“I was lucky,” Clemens said. “My injury was treated straightaway. It’ll take some time before I’m fully recovered, but the wound was closed as of yesterday. Now I just have to rest and build up my strength. Nils even gave the okay for me to start on rehabilitation as of tomorrow. So come now, enough with the tears.”
Paul replied with only a wail. Shiori couldn’t help but smile at the sight. The brothers were close-knit, and she saw something of her relationship with her own brother in them.
“And more importantly, I’m getting married. So if you’re going to cry, it should at least be in celebration.”
“You’re WHAT?!”
It was as if a bomb had just dropped on Paul. His mouth was agape as tears streamed down his face. Clearly, maintaining his reputation as the esteemed director of a trading company was the last thing on his mind.
“What?! Getting married?! But to whom? Miss Nadia? Wait—but last time we talked it sounded to me like you were still trying to woo her. It’s only been four months since! Four months... Isn’t this all a bit sudden?!”
“Okay, calm down, Paul. Deep breaths. I think you might be in shock.”
“Is it not understandable that I might be SHOCKED by such news?!”
As far as Paul knew, his slow-moving brother had only just found a girl he liked enough to really try for. Then he’d been suddenly injured and at death’s door, unsure if the light of tomorrow was something he’d ever bear witness to. But not only was Clemens going to recover—he was also getting married.
Shock was perhaps the only natural reaction. Paul had been so worried that he was now well beyond such trifles as embarrassment and reputation.
“Okay, okay,” said Nils gently. “I think that’s enough of that for now, don’t you? How about we all take a break and then come back to the topic again later, hm? Let’s not forget that Clemens is still injured.”
Nils’s calm and ease of being brought Paul back to his senses, and he spun to look at the others in the room.
“I, well...” he uttered, his face blushing red. “You’ve caught me in the midst of a most embarrassing moment...”
“No need to worry, such reactions are all too common in these circumstances,” said Nils. “How about staying the night? I’m sure you and Clemens have much to talk about.”
Paul was a touch hesitant about the idea at first, but eventually accepted the herbalist’s suggestion.
“I’m going to head out for a moment to send word to my family,” he said, but on his way he stopped to whisper an update to Shiori: “We’re almost done and will have some test products for you to take a look at.”
The freeze-dried food production which she’d left to Enandel to manage was finally taking shape.
“I’m so glad to hear that it’s all coming together,” she said.
“You and me both,” added Alec, smiling as he dropped a kiss on his lover’s forehead. No doubt many others also felt the same way.
“By the way,” whispered Nils as Paul was heading out the door, “I feel as if I’ve just been made witness to a most unbelievable secret...”
He held in his hand Paul’s business card. Paul had introduced himself with his Holewa surname, and his business card clearly stated that he was Enandel’s director. Working out Clemens’s identity from there was a piece of cake.
“You know, a long time ago, I did hear the rumors that the founders of Holewa and Co. were a family of three brothers, the middle of which disappeared in his teens...which makes Clemens, well, a rather important fellow.”
Shiori couldn’t help but chuckle a little at Nils’s reaction, as it reminded her very much of her own when she’d found out.
“And hasn’t Clemens known the guild master since they were both kids? Family business connections or some such thing? That would make Zack part of some equally important noble family too, wouldn’t it? Oh my, oh no, I feel like I’m seeing a web of connections I’m far better off not knowing about at all.”
Nils knew how to keep a secret. He was a doctor, after all, and he was not the type to go spreading gossip about his patients. Paul and Clemens had both understood this, which was why they’d made the herbalist privy to the truth. Nils, for his part, let out something of a dry chuckle.
“And speaking of which, didn’t the third prince go missing around the same time? He, too, was never found, so you have to wonder if he’s just prancing around out there right under our very noses...”
As the thoughts coalesced in Nils’s mind, he turned to look at Shiori and Alec, his sentence trailing off into silence. He took a long hard look at his friend Alec, the magical swordsman. He thought things through—the name, the chestnut-colored hair, the dark magenta eyes, and his age being just right, if you calculated the years...all of which pointed to the missing prince.
“No. No, no, no,” said Nils. “There’s just no way. That hair and those eyes are everywhere. And Alec is a hugely popular name here, regardless of age.”
He paused a moment to chuckle.
“Yes, utterly impossible,” he said, negating his own hypothesis until he became aware of the silence emanating from his friends. “Oh. What is it? Why are you two so quiet all of a sudden?”
Even Rurii spun so as to avert its gaze from the herbalist. Violid saw to cleaning his fur, its expression saying something along the lines of “Well, I knew he was anything but ordinary the very day we met...”
“You’ve always been a good friend,” said Alec, sighing as he rested a hand on Nils’s shoulder. “I trust you to keep a secret. In truth, I feel I can trust you with anything. And I trust now that in sharing the truth with you, I won’t lose your friendship.”
“Huh?” uttered Nils.
“It’s going to come to light eventually, but I hope you’ll keep it secret until it does.”
The blood drained from Nils’s face.
“Of course I will,” he said. “And yes, you can trust me with anything. I won’t let you down.”
The herbalist watched the two adventurers and their familiars leave, and a twitchy smile crept to his face.
“Huh?” he uttered. “But didn’t Alec say that his father and Zack’s father were friends through work, and that’s how they met? That is what he said, isn’t it? But that would mean...that the guild master’s own family are at the very least royal aides, no? Oh no, I hate this! I’m stuck in this web of connections I’m far better off not knowing about at all!”
Learning a patient’s secrets was part and parcel of Nils’s job. He was also well aware that it was not at all uncommon for people to become adventurers to escape their pasts. Nils was a certified doctor, an herbalist, and an adventurer—certain secrets were simply bound to make their way to him. In this case, however, the weight of those secrets would require some time to be fully comprehended.
“But he did say...I’m a good friend... He did say that, didn’t he?”
Alec had said he trusted Nils, and that he did not want to lose their friendship. Thinking back on the words made Nils smile.
“I guess it’s not that bad after all,” he said, as he looked out at the people walking by the window.
The threat of the Empire and its dragon was gone, and so the expressions on the faces Nils saw outside were bright and happy. Everybody was looking forward to the summer solstice festival. That light, easy feeling in the air was one that he and his friends had helped to secure through their actions, and a surge of pride swelled in Nils’s chest.
“May your friends and your home bring you happiness.”
He uttered the words of a prayer as his familiar, Eir, watched over him.