"I bloody wish," Gertrude blurted before she could remember to tone her language down, "I mean, a bloody wish! Er, The Moonlit Queen's desire was bloody. Aye. Her initial questioning was never going to bring the Duke's wits back to us. She merely wished to know if we were equal to the task she would ask in exchange."

Trudy stopped dancing, and took a seat next to the princesses. The narrative weight of the next statement shouldn't be dulled by her performance.

"She wanted the Roses to vanquish The Midnight Hunt."

---

Gretchen wasn't too put off by the fact that neither pint-sized paladin took her up on the offer of sitting on her lap, and simply accepted their company beside her. Hearing about Haizea's illness struck a chord, and knowing that Tyaethe also dealt with health problems, it felt a little cozy that they were all seated together in this way.

That despite their troubles, they were all here, even if Haizea would rather be out [i]there[/i]. Well, it's not as if Gretchen couldn't understand her body not letting her do something she really wanted to do. Due to her own health problems, she ended up reading and memorizing a lot of books about magical healthcare. It never really occurred to her to use those spells on other people, because it meant less magic for her if she needed it, but it would probably earn her some favor if she helped.

And she didn't really have to use her [i]own[/i] mana, did she? Tyaethe had enough for all three of them.

"Well, I don't think I can do something [i]permanent[/i]. Not right here and now, at least. But I [i]might[/i] be able to help regulate her for one bout? I'll need to borrow Yaya's mana."

She looked down at Tyaethe and tilted her head.

"You mentioned you grew up with health issues, too. Was it a heart issue, or something else?"