The Northern Noble is a Grinder (Volume 2: Chapter 3).

The Northern Noble is a Grinder (Volume 2: Chapter 3).

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Commissioned by Sivantic

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“Alice?”

“Yes, my lady?”

“Am I dreaming, or am I seeing Anisette treat Lord Trelawney like he’s a child?”

“You are not dreaming.”

Yet, I wished that I was.

“Shoulders square, chin up, and elbows off the table!” Anisette fussed over Lord Trelawney as he ate at our room’s singular table. He ate as he desired back at his coastal fortress. There were deficiencies in his decorum, but power forgave much more than mere lack of manners. The Demigod of Love, however, did not seem mindful of that fact at all. She was even touching him! Tilting his chin up, holding his shoulders and putting them against the back of the chair, and now she was putting a bib on him! The glare he sent her way was mortifying, yet she just glared back. “Your people work hard to make your clothes. Will you trouble them by staining it?”

The silence that came after that question was loud enough to make my ears ring.

“When is Chloe returning? I want to leave this place.”

“My lady, you just returned from your patrol. It is my turn next.”

I almost cursed under my breath while I desperately tried to just rest in the corner of the room.

Then, suddenly, I felt movement from the demigod, and shivers went through my body as she suddenly approached with crossed arms.

“Lady Argelia… What is this slovenly state you are currently in!? There’s a young boy present!” I was helpless as she reached for me, tugged me out of the sofa I was resting upon, and marched to the dresser. Alice primly followed without a word and did not meet my gaze. She set up a curtain to separate us from Trelawney. “A nightrobe of silk and that alone? Are you mad!?”

“It’s the only clothes that I have that don’t itch anymore.” I protested lamely. This girl was undoubtedly weak, but there was a fire of some sort in her eyes that I couldn’t go against. A flame that was like Mother’s overwhelming affection. There was no measure of malice in her intent. Only the desire to see us better. Thus, I could not muster even the slightest hint of resistance without feeling immense shame. “Lord Trelawney doesn’t care, either.”

“Lord Trelawney will continue to not care if he is not taught to care or placed in an environment that does care.” The logic was irrefutable and battered through my excuses like a battering ram. It came to mind that this young demigod was raised by a bishop, taught by nuns, and spent her time caring for orphans before coming to our school. “And, from what I can tell, no one is disabusing him of the notion that he should ascend to a higher plane!”

“Is that not the goal of all those with power? Not to mention that someone as strong as him unbalances the world.” I found some of my wits while my nightdress was divested of me. I felt like I was being attended to by my grandmother, despite Anisette being my junior. She had me step into underclothes before placing a nightgown and cap on my head. She went as far as to make sure my bangs were tucked into my nightcap. Alice stepped away and almost bowed to her as well, as the motions were just that familiar. “Lord Trelawney is simply that strong.”

I was also aware that he was in the same room as us, even with the faint clanking of utensils on silverware.

“It is the goal of those who have already lived! Lords who have ceded their rights to their sons and who can journey forth to seek their truest selves. Archmages who can leave their schools in good hands and seek out the world’s mysteries. Not young boys who inherit their family’s lands! He doesn’t even have an heir!”

I almost asked her if she intended to help him with that as well, but I held my tongue.

Still, I now believed that I saw the godly side of Anisette. The Goddess of Love had many aspects ranging from familial love to passion that bordered on madness. She gave girls who prayed earnestly aid as they grew. Her church prosecuted and hunted those who forced themselves upon another and sponsored orphanages for all. They took tithes to embolden flagging health, improve the chances of conception, and improve appearances, giving them immense sums from those with coin, and every coin was spent to support their church.

Adherents to the Goddess of Love could be seen as free, as their goddess gave so much leeway… but at the same time, those adherents to her faith were zealots who could not be swayed away.

Anisette, despite being so much weaker, spoke her mind and heart with conviction and belief.

So, I could not restrain myself.

“Why are you unable to speak this way to the prince?”

Anisette paused at my statement before looking me in the eyes.

I almost wished I hadn’t asked.

“Because this form of love cannot sway him from the path he has chosen. What he needs is far harsher than mere admonishment can provide.” My heart trembled at her words. I looked into her eyes, which were bright blue. In them were faint specks of gold that seemed alive with light. When I looked at them, when I focused on those flecks of divinity, I could faintly feel a presence peering back. I bowed my head as soon as I noticed and offered a prayer of praise. “You can see it. Lord Trelawney can be reached. Prince Raphael’s ambition can only be overcome by another’s will. Not love.”

I could not keep her gaze, so I allowed myself to be uncomfortable instead.

“This itches to the point that I will barely be able to rest. Lord Trelawney, may we trouble you to leave soon?” I addressed him from behind the curtain, while Anisette blinked and shook her head. I was very sure that I just received insight that I should not have been given. Though I already wished to forget it, I was sure that I would not be able to do so. “How do you manage to endure the increased need for luxury at your level of strength?”

“Fine.” Lord Trelawney replied to me with ease. I heard his utensils clinking away a bit faster, and Anisette immediately turned and left the curtain. Alice ceded the path to her and pushed it back. We could only watch as Anisette tried to have him slow down eating, but he kept her back with strings. “I sleep on air. As for my clothes, they’re from beings more powerful than you can handle. You just need to kill and harvest enough materials to have a wardrobe that you like.”

I grimaced at the pronouncement, readying myself to endure feeling so itchy and warm, when Anisette’s brow furrowed.

