After Electra's death, Orestes orders all the servants to depart the estate without explanation or opportunity to protest. His face is blank as he does so, retreating back to his office without further word.
There are grumbles of concern among the staff, both for the Count's state of mind and their own livelihoods. As for myself and Catherine, we are left with confusion.
I, of course, suspect a trap. The circumstances feel far too convenient for our goals.
Catherine agrees, but she will not be deterred. Her need to confront Orestes overrides all other concerns.The time for subtlety is over. Only the end remains.
I can only hope this isn't some misguided suicide attempt on her part. I will ensure My Lady lives through this, even if I die, even if she hates me. I care about her life far more than I care about the bastard's death.
After the other servants clear out of the estate, we make our way to the Count's office.
Count d'Alsace's office is a stark contrast to his deceased uncle's. The furniture favors more creature comforts than practicality. The signs of work are limited, scattered and disorganized. The adornments are few, but striking: framed photographs of different people in different states of play. I see dozens of pictures of Electra, of Atreus, and a scattered few of a young girl I do not recognize.
I even see, to my great disgust, a picture of Catherine.
None of these photos had been present in my previous visits as a servant. He must have taken them out today, in the process of his mourning.
The man in question is lounging in his chair, idly swirling a glass of wine in his hand.
His gaze rises to meet us as we enter.
"Catherine," he greets with an utter lack of surprise, placing his wineglass on the desk, uncaring of the stain it leaves. "Or are you the Protean? I can admit I am unable to tell with the disguises."
"So you did know," My Lady says dryly. "I never expected to remain undiscovered."
"I suspected from the start, but I would say it was the gaoler's death that confirmed it for me. That the both of you were here was obvious."
"And yet you have done nothing. The height of arrogance." My Lady snaps her fingers. The rune we had hidden in his chair lit in a silver chain.
Orestes raises a brow, looking entirely unconcerned. "The holding rune? From the Alsace stores, I presume. How apropos, Catherine."
"That is Marchioness d'Talmont to you, Count d'Alsace."
"Please. I much prefer Orestes," He smirks.
In a flash, My Lady summons her silver sword and sets it at his throat. "What pleases you is of no concern, Count." She drags the tip across his neck. It draws no blood. "You made two mistakes that day. First was your treachery. Unforgivable and pointless. But second was leaving me alive. You did not consider me a Talmont. You dismissed me because I lacked a Concept. But your arrogance has led to the downfall of your entire family. You will die today because of your mistakes. I will see to it."
"Hm… I do believe you are incorrect, Catherine. You won't kill me."
Catherine stabs her sword straight into Orestes' eye. The blade shatters on contact. The man does not even blink.
"Case in point," he says.
My Lady grits her teeth. She exhales. "Marcus, fetch Electra's corpse. We will use the sister to puncture the brother."
Catherine had hoped her sword and the rune would have been sufficient, but we had brought Electra's still hardened arm and a number of poisons as a backup plan.
This draws a frown from the man. "I would ask that you leave my sister be. Save yourself the trouble at the very least, and allow my poison to do its job. I will be dead within the hour regardless."
My Lady pauses. "Poison?"
"I will not die at House Talmont's hand. Even if you slay me, it accomplishes nothing. I am dying by my own will, and no one else's."
Catherine grits her teeth. "Out of a grief I have driven you to!"
Orestes chuckles. "I'm afraid I must deny you even that satisfaction, my would-be wife. Allow me to explain."
He exhales a long breath. "I was not always the heir to House Alsace. No, that honor went to my older sibling. Iphigenia was wonderful, my adoring older sister. She was my first and only friend, my protector, my teacher. She was a marvel of wit and charisma, of magic and might. She was perfect but for a single flaw: she lacked Concept."
Catherine stills.
"She hid it, of course. Other magics might mimic Nemean for a time, and Iphigenia was quite adept at magic. But eventually the truth came out. It did not matter how skilled she was at everything else, as far as my mother was concerned, Nemean was the only thing that mattered. And so, my beloved older sister was unceremoniously killed, and I became the heir." He laughs sadly. "I lost my protector and the brunt of my mother's attention fell on me. Her training, her torture… I was the victim of it all now. It was all I could do to protect Atreus and Electra from it, to be the perfect heir so that my little siblings wouldn't suffer the same in turn, just as Iphigenia had protected me for so long. All the while, I swore to destroy this accursed House and everything my mother stood for. It was all that mattered."
He spits. "But then you bastard Talmonts failed! You were supposed to keep Atreus safe and happy, away from this miserable House! Instead that worthless shit led him to his doom, left him to die! I was naive. I had thought that it was just Alsace that deserved death, but that incident was proof. It was not just my House that was rotten, but every House, every scrap of nobility, every worthless fop born with a Concept. If I could tear it all down, I would do so gladly!"
I can see the madness in his eyes. His lips are practically frothing with spittle.
He forces himself calm, taking a deep breath. "But I know my limits. This world is much stronger than me. There is only so much I can do. The utter destruction of Alsace and Talmont is enough. Causing as much damage to the other Houses as I could manage is enough." He looks My Lady in the eye, smiling. "I must thank you profusely for your aid."
"No." Catherine says quietly.
"Hm?"
"I said, 'no,' you psychotic bastard!" she yells. "You do not get to claim that my actions were part of your plan. You do not get to claim House Talmont's righteous vengeance as your own! I made my decisions of my own will! These pointless mind games, this twisting of history… it means nothing! I am the one that destroyed House Alsace! You did not manipulate me into it! You did not simply permit it to happen! You do not get to invalidate everything I have done! Cease your worthless prattling!"
