Chapter 4

Jewel Harrison.

Daughter of a Marquis and current favourite for becoming the First Prince's wife. But that was only because he had the best chance of inheriting the throne. If it was Luther instead of Aiden, she would have probably been favoured as his potential partner.

Jeremiah had nothing to do with her in general. She had not openly expressed spite at her and not directly involved herself in the harassment Jeremiah faced. But that was also the issue. She never restrained those who followed her from harassing her either.

Out of all the invites Jeremiah had received, she was least inclined to accept Jewel's invite. But at the same time, she was curious about it.

Jeremiah pondered over the invite in her hand.

"As I thought, it's better to reject it."

Not only did it not make sense for her to accept Jewel's invite, but it made even less sense to accept any invite given that she planned to withdraw from the social scene completely. The only reason why she was even curious was because she wanted to know why Jewel was keen on establishing contact with her now.

Even though she had a title, she knew that as a Vicountess her power was well below that of the Marquis. Even her father's power was below it, even though he compensated for it with military might. A powerless Duke held more institutional power than a powerful Count. But the Marquis was only one level below that of the Duke and wasn't powerless at all. Certainly, there was no reason for Jewel to think having contact with her would be an asset, especially since her title was not to be inherited. The giving of the fief was also likely temporary, unless the King intended to bind the territory to her (and she wasn't clear on whether that was the case).

Additionally, Jewel was from the Aristocratic division, while Jeremiah was a Royalist. Sure, cooperation between the two factions was not impossible, and many nobles often joined with the opposition faction when it came to their personal interests, but it was still a given that the two of them had no real reason to establish relations.

She sat down and started to write letters of rejection. They had to be worded precisely in order to not offend, and to make it clear that she was rejecting for anything other than personal reasons. Interestingly, she noticed that Jewel was the only one from the Aristocratic faction to reach out to her.

But just as she was about to send the letters out with the maid, a visitor came by. And, surprisingly enough, the visitor was none other than Jewel.

Jeremiah was surprised when the servant announced that Jewel had been led to the parlour and had expressed interest in meeting Jeremiah. To come without an invite or a prior notice was generally considered rude, even if the guest was someone who was a high noble. And Jeremiah had a title of her own, unlike Jewel.

Setting aside the letter of rejection addressed to Jewel, she sent the rest off with the servant, and walked towards the parlour to meet the uninvited guest.

When Jeremiah entered the room, she noticed Jewel paying close attention to the window. More specifically, to the people standing right before the window, outside. They were knights, and Dale. It seemed like Dale was preparing to go somewhere with a escort of knights. He was laughing with them as he climbed on top of his horse, and the others climbed theirs.

She was so engrossed in looking at them that she didn't notice Jeremiah enter the room. Jeremiah took this opportunity of observe her, not knowing who Jewel was looking at with such interest.

'Beautiful, as usual,' she thought. She was wearing a teal dress that greatly complimented her eyes, but simple jewelry. Her hair was tied in a simple bun. She was dressed in a less ostentatious manner than usual, but then again this wasn't a party or gathering of nobles.

Jeremiah cleared her throat, startling Jewel out of her reverie.

"Oh! Vicountess Hestia. Greetings."

Her greeting was simple, neither too deferring, nor too flattering, perfect for her station as the Marquis' daughter, even though the one before her was a Vicountess.

There were few people Jeremiah envied, and she certainly envied Jewel, who always carried herself with utmost grace and tact.

"Greetings, Lady Jewel. This is a surprise…"

"Yes, and rude too, so I apologize for that. But it was important for me to meet you."

Jeremiah bit her lip. 'Might as well hear her out.'

"Please have a seat," she said, ringing for the servant to bring in some light refreshments. They sat in strangely comfortable silence until the snacks and tea were brought in.

Neither seemed ready to break the silence first. After about 10 minutes of sipping tea, Jewel finally spoke.

"My purpose for this visit…" she said, pausing a bit as she tried to arrange the words in her head, "is to ask for your help."

