Act 155: Rebirth II

"Who is that little girl?"

A question suddenly rose from the crowd, making everyone freeze for a moment. The noisy discussion came to a halt, and every eye turned toward Babain. "She seems to be that bumpkin count's maid," Babain replied distractedly. His mind was full of thoughts about how to ask Count Tonigell for her. Would he agree? He probably would. His Excellency the Count surely would not mind gaining another friend, especially one whose friendship came from within the Empire. He was brimming with confidence.

The nobles were somewhat disappointed by the answer. She was merely a country count's maid, utterly insignificant. Under normal circumstances, they might have made a few jokes about her, but they were in no mood for that now. The topic soon returned to the possible attacks and reprisals from the Cecil Family. They began sighing again, but people were never willing to sit around and await death. Soon, someone said, "This wasn't our responsibility in the first place. If that bumpkin count hadn't brought us to this damned place, none of this would have happened."

The suggestion immediately won support. They had completely forgotten that they could simply have refused to come. Veronica could not restrain their officer corps, and Brando had been more than eager not to bring this bunch of burdens along. But the person who had made the suggestion earlier was now lying on the ground as a cold corpse, and they did not dare shift the blame onto the heir of the Cecil Family. Thus, they simply chose to ignore that point.

Everyone understood, however, that such complaints were meaningless. The Cecil Family might take out its anger on Count Tonigell, but that did not mean it would spare them. A colossus like that would never care about the