Malicia frowned, “I just... don’t really feel that I’ve earned that level of... kindness from these people. I haven’t... done anything.”

“Hm,” Prince Alexander tapped his chin thoughtfully, “I’m not quite sure I agree with that sentiment, Lady Malicia. You do recall I spent several months working on the Kettle farm under an assumed name, no? I did that to gain a better appreciation for the work our people do, and to better appraise the growing dissent from the commoners. I was well aware that the people had little appreciation for the nobility in this kingdom, and I’ve long worked to set things right.”

Malicia listened intently, hanging on every word as he explained himself.

“But it’s not something that can be forced. That kind of trust comes with time, and with care. But the way I see it, if they care about you, then you’ve earned them caring about you,” the first prince concluded thoughtfully, “So do yourself the kindness of accepting that gift of their trust, so long as you can ensure you will never betray it.”

Malicia paused for a moment, taking in those words.

As the rest of the group continued on ahead, she paused for a moment to just look around the bustling port town of Dumont. To watch the people run about, some running supplies to the ships, others hauling goods onto carts bound for the shops.

The commoners, the people of this kingdom....

She had never had a good relationship with the people. She had always shunned them and locked herself in her gilded palace. So standing here in the streets, being kindly greeted and thanked by the common people... this was the last outcome she had expected for herself.

But... she had no house to lock herself in anymore, she supposed.

Idly, she turned her eyes to the broken cliff side where her mansion had once stood. It was only then when she noticed something rather peculiar.

Truthfully, she hadn’t spent much time in the port since she was little, but she always remembered the harbor area being dark. The mornings here always felt like they didn’t start until nearly noon, as the sun was always hidden behind the cliff her estate stood on.

And now, it seemed that had changed as well.

Today, as the clouds passed, the storm began to clear, and for the first time in many long years, the sun shone down onto the Ritallian port below. That earthquake had split the mountain itself clean in two, allowing the bright light of the dawn to shine down on the people of the kingdom, rather than on Malicia herself.

This was... a much better look, she decided.

She glanced up the road to where everyone else was waiting for her.

Max and Claudie, Prince Alexander and Tommy Finch. Even the enigmatic Lena LaCroix; all standing by the carriage, welcoming her back with open arms.

If they care about you, then you’ve earned them caring about you.’

Alexander’s words from just a moment ago echoed through her mind. Was it really that simple, though? Malicia bit her lip, hesitating for a moment.

In her mind, some of the notes she had read in Katarina’s notebook back before the uprising suddenly sprung back to the forefront of her consciousness.

She had read about how she was fated to wind up scrubbing the decks of ships in the most optimistic endings, and meet her end at the hands of the mob in the worst endings. How every fate she could hope to encounter was terribly unfortunate for her.

It wasn’t simply the fact that she had avoided those terrible fates that made her feel so incredibly lucky right now.

Merely avoiding her doom would have been a blessing in itself, but... the fact that she had all these kind people waiting for her...

Katarina Claes really had worked a miracle here, Malicia mused as she turned back to the sea, watching her cherished friend sailing off into the distance.

---

As the shores of Ritallia faded into misty fog, Katarina’s arms were growing tired from waving. It had probably been several minutes since anyone on the shore could even see the boat, but she just kept waving into the distance, bidding a temporary farewell to her newest friends.

After a while, she eventually relented, taking a step back from the railing.

Katarina sighed, taking a moment to walk around the deck of this ship. It was actually a pretty nice boat when she wasn’t waking up here with no idea how she’d gotten aboard! She turned her gaze from the Ritallian coastline back to the direction the boat was headed. Back towards the Claes estate and the Academy, and all the old familiar haunts.

“I can’t wait to get back home!” she said out loud to no one in particular.

“Yes, Lady Claes, your return to Sorcier will be a very welcome one indeed,” a nondescript looking man in a crisp suit said to her with a polite smile.

“Yeah.... ” Katarina nodded. After a beat, she quirked her lips to one side, “Um, sorry, but... who are you?”

“Ah, pardon me,” the young man inclined his head politely, “I haven’t properly introduced myself. My name is Lewis, I represent the Ministry’s internal affairs office.”

“Oh... okay...” Katarina nodded along with him, but still wasn’t quite sure who he was or why he was here.

In truth, she really didn’t have too much free time in the past couple months to sit around and ask her friends about the details of their journey to Ritallia. And what time she did have to talk with them was mostly Katarina explaining how everything had happened on her end, so she hadn’t really learned too much about the specifics of how they made their journey to meet up with her.

“Ahem,” Lewis shook his head, apparently noticing her confused look, “My partner Roxanna and I were assigned to the case of supervising Mister Rafael Walt while he was investigating your disappearance.”

“Right,” Katarina nodded, a blank look in her eyes. That didn’t make it any clearer in the slightest. After a pause, she leaned in to Lewis and quietly asked, “Um... who is Rafael Walt?”

“Me?” a somewhat familiar voice answered from just behind her.

Katarina turned to find a familiar face staring back at her, though it wasn’t one she had seen in quite some time.

“Hey, you’re the Student Council guy!” Katarina snapped her fingers as she put two and two together.

“Yes, I am,” the redhead nodded awkwardly, before squinting at her, “Wait, who did you think I was?”

Katarina shrugged, feeling a bit embarrassed for not noticing he was there sooner, “I don’t know, I thought you were just some random pedestrian who wandered in!”

“I apologized to you for cursing you when we first encountered you here at the Couillard estate...” Rafael Walt reminded her with a pointed look.

“Oh, that’s right, you did...” Katarina tapped her chin, recalling everything that happened the night of the uprising. A lot of it had kind of gotten lost in the shuffle. Had anything else important been said there? She pursed her lips in deep thought.

“I’m starting to understand how the hex I placed on you went so terribly awry...” the redhead mused idly.

“Hang on! I’ve barely seen you since that night!” Katarina narrowed her eyes, “Where have you even been this whole time?”

“Well, as you can see, I am technically in the custody of the Ministry,” Not-Sirius Rafael pointed towards the pair of overseers behind him, “I didn’t have the free reign to wander about wherever I chose, and had no intention of causing a scene. It quickly became clear that you had your hands full with all the other business going on, so I opted to wait until all the matters you took to heart had settled.”

“Oh,” Katarina paused for a beat, “That’s... actually very thoughtful. Thank you!”

“Anytime,” the redhead offered a smile that seemed much kinder than his usual demeanor, “In any case, if that apology got lost in the commotion that night, then allow me to repeat myself.”

“Eh?”

Stepping into a polite and remorseful bow, Rafael inclined his head, “Lady Katarina, I must once again express my profoundest regret for the trouble I have caused you. I held a... deeply incorrect understanding of your personality and cast a terrible curse upon you which led you into extreme dangers. I... really am sorry for all of it, and hope to find some way to make it all up to you, in any way you see fit.”

“Oh, no, don’t worry about it!” Katarina waved her hand casually, “Malicia and I were just talking about this, actually. It’s a bad thing to spend too much time regretting the past! I just hope you’re feeling better now!”

“F-feeling better?” Rafael blinked, confused, “What do you mean by that?”

“Well, you always had a kind of sad look in your eyes,” Katarina recalled, and smiled reassuringly at him, “Plus, I’m not going anywhere else for a while, so I’ll stay with you til you feel better about yourself! So don’t cry all alone, Rafael!”

Katarina tilted her head, surprised by the look of stunned disbelief of the redhead’s features. Had she said something wrong?

After a beat, Rafael shook his head slightly, “I... I see. Well, then... in that case, thank you very much for your generosity, Lady Katarina. But my offer still stands; do let me know if there is anything at all I can do to make it up to you.”

Beside them, a certain copper haired young woman had appeared from the shadows of the ship.

“Damn,” Mary bit her thumbnail, a faint glint of anger in her eyes, “She’s still doing that sort of thing, even now, hm?”

“Eh?” Katarina blinked, “Did I do something wrong, Mary?”

“Oh, no, not at all, Lady Katarina!” Mary waved her hands, “It’s merely the... effect you happen to have on certain people...”

Katarina blinked. She was lost again.

“Speaking of which... it’s a shame everyone else got to spend so much time with Maid Katarina except for us...” Mary frowned pensively.

Katarina tilted her head. Mary wanted to see more of her acting as a maid? She really couldn’t understand why; it wasn’t as if she was ever a very good maid. But if that was what Mary wanted... she was still wearing the uniform, after all....

Reaching into the side pocket, she pulled out her little white maid’s cap and put on her gloves from Nellie and Ellie. With the best curtsy she could manage, Katarina approached Mary politely “May I assist you, my Lady?”

“Hm, hm,” Mary nodded thoughtfully, “Yes. I see.”

The copper haired girl’s eyes scrutinized every detail of the sight before her. It was as if she was studying a painting at a museum or something. After a short while, she extended her hand towards her fiance, as if requesting something, “Alan, do you have it?”

“Yeah, here you go,” Alan quickly offered her a small hand towel.

With that, Mary’s head lurched backwards as if she had been knocked with a baseball bat, and bright red blood began pouring from her nose.

“Eh?” Katarina gasped as Mary quickly used the towel Alan had provided to stem the intense nosebleed, “Mary, are you alright?!”

“She’ll be fine,” Alan answered in her stead, rubbing his eyes, “She just needs to... cool down for a minute...”

Katarina hesitated, still worrying over her friend’s sudden blood loss. What in the world could have caused that?

Well, as long as Mary was okay, it was fine. The brunette shook off her concerns for the moment, and took a few steps closer to the center of the ship’s main deck.

“Haaah,” the duke’s daughter let out a weary sigh as she slumped down, leaning against the main mast of the large ship. Her mind was buzzing with all sorts of thoughts, but as the ship steadily crossed the vast, icy ocean, Katarina couldn’t help but think back to some of her adventures with Malicia.