“If it is such a problem, why not have an artifact made that would deaden your senses? Or one that improves the threads of the clothes that you wear?” I paused at the statement, while Lord Trelawney gave a too-innocent hum. I stared at him aghast, and I plainly saw a twitch of a smile form at the corner of his face. He… how… he knew and didn’t tell me!? I moved swiftly and aimed a small curse at myself to deaden sensation. It was a common curse used in first aid when one was wounded. Almost immediately, the itchiness of the fabric faded immediately. “Lord Trelawney… Omitting facts is the same as lying!”

Tears welled up in my eyes, while Alice let loose a sigh of relief herself.

Meanwhile, Lord Trelawney merely chose to continue eating while Anisette lectured him with a glare.

I did not know if she would succeed in her goal to become strong enough for him to listen.

But I hoped that she would.

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Interlude: Anisette, Demigod of Love

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Sir Drake came forth with a message in hand after I left Lord Trelawney.

“Prince Raphael is leaving today. He asked if you would join him, but I believe we both know the answer to that.” Sir Drake gave me a nod, and I tersely nodded back. He was the impediment to my escapes. None of the church could contest his strength, and the prince had enough political clout to tie their hands. Now, both were leaving. He offered me an armored hand. “I bid you farewell, Lady Anisette. I hope that we never meet again.”

He tested me with the handshake and did not find me wanting.

A smile crossed his lips as our farewell was formally completed.

“He intends to seek power elsewhere, then. He will find some place to rule on his own. Perhaps after eschewing his name. You will follow.” I asked Sir Drake, and he nodded at my words. The long hall was empty save for us. Before the battles Lord Trelawney put me through, I would have felt trapped. The freedom I now felt was intoxicating. For the first time in months, I could breathe and speak my mind. It was no wonder that Lord Trelawney had such poor manners. “Can you not convince him to just stay and do his part? To live in accordance with his station?”

“You would be able to ask that of Lord Trelawney, wouldn’t you?” I nodded at Sir Drake’s question. Lord Trelawney sought out ascension because it was the only path that lay before him. The fact that Lord Trelawney was present was also an open secret now. The common people did not know, but those with influence did. My sudden growth in power was investigated, and he was discovered. “I cannot do the same. I believe in his path. He is a conqueror born to a world at peace. He will not be sated until he builds something with his own hands.”

“He could have married Lady Argelia and had children with her. He could have raised them in an empire flourishing with life. Their joy and safety would have been his.” I told Sir Drake, and he nodded in silence. I glared at him and wagged my finger at him. “I don’t know what oaths you gave him, but you do him poor service by facilitating his every whim. This is not loyalty. It is blind obedience.”

Sir Drake was silent for a moment, and he stared at me with an aged countenance.

Then, he shook his head.

“Not all desires are born of love. His path is that of war and conquest. The despair of his foes and the surmounting of challenges both invigorate him more than anything else. I and others loyal to him curtail his baser desires… he even knows this himself. Or, rather, Lord Trelawney told him as much.” I stilled at the words that left Sir Drake’s mouth. My reaction must have been obvious as the knight explained with care. “His highness reveled in the destruction and bloodshed. His temperament was beyond ecstasy when he ravaged monsters by his own hand. He stopped when he realized that if he indulged in power… he would become a monster himself and be slain by Lord Trelawney.”

“So, he seeks it through conquest and others instead?”

“He seeks to harness his nature. His aim was to channel it through the empire and expand its borders. To bring to his people the wealth only possible through war.” Sir Drake’s gaze came upon me. “He sought you out to curtail his desires as well. The Demigods of Love have had a history of tempering the wrath and rage of their partners. How many songs are there of your kin averting catastrophe by bringing the light of love into the hearts of tyrants and despots?”

A pang of pain echoed in my chest at those words, but I shook my head and stared at the letter in my hand.

“The songs do not tell of rebellion and wars waged against those tyrants. They do not tell of how many of my brothers and sisters supported those rebellions instead. Many of them died to overcome them. I tell you now… more despots have been felled than those who have risen beyond their nature.” A grim frown settled on Sir Drake’s lips. I read of the history of my people. The Goddess of Love provided many of her children. Each one is gifted, beautiful, and talented. They were her gifts to those who lived in the mortal world. Some created art, others graced the lineages of people with beauty, and others gave their lives as martyrs for the people they grew to love. “Tell him that he should eschew his vows and devote himself to the god of war. Tell him that he should see the world as a man and not as a prince. Tell him to devote his life to others rather than have others give their lives for him.”

Sir Drake bowed at my words and took the invitation back when I extended it to him.

He left… and I scowled at the passageway leading into the hall.

“Eavesdropping is unbecoming of a young lord, young man.” I admonished Lord Trelawney as I strode to where he was. The young man was there, and he made a show of examining his nails before brushing them against his apron. I felt irritation rise within me, and I pinched both his cheeks. They were reddened when I let go, but he made no show of feeling the pressure I exerted. How infuriating. “Why did you not tell me the prince was under your tutelage?”

“I was asked not to by the emperor. Are you going to tell him omission is lying as well?” Lord Trelawney shrugged and walked into the darker corridor used by servants. I followed him. “What did you want me to say? I stopped teaching the prince because it was likely that I’d have to cripple him, because he’s a budding psycho?”

I frowned at his words.

“Did you tell Lady Argelia this?”

“I didn’t. Do you want me to tell her the guy she loved for years is a lunatic that gets fulfilled by breaking others?” He goaded me and dodged the tap I aimed at the back of his head. I could hear the grin on his face. Then, as if that were not enough, he gave his final words a musical lilt. “It would be lying if I didn’t tell her, right? Anisette~”

“Tch!”

One day, I promised myself that I would see this boy reprimanded.

For now, though, I prepared to tell Lady Argelia the truth myself.

She deserved to know.