House of the Wolves

In the first place, I already knew of the struggles of those around me... It was clear beyond any explanation that Tenka is beginning to lose its grip on the power to remain as the ruling nation of Ostadonia.

"...That is all that I have to say about it. Again, I politely refuse this unfair order."

In this world, it has always been like this... one must do what's best for their nation, even if it means disregarding one's own desires and free will.

"Foolish girl... there's a limit to one's selfishness. If you're not willing to do what's good for the clan, you don't deserve its prestige or protection!"

"...My words and will remain unchanged."

"Tch-! Hiiragi-sama! As you see, this girl's impertinence has far outdone her value for the family. I say that she be beaten until she becomes compliant—"

"SILENCE!"

At the plot of land owned by our Hiiragi clan in the Empire of Tenka, I was ordered to head home by my grandfather, who is the family head, to receive the news that I need to be engaged and possibly even wedded as soon as possible. My refusal to it has caused my great aunt who is but a distant blood relative, to blow up in anger and even suggest for me to be beaten until I obey... fortunately, my grandfather quickly silenced her with a shout.

"...Everyone save for Chiori, leave this room."

"B-But master, that is—"

"Heed my order! LEAVE!"

Following his orders, everyone in the room, may they be servants or family members, left quickly until it was only me and him in the room. As I raised my face to look at him, the previously furious expression on my grandfather's face became one that is simply troubled.

"Ojii-sama... why?" I asked, confused about why he agreed to do something like this.

"...I'm stuck between two hard choices, my dear child. While I am bound by my promise to your birth mother, I am also bound by my orders that came from His Majesty the Emperor... I can only choose between giving you freedom and taking it away by marrying you off to someone that you don't even love."

He answered and raised his cane, seemingly wanting to stand up despite his age and weakened body. With this, I stood up and hurried to his side to help him up.

"Ojii-sama... Don't let this bother you. This is my own choice, and only I am to blame for it. If someone says that this is your fault, I will willingly take it on—"

"It doesn't work like that, child... I am the family head of our clan. Everything that happens here reflects on me, and if some kind of failure happens here, it would be on my name and honor."

After he got to stand upright, grandfather told me the truth about what's happening in the empire in its complete form. To say that the information that I had from the start was "far too little", is putting it very lightly.

"It's not only the war in Silesia that's weakening Tenka's hold on its imperial precedence, there's also that fact that for the past five years, the four duchies has become locked in a brinkmanship over which of the five members in the alliance do they truly serve."

Grandfather told me how each of the four duchies are acting for their own interests and how they're achieving this.

"For the Shilmani Duchy, they've always been supporting the United Turkman tribes while the Faldra Duchy has began to throw its weight behind the Boreas Dukedom. While outwardly, the Malhotra Duchy supports the Republic of Marl Kah, it's nothing but a cover for their true intention of becoming their own nation outside the feudal system and taking the imperial precedence for themselves."

"What about the Shishina Duchy?" I asked about the last duchy that he didn't mention.

"They're remaining neutral as usual. With their historically bad relationship with the other alliance members save for Boreas and Tenka, they're not keen on throwing their support easily and overtly."

With all of that clear to me, we went back to the reason why he called for me here and why he's now stuck between having to follow orders and his promise to my mother.

"His Majesty is telling all members of the inner imperial court to find influential families in the feudal domains and build a connection with them in order to secure enough votes to let Tenka remain as the leader of Ostadonia."

"Is the situation really that desperate for them to order such a drastic measure?"

"It is. Right now, the Monarchical Republic of Marl Kah is in the best position to take on the imperial precedence after the Salonga royal family regained political power in the country. Unlike Qima that is still trying to regain the Yilong region that seceded from them, Boreas that is suffering from a bad winter, the Turkman tribes that suffered from a recent drought and our Tenka that has suffered the most from the recent war with Atlanterra, they're the only ones with a measure of stability among the members of the alliance."

