The Ogre Strength Fairy and the Eldest 'Son'-Chapter 482 - A Servant Defies Station for A Princess
Qatrand gil Yecine looked upon the tax assessment reports collated by her newer adjutant, trained by Nysoi and Leysah in the months after Yatrel returned from the Exclave. The two women were talking and working together again, to the blonde’s relief, though it had taken a couple awkward weeks. All because Zonnel had immediately strode right up to the curved blade wielder and thanked her profusely... for the woman being straight and it leading to the events that were expressed with TMI.
At least for any gossip with any sense of shame.
In any case, the young man had proven himself quite competent so far. Which is why she did not expect for her office door to suddenly burst open without even the courtesy of a knock. The blonde swordswoman’s hand moved reflexively toward her blade’s rest position before a recognition against her tendrils of spirit stopped the motion. It was not her adjutant, but it was also probably not a danger.
Klaytei stood in the doorway, chest heaving from what must have been a sprint from the train station. The personal servant’s usually quite immaculate appearance showed signs of hasty travel. Her hair escaped some pins meant to keep it flat to her head and her traveling cloak was still fastened, despite the woman being in the habit of always removing it with proper social graces in an indoor setting.
More notably, her eyes blazed with an emotion Qat had rarely seen directed at herself. Though it was kind of similar to what she expected would happen if she had kept her wife’s personal servant on longer than that single month, when first getting the territory in order.
’Righteous indignation.’
"Warden Patrician. I need a moment of your valuable time."
The title came out with unrestrained frustration, causing the nineteen year old leader of the almost two year old settlement to carefully organize the papers she had been looking at. Behind Klaytei, her new administrative assistant hovered uncertainly in the hallway... clearly upset at having failed to intercept this particular visitor but also knowing who they were, thanks to being one of the few cultivators on staff trained in the servant’s document filing structure!
"It’s fine, Hoolov. Close the door on your way out."
"A-alright. Sorry, Qatrand."
The door clicked shut after Klaytei stepped forward, leaving the two of them in privacy. Qat gestured to one of the chairs across from her desk, but the woman remained standing as she approached with ineffective fists clenched at her sides. I her state, if she knew for sure she could get away with rapping her knuckles on the young woman’s head - she would.
"You look like you ran here. Was the train too slow?"
"Two weeks. It took two weeks for me to get that useless Wohjat she idealizes caught up enough at the branch workings to justify leaving even for something as important as this. Two weeks of wondering if it was not a mistake to trust you with my Princess."
When asking Dima to go check on Elua er Goltbred ’for her’, it was partially to see if the two - her lady and her love - could repair their relationship... and mostly because there had been a wild rooster sneaking around her unfinished henhouse in recent months. Which is to say less colorfully, that a specific man had been coming to interact with the branch manager at the Guild more than was strictly necessary for work purposes. Only to get a *late* notice that another such untrustable creature, the guildless cultivator Aleck, was actually going along as the third person!
"I think you are worrying too much. Like everyone else who has gone, she is sure to be healthy, safe, and probably driving my El to distraction with questions. Hers will just be about sigils. Assuming they can learn to get along."
"I’m not worried about that, you sent her in together with *him*. Trapped for months with an available male partner! And you didn’t think to inform me that-"
"Madrigil was already there."
The interruption landed and the woman’s tirade stuttered to a halt.
"What?"
"The exiled noble. He is a male scholar and spiritualist who has been divorced for quite some time. As far as I know he has no children. He’s been in the Exclave since the beginning, is a fellow sigil enthusiast, and could be considered actually quite compatible with Dima’s academic interests. I’m certain you knew this?"
She watched the given information process across Klaytei’s face. The dawning horror that she’d been worried about a fairly attractive martial person, the wrong potential rival for a scholar entirely! If all it was about was looks, then surely she would have found *someone* by now. Being able to carry on a pleasant conversation was also an important factor! And what could be more pleasant than someone who understands everything you do about your own work?!
"I didn’t... I never thought about..."
The personal servant sank into a chair as if her strings had been cut. She was sure it was all over. That in a half a year or less, depending on how long they stayed, she would be forced to congratulate the woman she loves over a new relationship - or even a pregnancy. It could happen quick, she knew. In fact, with the Descent over the number of births these years in the continental territories were *easily* overcoming the number of deaths. Qat leaned back in her chair, studying the spiraling woman across from her with curiosity.
"I’ve been wondering this for a while now, Klaytei. You’re bold enough to storm into my office, ignore every common social boundary between a mortal servant of another house than mine and a cultivator administrator working in official capacity... and demand I answer for myself."
"Your point?"
"Why can’t you be as open in a different direction?"
