Fire Emblem Protagonist 23

"Hello Lady Felt..."

"Wassup, traitor?"

And that's how he had been greeted once he got home. With a pouting Felt that was lazing around in one of hotel's couches. It was kind of like seeing a dangerous animal had entered your home...

His eye twitched. "Why am I a traitor all of the sudden?" He had never even spoken to the girl.

Which was a problem in itself, but to be honest... he had no idea how to even approach her. She was the youngest candidate, a kid, and considering the whole song thing... Heitor didn't like it. When was Intelligent Systems gonna announce that she was secretly a thousand year old woman!? Then he could feel less awful about his own existence.

Felt scowled. "Isn't it obvious? After all that big talk of yours in the Royal Selection, you went and married the cow. So you're a traitor."

She... she was calling him a class traitor!? Seriously!?

And... Priscilla really had spread around word of their marriage, if Felt was so casually talking about it. He could only hope it hadn't generated much controversy.

Though that didn't matter right now, first he should stop Priscilla from killing the young girl. There was no way Felt would get away with calling her a cow of all things—.

And Priscilla was actually smiling, seemingly delighted. "Isn't she cute, piggy? I had heard rats could actually be adorable little creatures if put in the corrext environment, and I suppose that was correct." Ah. There was a dark glimmer on her eyes.

She didn't get angry at Felt's insult, because she saw Felt as someone far too low to ever be able to wound her pride in the first place.

And Felt definitely knew that. "Bitch..." She didn't give up on laying insults. "Guess I shouldn't be surprised the pig married the cow though. You bastards have a whole farm here!"

Once again, Priscilla simply ignored her comment, looking down on her and giggling. Felt had managed to create a problem for herself though.

That problem's name was Emilia. "Now Felt, that's not a very ni~ce thing to say..." There was a undeniable cold air emanating from the half-elf. "You shouldn't insult people like that, especially when you're only a guest..."

Felt blanched. "Right, my bad big sister." That was a awfully affectionate way of referring to Emilia. Did the two know each other for a long time?

No, they didn't, or Emilia would have definitely mentioned her before. It was much more likely they were acquaintances and Felt warmed up quickly to other people, even half-elves.

Emilia, satisfied with her apology, clapped her hands. "Great! Heitor is actually really nice, you know..." She wouldn't defend Priscilla too!?

Felt awkwardly chuckled. "Oh yeah, I'm sure..."

Heitor cleared his throat. "So, may I ask why Lady Felt is here in the first place? Is it related to the Fire Emblem?" That was his first... and only guess really.

Emilia smiled. "Sir Reinhard left her under our protection for a bit... He trusts you can stop any assassination attempt, Heitor. And as for why he had to leave, The Council sent him to secure Elior Forest until Lord Roswaal can verify what that seal is about."

Felt crossed her arms. "And I just wanna say that I don't actually need this protection. I only came here because that dumbass basically dragged me here... Well, seeing big sis was nice too, I guess."

Heitor bowed. "I understand. I'll endeavor to protect you as best as I can, Lady Felt." Though he definitely wouldn't match up to the Ryoma of this game.

The girl looked at him as if he was scum. "Please don't tell me you're another Reinhard..."

Heitor's eye twitched. "I wish I was." This girl was going to be a handful...

Priscilla pointed her fan at him. "Enough about the rat. Mineself wishes to know how your day went piggy... Did any troubles arise?" Was she worried? Even though she had sent him with a full squad of bodyguards?

He scratched his cheek. "Um... well, I'm curious about your day as well actually. Did anything important happen during the meeting?"

She squinted her eyes. "Do not try to reflect." He wasn't though! Of course he was curious about such a important meeting! "Al, give a report on how the outing went. Spare no details." And now she got paranoid enough to interrogate the gladitor.

Al tilted his head. "We'll, it started out pretty normal. We went and bought clothing... cousin insisted on blue and white even though it doesn't match you. Sorry princess."

She smiled. "It's fine, it fits him." Damn it, she liked it!? He had picked those colors to spite her! "Carry on, Al."

The gladiator nodded. "Right. We then went to a forger, bought some weapons. Cousin here decided to get into lances, and for some reason bought a really shitty one."

