Chapter 32: The Orden Family

Just outside the Fortress City of Vorig, a waystation between Graf Granat's lands and the magic city of Äußerst, a noble's carriage halts the travelers so its owner can size up Stark. The man is Lord Orden, head of one of the region's foremost knightly houses, and he hauls the party back to his manor with a paid proposition. Frieren waves him off until Fern reveals their purse holds only a few copper coins, at which point ten gold pieces, a full year of comfortable meals, becomes too tempting to refuse.

Orden's request hinges on Stark's striking likeness to Wirt, his eldest son and the city's celebrated hero, secretly slain in a brutal clash with demons. Because Vorig anchors the region's defenses, the lord has concealed the death and wants Stark to pose as Wirt at a grand gathering three months out, buying time to steady his soldiers' resolve. The scar on Stark's brow, he insists, will simply read as a mark of valor.

The butler Gabel drills Stark in dancing, riding, and courtly manners over the following months, and a month before the ball Fern is roped into etiquette lessons as his escort. Twice Stark kneels to take her hand in mock formality; she tells him it does not suit him, yet lingers over the gesture afterward. On the night itself, the two spend the evening on the dance floor while Sein's invitation to Frieren loses out to a slice of cake.

Walking the estate, Stark watches Orden coldly drill his surviving son Mut, a scene that stirs memories of his own father. The lord privately admits he believes in Mut's diligence and expects the boy to one day surpass him, confessing he praises the child so often it has bred complacency. When the masquerade ends, Stark tells Orden plainly that he is no substitute for Wirt, just as the lord is no substitute for the foster father he must return to.

Both men carry the weight of a bitter final parting: Orden once told Wirt he never wished to see his face again, while Stark left his own master Eisen on harsh terms, all the more reason, he decides, to go back and recount his travels. With his warrior village in the Klee Region wiped out, Stark has no other home to return to.

The Orden house is counted among the Northern Lands' Three Great Knightly Houses, and the local currency is the Strahl gold coin, ten of which cover three daily meals plus snacks for an entire year. The chapter closes with Stark grinning as Orden, no longer aloof, warmly coaches Mut, a sign the family's succession is secure.