I Only Love My Greatest Enemy

Armand arrived at Count Staufer's castle an hour before Eris did. He walked towards the entrance as fast as he could while also looking dignified.

The boy wore a red velvet doublet with a red cloak wrapped around it. He had long hose going down to his wooden shoes. A pair of pants where the upper parts poofed out adorned his legs.

"Hopefully, Eris isn't here yet. I need to keep an eye on her," he thought.

The boy stepped inside the grand hall. There wasn't much of a line in front of Count Staufer. So, Armand moved over to it. He was in front of the noble soon enough.

"Armand Concord, at your service," the boy introduced himself.

"Count Johan Staufer, pleased to meet you," there was a smile on the man's face. "I have good news for you. My castle has rooms for all of my guests. You won't have to sleep in the grand hall."

"That sounds like the perfect opportunity for assassination. Eris won't use it. It's far too obvious. Still, someone else might," Armand thought before speaking. "Will we be safe, your Excellency?"

"You will. I've hired extra guards just to make sure you are."

"Thank you, your Excellency."

Armand took a bow and moved away. He went to the side of the room. The boy scanned the area, looking for Eris or any member of the anti-serfdom faction. A voice came to Armand's ear just when he saw someone he recognized.

"You are Armand Concord, correct?"

He turned in the voice's direction. Armand found himself face-to-face with a black-haired boy his age. This newcomer had a thin face, dark brown eyes, and wore clothing several times as opulent as Armand's.

"He looks familiar, but there's no way it's him. Maybe this is just a coincidence," Armand thought before speaking. "I am."

"My name is Brutus Medici," the boy replied.

Armand hid his shock as best as he could.

"I thought they looked similar, but what's Brutus doing here? Did some change Eris or I made cause him to go to Caunt Staufer's banquet?" Armand thought.

"I'm honored to meet you," he said.

"We need to talk in private. Follow me to the chapel," Brutus replied.

The Medici guided Armand into the same chapel he'd later bring Eris to. Armand kept his face stoic, not giving anything away. Brutus looked him right in the eyes.

"Armand, I want to confirm something: are you marrying a woman named Eris Hapsburg?" Brutus asked.

"I am," Armand answered.

Brutus clenched Armand's shoulders so hard they hurt.

"Listen to me, Armand. I'm from the future. Eris is not the woman you think she is," the Medici said.

It took all of Armand's willpower to hide his shock.

"Brutus remembers the future? That shouldn't be possible! Chronos' control over time should be absolute! I should play dumb for now and try to get more information," Armand thought before speaking. "How do I know you're from the future?"

"If the fact that I'm the son of a duke introducing myself to the son of a count of an insignificant family isn't enough, I know that a commoner named Rozwiazly will arrive at this banquet later today. Listen to what I have to say. Then, wait for Rozwialzy to show up. You'll know I speak the truth then."

Armand pretended to take that in.

"If you're from the future, what are you doing in the past?"

"I don't know, but I remember the future because Muninn owed me a favor. My best guess is that Eris turned back time when she died," Brutus said.

Armand's body turned cold.

"He knows that Eris died. The only people who should have known about that are myself, Eris, and whoever killed her," he thought.

"How did she die?" Armand asked.

"She was killed in public, gunned down by a mob of peasants," Brutus answered, his voice filled with lies.

Armand clenched his fists so hard they turned white. Rage pulsed through him.

"You lying bastard. You killed Eris, didn't you? No, wait, I can't blame you for killing her. Eris was a monster. She deserved to die. I need to calm down. I know what sort of person Eris was," he thought before speaking. "Why do you think Eris turned back time?"

"A few years ago, she sent a letter to me. Eris never did that before time was turned back," Brutus said.

"I should have expected Eris to plot against me," Armand contemplated, trying to force his rage down.

"How did you respond?" he asked.

"I sent the most insulting letter I possibly could. Then, nothing came of it. A normal girl would have shown her parents the letter I sent. The fact that she didn't means that she has a more mature mind."

So much rage pulsed through Armand that he felt like he'd burst a vein. The boy kept his voice stoic, but he couldn't bring himself to calm down.

"After a letter like that, Eris must have figured out that Brutus remembers the future!" Armand thought.

"I likely exposed myself to her, but it was worth it to confirm that she remembers the future. So, listen to me, Armand. Eris is..." Brutus started.

Armand held up his hand. Brutus grew silent.

"When did you send Eris that letter?" Armand asked.

"Three years ago," Brutus answered.

Armand felt like strangling Brutus to death and using his corpse to bludgeon Eris into a bloody pulp. His anger was so great that he couldn't hide it.

"Eris knew Brutus remembered for three years, and she didn't tell me. I shouldn't be mad about this. I know that I can't trust Eris. I know that she's plotting behind my back. I know that she's still a monster. I haven't gotten any real chances to start redeeming her yet. I know this is far from the worst thing Eris did to me, even after time was reversed. I know all this, but..."

The boy's fist slammed right at the stone wall of the chapel. He stopped it a centimeter before impact.

"I can't help but be mad! I've never been this angry before! This was so important, but Eris never told me! I will have words with her about this!" Armand thought.

"You're getting unreasonably mad," Brutus said.

Armand gave him a death glare. Brutus froze.

"I'm good at reading people, Brutus. I know you're telling the truth when you said you're from the future. But you lied about how Eris died. Why would someone lie about how someone else died unless they're the person that killed her?" Armand's voice was ice.

"Listen to me, Armand! Eris is a monster! She's just..."