Heitor interjected, before Priscilla could question. "It's related to my power. Don't worry about it." Besides, who knows what a Rusted Lance could be once you actually fixed it up!

Al continued. "Then after that, we went go see that merchant rival of yours, princess." Priscilla's face clearly showed her distate for the woman she considered a fox. "Closed a deal with her to sell some things from our world..."

He looked away. "And that's where the weird things started." What weird things!? "Right there and then, to close the deal, cousin and Anastasia started to passionately make out." Had he seen things happening in another reality!?

Al shrugged. "I tried to stop them of course, because I'm your loyal servant, but before I knew cousin was putting children in the woman and saying how you would raise it."

Emilia covered her mouth. "That doesn't sound like something Heitor would do..." Because it obviously wasn't!

Felt chuckled. "I don't know, all men are beasts... besides Reinhard." She was actually complimenting the Sword Saint? How rare. "Since he's more of a bug." Nope, not a compliment after all.

Emilia seemed conflicted. "Heitor is a beast...?" He didn't know if he would survive a world where Emilia thought little of him...

Priscilla silently walked closer to the gladiator... and then threw him to the ground. "Watch what vulgarities you say, Al! Even a jester must have his limits!"

"Sorry princess, I couldn't resist..." He was trying to get back up.

But before he could do so, Priscilla stepped on his back, grounding him once more. "Well, if you cannot follow simple orders from me, then why do I even keep you alive!?"

But before things could go any further, Heitor sighed and interjected. "Priscilla, I'm pretty sure he's actually enjoying this." The man was actually panting.

Ew.

She immediately stepped back, a look of disgust on her face. "Al, stop." That's a all she could, and needed to say.

He got up. "Yeah, sure. I reached my limits today." At least he knew that. "So, jokes that totally weren't intended to ruin your marriage aside, outside of the make out thing, that's pretty much all that happened."

Priscilla huffed. "I see." She looked at Heitor. "Piggy, I care not for what you do with the she-fox, but do try to not get taken advantage of... It would tarnish my reputation."

He pouted. "Yeah, yeah, I'll do my best..."

Emilia seemed confused. "Why... why was Al enjoying that?" Oh boy, how did one teach the existence of masochism to a cute little half-elf? The answer was that naturally one simply didn't.

But Al was a demon. "I like whatever the princess does to me... Let me teach you something. Men are pigs who give every little bit of themselves to a woman, and then become absolute trash. That's just in our nature."

Heitor's eye twitched. "Speak for yourself." Alas, it was too late.

Emilia looked as if she was genuinely considering his words, putting a hand to her chin and humming. Aldebaran better not have corrupter her, or Heitor would put an end to the gladiator.

For now though, he had other things to worry about. "So Priscilla, you know our side now. What's yours?"

She huffed. "Nothing interesting happened. Some talk of arresting the half-elf for her existence, or taking me out of the Selection due to our marriage was thrown around, but it was quickly squashed. Oh, and Sloth's defeat may or may not become a national holiday."

That's all very interesting though!



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"Hello, Lady Emilia." Heinkel Astrea bowed, a scowl on his face.

Heitor immediately analyzed the man of course. He didn't seem that particularly special, not strong, but not weak either. He definitely didn't live-up to the hype surrounding his son at least.

Heinkel's scowl quickly turned into a desperate once he saw Heitor. "A-and hello to you to... Lord Heitor, may I ask what you two need with me?." Being called a lord was just weird.

But he supposed this was a talk between nobles. "I'm just here to guard Lady Emilia, Lord Heinkel." Which is why it was weird Heinkel seemed so focused on him.

Heitor had only come here to support Emilia in her attempt at making allies, as he had previously promised. Leaving Felt and Priscilla behind did make him nervous of course, but they were guarded by the Crimson Battlefront. Although Priscilla had sent Aldebaran with them... and also had noted Heitor was his priority above Emilia.

Not that it mattered. If someone happened, Heitor wouldn't abandoned the half-elf, so neither would the gladiator.

Emilia quickly made her intentions clear. "And I'm here to recruit you to my camp." Couldn't she have made a better choice...?

