Behind the Scenes II
EARLY IN THE MORNING, not long after Sei and company arrived in Zaidera, a letter arrived at the manor where the Salutanian delegation were staying. A member of the delegation brought the letter to their ambassador, Crown Prince Kyle, while he was eating breakfast.
“I apologize for disturbing you in the middle of your meal.”
Realizing that this required his immediate attention, Kyle stopped eating to listen. “Has something happened?”
“We have received a letter from Taeyuangan. Grand Magus Drewes has just arrived from Salutania.”
“Pardon me, Grand Magus Drewes?”
Taeyuangan was the name of the harbor town where Sei and the others had docked, and it was the closest port to the imperial city. As it was open to visitors from abroad, Prince Kyle’s delegation had also reached the capital by that route. It was understandable that travelers from Salutania would go there first—but what Kyle couldn’t understand was why Yuri of all people had come.
Yuri was Salutania’s strongest mage and crucial to the protection of their kingdom. It was hard to imagine they would have let him just take a jaunt over the border, even if they weren’t currently at war.
Neither could he imagine the Saint herself ever leaving the country. The Saint, who hardly ever made public appearances. In times of emergency, she was even more important than the king himself. It was unthinkable that they would willingly let her go to Zaidera and deprive themselves of her protection.
Therefore, Kyle frowned at this news. Something troubled him about all of this. What could possibly compel Salutania to allow people who would never ordinarily be permitted to leave to do exactly that?
When he thought about it that way, it was easy to guess. The potential conclusion shook him to his core.
Kyle did his best to remain calm as he asked, “Did the grand magus bring anyone with him?”
“Yes—two personal assistants, and a knight as his guard. He brought a number of other retainers as well, including a civilian merchant.”
Although he didn’t mention the person Kyle most feared, the prince felt this only served to further support his theory.
If they’re trying to avoid as much risk as possible, then they would of course conceal her presence.
It was highly unnatural to suggest that Salutania’s most powerful mage required a guard, but if the person Kyle imagined was indeed with the grand magus, then Yuri’s sizable entourage made perfect sense.
As the delegation member studied the look of confidence on Kyle’s face, he began to realize who else might be accompanying Yuri. However, he couldn’t believe it either, and though he usually schooled himself into maintaining an expression of perfect equanimity, he accidentally let this show on his face.
Sure enough, Kyle’s hunch was right.
When Kyle heard that Yuri was soon to arrive, he went to greet the grand magus’s party at the manor door. There, standing behind Yuri, was Sei. Kyle straightened at the sight of her. Thanks to his royal upbringing, he somehow managed to keep his face still, but he couldn’t completely contain an air of anxiety.
“Thank you for coming all this way.” Kyle heard the slight tremble in his voice as he greeted Yuri, but thankfully, no one seemed to notice.
The reason for his nervousness was rooted in a moment of past rebellion. Once, in his stubborn belief that Aira—the other girl who had been summoned in the Saint Summoning Ritual—was the true Saint, Kyle had called Sei an impostor before a crowd.
If he had done this just after both ladies were summoned, the blowback wouldn’t have been so terrible. However, Sei had by then proven herself by healing many who had suffered injuries fighting monsters, successfully purified the black swamps where miasma gathered, and accomplished a number of other feats as well. By that point, she was already widely regarded as the Saint in truth.
As a result, Kyle had been severely punished for showing such disrespect toward someone of equal status to his father, the king.
Why hadn’t he listened to everyone else? Why had he firmly refused to believe that anyone but Aira could be the Saint? When Kyle thought about it now, he could only call it the rashness of youth.
However, despite reprimands, he had been unable to change his attitude. Only recently had he been able to look back on that time with a cool head.
The king had forbidden any contact between his first son and the Saint, so this was the first time Kyle and Sei had met face-to-face since the incident. He hadn’t yet apologized, and so in this moment of sudden reunion, he was, of course, overcome with guilt. But because Sei was traveling incognito, he couldn’t possibly apologize now.
Kyle instead focused on guiding their group into the manor, which was when he realized that Yuri had an odd look on his face. In fact, the rest of the delegation looked just as surprised, or like they were deep in thought.
Something unusual was clearly afoot.
Kyle wanted to uncover the truth, but they couldn’t talk outside where others might see them. Having come to that decision, Kyle briefly exchanged greetings with Yuri, who was acting as the second delegation’s leader, and urged them to come inside at once.
The prince led Yuri, Sei, and Albert into the parlor so they could discuss just what was going on.
By all rights, Oscar should have joined them too, since he was a member of Special Services—who were tasked with gathering Salutanian intelligence—but that would have been problematic, so Kyle would speak with him separately.
While Oscar was in truth a covert guard for Sei, in public, he acted as a merchant in her employ. It would have been strange for him to join a political discussion in this manner.
Kyle cleared the room so it was just the four of them. He was quick to jump to the topic of greatest import: Just why were they here? He lacked the mental fortitude to warmly receive and welcome them because he was compelled to address the person in the room with the highest position: Sei.
The first thing he asked was why they were visiting Zaidera.
Sei’s expression, when he spoke to her, was indescribable.
Why was she making that face? Kyle knew she must have a terrible impression of him given his ongoing lack of apology, but did she think so poorly of him that she loathed even the sound of his voice?
Sei’s attitude worried him, but he soon learned that she had good reason to look at him like that: Her delegation had come because of an urgent letter sent from his delegation—a letter about which Kyle had no knowledge. The more he heard about the situation, the more the seed of anxiety that had taken root in his heart began to sprout and grow. It sounded like someone had forged a letter in order to draw the panacea—or the Saint—to Zaidera.
Who in the world could have sent that letter? The information they currently possessed led to no immediate conclusions.