Finally understanding where I stand in the grand scheme of things, I thought up ways to alleviate the pressure being set on my family while getting the best possible outcome for my own self as well.

"Ojii-sama... I understand now. If I really need to be engaged and wed for all of our sakes, I have one condition that I want you to agree on."

"What is it, child?"

A month later, a carriage bearing a messenger to the Taiga Marquisdom arrived in the regional capital of East Serafina. The messenger, dressed in official Tenka-style garbs, met with the acting Marquis who was surprised to receive the news.

"T-This is..."

"The Hiiragi clan would be pleased if you would consider the offering of its 4th daughter, Princess Hiiragi Chiori, as your fiancee and prospective main wife."

Just as she planned, Chiori colluded with her grandfather to have her sent in East Serafina where a noble family that she heard are in the verge of gaining enormous influence and wealth has the best potential to help her family... and there is one more reason.

"Is that you... senpai?"

"...Heh. Hey there, Jonathan. Didn't expect me to appear here, did you?"

At the victory party of the feudal army which Jonathan attended as one of the victors, Chiori appeared and gave him a greeting. Knowing that there are eyes around them, they moved to the ballroom's veranda where they can have a measure of privacy but not too much to earn suspicion. Here, Chiori told him all about what happened and how she ended up being a potential fiancee of Kazuto.

"I see... I guess this is the best that you can make from that situation, huh?"

"Right... In the end, I can't escape it so I talked to my grandpa and he agreed on it given that after lord Kazuto gets crowned as the Margrave of west Serafina, he will finally unite the two provinces back into a single region and the combined houses will have all the power and resources that can equal the four duchies."

For a moment, Jonathan was silenced, causing Chiori to be a bit worried. Trying to lighten up the mood and gauge his mood, she joked while poking his cheek.

"What's with the long face, dummy? Are you jealous? Huh? Hmmm~?"

"I'm not jealous... I'm worried."

"H-Huh?"

"I'm worried for you, senpai... very, very much."

Jonathan's reply gained Chiori's worry after she saw that his eyes and expressions says that he's telling the truth.

"W-Why are you worried? Is something wrong? Did I do something—"

"I can't answer that for now, senpai... But if possible, especially now that the war in Silesia is over, I want you to hold off on officiating your engagement until the end of the year."

"But why? You're scaring me now, Jonathan. Just what are you hiding? Why are you telling me to do these things while not telling me anything?" slightly annoyed with the vagueness of his actions and words, Chiori pressed him for an answer, but Jonathan simply told him another vague answer before leaving without even saying a goodbye.

"...You're better off not knowing until the right time, senpai. But when that time comes, you will know it and I'm sure you will understand."

That conversation that night was the last time that they ever talked. Even after they both returned to the capital, Chiori never talked nor saw him again. Even their lunch breaks at the clubroom-library stopped altogether.

"That jerk... just what happened to him? I know he went off to war, but he's giggling and acting all right back then so he's supposed to be alright, isn't he?"

While Chiori was pouting all alone in the clubroom, a few knocks on the door took her attention and as she's about to open the door, a red envelope slipped under the door before she heard someone briskly walking away from there. Knowing that it's futile to open the door and see who it could be, she just took the envelope and saw its wax seal to be an unfamiliar one.

"A wreath of small flowers around a dog...? No, a wolf... A wolf!" after she recognized the seal, she had a hunch about who it could've come from. She opened the letter and there, saw the answer that she was waiting for all this time... and it certainly wasn't something to be happy about.

"Jonathan... you can't be thinking of—"

The letter was both an apology...

["I'm sorry, Chiori-senpai... For not telling you about it and now, you'll end up being mixed with all of the chaos that's about to unfold here in Serafina. Because the "potential" that you saw with House Regalia-Taiga will never come.]

... and a warning.

["I have my own plans for Serafina, and it being reunited by lord Kazuto's ascension to power is in my way. I will never let it happen."]