There were so many people in attendance in the grand hall that there was barely room to fit everyone.
“Questioning the Status of Crown Prince Claudio’s Mana.”
Three days ago, the announcement of the inquiry’s purpose throughout the castle surprised and astonished people, while a handful of people trembled in delight.
One of the people trembling in delight was Archbishop Kastner, the person trying to claim a spot by the throne and the person beside whom Fritz was currently standing. As he stood there, he unintentionally overheard what the people around had to say.
“Wasn’t he supposed to be the second coming of the sacred beast?”
“If you think about it, His Highness doesn’t actively use magic. Have they been pulling the wool over our eyes?”
“I mean, most other sorcerers are the same way, aren’t they? It’s just that Archmagus Edeltraud uses it way too frivolously.”
“If he doesn’t have mana, who’s going to take the throne as crown prince? The right to the next successor will surely—”
The unfiltered chatter being exchanged around him made Fritz sigh on the inside while keeping his face neutral.
(Boy, I wish they’d shut up. Though, the person on the throne as crown prince possibly being mana-less is an unprecedented event, so I guess I can’t blame ’em.)
Inquiries were held when acceding the position of crown prince. At the time, Claudio still had his mana and his head wasn’t a lion’s. He probably never expected to lose his mana afterward.
The clamorous grand hall suddenly went so silent you could hear a pin drop.
Claudio stepped through the royal entrance.
His firm and youthful build was clad in black knight garb, and his head—that of a silver lion. The regal way in which he walked in, without an ounce of nervousness, made you want to naturally take to your knee and bow. And in actuality, like an ebbing wave, the aristocrats and bureaucrats in the hall started to take to their knees.
Fear and reverence coupled with doubts and suspicion. A plethora of emotions filled the hall.
(I suppose it’s for the best the royal wife isn’t here.)
Rosemarie would probably have fainted if she saw this landscape. Probably nothing but beast heads, left and right. It was the only thing you could consider a lucky circumstance out of her disappearance, if you even dared.
King Baltzar was the final person to make his entrance, and he sat upon the throne, commencing the inquiry.
✦ ✦ ✦
Six candles were set on the large candelabra that was transported into the middle of the hall.
“We would like you to light each of the candles on this, Prince Claudio. If you do, the status of your mana will be clear as day,” explained Archbishop Kastner within the pins-and-needles atmosphere of the hall. In order to bar any outside interference from sorcerers other than Claudio, their attendance had been banned.
(Yes, just sorcerers.)
Claudio caught sight of Fritz, with a look of innocence on his face, standing behind Kastner.
There were people who didn’t have great enough mana to become a sorcerer like Fritz, and there were also people who would never try to be a sorcerer, as well. There were probably some of those people among the many assembled in the hall as well.
(—I’m counting on you, Master Edel.)
Claudio uncharacteristically prayed to the normally aloof sorcerer.
He held his hand out toward the rightmost candle. The clamorous hall once again filled itself to the brim with nail-biting tension.
—There was a pause for a few seconds, but the wick remained unlit.
Even the people who were optimistic at first were gradually starting to cast eyes of doubt on him, and their whispers got louder.
Claudio didn’t budge an inch regardless.
(Master Edel... were you so wrapped up in research that you forgot about the inquiry? Or maybe...)
Normally, whenever Claudio were to use magic, Edeltraud would be close by to use it in his stead. But when it came to using it from a distance like this, it wasn’t likely that even the archmagus, who used magic and spells willy-nilly, would be able to pull something like this off.
“It would appear that candles are quite tricky to light, yes? This candle might very well be tampered with. Let us give it a light just to make sure.” Kastner chuckled with a bounce of his shoulders. He approached the candle and beckoned a chamberlain over with a flame.
A warm orange fire burned, and Claudio gritted his molars ever so slightly.
(This is bad, eh...?)
Fritz, who was standing by Kastner’s immediate side, shot Claudio a panicked look. If Fritz strained himself, he probably could have lit it, but Claudio let out a big sigh in lieu of a nod back.
“Change the candle. Who were these prepped by and where? You said that they might have been tampered with, didn’t you? These are tools for a very serious inquiry. It should be common sense that they are not tampered with, but how can you say that for sure?” Claudio let out a deep chortle. The angry-sounding chortle terrified the chamberlain next to him so greatly, they dropped the flame they were holding. Kastner stamped it out, expressionless.
“A pathetic display that only—”
“Claudio.” King Baltzar, who had been silently overseeing the turn of events up until this point, interrupted Kastner mid-thought. His voice, though not forceful, naturally drew one’s ears toward it.
“If you have your doubts, then use the candles on the wall. Acceptable, Archbishop?” The king pointed at the candles set up all around the hall, then cast his eyes upon Kastner.
The two of them saluted with a hand to their chests, at which point the chamberlain prepared to fetch the candles on the wall.
Claudio involuntarily patted his chest. He was hoping Edeltraud would successfully establish the link he needed with them in the meantime.
Once the chamberlain plucked off the first candle, the sound of many people running around was heard from outside the hall.
“What is this about?” Kastner knitted his brows in suspicion. The people in the hall made a stir and chattered.
The rushed-sounding footsteps got closer. Then, the door of the hall opened, making a sound so loud it seemed almost as if it would shatter into pieces.
“—Prince Claudio!” It was Alto who flung the door wide open. Practically stumbling from behind him was someone clad in a filthy dress, bruised all over and looking as if she had been dragged through the mud—none other than Crown Princess Rosemarie.
✦ ✦ ✦
“—Prince Claudio!” Rosemarie rushed into the hall, timidly minding the massive number of eyes all staring at her at once, but pushing past that and stepping inside. Startled, the attendees of the inquiry all cleared a path for her. Or, more accurately, they all backed away trying to avoid her.
“Rosemarie?!”
She saw Claudio trying to make his way toward her in wide-eyed shock, and tears welled in her eyes in relief.
Rosemarie jumped into Claudio’s arms as he stretched them out toward her, almost falling over himself. Without a moment to even catch her breath, she pressed her lips against Claudio’s.
“—?!”
“I have missed you so much.” She quickly parted lips and huddled herself up to Claudio, whose cheeks were crimson and expression utterly baffled.
“In other words, if you kiss Claudio, then mana might return to normal.”
That was Edeltraud’s suggested idea. It was an experiment to return Claudio’s mana.
She couldn’t lift her head, and her heart was throbbing so hard it made her feel as if it were going to pop out of her chest at any moment, causing her to feel dizzy.
(Please, return to normal.)
She squeezed onto Claudio’s clothes with a prayer. That was when he grabbed her shoulders even harder.