“Are you alright, Sister?” Keith turned to her with a puzzled look.

Katarina noticed her other friends had all gathered around as well. Geordo and Nicol were standing to her left, with Maria and Sophia on her right. Alan was still fanning Mary to ‘cool her down’ whatever that meant.

Maybe they would be able to help ease her worries. It was something she had noticed quite a while ago, but given her station as a maid, it felt wrong to bring it up. And then, after she had stopped being Malicia’s maid, there never really seemed a good time for it, but...

“I don’t know… I just think… all of Malicia’s friends were totally in love with her!”

The brunette slumped downwards against the tall mast of the ship, until she was sitting on the deck. Without a thought, she just continued venting her worries to her companions.

“I mean, it just seems like a really tricky situation, you know? All of them like her a lot, but it seems like none of them are ready to say it! And Malicia... She has a lot of good qualities, but there are times when she could be a bit dense about things that were right in front of her. I just wonder if she’ll be okay, and.... I don’t know, I just... can’t imagine how she could not see it--”

“My Lady?” Anne gently nudged Katarina, interrupting her rambling.

“Yes, Anne?”

“May I advise you not continue this line of thought much longer?” Anne told her discreetly, “I would be remiss if, after all our efforts, you were thrown overboard at this juncture.”

“Eh?” Katarina blinked, unsure if she had heard the correctly, “Anne? Why would I get thrown overboard? Annnnneeee!!??”

---

Some time later, after Anne had managed to soothe her charge’s worries, the ship slowly drifted through the sunset seas, and into the purple evening. Lady Katarina had likewise drifted into a comfortable sleep in the main cabin of the ship, lulled to sleep by the rocking of the waves.

Anne opted to step outside and take in the chilly night at sea. Unlike her arrival in Ritallia, this was a relatively peaceful venture across the Strait of Sorcier. On a proper ship helmed by a sober captain, this journey wasn’t half bad, she noticed.

Honestly, never in her life had Anne even considered there would come a time when she would ride on a ship. It always seemed like she would be right by Lady Katarina’s side in Sorcier, and never had much of a reason to go anywhere else with her life.

Princes Geordo and Alan, along with Lord Nicol stepped out of the cabin behind her, walking over to her quietly. After a few moments, Master Keith emerged as well, followed shortly by Miss Campbell, Lady Hunt, and Lady Ascart. All of Lady Katarina’s close companions opted to allow her a moment to rest peacefully in the relative calm of the ship’s cabin as they gathered in the cool night air on the deck.

“She hasn’t changed much, has she?” Prince Geordo mused, glancing back towards the cabin.

“Oh, I wouldn’t say that,” Anne inclined her head, “I feel that she has grown quite a lot during her time away.”

“You think so?” Master Keith asked uncertainly.

“Lady Katarina has a tendency to either be terribly indecisive, or painfully confident in her least accurate judgments,” Anne admitted. It might be a rather harsh assessment of her charge, but everyone present knew it was not an inaccurate one. The maid continued, “But... these past weeks... I feel as though the way she looks at the world has changed. She seems, perhaps... a bit more open minded?”

Anne was quite aware of the hopeful looks that flashed in each of her Lady’s companions’ eyes as they realized what she was getting at.

But she didn’t think her assessment was incorrect. She knew Lady Katarina could be rather oblivious to the decidedly obvious, but she also knew her Lady had certain methods of mentally tiptoeing around that big issue. But these past few weeks, Anne could help but feel that her charge was perhaps a teensy bit more perceptive than usual.

Maybe it was wishful thinking on her part, but Anne couldn’t help but feel that Lady Katarina might just be on the verge of a rather timely realization one of these days....



Notes:

One little epilogue to go, and this will finally be wrapped up!

Katarina finally bids her farewell to Ritallia and heads back to Sorcier, but it's not over just yet! There's still a few things to be tied up, and a few more reunions to be had!

Thank you so much for reading! Comments and constructive criticism are welcome as always!

Chapter 51: Familiar Territory

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

Once again, Katarina felt a slight wiggliness to her legs as she stepped off the ship from Ritallia.

In truth, she didn’t even recall boarding the ship the first time, so this harbor really didn’t feel all that familiar. Even so, at first glance, she could tell it was in much better condition that the Ritallian port she had just set sail from a few days earlier. It was much cleaner... and devoid of con artists trying to swipe peoples’ jewelry, at any rate.

As they made their way up the docks, Keith ran ahead of the group and hailed the first set of carriages he saw.

“Take us to the Claes estate right away,” Keith instructed the coachman.

“Yes, sir,” the coachman nodded politely as they climbed aboard.

Keith and Katarina, along with Anne, Geordo, Nicol and Sophia hopped in the first carriage, while Alan, Mary, Maria, and Rafael, along with his accompanying Ministry workers took the second one.

Katarina took a moment to take in the carriage itself. It really wasn’t the kind of thing she normally paid attention to at all, but being back on her home turf made her a bit more aware to how different even the carriages in Sorcier were from those in Ritallia. They were a bit smaller, for one, meaning she couldn’t sit with everyone at once. It was something she was fully accustomed to for most of her life, but after the massive carriages of Ritallia had become standard fare for her, this felt like a bit of a step down.

Still, being able to share a carriage with her friends at all… that made it more than worth it!

It had been a long three days at sea, but now that they had finally returned to Sorcier, Katarina couldn’t help but feel a bit anxious. It had been a long, long time since she had been here, really.

The sun was beginning to dip lower in the sky as the carriage made its way through the Sorcierran countryside, rumbling past a handful of familiar locations that sparked that odd sense of nostalgia for her life from a year ago. It was a feeling that she had been working hard to actively bury deep inside herself during her time in Ritallia; that sense of longing for this simple life in Sorcier.

Maybe ‘simple’ was a stretch, but it was a life she had come to love.

(And now that she had no doom flags left to fear, it was one she would love even more from now on…)

Her whole life felt like it had restarted yet again. It should feel like she was just going back to how things were, but it all felt like so much more than that.

Between catching up with everything she had missed on this side of the sea and settling that ‘project’ she had discussed with Malicia, it really felt like she’d have her hands full for the foreseeable future….

“So, Sister…” Keith’s gentle voice shook her from her wandering thoughts, “I suppose I should ask you about something...”

“W-what is it, Keith?” Katarina tilted her head, a little confused by the puzzled look on her little brother’s face.

“Yes, I have been wondering about that as well,” Geordo nodded, turning towards the maid who sat across from him, “Do you have it with you, Anne?”

Katarina narrowed her eyes at her maid, unsure where this was all going.

“Indeed,” her fellow Honorary Knight procured from her pocket a rather… familiar looking notebook.

“...eh?” Katarina’s eyes widened in surprise as she realized exactly what Anne was holding, “M-my notebook! Where did you get that?!”

She lunged forwards to grab it, but to her surprise, Anne leaned backwards and held the notebook up high, out of her reach.

“It was, in fact, instrumental in helping us to track you down,” Geordo explained calmly, “But it did raise a number of very difficult questions to ignore.”

“I-it’s true, Katarina,” Sophia spoke up, face slightly red, “I was able to… er, decipher some of the notes you made in there and it helped to track you down and find out the fastest way to get to Ritallia.”

Katarina hesitated as she thought that over.

Yeah, her book had a lot of notes about doom flags and such, but not even she had known anything about her ‘exile’ in Ritallia! Following her reincarnation, she hadn’t spared a single thought to Love’s Uprising until she actually got hired by Malicia herself. There shouldn’t have been anything in that notebook that could have pointed them to where she had ended up after that curse had been cast upon her!

“It helped us to know that we needed to sail on the Fortune Lover to reach you!” Keith elaborated.

“Eh? The Fortune Lover?” the familiar name elicited a gasp of shock from the brunette. Fortune Lover is a... ship?

“Yes, sister!” Keith nodded, “If it weren’t for your notes here, we would never have been able to make it to Ritallia in time to help you!”

“It’s true,” Nicol remarked quietly. He gestured to the book and read aloud a few bits she had written in Sorcierran instead of Japanese in a studious, even tone, “Fortune Lover… ship… Keith and Nicol… Happy end!”

“It’s all right here,” Keith pointed to the page like he was lecturing her on homework.

Katarina felt her eyes spinning, her cheeks burning redder than Mary’s hair. How could anyone misunderstand things so badly!!?

Not that kind of ship!

She did her best to keep her head down and try to hide the rising blush on her cheeks as those words replayed through her mind. Across from her, it looked like even Sophia was blushing a bit at that!

“It mentioned everything that happened… every single thing! You being accused in the cafeteria, your ‘exile’, not to mention how extensively you had researched all the different farming techniques just so you could know how to counter that Redgrave potion the Chancellor used on the crops!” Geordo interjected, “It even made note of Maria being hailed as a heroine in Ritallia! I just cannot fathom… how in the world did you know all of this for so long?”

“I...I… Uuuuhhhh…” Katarina’s eyes darted back and forth between everyone present.

She had indeed made a few notes about farming techniques in there, but it sure wasn’t because she was researching how to counter the Chancellor’s potions! She just thought those would be worth remembering if she had to work on a farm! And the mentions of Maria being a heroine were because… well, Maria was the heroine! Of Fortune Lover!

She wasn’t quite sure how to bring it up, but it really felt like there was a big misunderstanding going on here!

“If I may…” Anne folded her hands together, a thoughtful look in her eyes, “I have a theory….”

“What is it, Anne?” Keith turned towards her curiously.

“It is because…” Anne leaned in towards her, eyes sparkling with a rare sense of wonder, “...you are a prophet, aren’t you, Lady Katarina?”

“Eh?” Katarina blinked, then reeled back in utter shock, “EEHEHEHhhhh????!!!!”

A prophet? Her? That was just… ridiculous! Right?

