Hohenfels – Chapter 38

‘What have I done to deserve this?’

Katharina felt like the world was conspiring against her. First, the opportunistic Tannburg princess toppled one of her most promising plans with an offhand comment, and now this.

One does not simply ‘refuse to play’. That was just not how it worked for aristocrats, and even less so for the daughter of a duke. Princess Klara was being unreasonable, but it didn’t matter. There was nothing Katharina could say or do right now to convince her. Their stations were too far apart for a lecture – a lesson Katharina had painfully, but lastingly learnt four years ago.

As if to underscore the point, the Princess picked up another pastry, took a huge, entirely unladylike bite out of it, and smirked triumphantly.

Two severe setbacks in one day. Uncomfortable reminders just how precarious Katharina’s situation was right now, despite the false sense of security she felt in the presence of Prince Arnold.

But not all was lost. Despite her words and harsh expression, Princess Klara had not left, still shoveling food into her mouth and occasionally taking a sip of the expensive tea.

Katharina could tell that the Princess lacked Arnold’s uncanny intuition. She had fully bought into the little tricks – a subtle wince here, a minuscule stutter there – and was thus much easier to handle in the long run. Now it was mostly a matter of understanding her character.

She was proud, almost ridiculously so. But her pride was not the pride of a typical noblewoman. If anything, it seemed more… masculine than, say, Prince Ludwig’s. While Klara would undoubtedly respond violently to personal insults, Katharina got the impression that her reaction to an insult to House Eisenberg would be significantly more pronounced. Carefully avoiding traditionally offensive actions would be enough to handle this particular quirk of hers, and it would offer countless opportunities in return.

She also severely disliked the finer arts of conversation. A good percentage of aristocrats would grudgingly respect someone who managed to outmaneuver them with words or trick them without resorting to blatant untruths. The same could not be said for the Princess, who obviously thought little of ‘silklings’ and their verbal battlefields. This was perhaps the most difficult challenge for Katharina to overcome – those were the only battlefields she was equipped for.

Related to the previous point, there also was the terrible bluntness. Katharina almost wanted to chalk it up to general Eastern culture after interacting with the Hohenfels cousins, but plenty of the lower nobles, like Lady Anne, were very different. They were more direct than their Western counterparts, but not to an uncomfortable degree. If anything, it was a breath of fresh air. Princess Klara, however, cared not for niceties and decorum, and seemed to take joy in breaking protocol.

All in all, she would be a difficult person to handle, but in a very straight-forward manner. If most nobles were snakes, Klara was a tiger – Katharina would not have to worry about an ill-chosen word coming back to bite her three years down the line, but rather a sword pointed at her throat the moment she uttered it.

‘...A sword?’

Now there was an idea. It was rather audacious, but considering what she knew about the Princess, it might be the best option.

“Your Highness, would you be willing to entertain a request of mine?”

Klara shot Katharina a skeptical look, but nodded for her to continue while gleefully chomping on a slice of cake.

“I have recently come to be interested in smallsword fencing, and I have been told that you are a true expert with it. Might I trouble you to–”

“Sure.”

Katharina only blinked, caught completely off-guard.

“I’ll give you a few pointers,” Klara elaborated after swallowing a chunk of cake, her expression somewhere between annoyance and interest. “I know it’s just another ploy to get close to me, but I owe you that much, at least.”

“Thank you, Your Highness,” Katharina beamed, not having to fake her enthusiasm.

“Not even gonna pretend otherwise, huh?” the Princess grinned, falling into a casual tone Katharina had only ever heard from peasants and Father’s less presentable knights. “Maybe you’re not so bad after all.”

While Katharina was struggling to find an appropriate response, Klara gulped down the remainder of the cake and leaned back with a satisfied smile. “Thanks for the invitation. The tea and the food were great.”

“I’m happy to hear that, Your Highness.”

Klara’s eyes briefly narrowed, before her expression changed to mischievous amusement.

“Pah, stop the ‘Highness’ bullshit already. It makes sentences long and boring. Just call me Klara, and I’ll call you… Hmm, something nice and short. Kathi? Yes. I can call you Kathi, right?”

Only her experiences with the Hohenfels heir let Katharina keep her outward composure as the Princess assaulted her with a veritable barrage of vulgarity and excessive familiarity, and she quickly shook off her brief mental stupor.

