Guardian's Farm 11

Anna had a complicated relationship with her position as one of the Seven … currently limited to six members, having a meeting about raising it to seven.

She was proud of being a part of the group that saved the world, yet she still felt guilty that her inclusion had been preceded by a great tragedy that they still refused to talk about. Magna was the only one who had been willing to talk about Garum with her, but the one time he did, he had such an intense expression of grief, that Anna didn’t dare to ask again.

She was also frustrated with all the trappings that were forced on her. She hated the robe, she hated the adulation that came with it, though not as much as the presumptuous nobles that sought her hand in marriage, especially only one she could imagine…

No, she thought. She refused to go there. She knew that he saw her as too young, too inexperienced to be with him. She used to blame him for that, but since his surprise resignation, her mind had changed. How could she blame him, when she failed to realize the depths of his alienation, to the point of abandoning everything he had risked his life for just to get away. Maybe he was right to treat her affection as the infatuation of a childish young girl.

Magna’s departure added guilt and inadequacy to her already complicated feelings of pride and fear.

She hated the fact that she had to stay. She came from an old, ailing noble family, and her position was a chance for them to return back to the center of the Empire, to make a difference once more. It hadn’t been the reason she had joined the party, but it had been the reason her uncle, the leader of the family, allowed her to leave the family estate rather than marrying her off for an alliance. She wanted to help her family, but it was hard not to get frustrated.

It had been two years since their victory, in which she supported her family with riches, land, and most importantly, the social capital they were desperately looking for, yet they asked for more and more, even daring to push her to get married. Naturally, she refused again and again, but it didn’t seem to deter her aunts and cousins.

Then, there was the trappings of her situation. She hated the fancy, perfectly tailored robes she had to wear. Not just the ceremonial azure robes that she was currently wearing, but also all the fancy ones she found herself in during various social events.

They had been frustrating enough, but whenever they had become too much, she could go talk with Magna. Not as much as she wanted to, but every second with him had been a breath of fresh air regardless; which she had lost after his departure. It didn’t help that the number of parties increased greatly after his departure.

Elric claimed it was because they needed to be seen after Magna’s resignation. Anna might have believed him, if he wasn’t spending all his time pondering to neutrals to get their support, a clique that was led by that annoying bore Davoi.

No, Anna would readily admit that she could be naive, but it was nowhere enough to believe his nonsense.

But, deep frustration from the current meeting eclipsed all of it. It was yet another argument to decide who would wear the Victory Eternal and receive the post of Grand Guardian, something that the council had been arguing over almost every day.

“… I submit that we put the armor to the test again. I refuse to believe it’s the original set!” shouted one of the councilmen, interrupting the current discussion.

“And, why so?” Elric called the Elder Councilman, responsible for managing the meeting.

“Because of the performance of Lancela, my dear cousin,” he called. “He’s already a great warrior, and a famed guardian. Yet, when he wore the armor, his performance didn’t get the boost the armor was supposed to give.”

“The incompetence of your cousin —” Elric started, only to be interrupted.

“He’s right. None of the testers that used the armor had shown the improvement the armor was supposed to provide,” another councilman cut him off.

“Those results are confidential,” Agatha, the most intellectual member of the seven, interrupted. Anna smirked as she caught Elric’s frustrated expression, like he wanted to strangle Agatha. Agatha was a genius when it came to matters of alchemy and various other arts, but social interaction was not one of them. Even now, she didn’t realize she had just confirmed the gossip, and the potential ramifications it unlocked.

Unfortunately, Anna’s amusement was short-lived. “I know that he was an honorless peasant. I’m not surprised that he replaced the real armor with a fake one and sold the real one to imitate his betters!” one of the other councilmen shouted.

Anna saw red as she tried to stand up, only for Seraphine to grab her arm and pull her down. “Calm down,” she said.

“No!” Anna shouted, only to realize no one reacted to them. It took a second to realize that no one heard them due to a shimmering barrier, keeping them from being heard. A nifty feature of the enchantment of the council seats. “I won’t let them insult Magna. How dare they even insinuate such a thing?”

Seraphine shrugged. “Can you blame them?” she admitted casually. “None of the other testers showed even a fraction of his performance during the fights.”

Anna couldn’t help but freeze at her words. “And, that surprises you,” she couldn’t help but ask. It was one thing for the councilors to have that idea, but for someone who had fought together with him to be dismissive was something else.

“Of course,” Seraphine replied. “I have to admit, he has been a strong guardian, but ultimately…”

Watching her dismiss everything Magna had achieved with a mere half-sentence, Anna collapsed back to her seat, the heat of her argument disappearing in the cold realization that Magna’s departure was even more justified than she had realized.

It wasn’t just about the politics, at least, not anymore.

“No more tantrums?” Seraphine asked, her patronizing tone grating her nerves, but Anna still nodded. She was not in a mood to argue, not anymore.

The silencing barrier disappeared, but Anna was still lost in her mind, trying to process the realization. When her wits returned, the council had already moved on to the next topic, the financial assistance to the lands affected by the blight.

“… We can’t afford the cost of the amendments,” one of the councilors shouted. “Professional healers are too expensive to mobilize, especially for a border area. And, we don’t even know if the blight is actually spreading. It’s a waste of critical resources.”

Anna was surprised at the audacity of an unimportant councilor declaring such a thing. The blight might be the worst disaster that had been caused by the followers of Darkness. A curse that had turned the land barren, and corrupted the beasts into dangerous creatures.

The North, in particular, had suffered greatly, enough to trigger a famine if it wasn’t for the losses the Empire had suffered for a decade, currently restrained by enchantments to prevent the spreading of the magical disease.

Even the possibility of it spreading to another region required the full mobilization of their forces to treat it before it spread too much.

“Seconded,” another councilor rose. “We have to be careful, spreading our critical forces. It could weaken the defenses of our ”

That triggered a heated argument, one that Anna watched in shock, waiting for Elric to intervene. Only after twenty minutes, he did do so. “Since the council is split on the decision due to uncertainty of the threat, I propose a fact-finding mission, to explore the lands beyond the border and detect the veracity of the claims. Grand Ranger Thorne, what’s your opinion?”

“I have critical tasks I have to address, but will send my best rangers for the task,” he replied simply before sitting down.

Anna didn’t even bother to respond to Thorne. She knew very well that the only thing he was busy with was to deal with the hangover from all the parties he attended, but he was too stubborn to change his mind just because Anna argued.

Instead, she looked at Elric hopefully, expecting him to change his mind, only for him to share a subtle nod with Councilman Davoi … just like the nods he had shared with Berin whenever they successfully pulled a combined spell during their adventures.

Before Magna’s departure, Anna wouldn’t have spent even a second thinking about that nod. But, she couldn’t help but think the worst…

It required some digging.

Alone.