"I am dying, Catherine. I have no reason to lie," he says calmly. "I will admit I dreamed of this… gloating to someone who might understand my loathing, finally speaking my mind as I died in triumph… but this is indeed the end I had hoped for, the one I have fought so hard for. It is the finale of my misery and hate."
"Electra." I interrupt, speaking for the first time. "Your sister. Do you mean to say you wanted her to die? That you cared nothing for her death."
Orestes freezes, a look of sorrow painting his expression. "I… I had hoped she might leave. I had hoped she might have fled, even though I knew she never would. I never wished her ill, but… she was a carrier of Nemean, a potential heir to the legacy of House Alsace. And… in the end, it seems I hated House Alsace more than I loved my little sister." He laughs, lightly, madly, sadly. "I can only imagine Iphigenia would hate me just the same. She was always stronger than me."
The man looks pathetic. But it seems that is all he has ever been: a mess of rage and undirected vengeance under a thin facade.
It is all too easy to imagine Catherine falling for the same trap. Have I been enabling her own insanity, or have I been keeping her from falling off the edge?
Orestes collects himself and sighs. "I do not hate you, Catherine. You who were born without the curse of a Concept… I have no anger towards you. I do not hold you to the sins of your damned family. If anything, I can only offer you my deepest sorrow, for using you as the tool of my vengeance. The wealth of Talmont and Alsace will be yours, to do with as you wish. I have arranged it. I wish you well in your life. "
He grins. "But I will die with a smile on my face. With my death, the line of Nemean will be extinguished. Narcissus and Nemean. Talmont and Alsace. Two Great Houses stretching back to the foundation of the League, dead by my hands. I can only imagine how proud I have made my mother." He laughs, soft and mad.
My Lady stands in silence, in seething rage. I can barely imagine the turmoil she is going through. The cruel revelations, the pointlessness of it all… Catherine d'Talmont has spent the last two years of her life living for this moment, and it is all crumbling down in such a miserable way.
It is a nightmare of an ending to the story she was weaving. And that story was the only thing that had kept her going after the tragedy Orestes inflicted upon her.
I prepare myself. For what, I do not know. But if I need to restrain Catherine to prevent her from doing something drastic, I will do so in an instant.
The alternative isn't worth contemplating.
But My Lady stills. Then she smiles. It is like something has broken. Or like a momentous weight has lifted off her shoulders.
I am caught off guard by the change. Orestes seems to be just as confused.
"I'm afraid you are mistaken, Count d'Alsace," she says simply.
"Hm? I can't imagine what you are referring to. I have won my battle, Catherine, not against you but against the world."
"You claim your line will end here with your death. But that will not be the case. Marcus, copy his form."
"My lady?" I don't understand what she is aiming at.
But Orestes seems quicker on the uptake, his face dawning in horror. "No! You can't!"
"Count Orestes d'Alsace will not die here. He will seclude himself in mourning for a time, but eventually emerge to take back control of his estate and return it to proper standing. The misunderstanding with House Talmont will be resolved, and his marriage with Catherine d'Talmont will go through as originally planned. Of course, as Catherine is a reigning Marchioness now, the terms will be renegotiated, but I can't imagine that will be a problem." She smiles at me. "What say you, Marcus? I am thinking four children. An heir and a spare for each house. Perhaps five to be safe. Is that amenable to you?"
I choke.
"See reason, Catherine!" Orestes begs. "Are you giving up your own vengeance? Refusing to kill House Alsace… how can you reconcile that with your pride? With your duty to avenge Talmont's dignity?! You are throwing it all away… for what? Just to spite me?!"
"Perhaps I am throwing away House Talmont's pride. Perhaps I am failing in my duty to my House. Perhaps I am being horribly selfish. But… at this moment, even more than I wish for vengeance against House Alsace… I wish for vengeance against you, Orestes."
"It doesn't matter!" Orestes yells. "I still won! Even if you pretend otherwise, even if you hide the truth, I still ended both Houses. I still eradicated Nemean and Narcissus. I will happily laugh at the mockeries you plan to make. It will bring joy to my dying heart." Despite his words, there is only abject fury in his expression.
"Orestes, even without Narcissus, I am a Talmont. My children will be Talmonts no matter what they are born with. Or Alsaces, as appropriate. Whether they have Nemean or Narcissus or Protean or even nothing at all… they will be the inheritors of our two lines. And we will claim whatever we wish about their magic to anyone who cares."
"You…" but whatever Orestes is planning to say remains unspoken as his body gives out. His expression is frozen in a rictus of rage.
I stand in stunned silence. Catherine lets out a deep breath. She looks utterly exhausted.
She looks at me with tired eyes. "Well, aren't you going to copy him?"
"You were serious? I thought you were just saying that to make him angry."
"Well, I can hardly marry you if you are only a commoner, after all. So let's take advantage of the opportunity."
Once again, I choke.
Catherine smiles. It's a beautiful thing. She grabs my arm and holds it close, leaning her head against my shoulder. "Do you think a month is too short for the mourning period? A week? I want to schedule our wedding as soon as possible."
I take a deep breath. "I'll need to copy Orestes before we can do that, Catherine. I, uh, I need my arm for that."
Catherine only snuggles into me closer.
