After she had been registered and repaired by Hat, Ann the doll automaton still lacked a great deal of expression, but she had started to talk more and now worked around the house. Also, she was strict with Octavia. Though she had had no choice, Octavia quietly thought that this might be her revenge against Octavia for erasing her memories of her friend. That being said, she and Colette were now pen pals.
“It is that attitude of yours that allows Marquis Osvard to take advantage of you.”
“Wait. What are you talking about?”
“Today, once again, we received refreshments from him before work. He said you would probably be tired after work.”
Was he so far-seeing? Or was he simply confident that he wouldn’t be caught? Just the thought of that playful smile, surfacing at the back of her mind, robbed her of the will to resist Ann’s instructions.
“All right, all right. I’ll go to bed properly, after changing.”
“Very good. But first, please glance over this.” Ann briskly handed a letter and paper knife to Octavia. Hat hopped onto Octavia’s head as she read the name of the letter’s sender.
“What, another letter from home? Do they expect a reply? Do they have so much time on their hands?”
“I wonder. It looks like it’s from Jessie.” Octavia wanted to put off reading it, but with Ann glaring at her, she broke the seal with the paper knife and removed the envelope’s contents. Then she frowned. This was not a typical letter from home. Something else was inside.
“A summons...from the royal family of Angelus?!”
“What have those rotters been up to?”
Seeing a need for us to properly discuss our grandmother’s inheritance, we made a request of His Highness, the queen’s brother, who has always been fond of Edward. Once we did, we were lucky enough to receive an audience! Her Majesty the Queen will be there as well.
So let us meet in the Royal Capital.
“Don’t tell me they’re planning to take this mansion from us,” muttered Octavia in a daze. Her sister’s adorable handwriting seemed almost to dance with excitement on the page.
Wherever they looked out the window of their horse-drawn coach, the wheels rolling underneath them, the streets of the Royal Capital were orderly. Its overall construction was circular, with castle walls around it. The bowlike arc of the Nouer flowed directly through its center, forming a boundary between the northern and southern halves of the city. On the far side of the river’s bridges was the crescent-shaped northern half, where the luxury residences of nobles and royals were concentrated. The fan-shaped southern half was lined with such institutions as banks and schools, along with the homes of the middle and working classes.
As for the royal castle itself, it could be found in the very center, floating in the sky above the Nouer River. Several bridges, large and small, connected the northern and southern halves of the city. As the coach approached a bridge on the eastern side, Octavia narrowed her eyes.
Today was a clear, balmy day, with not a cloud in the sky. The flying castle, usually only dimly visible in the distance, could now be seen clear as day. Since the fall of the United Empire, this was the only castle allowed to reside in the sky, this close to the heavens. It was inhabited by the royal family—the angels and their descendants, a winged race.
“I wonder what makes it float,” said Raven. He sat across from Octavia in the coach, looking in the same direction.
Octavia had heard that, long ago, the castle had been known as the Imperial Castle. Her ancestors had chosen to restore the tools that their god had cursed after they’d struck him down, and they had entrusted the palace to the angels, who had resolved to rebuild the kingdom. To the royal family of Angelus, in other words. But today, Octavia did not think of this castle as her home. Instead, she thought of it as a prison in the sky, used to lock up members of her family.
Perhaps it was because of that sense of connection to her family, but Octavia wished to avoid talking about the castle. She changed the subject.
“Sorry you ended up having to come along.”
“Of course I’d come with you. I’m your assistant.”
After a pause, she said, “Right. So you are.” Though I still think you might be the Phantom Thief. Octavia looked at Raven, suspicious, but he only grinned back at her. His expression seemed to say, If you have something you say, go right ahead, which left Octavia uninterested in saying anything at all.
To be safe, I did contact Eliza, but...I don’t know how this might turn out. Although the royal castle itself floated in the sky, the palace—where those that had been granted an audience were received—was on the ground. The coach crossed the bridge before turning onto the main street on the northern side. They passed by a plaza with a fountain, then came to a stop in front of the stairs leading up to a palace that, with its high steeples, looked very much like a cathedral.
A tail-coated servant appeared, guiding them inside. He did not have wings; he was human.
Angels preferred to be in the sky. Octavia had heard it said they believed that if forced to walk upon the ground, they would be no different than the wingless humans. Which meant that this earth-bound palace, used for audiences with the royals, was likely managed by humans.
