After that rollicking breakfast, we decided it was time to leave for the imperial capital. We spent the next several hours being jostled in the carriage, though we did take some breaks. Just as I’d been told, we arrived at our destination come evening.
The carriage came to a final stop before the gates that led to the manor where the delegation was staying. The carriage door opened, and the grand magus stepped out first, followed by the knight commander. I followed after, allowing Albert to assist me in stepping down. Zara, May, and Oscar stepped out of a separate carriage and joined us.
The front door was just beyond the gate. Zaideran manors differed from those found in Salutania in that the front door was close enough to the gate to reach on foot.
Oh, I see. So that’s why the carriage stopped there. I had become used to carriages delivering me directly to the front door, so I’d found it strange that we disembarked where we had. It made sense, given the short distance.
I was busily taking in the unusual sights when the manor door opened and a person emerged. Someone must have informed him that we were coming. His familiar red hair immediately caught my eye. I couldn’t remember the last time I’d seen him; it must have been ages ago.
“Thank you for coming all this way.” Prince Kyle, crown prince and leader of the delegation, came out to greet us. He wore a smile on his face, but there was a tension in him.
Is he nervous? No, he of all people has no idea what it means to feel nervous, I thought.
But at that moment, I realized he wasn’t the only one acting strangely.
Everyone with me had a weird look—like they were completely flabbergasted or something. Even Yuri inclined his head in slight puzzlement.
I wasn’t sure what Prince Kyle made of their behavior, but he seemed to grasp that something was off.
Yuri recovered himself and spoke first, acting as our representative. “Thank you kindly for receiving us in person.”
“Why don’t you all come inside so we can discuss your business?”
Prince Kyle led us right in. I didn’t have much time to take in the interior before Albert, Yuri, and I were led to a room that appeared to be a parlor. Everyone else went to take care of the luggage and were led to their rooms.
Prince Kyle swiftly cleared the room after we went inside, so it was just the four of us alone.
The prince decided to get the ball rolling the second we’d sat down. “I was surprised to receive word of your arrival. Has something happened?”
I supposed that out of the three of us who had come from Salutania, I had the highest rank, so Prince Kyle spoke directly to me. He had never addressed me so politely, so I felt pretty uncomfortable.
Perhaps because he noticed my bewilderment, Albert stepped in to answer the prince. “We received an urgent message that a member of the delegation had taken ill.”
I had heard as much from the palace, but Prince Kyle looked at us with confusion. “Ill, you say?”
“Yes. Do you know anything about it?”
“No, not at all.” It seemed the prince had no knowledge of any such message being sent to Salutania, judging from the contemplative way he put a hand on his chin. “And you’re sure the message came from us?”
“Yes. Lord Goltz confirmed it himself, though he didn’t take the time to ascertain its veracity, since it was so urgent.”
Lord Goltz was the name of the prime minister. As you would expect of someone employed in such a powerful position, it was said that his investigative abilities were topnotch.
“The prime minister himself confirmed it?” Prince Kyle sank into silence for a moment, his expression turning grim. “If you don’t mind, I’d like to take some time to investigate this message myself.”
“But of course, Your Highness.”
Did that mean someone had sent the palace a letter pretending to be him or something? That sounded like a huge problem.
“You said that the message claimed someone had fallen ill?”
“Indeed. We were the treatment team the palace dispatched.”
“I see that they spared no talent in that regard.” Prince Kyle looked over each of us, a crooked smile upon his face.
He’s not wrong. We are the most powerful healers in Salutania, I thought.
Albert said, “Our experts would likely more than suffice in terms of any treatment needs, but just in case, we brought the panacea as well.”
“The panacea? Ah, that panacea.”
We mustn’t forget about the panacea.
It had always been highly unlikely that we would need to use it, since I had come along, but the king had told us to bring it just in case.
It appeared that Prince Kyle had been aware of its existence. His tone suggested he knew its origins were being kept secret. “I heard it was able to heal any illness.”
“Indeed. I have already confirmed as much with Appraisal magic,” Yuri informed the prince.
“Then why has Lady Sei come along as well?” the prince asked, a confused look on his face.
His hesitant tone was hurtful, as if it had cut my heart.
It was true that with the panacea, neither Yuri nor I had needed to come all this way. One could argue that Yuri was here as the panacea’s guard, but in that regard, my presence was wholly unnecessary.
Yet here I was, solely because I had wanted to go be a tourist. In other words, I had been selfish. I was fully aware of this fact, which was why Prince Kyle’s question made me feel so guilty. My shame made me hesitate; I couldn’t come up with a good explanation at first, and I felt awkward about telling the truth.
“Well, I…have an interest in Zaideran culture,” I mumbled, completely unable to conceal my motives.
“Ah, I understand now. You came in search of herbs and other such ingredients, then.” Prince Kyle’s response peeled the last layer off my defenses, like he was ripping off the remains of a hole-studded, paper-thin wafer.
Wow, His Highness knows his stuff about yours truly. It was tragically kind of inevitable that I tried to escape from the truth behind his quip.
Though Prince Kyle looked apologetic, he didn’t beat around the bush as he advised us, “I’m sorry to ask this now that you’ve come all this way, but please, you must return home at once,”
“Because of the letter?” I asked.
“Yes. Even if it was sent by one of our delegation, it is concerning that someone would summon you here without my knowing. They surely had some ulterior motive for bringing you here.”
Normally, if someone caught a cold, or sent a regular letter to Salutania, they wouldn’t have to inform the prince. However, it was pretty darn strange to leave Prince Kyle out of the loop of any matter that warranted summoning the grand magus of the Royal Magi Assembly, let alone the Saint. Prince Kyle had to be right that they had a different goal.
“Then, what they must want is…” I trailed off. I didn’t say it outright, but if I had to guess, they wanted us…and the panacea.
Prince Kyle nodded.
If some kind of danger lay in wait here for us, I had a feeling I wouldn’t be able to take my time seeing the sights. That was a shame, after we’d come all this way.
“Then I think we should return to Salutania right away.”
“I am so sorry about all of this,” the prince said. “I will send a report to His Majesty as soon as I learn anything about the letter.”
“Very well. We shall inform the king upon our return.”
“Thank you. Oh, one last thing.”
I had thought that would be that, but Prince Kyle looked like he had just remembered something—and it wound up being the silver lining of a very dark cloud.
Even if we started the process to return to Salutania right this instant, it would take a few days to ready a ship. So, in the meantime, he offered to have Zaideran plants and books on local cuisine delivered to the manor.
It was a shame that we wouldn’t be permitted to leave the premises, but I was grateful for the opportunity to glean firsthand information about Zaidera anyway, even if only a bit. And books would make for a good way to kill time while we were cooped up in the manor and on the ship.
I thanked Prince Kyle with a smile, accepting his generosity, at which he looked relieved.
And so our plans were brought to a halt, as Prince Kyle set about securing our swift passage home.
But as it turned out, leaving Zaidera wouldn’t be so simple…