CEDRIC
“THE RAJAH Empire?!”
Waves of shock pulsed through the room. Stale, Seneschal Vest, Prime Minister Gilbert, and I had just narrowed down the two missing guests from the party with the help of my perfect memory.
“It was them?!” we cried out.
Anger sent my thoughts racing. In my heart, I knew it had to be Rajah. Everyone else looked like they were struggling just as much as I was, resisting the urge to have the knights apprehend the suspects at once. Frankly, I was tempted to do the same even though they weren’t my knights to command.
The Rajah Empire was a great nation that had established a peace treaty with Freesia only a year ago. The empire had expanded rapidly due to their slave trade and colonization of other countries. In fact, they relied on both those practices much more heavily than any other nation in the world. They had once sought an alliance with Freesia and tried to force them to implement slavery as well.
Seneschal Vest and Prime Minister Gilbert wore grim expressions, proving they knew well the threat Rajah posed. As the suspected mastermind behind the invasion of the United Hanazuo Kingdom, the empire had left deep scars in my and Stale’s memories as well, since we’d participated in the defensive war ourselves.
Of course he knows what they’re like.
Stale glanced at me, assessing my reaction to the news.
Tiara’s birthday was the very first Freesian event that the Rajah Empire had attended, but they still had a connection to Hanazuo as well. Officially, Rajah said the kingdom of Copelandii, one of their colonies, had recklessly invaded Hanazuo on their own. Lance, Yohan, and I weren’t foolish enough to believe such a ridiculous claim.
Furthermore, the guests from Rajah had gotten here long before we did, as we’d arrived a bit later in the evening. Despite spending so much time at the party, however, they had only formally greeted Queen Rosa and Tiara, the birthday girl. That would make sense if they intended to stand out as little as possible in the moments leading up to the crime. I’d heard Queen Rosa had also warned Stale, Tiara, and Pride long before the party to be wary of Rajah.
“Rajah!” I snarled. “Is it really them again?! But this time, they’re after Pride!”
My hands shook with fury. I was only just learning that I’d stood in that ballroom alongside Rajah’s representatives. If only I’d known; I would’ve watched them! My anger flared as I imagined it. They’d threatened my homeland, and now they were suspected of harming Pride. I had all the justification I could need to despise them.
“Prince Cedric…I recall King Lance falling victim to a sudden illness just before the defensive war,” Prime Minister Gilbert said. “Can you recall what symptoms he exhibited?”
The blood drained from my face. I’d never once doubted the sincerity of Lance’s bout of madness, but now I had to consider someone had done that to my brother.
“No! Was that another…?!” I floundered for words, too overwhelmed to sort through my whirling thoughts.
Stale stepped in to get me in check. “That all depends on if your brother’s symptoms are anything like my elder sister’s. When His Majesty fell ill, did he go completely still, as if he was merely unconscious?”
I’d already told Stale about Lance’s condition, but I caught my breath and dredged up the memories. “No, it wasn’t like that,” I said, shaking my head.
I would have recognized Pride’s condition if she showed the same symptoms as Lance did. I hadn’t seen Pride since they took her to her room, but according to Stale, she wasn’t showing any changes whatsoever. Whatever was affecting her, it was very different from Lance’s former madness.
I explained that the servants and guards who witnessed Lance’s breakdown described it similarly to Pride’s shrieking fit. The room went deathly silent at that.
It was Seneschal Vest who broke the tension. “I believe the guests from Rajah are still in the castle.”
Stale and the prime minister lifted their heads at the same time, their eyes darting toward the clock. In normal circumstances, most guests would have long since departed, but we remained in the castle this time out of concern for Pride’s well-being.
“They won’t be here much longer,” the seneschal went on. “I received word that the guests are already preparing to return to their countries.”
“Then let’s have the knights take them into custody at once!” Stale said, eyes glinting.
He took off toward the door, eager to order the knights outside to keep Rajah’s guests in the castle.
“Wait.” Seneschal Vest’s command stopped Stale just before he put his hand on the doorknob. The seneschal’s voice remained calm despite the prince’s urgency.
