I Only Love My Greatest Enemy

Armand sat at a desk in a dark room. A single candle lit the space around the boy. There was a blank book in front of him, a bottle of ink to one side, and a swan quill in his hand. He had spent the last half an hour thinking.

"I've never written a book before. I don't know how to start it. But I can't waste too much time. I'll just write something down," Armand contemplated.

The boy dipped the quill in the ink before he started writing.

"You might believe that the creatures of myth are not real, that the monsters in the woods are stories meant to scare children. I am here to tell you that this is not the case. Monsters are very real. You've already seen that with the Nosfer and now an attack by Not Wolves. In this book, I will detail the various monsters of the world and how to fight them," Armand wrote.

The boy stopped to dip his quill in the inkwell again before continuing.

"We will start with the Woods Wolves. They are some of the largest monsters out there. But they can take the form of normal wolves. If you see a wolf in the forest, it could be a Woods Wolf, and you would never know. They are the size of elephants in their true form. But the most dangerous thing about Woods Wolves is their power over wind. They can inhale a large portion of air before blowing it out. This is powerful enough to bring houses down. However, this wind is not effective against things more solid than wood, like bricks. I recommend facing Woods Wolves from the safety of fortresses. Use cannons on them. Don't bother with arquebus, pikes, or organ guns. Lances are able to pierce their hide, but getting close to Woods Wolves is a horrible idea."

Before Armand could continue writing, he heard the sound of footsteps outside his door. The boy made sure his hands were in position to grab his rapier and concealed pistol as he got off his chair. Armand turned around to face the exit.

Rozwiazly opened the door. Armand relaxed a little bit. However, the boy kept his guard up.

"Writing about monsters is making me more paranoid than usual," he thought as his mind flashed back to times he found shapeshifters among his soldiers.

"Lord Armand," Rozwiazly bows. "It is good to see you today. I hope you are not too busy to meet my family?"

"I can spare a few minutes for them," Armand said.

With a nod, Rozwiazly ushered his family in. There was an adult woman, two girls no older than six, and a boy of three. Pain flashed through Armand. He recalled his own family.

"I hope things aren't going too horribly between Eris and them," Armand thought.

The family looked a bit nervous. Their children were hiding behind Rozwiazly.

"They're meeting a noble, so being nervous is expected," Armand contemplated. "I should do something to assuage their worries."

He gave them a slight bow of greeting.

"I am Armand Richelieu Concord. I'm glad that I can finally meet Rozwiazly's family. He is a very impressive spellcaster."

A look of pride crossed the adult woman's face.

"Yes. My husband is the pride of our village, despite his...uncouth traits," she gave Rozwiazly a slight glare as she spoke.

"Heh heh. Lord Armand, this is my wife, Ani. These are my daughters, Mara and Varva. And this is my son, Dimitri," Rozwiazly introduced them.

The entire family, Rozwiazly included, took deep bows.

"I hope you enjoy your stay at this fortress," I said. "I know that it isn't a place where most people would bring their families, but I'm sure you will be able to adapt."

"Thank you for your kind words, My Lord," Ani replied.

Armand nodded and knelt down so he could look the children in the eyes. Being a twelve-year-old, he did not need to kneel far.

"It's good to meet you too. I'm sure you'll grow up into fine people," Armand said.

Then, the boy heard more footsteps. He stood up, and an arquebusier walked into the room. This newcomer bowed before speaking.

"Lord Armand, we received a letter for you," he stated.

"Give it to me," the boy replied.

Armand extended his hand, and the arquebusier gave him the letter. The boy examined it. This letter was from Eris. Opening it up incredibly quickly, Armand read it in less than a second.

"Telling my family that I told you to manage my affairs while I was gone...that is very clever. As expected of you, Eris. I wish I could have discussed this more with her, but we didn't have enough time," the boy thought.

He walked to the table and pushed the book aside. Then, Armand pulled out a blank piece of paper.

"I apologize for cutting this meeting short, Rozwiazly, Ani, Mara, Varva, Dimitri, but I need to address this as soon as possible," Armand said.

Rozwiazly bowed.

"We understand, Lord Armand. None of us would get in the way of a noble's important business," he replied.

"Thank you," Armand nodded.

Rozwiazly and his family left the room. Armand turned his attention to the piece of paper in front of him. The first thing he did was write down every detail he could about his affairs, especially the intricacies of managing the lands he was put in charge of.

"I'm sure Eris does not need to know all this, but I'd rather be thorough than miss something," Armand thought.

The boy then wrote a set of instructions for Eris. He was 100% certain that Eris would be happy that he sent her this information.

"It'll be truffle season a month from now. Their harvesting season lasts four months. Go to Bluerest Village. The village elder will have data on the production rate of truffles. Normally, you should eat truffles at most five days after they are unearthed. But my family uses magic to preserve truffles so they can be sold far in the future. I'll send instructions in this letter for how to use that spell," Armand wrote.

Then, the boy finished the letter. He didn't have his family's seal, but Marshal Ludwig gave him permission to use his personal seal instead. That just made things more secure. No one would dare open a letter sent by Marshal Ludwig unless it was sent to them.

Armand then started writing another letter.

"To my parents, I will be indisposed for a while. It could be anywhere from months to years. The banquet I attended was attacked by monsters. As hard as it is to believe, it is true. Marshal Ludwig recruited me into his service due to my performance against the monsters. I am currently his adjutant. I sent Eris to our estate so she could manage my affairs while I was gone, as a wife should do for her husband. Eris can be relied on for this, so I expect you to give her your full cooperation. If you do not, I will find out. From, your heir, Armand."

