Camila and Zeke looked on in shock, but Igor paid them no heed as he sat diagonally across from Hadis.
“At least they don’t suspect us, and that’s good enough,” Igor continued. “But to mobilize a search party for the Kratos queen within the Rave Empire, they require our permission. I’d kept this decision on hold until Her Highness, the Dragon Consort, arrived, but…”
“A search party? You mean mobilize their military,” Zeke replied. “They want to search the Rave Empire in this situation? How certain are we that this isn’t a plan to somehow collect Prince Gerald?”
“If the queen were truly abducted, they could just return home first, but they’re cunning,” Camila said. “Who’s leading the Kratos delegation?”
“Lawrence Marton.”
Camila and Zeke fidgeted.
“W-Wait, that Raccoon Boy?! I knew he was coming, but he’s leading the delegation?” Camila asked.
“Huh… He’s the one who fell in love with another man’s wife… He’s as audacious as always, isn’t he?” Hadis said.
Crap, His Majesty’s eyes are losing their light.
“We do have a pact when it comes to the Arks,” Igor said. “There won’t be any political issues to allow search parties to enter our land. But can we just believe their words and allow them in? I don’t mean to doubt the queen’s abduction, but the Dragon Consort has gone missing as well. And we have that enigmatic dragon to worry about. Perhaps we should carefully contemplate how to handle this situation and decide whether this is simply a series of unfortunate coincidences.”
The duke was calm—perhaps this was a benefit that came with age. Thanks to that, Camila was able to snap back to her senses.
“It’s incredibly unlikely for both leaders set to meet to go missing at the same time,” Camila said. “There’s a chance that the queen and Jill are together. Maybe Jill spotted Her Majesty and gave chase. Wait, that actually sounds plausible. I could see Jill doing that.”
“Then it’ll be more efficient to cooperate with Kratos and form a search party,” Zeke said. “That raccoon… I bet he has a trick up his sleeve and will unleash it under the guise of cooperation.”
“Agreed. It’s a bit difficult to maintain that balance. I don’t think we can trick him, but at the very least, we shouldn’t get tricked. I wonder if there’s a good plan…” It was then that Camila noticed Igor staring at them. “What?” she asked.
“I was just surprised to see that the Knights of the Dragon Consort are rather proper,” Igor replied.
“Isn’t that a bit rude?!”
“Can’t deny that we’ve got a weird bird and stuffed bear on our side. And we’ve even got an odd dragon to boot,” Zeke said.
“I see. You guys are good reins for the Dragon Consort,” Igor murmured.
Camila didn’t feel praised at all, but Igor stared at them quietly.
“My foolish younger brother is closer in kind to that bird and the plush,” the duke said. “I ask that you please hold him back if needed.”
“Er, yes, um, we’re not talking about nursing him when he gets older, right?” Camila asked.
“Now then, Your Majesty, what shall we do?” Igor asked as he turned to Hadis. “You seem much more of a loose cannon than either the bird or the plush, if you ask me.”
Camila quickly snapped back to reality, and the quietly mulling Hadis finally opened his mouth.
“I understand the situation now,” he said. “I’m glad that we ultimately came, Rave. I’m a bit relieved.” Hadis smiled, his expression revealing that he was anything but. “Whether a trap will be laid or not, the Arks probably want this meeting to be broken off. If I were to go a step further, they likely want us to quarrel with Kratos, and once a battle breaks out, leading both sides to exhaustion, they plan to attack and wipe us all out. And if that’s the case, we should prioritize making this meeting a success. Let’s carefully talk it over with the Kratos delegation. Am I clear?”
“Noted,” Zeke replied. “But what do we do? Do we dispatch a search party?”
“That depends on the attitude of the man who tried to steal my wife,” Hadis replied.
An icy air surrounded him, causing Camila to rub both arms for warmth. “What do we do about the search for Jill?” she asked.
“I’m sure Jill can return before the time of the meeting. I have faith in her,” Hadis replied. He stood up. Camila didn’t find his expression to match his words. “I’ll leave all the little details to you. When we get the opportunity to negotiate with their delegation, let me know. Oh, and deliver all Jill’s belongings to my room, including those stupid dragons.”
“Your wish is my command,” Igor replied. “And what about the replenishment of soldiers from the imperial capital?”
“I’m having Millay rush over with them.”
Camila had a bad feeling about the girl who kept tagging along recently. Igor also looked perplexed, but Hadis gazed meaningfully out the window as though he didn’t notice the confusion on his subjects’ faces.
“It was a long process, but I handled it all in advance,” Hadis said. “She should be rushing here by dragon, going as fast as she can. I decided to make her my future empress candidate, you see.”
“What?!” Igor and the Knights of the Dragon Consort yelped in unison.
Did my ears deceive me? I thought I just heard something about an empress candidate… Uh, that means one of the Dragon Emperor’s wives, right? And since Hadis was the emperor, it meant that he was looking for a wife aside from the Dragon Consort.
“Your Majesty!” Igor cried. “Do you plan on destroying Lehrsatz?!”
The duke sounded as though he was overly anxious, but his concerns were valid as he predicted a grisly future.
“Of course not. I’m the emperor who protects this empire,” Hadis replied.
Yet, a man in such a position would never smile so joyfully with a hint of an ominous flare.
“You may be Jill’s knights, but don’t bully my empress candidate too much,” Hadis added. “You’d best treat her carefully.”
“Are you trying to split us up by dragging us into Captain’s wrath?!” Zeke shouted.
“If the Dragon Consort doesn’t return in time, my empress candidate shall conduct the meeting. This is under my imperial order,” Hadis said. “It allows you to put more faith in the Dragon Consort, don’t you think? She’ll definitely return in time.”
That was no way to put faith in someone, but perhaps this was the right way to go. Everyone could easily imagine the Dragon Consort cracking her knuckles as she went on the search for Hadis.
“Oh, Lehrsatz…” Igor groaned sadly. He could see his beloved city up in flames, and the knights took pity on him.