Tori Transmigrated

In the back of her mind, Tori couldn’t help but think about the showdown theme to a classic western. She sat in front of Ewan on their outrigger canoe. A few paces to their left was another canoe, with Gideon in front and Fabian in the back. She narrowed her eyes as they bobbed up and down.

Her fingers twitched around the shaft and grip of her paddle, as if ready to pull a trigger the moment Instructor Ignatius shouted for them to go.

Her heart was beating quickly in her chest as she turned her eyes ahead of her and positioned her paddle.

“Leave the steering to me, Tori! I can do it!” Ewan said behind her. Tori nodded her head, but kept her eyes forward.

“Paddlers! Ready!” Instructor Ignatius was waist deep in water not far from them. He held up a small red flag. “Go!”

Her paddle plunged into the water and their boat shot forward. All Tori could hear was the rush of wind. From the corner of her eye, she could make out Gideon and Fabian’s boat. They were keeping up well, perhaps only half a boat length behind. She couldn’t waste time watching them, but it seemed that this would be an endurance run.

She braced herself against the sides of the boat and continued to dig her paddle into the water. She hardly noticed the buoys that marked their path. Ahead of them, on a small fishing boat, a knight sat along with one of the villagers to make sure they went around the furthest buoy.

“Ewan, match my pace! We need to get ahead to get a tight turn!”

“Understood!”

She felt them uncoordinated a few times, but Ewan was quick to realign himself with her speed. They managed to get a good length away from the other boat and then proceeded to round the buoy with enough space cleared between them.

Once they rounded it, she and Ewan continued their steady pace. She didn’t want to use their last burst of energy until the very end. The finish line was ahead, and all eyes were on them. The blurs of their friends were on the shore, jumping up and down while yelling their names.

From the corner of her eye, she could see the tip of the second boat. Gideon and Fabian were close. They were paddling hard to catch up.

“Now?” Ewan asked.

“Hold steady!” she said. Her eyes narrowed. “On the count of three! One! Two! Three!” They passed the last set of buoys before the finish line and their pace quickened. Their bodies leaned forward, swaying in sync as their boat increased speed.

They were close and didn’t stop until they were well past the finish line and their time was called.

As soon as it was, the two dropped their paddles over their laps and collapsed forward or back, laughing as they tried to catch their breaths. Knights came forward to help pull their boats closer to shore. Tori’s heart was still pounding as her lungs burned.

She tilted her head and watched the other boat being pulled onto shore beside theirs. Gideon and Fabian were flushed red and panting. She let out a laugh.

“Good job this time,” she said before leaning back and letting out a pant. “It was close!”

“Next time,” Gideon said, also out of breath. “Next time, I’ll win.”

“Heh...well, you keep dreaming.” Tori laughed and raised her arms for JP and Constantine to pull her up and help her out of the boat. Ilyana rushed forward with a small towel for each of them.

“Congratulations!”

“Thanks! How’s our time?” Tori asked as she patted her face and neck with the small towel.

“My apologies, my lady, but Sir Madsen and I have a better time,” one of the knights on the shore said with a bit of a sheepish look.

Tori laughed as she passed him and patted his shoulder. “Hey, it’s not over yet. We may end up doing a final heat.” She went to sit down on one of the lounge chairs and closed her eyes, her chest still heaving for air. “I need to work on my endurance.”

“We were a good boat length ahead of them,” Ewan said as he sat down in the chair next to her. “It’s very clear that we won.”

“That’s all that matters,” Tori said. She lifted up her arm and one of the villagers who was an attendant rushed forward. “Please bring out some chilled fruit water for everyone.”

“Yes, my lady!”

“If we lost, does this mean we are out of the race?” Fabian asked. Tori wasn’t sure who he was asking, but she answered.

“Right now, we are doing the timed heats. The fastest half will go on to race again. Then the fastest half of that group will race again until it’s the two fastest pairs for the final heat,” Tori said as she stretched out her arms. “If a sizable number of pairs are slower than you, then you still have a chance.”

“Sit down and rest,” Gideon told him with a motion for him to sit on one of the nearby chairs. “We don’t know if we’ll need to race again, so we should rest while we can.”

Fabian nodded and took a seat. A villager brought them both drinks as they watched the next set of people get into the boats.

As everyone crowded around to watch the race, Tori finished her drink and stood up to go back to her tent. Like everyone else, she also left her comcry inside during the race. She slipped into her tent and shifted through her things to dig it out.

