“We’d better go find out! Everyone, get ready as quickly as you can!” I instructed. With that, the others scurried off, and I turned back to the letter once more. Lainie had never sent any messages by carrier pigeon before, a fact that only added to my building anxiety. “I hope it isn’t anything too bad…” After letting Dragus know we were heading back to the capital, we set off on our way. No sooner had our Airbikes landed on the palace grounds than the squad of guards on duty rushed toward us. “Commander Anisphia?! What are you doing here?” one of them asked in surprise. “I have an urgent errand. Do you know where Euphie and Lainie are?” “Oh? Queen Euphyllia should be resting at the detached palace today…” “Euphie? She took a day off?” Impossible—Euphie never took time off, certainly not on a weekday. As my worry grew, my voice dropped considerably lower than usual, prompting the knight to shrink back. Uh-oh. I had to make sure everyone stayed calm… “Sorry. I’ve had a bad day, that’s all.” “I—I see…” “Thanks for letting me know. I’ll head to the detached palace. Can you take the Airbikes?” “Of course!” With that taken care of, we made for the detached palace, Navre and the others following a step behind me. “Something big must have happened for Euphie of all people to take a day off…,” I grumbled. “I’m not sure it’s wise to assume that without any other evidence. Though this is Queen Euphyllia we’re talking about…,” I heard Navre murmur. “I got the impression she works even on her days off…,” Garkie added. Priscilla’s stern voice sounded from behind them. “We have no time for idle chitchat. Let us be off, Your Highness.” “You’re very calm, Priscilla…,” Charnée observed. “Indeed. I’m more composed than ever,” Priscilla replied flatly. That comment was enough to ease the tension. Lainie had asked us to come back if we could, which meant this wasn’t an emergency. There was no need to panic. We just had to keep our cool. I slowed my racing thoughts by the time we arrived at the detached palace, where a maid noticed us, seemed surprised, and then walked over. “Princess Anisphia?! We weren’t expecting you!” “I’m back. Sorry for dropping in so suddenly. I heard Euphie’s here. Do you know where I can find her?” “Queen Euphyllia is in her private chambers.” “I see. Thanks. I’ll head over there right away.” “Eh? Ah, um… Your Highness!” Without waiting for the maid, I set off at once for Euphie’s room. After arriving outside and knocking on the door, I heard her voice from the other side. “Come in.” “I’m here, Euphie!” “…Anis?” She gasped as I threw the doors open with all my strength. I found her reading a book in her room. I breathed a sigh of relief to see her so relaxed—though I was more than a little surprised. Thank goodness she wasn’t sick. But if she was fine, why did Lainie want me to return…? Taken aback by my sudden appearance, Euphie set her book down and came toward me. “Anis? What’s wrong? Today isn’t supposed to be one of your days off…” “That’s my line. You don’t have any official duties today? Why are you so…laid-back?” Euphie’s eyes glazed over for a moment at this question. She was quick to hide it, but I couldn’t miss the brief change. That response—it was her typical way of trying to hide something. Yep, something was definitely wrong. And it seemed Euphie had no intention of being forthright about it. “I had a little free time today, that’s all, so I thought I’d take a breather…,” she said, brushing my question aside. “…Euphie?” I said. She said nothing. “Euphie?” I asked again. At last, she seemed to realize she couldn’t expect to pull one over on me. She averted her gaze, refusing to make eye contact with me. “Why won’t you look at me? Euphie?” “No particular reason…” “Then you should be able to look me in the eyes, right?” “Oh, look! There’s something outside the window. What do you think it might be, Anis?” “Euphie…” “…” “Something’s wrong. I can tell.” “No. Er… Well…” Again, she tried to clumsily steer the conversation in a different direction. I continued to stare at her worriedly. All at once, the door slammed open. “Lady Anis! You’re back!” “Lainie!” In she came, followed by Navre and the others. The moment Euphie laid eyes on her, bitter realization fell over her face. “…Lainie, you’re behind this?” “Of course I had to report it. You didn’t think you could keep it from her, did you? She wouldn’t be happy either way, so best to get it over with,” Lainie scolded her. Euphie fell silent, shrinking back slightly. Euphie was certainly acting strangely, but Lainie’s behavior seemed off, too. Like she was on edge, almost angry. At Euphie…? But there seemed to be more to it, whatever it was. I turned to Lainie for answers. “Lainie, what’s going on? Did something happen with Euphie’s official duties