Meanwhile...
“What?! Lady Evelyn has gone missing?!” Oz asked in shock. What in the world happened?
One of his guards had just relayed a confidential report from Count Theodore Manilas, Evelyn’s fiancé.
Though she’d retired as saint, Evelyn was still arguably the most important person in the country. Should anything happen to her, the Holy Kingdom of Snasile would be ruined. Such was the people’s love for her, owing to her excellence in both ability and character.
Oz had asked Theodore to contact him immediately should anything happen, but he hadn’t expected an incident so soon after she’d stepped down from being the saint. Anxious, he headed to the Grand Basilica—normally, not even royalty were allowed inside, but things had grown a bit lax in that regard recently.
As he walked past the torches lining the dim corridor at regular intervals, Oz could hear the echoes of an old man’s cries in the distance.
“Waaaaaaah!”
“Your Eminence, calm down! You’ll pop a blood vessel again!”
“And how am I supposed to be calm?! Die! All of you drop dead, right now! I will too! We’ll all follow Lady Evelyn!”
“I’ve had a good life,” a woman’s voice said. “I’m grateful beyond belief to have been born in the same era as Lady Evelyn. And I pray that, in my next life, I can see her again. Whether she becomes a butterfly or a flower, I’ll pursue her to the ends of the realm and stay by her side forever—”
“You won’t be alone anymore, Lady Evelyn!” the old man said. “We’ll be with you!”
I’d best intervene before they actually die, Oz thought. The situation was more serious than he’d imagined.
He quickened his pace down the corridor and emerged into the great hall, where others who had also been summoned were already gathered: the current saint, Europa; the high priest and the other priests; and Igna, Europa’s fiancé and Oz’s older brother. Theodore was there as well, standing alone in a corner.
The usually cheerful young man was downcast, lacking vitality, and looked ready to collapse at a moment’s notice. The others were making a racket, with the priests running around, chased by the high priest swinging his staff. Europa was holding a knife to her slender neck, a single tear streaming down her cheek.
✦ ✦ ✦
“My star has gone now... Vanished from this world forever... And my choice is clear... There is no path before me... Only death or to die.”
Chanting her dirge in 5-7-5-7-7 syllables (give or take a few), Europa made to plunge the knife into her own throat.
But before Oz, whose blood had drained from his face, could rush over, Igna grabbed her arm.
“Stop, Europa.”
Europa, her face stiff, turned back to Igna with tears streaming down her face. “Prince Igna! Why?! Why do you stop me?!”
“I don’t want that sharp-looking knife cutting anything,” he said stoically. “Except for me.”
“You insufferable ass! A world without Lady Evelyn is worth nothing! Leave me to my fate!”
“Absolutely not. Cut me instead. Even just the tip will do.”
“You’ve grown even more disgusting since last we met! Fine! If you insist, I’ll bury this blade in your heart, as a treat!”
“Thank you! I was running on fumes!”
Whether this was a touching scene between a loving couple was up for debate, but at least Igna had succeeded in restraining Europa. Oz turned his gaze to the high priest, who was on his way to committing war crimes.
“Your Eminence, it’s too soon to bludgeon the rest of the clergy to death,” Oz argued. “We should hear what Lord Theodore has to say first.”
“But Your Highness, Lady Evelyn is... She’s already...!”
The high priest’s eyes welled up with tears. The other priests couldn’t keep it together any longer either and began to sob, some with their face in their hands, others looking up at the heavens.
“Lady Evelyn, why?! Why didn’t you take us with you?!”
“With you gone, this chaotic world is beyond salvation!”
“We couldn’t even say goodbye! I can’t take this anymooore!”
“Waaah! Waaah! Lady Evelyyyn!”
Oz sighed at the men’s wails.
Though the position of saint had been passed on to Europa, Evelyn’s influence not only on the Grand Basilica but the country as a whole remained immeasurable. The situation here made that clear.
As always, she remains utterly beloved...
But unlike the time Alex and Mary had expelled Evelyn from the Grand Basilica, this was no laughing matter. Oz couldn’t afford to waste time here like this. He had to learn exactly what had happened, as quickly as possible, and set things right.
“I understand your feelings, everyone,” Oz said, “but please, calm down. We shouldn’t grieve based on speculation alone.”