No, there was nothing wrong with Heinkel per se. He just... clearly didn't take care of himself too well, and Heitor ended up judging for him perhaps a bit too harshly. And in the end of things, the man should be the head of house Astrea, so definitely a powerful noble...

Heinkel raised an eyebrow. "You...?" Even he seemed confused by Emilia's sudden request.

She had nothing to offer him, so it was definitely a case where he could just say no and find someone better. Pretty much any candidate would accept his support... and his son was already supporting someone too.

Emilia nodded. "Yes. As I'm sure you know, while Lord Roswaal had sponsored my campaign in the past, he changed his mind. Therefore, I would like for you to fill the spot Lord Roswaal once did."

It was a bit surprising really. Heitor would have figured that she would have aimed at getting Roswaal's support back before she tried making new alliances... Maybe she saw their previous deal as something that couldn't be fixed? Or maybe she thought Roswaal would just laugh at her for coming back empty handed.

Heinkel hummed. "Right... I... Um... Gonna pass on that one." A answer that surprised no one, not even Emilia herself.

But what he did next was surprising. He once more looked at Heitor. "But I wouldn't mind lending my support to Lady Priscilla's cause. So if she wants me... she can have me at anytime."

Heitor's widened. "Excuse me, what?" Rejecting a candidate and then immediately going for another was definitely something.

"You're her husband, right?" As expected, he knew of it too. "Please tell her I'm willing to support her..." He looked around, as if searching for something. "I can... I can counter Reinhard. Please tell her that."

Heitor doubted he meant he could physically counter the Sword Saint, but perhaps he was talking emotionally, or much more likely, politically. At the end of things, for all the accolades Reinhard had, Heinkel was still head of the Astrea...

Him joining a different camp than the one of his son would certainly be quite the huge blow to Felt. Though he doubted the blonde gremlin cared much for it.

Heitor cleared his throat. "That's... great to hear. We would definitely accept you." He could see Emilia's disappointment in the corner of his eyes, but it's not like he could sabotage Priscilla for her.

Well, he could at least be honest. "She might kill you though."

"H-huh?"

Heitor continued. "Priscilla is a coin toss with these type of things. Either she finds you a entertaining mess and keeps you around, or she finds you a boring mess and takes off her sight."

He shrugged. "It's up to you whether you wanna risk it or not... I'll say though, if you do get accepted into her camp, you'll win." He felt like Al indoctrinatig someone.

And speaking of Al, of course the gladiator couldn't keep quite. "Yep, that's the princess alright. It's worth it though, I would totally recommend joining us." Said the man who had been stepped on...

Heitor reminded himself that killing Al for that would be a bit much.

Heinkel flinched. "Is she really like that...?"

Al's answer just made things worse. "Uh... Not a good way to react pal. The princess is kind of like a apex predator, if she sees you showing fear, she's gonna pounce." Yep.

Although... "Al's right, but she might also thinks it makes you even more entertaining." He put his hands on his hips. "It's what happened to me, pretty much."

Al shook his head. "That was different. You're willing to throw down if worse comes to worse... Are you willing to do the same, Heinkel Astrea? You gonna face the scary lion with resolve in your eyes?"

The man paled, and looked away. "I..."

Al snorted. "Yep, that's what I expected from you." Did he have a bad reputation or something?

Whatever it was, Emilia took this chance. "That's right, joining Lady Priscilla can be dangerous. I've seen the way she treats Heitor, and he's her husband..." He almost wanted to defend Priscilla.

But for now he would let it pass. He was curious on where the half-elf was going to go with this.

She continued. "You can't join Lady Felt either... because you're scared of Reinhard, aren't you?" The man winced almost as if he had been struck. This guy was scared of his own son...

His reaction seemed to be what Emilia had been looking for. "And joining Lady Crusch is even more impossible. Because the only man you fear more than Reinhard works for her, your father."

Heinkel growled. "Where the hell did you hear that?"

Emilia hummed. "From Lord Roswaal. While we may have broken our deal, I did still learn a lot under him. Including about your family of course."

