[R18] King's Domination

Against expectation, the morning after I met Prime Minister Cromwell, that master of the bow, Agnes Eisleben, came to the embassy. To see me, of course.

When we met on the roof of House Kirchhoff, naked hostility and killing intent had been leaking off her. Now she was smiling with a perfectly calm face, and that was unsettling. Her chest was thoroughly slim. In combat clothes before, it had still been possible to fake it, but in an everyday blouse and skirt the chest went straight down, and the hips were sadly short on bulge in both directions.

"Lady Agnes Eisleben, welcome. The Marie Kingdom welcomes your visit. But to be frank, why did you come so suddenly?"

I asked. No appointment, and she had brought the two men who had been with her on the roof.

"I heard from Prime Minister Cromwell that Ambassador Marie wanted to see me, so I came."

This person spoke straight.

"I met Prime Minister Cromwell yesterday. I did not think I would be able to see you this soon."

"The talk happened to come."

Yesterday to today is "happened to"? Did something happen?

"The Prime Minister’s aide said Lady Eisleben had no fixed address and no one knew where you were."

"Rude. I have a proper inn and can be reached at any time. I have been badly misunderstood."

Eisleben spoke in a flat voice with no rise or fall, shook her head, and raked up her silver pageboy hair.

"Is that so. I had thought I would not see you for some time."

"That is not so. I had business in the royal capital. And I was interested in Lord Marie as well, so I wanted to meet."

Unexpected words. She wanted to meet me?

"You said you wanted to meet me. Why is that?"

"Simple. You are the first man who faced me and beat me. So I wanted to meet, look, and talk."

She said it with little huffs through her nose.

"Beat you, but I beat Lady Eisleben with three people. It was not my strength alone. And I happened to climb onto the roof just when the arrows Lady Eisleben had prepared ran out. There was luck in it too."

When I said that, Eisleben shook her head back and forth.

"I was fighting with these men as well. I could not finish you at range, and I let you close. At that point I had already lost. And these men can use swords, but they were no match at all for Lord Marie’s side. It is the first time I have lost that cleanly. It is natural to be interested in that opponent, is it not?"

This person talked while looking me straight in the face. From the neck down her body was far from womanly, but her face was very beautiful. If elves existed, would they look like this? I thought. Pointed ears and it would be a perfect hundred. Being looked at with no reserve made me embarrassed, and I dropped my eyes.

"Well? Is what I am saying strange?"

Eisleben pressed in.

"No. Nothing strange. I was interested in Lady Eisleben as well. That is why I asked the Prime Minister whether Lady Eisleben would teach me the bow."

I am bad with pushy people. Truly.

"See! I think so too. When you see someone stronger than you, someone with skill, wanting to learn from that person and be pulled up to their height is natural. So Lord Marie’s wish is natural, and I am proud to have been chosen as that teacher."

Eisleben laid it out in a stream. I had not thought of it as something that grand, but that was a problem on the receiving end, so I could stay quiet. This person seemed to be looking at something other than me. A badly beautified me, maybe?

"As you say. I can use a bow a little, and I asked because I wanted to get still better."

"I know Lord Marie’s bow from watching on the roof. That is an amateur with a little hair on it. I think there is still room to grow. I guarantee that!"

She said it while shaking a fist. I am bad with pushy people, and I am bad with hot-blooded people too. And she was not praising me at all...

"Truly?"

Anyway, keep the talk going.

"Of course! As a member of the Eisleben clan, I do not take back what I have once put in my mouth!"

If it is that serious, you cannot even joke, can you? But I was glad, and glad was glad.

"Oh. Thank you. Then I would like to be taught at once. Of course I will pay a teaching fee for the instruction. I do not know what a common teaching fee is, but I heard Lady Eisleben is this country’s finest with the bow, so how would one gold coin per lesson be?"

It felt high and low at the same time. You could take it either way.

Eisleben spoke in a low voice with the men beside her, turned back, faced me, and said,

"Fine. I will take one gold coin per time. Then lessons every morning. Is that all right?"

"Eh! Every day!?"

I had not meant to put that much money into it. I could not spend all my time on this alone.

"Yes. Every day! Do you not know the words ’continuity is power’? In all things, the power to continue is what is needed most."

"I understand that, but I have business of my own as well."

Eisleben’s face went blank for a beat.

"Mmm. Then once every two days? In truth I will be busy in about five days as well, and I will not be able to keep Lord Marie company much..."

She sounded a little disappointed. It is not as if she wants to see me, right?

"If it is not rude, could you tell me what that business is? I thought I would match my schedule to Lady Eisleben’s. How would that be?"

When I asked, Eisleben looked happy.

"Yes! Ehehehe. The truth is..."

The man behind her cut in hard.

"Young miss!"

Eisleben started.

"Lord Marie, I am sorry. I cannot say it."

She said it with a smile. I did not want to hear it that badly, so I said,

"Understood. Then that is fine."

"Eh. You will not hear it?"

For some reason Eisleben looked dissatisfied.

"Would it be better if I heard it?"

I asked, and with a soft face Eisleben said,

"Ehehe. That is what I cannot say. But you will know soon enough."

She said that happily too. I want to talk, and I want to hold it back. That feeling came through. The man behind her was shaking his head.

"Then I will look forward to it until then."

At my words,

"Yes. Let us do that!"

Eisleben took it, and that talk ended.