A Knight's oath empowers him, drives him to conquer all of those who would dare defy his House and Lord. It also grants him peace in death as his death was an honorable one, even on the front of battle bringing glory towards his House and Clan. A noble that makes their Knights uphold the Oath in defiance of them failed not only his Knights but Goddess Morugarius herself and the only fate such a noble can expect is scorn from his fellows for he broke the trust that built the foundation of Vermilion.

On Oaths and Chivalry: A primer for Squires Volume 7.

 

William watched as a few of the higher nobility scions eyed him with a mixture of distrust and fear. Those were the people who knew he had put Galius down for the count and no one wanted to mess with someone who could kill Royalty and get away with it.

The news would be out in less than a week if this kept up he thought, remnants of Galius's faction would likely avoid him as they lacked the leadership for any sort of planned attack on his person. Still one could never rule the probability of an independent actor going for the kill on his lonesome, he would have to redouble his defense detail which meant hiring a few more of Owl's people.

William also noticed more Knights, a few from the girl's houses but most from other houses as they always kept him under their watch. Saa'ryu stretched as she whispered "Two of my sisters are on the way"

He eyed the trio again, they were expecting him to talk as Lucrezia was the one in charge whenever it came to this little group of hers, much like the other two villains had their gangs and an army of hired goons thanks to Lucrezia's parent's money (Later to be found out it was Galius doing the funding) He also spotted Knights that he was sure fought in the battle, those he could taste the fear in their Ki.

A very weird sensation, likely thanks to his War Blessings.

Neptune broke the silence, she was always the sharpest in the trio and was quickly putting two and two together as she spoke "Furiae is a name Knights gave to the warrior women from Grannarius in the war 30 years ago, that Fray would call you that means"

"Your Knight was insulting Lu? and what's with that Ponytail by the way? didn't we agree we would be picking each other's haircuts?" Sapphire spoke cutting off her friend.

Neptune sent her a nasty glare, shutting the poor girl down. "This isn't the time for beauty talk Sapphire, and Fray wouldn't insult a friend of mine. Not with a good godsdamned reason"

Kassandra turned to Marcel and said "Knight, I order you to explain what in the hells is going on" He frowned as he spoke "By the order of both your father and the Knight Commander I am not allowed to do so Lady Kassandra"

Sapphire was about to speak when Fray punted the girl's chair to the side, she screamed as a blade clad in crimson Ki slashed the table in two. Its aim pointed at William,

"You killed my wife! my son! Saal'Xhir whore I WILL HAVE YOUR HEAD!" An elven woman tall and elegant bellowed from the side, armed in full plate and burning off enough Ki to set off the Knights nearby.

Saa'ryu threw a smoke bomb at her feet as William dodged out of the way. A gust of pressurized Ki blasted the smoke away as William saw the blade flash again in a skill any melee player would know from the game. The Wrath Step was a 5 hit combo one learned from the Knight William had killed.

Time slowed down as his blessings kicked into overdrive, at once he summoned enough iron to bar the first 3 hits but the sheet gave way to steel as his Magi-Tech arm took the last two, he kicked the woman and bellowed using divine energy to amplify his voice.

"KAINE!"

A bolt of pure mana manifested right in front of him as Kaine landed together with Orthus and Richard who were holding a chair to defend himself. Kaine immediately summoned his battle gear and staff as the sight of Magi-Tech armor scared off a few of the Knights who were behind the elven woman, Orthus summoned a spectral Warhammer and roared a war cry.

From the corner of his eyes, William saw 2 female figures dashing towards him as Saa'ryu gave them hand signals and summoned the orc shield and William's dragonbone ax for him"

"Are we doing this Lucrezia? Right here and right now?!" Kaine asked with a bit of fear in his voice.

"Whatever you did to piss off that elf it must've been bad Lucrezia! Come tree hugger I am ready!" Orthus screamed as Richard whelped behind him.

"Saa, a weapon for Richard" William barked an order and the maid nodded as she pulled a prototype Magi-Tech spear and tossed it to the man holding a chair trying to intimidate men in plate armor. He smiled and grabbed the weapon and stood ready.

