[color=#D40000]"Really?  Honestly?  That idiot is [i]truly[/i] doing this?"[/color]

It felt like an iron maiden just swung shut on her brain.  The mirror on which she read the familiar's report revealed that the pallor of her face was growing close to that of her crimson eyes.  It was unbecoming for one in her position to be so susceptible to anger, her hopes of maintaining self-control ended when her migraine began.

As she pressed her fingers into her shut eyelids to keep the agony at bay, the young magus standing before her cast a nervous glance at the door of the office.  The matriarch was crazy.  She looked like a madwoman, all hunched over her desk, clutching at her skull, a few strands of grey sticking out from the rest of her tightly-pulled hair.  Angry people didn't bother the magus normally, because they had little to them beyond the extent of her anger, but the matriarch didn't feel like just anybody with anger issues.  It felt like this rage she was so poorly keeping in check was the mere tip of some depraved and repressed iceberg.  The magus took a quiet step backward, her eyes staying trained on the senior female.  She wasn't sure why she was so afraid.  Even if the woman was dangerous, she was an Obrazev.  There was no way she could be so unlucky that-

Feeling something brush past the back of her robes, the girl froze up and swallowed a gasp.

[color=#8C2FD4]"Now now, we can't condone you losing your composure to this degree.  As our attendant, you have a responsibility to represent us with grace and poise at all times.  Do not tell us you have forgotten the terms of our pact."[/color]

What.  Who said that?!  She and the matriarch were the only people in the room!  But... but it was okay!  She didn't need to get so worried!  She was an Obrazev, after all, and with that name came-

[color=#D40000]"Not.  Now.  Your Majesty.  I haven't forgotten.  But.  I need to concentrate.
 On our associate.  And the trouble he's causing me."[/color]

The girl in the robe, hardly more than a teenager, found herself holding her breath.  She was so close to the door!  If she could just get there without making a sound, she might be able to slip out without drawing the witch's attention aga-

[color=#D40000]"You.  Girl.  Why are you.  Still here?  I have been advised.  Of the situtation.
 Now.  Go."[/color]

Her body went stiff again, and this time she let out a small squeak.  She wanted to go, how could the old lady not see that?!  But she was tasked by her cousin with an important job, and she couldn't go back to him without completing it!  It was the first time he acknowledged her existence, and there was no way she was letting it go to waste!  "I..." she began, shakily, "I-I needed... th-the answer...  Madam... P-Please.  Will you... ah, su-support him?  He only h-has his Servant, and the enemy appears to have at least two..."

She could feel the mistake being made.  She knew it was getting worse the more she spoke.  She couldn't make herself stop before she all but blubbered out the entire thing.  Oh god, was this what 'killing intent' felt like?  The woman was looking at her like she wanted to rip her apart.

Instead of answering her, the grey-haired magus turned her attention back to the ornate mirror had temporarily set down.

[color=#D40000]"Your Majesty.  Do not worry about how you will be viewed by others because of my actions.  Nobody was here to see this.  We haven't had anyone else in the room since the simpleton jumped out."[/color]

Those words caused a dread in the girl unlike anything she had ever experienced.  There was no reason for her to feel this way.  She was an Obrazev.  She had to keep that in mind.  She was an Obrazev, and Obrazevs were

A sickening sound like a human spine being twisted until it snapped open in a mess of bone and cartilage and ligaments and fluid echoed around the room.  The busted windowpane rattled with the noise, dislodging a few shards of glass and sending them to the ground below.

[i]...lucky[/i]

[color=#D40000]"That is..."[/color] the woman said amidst a heavy exhale, [color=#D40000]"one less nuisance.  Your Highness, as I am still trying to coordinate our response to the intrusion, I must ask that you go and greet them.  Allow that man to suffer the consequences of his own foolishness, of course.  We cannot allow them to reach the staging grounds however.  Perhaps a little activity will help relieve your boredom as well.  Is this agreeable to you?"[/color]

Aside from the hollow moan of wind coming from the simpleton-shaped hole in the window, the room remained quiet.

[color=#D40000]"Your... Highness?"[/color]

The only thing occupying the space with her now was the deflated robes and empty clothes of the young magus.  It seemed as though that troublesome sovereign had taken the initiative without being asked to.

Heaving another sigh, the woman removed her hand from within the mirror and went back to cradling her head.

Perhaps she could finally focus on resolving the situation.

-----

[color=#FF42FF]"Wha-?!"[/color]  It was impossible to change her course without touching the ground again, so the would-be idol was caught with her pants down (figuratively... and a bit literally) as a cage of antique firearms shut itself around her.  [color=#FF42FF]"Kyaaaa-!!  What the heck?!"[/color] she whined, trying her best to wiggle her arms but finding them firmly trapped.  [color=#FF42FF]"Mr Producer didn't say anything about doing gravure shots[/color]



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 <h1>Genghis Khan</h1>
 <h2>Lancer</h2>

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 <h3><b>NOTES:</b> tl;dr Silas, Zoe, and Genghisko move on ahead.  GK is pissed at Silas and he can feel it.  Nothing else significant has happened to them yet.<br><br>

Cheat sheet [color=#D40000]#D40000[/color] [color=#8C2FD4]#8C2FD4[/color] [color=#D1D11D]#D1D11D[/color] [color=#FF42FF]#FF42FF[/color]<br>[color=#272727]Spoilery links: [URL=https://danbooru.donmai.us/posts/976466][color=#272727]This[/color][/URL] / [URL=https://danbooru.donmai.us/posts/1019904][color=#272727]that[/color][/URL][/color]<br>

Oda Nobunaga is receiving the following benefit(s) from [b]Charisma[/b] of A-rank;<p>Allies gain 1 rank-up to two parameters of their own choice, and a massive morale boost.</h3>
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