Stale forced himself to a halt and turned with visible effort.
Rajah took a full month to reach by carriage. If they slipped away now, it would take the Freesians ages to apprehend them. The prince looked like he was fighting down panic as he regarded the seneschal.
“We don’t have physical proof of anything, Stale. We’re basing this all on memories, and it’s still possible Pride has simply fallen ill. This is the imperial family of a nation we’ve formed a peace treaty with. If we arrest them without due process, the fallout will be a lot worse than a fractured relationship.” The seneschal shot a look in my direction. “They may even turn their ire on our allies.”
His meaning was clear: My kingdom’s alliance with Freesia kept us safe, partly because Freesia had established peace with Rajah. If that peace shattered, Rajah could invade Hanazuo themselves this time. I grimaced at the implications. After everything that had happened, my homeland might be a burden to Freesia in this instance.
The prime minister seemed to agree. They knew Pride wasn’t simply ill, and he’d believed in my recall when I described all the guests at the party. I also doubted he would assume I was just trying to frame Rajah because of our history. Still, it was true that right now the only proof we had to work with was my memory. That wasn’t enough to arrest the imperial prince—especially since his country had a peace treaty with Freesia.
If we acted too hastily, other countries might even believe Freesia and Hanazuo were working together to frame Rajah. That made our next move all the more vital.
“We’re not going to arrest them,” Seneschal Vest declared. “Let’s ‘welcome’ them instead.”
His deep voice resonated through the office, his years of experience as the seneschal coming to bear. This is a lesson, I realized as he pointed at the doorknob where Stale’s hand rested. He glanced from the prime minister to the prince. “Gilbert. Stale.”
When they faced him, he delivered their orders.
“I want the two of you to keep Prince Adam here. I’ll use any time you buy us to explain these developments to Her Majesty and His Royal Highness and get their permission to extend his stay. No matter what you do, don’t let him get away.”
Seneschal Vest’s deep tone wasn’t meant to scold Stale. He was fuming like the rest of us, his fierce determination clear as day in his delivery. This was the official directive from the seneschal, an honorable man whose power was equal to that of the prince consort and who always valued the rules.
Prime Minister Gilbert quickly lined up next to Stale and bowed to the seneschal. “Leave it to us,” they said in tandem. Exchanging a glance, they raced out of the room.
As their footsteps thundered down the hallway, Seneschal Vest sighed. “Prince Cedric, I can’t thank you enough for your help. Allow me to apologize for Prime Minister Gilbert and Prince Stale, who left without offering you their gratitude.”
I knew the prime minister in particular wasn’t the sort to abandon his manners, but he and Stale had fled the office without so much as a goodbye after our collective efforts. Seneschal Vest furrowed his brow, clearly worried they’d lost their cool. They’d seemed composed when we discovered Rajah was our suspect, but perhaps they would have stewed in their violent auras if they hadn’t left the office. Or maybe they deserved praise for remaining calm all the way up until they realized the culprits had an opportunity to flee.
The seneschal sighed again, likely just as perplexed by their own prime minister losing sight of his manners.
“No, that’s all right,” I said quickly, bowing my head low. “It’s an honor to be of any help at all. I’m incredibly grateful that Prince Stale sought me out personally.”
Seneschal Vest nodded. I’d met him after being selected as the postmaster general, and I hoped my performance today earned me a little favor with him. “Please go and visit Pride now. But keep what we discussed here a secret.”
I thanked him for his kindness, and we exited the office together. I assumed he intended to report to the queen and prince consort. We exchanged one last handshake outside the door.
“Stale still has much to learn about becoming a seneschal,” he said. “I sincerely apologize for his disrespect.”
My face heated. I wasn’t expecting another apology just as we prepared to go our separate ways. Running out of the room without addressing the person you brought there was rude, sure, but I’d already been so horribly rude to Pride in the past that this felt trivial in comparison.
“I do sincerely hope you won’t scold them for this.” I bowed deeply to hide my red face. The seneschal would be enraged if he learned even a fraction of the ways I’d disrespected Pride.
With my head lowered, I realized I’d become indebted to yet another great person.