“We can’t leave you, Your Majesty!”
“Morgan Curtis and Nevrai Fist are Prince Alfard’s subordinates. Moreover, they went missing three years ago!”
“Look at how battered they are. Plus, they guided these ruffians here without permission. Who knows what’s happened to them since they went missing!”
“They are clearly dangerous foes! Please reconsider, Your Majesty!”
It was technically true that Morgan and Nevrai had been chimerafied, and that they’d brought Miledi and the others to Dastia without permission, so they couldn’t really brush aside what the guards were saying. Miledi and the others stared down at their feet, waiting with bated breath for what the queen might say.
Seeing how guilty the Liberators looked, the soldiers got even more suspicious and glared pointedly at them.
“The Arbiter of Truth judged them harmless.”
That was the name of the artifact passed down within the royal family. It was an invisible barrier that spread out radially from the castle, connecting across towers and fortresses strategically placed at regular intervals around the boundaries of the kingdom.
The royal family could immediately tell if anyone passing through it meant Dastia harm, and then keep them out. However, Anya did shoot a wary glance over at Laus. She knew it was possible to deceive the Arbiter of Truth with spirit magic. In the end, she didn’t say anything, though.
“This conversation involves a secret of the royal family. Besides...” Anya trailed off, shooting a cold look over at her soldiers.
“Those seven are ancient magic users. If they truly wished to destroy us, they could. Please understand that this is something for me to handle and leave before they change their mind.”
“But... Very well. As you wish, Your Majesty. We will be close though, so if anything happens, call for us.”
“Of course. Thank you.”
It was humiliating to be told they lacked the strength to protect their charge, but the soldiers were skilled enough to know the measure of their strength. They knew their queen was right, and so, despite their humiliation, they did as she asked.
“Y-You’re treating us like some kind of natural disaster, but I promise we have no intention of harming you, no matter what happens. Please believe...uhhh, no, sorry.”
Miledi tried to put the soldiers at ease with a smile, but their furious glares shut her up. The soldiers then grumpily stalked out of the room, though they looked a little bit happier after shutting Miledi up.
Without even an incantation, Anya whipped up a wall of wind to soundproof the room. She then sat down on a nearby sofa and motioned for Miledi and the others to do the same.
Morgan and Nevrai remained standing at attention, however. They’d maintained their cool when the soldiers had called them traitors and insulted their changed appearances, but now they suddenly looked nervous.
“First off—” Anya spared a brief glance at Morgan and Nevrai, then turned back to Meiru. She’d regained her composure and looked every bit like a proper head of state. “You are the Liberators, correct? I would like to know why you’ve come.”
Sensing that this was a serious discussion, Miledi straightened her back and put on her leader face. She gave Anya a brief introduction, told her what the Liberators were and what they’d accomplished, and then explained that they’d come to Dastia to learn what they could about how to defeat Ehit.
Anya placed a finger on her chin as she absorbed everything Miledi told her. For a while, there was just silence, so while they waited, Miledi and the others were struck by just how beautiful Anya was. She was almost as flawless as God’s Apostles, and when she was silent and unmoving like she was now, she almost looked like a doll. Her grace and elegance made her seem like a mature adult, but if she smiled innocently at them, she could just as easily pass as a teenager.
While they were all admiring Anya’s beauty, she organized her thoughts and began speaking again, bringing the Liberators back to reality.
“Let me start by answering your question,” Anya said, casting her gaze over the Liberators before finally coming to a stop on Miledi, who nervously waited for the verdict. “I’m afraid we cannot provide the assistance you seek.”
Miledi gritted her teeth and replied, “I realize your knowledge is extremely valuable and not something you can easily grant to outsiders, but Ehit is an enemy to the vampires as well, isn’t he? We’re on the same side, are we not?”
It wasn’t as if Miledi was asking them to hand over all of Dastia’s knowledge either, just what might give them some more insight on what they’d discovered in the Dragon Kingdom. All they needed was a single clue.
Anya held out a hand to forestall any further pleading and stated, “Please don’t misunderstand.”
“Huh?”
“It isn’t that we do not want to help you. The problem is we currently have no way of giving you access to the vast stores of knowledge the royal family possesses.”
Miledi and the others exchanged confused glances.
“That is, in fact, part of the reason why I invited you into our country.”
The implication was, of course, that Dastia had some problem that they needed the Liberators’ help to resolve.
“My, and here I thought you’d come just to yell at me. You were staring quite intently at me through that bird of yours. Now I just feel like I was being too self-conscious,” Meiru said, steering the conversation in a completely different direction. As always, she didn’t bother reading the mood at all. However, to Miledi and the others’ surprise, Anya blushed and bashfully looked away. It was a very cute gesture, and the guys all pointedly avoided staring at her, lest they be sucked in by her charm. The last thing they wanted was to develop a crush on a married woman, after all. Unsurprisingly, Miledi glared at Oscar.
“That was because...your eyes look just like his,” Anya said, though it sounded like an excuse. Her queenly grace crumbled, and she looked wistfully into Meiru’s eyes.
“You mean...?”
“Yes, I am, of course, talking about your father,” she said simply, and Morgan and Nevrai nearly passed out.
“You knew?” Meiru asked.
“Not until I laid eyes on you,” Anya replied, looking off into the distance.
“The day before the coronation ceremony, I saw him...”
On that day, Alesand had cooped himself up in his room and ordered that no one disturb him. Anya had been worried about him, so she’d had her familiar snoop on him.
“You saw him doing what?” Meiru asked.
“Staring longingly at a portrait. After he was done, he tearfully ripped it apart and threw it away.”
“Was it a portrait of...?” Meiru trailed off as Anya turned to her.
“A woman who looked just like you.”
Neither Meiru nor anyone else could figure out what emotions lay within Anya’s eyes at that moment. However, it was clear her feelings on the matter were complicated. Moreover, the sheer amount of longing in her gaze was enough to captivate any man that might have looked at her in that instant.
“‘I’m sorry, Reej.’ That was what he said as he tore up the portrait.”
Anya had never been able to bring herself to ask who Reej was, especially because it felt like she’d seen something she definitely shouldn’t have.