She closed her eyes for a moment, trying to wrap her head around how they could have ever arrived at that conclusion. Prophets were wise sages who could see the future! And her notebook only had a… couple mentions about the… future she had foreseen….

“Wha-!” Katarina gaped in mute surprise for a moment, “No way! I’m not…. Well… I guess, I kinda am? In a way…”

But she had only seen the future in an otome game! Surely that didn’t count, did it?

“Hm,” Anne nodded thoughtfully, a rare smile on her lips, “I knew it.”

“Yes, your prophecies were key to assisting us in our quest,” Geordo continued as if it were the most natural thing in the world, “And it is a good thing we did! I daresay we helped out with your plan to stop the revolution there quite splendidly!”

“Um… yeah, you did…” the brunette shuffled awkwardly in her seat, “Uh...prophecies, huh… ehe...”

She still really didn’t think ‘prophecies’ was quite the right word for her knowledge of things, but right now, it seemed the truth would be even more complicated to explain than the version they had decided on. Katarina glanced towards Anne, who still had a glint of wonder in her eyes.

“It’s just amazing that you have, for so long, foreseen everything that would happen to you,” Geordo looked towards her, a mix of reverence and concern in his eyes, “But… Katarina, why didn’t you tell any of us?”

“Given how dedicated she is,” Anne answered in her stead, “I’m certain she simply didn’t want to worry us with things beyond all of our control. Not to mention, if we had known, its possible events might not have played out so advantageously for all of us.”

“Mm,” Nicol inclined his head slightly, as a beautiful smile lit his dashing features, “Though it may be Miss Maria who is known to the people of Ritallia as a heroine… in all of our hearts, that title belongs just as much to you.”

Katarina felt her heart miss a beat at the sight of the Devilish Count’s smile.

Yep! She was certainly back home, wasn’t she?

Where else would she get knocked off her feet so readily by that smile of his?!

Katarina could only sit stock still, face beet red, and try not to scream out of sheer… embarrassment? She didn’t even know what she was feeling anymore!

Luckily, she was quickly shaken out of her stupor by the familiar click-clack of the carriage over a certain bridge. It was one she knew by heart, and no amount of time away from here would erase that memory from her.

She glanced out the window on instinct, to be met with the familiar sight of the noble houses surrounding the Royal Castle at the heart of Sorcier’s capitol city. Her eyes were immediately drawn to one house in particular. It had been so, so long since she had been here, and seeing it again was… well, it was emotional, to say the least.

The twinkling of twilight against the silvery snowscape before her reflected in her suddenly teary eyes.

With the blanket of snow dusted over everything here, the estate did look a tad different than she was used to. However, a lifetime of growing up in this house made it shine bright as the sun no matter the time of day or weather.

She stepped down from the carriage, brushing off her maid uniform, suddenly a bit self conscious about her outfit. Back in Ritallia, being dressed as a maid really didn’t bother her (in large part due to her tight knit friendships with some of the other maids there), but the idea of coming back to her house and facing her mother while wearing this?

She gulped, preparing for the treacherous scolding she was mentally steeling herself for to be even harsher.

“Regrettably, Lady Katarina, to believe me when I say I would love to accompany you longer, but...” Geordo paused as Katarina, Keith and Anne exited the carriage, “I do have quite a lot of work to attend to back at the Royal Palace. Not to mention… opening a proper investigation into the Flores family….”

“The Flores?” Katarina gave him a look. That sounded familiar, but she couldn’t put her finger on it, “Who are they?”

“Seriously, Sister?” Keith’s eyes widened in surprise, “The Flores are one of the wealthiest Marquessates in Sorcier! Noelia was even in many of your classes at the Academy!”

“Yes, if I recall correctly, she has often tried to one-up you whenever you are called on by the teachers and correct any mistakes in your answers,” Geordo reminded her, “And more importantly, she attempted to sabotage our efforts to locate you. If not for her meddling, we would likely have arrived in Ritallia months earlier! I will need to thoroughly build a case and investigate the full nature of her involvement, but it does seem quite likely she was heavily involved in many of our investigations delays and setbacks.”

“Huh,” Katarina tapped her chin. She supposed she could remember a bit of that, but there was something else. Didn’t the name ‘Flores’ ring a bell for some other reason?

Before she could think too deeply on it, Geordo stepped back towards the carriage, “In any case, Katarina, I bid you the fondest of farewells. I do hope to come by your estate in the coming days to, ah… make up for lost time.”

“You’ve done plenty of that already,” Keith cut in, closing the carriage door behind him before her could get another word in, “Come along, sister, let’s go home.”

“Er, okay…” Katarina wasn’t quite sure what to make of that exchange, but decided not to press the matter right then. She turned back to the carriage in their driveway and waved, “Bye, Geordo! Bye Nicol! Bye Sophia! See you guys soon!”

As she watched her friends wave back from the departing carriage, it really felt like a slice of her life from before the exile. A little snippet of how things used to be. It was… bittersweet, in a way.

Keith led her gently towards the familiar, but suddenly very alien-feeling front door of her home, and knocked crisply against the wood.

In the few seconds between her brother’s knock and someone answering the door, Katarina once again felt a bit uncertain.

“I… Uh,” Katarina shuffled awkwardly, suddenly feeling rather unsure of herself, “What do I say?”

“Something tells me you won’t have much of a chance to get a word in edgewise,” Anne muttered.

“Eh?” the brunette tilted her head, puzzled by what that was supposed to mean.

Before she could dwell on it for too long, however, the front door clicked open. She had been expecting Joana or one of the other maids to answer the door, but instead, she was a bit caught off guard by the sudden appearance of her father.

“Hello, how may I… huh?”

“Eh? Dad?” Katarina was taken aback. It had been… way, way too long since she had seen him, hadn’t it?

“...Katarina?” by the look on his face, it seemed her father was even more caught off guard than she was. His eyes widened in realization he looked her in the eyes after so long.

“KATARINA!”

“D-dad!” the brunette gasped at the sudden hug, staggered slightly off balance.

“Katarina! You’re home!” her father wailed through a rather unexpected burst of tears.

There was a sudden rush of noise from the next room, something that sounded like a vase shattering followed by very rapid footsteps running towards the main foyer.

In the blink of an eye, another figure rushed into the room, eyes wide and frantic.

The brunette did the most comical of double takes as she caught sight of...

...eh?

Was that...?

“...mother?” Katarina tilted her head curiously.

Yes, it was definitely the Duchess Claes, but... she was wearing....

“Guh-!” Katarina’s wandering thoughts were cut off by yet another tackling hug.

There was a long moment of quiet as the brunette was sandwiched between her parents, trying to process the rush of feelings pounding in her chest.

She was… she was, truly, home.

After so, so long….

She was home.

“Katarina….” her mother drew in a breath after some time, “Is it really you? You’re really… here?”

“Of course!” Katarina gasped out against her mom’s crushing hug, “I’m back!”

Katarina couldn’t help but feel another round of guilt wash over her at the expressions on her parents’ faces. She had, for so long, been under the impression that her departure was a genuine exile, but now that she knew it had all been a misunderstanding….

It stung quite a bit to know how badly she must have been hurting her parents all this time by not even bothering to tell anyone why she had suddenly left. The curse placed on her hadn’t been her fault, but… she really should have done what Malicia had said and reached out to them or to a Sorcierran embassy or something, just to try and confirm the details of her exile. If she had, this would have been sorted out long ago….

It was just… she had spent so long thoroughly convinced that either death or her exile was the natural conclusion of the game; that those endings were the only way to satisfy the fate that she had been assigned in this life.

But none of that mattered anymore, did it? She had faced her doom head-on, and come out on top!

No, more than that… her life had never been dictated by the rules of the game, had it?

She had a lot of things to think over, but at the moment, the first thing on the forefront of her mind was….

“But mother…” Katarina tilted her head as she stepped back a pace, “Why are you wearing… that?”

Katarina took a moment and observed her mom’s current attire.

In fact, it was an outfit she was all too familiar with; it was her gardening clothes!

She had always been aware of how much disdain her mother had for that particular set of clothes, and only tolerated them since she knew Katarina would be other there gardening in one of her dresses. So why in the world was her mom wearing this green gardening outfit she had so openly spoken out against in the past?

“I…” her mother brushed a lock of hair behind her ear, “...hah. I don’t know how you manage to keep up with all of those crops of yours. They are… troublesome, especially at this time of year….”

“You have been… tending to my farm?” Katarina did a genuine double-take. After everything that had happened – between the exile, the revolution, and her long journey home – that was probably the most surprising thing she had encountered in either of her lives!

“Hmph… Naturally, I had no doubt that you would return…. And if the first thing you did was start fretting over those things, it would surely…” her mother trailed off, looking her over, and put her hands on her hips, “… you know, I hardly think you are in a position to be asking about anyone else’s state of dress. Why are you wearing that?”

“Ah, well…” Katarina rubbed the back of her neck sheepishly as she glanced down at her House Baudelaire maid uniform, “I… it’s a long story...”

Her mother held her gaze for a long moment, but rather than interrogating her on the spot, she just let out a long sigh.

“Where have you been all this time…?” Her mother asked, but the question lacked the fiery anger Katarina had been expecting.

She just sounded… relieved.

It was odd, however. Katarina had expected much more of a scathing wrath from her mother, so this weary but happy response did nothing but deepen the guilt in her heart.

She shook off her thought, however, at another familiar voice.

“Sister, I must say, you’ve-- AH!” Keith started to say something but was quickly interrupted.

“Keith!” her father called out, “Oh my goodness, you’ve returned too!”

Katarina turned to find her brother was waiting just outside the house… or had been, until their father caught a glimpse of him, andabruptly pulled him into the hug with her.

“Why were you standing out there?!” she asked awkwardly, “It’s freezing!”

“Well, I figured I’d let Mom and Dad have a proper moment with you, before intruding on the moment…” Keith responded breathlessly.

