🦊 🦊 🦊
AFTER parting with Giusto, I explained the situation to my friends over breakfast. A somber mood hung over the dining table.
Rosario looked at Julietta. “Did you know about Prince Giusto’s circumstances?” he asked.
As Julietta trembled in her seat, face pale, Lauris wrapped his arms around her. In response to Rosario’s question, she shook her head back and forth.
“I had no idea,” she said in a feeble voice, her brown eyes welling with tears. “Giusto is always so kind and cheerful. He seemed genuinely thrilled when I told him about my engagement. How could I have known he was suffering so deeply…?”
Upon witnessing her sorrow, I felt a surge of indignation towards the unidentified culprit.
“I want to do something,” I said.
To my surprise, Lauris agreed without hesitation. “Let’s catch the culprit.”
“Sounds like a plan,” Oreste concurred.
Cita and Cia nodded.
“If we’re going to do this, there’s no room for failure,” Rosario said while meeting my eye. “You understand that, don’t you?”
“Yeah, I understand perfectly, but why are you singling me out?” I asked.
I won’t be the one to screw this up… probably.
Rosario’s heavy sigh echoed throughout the dining room. “Things tend to escalate when you get involved. If we start making a racket from the get-go, we won’t be able to catch the culprit.”
Wait, when did this turn into a roast of Alexandra?!
As Cita giggled uncontrollably, Oreste roared with laughter. “Aha, you’re right about that,” he said. “We might as well throw stealth out the window with Ally around.”
Rosario glared at Oreste. “The same goes for you.”
Oreste hung his head. “…Y-Yes, sir.”
I giggled. After shooting me a quick glare, Lauris cleared his throat and took control of the conversation. “At any rate, we have to protect Prince Giusto at all costs,” he said. “We’ll need your help too, Custode.”
“Of course,” the dragon replied telepathically, nibbling on a croissant atop my lap. “This sounds like a good time.”
Hey, could you not drop crumbs all over me? I thought, glowering at him.
“All right, let’s do this!” Oreste cried.
Everyone else raised their fists. “Let’s do this!” we cheered in unison.
“Squishy!” the slime cheeped from atop my shoulder, seeming equally fired up.
“Julie,” I said. “We’ll protect Giusto at any cost.”
Despite the tears still streaming down her cheeks, Julietta donned a brave smile. “Thank you.”
I vowed in my heart to give the culprit a good thrashing.
“What’s this?” a familiar voice asked. “It sounds like you lot are planning something fun all by yourselves.”
Embert and Janus entered the room just as we were wrapping up the conversation. Was it just my imagination, or did they always appear at the most opportune times? In any event, Lauris got straight to the point.
“Embert,” he said. “Did you know about assassins targeting Prince Giusto?”
Embert sighed softly, not appearing the least bit surprised. “Where did you hear that from?”
“Straight from the source. Ally was with Prince Giusto when the assassins attacked.” As soon as he finished speaking, the realization of his mistake dawned on Lauris’s face.
“Ally,” Embert said, turning a wicked smile on me. “Let’s have a chat later, shall we?”
“…Okay,” I groaned.
Just had to go and open your big mouth, huh, Lauris?
Embert sat down next to me, and Janus stood behind us.
“Well?” Embert asked. “Do you mind explaining what happened?” After listening to my explanation, Embert furrowed his brow in contemplation. “The assassins have started targeting him in the castle, eh? They must be panicking.”
I frowned. “You knew about this all along, Em?”
The way he spoke gave that impression.
“I did,” Embert replied. “Prince Giusto and the King of Bragioga consulted me about this matter not too long ago. That’s why I visited earlier than I originally planned.”
“Do you have any leads on the culprit?” Rosario asked.
Embert and Janus exchanged glances.
“Yes, I have my suspicions,” Embert replied. “However, we don’t have conclusive evidence. By all appearances, the culprit is using professional assassins adept at covering their tracks. Even so, the culprit has finally started to panic. They need to finish the job before the crown prince ascension ceremony.”
I titled my head in confusion. Why did the culprit need to finish the job before the ascension ceremony? The assassins could still target him after he became crown prince, right? Based on their puzzled expressions, everyone else appeared to be wondering the same thing.
“Giusto will inherit a certain artifact when he becomes crown prince,” Julietta explained. “That’s probably the reason for the culprit’s urgency.”
All eyes immediately focused on Julietta. What in the world could this artifact be?
“For generations, the crown prince has inherited an enchanted ring,” she continued. While speaking, she touched her necklace that I’d enchanted. “The ring isn’t as strong as Ally’s amulets, but it detects poison and reduces physical damage by half. When the dungeon first appeared in the distant past, two of these rings were found in a treasure chest on the lowest floor. Ever since then, the king and the crown prince have each worn one of the rings. Obviously, it’s much harder to take the life of someone wearing one of them. That’s why the culprit has grown desperate.”
As I considered it deeply, I felt someone’s gaze boring into me.
“Ally,” Embert said, resting his chin on his fist while meeting my eye. “Shall we go on a short walk once you’ve finished your breakfast?”
Is he still mad that I spent time alone with Prince Giusto?
“Um, why don’t we all go together then?” I suggested.
Naturally, I was apprehensive about how things might unfold. However, I fell silent upon seeing Embert’s sinister, wordless smile. All the while, everyone regarded me with obvious sympathy.
Ugh, why did I only bring Squishy with me back then? He’s the only one who can’t vouch for my innocence!
When I glowered down at Custode, I found him holding a fresh croissant.
“Welp, here we go,” he said with obvious delight.
“What do you mean by ‘here we go’?” I asked telepathically, looking at him with pleading eyes. “Are you coming with me, or are you about to gobble down that croissant?”
Custode laughed. “Don’t fear. I’m coming with you.”
Thank goodness, I thought with a small sigh of relief. Embert nearly sent me into cardiac arrest the last time we were alone together. Custode won’t let anything like that happen.
Thus, Embert escorted me out of the dining hall.