Mally was openly staring at Edwin. This was concerning for a variety of reasons, namely because that blasted mutt that followed them… him… he wasn’t sure what was going on there, around, was staring at him, too. Of course they would be here when he arrived. Martin was behind the counter as always, and Edwin couldn’t help but wonder when he found the time to actually run the guild with all the cooking he did. He had to do the paperwork behind the counter.

Mally did not stop staring at him, and Edwin could feel anxiety prick at the back of his neck. He made his way up to the man, and Martin stared him down.

“And what is the little dukeling doing here?” he asked disdainfully, and Edwin pursed his lips.

“I need to talk to you,” he said, and Martin snorted.

“I’m busy right now,” he said, and Edwin gritted his teeth.

“It’s important,” he said, and Martin studied him for a moment, before he grunted.

“I’ll meet you in the office,” he said and slung a hand towel over his shoulder. He made his way around the corner of the counter, and Edwin followed him up the stairs with a glance back at Mally, who made direct eye contact as they sipped at their drink. Their mutt looked pissed, and Edwin probably should be more bothered by that, but he honestly didn’t care. Mally would be gone before long.

The two of them made their way up the stairs, and Martin pushed open the door to his office. Edwin took a seat, and Martin flopped down behind the desk. It was dusty in here, rarely ever touched, and Edwin wondered why he spent all day on his feet when he could be sitting down in relative comfort. Martin had always been strange, though, and had a weird grudge against the Harwith duchy. His father had warned Edwin about him, though he hadn’t gone into the details as to why the premier guild master in the Empire hated them so much.

“What is it?” Martin asked bluntly, and Edwin slid over the paper with Harkin’s thin, spider-like handwriting on it. Martin picked it up and tilted his head as he read it, and then he set it down. “I assume this is about Mally Mack.”

“It is,” Edwin confirmed. “It’s obvious he’s a rat in your guild.”

“And I assume you’re not telling me out of the goodness of your heart,” Martin said, and Edwin pursed his lips.

“I’m acting in the interest of the Empire,” he replied, and Martin snorted.

“Why, because the Saint is getting a little too comfortable with him?” he asked, and Edwin said nothing. “Really? That’s what you’re worried about?”

“Artesia has made her feelings about Mally quite clear. She runs to him as soon as she hears he might be injured, flirts with him openly, and continually requests him for quests,” Edwin said, and Martin crossed his arms.

“Mally isn’t encouraging it, though,” he pointed out, and Edwin pursed his lips.

“That isn’t the point. It’s dangerous, what she’s doing,” Edwin said, and Martin sighed and rubbed a hand over his face.

“She’ll get bored with him soon enough. I’ve seen it a million times,” he said. “Young noble girls, young high class girls, they want to flirt with the danger an adventurer brings, and then they throw them aside like they meant nothing.”

There was a certain bitterness to his tone, and Edwin wondered if that happened to him.

“And what happens when Artesia doesn’t throw him aside?” he asked, and tilted his head. “It’s dangerous.”

“Well, for one, I need a little more concrete evidence that Mally is working for Harkin than this,” Martin said and pushed the paper across the desk. “He could have just taken a liking to them.”

“It’s evidence enough to kick him out of the guild,” Edwin said, and Martin stared at him.

“Are you sure you’re not bringing personal feelings into this?” he asked, and Edwin was silent.

“The North is struggling with contamination right now,” he said after a long, deliberate pause where he let Martin process the insanity of that question. “It’s spreading fast. We need the Saint as much as any other territory.”

“So, you’ll give it up when the contamination is gone?” Martin asked, and Edwin pursed his lips.

“No.  The contamination is going to come back.”

“If she eradicates it all, it probably won’t come back in her lifetime,” Martin pointed out. “And all of this nonsense will be for nothing.”

“It’s not nonsense. Artesia is a commoner and doesn’t understand her position---”

“She doesn’t?” Martin echoed. “How do you know that? What if she understands it just fine and doesn’t want it?”

“If she understands it, then she should want it,” Edwin insisted, and Martin rapped his fingernails on the desk.

“I don’t recall if it was nine or twelve…” he mused, and Edwin blinked.

“What?”