“You act as if we aren’t just as happy to see you again after two months, Keith,” their father scolded.

“Yes,” the Duchess cut in, “I… can see that your quest to find your sister was successful, but don’t think you’re off the hook for disappearing on us either, young man.”

“Well, he did help us to locate the young miss,” Anne spoke up, also stepping into the Claes estate, “Perhaps you could be a bit lenient on Master Keith.”

“Anne!” the Duke and Duchess turned to face their maid with an ever-growing enthusiasm, “You’ve returned as well!”

“For the record, it was Anne who actually found Sister,” Keith interjected.

“Well, that isn’t impor--Ah!” the maid-slash-honorary knight yelped as she was dragged into the hug alongside all the others, “I… am not sure this is…”

“Oh, hush, Anne,” Katarina scoffed, “You’re part of this hug too, got it?”

“I… yes, my Lady,” Anne relented with a… rather adorable smile, which Katarina promptly returned.

The brunette grinned widely into her parents’ arms.

For some reason, she had half been expecting to get the scolding of a lifetime.

Huh.

Well, she certainly wasn’t going to complain about this reunion.

Yes, she was well and truly glad to be home!

Katarina wept tears of overwhelming joy as her parents lovingly embraced her after her long months of absence, holding her close and reminding her just how loved and wanted she was.

---

And then, once the tearful reunion was over, she got the scolding of a lifetime.

 

 

Notes:

Kat deserves a nice hug from everyone after her long journey!

I had initially planned this to be the last chapter, but there were a handful of other things I wanted to address, so there will be one more chapter to tie everything up and then this fic will finally be over.

This story does have some new fanart of Malicia in chapter 1 and chapter 24 by Daawnily, so check those out if you can!

Anyways, Thank you for reading! Comments and constructive criticism are welcome as always!

Chapter 52: Epilogue (Living Loving Maid)

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

The squawking of the seagulls and rhythmic splashing of waves against the stone walls of the harbor filled the air, and the summer sun lit the crystal Sorcierran skies while a certain young woman descended the stairs of a sleek Ritallian steamship.

A gust of salty air rushed against the young lady, who had to reach up to stop her wide brimmed hat from being blown away. Though it may have merely been a cheap travel hat, it was quite useful for keeping the bright sun out of her eyes on such a golden day.

“Hah!” a familiar blonde heiress stepped down onto the wooden docks of the main port of Sorcier.

For all her time spent overlooking the port and the vast sea beyond it, this was the first time she had actually crossed it. The journey had been beautiful, both in weather and in scenery, although it was clear she hadn’t exactly gotten her sea legs as she awkwardly stumbled down the docks and up to the concourse at the end of the harbor.

“Grace,” the blonde turned to her maid.

“Yes, My L– ahem, Malicia?” the petite maid quickly corrected herself. Her charge was quite insistent on not using any honorifics, after all.

“Let’s make haste to the Claes estate, shall we?” the heiress adjusted her travel outfit as she took notice of the carriages waiting nearby, “It seems they’ve sent someone to pick us up!”

Not missing a beat, the blonde led the delegation from Ritallia towards the waiting carriages, brimming with excited glee at the reunion that awaited her.

---

A few hours and several miles inland later, Prince Geordo graciously welcomed the group of Ritallian emmisaries, some of whom he was already well acqainted with, as their carriages arrived at the gates of Sorcier City.

The past few months had been quite a hectic mess, and while he couldn’t fully say he had particularly fond memories of his brief time in Ritallia, but Geordo was quite happy about a chance to begin building a proper diplomatic bridge with their neighboring kingdom.

“Was the trip alright?” Alan asked as Prince Alexander and his retinue stepped down from one of the carriages that had just arrived at their castle.

“Indeed,” Prince Alexander nodded as he stepped out of the carriage, “I must say, Sorcier leaves quite a positive first impression!”

“I’m very glad to hear it,” Geordo smiled. Ritallia had, for as long as he had known, been a rather closed-off nation. He was very hopeful that, given the circumstances, he could begin to mend Sorcier’s reltations with their neighbor kingdom.

“It is certainly more peaceful here,” Prince Alexander added, “And... balanced, to say the least.”

“Balanced?” Alan arched a brow.

“Ah, I suppose I have some rather preconcieved notions about nobility,” the foreign prince let out a sigh, “Your nobility in fact has the added privilege of magic. A nobility with powers like that could easily use that power to exploit the people and rule over them. And yet, I don’t sense any ill will by the commoners I have seen in my brief time here. Or is my impression incorrect?”

“Hah,” Geordo sighed, “Sorcier hasn’t always been a perfect paradise, but no, you are quite right, Prince Alexander. There are certainly instances of nobles who looked down on the common folk, but as a nation, we do our best to make sure the commoners here enjoy a relatively high standard of living.”

“Yes, so I see,” Prince Alexander looked out over the noble houses of Sorcier City, “On our ride in, there were no dirty stares from the people on the streets as the noble carriages rolled past, nor was there mocking laughter or sneers by the nobles who passed them by. It is quite a nice sight. I hope that, someday soon, Ritallia can achieve a similar status.”

“Well, that does sound quite promising,” Geordo agreed.

“In any case, I do quite admire the atmosphere Sorcier seems to cultivate among its nobility,” Prince Alexander continued, “I mean this with the utmost respect, but I quite admire the way Lady Katarina Claes held no reservations whatsoever about stepping down below her rank.”

“She is quite the unique one, I must say,” Geordo chuckled to himself.

The ability to see one’s rank as a tool to help rather than a treasure to flaunt was certainly something Geordo appreciated in Katarina; in fact, it was one of her most endearing qualities!

As he talked, a few paces behind him, a few other familiar faces stepped out of one of the following carriages. He recognized Lady Malicia Baudelaire and Lady Claudette DeLeon from his minor involvment in the negotiations that followed the attempted coup last year, and the maid standing beside them looked somewhat familiar. He was pretty sure Katarina had mentioned her name was Grace, but considering what he had heard about the current state of the Baudelaire house, it seemed rather odd she was still working with Lady Malicia.

“Ah, speaking of which...” the Baudelaire heiress (or ex-heiress, he supposed) interjected, “Is Lady Katarina’s house nearby?”

Geordo could tell Lady Malicia was practically bouncing with excitement, eager to see Katarina again after the better part of a year away from her. He gestured towards his fiancee’s estate, “Yes, it’s that one over there.”

Geordo wasn’t sure why, but he felt a little better about her spending time with Katarina than any of the... domestic ‘threats’. At the very least, he felt like she didn’t see Katarina in... that way.

Or, at the least, if she did, Malicia seemed to be equally lacking in perception as his fiancee, so it wasn’t something he felt was a particularly major risk.

Luckily, it seemed Mary felt the same way.

Geordo knew far too well how often his copper-haired rival would work to intervene in any effort he made to spend a moment alone with his fiancee, and yet, it seemed all of them had tacitly come to an agreement to allow Lady Malicia at least a bit of private time with Katarina.

They all knew by now how deep of an impact Katarina’s time abroad had on her, and just how devoted she was to the Ritallian heiress she once served.

So in the end, Mary was here at the castle today, waiting inside to sit in on the discussion they were about to have with the Ritallian emissaries. Nicol would be in attendance too, and Geordo was sure that the Prime Minister’s son would be equally grateful to work openly with the Ritallian delegation, not just for Katarina’s sake, but for the sake of both their kingdoms.

“Hah,” Alan chuckled, “I suppose everything comes back to Katarina in the end, hm?”

“Well, she is the one who brought us all together, isn’t she?” Lady Claudette giggled, a warm aura shining out from her.

“Indeed, indeed!” Lady Malicia beamed, making haste towards the stone road that led from the castle to the Claes manor, “I shall set off at once! See you this evening!”

“Are you really in such a rush to go?” Prince Alexander followed after her, sounding slightly disappointed.

“Don’t worry, I’ll be back later!” Lady Malicia waved, “Besides, you won’t miss me! I hardly need to be there for those negotiations, do I?”

“Still, there’s no need to avoid them!” Prince Alexander stepped over to keep pace with her, “Not to mention, this castle is quite the remarkable and beautiful building. A place like this seems like a lovely location for a honeymoon, don’t you think, Lady Malicia?”

“Is that so?” Lady Claudette tilted her head, “Are you quite sure that is a proper thing to say?”

“Well, yes,” Prince Alexander nodded, “I believe I have made such things quite clear. Lady Malicia’s marriage interview was... unconventional, but I am still fully open to accepting her proposal as soon as she is willing to consider it.”

“Oh, please, Prince Alexander,” Lady Malicia scoffed, “We’re past that now. I renounced my noble rank, and stepped down to be a baroness. You don’t need to continue that charade of being willing to accept my marriage proposal for the sake of keeping up appearances.”

“Lady Malicia... I can’t help but feel you are misunderstanding something,” the prince held out his hand cautiously.

“Prince Alexander, we are no longer in Ritallia,” the blonde put her hands on her hips, “There aren’t any scheming nobles around. You really are free to cease that act whenever you wish. There is no need to try and help me save face here.”

“I...” Prince Alexander trailed off, scratching the back of his neck sheepishly.

Geordo felt a pang of shared suffering at that sight. This scene felt painfully familiar, if he was being honest.

(And, somehow, it felt a bit worse watching on from the outside...)

Patting the other prince on the shoulder, he let out a weary sigh, “You’ll get used to it.”

Prince Alexander shot him a sour look.

---

Meanwhile, not too far away, the Claes estate was bustling with activity as it always was nowadays, Anne mused.

Not that it was a bad thing by any means.

No, quite the contrary. Seeing her home bustling with activity and life was far, far preferable to the ghastly emptiness that pervaded it during her Lady’s absence last year. Anne did her best not to think about that time; past though it may have been, this home without Lady Katarina was like a farm without vegetables, as her charge would say.

