Prince Severin set his cutlery down with a soft but intentional sound. This was his signal that I’d gone too far. I closed my mouth.
His Highness faced Princess Mira. “We, Lagrange, are very pleased to hear that your memories with us were good ones. We hope this will not be the last time and that Vissel will continue to keep strong relations with us.”
She smiled dazzlingly at him. “Thank you very much. I feel exactly the same. I wish for our two kingdoms to maintain a good friendship.”
The princess raised her glass and clinked it with Prince Severin’s. Then, after a second cheers, the conversation flowed to a different topic, giving Lord Hilbert no space to bite further.
Nervousness had been plastered all over the governors’ faces from the beginning of that exchange to the end, so they must not have been able to enjoy their meals. This dinner was meant as a celebration, meaning they’d anticipated polite, genial conversation. Having it turn out like this must have been shocking for them. Would they spread rumors about tonight as well?
Lord Nigel ate quietly as he listened along. Once dinner was finished, he asked me what Lord Hilbert and I had discussed in Visselian.
After I explained, Lord Nigel laughed and said, “You usually feign innocence, but you don’t hold back when it’s time to strike, do you?”
That wasn’t my intention!
I also reported the night’s topics to Lord Simeon, who said, “It’s better not to get a rise out of people like him. It would be troublesome for him to end up holding a grudge against you as well. Leave him be, and as much as possible, keep yourself from getting involved.”
“I don’t particularly want to get involved with Lord Hilbert.” I pouted. “He just put me in a smidge of a bad mood. Prince Severin was the one who asked me to speak in the first place.”
His Highness chimed in. “I didn’t tell you to go that far. Though I do feel like it was perfectly justified.”
“Your Highness,” Lord Simeon warned.
The prince and I chuckled at my husband and shrugged together, making Lord Simeon shake his head, exasperated.
It was a bit early to go to sleep, so we invited ourselves into His Highness’s room for a while. The weather wasn’t conducive to enjoying the night breeze—the wind was as strong as ever, and every single star was obscured by the clouds in the sky.
We hadn’t made much conversation before a yawn escaped my mouth. My lack of sleep last night and the exhaustion from our travels had caught up to me. Prince Severin told me to rest and prepare for tomorrow, so I bid farewell and stood up. Lord Simeon offered to take me to my room and headed to the door with me. But as we stood in front of it, a sharp series of knocks came from the other side. My husband told the knocker to come in, and the door was thrown open.
“Your Highness! Oh, Vice Captain, you’re here as well?”
Sir Alain jumped in. Just one look at his face was enough to inform us that something had happened.
“What’s the matter?”
Sir Alain straightened his posture. “We received a report from the outer patrol. Sir Kessel was acting strangely in the carriage housing—he ran away when the soldiers confronted him. They chased after him and got into a scuffle. However, in trying to fight them off, he ended up accidentally tumbling over the fence. We believe he fell down the slope.”
My breath caught in my throat. All the drowsiness that had been enveloping me vanished in an instant. “Mr. Mace fell? What could have made him run like that?”
Prince Severin moved close to us. “What’s his condition?”
Sir Alain shook his head. “We don’t know, sir. It’s dark out, so we most likely will not be able to confirm from above. We sent someone down to investigate, but I needed to report to you first.”
If Mr. Mace had gone over the fence, he’d either fallen onto the road or the roof of a building below. Either way, the height was no joke. Landing badly could’ve even cost him his life. What could have made him desperate enough to run? What in the world could he have been doing in the carriage house?
The suspicions I’d been ignoring grew in my mind again. Had Mr. Mace really been the culprit behind the previous incidents as well? If so, why?
A clamor rose up from the hallway.
“Your Highness, please wait!”
“It’s dangerous outside! You mustn’t leave!”
Panicked voices yelling in Visselian echoed around us. Those of us in the room exited to see Princess Mira running our way, her maids and soldiers chasing after her.
“Prince Severin!” She practically leaped at him. Even in the dim lighting, I could see how much blood had drained from her face. “What happened to Mace?!”
His Highness spoke gently. “We’re still in the middle of investigating. Let’s wait for the report.”
“What in the world happened? Why was it Mace?”
“I was told he was doing something suspicious in the carriage house.”
“Suspicious how?! He had to have been inspecting them. It’s a habit of his—he lost his father in a carriage accident, so he can’t go anywhere without ensuring safety.”
“Please calm down.” Prince Severin placed his hand on the princess’s shoulder and softly rubbed it. “We don’t know anything for sure yet. All we can do is wait for an update.”
She kept silent, looking like she might pass out. A maid supported her from behind, so Prince Severin left Princess Mira to her. The hotel staff came out as well, making the scene even more chaotic. I heard some of them leave the building, stating that having the locals help search for Mr. Mace would speed up the process.