Right, it was only natural she studied about the Astreas. Still, was Heinkel's beef so public that she could learn about it in such way? Apparently it was...

She put a hand to her chin. "And then there's Lady Anastasia... Her knight, Sir Julius, you think he dislikes you, don't you?" Heinkel looked away. "It wouldn't be a crazy assumption. After all, if it wasn't for you, the Finest Knight would de~finitely be the Deputy Commander."

Heinkel clicked his tongue. "Just get to the point."

"The point is obvious, Anastasia will pick Sir Julius over you every single time. Either you join me, or you join nobody." W-wow...

He hadn't expected Emilia to be capable of doing such moves.

Heinkel grit his teeth. "Then I guess I'm remaining neutral in the Royal Selection. I don't care about who wins and loses." And there it was, the biggest hurdle that Emilia would encounter in recruiting the man.

But she didn't seem as if she cared about it at all. "Rea~lly? That's strange. I was convinced you would do anything for your wife..." Where did that come from!?

Heinkel's eye twitched. "You better be careful about what you're going to say, half-devil..."

Al put a hand on the hilt of his sword. "That goes for you too. Let me warn you, if I even think you're reaching for a sword... Well, I rarely get to kill a noble and get away with it, so please do try your luck."

Noticing the tension in the room, Heitor summoned his Rapier, but kept quiet. If he was forced to fight Heinkel... he could win, and with Al and his busted ability around, it was pretty much a guaranteed victory.

Heinkel looked away. "I got it, damn it!" He was still shaking with anger, so Heitor did not send his weapon back to the inventory. He would keep on guard.

Emilia smile. "Um? Considering how you're acting, maybe you care after all...?" She sighed. "You poor thing... you want Dragon's Blood to heal your wife, don't you? If you went to my side, I could give some to you."

Heitor raised an eyebrow. "Sorry to interrupt, but what's wrong with Lord Heinkel's wife?"

Emilia looked down. "She has been afflicted with the Sleeping Beauty disease... Cursed to never wake up... or to change in general. The poor has been sleeping for years, right Lord Heinkel?" That actually reminded Heitor of Emilia a little.

Heinkel nodded. "Yeah, that's right, my... my Louanna is sleeping... forever." He sobbed as he spoke. "That's why I..."

Emilia finished it for him. "That's why you have to work hard, isn't that it?" She walked forward taking both of his hands. "No matter how tough the road ahead gets, no matter what you have to leave behind... she loved you, and you loved her, so you have to wake her up."

"So work for me Lord Heinkel! I also have some precious people who are frozen in time... Let's unfreeze them together!" She seemed sincere... and yet at the same time she was undoubtedly manipulating his heart.

Heinkel slapped her hand away. "Just shut up, half-devil."

Emilia frowned. "Is that really how you want to go about this, Heinkel? Louanna trusts in you, you know? She's waiting for her hero, I know because I..."

She stopped herself. "I'm sure you understand... but I can't blame you for not really loving her. It was an arranged marriage after all... So I'm sure she would be glad you even let her sleep here." The man seemed shocked to his core.

But Emilia was done. "Well, if I can't change your mind, then I suppose that's that."

She turned around. "Let's go everyone. I rea~lly want to make a quick stop at the Church of the Divine Dragon." Ah, so the Emilia adventures weren't over yet?

That one sounded particularly dangerous though. "Are you sure you should be going to such a place, Lady Emilia? Considering your... appearance, it may cause some trouble." Satella was essential the biggest evil of Lugunica's religion.

She waved him off. "It's fi~ne Heitor. If I wish to be the future king of Lugunica, I can't run away from those who worship the dragon who chose me."

Fair enough. "Okay, I guess if trouble does spring up, we'll just leave Al as a decoy."

Al chuckled. "Fine by me. If princess' little piggy got hurt in my watch, she would do something far worse to me than a mob ever could." He was suppose to deny his plan! However, that was actually a good poin—.

"Wait!" Heinkel interjected suddenly. "I-I... I love Louanna! I do!"

Emilia turned around. "Rea~lly? That's great to hear! ...Can you prove it, however?"

"I... Let's talk, Lady Emilia." Huh.

She actually got him.