As a snowflake gently descended from the sky and fell harmlessly upon John's bright blond hair, his eyes gazed out from the center of Farville village in a mixture of awe and horror as the battle unfolding far ahead of him burned into his vision, while his knights were busy evacuating peasants away from the battlefield.
"What in the actual hell has happened?" he asked himself.
Before him sprawled a chaotic and incomprehensible scene. Redlion mercenaries, Snow Leopard beastmen, and knights adorned in steel armor bearing the crest of House Ursun were all locked in combat, clashing in such a random and tangled manner that the situation was impossible to grasp with the naked eye alone.
Ten minutes passed, and the beastmen retreated, leaving only mercenaries and knights to continue battling one another amidst the growing snowfall.
Another twenty minutes slipped by, until only Elena and four of her comrades remained standing, facing off against five knights of House Ursun.
This was the exact opportunity John had been waiting for.
He immediately spurred his horse forward, riding out to meet them while raising a blue banner adorned with a white dove as high as he possibly could, as if to declare, I am a third party. Do not kill me.
"In the name of House Libertas, who rules over this land, can anyone tell me what happened here?!" he shouted with a voice loud as thunder, demanding an explanation for their actions.
"I, Elena Isotta, did my duty exactly as written in the contract. These lawless brigands over there attacked us without warning," Elena declared with a voice as loud as a lion's roar, her armor drenched in blood and entrails.
"Lawless brigands?" one of the knights shouted in reply. "You are a traitor who murdered our liege in the middle of the night, in cold blood, to cover your own misdeeds against our bears! In the name of our fallen liege, we must execute you!"
They shouted back and forth, each side trying to overpower the other with words, dragging the argument into a bitter stalemate in the middle of a field strewn with piles of corpses and rivers of blood.
Another five minutes passed in nothing but worthless argument, time wasted amid the carnage.
Until someone arrived to stop it.
An ornate and luxurious carriage painted pine green slowly strode from the dirt road into the now blood-soaked battlefield, flanked on all four sides by knights. As the carriage came to a halt, a young noble lady with short ginger hair, dressed in long, heavy brown fur-lined clothing, slowly descended the steps in a dramatic fashion.
But the moment her eyes fell upon the blood, the gore, and the mangled bodies littering the ground before her, she fainted and collapsed unconscious on the spot.
For a brief moment, everyone present, including her own subordinates, simply stared at her in stunned silence, unsure of what to do.
----
About two hours later, back at Frosthearth Mansion in the heart of Vindia City.
In a bedroom dimly lit by flickering candles, a young lady of noble birth slowly opened her eyes, awakening after witnessing the barbaric spectacle of the battlefield.
The first thing she saw was a young and attractive man, whose hair and skin were pale white as snow. His eyes, glittering blue like magnificent sapphire gems, looked straight into hers as if observing her very soul. In his hand, he held a cotton stick emitting such a strong smell that it irritated her nostrils so intensely she could not help but wake up.
"Wh… where am I?" she asked the man.
"At Frosthearth Mansion, my lady. You were unconscious for about two hours," the man said with a gentle smile, as she straightened her back and sat upright on the bed.
"And who are you?" she asked.
"I am Libertas 'Victor' von Vindia, Baron of this humble fiefdom, milady," he answered, bowing slightly with a warm yet charming smile that sent a shockwave through her heart.
Her face flushed red with embarrassment as she raised her hands to cover it, her breathing growing heavier with rising nervousness.
"I'm Arina Ursunovsky, n… nice to meet you!" she spoke nervously, forgetting entirely that she was supposed to be of a higher feudal rank than him the instant their eyes first met.
Is this the so-called 'love at first sight'? she wondered, as her mind conjured images of ballroom dances, a marriage ceremony, and growing old together surrounded by family, all within the span of a single heartbeat.
Meanwhile, he simply looked at her with the same calm expression and unchanging smile.
"Then it's nice to meet you, Lady Ursunov—"
He did not even finish the sentence before she interrupted him.
"P… please! Just call me Arina!" she said shakily, the hand covering her bright red face tightening.
