GILBERT
FWUMP! Fwish, thunk!
Albert, the prince consort, flipped through page after page detailing the palace staff and Freesian guests at last night’s party. He swept the papers off his desk the moment he no longer needed them. Having joined Albert in his office, I watched as he grappled with the same rage burning inside him as me.
“Why?! Why can’t the best doctors in the country figure this out?!” Though I knew Albert to be a composed fellow, he was shouting far more than usual. He took deep breaths, winded by his own anger.
“Some illnesses are extremely rare,” I said. “Just because someone is a doctor doesn’t mean they’re familiar with every single disease.”
But I’m not entirely convinced that’s what befell Princess Pride.
I paused before I faced Albert again, needing a moment to calm my own emotions. My wife, Maria, had fallen victim to a rare illness herself only a few years earlier. I knew better than anyone that some sicknesses had no easy answer.
“Besides,” I told him, “we’re not certain yet it’s an illness. Someone could have snuck into that large crowd. Seneschal Vest and Prince Stale are looking into the possibility now.”
Queen Rosa was busy handling the aftermath of the situation, so Vest assisted as her steward by scouring the list of foreign guests. He was also confirming that none of the spouses brought along by the royal and noble invitees were Freesian. Prince Stale had joined him, so I knew the work would proceed smoothly, but the guest list was incredibly long. Rosa and all the palace officials were working without rest, but we had yet to make the slightest bit of progress.
Albert had secretly asked me if we could get help from the person whose special power had saved Maria, but all I could tell him was that we’d lost contact with the man. I couldn’t reveal the abysmal truth—that Arthur had already touched Princess Pride that night without success.
“If a person did this, then they were after Pride’s life! They tried to kill the firstborn princess right in front of all the guests! It’s a declaration of war against our country!”
“Calm down, Albert.” I chose my words carefully, coaxingly. “You’re the only one who can support Her Majesty right now.”
Unable to bear his grief any longer, Albert smashed his fist on the table, scattering documents onto the floor. His already frightening features twisted into something truly villainous. Perhaps he wanted to scream, “What the hell would you know?!” to unleash his anger…but I was the one person he couldn’t speak to that way.
I understood why he’d lost his head. Princess Pride was his beloved daughter. If I had believed Maria’s illness was the result of someone else’s actions, I would have been too thirsty for blood to carry out my duties. I respected Albert for his attempts to subdue his rage as he sifted through the documents. Our country’s brilliant doctors were useless, offering only unhelpful commentary all the while.
“We don’t understand.”
“It seems she’s merely unconscious.”
“If she doesn’t wake up, at this rate…”
I’ll never allow it!
I wouldn’t leave that wonderful young woman to wither away and die. If someone had caused her agony, putting her fit of madness on display for everyone to see. But even ripping off their fingernails and toenails wouldn’t come close to the pain they deserved. I’d memorized the names and faces of every last guest. I had even narrowed down a few who could have motives to hurt our country…to hurt her.
Albert met my gaze, clearly finding his own violent fantasies reflected in my eyes as I brooded over whichever malefactor wished to hurt Pride. I hurried to compose myself, but Albert simply sighed and said, “I’m glad to know you’re angry too.”
He saw right through me. How pathetic.
“I just hope she wakes up before the day is over.” His earnest wish sounded more akin to a prayer.
I told him I felt the same. Indeed, one thing was more important than finding the culprit or the cause: How many people would despair or suffer if Pride never opened her eyes?
My darkest nightmares had returned when she collapsed. I thought I would lose everything all over again. But now I knew that nightmare would have been the better outcome. If only Arthur could have cured her illness with his touch… Yet he and Stale had blanched when she remained limp and unresponsive despite the knight’s efforts.
Even I had nearly fallen to the ground. I feared the worst and didn’t manage another breath until it was clear she had a pulse. Aside from that and her shallow breathing, the princess offered us no signs of life. Her Highness was completely and utterly silent, in sharp contrast to her screaming only moments prior.
Albert and Vest shouted for her. Rosa remained strong, but she didn’t move or blink as she stared at Princess Pride. Arthur and Stale propped the princess up, but since they didn’t want to move her more than necessary, they stopped there as the doctors and people around them scurried about in a panic.
It was as if time had stopped for Princess Pride—and Princess Pride alone.
“Gilbert, this is an inquiry into the high-ranking noble guests from Freesia. Take it to Vest.”
Albert massaged his forehead with one hand and handed me his documents with the other. The stack was a compilation of reports from the servants, attendants, maids, guards, and other guests about which high-ranking nobles had special powers, when they arrived at the castle, what they carried in or brought from their carriages, who accompanied them, and if they exhibited any suspicious behavior. The investigation also covered their statuses, prior relationships with the royal family, connections to foreign countries, and any links to Princess Pride—as much information as the servants could uncover. My and Maria’s names were listed among them, of course.
The more information, the longer it would take to sift through. Freesians were a bit easier to investigate, but Vest probably had his hands full looking into the many foreign guests. Yesterday’s party had been our biggest event ever. Not only was there a limit to how much information we could acquire, but it would also take far more than a day to dig deeper into every guest.
“Very well.”
We needed to exchange information, little by little. I took the documents with me as I left the room to meet with Vest and Stale.