Chapter 36: Joan (1) (2/2)
As expected, Joan paused for a moment, but seeing that Leonel didn't intend to explain, she accepted it in stride.
”I see… I hope there comes a day when your sister recovers, then. I am very interested by these abilities of yours, though. Can you tell me more?”
”Even we do not know much.” Leonel was sure to answer without holding any hesitation in his voice. He wanted to appear as though he trusted Joan completely and had no reservations about telling her everything. ”We only know that we are stronger, faster and quicker than others by a large margin. We can only call it an act of God. When we heard of your exploits, we felt that you were no better person to sympathize with us.”
Leonel felt that Joan's gaze softened slightly and her smile became more genuine.
Like this, Leonel and Joan were ushered into Château Royal de Blois. Or, rather, they were led to a holding in the outer castle.
Castles were functionally cities within walls. They were separated into several layers, of which had their own walls for protection, usually offset so it was more difficult to charge through their gates in one go.
It was actually already a privilege for Leonel and Aina to come this far. But, it also seemed that they had to earn their keep very quickly, because not even a day later, a march toward Patay was announced.
'… So it begin… According to history, this will be Joan's final major victory. After this, King Charles will be crowned. She'll then fail to recapture Paris, before finally being captured in her battle for Compiegne.'
**
”You say there are two more like you, Joan?”
”Yes, my King. Because of them, we can move our battle for Patay up. According to General Franck, they all but annihilated an army of 20 000 strong by themselves, forcing them into a retreat. The brother in particular fought alone for half a day.”
Joan knelt before a throne with one arm across her chest, and another tightly holding onto a wooden crutch. Despite the fact Charles VII had yet to be officially crowned, she still called him King.
”Joan, have I not said you do not need to kneel before me when it is just the two of us? I've also said to call me Charles on such occasions.”
If Leonel was here, he would likely once more be shocked. According to history, it was Charles who refused to give the order to save Joan when she was captured, leading to her execution.
But, the Charles of right now seemed to be almost fawning over the kneeling beauty. He was completely unlike the ungrateful King who abandoned her after getting what he wanted.