THAT evening, we arrived at the Nigren Palace as scheduled.
The palace was located on a clifftop a slight distance from the ocean.
We were immediately met by officials and escorted to our rooms. From the terrace of my room, I had a great view of the town spread out below, stretching all the way to the sea. It felt very “Nigren.” After all, the country itself was located on a peninsula surrounded mostly by ocean.
“The ocean looks orange in the light of the setting sun, doesn’t it?”
The ocean was all orange and pink tones, just like the sky above it. I could see boats here and there, bobbing on the waves. It was a rare sight to behold and I drank it all in.
“For such a big country, it’s not a very tall palace.”
Nigren’s palace was built with only three levels. It felt quite low to the ground compared to the towers and spires of the palaces belonging to Najir and the Sunruta Kingdom. I was a little surprised by that. Nigren had so much more landmass than Najir, so I’d been expecting a larger palace as well.
“It’s built low on purpose because of the strong winds coming off the ocean.”
The explanation was provided by Claude, who’d come to my room to go over the upcoming schedule with me. He would be taking care of most diplomatic matters during our visit.
“Tonight, we have the welcome dinner, followed by a party attended by the local aristocracy. Then a meeting with the Prime Minister of Nigren. After that, a casual meeting with the Diplomatic Minister of Nigren. Then a tour of the castle and the town…” Claude was going over his notes, explaining the itinerary of our trip.
My feelings of excitement started to fade. At first, I’d felt like I was on vacation.
But listening to Claude now, it seemed like our schedule was very full, with little time for relaxing or sightseeing. But then I reminded myself that I had to take this visit seriously and focus on forging good international relations. Especially if I wanted to avoid a repeat of the disastrous ending I’d met with in the previous life, which was only two years in the future from now.
So I focused on the itinerary, my head swimming with the details.
“So, I’ll be able to see Princess Karina at tonight’s dinner, right?” I had to ask.
“Yes, that is the plan. And, as we knew before coming, Prince Daniel of the Sunruta Kingdom will be in attendance as well. He arrived yesterday, apparently.”
“Daniel too? What fun!”
I smiled. I really was happy to be seeing my friends again.
After finishing up with the itinerary, Claude left for his own room. I asked Ellie to help me change. I’d been invited to dinner, and as the representative of my country, I wanted to wear something appropriate.
I chose a light green dress.
It was an elegant dress, the draped silk laying in folds with delicate lacework on the cuffs. The bodice had lace and yellow flowers embroidered upon it. It was so gorgeous.
“Princess Annabel, take this.” Ellie held out a yellow diamond.
I took off the Magic Stone pendant I’d gotten from the Ed of the old world and put it away in my jewelry box. Then I put on the yellow diamond instead. I also wore the gold, delicate hair accessory with the red stone from my Ed.
The Nigren royal family and Daniel and his people were in attendance at dinner. And, of course, my friends from Najir and I. It was quite a crowd.
I broke into a smile as I walked into the room with its long dining table and saw my friends.
“Princess Karina, it’s been too long! Thank you so much for inviting me! Your country is just gorgeous!”
“It’s great to see you again, Princess Annabel.”
I dashed over to Karina and she stood up to greet me. But her greeting sounded somewhat clipped. I hesitated, not sure how to react in front of all these strangers. I assumed she would’ve been more excited to see me. I decided to temper my reaction for now.
The dinner consisted of mainly seafood dishes. I’d been expecting this. Karina had written in one of her letters that the people of Nigren favored seafood over meat, since their country was surrounded by the ocean.
“Princess Annabel, I hear your country is rich with magic. You’ve brought some of your magicians with you, I take it?”
As I tasted the seafood, I was directly addressed by the man seated opposite me. It was Nigren’s Crown Prince, Harold, whose name was pronounced with a silent H.
Prince Harold was Karina’s older brother and he was in his mid-twenties. He had the same flaming red hair and emerald green eyes as Karina, and he seemed nice and friendly. He was married to the daughter of a Nigrenian duke, and his wife was apparently pregnant. Since she wasn’t in attendance, I figured she was probably due soon.
“That’s correct. I’ve brought the finest magicians Najir has to offer with me on this visit.”
“After Karina got back from Najir, your magic and spells were all she could talk about. She told me she saw one of your magicians change his appearance at will. Did you bring him too?”
“Oh yes, I did.”
“Well, I do hope he will give us a demonstration during his visit,” Harold said, smiling. “Actually, Karina came back from Najir a changed woman. She suddenly announced she was going to start seriously studying magic, and she’s been obsessed with her studies ever since.”
Harold raised his glass to Karina, who shook her head, frowning.
But Harold continued in a jovial manner, wine slopping up the sides of his glass.
“It’s just a shame that poor Elena has been in bed sick. She would’ve loved to join in the festivities. Just think…actual Najirian magicians, here in Nigren, and she’s missing all the fun!”
“Elena…?”
I remembered that name. She was the highly-esteemed Nigrenian magician who’d made the visit to Najir.
“Elena is sick?” I asked.
“Very sick. She’s been in bed for two…no, three months now. The doctors can’t figure out what’s wrong with her!” Harold put down his glass, frowning.
“Our Royal Magicians are proficient in healing magic. Perhaps they could examine her?” I suggested. “They may be able to use certain treatments that normal doctors cannot.”
All of a sudden, a chair toppled over and hit the floor with a crash.
“We don’t need your help! Elena is being cared for by our finest doctors, thank you very much!”
The room fell silent as everyone stared at Karina, who’d suddenly stood up and started shouting. The atmosphere in the room instantly grew heavy and unpleasant.
“I…I apologize. I’m not feeling well. Please excuse me…”
Karina suddenly paled, as if realizing the scene she was causing. Then she quickly left the table. A maid hurried out of the room after her, looking extremely worried.
Harold watched them go, then turned to me with a sigh. “I’m sorry you had to see that. Karina is very close to Elena. I’m afraid she’s taken her illness hard.”
“It’s quite all right. I should’ve held my tongue.”
I stared down at my plate, wishing the ground would open and swallow me whole. I only wanted to help, but I never should’ve stuck my nose into another country’s private affairs that way.
Three months…that coincided with when Karina had suddenly stopped responding to my letters. Perhaps Karina was so troubled by Elena’s sickness that she couldn’t write? Is that why she doesn’t seem to be behaving like herself?