Stahlia, 17 years old, 10th month of 949

After the bath, it was soon time for me to meet with Edith and Sarala. Sasha tried to make me rest longer, citing that they had waited this long already and could wait another day. I vetoed that. In reality she was trying to tell me to give them time to prepare, keeping in mind the difference in stations.

It could never be rude for me to call on them suddenly, but it would surely be an inconvenience to have to entertain the Queen on such short notice. If it had been anybody else, Sasha would have a point. But Edith would surely expect me to show up soon after being given news of my revival. She had all but told me to keep her involved and informed the last time, threatening the only thing she could; our friendship.

“Keep the guard detail to a minimum and determine a route I can move through the ship unimpeded then.” I instructed Sasha.

She acquiesced and curtsied, “Then I shall inform Lady Edith of your intentions.”

With that taken care of, I addressed Frieda, "Make the arrangements with Captain Benji; I want to meet these two captives today."

She also curtsied, and I next addressed Jacquiline, "I want a copy of your report."

There was no doubt that she had made one in my absence; Ferdinand had kept me up to date on the standing orders. It was better to keep those at home fully in the loop than for my own reports to stop without warning for an extended period of time, and it wasn't like I had been keeping any secrets out of my own missives.

Jacqueline gave me a curt bow and a smile before producing a paper and passing it to me.

Prompt as usual.

I gave it a quick scan before freezing on one of the entries, “...Giogi is assigned to this expedition…?”

Truth be told, I’d completely forgotten him. I knew he was a squire, but somehow I’d missed the fact that he was included in my forces, and had not been paying attention to his accomplishments.

…And Jacqueline thinks he’d be better suited as a Shadow? The idea has some merit; he was a Knife Fighter or something similar if memory serves, and I trained him to use Shadow Blade Style.

Awkwardly manipulating mana, I lifted my dead arm and tapped a finger on the entry about my childhood friend, “This is approved if you believe he has the aptitude… And it sounds like he performed a heroic deed of his own. Using that as an excuse, arrange for him to present to me; I’ll give him a medal or something.”

The specifics were secondary. I just wanted to verify Giogi’s condition personally. It was the least I could do after having neglected him for so long. Besides, he really had done something remarkable and it would help morale if I publicly recognized that.

Jacqueline looked pleased and… relieved. She looked relieved at my decision and dipped her head again, “As you wish, my lady.”

This left me in a rather curious position that I only just realized. Normally, Sasha would delegate any command I gave to her to one of her underlings. This time, she had instead gone to carry it out herself. Likewise, Frieda had also left me alone and departed to inform Captain Benji of my wishes. This left me with Jacqueline and the two Junior maids, Peony and Beatrice. Not that the three were incapable; it was just… out of the ordinary.

Is it because I’m being more assertive?

That was the only thing I could think of, though I couldn’t tell the difference in my own actions. Regardless of the reason, all that remained was to decide whether or not I would bring Felicity with me, and the answer was ‘obviously.’

We left my quarters some minutes later upon Sasha’s return. My excellent head maid guided us down a side passageway and toward the quarters Edith was using. Another handful of minutes passed, and we emerged out into the main passageway directly across from Edith’s door. The bulkhead swung shut behind us and I regarded it with some degree of curiosity; I’d no idea that it was there before today. How many other detours might there be? Considering that I owned this ship, it might be a good idea to look into that.

Felicity might enjoy exploring; she’s always had a tomboy streak. I’ll get Benji to give her permission.

Edith’s own maid answered the door and stepped aside to allow us entry. Her quarters were sparser than mine, naturally, as they were only meant for guests to stay in short-term. That didn’t mean they weren’t still excellent; these rooms were meant for state guests to reside in.

“Excuse me.” I excused myself as I passed through the entrance.

Edith stood from where she was sitting, a small reading nook, “Your majesty, your presence-”

“Please, just Stahlia; this is a private call.”

My friend froze, then quickly recovered, “Stahlia, then, it is good to see you are well.”

She indicated a place for me to sit, and Sarala began serving refreshments. Notably absent, however, was the tea to which I’d grown so accustomed. In its place, there was a bitter-smelling drink that I’d once enjoyed in my previous life.

“Coffee?”

Edith smiled, “So you know it. The seized ships had some provisioned; I requested a small amount after observing Sir Franklin’s reaction.”

After she served us, I pointed at Sarala, “Sit. You were my friend before you were Edith’s maid; my own will take care of things from here.”

She did not hesitate. Merely shrugged and selected a seat into which she sat down without any assumed grace, “Thanks, my feet were starting to hurt.”

Her lack of manners made Edith’s eye twitch, but she didn’t say anything. Behind me, I could hear Sasha giving her a look, but pretended not too.

A moment later, we all heard a gasp; Felicity had apparently decided that Elienor would be joining us as well. From the looks of it, she’d tried to protest but the catgirl was having none of it; she’d bodily grabbed her attendant’s arms and forced her into an armchair. Neither of them were particularly large considering their age, so they were sharing it handily.

…Well, she’s stronger than Elienor. I should probably say something about this. Later.

If Felicity was going to start using strength to get her way, I would have to do something about it sooner rather than later. Though, in this case, she was probably just overreacting, I didn’t want to establish a precedent through inaction. Or perhaps I was overreacting myself; Eleinor’s eyes were swimming nervously.

My adopted sister regarded her before reaching a hand up her dress’s sleeve and further into her own shadow. When it came back out, she was holding a small hairbrush. Felicity had an [Inventory] type skill! It must be another subset of her acquired Shadow Magic, one she had only figured out recently since I had never seen it before.

I’ll have to make sure to appraise her again soon.

I could do it right now, but I didn’t want to violate her privacy like that.

“Here.” Felicity put the brush in Elienor’s hand, saying only that one word, then turned slightly, presenting her tails to the still sweating former young lady.

It was clearly her intention to help Elienor feel more at ease, and Felicity remembered how much the girl had used to like brushing her tail. It had the desired effect, and before long everyone was all smiles once more. Sasha stepped in, despite her definite misgivings, and poured out extra cups for everyone. Elienor and Sarala both received a far plainer cup than what was given to Felicity, but that wouldn’t hurt anything.

Though, of all the things to keep in an [Inventory] type skill, a Hairbrush? Still, I’ll need to look into that. If I can somehow replicate it, that would definitely prove useful.

There were no records of such a skill existing that I was aware of, though Jacqueline had not reacted, and I didn’t think anyone else had noticed where she’d gotten it from. Then again, just about everything surrounding Felicity’s existence was abnormal already.

She’s always managing to surprise me, if only mildly.

Irregardless of the method, Felicity’s actions had the desired effects, and we were all once again smiling and chatting like good friends. It had been quite some time since Edith and I had last been alone enough to put aside status, and I was planning to enjoy every moment of it.

At least as much as I can.

Despite the mood, there was still something hanging in the air between us. If I had to guess, it was the fact that I had once again broken the promise sworn on our friendship, that being that I would refrain from acting in a manner harmful to myself. In this case there hadn’t been a choice, but it wasn’t like that really mattered to my friend.

“Edith… I owe you an apology.” I’d best deal with this right away before allowing it to fester as the past me might have.