"The situation," Eponine replied mechanically to Maria, "is normal, Lady Maria. We hunted down a witch last night. I lost a few men. It doesn't matter," Eponine added quickly before Maria had a chance to offer any condolences, "they know what they're getting themselves into. They know that their sacrifices are worth the safety of their families."
"Of course," Maria responded in a slight slur due to the sweets she was now partaking in. "Give my regards to these families should you meet them," Maria said respectfully, but didn't mean a single word of it. After all, she thought, they had their use as part of Eponine's hunt, and could serve no bigger role. Only magical girls matter to her. Anything below them is a tool, to be used and disposed of, as was fit of the scum that killed Klaus.
Fantine milled about, serving the drinks that Maria had ordered.
"I did hear a...disturbing rumor," Eponine added after take a sip that was perhaps a little too big and perhaps still a little too hot to be considered normal.
"An...effigy...was found in a neighboring fief," Eponine continued, "the effigy had an unused grief seed on it."
Maria stopped eating as she levitated her hot coco on the table. "How peculiar. Seems like we have a rogue magical girl at our hands."
Maria thought about it, and came to a conclusion: only magical girls could collect grief seeds, and since this one was used as a message, it means its collector was willing to try and influence someone with the message. The message was clearly anti-governmental, since an unused grief seed is unheard of in Aurora City. It could be the neighboring fief trying to cause confusion among the Nobles, but the most likely culprit is an outsider sending a message to Aurora. Shadow Compact doesn't have the guts to pull off something like this, but perhaps they have managed to find someone who doesn't care about being discovered as a rebel magical girl. If that is the case, maybe they could be taken advantage of, and with a little push, could be directed at just the right people. Maria thought up a plan of action regarding this exciting new pawn in her game, causing her to smile in a devilish grin, betraying her true nature.
"Place patrols at the border, and have them report any unusual sightings directly to you. Find out who she is loyal to. If she works opposed to the city, invite her to my estate, for I wish to speak with her personally."
Before Eponine could ask for the reason behind the order, Maria continued: "If she refuses, make an attempt at capturing her. Of course, you are to kill her if the task seems too difficult to accomplish. If she proves too powerful for you to defeat, retreat."
Someone who isn't of use to her, even a magical girl, should be disposed of, lest they cause any more trouble to her. On the contrary, Eponine is someone Maria wants to hold on to, even at the cost of her grip over her domain. Territories can be taken back as many times as wanted, but a life is only spent once.
"Oh, and one more thing: we never had this conversation." Maria took a sip of her hot coco once she was finished talking.
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