Armand stood proud in the entryway to Castle Concord. Eris, his parents, and the boy's future in-laws were with him. Before them all was Marshal Staufer. There was a severe yet warm expression on the commander's face.

"It is good to see you again, Armand. I apologize that my wife couldn't make it to your wedding. But someone has to hold down the home fort. And my son's away on other business," Marshal Staufer explained.

"The needs of Foldzar come first," Armand replied with a bow. "Neither of us would have it any other way."

A light chuckle escaped the commander's mouth.

"Of course."

Marshal Staufer's gaze fell over the others in the room. They stopped upon looking at Count Hapsburg. The commander noticed the insignia on the more minor lord's chest.

"I see that you're not as inbred as the rest of your family," the former noted.

"My branch does not engage cousin marriage," Count Hapsburg replied.

"Good. I've always disliked that sort of thing, and seeing the growing chins on your relatives' faces doesn't make me confident," Marshal Staufer said.

His gaze then turned to Count Concord.

"You must be the head of House Concord, then?"

"Yes, I am," was the response. "It is an honor to meet someone as important as you in person, Marshal Staufer."

A scoff came out of the general's mouth. His expression made it clear that he did not trust Count Concord in the slightest. However, Ludwig Staufer's words were different.

"You should be proud of your son. He will make a great lord someday."

Count Concord smiled with his mouth but not his eyes.

"I most certainly am. But I do have some questions for you, too, Marshal Staufer," he said.

Ludwig raised an eyebrow. Then, a nod came over his head.

"Your son worked under me for years. If you want to know more about him, there are a few things I can tell you."

"Fantastic. I certainly hope you can inform my wife and I about the book that my son wrote," Count Concord's words were flecked with bits of venom.

"You have every right to worry about that," Marshal Staufer stated. "Perhaps we could discuss these matters somewhere more private?"

Count Concord responded.

"Of course, Marshal Staufer. We have a few private rooms we can discuss matters in," he said.

Then, the Count Concord led Marshal Staufer away. His wife and the Hapsburg heads joined them, along with Ludwig's guards. That left Armand and Eris alone.

"Rozwialzly should arrive soon," the former noted. "When he does, that will be all the guests I invited. Our parents will probably have some of their own."

"As expected," Eris shrugged.

Armand turned to her with a curious expression.

"Did you invite any guests?" he asked.

"Of course, not," she answered. "You know me, Armand. I have no allies, aside from you and my parents."

Armand's eye twitched.

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"That lack of support is what got you killed the last time around. Seriously, Eris, you had more allies before I sent us back in time than you do now," he pointed out. "What happened?"

"You did," her response was simple.

Suspicion flickered in Armand's eyes.

"What did I have to do with this?"

"You made me fall for you, Armand. After I found out you always loved me, I couldn't help but try a romance with you. I fell for you after that. And with you by my side, I don't need anyone else," Eris explained.

Armand raised an eyebrow.

"I thought you were the one who secretly loved me, not the other way around," he said.

For a moment, dead silence overtook the area. A slow revelation built up in Armand and Eris' minds. After a full five minutes of awkward stillness, they slapped their own faces at the same time.

"By the gods, was all this some misunderstanding all along?" Armand asked.

"I fooled myself! I feel like such an idiot!" Eris declared.

Armand let out an exasperated sigh. He put his arms down before shaking his head.

"Well, even if you didn't secretly love me all this time, do you love me now, Eris?" he questioned.

"Of course, I do," she huffed. "And do you love me, Armand?"

A groan escaped the Concord boy's mouth.

"Unfortunately, I do love you, Eris. Despite the sort of person you are," he said.

"Good. I'll make sure to keep you loving me," Eris stated.

Armand nodded.

"Agreed. I don't want to lose you, despite everything," he responded. "Honestly, I don't even care that our romance started off a mistake. We're good allies, and we love each other now. How things started no longer matters."

"If it ever did," Eris added.

A different silence overtook the two. This one was far more content. It was only interrupted by the faint sound of a carriage arriving. Armand turned to the door and started walking with Eris following him.

"That should be Rozwialzly, I think," the Concord said. "I suspect he'll bring his family to our wedding."

"I don't like that a commoner who doesn't know his place is coming to our wedding...but I've kept an eye on his activities, and he's been doing what Armand told him to. So, I guess Rozwialzly sort of knows his place?" Eris thought before speaking. "I understand why you invited him. He is an increasingly powerful man, and the politics of these things must come first."

Armand shrugged.

"He isn't that bad when you get to know him. But I suspect you dislike that he's a commoner," he said.

Eris waved it off.

"I do, but he's also an important ally of yours," she stated. "Considering how close he is to Her Majesty, that makes him especially valuable. Even if I don't need to find allies myself, I'm not going to stop you from that."

"You could probably do with a few more allies," Armand commented.

"It's not like I could trust them, anyway," Eris shrugged.

"A temporary alliance is better than no alliance."

At that point, the two of them had reached the front gate. A guard opened it, and Rozwialzly and his family were ushered inside. They bowed more gracefully than before upon seeing Armand.

"It is good to see you again, Lord Armand," Rozwialzly said.

"Likewise, and your family too," the Concord boy replied.

Armand then gestured to the girl at his side.

"This is my fiancée, Lady Eris Hapsburg," Armand introduced her.

She did a small curtsy, making sure to avoid letting Rozwialzly's family see her face.

"I will tolerate their presence, marriages are political affairs after all, but I won't let them know that I don't exactly like that they're here," Eris thought before speaking. "You probably don't need to remember that I'm part of House Hapsburg. I'll be Eris Concord soon enough."

A flicker of joy entered her voice with those last words. Pride welled up within the girl.

"Soon, I'll be Armand's wife, Lady Eris Concord. It'll be proof for all the world to see that I've joined with Armand. Then, no one will even think of having him. And if they do, no one will blame me for killing them," Eris pondered.

Armand glanced her way for a moment.

"Eris seems unusually happy. Is she plotting to kill someone? Probably. But I know she isn't stupid enough to try to murder one of my valuable allies. I'll have to talk to her about this later," he contemplated before turning back to the newcomers. "Rozwialzly, Ani, I am certain you will want to meet my parents. However, they are busy at the moment. I can escort you to a room where your family can have food while waiting for them."

"It would be our honor, Lord Armand," Rozwialzly said.

Ani looked around a bit with a contemplative expression. Both Eris and Armand noticed it. But only the latter spoke.

"Is something the matter?"

"No. It's just...your castle is not the Royal Palace. But it is impressive in its own right," Ani stated.

"Thank you. I'm hoping to turn it into a star fort someday," Armand spoke before thinking. "As it is now, it is insufficient to defend against modern weaponry."

"I should do the same for my family's castle," Eris thought.

Armand then shrugged.

"In any case, allow us to escort you to the waiting room," he said.

And with that, the three of them walked off.

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