In order to keep her from wasting away, Pascal and Astrid had searched desperately for some kind of solution, but even the most reputable doctors and eminent priests hadn’t been able to save her. At their wits’ end, Raikou Pascal and his daughter Astrid had fallen to their knees—and at that moment, a plump slave trader from Ishka had knocked on the Dragonaut estate doors, informing them both of a newly discovered fruit. Its name was Jirai Ao Ochs.
It had neutralized a basilisk’s venom, so it surely had extremely potent detoxification properties, the trader, Fyodor, had said. Neither Astrid nor Pascal had believed the man right away. In fact, they’d found his story quite dubious. But they were too desperate to ask him to leave, so after having the fruit taste tested for poison, they grasped at the only straw they had and fed it to Claudia.
The effect had been miraculous. The effect of the poison inside her had immediately begun to wane. It went without saying that Astrid and her father were elated. The curse remained, but they had been able to push back against a situation that had previously seemed hopeless, and that gave everyone in the family renewed determination.
With the Jirai Ao Ochs, they could keep the effects of the tanashia’s toxin to a minimum. In the meantime, they could look for a way to remove the curse. Then Astrid’s sister would be freed from her suffering. They could all laugh together again like they used to. Astrid believed that with all her heart.
And right after Astrid had been filled with hope, Claudia’s engagement to the crown prince had been canceled.
A monarch’s duty was to ensure that the royal family’s bloodline didn’t die out. Claudia couldn’t have children in her current condition, and it didn’t look like she’d be recovering anytime soon, so she wouldn’t be an appropriate wife for the crown prince. Astrid couldn’t deny the reasoning behind the royal family’s decision, especially since there was no guarantee Claudia’s mysterious curse wouldn’t spread to the crown prince as well.
But there was another, unrelated motive behind the annulment.
“The empire is preparing to offer Princess Sakuya to Prince Azaal as his bride in Claudia’s place. Apparently this agreement was made behind the scenes quite a while ago, and the wedding could take place as soon as two months from now,” Pascal said bitterly.
According to her father, the cancellation of Claudia and the crown prince’s engagement had been planned by the royal family for some time now.
Astrid’s tone was just as bitter. “Princess Sakuya. Ad Astera’s third imperial princess. By arranging a marriage with another kingdom, doesn’t the empire realize that they’re just asking for a war?”
“I wonder. Perhaps they realize it fully and they’re doing it anyway,” Pascal said thickly.
The Dragonauts were so renowned and trusted by the royal family that they’d chosen Claudia Dragonaut to be their future queen. Pascal himself had gladly borne the weight of the kingdom’s honor and the king’s favor. But naturally many around Pascal were jealous of his fame, and a few of the kingdom’s courtiers calling themselves the “empire faction” had thrown their hats in with Ad Astera in order to oppose the Dragonauts. This empire faction had no doubt pressured the royal family into going through with the annulment. In fact, Astrid strongly suspected the faction was involved with Claudia’s curse, but despite their efforts to investigate, the Dragonauts had yet to find such a connection.
Pascal’s voice was heavy as he continued to speak. “Whatever the empire faction’s planning, we need to be ready for it. I’m going to be tied up at the royal palace for the foreseeable future, so you’re in charge of the family while I’m gone. While you’re at it, see if you can’t get a hold of those Jirai Ao Ochs fruits on your own. If we leave everything to those slave traders, we’ll essentially be putting Claudia’s life in their hands.”
Astrid nodded. She didn’t want that to happen either. As members of the Dragonaut dukedom, she and her father both recognized the necessity of slaves and the importance of the slave trade to the kingdom, but it didn’t mean they could place their full trust in the association.
“According to that Fyodor fellow,” her father muttered, “the fruit was discovered by that stray dragon knight that’s the talk of the town these days. Rumor has it he tamed an indigo wyvern with his own strength, which I find hard to believe, but...”
Seeing the doubt on his face, Astrid’s expression brightened for the first time since the conversation began. “That much I can confirm, father. After all, I’ve seen the indigo wyvern with my own eyes.”
She had originally been in Ishka to confirm the status of the Sea of Rot and pollution of the Kale River, but when she’d spotted the rumored indigo wyvern outside town, she’d changed course and headed to the stable on impulse. When she’d coincidentally met its rider in the stable and told him “until next time,” it’d been her idea of a joke. She was implying that if he was strong enough to tame an indigo wyvern and thus on par with Kanaria’s most elite dragon knights, they’d surely meet again somewhere down the line. In fact, at the time she’d had a mind to persuade her father to invite the young man named Sora to the estate once she was back at the royal capital. Circumstances had changed her plans considerably since then, but ultimately, she still expected to meet him again some time in the near future.
Recalling the puzzled look on Sora’s face as she’d said “until next time,” Astrid couldn’t help but smile. Then she turned her attention back to her father, who was now speaking like he was at a loss.
“To be honest, even with your eyewitness account, I still can’t quite bring myself to believe it. You know just how much blood, sweat, and tears I’ve poured into taming an indigo wyvern of my own, and in the end, I still have yet to succeed. How exactly could he have done it? If it’s true, I would love to know what trick he used. If it gave me a chance to realize the dream I’ve had for thirty years now, I’d even break the white seal on my forty-year-old prized possession!”
Seeing her father’s mood turn completely around the instant he began talking about his dream, Astrid giggled despite herself. Between her sister, the royal family, and the empire, she had a lot on her plate to worry about, but her father’s burden had to have been at least three times as heavy. Yet despite that, he was resilient enough that he could still focus on his hobbies and passions in the middle of everything plaguing him.
Even if only to get this reaction out of father, I’m glad I met that young man, Astrid found herself thinking with a smile.