William saw how Fray's eyes burned in rage as he slowly but surely crept away from Neptune to join the Elf, Neptune must've noticed this as she bellowed "Ser Kaine! By the Oath, you are bonded to I DEMAND you to stand down"

Like a puppet with his strings cut the Knight stopped dead on his tracks, Marcel on the other hand had picked up both his charge and Sapphire and closed ranks with Neptune to the side, hopefully away from the upcoming conflict.

Seeing that the elf wasn't about to step down William let the beast loose and asked Saa'ryu for 5 vials of Magically enchanted Steel, with a groan of pleasure that earned him a few looks from the audience he summoned him Halo above his allies and got into a combat stance.

Before he told Kaine to nail the Knights with arcane fire a red spear flew right in the middle of the "arena" they were in, William gasped as Kaine's eyes popped from his sockets and he said "Arthur!"

Marching together with 12 Knights in gilded plate, was a young man full of vigor and outrage in his face. William felt his heart explode in his chest as he forgot how to breathe, he was mesmerized by the man's face only breaking the spell when he remembered the Third's Prince hidden talent.

"HIDE NOW!"  William screamed to Lucrezia who did as he said and darted to their usual spot.

Arthur marched to the middle of both parties and spoke in a tone only a royal would dare use towards nobles.

"Lady Sapphire, order your Knights to stand down right now! This is an institution for learning, for building and making lasting friendships and I will not have some deranged Knight swinging their sword while we are in the middle of our lunch. Resolve this at once before I make this a Royal Issue"

William couldn't help but smile, A royal issue was the boogieman every noble told their children to fear, it was a rarely used but still much-feared way for the Royals to involve themselves directly when some noble house fucked up. Usually ending up with a small army of Royal Knights putting said nobles to the sword. And Arthur's little posse of Knights was more than eager.

Sapphire got spooked hard as she could barely speak, William decided to intervene and said "Do as he says" the girl conditioned to take orders from Lucrezia snapped back and said in the loudest voice she could muster "Ser Arandel! Stop this nonsense at once by the Oath you are bonded to!"

William watched, would the Knight hellbent on revenge break her oath and go for the kill? She would lose her blessing but there was no need for a blessing to use Ki to slice and dice someone. He eyed Orthus and then eyed Kaine as if to say "Squishy but big damage, protect" the Orc smiled and nodded as both he and William went forward and Kaine fell back together with Richard who was doing his best to keep a straight face.

William made a mental note to speak with Catarina later, so the poor dude didn't get chewed by her.

Arandel lost her steam as the soft sound of sobbing could be heard coming from her helmet, Fray dashed forward and took her away to a nearby exit as the other Knights who were following her made themselves busy. Arthur sighed and turned back to William who once again felt his heart beat faster.

Bloody Hell Lucrezia!

"If you could do the same Lady Lucrezia, and ask for your people to lower their weapons if you could be so kind" That was when he heard the telltale noise of bolt action rifles being loaded as the two Owl assassins popped in his flanks.

The sound alone was enough to make the Knights who had come together with Arandel jump. Other survivors from the battle no doubt. William raised his hand and the two Assasins nodded as they became mist and disappeared. William gave his weapons to Saa'ryu and poked Richard who did the same. Kaine sent his battle gear and staff away as Orthus simply opened his hands and the spectral weapon puffed away from the mortal realm.

"Shame about the table," Richard said trying to break the strange silence that had fallen. Kaine snapped his fingers and said "Gods you just reminded me of something, Lucrezia if you could please" Kaine made  a gesture to summon William close as they walked to the table split in half "I think I can reverse time for the table if the calculations are right that is and the bore doesn't smite me for playing with the river of time"

William took some time to think "Nah she wouldn't, It living beings that make Gwenarius get angry. A table should be fine go for it" he patted Kaine on the back and got a nasty glare for it as he cast a Chronomancy spell and "repaired" the table to its unbroken and still with contents on top of it.

"Wait a minute..." Kaine said as everyone near took a few steps back. Never mind the fact the Arch-Mage son had become a Chronomancer, any noble worth their salt knew that mucking up with the Sphere of Time was the fastest way to ending a bloodline.

After a minute passed and Kaine was alive and well he closed his fist with a victorious smile on his face "I knew the calculations were right!" Arthur cleared his throat as he sent his Knights away, the sea of people parting for their march.

