“Most people, especially nobles and politicians, would worry when given a gift for free. In their minds, it was far easier to associate it to an exchange of benefits, than to pure goodwill.” - Old saying by an unnamed Clangeddin philosopher.

“Cousin?” asked Pedro and Sandra almost simultaneously, their tone of voice somewhat surprised and outraged. From their expressions it was clear that Clarissa had not mentioned the matter with either of them beforehand, and that had heard of it just now as well.

Aideen herself remained calm. An exchange of benefits suited her fine, especially with strangers whom she met with for the first time. “That is fine,” she said. “From the way you said it… I take it this is less of your side not wanting to do things for free and more that you needed something I can do and few others could, isn’t it so?”

“I could not hide it from you after all, Miss deVreys,” said Clarissa with a defeated sigh. “I guess I still need more practice for negotiations like these. You are correct. The Duchy of Algenverr is currently in need of skilled healers, and since I’m sure you’re aware of our opposition to the unburdened, you can likely guess where that leaves us.”

“What happened in Algenverr?” asked Sandra, now with caution and evident worry in her voice. The implications in Clarissa’s words were ones she had not missed, and they painted a potentially troubling picture. “Is that why you’re the one attending the gathering rather than cousin Daniel?”

“Cousin Daniel has yet to regain consciousness,” stated Clarissa bitterly. She raised a hand to halt the questions she knew would follow and continued her words instead. “Neither has my mother. Father is awake, but is paralyzed from the waist down. An assassin had ambushed them while they were out on a ride, and it was almost a miracle that none of them had died on the spot.”

“What!?” shouted Pedro as he stood up and almost upended the table in surprise. He looked sheepishly when his sisters scolded him for his behavior, and calmed down before he asked his question. “When did this happen? We heard no such news on the way. Who’s handling the matters at Algenverr now?”

“Around a week before I departed to the gathering, and we kept it quiet, so nobody would have known,” replied Clarissa. “The assassin took her own life when we caught her, and left no incriminating evidence to point at an employer although we had our guesses. Father is handling matters from his bed with Uncle Alfonso’s help.”

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“And the healers you have at hand weren't sufficient to deal with your cousin’s and mother’s injuries?” asked Aideen as she steepled her fingers in contemplation.

“They were not. The best they managed was to prevent cousin Daniel and mother’s conditions from deteriorating, but they couldn’t improve it either,” said Clarissa with a sad shake of her head. “Father had broken his back when he fell off his horse, and they were also powerless to fix that. It’s why I had to ask for your aid, Miss deVreys. You can name any price you wish for in exchange as long as you heal my parents and cousin.”

“I cannot promise a thing until I get to check their conditions, but you can consider me a willing party in this,” replied Aideen with a nod. “It’s a rather suspicious timing too, considering that this… gathering of yours happens around the same time every year. What would have happened if your family failed to send a representative?”

“We would be considered disrespecting the royal family if we sent a too-minor representative, or none at all,” answered Clarissa as she caught on to Aideen’s meaning. “For my family, that was basically anyone who are not my parents, cousin Daniel, or me.”

“I see where you’re going,” mentioned Sandra from the side. She was familiar with the Daniel that Clarissa had mentioned, as he was basically her counterpart in Algenverr, the intended political counsel to Clarissa when she became Duchess. “Someone’s conspiring to defame the Duchy and induce instability then?”

“I was supposed to be along for that ride, but had to cancel because I caught a bad cold that day,” said Clarissa with some guilt and anger in her voice. “I think it’s safe to say that it was aimed directly at my family’s leadership. Uncle already purged some spies out of our servants before I left.”

“I can’t help much with the political crap, so those I’ll leave to you all,” said Aideen. As a foreigner, it would be in bad taste if she were to interfere with the local politics much anyway. Her feud with the Guild of Unburdened Healers was more a personal and philosophical one, but considering how the healers who would have had a chance to heal the injuries of Clarissa’s family were all part of the guild, she found it hard to imagine that they would be innocent in this. “As for the healing, I’ll do what I can.”

“We should make haste, Pedro. Injuries like those might worsen if left for too long,” said Sandra with a serious look at her brother.

“I agree. Clarissa, can you have your men ready for departure in an hour? We’ll have ours pack up as well,” said Pedro to his cousin. “Actually, scratch that. We’ll send you, Solenia, and Miss deVreys off ahead on horses with some of the knights as escort. That’ll be faster.”

“Much appreciated, cousin. I’ll have my people prepare for immediate departure then,” said Clarissa with a thankful nod to her cousin. “And my thanks for your assistance, Miss deVreys.”

“Think nothing of it. We’re just rendering mutual assistance to one another,” said Aideen.

Not half an hour later, Solenia, Aideen, and Clarissa - who had changed into riding wear - departed from the camp on horses. Two dozen knights accompanied them, with Sir Rodolfo and Graciela in the lead, to ensure their safety on the way to Algenverr. The rest of the convoy followed behind them, slower due to the more limited speed of the carriages amongst them, but as fast as they could.