today?” “Their Former Majesties King Orphans and Queen Sylphine are handling Lady Euphyllia’s official duties, so you needn’t worry about that. As for the current situation—Lady Euphyllia is recuperating.” “Recuperating?!” I blurted out. “As I’ve told you again and again, Lainie, there’s nothing wrong with my physical condition,” Euphie called out timidly in an effort to reassure everyone, though she did seem somewhat flustered. “You certainly don’t look unwell…,” Navre chimed in. “As right as rain, as far as I can see,” Garkie added. “I don’t see anything amiss, either,” Charnée whispered. Only Priscilla remained silent, staring intently at Euphie. The person in question, meanwhile, breathed a deep, exasperated sigh at Lainie’s explanation, then flashed her a sharp glare. “Lady Euphyllia’s physical condition is indeed in good form,” Lainie said, “but there’s more to it.” “What do you mean?” “…Lady Euphyllia hasn’t slept for several days.” “What?!” I gawked, my voice dropping low. Silence fell over the room, as if we were in a vacuum. My thoughts, on the other hand, gained a newfound clarity, and my surroundings felt much more vivid. I could practically hold the whole space in my hands. That was how I couldn’t fail to notice everyone’s attention focused my way, though that was understandable. Because right now, I was truly, genuinely angry. “…Euphie?” “…I’m fine, really.” “You aren’t sleeping. Would you try explaining to me how that’s supposed to be fine?” I had tried to keep my voice as gentle as possible, but all the same, Euphie shrank back. It wasn’t like I wanted to scare her, but I needed to get some kind of explanation out of her. I maintained my silence while I fought to calm my nerves. For her part, Euphie said nothing. Unable to bear the hush that had fallen over the room, Navre spoke up. “Hold on, Lainie. You’re saying Her Majesty hasn’t slept in days?” “That’s exactly right, Master Navre.” “She looks healthy, though… What’s going on?” “That’s because Lady Euphyllia is a spirit covenantor.” “What does that have to do with her not sleeping?” “Simply put, she doesn’t have the mental composure to conduct herself as a human right now,” Lainie declared, ice-cold. That left Navre and the others speechless. “Wh-what on earth…?” “Spirit covenantors don’t need to eat or sleep unless they consciously acknowledge such needs,” Lainie explained. “As such, when they don’t have enough energy, they may not behave like regular human beings. She hasn’t slept a wink in days, and she’s lost all appetite. She’s tried forcing herself to eat to keep me and her other attendants at bay, but she’s consumed little more than crumbs.” “Wh-what…? So that’s what it means to be a spirit covenantor…?” Navre stammered, pressing a hand against his head in shock. It was public knowledge that Euphie was a spirit covenantor, but even her closest associates would have trouble understanding the negative effects of that process, let alone the public at large. It would be all but impossible for anyone to understand what she had become. In truth, not even I could fully understand her feelings—a fact that I found incredibly frustrating. “…What do you mean?” I asked. Then I turned to Euphie. “What happened?” She said nothing. “Euphie.” “…I’m just a little tired, that’s all.” “Yes, there have been a few troubling matters lately that have contributed to Lady Euphyllia’s stress,” Lainie clarified. “I’ve been in discussion with Lady Tilty, and she agrees—we thought it best you return as soon as possible, Lady Anis.” “I see. I’ll have to thank her later.” I let out a long sigh, picturing the face of my ever-dependable friend. Now then—how to get my stubborn Euphie to spill the beans? I stared into her eyes, but ever so subtly, she averted her gaze. “So? You’re not going to say anything?” I demanded. “…I’m sorry.” “I’m not looking for an apology… You’re really okay?” “…No,” she admitted at last, the cracks emerging in her hard shell. “I’m sorry, everyone,” she said, addressing the others. “Do you mind giving me and Anis some privacy?” “Very well,” Lainie said. She ushered the others outside as she left the room. Soon, only Euphie and I remained. As soon as we were alone, Euphie reached out to timidly take my hand, as if probing an injury. Returning her grip, I wrapped my other arm around her body to hold her close. “…I’m sorry, Anis,” she said, leaning in and resting her head on my shoulder. “It’s okay. But really, what happened? Let me spoil you a little, then you can tell me, all right?” “I did something unworthy of myself, that’s all…” “Unworthy? You’re doing your best, Euphie. What went wrong?” “It isn’t a huge issue… Well, it does weigh on me personally, I suppose.” “What happened?” I asked again. Euphie trembled again for a short moment, then