The boy sealed the letter.

"My parents will think that Marshal Ludwig's seal makes this a bit suspicious, but they'll recognize my handwriting. This is all I can do for now. I just have to put my trust in Eris. By the gods, Eris, please don't kill my family," Armand thought.

He gave the letters to a messenger before returning to writing his book.

Eris was sitting in the great hall of Castle Concord with Eleanor and Catherine.

"Despite my Father's pressing, Count and Countess Concord haven't let me get involved in Armand's affairs yet. I suspect they'll wait until he sends them a letter for that," Eris thought.

"Look!" Catherine showed Eris a doll. "This is Sir Rolando!"

The Hapsburg nodded.

"From the legends, right, Cat?"

Catherine beamed.

"Yup! Armand used to read me stories about Sir Rolando all the time! He was so brave and strong! He killed seven evil knights to save Queen Esmera!" she said.

Eleanor smiled with glee.

"Sir Rolando was so handsome that every woman wanted to marry him! But he was always faithful to Queen Esmera!"

"Aside from that time Princess Gilslaine used magic to disguise herself as Queen Esmera to bed him," Eris thought. "But that incident wasn't Sir Rolando's fault. He was something of the victim of that incident. If I were Queen Esmera, I'd have brutally tortured Princess Gilsaine to death. But I suppose Queen Esmera was more merciful to her cousin than I would have been."

Catherine nodded.

"Sir Rolando is so cool! I hope my husband is just like him!" she declared.

"I hope that he isn't a knight. His sisters shouldn't marry down, especially to an irrelevant social class. An alliance like that wouldn't benefit me or Armand at all," Eris thought before speaking. "I hope they have similar personalities."

"Yeah! I want someone strong and brave!" Cat said.

Footsteps came to Eris' ears. She glanced at the hallway. After a few moments, Lucia stepped inside. The girl was pale.

"What are you doing, Eris?" she asked.

"Spending time with my sisters, of course," the Hapsburg gave her an innocent smile. "Well, we aren't sisters yet, but it already feels like we've known each other for years!"

Lucia narrowed her eyes. She looked at her siblings, who were smiling widely. The girl then gazed at Eris. There was a conflicted expression on Lucia's face.

"Eris, could you come with me for a moment?" she asked.

"Of course, sister," the Hapsburg nodded and stood up.

They walked out of the room and entered the hallway. Lucia's face turned dark.

"I know exactly what you're doing. You couldn't get me or Charles on your side, so you're trying to influence our sisters instead," Lucia said.

"That is exactly what I'm doing," Eris thought before speaking. "But is it really wrong for me to spend some time with my future family?"

"When it's you, it is."

Lucia narrowed her eyes.

"And I told you to stay away from my brother and sisters," she said.

"And I told you that I would talk to them if they want to talk to me," Eris replied.

"And you were lying. Charles talked to me. He said that you approached him and tried to get him to help you betray Armand," Lucia stated.

"I thought he'd do something like that. Let's see if the child can outmaneuver me," Eris thought before speaking. "And you actually believed him? Charles wants Armand's inheritance."

"So do you."

Eris gave Lucia a warm smile.

"I want Armand more than his inheritance. And even if I wanted his inheritance, why would I want to join forces with Charles to get it? Armand is already the heir, and I'm his fiance," the Hapsburg pointed out.

"You might want his help to kill Armand," Lucia replied.

"Before Armand turned time back, I spent years trying to kill him and never succeeded. I would need a lot of help to do it. Lucia must have some idea of how competent Armand is, so I can see why she suspects that I'm trying to get someone to help me kill him," Eris thought.

The Hapsburg gave Lucia a reassuring smile.

"I'm not going to ask you to trust me as a person, Lucia. But I will ask you to trust my self-interest and competence. If Armand thinks I'm a threat, I have to be competent, right?" Eris asked.

"You do," Lucia admitted. "He would have crushed you by now if you weren't."

"True," the Hapsburg thought before speaking. "Now, tell me, what would happen if Charles and I killed Armand? Charles wants his inheritance, and after I marry Armand, his lands would pass to me unless we have children."

"You would marry Charles, of course!"

A look of complete and utter disgust crossed Eris' face. She felt like she was going to throw up. The Hapsburg looked at Lucia as if the Concord was the stupidest woman on the planet. This stunned Lucia so much that she took a step back.

"I am not marrying Charles. Ever," Eris said.

"If that bastard thinks I'd ever marry him at this point, he deserves to be boiled alive for his stupidity. I will crush him, no matter what. I will make him regret ever crossing me," she thought.

"I believe you," Lucia stated.

Eris narrowed her eyes. She saw Lucia turn pale.

"That easily?" the Hapsburg questioned.

"Yes," Lucia assured her. "I can tell from the look on your face that you'd never even let him touch you."

"If he tried, I'd cut off his hand," Eris said. "Charles lied to you. I did not ask him to help me betray Armand. He asked me to help him do that. And I refused."

Lucia looked down, uncertainty crossing her face. Eris held her expression.

"She believes me. Lucia doesn't want to, but she knows that I'm telling the truth. Now, Lucia knows that she can't trust Charles either. Well, if she didn't know already," Eris thought.

"Stay away from my siblings," Lucia turned away. "Don't manipulate them."

The girl ran down the hall, putting distance between herself and Eris.