It was well into the middle of the afternoon. At this point, she hoped that whatever Piers needed to do while she was keeping Fabian distracted and away from his comcry had been completed. If she wasn’t concerned about causing a problem if she called at the wrong time, she would’ve slid her finger across and called Piers to check at once.

Instead, she weighed the comcry in her hand and tucked it into the top fold of her swimsuit. She looked down and frowned, noticing it jut out against the cloth. In her original world, it would’ve been tucked neatly and unobtrusively in her cleavage.

“I miss that boob pocket....” She sighed and turned around to leave when the faint glow against the fabric caught her eye. She snatched it out immediately and opened the top. She slid her finger across. “Axton?”

“Is Fabian still there?” he asked, a bit out of breath.

Tori knit her brows together and glanced towards the closed flap of her tent door. “Yes, they’re outside watching a boat race.”

“The first operation is done, but try to keep him away from his comcry a bit longer in case someone tries to contact him,” Axton told her.

“All right, but I can’t keep him away from it forever.”

“I know, but we’re worried someone might try to call him.”

She wanted to ask so badly who was trying to call Fabian. “I understand. I’ll try to keep him occupied. How about you all?”

“Everyone is fine,” Axton said. “No injuries.”

Tori narrowed her eyes and frowned. “I thought it was just paperwork.”

“Ninety percent paperwork,” Axton said. “Either Piers or I will call you when it’s clear. Thank you for your help!”

Before Tori could react, the call ended. She took a deep breath. “What the hell’s going on?” At the very least, her precautions were useful. She tucked the comcry back into her top, grabbed her straw hat, and walked outside.

She could hear the lively cheering as two boats were almost beside each other as they raced towards the finish line. Tori squinted as she stepped off the deck and onto the sand. It looked to be two pairs of knights.

“You look serious,” JP said as he stretched out to the side. He and Sonia were set to go against the Empress and one of her aides next. “Are you all right?”

“Yes, I’m tired from all the work this morning,” Tori told him. “The meeting was longer than usual since we reviewed feedback from last week’s event.”

JP nodded and didn’t seem to think anything of it. Tori returned to her seat, wishing she had sunglasses to cover part of her face, so she didn’t seem too bothered. She tugged her hat lower and laid out beneath an umbrella.

The boat race had its final heat two hours later and Tori and Ewan were no match for some of the knight pairs. The last race was against two sets of imperial knights.

“Perhaps I should’ve partnered with Sir Carmichael,” the Empress said, frowning. “He seemed to have improved after the first few times I made him paddle with me at the palace.”

“Sir Carmichael has been assigned here numerous times lately,” Tori said. She was familiar with the usual knights. She narrowed her eyes. “Have they been practicing during their off-duty hours?” From the corner of her eye, another knight who was on duty tensed. Tori slowly turned her head towards him. “Have you really?”

He swallowed. “Yes, my lady. The spare outrigger canoes are housed across the river, and it is common for off duty knights and staff to have races. We were told this was approved by the village and project leads.”

“Yes, I also approved it,” Tori said with a nod. She thought that having healthy recreational options would be good for everyone. “I just didn’t know it was very popular.”

The Empress let out a scoff and sat up. “You’ve been practicing without me! No wonder all the top times are by knights!”

Tori could almost see some sweat collecting at the knight’s temples. She smirked. “Yes, it almost feels as if they were cheating us today.”

“Of course not, my lady!”

The Empress frowned. “I’m going to have the rotation a bit more varied from now on.”

Tori held back a laugh as she watched the knight’s expression drop. At first, no one wanted to be assigned to the delta, but now it was a popular place to be assigned.

“Winner! Sir Madsen and Sir Vandenholt!” Instructor Ignatius shouted the names of the winners and clapping came from around the shore. Most people were now laying down on the lounges and hammocks, or seated on chairs.

“Do they win anything?” JP asked. The two knights were ecstatic as their peers either came to congratulate them or playfully jeer.

“Now that I think about it, we didn’t offer a prize this time,” Ilyana said, looking over at Tori.

“All that effort and they get nothing,” Sonia said with a hint of pity.

Tori chuckled. “Well, they have bragging rights. But I’m not going to let them walk away empty handed.” She pushed herself to her feet and walked over to the group of knights. All of them seemed to tower over her, but as soon as they saw her approaching, they calmed down and made room. “I’m going to give you a few choices....”

She ran through a list of the items she was able to provide them, and the two knights listened intently, exchanging looks every now and then and nodding or shaking their heads. In the end, they accepted five meal vouchers for Henrik’s restaurant and a set of menswear from the delta collection, which included the leather shoes and hat.

