A month later, the twins from Uppasala were meeting for the first time in a while.
“Welcome, Prince Yngvi,” Freya said to him. “Allow me to offer you a reception as a representative of Capua.”
“My thanks for your courteous greeting, Lady Freya.”
The room of the inner palace they were in was completely built of stone and let no light in from outside at all. While their words and actions were every inch the formality expected of a meeting between foreign dignitaries, the emotions in their matching blue eyes betrayed them—they had the light of children delightedly playing up their roles.
Indeed, the soldiers of Capua guarding the room, as well as the knight from Uppasala sent ahead of the prince, had slight smiles on their faces at the twins’ antics. Only one person—Skaji, standing behind Freya—let out a sigh of exasperation, likely due to her own diligent nature.
“If I may guide you, then?”
“Please do.”
The silver-haired twins left the room, their attendants behind them. An annex of the palace had been readied for Yngvi’s use, and once he reached his room, the prince immediately lounged on the sofa.
He wasn’t just acting as if he was relaxing, he was really doing so. You wouldn’t think it was his first time on the continent, let alone in the country or room. His daring in that respect was just like Freya.
The only other people in the room were their own trusted confidants, so with the only people present being close to them, they reverted to their more familiar attitudes.
“Whew. It’s hot here. I thought it was just the fire in the room at first, but it wasn’t even any cooler outside.”
As he spoke, Yngvi waved a hand to fan his face.
“It’s much better now,” Freya told him with a degree of pride. “The blazing season—what we would call summer—literally kills people.”
She had spent much longer in the crucible than he had. She was enjoying finally having someone she could look superior to after spending most of her time unable to adapt to the continent and worrying those around her.
Yngvi looked up to the ceiling with exaggerated despair.
“Ahh, that’s rough. He told me over and over that it was completely different from home.”
As the caster of the teleportation spell, Zenjirou went back and forth between the two countries more than anyone. He had repeatedly warned the Uppasalans—or more accurately, Gustav and Yngvi—about how different the two countries were. It mostly boiled down to saying that Capua had done all they could to help the diplomats from Uppasala with the heat and requesting that Uppasala do the same for the diplomats from Capua regarding the cold. He had even shown the drake parchment recording the purchase of the mist-generating magic tools, and there was a letter of appreciation for Capua’s consideration from the diplomats. Uppasala had installed fireplaces in all of the rooms of the Capuan embassy and allowed diplomats to use firewood and charcoal as much as they wanted.
Hearing her brother talk about her husband, Freya asked after him. “Is he doing well?”
The very fact that Yngvi had arrived via teleportation meant that Zenjirou had been there to send him. “He is. Contributing a lot as well. He won’t be coming back for a while.”
There was a pause as Freya’s face shifted into a serious look. “Did something happen?”
The original plan was for Zenjirou to return that day. He’d only gone to Uppasala to send Yngvi back in the first place. Now, she was suddenly hearing that he wouldn’t be returning soon.
Yngvi had said Zenjirou was well, and he was clearly well enough to send the prince over. Yngvi didn’t seem to be implying he’d been hurt either, so something else must have happened.
Yngvi’s smile didn’t waver, but the look in his eyes sharpened as he answered. “This morning, we received a report from an undercover agent. The church has captured Priest Yan. When we decided to react as quickly as possible, Zenjirou offered to teleport people from the palace to Logfort.”
The capital of the country was on the northern coast of the huge Lake Mater. Logfort was on its eastern coast, which was originally linked to the sea by a multitude of rivers, although several kings had led excavations to make a large canal that was—only just—navigable by vessels like the Glasir’s Leaf.
Therefore, for people to come from abroad to the capital and then return home, they would have to switch boats at Logfort. That was the quickest, shortest route for most. But in spite of the need to switch vessels, the majority of the travel being over water made it relatively quick, since water was practically the fastest travel method by this world’s standards. Still, it went without saying that teleportation was far superior to that.
Freya understood the severity of the situation, so her face was deadly serious as she questioned her brother further. “To Logfort? He couldn’t send them directly abroad? He visited Złota Wolność before.”
Although Freya was part of Capua now, she still wasn’t deeply knowledgeable about their lineal magic. However, she at least knew that it allowed one to visit anywhere one had been before.
“He said not,” Yngvi answered.
The three things necessary for magic were correct pronunciation, the correct amount of mana, and the correct visualization. Zenjirou’s magic was still at the level where the slightest distraction could cause the spell to fail. Therefore, knowing that he wasn’t officially allowed to teleport somewhere and that it was an illegal act would almost always distract and cause him to fail.
“I see. Still, even just sending them to Logfort will make things go much faster.”
“Father asked him to go and summon the commander to speak with him personally.”
“Surely that’s imposing on him too much? I understand the desire, though.” Freya sighed. She had personally experienced just how convenient teleportation was. It was amazingly effective for emergencies like this. Unlike written or relayed orders, being able to directly speak to those concerned meant that orders could be given both as quickly as possible and as precisely as possible.
“Actually, considering the situation, should you even be here? Eric isn’t there either.”
Now that Yngvi was officially the crown prince, Freya wasn’t sure he should have come to the Southern Continent given the situation back in the north. But her brother merely shrugged.
“It’s just a matter of priority. Priest Yan’s capture is a sign of big change and needs attention, but there will be time before we have to respond. I’d much rather be prioritizing my wedding.” His ambition was clear as he spoke.
“The need to rush means there’s going to be a lot of backlash,” Freya commented.
“I suppose. I hope it shows our seriousness that we are still trying to achieve it, even if we need to rush things.”
Yan’s capture was an indication that storms of chaos would soon be ravaging the Northern Continent. Fortunately, the separation of Uppasala—both politically and geographically—from the church’s influence meant there was a significant possibility it wouldn’t trouble them. And yet there was still a chance it could. It was easy to see how taking a woman from Capua as his second wife—eventually second queen—in the middle of that would stir things up.
Of course, there was the option of saying that the time wasn’t right and calling it off, so Yngvi wanted to have the wedding be a fait accompli before word of the priest’s arrest spread. As he had said, it would show both his and his father’s seriousness regarding the marriage.
Freya decided to put off the discussion of the Northern Continent for now. “You should talk to Her Majesty about that, not me. She needs to hear the report about Sir Zenjirou’s change of plans as well. Why not ask about the marriage at the same time? Wait, what’s with that look?” Freya noticed that Yngvi had gotten a sour expression as she spoke.
“Well, about that. He said that I should talk to Queen Aura about what we’d be offering in compensation for his assistance.”
“My condolences,” she said with a chuckle. “Her Majesty is a strong opponent, unlike him.”
“Gimme a break. Uppasala’s a poor country,” he despaired theatrically, staring up at the ceiling. The look on his face along with the sound of his voice showed that those words were well and truly how he felt.