Chapter 237 (2): Master’s Master

Ostarrichi.

Ostarrichi, the nation where the Church of Nature’s headquarters was located, was situated in the heart of the Chosen Land. It was also known as the Land of Music, the Green Kingdom, and the Nation of Forest.

Its capital, Wien, was the biggest city in Ostarrichi with a prosperous culture, lauded as the City of Music.

Now, Wien was no longer Ostarrichi’s capital, and Ostarrichi was no longer an independent country. Last March, Prussia tore up the treaty and deployed her army to annex it by force.

The Ostarrichians didn’t put up much of a resistance. For one, they couldn’t win, and for another, there was no point in doing that. They originated from the same country, and many of them actually went out to welcome the army. Flags of black and red stripes filled the streets amid boisterous percussion for a grand greeting.

The minority who didn’t welcome Prussia needed not be heartbroken. Ostarrichi wasn’t alone. Prussia had a big appetite and would tear up another treaty sooner rather than later, turning another neighbor of Ostarrichi into a part of Prussian territory.

Yes, it would happen soon. March of 1939 was on the horizon, and the blitzkrieg would make any resisting forces raise their hands in surrender.

Then... well, they wouldn’t even struggle.

On February twenty-sixth, a commercial flight from Londan reached Wien, Ostarrichi. As Windsor’s candidates for the Holy Maiden selection, Wayne and Veronica were under tight protection. The Windsorian escorts completed their mission at the airport, handing them over to the church’s headquarters for protection.

It was very much warranted. If a lunatic shot the candidates, such as someone from the Church of Death or Church of Darkness, and it happened in Ostarrichi, where the Church of Nature’s headquarters were based, the headquarters would be faulted for their negligence. It would be a great scandal.

Again, it was likely to happen since this was Ostarrichi, and there was a precedent of a certain couple being assassinated, triggering a world war[1].

The headquarters had sent three members of the Order of Nature to escort them from the airport, all of them tall and good-looking with great proportions.

The envoy of black luxury cars departed from the airport, slowly heading to the suburbs of Wien. Wayne sat in the back of one of the cars with Veronica. The sight of the black and red flags hung all over the streets gave him complicated feelings. Seeing the tanks rumbling across the city, the world once again felt foreign to him.

The Chosen Land wasn’t actually Europe, and the torrents of steel weren’t absolute. Would Prussia still achieve the same incredible feats with absolute power? If so, would they be backed by churches? Would they be supported by Darkness or Death, or even demons from hell?

Moreover, when Franc raised a white flag, and the Chosen Land was on the verge of total surrender, how was Windsor going to launch a counterattack? The nation of bald eagles wasn’t in this world to sell military supplies at a discount.

He pondered for a while. Franc couldn’t do much, and Windsor was more focused on stirring shit up. The key player would still be a certain political entity living off potatoes.

Oh, in Chosen Land, that entity was known as the Rus Federation[2]. It occupied the northeastern part of the continent and was heartbreakingly poor.

The Rus Federation was one of the seven major districts of the Church of Nature. Due to the downfall of the Ramnov Family, the current leader had little goodwill for the church, leading to the sharp decline of Nature’s influence in the Federation. It was yet unknown how much respect the two candidates could command.

In addition to the Rus Federation, the other six major districts of the Church of Nature were Iberia, Windsor, Franc, Prussia, Graeci, and Sverige. Dividing the Chosen Land into eastern, southern, western, northern, and central parts, the Rus Federation would sit in the east, Iberia and Graeci in the south, Windsor and Franc in the west, Sverige in the north, and Prussia and Ostarrichi—where the headquarters were—in the center.

Wayne checked the map of the Chosen Land, wondering if the southernmost continent, the Frozen Land, should be included, too. It was too great a land mass to be ignored.

Well, perhaps it was the Church of Darkness’s home base. The Frozen Land was also known as the Dark Land after all.

“What are you mumbling about? Show me the map.” Veronica leaned over, wondering what Wayne was studying.

It was her first time making such a long trip, and she didn’t have Vera, her old friend, or Mother and Trash Sr. with her. However, she didn’t miss home at all.

Trash Jr. was right by her side. She was looking forward to the trip a little. Something might happen in the next four months.