“Paladins that died,” he said, and Edwin processed that for a moment. What did that have to do with anything? “If she’s a commoner, I am willing to wager she’s mighty uncomfortable with that right now. Mally is probably a welcome distraction from it.”

“And distractions become commitments,” Edwin snapped, and Martin lifted his eyebrows. “If you really are after Mally’s best interest, you should send him away anyway, before he gets his heart broken.”

Martin studied him for a moment before he spoke.

“Let me make something clear,” he said slowly, and Edwin pursed his lips. “Mally had nothing but the clothes on his back when he came here. He’s not popular, not well liked, but I like the kid. He’s effective, and most importantly, he can find a home here. He came here looking for a home, and I’m not going to run him off on the say-so of some little lordling with half baked evidence over a girl. If you’re really that concerned about the Saint, then talk to her, and leave Mally out of it. He’s done nothing wrong.”

“She’s not just any girl. She’s the Saint,” Edwin hissed, suddenly irritated with Martin, because could no one see any sense? Didn’t they see that this blossoming friendship could very well threaten the entire Empire? What if Artesia abandoned her duties for the sake of this kid? She… she could simply run away to be with them, and then where would they be? Artesia had not had a sense of duty instilled in her from childhood. She was a commoner, where you were taught you could be anything, and she was too free spirited and opinionated. She was dangerous. She didn’t realize the social power she held, the way she could make anyone bend a knee by simply playing the game of power, and it was---

It was frustrating.

If Mally was a noble child, then this wouldn’t be an issue, for the most part. The Saint could marry a noble. She could be with a noble. She could not be with a commoner. She would have to give up the title of Saint, and that was…

He didn’t understand why no one understood the gravity of the situation.

“None of that matters,” Martin said, and crossed his arms. “I’m not going to let some noble in here to throw his weight around and make demands of my people. Mally has been through a damn lot for their age, and I’m not going to be the next person to betray them. They’re starting over, and I’m going to let them start over.”

Edwin glared at him. Jacques was the next person he could go to, but the prince had a clear soft spot for Mally, and wouldn’t listen to him, anyway. Why was everyone so enamored with this random adventurer that killed as easily as they breathed? What the hell was it about Mally that drew people into their orbit? It was infuriating. It seemed everyone wanted to protect them, and he didn’t know why. Martin was going to cause a scandal with his inaction. And a scandal was the least of their concerns right now.

“Well, it will squarely be your fault when Mally decides to pursue Artesia,” Edwin said, and Martin snorted.

“That little girl doesn’t even want to be the Saint. Let her live her life,” he said, and Edwin paused.

“What do you mean?”

“Did you know she’s learning holy offensive magic?” Martin asked, and Edwin’s eyes bugged. The Saint learning offensive magic? She would be a walking weapon. “Seems to me that she doesn’t like the idea of people dying for her.”

“... I’ll speak to her,” Edwin promised, and stood. “Thank you for your time, Martin.”

“Mmf,” Martin replied, and Edwin headed out the door. This had been an entirely unproductive conversation. Martin was not going to bend, and Edwin had a feeling it was his grudge against Harwith that was preventing him from doing so. Annoying. All of this was extremely fucking annoying, and Edwin’s last chance would be to talk to Mally and Artesia. He would have to visit Artesia at the temple, because she rarely went out.

He walked down the stairs, and there was Mally, leaning on the counter to talk to the attendant there, his wolf laid down at his feet. Mally shot him a side eye, and Edwin walked right up to him and took him by the arm.

“I need to talk to you,” he said, and Mally pulled his arm out of his grip.

“No, you don’t,” Mally said calmly, and Edwin set his jaw. “I’m about to leave for the dungeon.”

Which meant Mally would be gone for several days. That was frustrating. Edwin needed to talk to them now.

“Mally,” Edwin said slowly. “I would… really… like it if you could spare me some time.”

Mally studied him in silence before he pushed off the counter and turned for the door.

“Fine, then,” he said, and headed outside. “Let’s go.”

Edwin followed him as Mally snagged a leaflet advertising a dead lizard from the board, and Mally turned down the road.

“I have to pick up my horse,” he said, and Edwin fell into step next to him.

“I just tried to get rid of you,” Edwin said, blunt, and Mally glanced at him.