That surprised Jeremiah. She stared at Jewel for a bit, before saying, "May I know what is it that you need my help for?"

Jewel set her tea down. She was visibly agitated.

"You know that I am from the Aristocratic faction, right?"

"Yes," said Jeremiah, setting down her own tea cup.

"But that isn't how we began. We were Royalists, until your father, Count Rubel Hestia, started gaining the King's favour by participating increasingly in maintaining the external security of Amisdale."

Jeremiah was surprised once again.

"Of course, you wouldn't know about that, since this all happened way before we were born," she muttered. "Everyone knows about this of course, but it has been nearly 25 years since my father started supporting the Aristocrats, thus this information is fairly irrelevant to our generation. It has been too long…"

There was a pause in the conversation, and then she continued.

"I am sure you are aware that I am being pushed to marry the First Prince."

"Yes, a bit too well, I am afraid," Jeremiah responded, making Jewel blush in embarrassment.

"I, well, I am not going to apologize for what happened. Not because I don't think I am indirectly responsible for it. In fact, I take full responsibility for whatever harassment came your way, but a verbal apology is a very poor way to make up for it," Jewel said firmly.

Jeremiah was speechless.

"I may have not intended for it to happen, but whatever did take place, the gossiping, the rumours and the abuse, were done by people who thought they were doing it for my sake. I could have tried to stop them, but, my father stopped me from doing so. In fact, the decision to come here… once he hears about it, it will not go well for me."

"Then, why are you here, despite the obvious opposition of the Marquis?" Jeremiah asked incredulously. She was completely out of her depth. As much as she had been pulled into he politics of the factions on account of her engagement, she realized that there was very little that she knew, and she wasn't sure that she wanted to step in or know more, especially now.

"I… don't want to marry either of the Princes."

"…what?"

*

While Jeremiah was conversing with Jewel, the Queen had returned to the Palace. The first thing she did was not go to greet her husband, King Ludwig, but send for the Third Prince, Luther.

A sharp slap resounded in the room. It was the Queen's chambers and everyone had been sent out except for her son.

"Useless! How dare you let that tramp walk all over you?!"

The recipient of the slap, Prince Luther, was cowering. Save for his father, who he feared simply because he was an unapproachable and mighty existence, he feared nobody else, except his mother.

She had raised him to be unable to defy her, and in a way, to be heavily dependant on her. Indeed, the reason why he was so confident that he could do anything and get away with it was because of the support of Yerika Randolph, daughter of Duke Randolph, and the support of the Randolph family.

Duke Randolph had no sons, only two daughter, one of whom was the Queen and the other, Sophia, who was married to Duke Nelberg. The successor to the Dukedom would have been Luther, as the second son of the eldest daughter, if her older son had not defied her and turned away from the throne.

Luther was the only chance she had, and he was adamant at ruining everything.

"Is it because I spoiled you too much? Why are you so incompetent that you couldn't handle one woman?" She screamed.

Prince Luther didn't dare to respond. But even so, his resentment against Jeremiah grew. Rather than reflecting on his mistake, he blamed her for causing Yerika to insult him. Powerless against his mother, he naturally turned and put the onus on someone he thought he could retaliate against. He gripped his thigh in anger, leaving bruises.

"Oh? Are you angry? Do you dare to openly rage against me?" Yerika snorted.

"No. No, you are always on my side, Mother. I am angry with Jere-"

"Shut your mouth. You lost the chance to bring her under control, so now what is the point of being angry with that woman? Will that erase your incompetence?"

Yerika sat down and glared at her son, who remained kneeling and seething in anger.

It was clear from this incident that King Ludwig favoured not only Count Hestia but also his children. If she couldn't bring the House of Hestia under her control…

"I didn't want that dirty blooded woman to mix with my blood anyway. But instead of disgracing her and kicking her out, you only ended up giving her wings!"