Currently, her Lady was sitting at a desk in her study. She had been in the midst of her usual tutoring session, today assisted by Miss Maria and Lady Sophia, but a sudden arrival left her temporarily discussing some international matters with a worker from the Ministry.

“Yes, Lady Claes, the land permits were approved,” the ministry worker presented her with a stack of papers, “We should be able to begin construction as soon as you and Miss Larna can prepare all the necessary equpiment.”

“I’m glad to hear it,” Lady Katarina leaned forwards in her desk at the Claes estate, accepting the paperwork, “Thank you for the update, Miss Monglane.”

“Ah, is that the final part, Lady Katarina?” Maria Campbell asked curiously from her seat by Katarina’s desk.

“Yeah, I think it should be,” Lady Katarina nodded, clearly very happy about it. With an uncharacteristic air of professionalism, she turned back to the notebook Miss Campbell had left open on her desktop, “Anyways, going back to the Callea potion compound... why does it matter that it is mixed underwater?”

“Think of it like practical applications of Redgrave potion,” Miss Maria started, “You’re... quite familiar with that, aren’t you?”

Lady Katarina blushed slightly at the young light mage’s little smile.

“Just like the soil acts as a catalyst to make its effects more widespread and fast acting, the open air can cause the Callea potion to begin working too early, so its recommended to mix it underwater and then extract the water later,” Lady Sophia elaborated with a knowing look.

“Ah, I see!” Lady Katarina nodded understandingly.

Anne smiled as she watched Miss Campbell and Lady Ascart tending to her charge’s daily tutoring session.

To be frank, Anne felt a bit in awe of her Lady when she was working like this; juggling property management documents with the Ministry and her own schoolwork like a professional. It was almost as baffling as when she first saw Lady Katarina dressed from head to toe as a maid, faithfully serving Lady Malicia.

Now, the young brunette was so far removed from the Lady Katarina she had known back before she disappeared, she was practially unrecognizable. Sitting at her paper-covered desk, her charge had transformed into a young professional!

In the months since she had returned from Ritallia, Lady Katarina’s hair had grown back to near its original length, but she now kept it tied back in a neat bun (one that looked remarkably similar to some of the maids Anne had seen during her brief time at the Royal Palace of Orleans) completing her now-professional appearance.

(And, on certain occasions and despite Anne’s protests, Lady Katarina would occasionally join her in setting the table to doing the dishes, or attending other maid duties around the Claes estate. For the sake of maintaining Lady Katarina’s noble status, it was hardly proper. But, on a personal level... Anne truly loved those days...)

It seemed that the Ritallia incident had lit a fire under Lady Katarina, pushing her towards achieving a new goal. That new goal, it seemed, being the establishment of a new-fangled method of communation with Ritallia known as the ‘telephone’. According to Katarina, it was a safe and instantaneous method of communating over long distances.

Evidently, during her tenure as a maid in Ritallia, Katarina had learned of this ‘telephone’ technology created by Ritallian scientists. Among all of the other inventions that had taken hold in their neighbor nation, it was by far the one Katarina had the most interest in. By all accounts, it sounded like a wonderous thing (and something that could have come in very handy just last year), and Anne was quite aware of why exactly her charge was so eager to break ground on this new project.

After all, her Lady had another member of her family across the seas to keep in touch with. Anne could see as clear as day that her charge saw Lady Baudelaire as yet another friend who was so unbelievably close to her that she could effectively be part of her family.

(And, as the maid had learned long ago, Anne herself was part of that family too. It was a grace that surpassed the title of Honorary Knight in her heart).

Ever since her return from Ritallia, Lady Katarina had, in fact, been working tirelessly to establish this new connection with their neighboring nation for the past year. That was to say, she worked tirelessly during her rather limited free time. Being absent from the academy for well over a semester meant she had quite a good deal of make up work to do.

And, to Anne’s great shock, her Lady was actually quite proactive about doing so.

The maid felt a certain bittersweetness to it. Lady Katarina was truly coming into her own as a truly productive and thoughtful young lady.

It was only natural for someone of Lady Katarina’s station to inherit a great degree of responsibilities, so Anne supposed it was for the best that she was beginning to tend to them with earnestness and care, but, well, it just felt a bit like something precious was being lost.

On a whim, Anne decided to glance out the window... and caught a glimpse of something that caused her to smile.

“Ah, it seems a guest has arrived,” Anne stated calmly, watching her Lady’s reaction out of the corner of her eye.

“Weh?!” Katarina perked up like an excitable little puppy, and quickly spring out of her desk chair, knocking over a pile of papers without a second thought.

Ah, well. Anne grinned at the sight. It seemed she hadn’t grown up too fast after all.

---

Guests were here? The guests were here?!

Katarina bounced up and down as she rushed out of her office at the Claes estate and into her bedroom to get ready.

“Hehe,” Sophia giggled as Katarina bounced around the room, “I guess we’ll take our leave now!”

“Well, you can stay if you want to, Maria!” Katarina replied quickly, “I’m sure Malicia wouldn’t mind having you around!”

“I’m sure you’re right, Lady Katarina,” the light mage replied with a kind smile, “But I know you have quite a lot to catch up about with her, so I shall wait until later to meet her. She will be staying for a few weeks, correct? Not to mention, I have some Ministry affairs I need to tend to with Mister Walt.”

“Well, yeah, but...” Katarina trailed off. Come to think of it, if Maria and Sophia stuck around, they would probably end up being a bit sidelined, since Katarina knew for sure she had a lot to say to Malicia, “Okay, well tell Rafael I said hi! And if you do want to see Malicia, feel free to drop by anytime!”

Katarina waved Maria and Sophia a cheerful and excited goodbye as she swept back through her house to prepare. In the midst of all her work and tutoring, she had nearly forgotten why today was such a big day!

Malicia was finally coming to visit! The day was finally here!

Katarina could barely contain her excitement as she buzzed giddily around her bedroom, quickly swapping out her work clothes for a more summery yellow dress.

It had been a long time coming, but a delegation from Ritallia was meant to finally arrive in Sorcier today. Naturally, their first stop would be the castle to meet up with the King and some representatives of the Ministry, but if the Ritallian carriages were en route, then it wouldn’t be long before a certain someone showed up right here at the Claes estate!

After all the stuff that had happened in Ritallia last winter, she had a lot to catch up on back on the homefront. Having to make up an entire semester of schoolwork was... not fun. Even with Maria and Sophia working to tutor her and all her other friends pitching in to help out.... it was still very much a chore.

But luckily, she managed to eke out a solid passing grade in all her classes, especially Applications of Magic Technology. She intended to study that in more depth in her second year at the Academy, and already had a good internship at the Ministry lined up.

It was, in fact, thanks to that internship that she had made such headway with the telephone project she had Malicia had agreed to last year!

(Well, thanks to the internship and a teensy bit of her family’s considerable wealth).

Katarina wasn’t usually one to spend excessively, but that was largely because she thought she was bound to become a villainess if she was too extravagant or showy. But she was working past that now, bit by bit. And it wasn’t as if helping to improve international communications was a villainous ambition to begin with!

She she let it slide and opted to work on setting up the first trans-oceanic telephone line in this world.

Incidentally, Malicia was here with a delegation of scientists and workers from Ritallia to formally begin construction on the thing!

And, more importantly, Malicia was here!

---

Malicia could hardly contain her excitement as the carriage advanced towards the Claes estate.

After everything that had happened, it felt like it had been years since she had last seen Lady Katarina. She had been working tirelessly with all her newfound friends to rebuild try and rebuild some semblance of trust between the commoners and the nobility. It was a long and diffcult road, but after months of efforts, it seemed they were beginning to make some real progress.

The whole landscape of Ritallia had changed after that night, literally and metaphorically.

The Commoners Alliance had (with a significant push from Claudie, the princes, and Malicia herself) managed to establish a proper division of government dedicated to respresenting the people at a national level. Or, more accurately, they reformed the barely functioning Ministry of Public Affairs to have more influence than it had in the past. Now, the commoners had a say in the most basic of national affairs, and were able to properly make their voices heard without resorting to such... extreme measures.

That, along with the return of the crops and food supply (thanks to Katarina’s expertise on fertilizer), ensured that the commoners of Ritallia were doing much better now than they had been this time last year.

Not to mention...

Well, after the Baudelaire manor, and all the wealth within had tumbled onto the rocks below, her father had made an announcement.

Malicia made it quite clear that she had no intention of living the rest of her life as a mere heiress in a gilded cage, and it seemed that her father had never really been planning anything for all that wealth other than signing it all over to her in his will.

And thus, he had left the cleanup of the destroyed house to the commoners.

Which was to say....

...the entire Baudelaire fortune was taken by whoever happened to want it.

Which was damn near everyone in the country, naturally. But it was really only the commoners, especially the ones who were used to working around the rough terrain at the harbors, who were able to get to it first.

Malicia knew it wouldn’t be as simple as that; just leaving a ton of gold and jewels for anyone and everyone didn’t exactly guarantee it would all go to the ones who needed it the most. But, she was sure that whomever it did end up with... well, it was safe to say they needed it more than she ever had.

The blonde took a breath as the carriage rolled to a stop at a place that long seemed like an unreachable fantasy.

After so long, standing at the front gates of the Claes estate felt like a dream come true, though for a very different reason than Malicia had expected. It was not the awe of visiting a fantastical location she had dreamed of for many years, but the giddy excitement of reuniting with an old friend.

Katarina Claes truly had changed her life.

Well, that much went without saying, but the more she thought over it, every single thing that had happened since meeting Lady Katarina had been pushing her boundaries, causing her to change her perspectives on so many things, all for the better.

That whole saga had caused something to click in her mind. The revolution, the fall of her house, reuniting with Claudie, and nearly meeting her own doom.... It all made her outlook on things change so much that she really felt like a new person now, and she was doing all she could to be the best person she could be.