Richard not missing a beat took a seat at the fixed table and said "Anyone wants some tea? Maybe coffee?" William shot him a blink as he gave the order for Saa'ryu who in less than a minute had both in the table and ready to serve. And so Arthur, the 3 girls, and William's new gang of friends sat together. It took a few minutes before normality returned to the cafeteria.

William heard a few voices crying about the fight being cut short, others saying the day was boring and they were happy to get some real drama. Normal noble thinking he smirked as Arthur spoke "Kaine my friend! I am glad to see you, it's been a while hasn't it?"

"Year and a half give or take, nice to see you as well Art" Kaine replied extending his hand towards the prince who shook it.

"The rumors were true then? You can use Chronomancy with Gwenarius's blessing?" Arthur asked unable to contain himself.

"Aye my friend, all thanks to this mad lass of a woman" Kaine pointed to William as he felt Saa'ryus glare land on him "Respectfully I mean!"

"Real smooth mage, I can tell you are a born natural ladies man," Orthus said while snickering, Richard giggled as William felt an alien pull inside of his chest. Closing his eyes he focused inwards and began to meditate, the world around him green silent as his mind slipped into the soul space.

---

Arthur cursed himself loudly as he woke up, of course, his ill-begotten powers would flare up now! right as he had stopped a bloodbath from happening on the very first day in the Academy.

He had heard the official spiel from his father, and the unofficial one from his Jackal operative the king had attached to him, Under no circumstances was he to even lift a finger towards Lucrezia or her people, on pain of death. Of course, Arthur had no plans on avenging his brother, he always had a feeling Galius was up to no good and while he had no actual information on his late brother's deeds. He could extrapolate his death was earned in those gods' forgotten northern lands.

So when he saw the woman with Kaine out of all people ready for a bloody brawl he had to do something! Kaine the one person, not even the prettiest young ladies (and a few young lords, one can't say the nobles of Vermilion weren't willing when it came to getting powerful people into their bloodline) couldn't sway him from the Path of the Arcane and now the Madwoman of the North had him walking around with that strange war gear and fighting.

with her!

Arthur was raised together with the dude, he knew Kaine better than the rest as he often shared his woes regarding his inborn talents for Necromancy and Mind Magic. While others saw fit to ignore and mock the Arch-Mage's son as a social pariah Arthur found a dependable if a foul-mouthed and eccentric friend who together managed to suppress his soul diving powers.

Often he asked if Kaine had any crushes. or anything of the sort only for him to be waved away and told that "Emotions aren't the be all end all of life" and that Arthur should "Focus more on magic" And now after spending a short few months with Lucrezia he comes back like this! Of course, he was told somehow Lucrezia gave him the chance to be blessed by the Goddess of Time and thus unlocked the secrets of Chronomancy. But surely that wouldn't be enough to win him over like that right?

Saal'Xhir... Arthur had an inkling the Goddess of Love must've had a hand in this, had Lucrezia tempted him with her body? She was a bit too tall for his tastes but still a beautiful young woman, could Kaine's ascetic ways falter?

All of this washed away as Arthur landed on a street made of some sort of uniformed stone, to both his sides stood gray buildings and a fancy waterway ran beside them.

A soul realm! A feat only the Highest of necromancers could achieve! Arthur was barely working on his as it demanded immense control over soul, mind, and mana. A strong wind pushed him backward as he saw a mighty Monolith of obsidian stone in the distance.

Feeling a pull dragging him towards it, Arthur went forward and saw myriad paths branching off this main road he was in, some leading to more buildings, others to forests, and others to battlefields.

Whose soul was this he wondered? It felt alien, strange in impossible ways to describe, and yet there was a longing, a wish to make him happy, and something else he couldn't rightly comprehend. Those feelings clashed silent around him as he neared the Monolith and saw a small engraving below it, a sense of incredible sadness smacked him across the chest as he read the engraving.

"Here lies-" A headache assaulted him, strong enough to snap him back to the waking world as he looked around, the Orc Prince was still mocking Kaine which meant barely a few seconds had passed, he looked around and no one's reaction had betrayed his accidental soul jump. As Arthur turned to speak with Kaine again he felt a pair of eyes drilling into him.

