I Only Love My Greatest Enemy

Three months had passed since Armand departed from the Hapsburg castle. He stood in a room with Lucia and Charles. The latter had his back turned to them.

"Charles, please! We can be friends again!" Lucia begged.

"No! I won't forgive Armand!" Charles hugged.

"He's from the future! He knows what's going to happen! He'll be the best Count Concord ever!"

"I don't care if he's from the future! Mom and Dad said me or you would get to be the count! They broke their promise!"

"Charles, I'd be willing to give up on being count," I said.

"It's too late! I won't forgive you!" he declared.

"I need to get him to forgive me. Having your title stolen isn't the sort of thing he'll get over with age. Charles' resentment will build up until he leads an army against me. I...I can't fight my own brother," Armand thought before speaking. "Charles, I will do everything in my power to get you whatever you want. You want to be a duke? I'll get you that title. You want money, fame, power? I'll get you it."

Charles turned to Armand. His eyes contained skepticism.

"I want to marry the oldest princess," he said.

Armand hesitated.

"If you want to marry the oldest princess, I will do everything in my power to get you married to her. But I beg of you to ask for something else," Armand said.

"Why? Will your pwecious widdle Hapsbuwg get mad?" Charles mocked.

"For the first time since I turned back time, Eris isn't the person I'm worried about," Armand thought before speaking. "The crown prince and oldest princess are...not the sort of people you want to be around. You won't live long if you marry the oldest princess."

Rage pulsed through Charles.

"You just don't want me to marry the princess!" he shouted.

"I will do everything I can to marry you to her if that's really what you want. I just beg of you to reconsider," Armand said before thinking. "I'll have to get some evidence together. Eris should be able to help with that, but I'll have to promise her that I'll destroy it after. Getting the crown prince and oldest princess' favor is part of how she got power."

Charles huffed again.

He stated, "I won't forgive you until I'm married to the princess."

"I understand," Armand replied.

Lucia looked between them. Worry was clear on her face.

"Charles, please, the prince is gonna hurt you if you marry the princess. They're enemies," she said.

"They're not enemies. They just pretend to be," Armand stated.

Charles and Lucia's eyes locked on him.

"But everyone knows they're enemies," the former objected.

"Is this something from the future?" Lucia asked.

"Yes," Armand shivered in disgust. "Don't tell anyone this. If you do, your life will be in danger. I can only think of three people who knew this secret in the future, but the crown prince and oldest princess are actually..."

Before Armand could continue, his parents barged into the room with his other sisters.

"Get in your finest clothes, now!" Count Concord ordered.

The children rushed to obey his command. After a few moments, they looked like they were attending a royal ball.

"To the great hall," the count commanded.

They rushed there as fast as they could. Then, the family stood in an orderly line. Servants checked their clothes to make sure everything was in place. A knight walked over to Count Concord.

"Your Excellency, the Primate is here," he said.

Count and Countess Concord walked to the door. A servant opened it, the two nobles taking deep bows.

"Ah, Your Excellency, come on in. Even if we weren't aware of your arrival, we're always ready to accept guests," Count Concord stated.

A man in his 50s stepped into the room. He wore robes of purple and white with a long, pointy hat adorning his head. His body looked like it couldn't even lift a dagger. Yet, the stern look on the Primate's face conveyed an incredible sense of intimidation.

There was a leash in the primate's hand. It led to a collar that was around the neck of a tiger. The animal gazed around the great hall with predatory eyes.

They were accompanied by several men in red robes. They carried thick rapiers and pistols at their hips. Some had halberds in their hands. Others carried arquebus. The sight of these armed men put the Concords on edge.

"Count Concord," the Primate said. "I am here for business, not pleasure."

"I will do whatever I can to aid you, Your Excellency."

"Good. If all goes well, you will be cleared of any wrongdoing."

A hint of fear pulsed through Count Concord's eyes.

"Am I being accused of something, Your Excellency?" he asked.

"I'm certain you are aware of the plague that's been ravaging Foldzar," the Primate replied.

Sadness entered Armand's heart.

"I did everything I could, but many people are still dying from the plague," he thought.

"Of course, I am. Who can't be aware of it?" Count Concord said.

"I'm certain you are also aware that your lands are free of the plague."

Count Concord nodded.

"We have been blessed by the gods," he said.

"Perhaps you have been, perhaps not. There are some who think you are in league with those that caused the plague," the Primate stated.

Confusion flowed through most of the people in the room.

"What do you mean, Your Excellency? Plagues are sent by the gods, not caused by something," Count Concord replied.

"This one is. It's caused by monsters. Two months ago, we found a creature in an abandoned church in the capital. It was some undead abomination called a nosfer. Upon interrogation, it revealed that its kind were responsible for the plague. We investigated the lands that were unaffected by the plague after that. They all had one thing in common: a nosfer was killed. One of the knights involved in the killings reported that stories of the nosfer come from Concordia."

"I can assure you that we are not working with any monsters."

"If we can find the nosfer's body, that will confirm what you're saying. Until then, your family is under house arrest," the Primate said. "And make sure that you keep your family's women in line."

"We will cooperate," Count Concord promised.

"Good. Now, I must start my search. Should any of my guards come under harm, I will hold you responsible," the priest said.

The men in red who entered the room stayed while Primate Calvin left with his pet tiger. After that, the Concords went to their solar. Count and Countess Concord collapsed into chairs.

"Of all the Primates in the world, they had to send that misogynist, Primate Calvin. It couldn't come at a worse time, either. Mortimer's down with the flux," Countess Concord groaned.

"That old bastard will turn over every single stone in the city to find what he's looking for. We could be stuck in here for months," Count Concord stated. "If things go wrong, we can't even bribe him. Why couldn't they have sent a corrupt Primate like Borgia?"