“Lady Guevera, can we use the meal voucher on another person?” Sir Madsen asked.

Tori nodded. “Of course. If you want to bring out four of your friends for a big meal, that’s fine. If you want to take a partner out on a nice date, that’s also acceptable.”

His face reddened at once and Tori figured he wanted to take someone out. As much as she wanted to find out more gossip, she turned her focus back to the crowd. It was time for dinner and rather than have everyone change, Tori provided all the men with short sleeve shirts and had the ladies wear light dresses over their swimsuits as they walked over a small creek and on to the promenade to have dinner.

It was quite noisy, and Tori couldn’t help but look at Fabian. He seemed focused on Gideon. She didn’t know how else to distract him after dinner. Eventually, Fabian would return to his tent and if anyone called at that time, Tori couldn’t stop them. Her stomach twisted as she began to grow anxious.

She tried her best not to appear distracted throughout dinner. Unfortunately, there were no fireworks tonight to buy more time. Her only consolation was that the Empress told Gideon to accompany her on a post-dinner walk, and Fabian, of course, followed behind them.

It was then that Axton called her a second time.

“Are you alone?” he asked.

Tori glanced towards the promenade. It was that time in the evening when everyone came out for their evening walks. “I’m at the restaurant. Give me a moment to get back to my tent and I’ll call.” She slid her finger across. “Ilyana, I need to make some calls. I’ll be in my tent.”

“Okay, we’re going to sit here for a while.”

Tori gave them a nod and ran off. She didn’t go to her tent by the beach, but instead went to her usual tent in the encampment, which had permanent silence charms along the walls. Two knights always remained at her door, and she gave them nods as she slipped inside and waved her hand to activate the light crystals.

“Call Axton du Nassaun,” she said as she sat at her desk.

“What is he doing now?” Axton asked.

“He’s escorting Prince Gideon, who is accompanying the Empress on her evening walk,” Tori said. “What’s going on?”

“Do you remember what I said about the sword style he was learning after your match with him?” Axton asked.

“Yes, you said it’s uncommon in Soleil-”

“But practiced in the Duraga Federation. Tori, we went to arrest Fabian’s sword master.”

If she hadn’t placed the comcry on her desk, she would’ve dropped it.

“What?” Tori knew Fabian's master was terrible, but they wouldn’t have arrested him for simply being a terrible person. “Hold on, is it all right for me to know the details of this?”

“Considering that Piers went ahead and got you involved, you should know what’s happening, but I can’t tell you all the details.” Axton said. “Senior Kasen was angry that Piers got you involved. I’m sure if Piers wasn’t a prince, Senior would’ve beaten him to the ground.”

Tori took a deep breath and made a mental note to contact her brother when she could. “I agreed to help.” Though at the time, she wasn’t exactly sure what she was doing. “Why was von Dorn’s sword master arrested?”

“He was using a fake identity. He was going by the name Dustin Pete; an Eastern Army soldier who went missing years ago.”

Tori narrowed her eyes. “And you’re sure he’s not the same man?”

“We’re sure,” Axton said. “There were physical differences; scars from earlier battles, that the impostor lacked.”

Tori’s stomach twisted. She had a good idea of what was happening. “So, someone was posing as a former soldier and trying to get close to the second prince’s knight?”

“That seems to be the case, but we couldn’t trace who hired him. Or rather, we know it’s Adrien Rosiek who put him in touch with Fabian, but we have no proof of how they met; if Rosiek put up a notice and Pete responded for the position or if they knew each other previously,” Axton said, sounding annoyed. “We are watching the Golden Cow and Rosiek closely.”

“What about the fake Master Pete?” Tori asked. “Is there any more information he can give?”

Axton didn’t answer immediately. “No,” he said, after a lengthy pause. “He’s dead.”

“You killed him?” Her eyes widened. It wasn’t that she thought such a thing wouldn’t happen in Soleil, but she didn’t think it was necessary considering the circumstances.

“He was wounded in the scuffle to arrest him and then stabbed himself in the chest. That’s how we were able to search his body for any distinguishing marks.” Axton’s voice sounded heavy. “Senior Kasen is now looking into possible others like him, who have sneaked into Soleil and are going by the names of our missing soldiers.”