"Very well. Then may I humbly ask you a simple question? What are you and your people doing here in my land?" he asked, his tone now serious.
"I… I'm on a diplomatic mission to see you… but there was an obstacle along the way…" She lowered her hands, revealing a serious yet still nervous expression as she spoke more clearly.
"The Red Lion Mercenary Company?" he asked gravely.
"That's right. They are traitors who slew my father and brother!" she replied, her voice edged with anger.
"Then… are you feeling well enough to stand now?" he asked.
"Да!" she answered loudly, like a bear's roar, as she immediately stood up.
"Then I will bring you to them," he said with a smile, before gesturing with his hand to guide her.
----
As we descended down the stairs of my mansion, the sight of a cozy little living room came into view, now filled with grumpy, confused, and outright angry expressions.
John and his knights, Elena and her men, and the knights of House Ursun sat on three sides of the same table, radiating an aura of conflict that might erupt at any moment if I made even a single wrong move.
"Please sit there, my lady," I said as I guided Lady Arina Ursunovsky, a literal marquise, to a small wooden chair that did not fit her status at all.
"Again, just call me Arina," she said as she sat down, flanked by an entourage of her knights surrounding her.
"Alright, Miss Arina. May I humbly introduce myself again? I'm Libertas 'Victor' von Vindia, though you can simply call me Victor," I said, then turned my head toward John and his men. "That's John, my loyal knight, and his men."
As I spoke, John and his knights bowed their heads.
Arina nodded in understanding before turning her gaze toward Elena and her company.
"This is Elena and her company. She is currently under my service for a month, due to several reasons," I said as I gauged her reaction, watching closely how she would respond.
"So this bitch is under your command for a month, huh?" she said with a voice filled with indescribable rage, cleary emotional charged, her eyes locking onto Elena, who responded by nonchalantly waving her hand.
"Yes, due to several reasons," I answered with a stern voice. As I shall anwser her emotion with my reasons.
"It had better be a good reason, my дорогой," she said, her gaze snapping back toward me.
"Well, firstly, it wasn't my choice to hire her. My hands were tied in the decision. Secondly, the one who hired her had no ill intentions and merely wished to aid me. Thirdly, she and her men did protect my village from an unforeseen beastman retaliation force. So until this month passes, I plead that you do nothing to her or her men… yet," I said, bowing my head slightly in a gesture of deference to the marquise.
She nodded in agreement, then continued, "Alright. But who was the one who hired her to aid you?" she asked, her tone clearly suspicious.
"Lady Valeria Conti of Venetia," I answered.
"What?! The Viper?!?" she exclaimed, springing up from her chair, her mouth agape.
"It's all in this letter," I said quickly, handing her the yellow wax-sealed letter to prove that Valeria was the one who had hired Elena for me.
She took it and hurriedly read through it, sweat droplets slowly dripping down her forehead despite the winter's cold.
"What is she to you?!?" she demanded, her voice rising with even greater anger.
"Uh… a friend and a business partner?" I answered, unsure why mentioning Lady Valeria provoked such fury.
"And nothing else?" she asked, her voice as angry as a bear's growl.
"Yes," I answered nonchalantly. There was nothing to hide.
After hearing my answer, she gradually calmed down and sat back down, drawing in deep breaths as she regained her noble composure.
"I trust you, Victor of Vindia. And for that reason, I shall not trouble you further here," she paused for a moment, clearly calculating something before continuing.
"In fact, I originally wished to congratulate you and apologize. Despite ruling a marquise-level fiefdom, we were unable to send troops to aid your city in time. Yet you defeated the beastman threat regardless. So when you go to visit Lady Valeria in Venetia, I shall accompany you as a security force and deal with my personal matters there as well, so as not to create further problems for you," she said with a calm and considerate tone.
Seeing the opportunity for a new ally, I nodded back at her with a smile.
Receiving my approval, she turned her gaze back toward Elena and smiled.
Elena responded with her own unnaturally beautiful smile.
Neither of them said a word as the room fell into heavy silence.
And so, attempting to break the tension, I spoke up out of the blue.
"By the way… how's the weather?"