The two of them huddled close as they checked the map—perhaps a little too close—but Wayne wasn’t worried. The dossiers had them marked as siblings sharing the same surname. There was nothing wrong with this level of intimacy between brother and sister. Only high society would suspect something between them and report them to the local orthopedic hospital in case they got their legs broken.

“Why have you been studying the map for so long?” Veronica didn’t see anything unusual about it.

“I was thinking about Kristen when I saw the map. Senior was so gentle that night.” Wayne glanced at her. “Senior confessed to me. I couldn’t help but agree to be her boyfriend once I fail the selection.”

He didn’t want to lie to Kristen, and neither did he want to lie to Veronica. He openly declared his desire to catch them all as an honest, dutiful scummy man—an honest man for short.

Veronica snorted, swinging her fist and warning him not to slander her idol. She would rather believe that Vera had sent an owl to confess to him than what he just claimed.

Wayne pursed his lips. Kristen and Veronica were so delusional that they frankly deserved to be cheated thrice every night. Then they would get six times out of him in retaliation.

The two of them bickered like a pair of tsundere siblings. The older brother teased the younger sister, and, unable to win the argument, the younger sister resorted to punches.

The cars left the downtown area. Once they passed a certain point, they were suddenly engulfed by infinite darkness. The driver pulled over, as if it were the natural thing to do.

“Ambush!” Veronica narrowed her eyes, glancing at the dazed driver. She urged her external brain to quickly come up with a response.

“This isn’t an ambush, but a friendly legendary mage’s doing, I believe.” Wayne looked out of the window calmly. He had been through this once in Londan. Planck had caught him off guard and stolen his silver coin. He would bet twenty sillings on their uninvited visitor being Planck’s old friend.

He wondered who it would be. Planck’s smug attitude would suggest his friend to be a higher-up at headquarters.

Click!

The car door on Veronica’s side opened. A mysterious black-robed figure gestured at the siblings to make room. Wayne picked Veronica up and put her behind him so that he was sitting in the center of the backseat.

The mysterious figure gracefully took the empty spot. The fleet of cars slowly drove through the darkness.

Wayne’s nose twitched. He smelled a faint fragrance. Judging by the mysterious figure’s build and the way the curves filled the loose black robe after the person sat down, her airbags providing cushioning... Was the legendary mage Planck’s lover?

Wayne then saw the mysterious figure raise both hands to slowly pull back the hood that obscured her appearance. Those were beautiful hands with smooth, fair skin that seemed to glow. The fingers were long and slim, the nails neatly trimmed. Every detail seemed intentionally maintained to create the gentle, elegant, and classy image.

Yes, must be an older woman. A young lady’s hands wouldn’t have such profound allure.

With the hood pulled down, the woman revealed her fair, stunning face and long platinum blonde hair with large curls. Her eyes were serene like water. She gave Wayne and Veronica a faint smile.

The smile split the darkness like sunlight on a spring day. Wayne’s heart raced despite his best effort. He had to admit that this woman was just as beautiful as Filomina.

Would!

Gulp!

Oh, no. That’s embarrass—wait, I didn’t gulp.

Wayne made a curious sound. Turning around, he saw the captivated look in Veronica’s eyes.

Again, you little pervert?

Under Brother Wayne’s judgmental and righteous gaze, Veronica lowered her head in shame. She didn’t want to react like that, but the woman was so beautiful that she accidentally showed an unbecoming side, tarnishing the Lando family’s reputation.

Also, she wanted to become a big sister like that in a few years.

A soft chuckle tickled their eardrums. The siblings couldn’t stop their hearts from racing faster.

“Veronica, Wayne, you may relax. You’re not outsiders to me,” the woman said at a deliberate pace. “I’m Senna Castellana, Silvia’s master. You may call me Senna.”

Master’s master...

Oh, you’re not Planck’s lover?

1. A reference to the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand and Duchess Sophie of Austria, which caused the July Crisis and led to WWI. ☜

2. Fictional version of Russia, which should be the Soviet Union at this point in time. The name the author uses is changed from the Russian Federation, though. I’ve opted for Rus, from the name Rus', which is still used in poetry or prose to refer to the older Russia. ☜