Tori swallowed hard. “How would they get in?” When she was in King’s Harbor, there was a sort of customs and border check for people arriving from foreign ships. Their identities had to be checked, as well as a letter of intent and other documentation. Andy had told her that all foreign ships are checked before they are allowed to dock. As a citizen of Soleil, she never had to deal with any checks as she was traveling on a Soleil vessel.

“We can’t monitor every length of our border,” Axton said. “They could sneak in through the mountains and forests, bypass the main roads, sneak into Soleil vessels abroad and then come in through there. When they arrive, if they do not stand out, there is no reason for them to be suspected. Our original intent was to question him; he’d been in Soleil for five years simply wandering and taking odd jobs. Nothing threatening. However, he was belligerent and kept denying he was from the Duraga Federation. It escalated.”

“What will happen if you find more like him?” Tori asked.

“I can’t answer that, Tori. It’s beyond my level.”

“I understand,” she said. “What will happen to Fabian?”

Axton let out a heavy breath. “That is where we have a problem. If it comes out that his master was a Duraga Federation agent planted in Soleil, there is no chance of him entering La Garda. They simply won’t trust him. Fabian has been compromised.”

“Does Fabian know his master was from the Duraga Federation?”

“No,” Axton said. “I don’t believe he did. He also knows what this would mean for him, and he never would’ve accepted him as his master if he knew. However, it doesn’t matter if Fabian knew or not. A prospective student who was trained by a foreign agent is a risk. La Garda will not accept him.”

Tori didn’t like Fabian. There were many things she’d be happy to see blow up in Fabian’s face, but this wasn’t one of them. This went beyond whatever personal squabbles they had. “If he didn’t know, isn’t he a victim?”

“I didn’t think you’d think of him as such considering your rather volatile relationship with him.”

“This doesn’t have anything to do with how much I dislike him,” Tori said in a pitying voice. “He’s worked his entire life to enter La Garda and to be the second prince’s knight. This happened without him knowing. Can he still be a personal knight to Prince Gideon if he isn’t accepted?”

“He can,” Axton said. “But it’s a bit humiliating, don’t you think? And how will it look to everyone else? Especially for the other knights to know that someone without the basic requirement is assigned as the second prince’s personal knight?”

Tori pursed her lips. “Then, are you going to keep this quiet and not tell him?” She wasn’t sure how she felt about that.

“Piers is discussing this with the Emperor right now. This is why we didn’t want Fabian in Horizon or near his comcry. We were afraid that someone would contact him about his master before we could finish. We have confiscated the man’s comcry, so even if Fabian tries to contact him later, he will be unable to reach anyone.”

Tori nodded solemnly. “I won’t say anything. I’ll leave this up to Piers and the Emperor, but I hope it is dealt with quickly.”

Axton let out a heavy breath. “Whether it is or not, it’s out of our hands.”

She finished the call. Tori knew she could only resign herself to being helpless. This was not something she had any say in. She still didn’t like Fabian. She’d happily fight him again if he angered her enough, but this situation wasn’t fair to him. He unknowingly sought instruction from a possible enemy.

No one knew what was said between them. She didn’t know how much Fabian knew about his master or if he was sympathetic towards the Duraga Federation. No one except Fabian knew the extent of his relationship with his master and as a result, even if he wasn’t compromised, he couldn’t prove it.

Once word got out that his master was from the Duraga Federation and killed himself to avoid capture by Soleil, it would undoubtedly reflect badly on Fabian. As of right now, very few people knew. It could be kept a secret.

But was that fair to Fabian?

Tori walked pack towards the plaza and took a deep breath to try to collect herself. She tried to shake the responsibility out of her head. The Emperor has to deal with this. Not you. You are just a distraction.

She swallowed the lump in her throat and put on a carefree expression as she stepped into the promenade.

As she reached the plaza, she caught sight of the Empress by the fountain, staring at her son who was a few paces from her.

“What?” The Empress narrowed her eyes and Gideon seemed to stand up straight. “Are you joking with me?” She had a look of incredulous disbelief on her face and Tori couldn’t help but walk a bit closer to find out what was going on.

She could see Fabian just behind Gideon, also with a surprised look on his face. Whatever Gideon said it shocked both his mother and his knight. Tori wondered if it had to do with Alessa.

“I’m not,” Gideon said. His hands clenched into fists at his sides, and he dared to keep his posture when standing in front of his mother. “I’ve thought about it for some time, since we came here for Piers’ birthday.”

The Empress narrowed her eyes. “A few weeks is hardly ‘some time’, Gideon.”

“Mother, Piers said that if I disobeyed you, you would send me there anyway,” Gideon said. “However, I want to go.”

