Chapter 225: Fracture XXX
The march towards the south-end of the city was a novel experience. Generally, the average person wouldn’t give two shits about the clash with House Westmore. What they should give a shit about was the massive uptick in military presence, skirmishes on the streets, and fires. Yet we were met with little enmity. Somehow, it was almost the opposite.
A priest, likely assigned to a Topside parish, considering the severe, almost monkish asceticism of his attire paired with a brooch of Onara on his collar approached Annette, a small clutch of freshly picked flowers beneath his arm. "Goddess's greetings, Princess." His smile was generous and gap-toothed as he held them out to her.
Annette took them slowly, looking him over before giving the simple bouquet a performative sniff. "These are lovely. But I am not currently available for courtship."
Beside me, Sera choked and laughed. But my little sister's warning—while awkward and harsh—did not seem to diminish the priest's enthusiasm.
"Alas, as Elphion holds a claim on my soul, we are alike in that small way." He patted her horse.
"Then these are simply tribute?" Annette asked.
The priest nodded. "You were hardly the first to fall prey to Panthanian machinations, yet one of the rare few to escape them. The rejection of their brutish norms and gilding of their authority brings hope to many."
Internally, I struggled not to roll my eyes. House Westmore had Uskarrion roots long before the slavers established a Panthanian foothold. And they made that foothold after the prior king elevated them to noble status. Crippling them and stripping them of their status was more janitorial than valiant. A long overdue tidying of our own mess. But of course, self-reflection and societal responsibility was a difficult topic, ungraspable for many, so naturally it wasn't the angle Thaddeus would choose to spin the events of the last few days.
"Then, thank you." Annette nodded, showing great tact. There was no doubt in my mind she'd connected the same dots I had, to the point I'd half expected her to correct him. But she was far more diplomatic in this life than the former. "They'll live on my window-sill in a crystal vase, and I'll tend them daily."