Before Brutus could finish, Armand placed his hand over his mouth.

"I don't care what you have to say, Brutus. I won't tell Eris that you killed her. But if she dies, no matter how, I'm taking your head and mounting it on my wall. Do you understand?" Armand said before thinking. "Eris lost the right to know that Brutus killed her when she didn't tell me that he remembered."

He removed his hand. Brutus took a deep breath.

"Yes, Armand, I understand. And yes, I killed Eris. But she deserved worse than what I did to her."

"I know. Eris deserved much worse. I don't even know why I'm mad at you," Armand thought.

"I hope, for your sake, that you understand. You've already made an enemy of Eris. Don't make me your enemy too," he said.

Armand stormed out of the chapel. He scanned the grand hall, hoping to see Eris. Then, the boy saw her. An older woman stood in front of the girl. Moving quickly, Armand approached the two.

The older woman leaned close to Eris and pointed at the rafters. Armand looked up. He saw the man with a bucket there.

"What is that woman trying to do to Eris? If she hurts her, I'll...why am I still mad? Whatever it is, Eris deserves it! I shouldn't be mad about this, but..." Armand thought.

He moved closer at a faster rate. Armand saw Eris flicking her hand.

"Eris just killed that woman. I remember when she tried that same trick on me. I don't know what to think about this, but if she was going to insult Eris, then she'd need to avenge what little honor she has," Armand thought. "Now, I need to do my duty as a husband and protect Eris from whatever's in that bucket."

"There you are, my love," Armand said.

Back at the present, Eris breathed a sigh of relief.

"Is that all you were mad about? I'll just tell you. First, I contacted Brutus because I wanted to introduce you to him earlier so you could actually be friends and so he wouldn't get in the way of my rise to power. I didn't tell you that he remembered because he sent me a letter that made me his enemy. If I showed you the letter, you'd think I wrote it to turn you against Brutus. And you wouldn't believe me if I told you without it," Eris said.

Armand punched himself in the face. Worry flashed through Eris.

"Are you alright, Armand?" she asked.

"I'm fine," he answered before thinking. "I'm still mad. I shouldn't be at this point, but..."

"I would have believed you that Brutus remembers without the letter, but you're right that I'd have thought you were trying to turn me against him. If you tried, you'd have been wasting your time anyway. Brutus turned me against him today," Armand said.

"I'm still not telling Eris that Brutus killed her. If the letter was even half as insulting as I think it was, Eris wants Brutus and his whole family dead. If she finds out he killed her, she won't rest until every single person he rules over is dead," he thought.

Armand leaned against a wall, desperately trying to cool his anger.

"We should move on to other business," Eris said. "The auction is tomorrow, so we both need to accomplish whatever we're planning today. No manipulation games."

The two of them looked at each other and nodded.

"Eris is right that we don't have all day. I'll be blunt," Armand thought before speaking. "I'm not letting you get away with whatever you're planning, Eris."

"And I'm not planning anything that you can stop that you think would be worth stopping, Armand," she replied.

"So, you're planning on doing things that I can't stop?" Armand asked.

Eris took a deep breath.

"He's not wrong, but it's just one assassination. That isn't a big deal," she thought.

"Armand, I want to show you that you can rely on me. I've planned everything out over the three years since we last met. I have one request for you: aside from what you've already planned, sit on the sidelines and just watch," Eris requested.

Armand looked at her like she was completely insane.

"Eris, that was the stupidest thing you said in your entire life. There's not a chance in hell that I'm not interfering," he said.

"Listen, Armand, think of this as a concert," Eris replied. "I'm the conductor of an orchestra of manipulation, and you're my number one audience member. You get the best seat to this."

"Does Eris really think I'm that stupid? Then again, is she really stupid enough to try something I'd hate right in front of me? Eris wants our marriage more than I do. I'm taking the bigger risk by not interfering, but Eris no doubt thinks she has more to lose," Armand thought.

His anger started to abate.

"Eris, prove that I can trust you today. If you do that, I won't interfere," he said.

"Okay. First, I'm not asking you to stay away from me. If you're not in one of your own schemes, I want you to be right by my side. This concert is as much for you as it is for me. So, if I do anything that you hate, you'll be in a position to stop it. Next..." Eris took a deep breath.

The girl reached into her clothes. She pulled out a wheellock pistol. Eris placed it on the chapel's floor. A dagger, 7 vials of poison, and the rapier on Eris' hip joined the weapon.

"This is everything lethal that I'm carrying on me. Take it and bring it with you. I will have no way to kill anyone or protect myself. I'm putting my life in your hands," she said.

Then, Eris raised her arms.

"If you don't believe me, search my clothes for anything else."

Armand took Eris up on her offer. He patted down her body, being as thorough as possible. There were no other weapons or poisons. Then, Armand grabbed the dagger, wheellock pistol, and 7 vials of poison. The boy concealed them in his own clothes.

"Put your rapier back on. I'm not leaving you completely defenseless, Eris," he said.

The girl retained her composure as she placed the rapier on her hip.

"Thank you, Armand. I won't disappoint you," she smiled.

"You'd better not. I don't want you to die of the flux," Armand replied.

For some reason, a sense of nostalgia flowed through Eris when Armand threatened to kill her. She smiled, made a curtsy, and held out her hand.

"Would you do me the honor of escorting me to the banquet?" Eris asked.

"Of course, Eris. You're my fiance," Armand answered.

He took her hand in his and they left the chapel together.