The scene shifts once again to Sion Sol Sunkland, who now found himself in the capital of Ganudos for the first time in two years. He alighted from his carriage and let out a sigh.
“I really wasn’t expecting this,” said Keithwood, shrugging.
Sion responded with an awkward grin. “Me neither. I would never have thought we’d end up here in Ganudos.”
Sion had been hoping to visit the Greenmoons’ residence to check in on his brother Echard and had written a letter to Esmeralda to check their availability. Her response had been simple: “We’ll be in Ganudos then, so please come to our villa there.”
“I suppose the Greenmoons have been gathering intel on Ganudos as well, but I was hoping to observe the situation from a little farther away, if possible.” Sion folded his arms. “But conversely...”
“What is it?”
“This is just a simple question, but what do you think brings Lady Esmeralda here?”
“Hmm? Well...” Keithwood nodded, having connected the dots immediately. “She needed to drag us here to Ganudos. In other words, Princess Mia ordered her here. Is that what you’re thinking?”
“Isn’t that the natural assumption? This time of year isn’t ideal for swimming.” Sion looked up to the clouds in the sky, gray and heavy as if they were about to drop snowflakes down on them at any moment. They were at the Galilea Sea, but the wind that blew was frigid. “And Lady Esmeralda must be busy. Once the Holy Eve Festival is over, it will be Mia’s Birthday Festival, and I hear the Four Duke families are planning to throw a special party for her afterward as a show of their prestige. There’s no need for her to come to Ganudos when she already has so much to do.”
“You’re exactly right. It’s natural to assume that Lady Esmeralda is acting on orders from Princess Mia.” Keithwood nodded.
“Or perhaps... If we assume her main goal is to bring us here, then we’re the ones with a role to play. Maybe something will happen here in Ganudos that we’ll need to solve.” Sion shook his head and turned his gaze toward Duke Greenmoon’s villa. “In any case, our first step is to gather intel.”
“Indeed. Though knowing Princess Mia, I’m sure she’ll let us know when it’s our time to act.” But such frivolous thoughts were immediately upturned as soon as Esmeralda came to greet them.
“Your Highness! Keithwood! I’m glad you both made it here safely!” Esmeralda was in a panic hardly befitting the daughter of an eminent noble. Sion noticed Echard following behind her, his expression anxious as well.
“Greetings, Lady Esmeralda. And you too, Echard. I’m glad you’re both well. Did something happen?” asked Sion, scowling with worry.
“Well, you see... King Nestori Ganudos was nearly assassinated!”
Sion’s scowl deepened. “Assassinated, you say?”
“Yes, and Orania was arrested as the prime suspect.”
“What? Princess Orania was?! Just what the heck is happening here?!”
Keithwood stepped in to stop Sion’s hounding. “There are watchful eyes here, Your Highness. Let’s hear the rest inside the manor,” he offered, quite sensibly. “But first, um... This assassination didn’t have anything to do with poison, did it? Poisonous mushrooms, to be exact.”
For Keithwood, assassinations brought to mind one thing: Could Princess Mia be the culprit? Of course, he knew Mia wasn’t the type to order an assassination, nor did he suspect anyone else in her retinue. The actions of Ganudos were unjust, and the king was certainly responsible, but Mia would never resort to killing him! Instead, what Keithwood suspected was that Mia may have attempted to win over the king and inspire a change of heart via some tasty food—more specifically, that she perhaps had cooked some homemade mushroom soup to serve him.
It’s perfectly plausible! She’d happily offer up poison with nothing but love in her heart!
Keithwood’s faith in Mia never wavered, in both the good and the bad.
“He was allegedly attacked by a Visalian man.”
It’s now important to turn back the clock a few days.