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"I've always recovered quickly from injury and sickness," you tell him, and 'tis true. Your prayers to the LORD, your praise of your angelic patron and protector Providence, your earnest faith that they will see you through the trials before you; these do not go unrewarded. The Good Father Durandal calls it the special Providence that the LORD keeps for those He sends into his toughest battles. A smile cracks on your face. "After all, once cannot purge the unclean with a sour stomach or a broken arm."
The Princeps brightens ever so slightly when he hears your words, sees your expression. A note of hope enters his voice when he asks, "Will you join me then? Help me rid the land of this blackguard's apostacy?"
"Gladly," you say, and you mean it. The Earl cannot bargain for his coalition while he sleeps, so you may as well make a little headway on your own while you wait. However... "Though I'd have questions of you before we begin, if you do not mind my asking."
"You know, normally I would decline. There are many vipers in the LORD's Garden who would pry at secrets I've taken oaths not to share," he says. A sensible position for the rare man of honor in Rosarium, one that you cannot help but nod along to. A smile of his own blooms shyly and uncertain, laden down by whatever thought weigh upon his mind. "For you, Lady Louise, I shall make an exception. I, Octavian des Pleniflora, shall answer your questions to the best of my ability, and shall conceal no truths in my explanation."
The tips of your ears pinken at his words. Not only do you hear no lie in them, but there's an earnestness behind his voice that makes your heart flutter. It reminds you too much of the silly promises René would make beneath the lisbon tree, the foolish oaths of childhood that you took so very seriously. This is not the first time the Princeps resemblance to your love has put you off guard, and you suspect that it will not be the last.
<span class="mu-s"><span class="mu-g">You shove all those strange feelings away for now</span></span>.
Your first question of the Princeps, of Octavian, is one you must ask out of duty. "Forgive me if this question sounds rude, or ungrateful for the aid you've rendered to both myself and the Duke of Sonnenblume with your assistance, but it is one that I must ask all the same. For what reason have you come south with men-at-arms, infringing upon my territory?"
Confusions crosses Octavian's face, before he comes to a realization that makes him chuckle for a moment, a reaction that deeps the frown that had crossed your face. "Forgive me, my lady, that was rude of me. I fly a banner of peace and parley, and sent a courier ahead to herald my arrival. Alas, the somnumblume drove him to the same sleep that took your companions. My sole purpose was to enlist your aid in my hunt... and perhaps the aid of the famed Witch Hunter Durandal, as well, if he wished to leave retirement."
