In fact, it would be easier to turn Yarsh in, claiming Alexis had entered because he was suspicious of the prince.
“Well, you drive a hard bargain… Fine, I’ll give you this.”
“…!” Alexis’s eyes went wide.
“This’s what you came here for anyway, right?”
The mission Alexis’s father, the king, had given him had two objectives.
The first was to observe conditions in Turchen and report everything back to the king.
The second was to receive a sealed letter from the third prince of Valjean, who was to visit Turchen in secret. Alexis had begun surveying Turchen the moment he arrived, before the third prince got there. Once he received the sealed letter, he ought to be able to return home.
“I promise I’ll return in ten days.”
And yet not only was Yarsh one day late to arrive, but he had also made excuses to avoid giving Alexis the letter until now.
Alexis could not neglect his mission—but worry for his sister consumed him. The words he told her the day he departed returned to his mind. There wasn’t much time left until the promised day of his return.
He had just concluded that drastic measures may need to be taken, and then Yarsh casually handed him the letter.
“Why did you wait so long…?”
“It wasn’t by my will. King Enoch ordered me not to give it to you right away.”
My father ordered him…?
“Guess I bought him plenty of time. I’ve fulfilled my duty, now you fulfill yours and tell nobody we met tonight. A fine deal, I’d say.”
“…Why?”
“Hmm?”
“Why did my father ask you to stall?”
Don’t give it to me right away? Alexis was ordered to retrieve the letter, while Yarsh was ordered to delay giving it. What was the meaning of this…?
“I don’t know… Either he wanted you to stay in Turchen as long as possible…or he wanted you away from Esfia for a while. One of those? But he needed you to stay within his own nation, where he could keep an eye on you. That’s where my mind went, at least.”
“…You speak as if you and my father are friends.”
“Since his enthronement, King Enoch has visited Valjean many times. That’s about it. When he was crown prince, he spent several months in Valjean to study, so the Valjean people consider him a friend.”
No… It’s likely that the only royal connection my father has besides the King of Valjean is Prince Yarsh. He’s caught my father’s—vigilant—eye.
Alexis surmised that his father thought Yarsh would probably be the next king. Despite abdicating his right to the throne, his siblings were wary of him, and multiple attempts had been made on his life. Popular with the people of Valjean, the third prince was always high in the running for king. Tales of a prince who brought a wasteland back to a fertile farm of specialty crops had spread all the way to Esfia. (Though, either intentionally or unintentionally, the name of the prince had disappeared from the story after it had passed between too many mouths.)
Yarsh loved to travel because he was safer outside of his own kingdom. That likely had something to do with why he preferred to wander this castle alone and not in the company of anyone from Valjean, making a late-night solo excursion like this possible—even his love of history wasn’t necessarily the truth. Alexis wondered—what if it was merely a facade he embraced?
“And this duty of which you speak?”
“It’s a duty—what else of it? You used the word earlier, so I’m sure you know what it means.”
In other words, he didn’t want to answer.
“So…what’s your move?” Yarsh asked.
Judging by how quickly he had produced the letter, the prince had likely carried it with him all this time. From what Alexis had observed of him over the past few days, it was unlikely anybody had given it to him or that he’d left it in his room, so the letter was probably genuine.
“If you’ve satisfied your curiosity…then you should return to your quarters,” Alexis said, reaching for the letter. It was unexpectedly lightweight, even for paper.
“The deal is done, then. Hey, while I’ve got you here, help me satisfy another curiosity of mine.”
For a while, Yarsh walked the sword and mirror room in silence. Then he returned to the platform with the sword.
“It’s rusted, but look at those characteristic ripples…,” Yarsh said in a low voice. “Is this the Turchen blade Adjutants use…?” Then he looked at Alexis. “What do you think, Alexis—is this the room where they held the rituals? The Earl of Turchen would probably know, but it’s not like we can ask him.”
“I don’t care—”
But if this is the room where the rituals were held… The daydream he just had rematerialized in his mind. What was King Eus doing in here?
“Do you really wanna destroy Esfia that badly?”
And who was that mystery man?
He had never appeared in Alexis’s dreams before.
How did King Eus answer him?
Alexis didn’t know, but he could imagine.
King Eus would say—
No. If it were me, I would say—
A surreal sensation overcame him—a sensation he had felt recently before… The day he departed, when he was talking with Guy…and gave his sister the blessing.
But it felt more intense—far more intense.
“Alexis, what’s wrong?”
His brother Sirius materialized in his mind, but not as his current self. He was much younger.
“Alexis.” Yarsh was staring at him. His gaze was deeply sober. “Look in the mirror.”
The mirror?
He looked at the large mirror in the room. Yarsh and Randal were reflected in it…with Alexis reflected beside them.
But the color of his eyes…had changed to amber.