Before the servant could even ask them what their business was, Raven had explained everything. He was a man who could thoroughly anticipate other people’s questions. This wasn’t an area in which Octavia was especially skilled, so she decided to leave the talking to him.
I suppose he is my assistant, after all.
After they had climbed to the top of a wide staircase, which seemed about two stories high, a great hall stretched out before their eyes. There was no sign that anyone was there, and it was silent. Perhaps it was only the limestone statue of an angel in the center of the hall, but there was an air of serenity throughout the room that made it feel more like a temple than a palace.
“Octavia, this is a rare chance. Use the parallel ruler and sketch out a plan of the palace,” said Hat, who today had taken the form of a small hat, the sort befitting the daughter of a noble house.
“Here is the waiting room,” said the servant guiding them.
Her eyes trained on Raven’s back as she followed, Octavia quietly answered Hat. “Won’t someone notice?”
“The angels cannot use our tools, and they cannot trace the tools’ magic, either. If they were going to notice something, it would be the man in front of us, who might be the Phantom Thief. If some alarm does go off, just look confident and counter by asking what’s the matter. You can draw the floor plan itself on the notepad in the mansion.”
I see, Octavia thought. That might be fun. Her voice so soft the words could have been mistaken for a sigh, Octavia summoned the parallel ruler. It appeared in the palm of her hand for only a moment before vanishing, as if it were aware of its surroundings.
“It’s big, isn’t it?” Raven said, turning around, just as Octavia breathed a sigh of relief.
Here we go again, she thought with a smile. “Why’d you turn around all of a sudden?”
“I had a feeling that you really wanted me to.”
Octavia asked slowly, “Why would you think that?”
“You seemed lonely, with only my back to look at. Ah, yes—your face looks exactly how I thought it would. How amusing.”
“I was only thinking, ‘What is this fool saying?’ And it’s rude to call my face ‘amusing.’”
“You’re cute,” sighed Raven. “And your face is all the more marvelous. Thank you for that.” Laughing, he turned to look ahead again.
For some reason, a feeling of defeat spread through Octavia’s chest. “I have no idea what you’re so happy about.”
“Just happy to get a reaction out of you, I guess. After all, you possess such an expansive heart—almost like Her Majesty the Queen.”
Octavia frowned, panicking. This was the palace where the queen resided, and Raven was a noble.
The servant who was guiding them turned back and glared at Raven. “Show some respect.”
“Oh, that’s right. Please, think of that as merely the babbling of a fool in love.” If he meant to convince the servant of his earnestness, there was no contrition in his words. Quite the contrary—he almost sounded like he was taunting the man.
He’s the sort of person who might pick a fight with an angel just for the fun of it, thought Octavia, beginning to feel worried. “Don’t try anything,” she warned. “You’re my assistant, so you should be attending to me.” Octavia frowned as Raven turned around with a look of surprise. “Why do you look as if you’d forgotten that?”
“No, you’re right. Yes, I’ll be careful.”
“Really?” Octavia pressed the matter, unconvinced by Raven’s response. He only said, “Yes,” again, nodding like a child. “I won’t misbehave. I’m not a child, you know.”
“Octavia, my darling sister!”
Octavia turned to face the source of the voice that came flying in from behind. It was her half sister, running down the corridor to greet her, her long hair swaying behind her.
Octavia had not seen her in quite some time. “Jessie.”
“Oh, how wonderful to be able to see you again! I was so worried about you!”
“So worried that you decided to reach out to her with a summons from the Queen of Angelus?” said Hat.
He had made a good point, but Octavia could not bring herself to feel too angry with her half sister, who fawned over her now, clinging to her arm. In person, Jessie’s attitude was plainer than it had been in her letter, enough that Octavia couldn’t help but be taken aback.
“What will you do, Octavia? You’re up against Her Majesty the Queen. Father was upset, and Prince Edward was also worked up, saying that the matter must be straightened out,” she sighed. “Prince Edward also has His Highness, the queen’s brother, as his ally. Try as I might, I couldn’t defend my sister...”
“Is that right?”
“Yes, it is! But if I were to speak on your behalf, Father and Prince Edward just might decide to withdraw before we meet with His Highness.”
“You might be right.”
“Of course I am! So, my dear sister, won’t you at least tell me the whole story? Where is our grandmother’s inheritance?”
“Don’t worry. There’s nothing for you to worry about.”