Azure in color and beautiful beyond belief, they stared in fear and anger as the face they were in was flash-frozen in a panic. Only for it to change to an amicable smile that did little to betray the panic behind them.

She knew Arthur saw as Lucrezia's face became a mask of collected calm, she fucking knew.

---

Lucrezia was pacing around her little room while struggling to breathe, something she thought impossible as she didn't need to. Yet she could feel her heart beating like a war drum inside her chest, the strange feeling in the pit of her stomach and the sweat in her palms.

Watching the Third Prince walk around her realm was something she couldn't put in words. Fear of being found out, panic over William's reaction in the outside world, or what a foreign soul could do to the precarious balance inside of her realm.

All of these worries were making her go stir crazy! she wanted to punch a godsdamned target dummy with her magic to unleash her frustrations and fears on it, after a good while she went out and checked around the Monolith, looking for anything out of place with the strange god-made piece of soul magic. She touched and felt a slight shock run through her spine. It felt good, too good.

"Stop it, it's making me get red" William's voice boomed from the sky before sounding like he was just on her side "I could barely concentrate as the Prince was walking around the place, did he do anything?"

Lucrezia shook her head "He was about to read the Epitaph you made before something kicked him out of here"

"It was me, I focused hard on his presence and tried my best to kick him out, pray we didn't just do accidental necromancy," William said as he sighed "What a mess, Arthur wasn't meant to come to the school in the first day, he only shows up after the protagonist gets here at the start of next week" She could feel his frustrations and anger, William often got mad when things went off script so to say. Especially when it came to the game's events.

"It was the battle, and Killing Galius" Lucrezia said as the boy hummed in agreement.

"Yes, another variable we must keep track of it..." She could feel his emotions, he was trying hard to mute them but at this point was an exercise in futility, William was mad at himself, mad at Lucrezia and that anger was followed by a feeling of deep resignation and fear.

"What's wrong William?" Lucrezia asked trying to get a feel for his answer, some topics made the boy cagey and the best she got was non-answers.

William sighed in defeat "You are asking me what's wrong? Really?" he laughed but there was no humor in it "Fine I'll tell you after the day is over, not like you haven't figured this one out yet anyway"

---

William watched as the Prince cleared his throat to mask the awkwardness of the stare. It was still hard focusing on his face so much, it felt like he was slipping into a confused mental state just by doing it so.

A sort of passive mind spell he wasn't aware of it? Who could say as the events of his battle against Galius had already mucked up the events he had once known...At any rate, he still had to deal with the ongoing fallout of the Knight trying to slice him in half.

Neptune, Sapphire, and Kassandra watched in silence and awe as Kaine traded stories with Arthur, while they were from respected noble houses they were still very much middle time players on the stage, their parents hoped that together with Galius they would become the next generation of movers and shakers of the Kingdom. Hope that William had smashed.

"Where to start..." William said as he tapped the table and everyone went quiet waiting for him, Richard who had already helped himself to some of the food and tea said in a way only someone who had to live with Catarina Silverbrand could "Where every story starts Lady Lucrezia. The beginning!" Arthur nodded twice in agreement "The gentlemen is right Lady Lucrezia" he turned to Richard and said "Your name?"

"Richard Silverbrand your highness, It is an honor to meet you" Richard didn't miss a beat. His delivery was razor-sharp.

Arthur smiled and gestured to William "It is as Richard here says, no better place to start a tale than the very beginning of it"

Orthus raised a mug of tea as if it was filled with strong ale "Aye, I too wish to know why a Knight Commander nearly sliced a noble in broad daylight" Which earned a few grins around the table and some worried looks as well. William was struggling to find a compromise, say too much and he will be the talk of the town for longer than a few weeks, too little and he risks burning the bridge with both the Prince and Orthus.

"Our reputation will be in tatters anyway once the news gets out, All you are doing is delaying the inevitable" Lucrezia whispered in his ear, with a sigh William drank his cup of tea and began the tale that had brought him and the young woman residing inside of his soul to this point. Of course most of the more complicated issues he didn't talk about like his dealings with the mad king or the fact he was from goddamn Earth.

Saa'ryu would often interject and elaborate on his musings. William watched as the faces of Lucrezia's friends grew dark with worry, sometimes outrage, and others disgust as they digested his information and framed his actions in their minds, time seemed to get slower as he kept going. A round of ohs and gasps followed when he told them of what happened to Erwin's family and his first kill.

