“They didn’t like the look of my husband’s old jacket, though admittedly it has seen much better days,” added Louisa.
“I don’t think a single one of those guys has ever done an actual official search in their life,” Leo had complained. “Plenty of ransacking, though, given how haphazard they were. All the same, I’m just glad everyone is safe, and that my pots and pans remain unharmed.”
Our cook Leo was clearly a man with a checkered and intriguing past.
“I wasn’t expecting it, but I’ve been through worse,” Ben had said.
Our elderly gardener was simply overjoyed that Wendel had come to make sure he was okay. Hil and Humphrey were simply glad that nobody had been injured or arrested. All in all, I was impressed by the guts on display by our entire household. I suppose this was why everyone was so quick to brush themselves off and just get on with things—and why poor Martina’s bewildered shock was all the more heartbreaking.
“The people of Conrad are nothing if not tough,” I commented.
“You could say they’ve had no other choice,” replied Geoff. “They’ve a complicated past, but at the very least, this is far better than them wallowing in their own sorrow.”
I didn’t know how the others had come to accept and overcome the tragedy of the past, but in their own way, they had. It was in the way they could so openly speak of their keepsakes.
“The family will be fine,” Geoff assured me. “For now, it is more important we focus on the matter of Lady Ern’s parents.”
“Right,” I agreed. “Sir Reinald, what do you know of their current circumstances?”
Word was already spreading of Ern’s treason. The original plan was for the House of Magic to be the heroes of the day, but I had thrown a spanner in the works, so to speak. It left the victory—if you could call it that—a shared one between us.
“There was little in the way of panic or confusion when the incident was publicly announced,” continued Reinald. “Given how quickly the knights moved to search your premises and arrest Ern’s parents, we have to assume that plans to expel Ern from the House’s ranks had been in play for quite some time. The emperor had no lost love for the girl, that much is crystal clear.”
When Reinald had reported things to Wilhelmina, he learned that she’d been completely unaware of any of it. It was unlikely that anybody would draw any connections between himself and Ern, and Reinald was now sure that the person behind it was the emperor, who would have directed things personally.
“Ern was in the midst of developing both arms and explosives for the military,” Reinald explained. “Wilhelmina had very little reason to kill Ern at this particular point in time.”
“But she is against the idea of destroying the box in which Six resides,” I commented. “On that matter, both she and the emperor shared the same objective.”
“Be that as it may, it’s highly unlikely that they were working together in any capacity. Since my ascension to the rank of crown prince, Wilhelmina has been at the beck and call of the emperor’s whims—neither thinks very highly of the other. Then there is the fact that Wilhelmina despises Baldur. It would take something cataclysmic for her to work together with our father.”
As further proof, Reinald told us of how his sister held a great respect for Ern, having clawed her way up to her position entirely on her own drive and willpower. Wilhelmina had also invested a not insignificant amount of money into Ern’s work. Reinald had done likewise and knew exactly how painful it was to see his own investment cut short so soon. It was his opinion that, given these factors, it would have been terribly unwise for Wilhelmina to kill Ern.
“She knew nothing of the plans to kill Ern,” Reinald concluded. “I’m certain she was not involved.”
As tenuous as their relationship was, it seemed the imperial siblings were not beyond sharing intel when it was called for. Then again, when one considered who their father was, it shouldn’t really have been all that surprising.
“And there’s no chance that your secret ties with Ern will be brought to light?” I asked.
It wasn’t an easy question for me to voice, but I couldn’t quite rid myself of what Samuel had said either. I was concerned that Reinald’s connection to it all might be revealed, but Reinald did not seem to think so.
“If our plans are indeed known, it would make sense for the emperor to act in haste,” he said.
“Isn’t that bad, though?”
“I took the greatest care to cover my tracks. The best-case scenario is that nobody knows a thing. However, even if the truth has already come to light, it will not be so easy to simply have me driven from my position. The emperor is an eccentric man, but even he will do his utmost to avoid war.”
