Europa Universalis 1867: Start by inheriting an armory

Richard woke up one afternoon, and it was probably the most restful sleep he'd had in a while, thanks in no small part to the chloroform the doctor had given him.

He opened his eyes and checked his abdomen. The wound had been treated and the bullet had been removed. Beside him was Louise.

He tried to move his waist, and hiss...it hurt, as if someone was repeatedly punching his stomach.

He took a few deep breaths; it was alright, he could hold it in.

Then he looked down and saw Louise.

She lay beside his bed, her head resting on her clasped hands, her face turned towards him, her breathing even.

Her hair was loose on her arms, and her chestnut-colored long hair looked especially soft in the afternoon sun.

She held his hand in hers, spread his palm out, and pressed it against her face as a pillow.

He could feel the curve of her cheek with the back of his hand, so delicate and tender.

Richard didn't move, afraid of waking her.

But her breath made Li feel an itch on his arm. He twitched his fingers slightly, and Louise's face brushed against his palm. Then she woke up.

Two red marks from fingernails were imprinted on her face. She blinked her watery eyes twice and smiled at Richard: "You've been asleep for almost two days."

Richard cleared his throat: "I... I didn't miss anything, did I?"

Louise pulled his hand from under her face and held it in her own. "It's nothing. Quite a few people have come to see you. Today Sean came with his sister; she brought you a pot of soup, which she left in the kitchen. Then Finbar came too; he stood at the door and didn't come in, saying he didn't want to disturb your rest. He just left a can of tobacco."

After speaking, Louise pointed to the small round table next to her. Richard looked over and saw that besides tobacco, there was a bunch of flowers and grapes on it.

"He didn't know I smoke... Is there anything else?"

"And Inspector Logan said the case is closed and you should focus on recovering and not worry about it." Louise tilted her head. "There was also a skinny little girl I didn't know. She gave you flowers and grapes, then turned and left. I called her, but she didn't turn around."

Richard knew it was Millie; the grapes on the table were plump and looked like carefully polished agates in the sunlight.

Richard reached out with his left hand, his fingers pinching the stem of the vine, and plucked a grape.

But the grape mischievously slipped from his fingers, and his arm went numb from the pillow, making even bending it a beat slower.

Louise blushed and raised her hand to touch the red mark on her face.

She lowered her head, picked up the grape from beside the pillow, pinched it between her thumb and forefinger, and held it to his lips.

Richard opened his mouth, and she put the grape in. He chewed it, and the sweet and sour juice spread on his tongue.

"Thank you," he said.

Louise withdrew her hands, folded them on her knees, and looked at him with concern: "Don't do such risky things again."

Richard nodded, though he didn't know if he could make that promise to her, but he agreed anyway.

Just then, footsteps came from outside the door, stopped at the doorway, and were followed by two light knocks.

Harold pushed open the door, and a rare look of surprise flashed across the butler's perpetually calm face when he saw Richard with his eyes open.

He was carrying a silver tray with a porcelain teapot and a teacup on it, with wisps of white smoke rising from the spout of the teapot.

"Young Master, you're awake." His tone remained steady, but the slight upward inflection at the end betrayed him. "The tea Mrs. Susan just brewed is just right."

He placed the tray on the bedside table, poured a glass, and put it within Richard's reach. Then he straightened up and folded his hands in front of him.

"Young master, we have a guest," Harold said.

Richard picked up his teacup, blew on it, and took a sip.

His throat felt better after being moistened by the warm water, so he asked, "Who is it?"

"The guest declined to give his name, but he's a government official," Harold frowned. "But he doesn't look like a typical... civil servant."

Richard took another sip of tea, too lazy to even get up; he knew who it was even with his eyes closed.

"Let him come up," he said.

Harold nodded, turned and walked out of the room.

A moment later, Mr. Nose appeared at the door.

He saw Richard first, and then Louise next to him.

Mr. Nose took off his hat and bowed slightly to Louise, as if rehearsing a play on stage. Even in such a small bedroom, he could perform his manners flawlessly.

He straightened up and turned to Richard: "You didn't tell me you were living with Princess Louise."

Richard didn't look at him, and put his teacup on the table: "It's complicated to explain."

Mr. Nose put his hands in his pockets and scanned the room, as if it were some kind of occupational hazard, unconsciously looking around in a new environment.

"The complexity is self-evident," he said. "I'm not particularly interested in it either."

He took two steps forward, stopped on the chair beside Richard's bed, and bent down towards Louise, bending down more deeply than before.

"Your Highness," he said softly to Louise, "could I speak with Richard alone for a few minutes?"

Louise looked at Richard with concern, gently squeezed his hand, then stood up and pulled his blanket up a little.

She didn't answer Mr. Nose or look back at him; instead, she turned and walked out of the room, the door closing behind her.

Mr. Nose placed his hat next to the bunch of grapes, looked at the door, and his face darkened.

He tiptoed to the door, placed his hand on the doorknob, and then yanked the door open.

"what!"

This startled Louise. Just as Mr. Nose had predicted, she stood outside the door with one hand still hanging in mid-air, maintaining the posture of leaning close to the crack in the door.

Realizing that her little scheme had been seen through, she pouted in embarrassment.

But it was Mr. Nose who looked apologetic—whether it was genuine or not—he let out a barely audible sigh, like a waiter who had spilled a wine glass, and said to her, "Your Highness, if possible, it would be best if you did not eavesdrop on our conversation."

Louise clicked her tongue in dissatisfaction, turned and walked toward the stairwell, her footsteps echoing in the corridor.

Mr. Nose closed the door and only let go after confirming that the latch was engaged in the door frame.

He went to Richard's bedside and sat down in the chair.

"Why are you meddling in this?" he asked, his voice filled with confusion.

Richard glanced down at the bandage around his waist: "What does this mean?"

"Is it necessary to go and save Greenwood?" Mr. Nose tapped his finger on his knee. "I thought he was your enemy."

"So you knew all along that Sera was going to ambush Greenwood?" Richard countered.

Mr. Nose narrowed his eyes: "And you really do know that woman from Fenia. Do you know anyone else?"

Richard rolled his eyes, tilted his head back, and leaned against the pillow: "Don't try to fool me. You know perfectly well that I didn't know she was from Fennia when I met her."

Mr. Nose chuckled softly, finally leaning back in his chair: "Now you should be happy, right? Greenwood was forced to leave the country, and you've become a great hero."

Richard was taken aback. He stared at Mr. Nose's face, which showed no flaws, not even the frequency of his breathing.

"Greenwood... went abroad?" Richard asked.

Mr. Nose nodded naturally.

Richard knew Mr. Nose was lying, but he didn't know why. Perhaps he was trying to cover something up, so he went along with what Mr. Nose was saying.

"So, you're on my side now?" Richard asked.

Mr. Nose shook his head: "No, I am just one of tens of thousands of humble servants in Her Majesty's government. If the government's strategy is to change, I must change as well."

Richard understood: it wasn't the person standing there who had changed; it was the wind that had shifted.

He rolled his eyes, as if he had expected this, and said to Mr. Nose, "Disraeli has already drafted his resignation, hasn't he?"