The next day, a letter was waiting for Aura in her office in the royal palace. The sender was listed as Johan. The crest on the wax seal was an uncountable amount of coral with eyes growing from it. It was the crest of the Kingdom of Tucale, one of the countries in the western region of the Southern Continent.
“It just had to be Johan. If it had at least been Johan XVII...” Aura griped with a strained expression, dropping somewhat roughly into her seat.
Johan was an extremely common name on the continent, but combined with the crest of Tucale, it took on a special meaning. The kingdom had a strange custom: male members of the royal family were all named Johan, while female members were named Julia. Therefore, only those who took the throne were called Johan with a generational suffix. All other royals had other aliases and generally used them even when introducing themselves.
The name “Johan” alone on a missive from the royal family, however, signified that its contents were a consensus between every male royal. This bore far more weight than “Johan XVII,” which would have been sent on a single person’s whim. Since this one was signed with only Johan and Julia, it meant that it had been sent with the approval of the entire royal family.
“I have a bad feeling about this,” Fabio, her middle-aged secretary, commented, his expression completely unmoved despite his words.
“Considering historical events, you can hardly say you have a ‘feeling’ about a certainty,” Aura retorted as she unsealed the letter and cast her eyes over it. Then, she looked wordlessly up at the ceiling.
“What does it say?” Fabio asked.
Aura remained silent, passing it to him. For once, the man’s expression shifted, hardening.
“A person’s location? ‘Commander Yan’s current and likely future movements and hideout’? I must say this is rather detailed. I assume this information is particularly valuable to you?”
“Like little else could be,” she practically spat.
The information was extremely useful to Aura. The letter contained exact information on the commander’s whereabouts. Unfortunately, she was not familiar with many place names on the Northern Continent, so it was little help on its own. However, asking someone who was would quickly solve that.
“The Tucale family’s divination magic?”
“Yes. They are just as irritating as always,” Aura agreed, her annoyance plain on her face.
The lineal magic that granted the Tucale family the right to rule was divination. It effectively provided correct answers when the right questions were asked. There were many restrictions, and the requirement to cast a new spell for every question increased the burden, so it was far from omnipotence, but there was no doubt about its utility. Obtaining information you would ordinarily have no way of knowing was a powerful weapon. Facing them meant you had to assume there was some possibility that any secret you might have had was already known to them. The kingdom also knew how to leverage that weapon well, just as they were doing now.
“So, how does this information benefit you, Your Majesty?”
“It elevates an originally idle thought to a plan with a high chance of success.”
Aura’s iron self-control meant she’d already regained her composure. The information on Yan’s location was listed as being from three days prior, but the letter also included likely future destinations as well. With that much information, it would be far from difficult to send someone to make contact.
The problem was that the darker skin that was characteristic of the Capuans would inevitably stand out, so there was no one appropriate for them to send on hand.
“One of Freya’s soldiers could be an option,” Aura mused, speaking aloud to clarify her thoughts. “No, if we are doing that, hiring someone who is already there may be better. We can ask Uppasala to be our go-between. In fact, they owe us for Zenjirou’s help with gathering information. We are in a strong position there. The question is, how much of the particulars do we reveal?”
As she spoke, she tapped her right index finger on the table. Whatever else, she was sure of one thing—she would not be revealing Tucale’s involvement in providing the information.
Although Uppasala would be making contact and Commander Yan would be carrying out the scheme, and Priest Yan would be revived if it came to fruition, Aura saw no reason to go out of her way to inform them where her information had come from. Thus, if the plan did succeed, neither Commander Yan nor the church would know that Tucale had been involved, even if their hidden participation was absolutely vital.
“Someone caught up in their plans would be incapable of realizing they were part of any such affair, or even that the tactician existed in the first place,” Aura murmured to herself, remembering the words she’d shared with Zenjirou the previous night.