Accompanied by my personal guards, I stepped into my office. Aaron, Godfrey, Tommy, and Gilbert were all sitting there waiting for me.
“Apologies for the delay,” I told them. “I needed to rest.”
“That’s all right, Your Majesty,” Tommy said. “Did you get some good shut-eye?”
“Yes. Sorry again.”
Godfrey squinted a bit, then said, “No need to apologize. It’s only natural you would need rest after using so much magic.”
“Godfrey is right,” Aaron chimed in. “It’s a bit shameful to admit, but things likely would’ve played out very differently today without your magic. We have no room to criticize you for needing to rest after that.”
“You flatter me. Our victory was a team effort, made possible by everyone here.”
“I’m not deserving of such praise, Your Majesty,” Aaron said with a dip of his head.
“Chin up, Aaron,” I said. “Now then, let us hear everyone’s reports.”
Aaron went first. “Forgive me, Your Majesty. My men and I deeply regret our failure to save Lady Enola.”
“I do not blame you for her death. She never desired salvation to begin with.”
“But—”
“We cannot turn back time. There is no point in dwelling on past mistakes,” I said. “You have permission to bury Enola alongside her children.”
“Thank you, Your Majesty.”
“Tommy, were there any other children at House Slade besides your own agents?”
“I’m afraid not. The rest had already been shipped off to Celden.”
“Gilbert?”
“We have already voiced our objections to Celden through diplomatic channels,” Gilbert said. “Unfortunately, the trafficking was done independently of Celden’s government, and that complicates things. We cannot claim they were ‘taken’ so easily. Currently, we’re stating that we ‘oppose Celden’s mistreatment of mages’ and are requesting custody of the children.”
“And their response?”
“Nothing yet.”
“I see. Tommy?”
“As a result of all this, Celden’s authorities are split into two factions,” Tommy said. “First there’s the warmongers, who are incensed by our objections. Some of them want to invade Ausgrid with the help of their magical test subjects. The second faction consists of the more moderate folks, who deny mistreatment of any sort happening in their nation.”
“Hah! Looks like they fell for your scheme, Gilbert. Well done.”
Gilbert nodded. Aaron tilted his head, puzzled.
“It’s a good tactic, splitting Celden’s diplomats into two,” I said. “Gilbert’s actions have also shown the other nations that the people of Celden—vermin who claim that magic is disgusting, fearful devilry—are hypocrites. They publicly oppress mages yet secretly gather them for experimentation. Celden’s denial of such wrongdoing means nothing. The very fact that any nation has publicly announced a protest of such actions will raise suspicions. They’ll be forced to wonder what Celden is up to.”
“And it’s likely everyone will see their actions as military expansion,” Gilbert added.
“Not only has friction begun within Celden as a result of just one diplomatic protest, but other nations will now view their actions with greater suspicion. Celden’s authorities are likely shaking in their boots. Time will tell if they decide to lash out in rage or enact mass censorship, but the fact remains that we have sown the seeds of discord.”
Tommy grinned. “Pfft. The whole nation of Celden sounds like a bratty kid when you put it like that.”
“You could say that. All right, Tommy—continue keeping a close eye on Celden. Take advantage of the ongoing situation.”
“I will. We’ll do our best to get those kids back as soon as possible. Right, Gilbert?”
“Of course.”
Hearing their resolve, I stood up from my seat. “Will you all be coming with me?”
“I’m afraid I cannot,” Gilbert replied. “There is much work to be done regarding the change of governance in the regions the Great Five ruled over, and I must oversee it.”
“Sorry to say, but I can’t come either,” Tommy said. “I have to focus on monitoring Celden for now. And I can freely investigate the Slade manor now too—may as well see if there’s anything there we haven’t found yet.”
“I see. Aaron, Godfrey?”
“If you insist, Your Majesty, I shall accompany you.”
“I will too.”
Once the commander and the head mage had joined me, we made our way down to the prison cells. We’d apprehended an incredible number of people from Houses Slade, Beckford, and Weston. The cells were all packed.
We were headed for Karl in particular, so my preferred “pleasantries” for our prisoners would have to wait for another day. With each step down the stairs, the prison became darker and darker. Finally, we came upon Karl’s cell. He sat behind the iron bars.
I approached him. “So you are the one they call Karl.”
Karl ran up to the front of the cell with desperation in his eyes, searching for mercy. Do I look like a goddess of salvation to him? I chuckled a bit at the absurdity of the image.
“Your Majesty, I am so very sorry for what has happened! Please understand, I had no choice but to help House Slade to meet Lord Beckford’s ridiculous demands!”
Perhaps that was why he ran his mouth so fervently—to say things he normally never would. To think he had a connection to House Slade… Even if Karl lacked hard proof, we would likely find corroborating evidence among Lord Slade’s belongings. His words still irritated me greatly; I couldn’t stand how drastically they differed from his actions.
“It’s amusing how simple it can be just to talk,” I said. “Wouldn’t you say so, Godfrey?”
“I agree wholeheartedly. Can’t say I expected him to open up so easily.”
Godfrey approached the cell himself, prompting Karl’s eyes to bug out as though he’d seen some nightmarish beast. He scurried to the corner of the cell.
“Dear me, Godfrey, what did you do to scare him so?”
“Nothing special, Your Majesty. I arrested him, that’s all.” Godfrey shrugged, implying he truly wasn’t aware he’d done anything out of the ordinary. Even the mention of his name was enough to make Karl quake with fear, so it must have been something dramatic.
I sighed. “So Lord Beckford was manipulated by a rat like this…”
I clenched my teeth. What a frustrating, awful man. To think one of my sworn enemies—a member of the Great Five—was pathetic enough to be swindled by this bastard.
“Your Majesty, I advise you to remain calm,” Godfrey said.
His words brought me back to reality. “Right, I seem to have forgotten myself.”
“No, no, it’s fine. Your magic is always a pleasure to behold, but it may be a bit too stimulating right now.”
I followed Godfrey’s gaze and saw Karl cowering in fear in the corner. His face had gone deathly pale; he looked like a cadaver.
“Answer me, Karl. Why should I believe you? You, who left your masters behind one after the other in an attempt to save your own skin?” My gaze slid over to Godfrey. “You made it clear that I have an infinite well of rage toward all involved in this case, right, Godfrey?”
“That I did.”
“And yet this is all we get? Clearly I’m not being taken seriously enough.” I glared down at the cowering Karl. “You will receive no mercy for the evils you have inflicted upon the civilians of our kingdom. Reflect on your sins in the time you have left.”
With that, I turned to leave the prison.
Aaron, who had been quiet the whole time, spoke up on our way back. “You’re heading home already?”
“Yes. I’ll have my fun with him later.”
He nodded in response.
“The marquesses’ questioning will begin in two days,” I said. “All will be revealed then. Pestering them now will only lead to them blathering on aimlessly, much like Karl just did. I don’t have the time to waste on listening to such drivel.”
“Ah, is that so?”
“Besides, it’s more fun this way. Just imagining them kneeling before me, thoroughly humiliated… It makes me feel so…”
I cackled, unable to contain myself. What a beautiful fantasy. Aaron and Godfrey were silent, and my laughter echoed ominously throughout the prison halls.
We then returned to my office.
“Good work, both of you,” I said.
I parted ways with them, sat down at my desk, and got to work on the duties that awaited me.