slowly began to speak: “…I had a little trouble managing my emotions. I failed.” “You failed…?” “…I nearly killed someone.” My breath caught in my throat. I couldn’t conceal my surprise at this. She had nearly killed someone? The only time I had ever seen her want to murder someone was during the fight with Lilana. She wasn’t the kind of person who harbored violent thoughts toward others. I just couldn’t believe that my Euphie, who I knew so well, could want to harm someone so severely, to the point she regretted her own actions. “What really happened? It doesn’t make any sense, you losing control and almost killing someone.” “Thank you for saying that, but it’s true…,” she whispered, her voice filled with despair. I felt like grinding my teeth in frustration. I had never seen her so weakened before. “Knowing you, you must have been really upset…,” I began. “What in the world did they do to make you feel that way? Did they say something that got under your skin?” “…Please don’t get mad. Okay?” “Ah. So it’s about me…?” “…You guessed it.” “Hmm. Yeah. Well, it’s starting to make sense now.” We let go, glancing into each other’s faces as we exchanged light smiles. It was a slightly embarrassing situation, but it looked like Euphie was finally beginning to relax a little. I felt a little awkward hearing how much she treasured me, but right now her mental state took precedence. “So? What did they say about me?” “I was in the middle of a meeting when they approached me directly.” “A direct appeal…? That sounds pretty serious.” I still didn’t know exactly what happened or why, but even someone as politically obtuse as I was could appreciate how unusual it was for someone to make a direct entreaty to the queen. On top of that, if it was during a meeting, there would be other nobles in attendance, and if they asked for something outlandish, it would be sure to cause a stir. Just what was this person thinking? “What kind of noble was it?” I asked. “A young man,” Euphie answered. “He raised questions about your achievements.” “He did? What about? Magicology or magical tools? Or was it about the new city?” “No, none of those…” Once again, her voice trailed off into an awkward silence. This discussion must have brought the memories flooding back, as she had to pause for a moment to catch her breath, fighting to suppress an upswell of emotion. “If not those, then what?” I asked, my head cocked to one side in bewilderment. Euphie stared at me with shock. Huh? Why…? “Really? Nothing comes to mind…?” she asked. “It was about the dragon you killed.” “Huh?! That?! That’s kind of out of the blue, but I guess you could call it an achievement…” It was easy to forget, seeing as I was mostly interested in getting my hands on the magicite crystal, but in the eyes of the public, our slaying of the dragon was spun into a heroic tale intended to overshadow the rumors of Euphie’s broken engagement. The slaying should have been credited to Euphie and me together rather than just me myself…but apparently someone was calling that into question. This news was so unbelievable that I was at a total loss. It had been years since we defeated the dragon. Why would anyone waste their time bringing it up now? “How did that topic come up in the first place?” I asked. “…The man said I was wholly responsible for it. Or something like that.” “Huh? Seriously?” “…Yes.” I breathed a low groan. How on earth had he arrived at that conclusion? “Wait, so he said it wasn’t me who defeated it? That you were behind the whole thing?” “Exactly. He suspected I was trying to elevate your status by crediting you for slaying it.” I let out a disgusted sigh. Sure, I understood the intention behind the man’s claim, but surely there must have been a better way of going about it. At the time, I was considered nothing more than a weirdo researching and developing bizarre tools. I could understand why people might doubt the tales that I had slain the dragon. After all, it was unthinkable that someone who couldn’t even wield magic had been able to eliminate a creature that had posed such an immense danger. But even so, the nobleman’s claim was groundless. There were plenty of witnesses other than Euphie who had seen what happened, and the royal family itself had publicly acknowledged my actions. So how did he arrive at his conclusion? I mean, he could say whatever he wanted, though there was always the risk he could be charged with lèse-majesté. What benefit was there in bringing it up now? “…When he voiced his doubts about you, it was like my vision went red. I nearly lost myself.” “…Euphie.” “…I thought, why am I trying to defend a country that keeps on spurning you?” Her voice was quiet and filled with resignation. Ah, so that was what was bothering her.
Chapter 126
13 min read