There was no doubt in her mind that Klara was testing her, but she had no idea what the ‘correct’ response was. Mother’s training was, once again, of little help – this situation was so far removed from courtly interactions that Katharina only had her own instincts to rely on. Unfortunately, those instincts strongly suggested freezing up like a fool. So, she had no choice but to gamble.

She did not even try to hide the steadying breath she took, and met Klara’s eyes in a much more assertive manner than she would dare with anyone else of such a lofty station. The Easterners clearly respected strength and pride, so she would try her best to adapt.

“That is a very nostalgic nickname,” she mused with a smile she hoped looked genuine. “The servants’ children used to call me that, many years ago. I’d be happy for you to use it, Klara.”

Something indiscernible changed in the Princess’ eyes, and a wide grin formed on her face as she rose from the bench. “Great! Come on, let’s go stab each other!”

“Wait, wha–?!”

“No time like the present!”

= = = = =

Katharina laid on the dirty ground of the training field, desperately gasping for air. The previously pristine Eisengrund training uniform Klara had lent her was ripped and tattered in several places, and her magic struggled to keep up with the countless bruises on her skin. Through waves of pain and discomfort, she found herself yearning for Prince Arnold’s much gentler lessons.

“Huh, you’re much better than I thought. I expected you to give up an hour ago.”

The Princess had not even broken a sweat so far. Over the course of dozens of exchanges, Katharina had managed a single hit on her arm, and entirely by accident.

“T-thanks,” Katharina wheezed. “But I really need a break now.”

“Fine, fine,” Klara sighed and sat down on the grassy ground. “I gotta say, your teacher was pretty good. Most silklings break their ankles the first time they fight outside.”

‘...And yet, she did not think it necessary to warn me.’

“That’s a nice glare,” the Princess chuckled. Katharina immediately forced her facial muscles to relax – the exhaustion had made her careless.

“Same time tomorrow, Kathi?”

Katharina forced herself into a sitting position, pleasantly surprised by the offer, but apprehensive at the same time. “I would love to, but I doubt I’ll manage to heal up by then…”

“Isn’t that a good thing?” Klara shrugged. “Get used to the discomfort. I can count on one hand the times I’ve fought seriously without being in pain. If you don’t learn to focus through it, you’ll die.”

‘But I don’t want that kind of fight!’ Katharina complained to herself. At worst, she’d get into one or two staged duels over the course of her life – she’d gladly leave the real battlefield to the men. Still, this was her opportunity to befriend the Princess, and she would not miss it.

“...All right then, I’ll be there.”

She pretended not to see the savage grin blooming on Klara’s face.

= = = = =

Klara hummed a happy tune as she methodically dismantled another training dummy. As much fun as torturing the silkling had been, she found herself quite impressed by ‘Kathi’s’ resilience, both mental and physical. Despite Klara’s best attempts at imbalancing her with bluntness, she had bounced back immediately. On top of that, she was vastly more adept at magic than the average Western girl. Was it simply tradition in her family, or had she rebelled against becoming a breeding sow for some pillowknight? While the latter would be more impressive, either option elevated her beyond her pathetic peers.

If only she wasn’t aligned with Hohenfels… And indeed, their sparring session had confirmed Katharina’s association with Prince Arnold. She had immediately recognized the footwork. Clumsy, but undeniably the Hohenfels style. Presumably the result of nothing more than a few beginner lessons, which served to prove the Silberthal girl’s quick intellect.

It also served to prove that even the would-be Prince was weak to a pretty face and honeyed words. A brief pang of irrational envy shot through Klara’s heart – she would never look that good in a dress, an unfortunate side effect of rigorous physical training. And while she could reliably bisect a wasp in flight, she had never figured out how to apply even the most discreet makeup without… accidents. And when Johanna or the maids did it for her, it never felt right.

She vented her frustration on a dummy, and discarded the unworthy thoughts immediately after. She had no need for beauty. If anything, it would be a hindrance to her plans. The fewer men were vying for her hand, the less likely it was that Mother and Father would force her to accept a match.

Her chances of finding a husband like Count Erwin von Rotenbach were vanishingly low, after all. Few men, particularly those from the West, would be happy to see their wife spend all day fighting and training.

Even more so if said wife could kill them in mere seconds.

– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – 

Dramatis Personae

Katharina von Silberthal:
Daughter of the Imperial Count of Silberthal.
Feeling pain in muscles she did not even know she had.

Klara von Eisenberg:
Daughter of the Duke of Eisengrund.
Not yet sure what to make of ‘Kathi’. Will keep stabbing her until that changes.