Yerika had wanted to shut at least one path that could be used by the Count to consolidate his power, but Jeremiah was now a very appetizing morsel for the nobles to try to swallow up. And not just the nobles. Maybe even the First Prince would try to court her. It didn't help that both Count Rubel and his successor Dale were close to him on account of their expedition.

Yerika cursed. She had seized an opportunity to remove Prince Aiden by sending him to the western border, where the demonic beasts were growing in momentum. It was a chance to either kill him on the battlefield or to at least reduce his influence by minimizing his contact with the Royalist and neutral factions.

'That wretch… he was more powerful than I thought.'

Information about the Christina powers was strictly controlled, such that not even Queen Yerika knew the extent of Prince Aiden's powers. Usually, even with that amount of control, it was normal for family members to have some idea due to constant interaction. But Queen Yerika's relationship with the Prince was always hostile, and the Prince had done such a good job concealing himself that even she had been astounded that he had not only survived, but overwhelmed the beasts.

She had estimated the battle to go on for a year and a half, but he had shaved that time by nearly 6 months.

Her biggest fear was that Prince Aiden would be as powerful as King Ludwig was in his prime, because if that was the case, even if her older son had not expressed his disgust with the fight for the throne and quit, he wouldn't be able to compete with Aiden in terms of pure power. Her only consolation was that Aiden so far had not shown interest in taking a woman, because if he secured a heir that would only further consolidate his power.

It was necessary for the Monarch of Amisdale to have strong powers, or the kingdom would fall to the threat of the demon beasts.

"Get out of my sight."

Prince Luther scrambled out of the Queen's chambers immediately.

Queen Yerika pondered her next move. She snapped her fingers once again, and a voice replied.

"Your Majesty?"

"Find out what Jeremiah Hestia is planning to do. And if she is making a move to increase her power, report it to me immediately.

*

Jeremiah sucked in a deep breath when she heard Jewel's words.

"I thought you…"

"A lot of people think a lot of things, but that doesn't mean their thoughts and observations are correct. Isn't that right, Vicountess Hestia?" Jewel looked at her with a smile. "After all, if your personality was as the rumours said it was, you would have kicked me out, regardless of my own background."

"Fair enough," Jeremiah conceded, "but the reason I met you was out of curiosity. I was going to reject your invite."

"As you would reject the invitations of all the others who are trying to approach you, right?"

Jeremiah but her lip.

"You seem to know me well," she said, somewhat disgruntled.

"No, I wouldn't claim to know you well, but I have seen enough to know how you would behave in certain situations. I don't see you trying to gain the favour of people who rejected you, even if the tables were turned."

"Is that why you sought me out?"

"Yes. Because people like you aren't likely to move with vested interests."

"I am… gratified… that you trust my character so much, but there is little I can do to help you. You see, I have been planning to quit the social circles."

It was Jewel's turn to be stunned.

"…It seems I have been underestimating you. If you don't mind me asking, what are you planning to do?"

"That I cannot reveal," Jeremiah said softly, "but you will learn of it soon enough."

"Hmm… so it isn't a big secret then…"

"No, not really. I'm sure if you dig around a bit, you'd find out."

Jewel smiled.

"Interesting. But I have no intention to do so. I will wait for your announcement."

Jeremiah was genuinely surprised at how frank she was being.

"I am sorry that I am unable to help you."

"No, actually, you can still help. Just not in the usual way through connections."

Jeremiah was confused.

"Then how…"

"I have plans of my own, Vicountess Hestia. You will see soon enough. I just thought it would be better to have an ally. And even if you cannot help in the way I thought you could, I have a feeling that you will be able to help me in another way. That is," she said hesitantly, "if you are willing to help me at all. I'll understand if you don't."

Jeremiah contemplated for a bit. Yes, she was quitting the social circles of the nobles, but did that mean she had to completely cut off all contact with them? Additionally, she was curious about this open and seemingly honest Jewel, who seemed to not want to marry into the Royal Family.

"I'll think about it, depending on what help you need."

Jewel smiled.

"That's all the assurance I need."