"The first Killing is a sacred rite of hardship for any warrior. To deliver this vermin righteous justice and avenge those who are loyal to you and your cause is the sign of a born leader" Orthus spoke with his borrowed wisdom, William continued only being interrupted when he told them his role in the salvation of the dwarves and status as head of the church of Ra'Tyrius.

"So the arm, those weapons your people had, Magi-Tech?" Kassandra asked and William nodded a yes "Amazing, a brand new school of both magic and science!" Her face went red as she remembered the men and women William had killed with it. At this point, both Fray and Marcel had come back and stood behind their charges. William watched as Fray whispered something to Neptune and her face went a shade darker.

William continued and spoke of his deal with Velkarius. Of his people's suffering which made Neptune close her firsts in rage and how her parents were the perpetrators of it, their dealings with the terrors from beyond the stars, and William's finding of Uumaries involvement on the whole debacle. That raised more than a few eyebrows as the girls jumped in defense of the Goddess.

"I sent Friede to torch Talos to the ground that day, Uumaries and I are on a war footing and if the Goddess that hates Nobles like the denizens of the hells hate the living is willing to work with one that should tell you who was in the right that day," William said while staring the girls down, they all quieted down after that. No noble would even dare to speak Friede's name with such conviction as William did.

When William reached the part where he had to kill Lucrezia's parents the table was still as a lake in the dead of winter. Kinslaying was a heinous crime and very few cases were known to have the culprit walk away alive. Orthus in particular frowned deeply as he spoke "A dangerous thing you did Lucrezia, for all their sins, for all their crimes they were still your flesh and blood, kin and sire. To raise your hand and wet your ancestral land with their blood is too grave a crime, Had that happened in my country..." He paused as he gathered his thoughts "And yet to consort with the enemies of All-Father, at the cost of an entire duchy's worth of people for selfish reasons" He made a hand sign that warded off evil "I do not envy your position Lucrezia"

"Few do" William replied.

Sapphire spoke, her voice still shakey "But why did Arandel call you a Saal'Xhir whore Lu?"

Kassandra snapped at her friend "Language!"

"I had to ask! that's not an insult to be thrown lightly, Kassandra!" Sapphire fired back as she turned back to William.

"It is true, I was given a Greater Blessing by her after my battle against Uumaries" William broke the news hard and fast, a wave of gasps came from the girls as their faces grew red and William couldn't help but smile at their reactions. Such a taboo among high society even when they were the first to turn to his "patron" Goddess when they wanted to throw some of the more exclusive parties in their summer and winter estates.

"Goodness gracious Lucrezia! you must remove that at once! What will happen to the Wulfgre name if yo-" Neptune began talking and William raised his hand "The name of my Clan is already tainted beyond repair, this is but a small matter next to the rest of my journey" William of course didn't tell them about his other blessings, no one needed to know he had 2 Imperium Gods and the All-Mother also watching over him.

That could've gotten him in some seriously bad situations, not even the Arch-Duke could remove him from after all.

William turned to the Knights and spoke in a soft voice "They will know what happened in that valley sooner or later. If not from me then for the other students of the Academy once the word gets out in mass, If your masters complain about it feel free to blame me for it. Gods know they are already doing that for more important things" The girls went quiet as Arthur spoke up.

"The battle for Wulfgrem"

William sighed as he began the telling of that particular day. Kaine interjected once or twice explaining the things from his side as the people around William focused on him. He didn't shy away from telling them he had indeed killed the prince.

Voices were raised, questions too as they demanded the why of it. To which William only replied that if the Royal Family wouldn't share then he would when the time was right. Orthus raised a hand and spoke.

"Surely you and your staff know how much gold you wasted in using those anti-magical weapons right? unless..."

"It is better that you people do not know state secrets yes," William said with a smile.

At this point the cafeteria had returned to normal, people were already gossiping about William but that wasn't an issue for him. As duchess he enjoyed power only the Prince could match and he doubted any of the students would make a move on him.

They would on the other hand make very mean comments about him, He laughed to himself a little which earned a look from the girls.