The world wasn’t a miserable place, she had just seen a miserable side of it. There were so, so many good people out there, and now, she was seeing them too!

It wasn’t until after Katarina had left and she began settling into her new life that Malicia began to really change her lifestyle. It wasn’t as if she could go back to her old one, but building a new life from the ground up was certainly easier said than done!

Of course, she didn’t have to do it all by herself.

She had the assistance of her father, Lady Lena, the princes, and of course Claudie.

And, for some reason she couldn’t even begin to understand, she had the help of her other maids, too.

Grace, Nellie, and Ellie all elected to stay on and assist around her new house, small though it may have been. Her mother’s estate was certainly a far cry from the Baudelaire mansion, and it wasn’t really all that accomodating for maids. After all, her mother never had any! She had always been the type to tend to everything by herself.

(It was a facet of her mother’s personality Malicia really envied. And one she was doing her best to improve at....)

In any case, Nellie and Ellie were always working diligently behind the scenes to such an extent that Malicia hardly ever saw either of them before. As such, she had never had much a reason to scream at either of them, so she supposed it was possible they would be willing to put up with her....

But Grace... she had nearly fired her over nothing...

Why that young maid was willing to put up with her at all anymore was a mystery in itself! It certainly wasn’t for the pay, considering she hardly had much of a fortune left anymore....

Malicia really didn’t get it.

(Maids were just a thoroughly confusing group, weren’t they?)

But... she couldn’t say she was unhappy with the arrangement. Having some other friends around to chat with was something she had been missing for a good portion of her life! In fact, it was probably the boost she needed to properly change gears from being a spoiled heiress to being a productive member of the new age of Ritallia.

And thus, with whatever free time she had left, the former heiress had been working tirelessly to handle her side of the ‘project’ Katarina had proposed before she departed.

After many long months of communicating with various factions of the Ritallian Institute of Technology, as well as the Sorcierran Ministry of Magic, they were finally ready to break ground on the big project and lay the first international telephone cable across the Strait of Sorcier.

It was honestly such a strange notion that Malicia really couldn’t wrap her head around it fully, but... she couldn’t deny that the idea of being able to chat with Katarina anytime she wanted was quite an invigorating notion.

She twirled her violet parasol over her shoulder, light blue dress swaying in the breeze as she excitedly made her way to the main door of the famous estate that stood luxuriously before her.

Malicia grinned widely as the front door of the Claes estate swung open, eager to see her old friend once again, and came face to face with....

... not Katarina at all.

“...eh?” the blonde blinked back in surprise.

No, these two were definitely not Katarina Claes. But, the resemblance was uncanny, especially the Lady. If Malicia was correct, these two were...

“Duke and Duchess Claes!?” Malicia gasped, caught off guard by their sudden appearance here, “Ahem, um, my apologies! My name is Malicia Baudelaire! I, ah... was supposed to meet with Lady Katarina Claes here!”

She cursed herself for not thinking it over more clearly! Of course the Duke and Duchess Claes would be at here! Lady Katarina wasn’t the head of the house, after all!

She shook off her nervousness as best she could, and followed the two nobles into the main hall of the estate.

“Take a seat, Lady Baudelaire,” the Duke began in a tone that left no room for argument.

Feeling as if she was being led to her execution, the blonde nervously tailed the imposing figure of the Duchess Claes into a comfortably sized (but somehow suffocating) living room. What was she supposed to say here?! In all her time anticipating her trip to Sorcier, she had never even considered what to say to the parents of her former maid!

“So, Lady Malicia Baudelaire...” the Duchess drawled, ice cold eyes piercing through her.

The blonde shifted awkwardly at the sharp, ominous aura Lady Claes exuded from every pore.

“I supppose I should start by welcoming you to the Claes estate...” the tall woman drawled.

“T-thank you for recieving me, Lady Claes,” Malicia shuffled uncomfortably, “Ah, your house is quite lovely!”

There was a beat of awkward silence.

And then....

“Hm,” the Duchess inclined her head slightly, a shiver-inducing sparkle in her eye.

“So, Lady Baudelaire… you are the one who... owned our daughter for the past several months?” Duke Claes arched a brow.

“Ah, y-you see, that is...” the blonde gulped, trying to compose herself, “I was unaware of her true identity at the time... I was under the impression that she was merely a commoner seeking employment as a maid! ...Ahem! That is not to say that she looks like a commoner! It was just that... I had no reason to think that Lady Katarina Claes would seek to be a maid under my employ!”

Malicia let out a little whimper, trying to get her rambling under control.

“You hired my daughter on as a maid, kept her as a private, personal attendant for nearly half a year...” the Duchess leaned in a bit further with each word...

Malicia gulped, shivering under the fierce, scorching blue fire of Lady Claes’ eyes.

“…and you managed to retain you sanity despite all that?” Lady Millidiana finished, leaning back in her chair, “You must have the patience of a saint, Lady Baudelaire.”

“...eh?” the blonde hesitated, unsure how to react to that.

“Mother!” a familiar voice called out from the top of the stairs, “You act like I’m some kind of wild animal!”

Malicia turned instinctively at the familiar voice, eyes gravitating to the top of the main stairs.

“Katarina....” the blonde blinked, caught off guard by the vastly changed viasge of her former maid.

Clad in a vibrant yellow and gold dress, Katarina Claes descended the main stairs with that usual carefree confidence she always carried herself with. And yet, in her full noble attire, she couldn’t look more different from how Malicia remembered her.

“Malicia!” the brunette grinned from ear to ear, “You’re here! And... you got a haircut?!”

Was that really the first thing Lady Katarina would bring up? Malicia reddened slightly, unconsciously twirling her now much shorter hair between her fingers. After everything that had happened, she just felt like... getting rid of the extra weight. Was it really so odd?

“I... yes,” Malicia shook off her surprise, a bright smile washing over her as she finally reunited with one of her closest companions, “It’s good to see you again, Lady Katarina!”

Before she could get another word out, Katarina pulled her quickly into a tight hug.

“It’s great to see you too! It feels like its been years!” the brunette beamed, “I’m so glad you made it! And your hair looks super cute!”

Malicia felt a glowing warmth bubbling up inside her. It really had been too long, hadn’t it?

“Hm,” the Duchess drawled, “Katarina certainly seems happy to see you. I suppose I can forgive some of the indignities. Isuppose it isn’t any worse than what she would have gotten up to on her own...”

“Mother! Of course I’m happy!” the brunette huffed, “Malicia’s one of my best friends!”

The blonde felt her heart swell at that. Just the idea of having someone being so truly... genuine about being her friend, it felt so foreign to her for so long.

“Well, I suppose it is rather refreshing to see one of your friends be such an upstanding young lady,” the Duchess gave her daughter a look.

“Mother!” Lady Katarina glared, “You act like Maria and Mary and Sophia aren’t upstanding!”

“Th-thank you,” Malicia faltered a bit under Duchess Claes’ praise, “You have raised a truly wonderful daughter. You must be very proud.”

Lady Katarina’s eyes shifted back and forth between the Duchess and Malicia.

“I am. Beyond words,” the Duchess replied without missing a beat.

“....mother...!” the brunette averted her eyes, reddening slightly.

Malicia smiled at the sight. She hadn’t really seen this side of her former maid before. Back when Lady Katarina had been working for her, she always had an unflappable confidence to her, so this cutely embarrassed side of her was rather refreshing.

Lady Katarina’s true life was something of a mystery to her, she realized. All her second hand knowledge of the Duke’s daughter painted a misleading but not entirely inaccurate picture of her, but she began to think what she knew about the real Katarina Claes.

For many years, she had strived to decorate her mansion as lavishly as possible for the express purpose of trying to live up to her image of the Claes estate. She heard that this house was a place neither the height of Sorcierran nobility nor the princes themselves could ever bear to leave. Malicia had always assumed it was some special quality of the estate itself, but as she sat here and noticed that the main hall of her fallen abode was larger than the entirety of the Claes house, the blonde came to quickly realize that everyone’s adoration of this place was not the building itself but the one who occupied it.

It was, after all, a noble house, so it was quite well decorated by any means. And yet, it felt... humble, perhaps? At least, humble by comparison to her own former house.

Perhaps it wasn’t right of her, but Malicia was quite glad to be out of that place. She had taken her dear friend’s advice and moved to her mother’s house down by the sea.

It was truly a breath of fresh air, and much more... comfy? She was pretty sure that was a word Lady Katarina had used, and it seemed as apt as any.

“A-Anyways,” Lady Katarina shook her head, “How was the trip here? Who else came with you? Tell me everything!”

Malicia grinned as she recalled everything that had happened on her journey. She would be more than happy to tell Lady Katarina everything!

---

Katarina wiggled giddily as she listened to Malicia’s stories from her trip across the Strait of Sorcier. Unsurprisingly, it seemed like a much more pleasant voyage when not in the dead of winter....

And Her former charge did indeed look especially cute with shorter hair!

(If Katarina didn’t know any better, she’d think Malicia was trying to copy her maid-cut!)

“Yes, Prince Maximillian remained in Ritallia just in case. The situation has significantly improved and the King is in much better health, but they decided it would be best for one of the Princes to remain in the homeland. But Prince Alexander and Claudie are here!” Malicia smiled happily, “They’re at Stuart Castle right now! I’m sure she’ll be happy to meet you later on, but... I just had to see you right away!”

“Hehe, I’m glad you did,” Katarina beamed, “If you hadn’t, I’d certainly have crashed your meeting at the castle to see you!”

Malicia blushed slightly, averting her eyes. Katarina giggled at the sight; she was rather cute a lot of the time!

“That little... Tommy Finch said he wanted to come along too. I didn’t see him at the docks, but I wouldn’t put it past him to stow away aboard the ship,” Malicia murmured the last part under her breath. After a beat, she added, “Lady Lena wanted to come as well, but...”

