The parley from Count Heind came three days later by raven. Eucemon looked unimpressed as Athusa told him about the letter's contents at breakfast.
"That's all?" He seemed surprised that was all the Count had to say to their missive that they had his son in their custody.
"…he must not really want him back." His tone was lightly bemused as he lifted the teacup to his lips.
Athusa's jaw tightened visibly at the rather cruel words and that hint of a taunting edge. She knows he did not intend to sound cruel but still, a muscle twitched on her cheek.
He amended quickly, placing down his cup.
"I meant, he could've tried to offer seriously... instead of just asking for your grace without sincerity."
She seemed a little appeased.
"Perhaps he was simply unsure if we are sincere." She murmured as she cut into her toast. "If the assault was reported, his son would definitively only receive capital punishment even if I request for acquittal."
At any rate, offering the duchy a year's supply of gold from the Heind mines while it wasn't a good offer was not completely an unserious one either.
The prisoner Richard Heind had been surprisingly tight-lipped, albeit Athusa had put a stop also to their interrogation methods the moment she learned of it. Gilraine had employed his flame magic in torturing the former knight, burning the extremities slowly: Athusa had been horrified at the specific design of the torture method and became very angry at Eucemon. After the ensuing dispute, despite he had personally tended to the prisoner's wounds, she had not spoken to him still for the entire day.
Eventually, Freya and Astana, not wanting the potential cold war to escalate, seated them both down by dinnertime.
"Do you understand what you did wrong?" She had asked then.
"I'm sorry for not discussing with you first." Eucemon had relented.
"The human body burns easily." Athusa had been deeply disappointed. "Gilraine applied enough to make the very skin boil away. You weren't looking for information. You just wanted Richard Heind to be in pain. But Your Highness… inflicting this kind of pain for no purpose was completely unnecessary."
Her health had been still poor in the immediate aftermath of the attack and had been slow to recover. It was a fatigue of the mind: so taxing the days had been since the announcement of her father's passing that all the stress had compounded the toll on her body. Hearing further negativity these days placed a great strain, even with the careful acupuncture and tonic treatments from Astana, and Athusa was not thrilled how quickly and often her imperial guests resorted to force. To her, the worst was that they do so without a hint of malice, like innocent children plucking the wings off insects without a hint of regret.
Half of the time she did not know how was she even to begin handling them. She was not their mother, nor their teacher, how could she hope to change them?
When Eucemon had come clean about the second contingent of his Nightwings that had also accompanied north with the other elites, Athusa had not been pleased but had still easily allowed them to stay in the Randall castle.
"So you all don't get into further trouble." She had said at the time after granting her permission.
It seemed word of the altercation at the inn their first day at Eastgate had reached her ears. She had flatly told Eucemon that things in the north would reach her eventually, hiding it was unlikely, and that such behavior was overall unacceptable.
"The North has a hard enough time with the golems." Athusa had sighed when they looked crestfallen enough at her scoldings. "We have to abide by rule of law to maintain societal order - especially when we have enough to worry about from the magical beasts."
"That's interesting." Freya had commented. "In the south, magus of the first class have near unfettered say." Great houses that produced magus were always considered ahead of houses that did not in influence. The Wings of the imperial house were particularly permitted to make their own decisions near unilaterally as part of military privileges and the ranking of the Nightwings were additionally special: equal to the First Prince's Silverwings and second only to the king's Bluewings.
Yet here in the north, the magus more considered themselves only common defenders of the realm and held no further special status.
But it was understandable the north's style of governance given how much of the population were mana sensitive and had potential for the gift of magic that to be a magus was not enough to guarantee any conclusive social influence.
"It is precisely because we have many magi that magic must not be misused." Athusa had said. "How else would we be able to govern, if there is no common understanding of what is respect for the rule of law?"
Eucemon had considered it was such a strange system the north had: the whole concept of trial by jury. It was quite tribal in his opinion. The notions of honor however were so deeply ingrained in the northern traditions it was strange how much the Randall branch houses were willing to risk to obtain Athusa's seat. Even if it was regarding upholding male primogeniture, it seemed to Eucemon that other notions of personal honor should have been more cherished. Athusa had mentioned having a good relationship with her uncle too: just how much of recent events were personal ambition and how much was influenced by other forces?
But with both the current prisoners unwilling to talk, clues to arrest the true culprit was impossible.
"In your opinion, Euce..." Athusa brought his attention back to the present. "What should I ask the Count for?"
It had been a strangely quiet couple of days otherwise, some of the junior knights assigned to patrol the outer perimeters of the estate had not noticed anything unusual. After the Heind prisoner had attempted once to misuse the utensils that came with the meals, those had been confiscated away to avoid further possibility of self harm. But aside that early incident, which could be attributed at the time to the agony of constant burns from Gilraine, there was nothing else notable.
Eucemon thought for a moment before finally he said:
"Doesn't Count Heind control one of the major manastone mines?"
Athusa leaned forward in her chair, immediately interested.
The Count's estate indeed owned one of the country's few precious manastone mines, a key component needed for enchanted arms that were required by most magus - with the sole exception of Star Seeds and their Links - to channel the mana to bend the physical and chemical laws of the world. It was also an important component for the royal blacksmiths that made the imperial arms.
"Do you think he would part with it?" She murmured. "That's much of the income for the Count's estate."
"That's also supposedly his favorite son. You said perhaps he was uncertain of your position to make such a preliminary offer." Said Eucemon. "Perhaps he is merely testing the waters. After all, you are not the Duke yet until you visit the Capital and is anointed by my father. As far as the Count is concerned, so far it seemed you have not reported the matter at all yet… thereby the offer of parley is serious enough."
"The mine would indeed be great to acquire." She mused. "We could arm many of the defenders at the hinterlands."
The Count's price setting to the duchy was not exactly low.
The Ilecian Magic Institute had classified all magic as forms of summoning, primarily revolving on principles of speeding up natural processes.
All living things have mana, whether in small or large quantities. The quality of inherent mana also determined one's physical health. Those blessed by the Ark, like Eucemon and Gilraine, rarely succumbed to diseases. Those born under the general sphere of the Ark's influence were also generally healthy, able to produce enough mana to manipulate to influence natural physical laws.
Those that were further mana sensitive were predisposed essentially to be magus and able to draw upon such inherent reserves.
But all this was impossible for most without the proper tools. Without manastone conduits, most magi could not wield their power at all.
...
Carlene, by her order, sent their sealed reply.
Three more days later, the Count's raven returned.
The answer was deflective: the Count asked for a meeting. She was bemused that he nominated a parley location.
"I don't recommend it." Considered Eucemon. "But we will come with you if you decide it."
"Yes. If he wishes to negotiate," Agreed Athusa as she sealed a new missive. "…it should be in my territory: he is to come to Randall castle. It is a simple lesson after all in respect."