"Hmm? Oh yes, I am just laughing at the upcoming week, the rumor mill will drag my name through the mud before classes start in earnest" he made a gesture with his arm "They all heard our little convo after all but no matter, who would dare cross a Duchess" William finished talking.

"Especially one who killed a Prince, what's the title of the second or third son to a marquis or baron next to that?" Fray spoke his voice trembling. Marcel was deadly quiet as the weight of William's tale finally hit him and his charge, Lucrezia old friends stared at William and their faces told him what he and more importantly Lucrezia feared. That friendship they had was destroyed.

How would they socialize and network with someone that's on a war footing with the ruler of the kingdom? who wetted the ground with royal blood for nebulous reasons they weren't privy to? Lucrezia was a Pariah now, and if they wished to remain in the good graces of High Society the only call to make was to break ties with their old friend, if that old friend even existed after the harrowing months she went through that is.

William sighed, Lucrezia asked for him to be gentle with them. They weren't bad people, spoiled maybe but not bad. At least that was what she kept telling him as he got ready.

"I understand" William paused as he stared at the three "Kassandra, Sapphire you two should take better care of your Knights, they aren't tools to be used and discarded at a whim. These men and women will lay their lives down for you and it is only right you show them equal respect" the girls were quiet as he continued "The time we shared was a good one but I wouldn't want to jeopardize your future and that of your Houses"

William got up and bowed, together with Orthus and the rest of his party he went back to his desk. The prince did the same and silence fell around the 3 young women as they processed what had happened.

Sapphire felt her eyes getting wet but she sucked her tears in as she turned to Fray and said "Ser Fray right? you were there? in the battle I mean?"

Fray was taken by surprise as the young lady who barely noticed he was there suddenly called him out, but then again who wouldn't want to know about a battle that had claimed royal blood?

"Aye, aye I was there My Lady"

Sapphire hesitated a little before speaking "The Arch-Mage's son spoke of his side of the deal but..."

"You wish to hear mine?" Fray asked dreading the answer, the girl nodded thrice and so he began talking.

"Your Knight Commander went down before we could do anything, but the mercenaries the Prince had hired got hit worse. Lucrezia had fire raining from the skies like half of her forces were high-level mages, Ardarite dust blocking our magic from those dreaded weapons and the noise" Fray had to reign himself as he noticed the girls staring at his hands, they were shaking.

"Fray?" Neptune spoke, "Is that?"

"The curse aye, I only got shakes and night terrors but the rest of the poor sods in the Redeemer church are far far worse than me" He stopped himself and continued "Once word got out the Mercenaries had fallen the Prince sprung to action and all hell broke loose, the woman charged us and no matter how much we stabbed, slashed, slung miracles and fired arrows she would not stop. It was like a demon came from the dark pits of hells to kill us all" Fray spoke slowly trying to control the shakes.

"...Some of the people blessed by Saal'Xhir they can develop strange habits and ways to unleash their Goddess's blessing, Lucrezia was moaning before the battle," Kassandra said in a low voice.

"Battle Lust Lady Kassandra, a horror to find in the battlefield. Saal'Xhir's paladins are infamous for using it" Marcel spoke fast "We were lucky the prince came when he did, the battle would've gone horrible"

"But the Knights!" Neptune spoke but Sapphire cut her off "Did you not see the bloody son of the Arch-Mage with a godsdamned armor and that orc thrice your size? Lucrezia killed 3 Knight Commanders!"

"Her hair looked like shit," Kassandra said as the girls looked at her "What it's true! she let herself go and that's a shame, Lu always was the paragon of fashion" they sighed together as Neptune got up "Let us meet again tomorrow, I believe we all need the rest of the day off to digest all of this...If anything happens send me a message ok?" Unsaid was the fact Neptune was taking charge, something the other two didn't mind.

They had lost a friend and a leader, it was only right someone else stepped up to the position.

---

"Thank you, William You kept your word,"  Lucrezia said as William washed, the dorm room had a private shower and he was making ample use of it as he felt the warm water hit his body with a force short of a punch.

He got out of the shower and dried himself, walking in the nude around the room felt so liberating he didn't even blink as he lay down in his bed, there was no sign of his roommate so he had the curtains closed and the door locked as the glory of Lucrezia's body was all but revealed to Saa'ryu who was writing a report on the table looking bored out of her mind.