“What happened?” Katarina paused, worrying something unfortunate had occurred.

“Oh, nothing bad. Just a bit of poor timing,” Malicia waved away her concerns, “Ritallia has been investing more and more into manufacturing, and getting a lot of the commoners jobs on the production lines. Since Riviere was secretly using commoners to build a bunch of weapons for his big... scheme, a lot of them have a bit of experience, and, well... those autmobiles have been getting more and more popular.”

“I...see,” Katarina tapped her chin.

“My point being,” Malicia cleared her throat, “Lady Lena decided to participate in the first Ritallian Grand Prix! It is not a sport that is quite to my... tastes, but she certainly seems to enjoy speeding around in one of those automobiles!”

“Huh,” Katarina frowned slightly.

She was never one to stop others from pursuing their interests, but... she still really hoped they would all pay attention to proper automobile safety!

“Oh, that reminds me!” Malicia snapped her fingers, quickly reaching into her travel bag to procure something she had brought from Ritallia, “You really should have a copy of this!”

Katarina tilted her head curiously as the blonde held out a small book with a colorful picture on the cover. She took the book from her and quickly skimmed over it.

The Great Detective Rita Grayton in: Maid of Steel!

Behold, as the finest deductive mind of our generation embarks on a daring undercover mission! Prepare for the cleverest and most attentive detective of all time to tackle a more dangerous foe than ever before! But fret not, dear readers, for nothing shall go unnoticed by Rita Grayton!

Hm. Something about that name seemed a tad... familiar. Not to mention the cover art!

It looked far too much like....

No! It couldn’t be!

“That series has become quite popular back in Ritallia!” Malicia clasped her hands together with a bright smile, “The tale of how you outwitted the cunning plan of the Chancellor has inspired quite a few writers to pen some rather... amusing tales, you see! Of course they changed the name, but... I’m sure you can see the resemblance, no?”

Malicia reached out and held the book cover right next to Katarina’s face so she could see them side by side in the mirror across from her.

“EHHH???!!!” the brunette gasped as it fully dawned on her.

She was the star of a novel?!

She shook her head. The bigger issue here was...

“B-but who in their right mind would want to read novels about me?”

“You might be surprised, mon amie!” Malicia waved her hand casually, “That happens to be quite the best seller at the moment!”

“Ehhh?!” Katarina let out another surprised yelp.

“Ah!” her father glowed at the sight, “How lovely! Our little girl is a star around the world!”

“Hah,” her mother rubbed her eyes, “I’m sure this will only give her even more confirmation bias, won’t it?”

“Eh?” Katarina blinked. What did her mother mean by that? She went to take a sip of tea, but came to an unfortunate realization, “Oh, we’ve been talking so long that the tea has gone cold,” Katarina sighed. Turning towards a doorway behind them, she called out, “Noelia?”

After a few moments, a beautiful but uncomfortable looking maid shuffled awkwardly into the main hall, baring a look of blatant annoyance. The dark haired young lady’s face was bright red as she reluctantly meandered over to the tea table, “…y-yes, Lady Claes?”

“Could you heat these up?” the brunette asked kindly, before adding, “And I told you, ‘Katarina’ is fine!”

In any case, before she could think about it any further, the dark haired maid opened her palms an emitted a wondrous flash of fire magic, quickly heating the tea.

“Ohhhh~” Malicia gazed on in wonder.

Katarina distantly wondered if this was her first time seeing magic in action up close like this.

“Is that all?” Noelia snapped, quickly turning on her heel.

“Yep, that’s perfect,” Katarina answered quickly, ignoring the maid’s rude reply, “Thanks, Noelia!”

“Sorcier truly is a land of magic! That’s amazing, Miss Noelia!” the blonde grinned at this unexpected magic maid.

“Y-yes, well…” the raven haired girl reddened slightly. She muttered something indecipherable under her breath and shuffled out of the room.

“Hm,” Malicia tapped her chin.

“Is everything alright?” Katarina turned to her friend.

“Well, I suppose... this young lady isn’t exactly the type of person she had expected to be working as one of your maids, Lady Katarina. Although I suppose eccentric maids are a bit of a theme in my life by now, no?”

“Ah, well, it’s kind of a long story...” Katarina rubbed the back of her neck as she thought back to how Lady Noelia Flores had wound up in her employ.

Basically, shortly after she got back from Ritallia, she found out that Geordo was investigating Noelia for sabotaging his efforts to track her down. Apparently their investigation cropped up a lot of under-the-table dealings by the Flores family. From cruel treatment of their servants to smuggling secret potions from the Ministry and selling them to other countries, the Flores estate wound up in some decidedly hot water, and it seemed like the lot of them would end up getting exiled.

But... Katarina felt like that wasn’t quite fair.

After all, she had some first hand experience with how difficult it was for a noble lady to get by in a foreign country without anything to go on. And, while she knew what Noelia and her family had done was wrong... Katarina couldn’t shake the feeling that exile was a rather harsh punishment.

Not to mention... after some time, the duke’s daughter had eventually recalled why the name ‘Flores’ sounded so familiar.

They were the ones Lady Lena had bought her Truth Serum from!

Maybe it was a bit of a stretch, but Katarina had rushed in during the hearing regarding the Flores estate’s misdeeds, and argued that they had inadvertently played a key role in saving Malicia and stopping the war the Chancellor had been plotting.

In any case, Katarina’s intervention did serve to quell Geordo’s push to have Noelia sent into exile.

Noelia and her family had been close to tears, gasping out thanks to her for saving them from exile. Or, well... they had been overflowing with gratitude until she heard what Katarina had proposed as an alternative punishment for her and her family.

After all, Katarina didn’t have any intention of letting her off completely! Somebody trying to stop her from seeing her family again wasn’t a person she was keen to just forgive without a second thought.

Needless to say, her proposition for Noelia’s punishment had quickly tempered the Marquis’ daughter’s hopes.

And thus, Katarina came to hire on a new maid, a former noble lady, just like she had been!

She had taken it easy on Noelia at first, leaving Anne to show her the ropes.

(Anne shouldn’t be too harsh of a teacher, right?)

She shook off the thought, turning back to Malicia as they made their way out of the living room and into the second floor parlor to continue their conversation.

“Haaah,” Katarina let out a sigh, stepping onto the comfortable balcony outside her old parlor.

Ah, this room was such a breath of fresh air, the brunette mused.

Her first few days back from the life of being a Ritallian maid were a bit awkward as she tried to return back to all her old habits. It certainly took some getting used to, and she had a lot to catch up on, so she often took to relaxing in this comfy little parlor in the evenings after a long day of Maria tutoring her.

As she leaned on the bannister, Katarina turned to her companion, “So, how do you like Sorcier, Malicia?”

“I-it’s lovely...” the blonde answered, a twinge of red on her cheeks, “It’s amazing that magic is a power that really exists here! I’ve only read stories about such things!”

“Yep, it’s pretty amazing!” Katarina grinned, but hesitated.

She was about to explain about how her earth bump had gotten even more powerful. She had nearly been able to make one larger than an apple! But... would it be alright to say that to Malicia? She didn’t want to sound braggy...

“Anyways,” Katarina changed the subject, “Was there anything you wanted to do here in Sorcier?”

---

Malicia was still in awe at the idea of magic.

Rumor had it Lady Katarina was an earth mage! But how powerful was she, really? Would it be rude to ask? Honestly, even being able to move a chunk of earth the size of a tomato would be impressive to Malicia!

But getting back to the matter at hand... anything she wanted to do?

“What is it you would normally be doing on a day like this?” the blonde wondered aloud.

“Hm,” Katarina tapped her chin, glancing out the parlor window for a moment, “I just finished up my tutoring session with Maria, so not much. I guess I just need to tend to my veggies.”

“Your ‘veggies’?” Malicia arched a brow.

“Yeah,” Katarina shrugged, “I guess I never mentioned it, but I have a little farm. I like to harvest my own crops. But that hardly matters right now, does it?”

Hm.

So Lady Katarina had a farm?

It certainly seemed a bit unconventional, but Malicia supposed it did explain how her former maid had so easily spotted the issues with the commoners’ soil back then.

And, as far as what she wanted to do right now....

The blonde pursed her lips as she thought to herself, What would Katarina Claes do?’

---

Noelia Flores figeted uncomfortably in her Claes maid uniform. This hideous thing was just awful!

Every single second she spent wearing this demeaning thing felt like she was living in her own personal slice of hell. Currently, she was doing her very best to not be seen by anyone, including other maids here at the Claes estate.

Noelia had nearly pulled her hair out when that fool asked her to come out and deliver tea to Lady Malicia Baudelaire of all people!

Ugh!

She wriggled awkwardly, wishing she could be covered with a blanket so that no one would see her wearing this degrading maid uniform. Truly, the thought of anyone she knew seeing her in this shameful thing ensured she always did her best to remain in the shadows as much as she could.

This arrangement of working as a maid for the Claes was hardly an ideal situation, and not something she would have ever agreed to under normal circumstances. She silently cursed those traitorous maids who had ratted out her parents’ secret dealings and her own efforts to keep Prince Geordo from wasting his time chasing after Lady Katarina. If not for them, she would likely have been able to retain her noble status and carry on with things the same as before....

Still, that look in the Prince’s eyes at her hearing positively terrified her, and, loath though she was to admit it, it seemed this was the best alternative.

(Even so, there was still a part of her that was contemplating whether being sent into exile would have been the better choice...)

If there was one silver lining to it all, it was that Lady Malicia Baudelaire was visiting the estate today, and Noelia had rather been looking forward to seeing that ideal Ritallian noblewoman putting this disgraceful Claes daughter in her place.

Malicia Baudelaire’s reputation as one of the foremost and feared women of the Ritallian nobility preceded her, and Noelia would go so far as to say the tales of the blonde heiress were something of an inspiration to her and how she conducted herself.