“Well, I wasn’t expecting you to own up to it,” he muttered. “Finally done throwing your noble weight around everywhere?”

“I think you’re dangerous,” Edwin said flatly, and Mally grinned at him. It was not a nice grin. It was more like a wolf baring its fangs.

“I am dangerous,” he said, and Edwin thought back to Mally dropping twenty men dead on a road in the middle of the forest. Yes. Yes, he was dangerous, and Edwin could not understand why Artesia was into that.

“That’s not what I mean and you know it,” Edwin said, and Mally sighed quietly.

“Listen, Edwin. I have no attraction whatsoever towards Artesia, and I honestly don’t know why you’re so worked up about it. It’s like you’re in love with her or something,” Mally said, and Edwin paused.

“I’m not in love with Artesia,” he said bluntly, and then--- “I just think you might convince her to stray from her duties.”

“I have no intentions of coming between her and her task ordained as the Saint,” Mally said, and Edwin pursed his lips lightly. “The contamination is a problem and needs to be dealt with.”

“Then, why do you keep encouraging her?” Edwin asked bluntly, and Mally squinted up at him. Mally really was quite short, and Edwin had no idea why Artesia was so invested in a boy(?) so much shorter than she was. He could snap Mally over his knee. Though, he supposed there was a certain charm to him. Something about his eyes made you want to trust him.

“I’m not encouraging her,” Mally said. “I’m getting paid. Once she realizes I’m only in it for the money, she’ll lose interest.”

“Or she’ll get desperate,” Edwin pointed out, and Mally snorted.

“She’s more mature than you think,” Mally said, and Edwin wondered what that meant. “You know, it’s a little off putting. Every time we talk, it’s about Artesia.”

“Well, it’s not like you would tell me anything about you,” Edwin pointed out, and Mally paused.

“You don’t know that,” he said, and Edwin snorted.

“Well? Would you tell me anything about you?” Edwin challenged, and Mally tilted his head.

“Would you be even remotely interested in the story of a commoner?” he asked, and Edwin frowned at him.

“I don’t think myself above you,” he said, and Mally blinked.

“You do, though?” he replied, and Edwin paused. “You wouldn’t have just tried to use your status as the Duke of Harwith’s son to get rid of me if you didn’t?”

“That’s an accusation,” Edwin said, and Mally grinned.

“But, it’s true, though?” he replied. “You do think you’re above me. If you respected me, you wouldn’t have done that.”

“Is there anything to respect?” Edwin asked, and Mally’s face darkened.

“Don’t forget I saved your men,” Mally said, and Edwin pursed his lips.

“You were being paid to do that,” he pointed out, and Mally laughed.

“I could have refused. And your men were nowhere within my protection mandates. I could have taken Artesia and run,” he said, and Edwin could not resist a jab.

“Like you did when all her paladins died?” he asked, and Mally was quiet.

“Wow,” they finally said after a long, long pause. “You’re an asshole, you know that?”

“I’m just saying. I have yet to see any proof you’re a person of honor. You’re mercantile and kill to get paid,” Edwin said, and Mally rolled their eyes.

“And you kill to maintain your territory. If it came down to a war, you would happily march people who never asked for it into battle,” Mally said, and Edwin pursed his lips.

“Not happily,” he murmured, and Mally stared up at him.

“What does it matter if you do it happily or not, so long as you’re doing it?” Mally asked, and Edwin inhaled sharply.

“I don’t want to get philosophical with you,” he shot back, and Mally laughed bitterly.

“Right. Because of course a commoner doesn’t have the mindset to understand the decisions of nobility,” he said, his voice ringing with condemnation. “In any case, stop stressing so much about Artesia. She’ll do her job. I have no intentions of keeping her from it.”

With that, they outstripped him, their wolf loping at their feet, and Edwin stopped in the middle of the road and watched them go in silence.

So, that was it, then. He was…

He didn’t know where to file someone like Mally Mack in his brain. They were an enigma to him. They carried themself like a noble, but they were a commoner. He had seen no evidence whatsoever that they were a runaway noble girl. That would have made the news. He wished he had an answer for it, but he didn’t. They just… There was something about them that dominated all his thoughts, and he didn’t know how to feel about it.

Dammit.

He was falling into their orbit, too, wasn’t he?