"I hope you don't mind?" Wiliam asked feeling a bit self-conscious but still riding the high.

Saa'ryu rolled her eyes and kept at her work clearly, the maid didn't mind and so William stared at the ceiling waiting for sleep to claim his body, he chuckled at himself for a second.

"I didn't know you were into voyeurism William," Lucrezia said as William woke up in their shared realm.

He smiled "Don't blame me, blame that fight, and our patron Goddess" He shot her a smile as he lay down in the grass feeling the stress bleed away. Lucrezia plopped behind him and said "Uh-huh, sure let's pretend I will believe that, listen we gotta talk"

"Can't I just, enjoy this moment of peace before we start this?" William fired back with his eyes closed "I guess not" William got up and sat straight as he sighed and spoke once again "Why didn't you tell me?"

"You think I knew?! Do you honestly think I via some 3 D mind fuckery was hiding my undying love for the Prince?! Foolish Terran! You can FEEL my EMOTIONS!" Lucrezia stomped her feet on the ground "Of all things to get upset about this, this is the one?!" she screamed at him as she dragged her hands through her face and hair "I. Did. Not. Fucking. Knew"

"We always had doubts you know? The community always thought Lucrezia hadn't been mind-altered like the other two villainesses and she truly loved the Prince, that's why she fought to the bitter end and eventually ended up the way she did at the end game stage..." William got up as he walked towards the Monolith "Heh, Guess we now know don't we?"

"So you don't mind? Feeling such feelings for a man?" Lucrezia asked, her voice still betraying her outrage.

William shook his head "These are your feelings Lucrezia, not mine. I am no bigot nor do I like to engage in self-hatred, after all this" William tapped the Monolith with his palm "this beyond you and me, it would be beyond unreasonable for me to blame you. But you could've at least said something"

Lucrezia grunted "Don't you dare! "said something"? How about you first then?! You who know so much and yet refuse me whenever I ask or try getting access to the memories you locked away! Are you afraid of me seeing you having sex with your ex-girlfriend?! your bloody search history?! Who are you to even imply I am hiding information when you do the same!"

William felt a slight vacuum in the air to his left and he immediately burst into action. Lucrezia's katana flashed blue as the woman slashed from a good 30 meters away. William without missing a bit summoned a full aegis spell and a halo of gleaming steel. Jumping backward he hurled steel spears at her and she dodged or parried them to the sides as she conjured small daggers made out of arcane and did the same.

It was like fighting a mirror, every spell William hurled at her she dodged with grace or parried away and did the same, they were locked in a dance of death as William began using iron spikes to deliver high mana Lightning Strikes as he prepared a massive slab of steel over his head.

The spell went off and he heard her struggling to deflect such power, with a dash he went forward and slammed his improvised weapon towards her, only for her blade to intercept the strike and both of them lock onto each other. Steel grinding against steel as Lucrezia's eyes bore into him and he felt the depth of her frustrations thanks to today's events, her rage, and her honest desire to protect him from harm.

Could she feel his feelings as deep as he did William wondered? He had done so much to avoid unnecessary drama, to avoid hurting the one he was changing her life in such a drastic way even after countless times where Lucrezia was more than willing to let him in, to accept him in his imperfections, yet that fear remained nested in the deepest part of his mind.

In accepting Lucrezia's inner desires they would no doubt become his own, would he then fall in love for Arthur? even when he did not incline men? William didn't want to steal Lucrezia's experience with love by being in charge of the doing and making the poor woman watch either.

They had to get that goddamn Necromancy permit soon...

"I am sorry Lu, But I am not ready to openly talk about this yet," William said dropping his magic weapon "But I can compromise, if you want you can see the memories I have been keeping away now"

"I'll be here when you are ready to talk about William, I will always be here," Lucrezia said as she dropped her weapon, both of them stared each other down as the silence dragged on and William could feel the heat in his cheeks rise as Lucrezia got closer and he could feel the warmth of her breath in his face, he plopped down on the ground and once again lay there, cooling his head as he heard Lucrezia sigh.

"What's her name?" Lucrezia asked.

"The player choice's, but according to the devs the internal name for the main character was Hope" William replied watching the skies "Pretty name isn't it?"

Lucrezia nodded as she sat down by him "Pretty indeed"