His words made it clear—Reinald was not going to go down without a fight. His resolve was set, and his mind was made up. That, and he knew that his father was not so stupid that he would want to start a war in the middle of his nation’s capital.
“My father is a tyrant, yes, but he knows how to calculate losses. He, too, understands that for battle one must make preparations in advance. The imperial capital is not ready to handle a civil war.”
As far as Reinald himself was concerned, there was no way that the emperor could have been making military preparations without him knowing about it. It reminded me of a lesson that the margrave had taught me about wars never starting unexpectedly. He’d said that war was an event that arose after careful groundwork, as the better prepared forces always entered battle with the advantage.
“And what of Six?” I asked. “I know that he played some part in locking down Ern’s own magical abilities. Has he said anything?”
“I have not seen him since a little before the emperor’s birthday,” replied Reinald. “He does not respond when I call for him either.”
“I realize it’s far too late to be worrying about such matters, but is there any chance that he might listen into our conversation and inform someone of it?”
“In the past, he has done exactly that...” started Reinald.
So he has eavesdropped before. Talk about paranoia-inducing.
“But it’s safe to say that he does not at present,” Reinald continued. “The box is no longer all-powerful, and it does not strictly obey the imperial family. And even if he were to listen in, I can easily shrug off any accusations. It’s something I’ve always had to be prepared for, as the only other alternative is death. The greater worry is the palace’s mages and intelligence operatives, but that’s not a topic we have to get into right now.”
“Understood. Then let’s talk Ern. She said the box can still be destroyed.”
Reinald closed his eyes for a moment. I sensed something like relief in his person.
“But I was not able to learn anything more than that,” I continued. “I don’t even know what she was doing at home—she never let anybody see her when she worked in her room, and all her belongings were confiscated by the knights.”
“Which leaves only her parents.”
“Do we have to make a plea to the emperor to see them freed? Is that the only way?”
“For starters, we’ll see if we can get some time with them. I’m sure you want to know that they’re safe, after all.”
We arrived in a district filled with stone-brick buildings. There was no sign of any ordinary citizens here, only guards and military personnel. There was moss and dark black spots dotting the buildings, which were old and decrepit. Presentation was clearly something they cared little for here, and even just nearing the place—and its gloomy aura—gave me the shivers.
This is where Ern’s parents were brought after their arrest.
The mere thought caused my heart to pound in my chest. I did not know what they had been told of Ern’s passing, only that very few knew the whole truth. But the word traveling through the capital was that I had killed Ern—as such, her parents would surely see me as a backstabbing traitor and the murderer of their daughter.
I knew how much Ern’s parents adored her. I had tried to prepare my heart and my mind for the reality that they would assault me with rage or drown me in their hatred, but even then, I still feared meeting them in person.
We entered a door and proceeded deeper into a building, the sunlight growing dimmer the farther we went. We met with a guard, and I watched on as Reinald dealt with things. It seemed likely to me that, had I come alone, I would have been driven away without so much as a word.
“Ern Quach’s parents?” muttered the guard. “I...believe they are to be spared. The preparations are done. Their executions have been canceled.”
“On whose order?” asked Reinald.
“The first squadron’s... Er, I apologize, Your Highness, but I am not at liberty to divulge that information, even to you.”
But you’d need a letter of appeal to spare their lives. Who would have written and submitted that?
Teddy was a traitor in very much the same way as Ern, and as far as I was aware, his family had already been executed. But thanks to someone having worked extremely quickly, Ern’s parents were still alive.
“We’re nothing more than visitors. Are you saying even that is not allowed?” asked Reinald.
“In my opinion, the crown prince should be allowed an audience with the two prisoners, but...Captain Baldur has ordered that none are to meet with them.”
So even visits to Ern’s parents were prohibited. The guard trembled under Reinald’s gaze but held his ground. He had been given strict orders; that much was certain.