Epilogue: Letters from an Echo

Previously: Letting Go

 

She thought her online followers would be disappointed, but instead they were ecstatic.

 

Players who hadn't run the simulation in years returned, this time taking on characters they'd ignored before or didn't even know existed—Simon Rosemere the drunken exile, Edith the maid, Marguerite Mercier, even Thibault du Maurier. Someone even created an "Heirs" mod allowing players to become the Crown Princes or Princesses of the various kingdoms.

 

The Barony of Westervale experienced a new wave of popularity, prompting the programmers to revisit the game. They promised to incorporate existing mods and create new expansions. With every new release, the gamer was inundated with requests for new playthroughs, but she never ran the simulation again. So her followers began responding to her old posts with excerpts from their own adventures.

 

They were entertaining; she watched many players seize thrones, whether by blood or marriage, and establish new dynasties. Some took on the roles of nobles, preferring to be the power behind the throne.

 

But for the gamer, the best posts came in the form of letters from her own Echo.

 

***

 

My dearest Vicomtesse080126,

 

I hope this finds you well.

 

(She started all her letters like this, which the gamer found extremely amusing. She herself had never spoken like this so she figured the computer just came up with it.)

 

Winter deepens in Auremer. Adrian and I have decided to wed during the solstice. Sabine and Élodie will attend, but Thibault, Marguerite, and Edith will remain in Saint-Véronne.

 

Thibault asked me to wait until spring, when he could travel. He said it would greatly benefit a Vicomtesse to have the Duke of Orvienne in attendance. I tried to explain to him that it wasn't that kind of wedding.

 

Agnete returned to the Wellen Isles. She was supposed to winter in Valeronne until her cousin's wedding, but Edith says the poor girl looked dejected. She thinks Agnete was looking forward to being Queen of Valeronne.

 

However, now that her elder cousin is to be married, Agnete just moved up in the Wellenish line of succession. She could very well be Empress someday.

 

Of course... that is another story.

 

Repairs on the house continue, and as does the acquisition of ships. We purchased a new one last week, from a Calderran company. Whitest sails I've ever seen. The owner even threw in a cask of Calderran wine.

 

Life is quiet as winter comes. I intend to enjoy the quiet long after the snows melt, but for others, the game continues.

 

Thibault wants to bring Élodie to Saint-Véronne. He thinks if he can give her a royal education, she could be eligible to wed an Avenish prince. Sabine and I have advised against it. We tried to remind them both about what happened with Adela Stoneleigh.

 

Speaking of which, Grand Prince Vladimir has chosen to honor the original line of succession. His and Adela's children will never sit the throne. The Stoneleighs are incensed. 

 

Edith agreed to counsel Princess Margrete, but only in exchange for a title and land. Not a husband, just a title and land. She says Margrete has agreed to make her a baroness of a small region right here in Orvienne. 

 

Sir Godwin Whitlock wrote to me, asking for a loan. Can you believe that? It seems marrying a Foxmere was a terrible investment. He says the girl's stomach is a bottomless pit, and she buys things without asking.

 

I gave him a one-time grant of two hundred crowns and told him to never contact me again.

 

(The gamer winced, remembering that ever since her Echo took over, the Vicomtesse no longer had access to ridiculous sums of money. Two hundred crowns now seemed like an awfully large grant.)

 

Alys Hawkridge wrote to me from Wintervale. Her parents sent her two younger siblings to Sleetford, as they could no longer afford them. Byron is seventeen and Meliora is sixteen. Alys asked for an introduction to the Valeronnese court. I tried, but no one was interested in two siblings of an obscure noblewoman, not even the Comtesse de Marivelle.

 

I finally asked Edith to connect Alys with the Wellenish Princesses. We'll see if anything comes of that.

 

In the meantime, I advised Alys to take what coin she had and simply start a business. I suggested she let Byron run a fishery or tannery, and let Meliora apprentice with a weaver or tailor. Alys also owns some farmland, and still has access to some of Castle Hailmere's resources. It might not be much (now that she and Adela are no longer pretending to be best friends), but it's still something, right?

 

Anyway... that's all for now. Feel free to write back and tell me what else you'd like to know.

 

Warmest Regards,

 

Mireille

 

***

 

Agnete wants to be Empress and Alys is actually trying to be a Countess. The gamer raised an eyebrow, then quickly closed the holographic screen to quell the rising temptation.

 

No. Absolutely not.

 

~ FIN ~