Simple brown eyes met the pigeon blues with surprising steadiness. That part had never been a question in her mind. She knew why she did things this way. As roundabout as they were... and even as patently obvious at times while knowing Dima just didn’t ’get’ it.
"Because I love her. And I want her to love me back, I do. But I do not want to make her feel as though she has to address it unless she realizes it all on her own. That I worked along with her, made sure she ate properly, and wore her ignorance down bit by bit through sheer patience. And that I will continue to do so for as long as it is necessary."
The admission came out quiet but utterly resolute.
"I know that it may feel cheap voiced from me, but why not honesty?"
"...Young Master Qatrand, I would hope you never again compare your lack of honesty with the world at large and how things progressed between yourself and my lady... with what I am doing and up against. I’ll get mad. Are you bragging?"
"That wasn’t my intention."
"Have you ever once had to worry over whether she can even feel romantically for you? That she’d fall for some brilliant sigilist who can discuss theories of energies I’ll never understand in the way cultivators do... or some handsome fellow who can match her ease of strength without arms and legs feeling like jelly?"
It didn’t seem like something to chuckle about, but the swordswoman did anyway. Not to belittle her worries... but because it was just a little amusing that she could say this to someone.
"Yes and yes. Though in a different way than you mean on both counts. Do you know she thinks the way she feels love for me is wrong? As if obsession isn’t tied right into a sense of passion. As if she hasn’t cared about things in my life that no one has. And for-"
"So you are bragging. Why did I come here..."
"To yell at me. El’s spouse. Who works hard every day to close the gap between us. Just like you do with your... Princess. If I’d spent the years convincing myself Elua er Goltbred deserved better than me, we’d never have married. Sometimes the chasm between what someone deserves and what they need is smaller than our fear makes it seem."
The former Yecine got to her feet, that change in her life bothering her a lot less over time than she felt it would... leading up to the decision to emancipate herself. At the time it had felt like it was incredibly antithetical to all her old hopes. But bettering her granted territory, increasing the quality of life and the potentials for industry and purpose for mortals and cultivators alike that made this place their home? That was exactly the sort of thing she wanted to do for her family holdings.
Offering her hand to the personal servant of her wife after walking around the desk, she smiled. Easy, honest, and full of a virtuous feeling in her spirit that would likely make a reincarnator ’hnng’. And Klaytei stared at her, almost compelled to by the Cynosure’s Primalist effect on allies.
"Sometimes bravery is taking a step while unsure. Sometimes it is just saying a word or two when no one else will."
Taking the hand and standing up herself, only a small nod was given as the employee of the Goltbred’s - and the Coiled Serpent Guild through unusual mortal contracting - began to take her leave. She’d gotten what she needed for now, the complaints out of her system. If required, she could come vent every other week! And she was sure she would need it considering how irresponsible compared to Dima the supposedly ’great’ man temporarily managing the branch was.
"...Klaytei."
Calling out in her low voice, the Warden Patrician paused. Then made a decision that technically violated a promise... and probably some continental legal statutes.
"Dima signed paperwork and left it with me before going where they did. It also has your name on it."
The woman’s attention sharpened immediately. She almost wanted to rush up and shake the other woman’s musclebound shoulders and order her to spit it out because she was being too slow with exposing the details! But she maintained a frail outward composure quite unlike the real woman who hauled a large empty chest up silvered steps at their wedding.
"Whatever could it be about?"
"A Will. Stating that if she doesn’t return - if she dies or disappears permanently on this ’expedition’ - the whole estate of her worldly possessions would transfer to you. At least, after an inquisition into cause of death or disappearance... that she assured me repeatedly was filed separately with another party."
Hearing that, the color drained completely from Klaytei’s face.
"She... what?"
"And while we talked, she also made a verbal note to me. That she trusts only the personal servant of the Goltbred heiress to ensure that her remaining family doesn’t squabble over her limited belongings. That you will be fair in the division."
Qat tried to remain neutral while delivering this news, however her pigeon blues were a bit alive with clear ’amusement’ - that a mortal could not read in the spirit, but could see plastered on her expression.
"And also that if they *ever* make it difficult for you, it’s fine if you simply keep everything instead. Because, as she put it, she can’t think of anyone else she’d rather... ’have everything of mine’."
Quoting the ambiguous phrase caused an ensuing silence to stretch on and on. Broken only when the young woman - who actually had a lot to do today - to reach for her heavy blade harness and beginning to secure it. Klaytei’s sharp intake of breath when snapping out of it came just as the blonde made it to the door next to her, tying up her hair in a black ribbon even though there was barely enough there to tie.
"That’s... that’s not nothing, is it?"
"No. I may not be in your situation, but from outside I think it sounds quite like a chance. Good luck."
A calloused hand pat the older woman on the head and she blushed. Not because of the contact. But because of her own Dima-daydreams gone absolutely haywire.