Europa and the priests gradually quieted down.
Before their love could go haywire again, Oz turned to Theodore and said, “Lord Theodore, I understand this is a difficult situation, but could you please tell us what happened?”
“Right,” Theodore replied with a nod. Slowly, he began to explain. “Evelyn disappeared from the guesthouse around noon today...”
Everyone listened intently.
Though Theodore was pallid, evidently unwell, he narrated the sequence of events clearly.
Evelyn had attended walking lessons in the morning. No one had seen her or Kira after that. The instructor had testified that Evelyn’s behavior hadn’t seemed unusual.
A letter had been left behind in Evelyn’s chambers.
Without even looking at the letter, Theodore said, “It read, ‘Soon the sheep’s wool shall be shorn. As the sheep cycle, so too do the seasons. As the wool is soft, so too is the lamb. The flesh of the lamb, however, is more delectable. If I am but one sheep, then on my final night, I wish to eat lamb. To unravel the mystery of the sheep’s siren call, we venture into the depths of the jungle. Indeed, this is our final journey. A fluffy-wuffy, fuzzy-wuzzy journey.’”
He had apparently read it enough times to memorize the contents.
The great hall fell silent.
Oz crossed his arms and murmured gravely, “I see. Although the contents seem quite stiff for something Lady Evelyn would write...”
It seemed to be an amalgamation of quotes from several poems by a famous author. Whether the letter expressed the ephemeral nature of the world, the sorrow of parting, or simply a desire to eat lamb was unclear. But it made sense that, upon reading this, Theodore had interpreted it as Evelyn intending to die. The contents were quite ominous, after all.
But would she write such a thing?
The letter’s intent was unclear, and as such, the important thing was to verify the facts.
“Let’s put together what we know,” Oz suggested. “Lord Theodore. Lady Evelyn was not kidnapped, nor was she in an accident. Rather, she left the guesthouse of her own accord with Kira, correct?”
“The letter is in her own handwriting, so yes, that seems to be the case,” Theodore said. “Kira is gone as well, so we can assume they left together.”
Oz placed a hand on his chin and hummed.
He thought back on the black-haired boy. Evelyn had met him by chance after being expelled from the Grand Basilica, and the two had been traveling together ever since. His composure and observational skills were unthinkable for a child, and so Oz had been secretly keeping an eye on him as a promising talent.
I figured he may grow up to be the kind of man I could trust as an aide...
Although, unfortunately, Kira showed no signs of dedicating himself to study.
“If he’s with her, there should not be much cause for concern,” Oz said. “Perhaps he even went along to stop her.”
Besides, the two had taken practically nothing with them. Had they been planning a journey, one would logically have expected them to have prepared supplies before departing.
“There was a sudden, heavy rainstorm this afternoon,” the prince continued. “They might’ve gotten stranded.”
The rain had stopped earlier, but it would be difficult for a woman and a child to travel alone at night with only moonlight for illumination.
When Oz finished his reasonable analysis, the high priest, the other priests, and Europa all exchanged glances, clearly hopeful that Evelyn might still be alive. Which was a good thing—there was no handling these people when they went out of control.
Oz decided to move the discussion forward. “So, Lord Theodore, do you have any idea why Lady Evelyn might leave behind such a letter?”
Europa broke down in tears, wailing, “Obviously it’s because she got fed up with him and left!”
Damn. I brought up the letter too soon, Oz thought. Poor timing on his part.
Tears spilled from Europa’s large eyes. “Oh, poor Lady Evelyn! Forced into an arranged marriage with a man she didn’t love, taken as prisoner for his benefit! How painful it must have been for her!”
Europa, wearing Evelyn’s old vestments, was bawling and flinging outrageous accusations at Theodore, but he didn’t argue back. Being a serious and dutiful man, he was probably crushed by a sense of responsibility for what had happened.
“I should have rescued her from the nest of depravity that is the count’s household!” Europa declared, clearly taking this opportunity to disparage Theodore to her heart’s content. “You’re nothing but a wolf in sheep’s clothing! That handsome face of yours hides evil itself! It’s your fault that Lady Evelyn has forsaken this wretched world and returned to the divine realm beyond our reach!”