Unfortunately, it seemed Lady Baudelaire hadn’t been quite the underhanded and ferocious fiend Noelia had been hoping for.

(In fact, she seemed a little too similar to Lady Katarina for her liking...)

Trying to shake that irritating thought from her mind, the black haired young woman continued along the back hallway of the Claes estate, carrying a basket of clothes to wash. As she meandered along, in no real rush to wash Lady Katarina’s clothes, she happened to pass by a window in the back of the house that overlooked the little farm in the back.

Normally, Noelia wouldn’t pay a second glance to that imbecile’s little vegetable patch. Honestly, the only thing worse than working as a maid was working as a maid for someone who had even less dignity than a common servant. She knew by now that her employer had a peculiar (read, idiotic) fascination with growing and tending to her own farm, but Noelia had no reason to pay any of it any mind....

And yet, something caught her eye as she passed by the little farm.

Something that caused her to nearly drop the laundry basket in her arms.

“HAH!?”

Outside, in that horrid little ‘farm’, Lady Katarina was out there, swinging one of her gardening tools.

That sight was nothing out of the ordinary, improper though it may have been.

And yet, just a few paces away, Lady Malicia Baudelaire herself was wearing that hideous gardening outfit right along side her.

“Hie!” Lady Katarina swung her hoe into the ground with a yelp.

“Hwah!” Lady Baudelaire called out, swinging her own hoe down a second later.

Noelia’s eye twitched.

How in the world had that happened? How had that idiot managed to infect even the most illustious noblewoman in all of Ritallia with her foolish and uncouth pastimes!?

“Ahem,” a familiar voice broke through the noirette’s thoughts.

“Eh!” Noelia straightened upright in shock. If there was one thing she quickly learned here, it was that she did not want to displease any of the Claes maids. Trying to mask her annoyance, she gasped out, “Miss Anne? Is everything quite alright?”

“I should ask you the same thing, Miss Flores,” the senior maid arched a brow, “Aren’t you meant to be ironing the clothes at this hour?”

“R-right,” Noelia recalled her assignment. Being talked down to like this, by a maid no less, was... irksome to put it mildly, but she tried to put it out of her mind for the moment.

After all, she didn’t exactly have the upper hand here.

She gulped, sparing a nervous glace at Miss Anne.

(From what she had heard, Miss Anne had actually defeated the strongest swordsman of Ritallia, severing his hand in the process! That icy stare of hers was one that would haunt the young woman’s nightmares for months!)

With a fresh spark of intimidation-fueled motivation in her step, the former Marquis’ daughter turned and quickly returned to her newfound maid duties.

---

Anne watched the former noblewoman awkwardly strutting away. She was doing her best to retain an air of noble grace to her movements, but it came across a bit comical due to the maid uniform.

She let out a sigh as Noelia departed.

Some people just weren’t made for the maid life.

In truth, she was rather annoyed with Miss Flores for attempting to sabotage her efforts to reunite with Lady Katarina, but... in the end, it had all worked out for the best.

And, knowing how Lady Katarina operated, she knew that this type of arrangement was the best for everyone. She couldn’t imagine her charge being satisfied with the Flores being sent into exile after her own harrowing brush with such a situation.

Admittedly, she did hold on to more than a bit of suspicion towards the noirette. Thus, she had resolved to keep Miss Noelia on a very short leash. Anne had been on high alert, not allowing the little schemer any chance to make any moves against her Lady.

(Luckily, this was only temporary until Noelia could take up residence at a more permanent noble estate. After all, the Claes house didn’t exactly need another maid. Before long, Miss Noelia would be on her way to House Berg or even House Tucker...)

Without another word, Anne quietly stepped out, leaving a freshly prepared tea tray for her charge and Lady Malicia. Tending to a farm in this heat would surely work up a thirst, if Lady Katarina’s usual habits were anything to go by.

She quietly stepped back into the Claes house.

Truly, she could not imagine a place she would ever feel more at home than by Lady Katarina’s side, be it here, or in Ritallia, or in any other distant lands.

Sparing another quick glance, watching on lovingly for a few moments as Lady Malicia and her charge tended to her little farm, Anne smiled contentedly to herself.

---

Katarina wiped a bead of sweat off her brow as she and Malicia finished up retilling the soil in her little farm.

Of all the things she had expected to do with Malicia on her first trip to Sorcier, tending to her farm was.... Well, okay, it was one of them, but she hadn’t expected to do it on the first day!

Malicia walked over to her with the tea tray Anne had left out for them, “Here, I think it’s time for some refreshments!”

“Ah,” Katarina gratefully took a sip from the teacup, having worked up quite a thirst working in the late summer afternoon, “Such a lovely day! But... I feel like kind of a bad host, making my guest tend to a farm....”

“It’s not as if I’m doing this against my will!” Malicia huffed, before adding, “Not to mention... I did make you retrowel my garden in the middle of winter, tend to my hounds, carry my legal books, clean my room, and generally treat you like a common servant,” Malicia recited with a huff, “...so, lets call it even, shall we?”

“...fair enough,” Katarina admitted.

“I do have one question though, Lady Katarina...” the blonde shuffled awkwardly, looking somewhat guilty.

“What is it?”

“Ahem,” Malicia cleared her throat after a moment, before speaking up, “Perhaps this is insensitive, but... Back when you were serving as my... attendant...”

Katarina arched a brow. Was Malicia embarrassed to call her a maid?

“You mentioned that you had lost your mother,” Malicia continued, a pensive look on her face, “And it didn’t seem like you were merely referring to being apart from the Duchess Claes.”

“Oh, that? Well... I was referring to my mother from my previous life,” Katarina replied casually, “Before I got reincarnated. I have a different mother here in this otome game world I got transmigrated into, but reincarnating here meant I lost my old family, and---”

Katarina abruptly cut herself off.

Her eyes widened as she realized just what she was saying... and just how readily she was saying it, “You’ve spiked the tea with Truth Serum, haven’t you, Malicia?”

“I have, yes.”

“Ah.”















Notes:

Ah, its finally over!
It's been years!

I do once again apologize for the wait, but at least the wait is finally over!

To start, I would like to say thank you so very much to everyone who has followed this story! I'm baffled some of you are still here from when I started this several years ago now!

Katarina has now become the subject of a bestselling series of novels... who would have guessed?
(It's kind of a nod to one of my big inspirations when writing this story. I had wanted to do a Sherlock Katarina story, and ended up working it into this. Chancellor Riviere is kind of a play on Moriarty, a cunning mastermind whose scheme only falls apart because it happens to rely on that handful of extremely niche topics Katarina is interested in.)
Katarina has done some growing up, but is still the Baka we all love at her core. She does get some quality time with Maria and Sophia now that she needs a tutor to catch up on almost a year of missed schoolwork!

And Malicia stepped down to be a baroness rather than a Duchess/Archduchess. It is a simpler life, and more manageable for her. Plus, it gives her more time to work on establishing a national telephone system in Ritallia. Who knows, maybe she'll get even richer off the profits from that....

And for Noelia, she wound up working as Kat's maid!
I did want a fic where everyone gets exactly what they want, after all!

(All she wanted was a future by the side of her beloved prince, knowing in her heart he was with someone he truly loved. Was that really too much to ask?
-Chapter 20)

And in the end, she got exactly that, albeit probably not the way she'd hoped...It's perhaps the least bad ending Noelia faces in fanfics that feature her, but somehow probably the one she would hate the most...

Although, the implication is very much meant to be that working as a maid helps to humble her and give her a chance at a redemption arc.

I enjoy ironic plays on giving characters what they wish for... >:)

(Even the Chancellor got the Baudelaire estate in the end!)

I didn't address Kat noticing everyone's feelings in this since it seems like it would be a pretty major moment, and I didn't want to rush it in the epilogue. But between the Truth Serum, and Kat getting over a lot of her insecurities, its meant to be pretty likely that she would figure it out very soon after this final chapter. As for what happens after that, that's probably a whole other story, so envision whatever future you like for her!

And yea, ending it on Malicia dosing Kat with Truth Serum was always kind of the plan.

 

A couple of miscellaneous things-

-Kat and Malicia are wearing each other's colors this chapter, just to cap everything off.

-IDK if I mentioned it properly, but back at the meeting between Lady Lena's maids and Katarina for the first time, the other maids said it was disappointing that Malicia was traipsing about with Sir Antoine because of the rumors about her father. That was referring to the rumor that her father had been truly in love with her mother and hadn't just been marrying her for political reasons. So her dad is (or at one point, was) a decent guy, but after he mom died he got a bit corrupted by greed, which his illness only exacerbated...

-Lady Lena is becoming a prolific race car driver, one of the first in their world! Inspired, of course, by Katarina commandeering that flatbed truck during the uprising! (and perhaps taking after some of her father's more free-wheeling habits...)

-The final scene here leads them through Kat's parlor, which is a little throwback to where my fanfics first started, as well as a slight subversion of the Memory Mirror trope...

-There is a small, cheeky reference to the Led Zeppelin song this fic is named after in this chapter ;)

-I do have a handful of other miscellaneous ideas for little moments between the OG harem and the Ritallia crew, so its possible that somewhere down the line I'll do a little collection of snippets and 'deleted scenes', but if I do, it will be a while from now.

-One last reminder to check out the lovely new cover art by Daawnily!

(I'm actually trying to work on a piece of original fiction, and the fact that this story was incomplete kept blocking me from progressing on it, so hopefully I'll be able to get my own story one the way sooner or later (hopefully sooner!))

Anyways, I hope you enjoyed some or all of it! Constructive criticism and comments are welcome as always!
(I've kind of missed out on replying to a lot of great comments in recent chapters, but I do read them all! I'll try and reply to some of the ones on this chapter!)

Have a great day! And once again thank you very much for reading!