Tori narrowed her eyes. Was the imperial couple planning on banishing Gideon somewhere? And where did he want to go?

The Empress took a deep breath. She stood up straight and closed her eyes for a moment, as if collecting her thoughts. “This matter should also be discussed with your father.”

“I understand,”

“These are not arrangements that can be made lightly,” the Empress said. “Anlar’s naval training is not for the faint of heart.”

Tori jerked her head up. Naval training? In Anlar?

“I know, Mother,” Gideon said. “I asked Captain O’Tuagh and her wife, as well as some of the sailors accompanying them.”

The Empress kept her eyes on her youngest son. Her shoulders seem to relax just a bit. “Are you really interested in the Naval Academy?”

Gideon nodded. “I know there are summer programs for those who have reached the age of majority. I can continue to go to Lycée when fall comes.”

“The Naval Academy’s summer program is a serious, several month-long training camp for future sailors,” the Empress told him. “While you will not be required to join the navy after it is completed, there is that expectation. Are you willing to join the navy?”

Gideon seemed to hesitate. Tori watched, wanting to know as well.

“I am still unsure,” he said, honestly. “But I want to try.”

“Once you join the program, you cannot leave easily,” the Empress said. “Unless you do exceptionally poorly and are forcibly discharged, you will be expected to continue with it. Escape is treated as an offense and there will be consequences.”

Gideon nodded once more. “I understand, Mother. I am willing to go through the several month-long academy training.”

“You will not receive leave to come back during training. This means you will miss my banquet,” the Empress said, frowning.

“I will see you once I return, Mother. It is only for a few months, and I will still have time before Lycée resumes to spend time at home.” Gideon was insistent. It appeared as if he had considered it as seriously as he said.

The Empress knit her brows together. She took a deep breath and studied her son before turning her head away. “When we return to the palace, we will discuss this with your father first. If he agrees, we will contact Marquess O’Tuagh for assistance.”

A wide smile appeared on Gideon’s lips. “Thank you, Mother!”

“Your father hasn’t agreed yet,” she told him, her voice firm. She turned around and saw Tori approaching them. Her eyes lit up. “Lady Tori! Are you also going for a walk?”

“Just a bit of fresh air and stretching after a long day,” Tori said. “I was reviewing work for the delta most of the day.”

She gave the Empress a smile that was warmly returned. The Empress beckoned her closer to talk and accompany her, and Tori took her arm to do so. However, as the Empress rambled on about Tori’s mother in their youth, Tori couldn’t help but pay more attention to Gideon and Fabian behind them.

“When did you come to this decision?” Fabian sounded almost hurt. “You didn’t tell me you wanted to join the Naval Academy.”

“I didn’t know I wanted to until recently,” Gideon said, a bit embarrassed. “I know it’s a surprise, but I want to do something other than sit around in the palace over the summer.”

“But you weren’t sitting around,” Fabian said. “You’ve been working on the hospital.”

“The hospital’s foundational work is almost complete. It needs to be built and all of that is already in motion. I can start looking for staff in the fall,” Gideon told him. “Fabian, I want to improve myself.”

He didn’t know how else to explain it to his loyal knight. Last summer, when Gideon was returning home from Anlar, his mother told him that his brother was starting to take steps towards becoming crown prince. It was as if for the first time in years, a weight was lifted off of Gideon’s shoulders.

Since then, he’d been monitoring his brother’s work. As expected, Piers was outstanding. He’d even made large gains in their social circles. Gideon had no doubt that Piers would become crown prince, and thus, Gideon let himself focus on other matters.

For some time, he’d put most of his effort on his Lycée Project, even going as far as to lessen his time with his friends. After he was forcibly brought to the delta the first time and saw the progress Lady Guevera had made in such little time, he couldn't help but be ashamed of his own progress.

There were very few people who had the resources Lady Guevera did. Normal students wouldn’t dare compare, or had the ability to. However, Gideon was the second prince of Soleil. If anyone in Lycée had more resources than Lady Guevera, it was him. So, he began to focus his energy on the hospital.

He wasn’t close to the progress Dimitri seemed to be making, but he was making better progress than he was a year ago. The land had been purchased, the plans for the hospital were made, and construction was going to start soon. He’d learned from Lady Guevera and sought assistance from the guild as soon as he could.

Like he’d been told, there were plenty of guild members who didn’t go to the delta as they wanted to work closer to home. He took advantage of that and there were plenty of builders available. It wasn’t cheap, of course, but it was getting the job done right.

