Truteliese didn’t say a word after that. In the end, Arcrayne and Estelle were unable to get any answers out of her, so they gave up and left the Tower of Albion.
No matter what tone they’d used with her, the queen had maintained her silence with a blank look on her face. Because of that, Arcrayne looked on edge.
“I’m sorry for telling her about your power without your permission.” This was the first thing he said since they’d left, once they were alone in the coach.
“Did you tell her because she will eventually be executed?”
The expression “dead men tell no tales” appeared in Estelle’s mind, making her feel unpleasant. Even if Truteliese were to tell people about Estelle’s power, it was now possible to hush it up by calling it the lies of a criminal.
“I won’t deny I had that thought for a moment. But the bigger factor was my surprise at the emotions you saw in her and the conclusions you came to.” Leaning back in his seat, Arcrayne sighed dejectedly. “You aren’t the only one who found the course of events of the rebellion and its conclusion unnatural. That’s what shook me up.”
“Lord Arc...”
“Sorry, I need a moment to collect my thoughts.” With that, Arcrayne furrowed his brows and directed his eyes outside the window.
✦ ✦ ✦
After returning from the Tower of Albion to the palace, Estelle and Arcrayne were told that Sachis had called for them, so they both went to the Leo Palace.
As he lay in his bedroom, the king’s face looked even better than when Estelle had visited him the day before.
“I’m glad you came,” he said from his bed, then told his chief officer to leave the room.
Estelle and Arcrayne sat on chairs that had been placed next to the bed ahead of time.
“I don’t like beating around the bush, so I’ll get straight to the point. Is it true that Lady Estelle is an Awoken?”
“What are you talking about?” asked Arcrayne after a pause but without changing his expression in the slightest.
“Strange... I just heard it from Truteliese.”
The prince twitched. “What does she have to do with this?”
“I gave her a small mana communicator which can only reach me.”
Arcrayne brought his hand to his temple as if he had a headache. “That makes it sound like you and the queen worked together.”
“That’s exactly right.”
Arcrayne’s mana darkened. “May I ask for a full explanation?”
“It’s simple. Truteliese is my accomplice.”
The king’s words confirmed the conclusions Estelle had drawn.
“Since when?” asked the prince, his anger palpable.
“‘Since when’? Since the very beginning. If you want a more concrete answer—I suppose it began when Truteliese became pregnant with Liedis.”
Thus, Sachis began his story, a somewhat distant look in his eye.