"It should take him less than a week if he inspects abandoned buildings first. When he gets back, I'll hopefully have a chance to leave a good impression on him. Primate Jean's his successor, and I'd like Primate Calvin to praise me when we first meet," Armand thought.

Lucia looked at her brother, seeing his contemplation.

"Is something wrong?" she asked.

"Of course, something's wrong," Count Concord sighed. "I just hope there actually is a dead Nosfer here. We'll be in deep trouble if there isn't one."

"Why else would the plague not appear in our lands if these...Nosfer are controlling it?" his wife questioned.

"I don't know, and that's exactly the problem. I'll bet the Hapsburgs know more about this plague than us. They're just one branch of a greater house," he said.

Then, he turned to Armand.

"Perhaps we could use our contact there to get that information?" Count Concord suggested.

"I'll send a letter to Eris," Armand replied.

"Good. A child like her might not be able to get us much information, but it'll be better than nothing."

"Hopefully, it'll make those birthday presents you sent her worth it," Countess Concord turned to her eldest son.

"If they can make Eris care about me more, they're already worth it," Armand thought.

Elsewhere, Eris was eating truffles in her family's great hall with a wide smile. Two swords were on the table in front of her. One was a rapier. The other was a schiavona, a type of cut-and-thrust basket-hilt sword.

"A dueling sword and a battlefield sword, both of the highest quality. I love your birthday presents, Armand!" she thought.

Eris gazed upon the beautiful guard of the rapier. It was a swept hilt with numerous shining bands of steel circling around the weapon. The sword was a deadly work of art. A hint of sadness crossed Eris' face.

"I didn't get Armand anything this good for his birthday. He didn't want anything, but that's no excuse. I'll have to get him something even better for his next birthday. Maybe a rapier, a schiavona, and a pistol?"

Then, an idea formed in her head.

"Duke Brutus Medici was one of Armand's biggest political allies and my biggest enemies. He's still a child now, but we might both be able to benefit from him if we contact him. Armand and he might even become friends. Most of all, I'd remove a massive thorn from my side. He won't get in the way of my rise to power. It wouldn't change history too much either, just speed things along."

Eris went to her family's solar. There was a stack of papers there, letters Armand sent to Eris. A warm feeling flowed through Eris when she saw them. She sat down and started writing a letter.

It read, "Dear Brutus Medichi, I heard about how awesome your family is! You're the coolest kid out there! You're a duke's son, but could you go to my wedding? You and Armand will be best friends! Signed, Eris Hapsburg."

"This flattery wouldn't work on an adult, but it should be fine for a child," she thought.

Then, Eris sent the letter.

The next day, two letters arrived at Eris' household. One was from Armand, and the other was from Brutus. A hint of shock flowed through Eris.

"I didn't expect Brutus to respond so fast. His lands are near mine, but he's still a child. We've never met before, so this is his first impression of me. Something isn't right," she thought.

Suspicion flowed through Eris. The girl opened Armand's letter first.

"Eris, my parents want to know what your family knows about the Orlock Plague. Could you send a letter giving us information? My parents will want to read it themselves, so I can't just tell them what I know. Don't bother writing like a child either. I want you to impress my parents. I already spoke like an adult to them," it read.

"That shouldn't be much trouble. I doubt Armand's parents will ask mine any questions about the plague, so I can put as much information as I can there," Eris thought.

She then looked at the other letter.

"Dear Eris, you are the most vile woman I've ever met. You might as well be the King of Hell's secretary. Fuck your mother! You eat the shit of demons. I would rather, you horrendous bitch, suck the devil's cock than attend your wedding. I don't fear you or anything you can do. Fuck your mother! I have no clue how you tricked Armand's parents into making him your fiance, but I won't fall for your schemes. You wicked witch, harlot of Hapsburg, goatfucker, daughter of a Bactrian pig, enemy of the gods, grand fucker of our kingdom, drunkard of the capital, idiot of Epistol, donkey's ass, bear's cock, griffon's milkmaid, thief of demons, fuck your own father! I declare this, you lowlife. You might have harmed so many people the first time around, but I will stop whatever schemes you hatch. You can kiss my ass!"

The first thing Eris felt was rage so great she felt like she'd explode. She imagined Brutus getting shot, stabbed, crucified, and put through all manner of torture. Then, Eris took a deep breath.

"Brutus remembers," she thought. "I don't know how, but he remembers everything. And he either knows that I remember, or he hates me so much that he doesn't care that he called a nine-year-old girl a goatfucker."

Eris slammed her fists against the table.

"I'll kill that bastard! I'll have him strangled to death with his own intestines! When I turn twelve, I'll get every bandit I can and send them to slaughter his people!"

She grabbed the letter, hatred in her eyes.

"If I show this to most people, they'll think someone intercepted Brutus' letter and sent this instead as a sick joke. If I show this to Armand, he'll think I'm trying to turn him against Brutus. Armand won't believe anything I say about Brutus anyway. This letter getting out might even lead to people sympathizing with that shithead."

Eris threw the letter into the fireplace. She watched as it burned with incredible satisfaction on her face.

"Brutus, you have no idea who you're fucking with. You are not Armand's equal. He was the only reason I didn't crush you. I swear to all the gods, I will make you pay for this insult."

She pulled out a dagger and cut into her palm. Eris let the blood drip into the fire as she uttered an incantation over and over. There was a great flash of light from the fireplace. The girl would keep chanting for another 20 minutes. Then, she let out a wicked grin.

"Your family's wards are too powerful for me to curse you when you're in your castle," Eris thought. "But if you ever step foot in my castle, I will know it. And then..."

She went to a bookshelf and took out a spellbook.

"...I will make you wish you were never born."