He’d also planned out the phases of his project similar to what he’d overheard being done with the delta, by prioritizing parts of his projects and setting target dates. He’d been able to show his brother, who approved. Piers had even complimented him.

Now that his project was progressing smoothly, Gideon could relax a bit. He thought of spending more time with Alessa, but she was busy with her project. She was still struggling, but one of her friends, the merchant who owned the Golden Cow, was able to help through his extensive personal contacts.

Gideon was a bit envious. Though he was a prince and had much more influence, his own personal contacts were limited. It occurred to him that he wasn’t doing much else. His brother was busy helping their father and had his own businesses around the city. Axton was not only his brother’s personal knight, but also made time to train several times a year at the border and ran the best inns in Soleil.

Even Fabian was working towards improving his swordsmanship and was busy outside of school. Gideon often found himself sitting around, studying. A restlessness had filled him, and it wasn’t until he was whale watching and had an opportunity to talk to Captain O’Tuagh that he considered the Naval Academy.

There, he could learn more skills, including sailing and navigating. He could learn to fight, study sea battles, and make new connections he couldn’t make in Horizon, where everyone already knew him as the second prince and treated him as such.

The more Gideon thought about it, the more appealing the Naval Academy was. He could spend three months away and improve himself. He could better assist his brother in the future if he was more capable.

He had some worries. The sailors told him numerous stories about the life-draining ‘Blue Crescent’: the month-long intensive training camp for new naval recruits. Those who joined without knowing what to expect or had no prior training suffered much more than those who had gone to the Naval Academy before officially enlisting. Gideon was willing to try.

“I’m not saying that I’m going to enlist,” Gideon said as he paced his tent. Fabian sat on the bench in the outer room and watched him with a concerned expression. “But I feel that the Naval Academy is a good opportunity for me to gain more experience and knowledge.”

“Lycée du Soleil is the best school in the empire,” Fabian said. “What more knowledge do you need?”

“Then experience,” Gideon said, turning around to face him. “I want to learn to sail. I want to work with new people who don’t know me as the second prince. I want to experience things I can’t in Horizon.”

Fabian took a deep breath and looked at him. “This is very sudden.”

Gideon lifted his shoulders helplessly. “I don’t know when I’ll have another chance to do this. Right now, the timing works well. My project is on tract and requires little direct oversight by me while construction is happening. You will be busy; first there is the La Garda exam and afterwards, you will continue drills and training with the knight cadets. All I would do is sit at the palace and do minor tasks assigned to me, such as attending gatherings. It will be more difficult to have such an opportunity later, when I have more responsibilities.”

Fabian seemed to furrow his brows. “Miss Hart has invited us to visit her hometown. A few others are going with her. Do you not wish to go?”

Gideon flinched. He hadn’t been able to spend as much time as before with Alessa, but he knew that her home life was a bit in turmoil. “Her father is considering remarrying a widow. Alessa doesn’t approve. Now is not the time to pay a visit and get caught up in family matters. It is not our place.”

It was extremely awkward last summer. The father and daughter had argued. Baron Hart had been frustrated and Alessa was in tears. He and Dimitri didn’t know what to do. Gideon couldn’t very well order the father and daughter to get along.

From his seat, Fabian looked down. He also knew the situation happening in Alessa’s hometown. “It would embarrass Baron Hart if we were present, wouldn’t it?”

“I tried to look into the widow Baron Hart wishes to marry,” Gideon said as he sat down on a wooden chair. He lowered his eyes and shook his head. “There is nothing wrong with her. Her family had bad luck with her brother’s poor decision to raise prices on their bricks, but she herself hasn’t done anything wrong. She seems to be working diligently for the sake of her family.”

Fabian lifted his head to look at him. “How did she meet the Baron?”

“From what I found out, it was in town, at a market event the Baron was sponsoring in hopes of promoting local businesses. The Baron approaching the widow first is quite well known in the village,” Gideon said.

“Miss Hart is worried that the widow is trying to take advantage of her father.”

Gideon took a deep breath and crossed his arms over his chest. “I also thought about that. Baron Hart is a landed noble, but aside from his title and the small amount of land, he doesn’t have any real wealth to be taken advantage of.”

Fabian looked down. “I don’t know much about the situation.”

Gideon shook his head. “This is not a matter we have a right to interfere in,” he said. “However, regardless of whether or not Father agrees to let me join the Naval Academy this summer, I will not be joining Alessa in Chetterswickshire.”