"So we'll hold the fort until then," Welf summarised to Konrad's men.
Vague instructions, but all they had.
The camp was in an upheaval, the faces a gallery of emotions. Some looked eager to fight, but most stared at the ground. Eyna's hands were shaking. One lieutenant spoke up.
"So where you gon' lead us?" he asked with a challenging frown.
The blacksmith shook his head to point at Stella.
"Nowhere. Liliske said she will—"
And all hell broke loose.
People scoffed, muttered, and it wasn't hard to imagine what they talked about.
Stella was pale, trembling, and completely out of her element; an executioner of the Church.
How many of these men lost a loved one to her hands? And never in a battle.
They respected strength, but she did a ruthless coward's work.
Then, to make it worse, she almost brought some of them back to a cursed life.
If they didn't know what she was yet, clutching the Demon Lord's staff must have spoken louder than words. She was a suspicious, tall woman with her skull-carved artifact.
How was she still alive?
"What did the Young Master say about this?" a towering knight asked, even taller than Welf.
"Huh? Nothing," the redhead said. "He was busy, you know, disappearing."
"No fucking way I'd take orders from a Church's bitch," the first tribesman spat. Many followed, and Stella couldn't even blame them. But Eyna silenced the crowd without opening her mouth.
"Lady Liliana is the Master's first wife," she reminded them. "You know how powerful she is. If she wanted Lady Stella to lead us, then she will—or you'll face her wrath."
Not that the tiny ginger looked threatening at a glance. Her brother? Sure.
But give her a day, and it'd be obvious why the tribesmen shut up right away.
The purple-eyed beauty didn't stop there, either.
She took a step towards her and squeezed Stella's hand.
"Thank you, from the bottom of my heart, for aiding my Master when I couldn't."
The crowd's muttering changed its tone, the voices much less hostile now. Someone even gasped, and she heard the word dragon uttered more than once.
Despite the earlier carnage, some thought Konrad fought against beasts, not with them.
In truth, those dragons were Lady Lilith herself.
Both of them at once. She was Maple, and Maple was her, and it was way too confusing to try explaining it to these men. Not that she said a single word so far.
She didn't dare open her mouth since the council assembled.
But she did wonder how many knew the truth?
It seemed like Welf had no idea, either.
Not that she could convince this crowd.
"In case you didn't know, Stella Nord is a noble by birth," an older man said as he entered the tent. That towering knight immediately bowed, and the others opened a path for him.
Stella felt like she had seen him before, but couldn't place him.
Short, graying hair. An armour that was functional rather than decorative.
He looked like a man who fought on the frontlines rather than sending his soldiers to die.
Still, there was some gentleness in his rough face, and he didn't stop until he reached her.
"You were too young to remember, but I know you," he said, surprising her with a pat on her head. "Your father was a good friend and a true comrade. We fought alongside at Altef Fort."
"If Count Rolalt trusts her, then so do I," that champion announced, flanking the old man.
"And I'm too much of a coward to piss off my sister," Welf added. "So I'll follow her lead, too."
It could have been heartwarming if not for the heavy burden.
After all this, the first thing Stella ended up blurting out was—
"I've no idea what to do."
And that didn't help her image.
But before the cacophony could overwhelm her—and not even in her head this time—the Count squeezed her arm. He drew a circle on the ground with his scabbard and pointed at it.
"It's simple. We'll defend our home from invaders—or the king, if we have to."
That elicited some cheering, but it only convinced a few.
"Did he actually try to surrender?" The question came from another round of muttering.
"I can't believe the king of Kasserlane would do that," a knight protested.
"He's young and inexperienced," a tribesman noted. "He has a good heart, but he's weak."
"Is it true, though?" the first to ask repeated. "Did he bend his knee to the Demon Lord?"
"Oh, he did," Welf answered that, his arm now around Stella's shoulder. "Maou Midori's men must have kidnapped and tortured him, but Konrad was there to stop that madness."
"And Lady Stella fought by Master's side," Eyna added, stepping closer, too.
Her voice was tight, though, as if she were worrying about the mention of torture next to the executioner. Stella didn't expect this kind of support either way.
It made her happy for some reason, but no less nervous.
She opened and closed her mouth, but no sound came out.
The old lord must have noticed it, because he lapped her back again.
"You won't carry the burden alone, child," Count Rolalt said. "From what I heard, you're one hell of a sorcerer. So, say the word, and if we know what you want to do, we figure out the details."
Right. Even if Konrad was a prodigy with many talents, he wasn't working alone, either.
He was good with the sword, amazing with his spells, and organising, too. But he still had his strategists, his trusted men, and much of his harem to aid him.
Right now, it was only Eyna and her, but with all these men around—
Who were they, anyway?
She knew about the Rogue Rejects, but those numbered fewer than a hundred. Inside the tent were dozens already, but entire companies waited outside.
Not enough to stop tens of thousands of nomads, but more arrived even as they spoke.
Through the open flaps, she noticed another group of knights approaching.
They didn't look as fancy as the royal guard, but it was obvious they meant business.
Their lead dismounted, and her helmet came off, revealing her brunette hair. When she threw it on the ground, the clanking immediately drew all attention to her.
But when she fell to her knees in front of Welf, that's when everyone gasped in surprise.
"Please tell Lord Halstadt that I'm ashamed of my brother's actions," she yelled into the quiet tent. "And I, Helena von Kasserlane, will serve him with all my knights as an apology."
The silence that followed was heavy and suffocating.
The king's sister didn't raise her head, and the blacksmith seemed to be struggling with the words. He was also blushing, and all the stares bouncing between them didn't seem to help.
"Uh, yeah, I will tell him," he mumbled, looking at Stella for help.
At her, of all people.
"But the thing is," he paused to shove her forward. "He disappeared, and she's boss now."
Helena finally raised her head, eyes widening.
"Disappeared?!" she repeated. "Do people know this?"
Welf pondered for a moment before waving around.
"Everyone in this tent does now. Stella told us a few moments ago."
The king's sister was on her feet again, her voice serious.
"Then it must never leave this tent—or my idiot brother will kill us all."