“ARE you going to explain what this is all about?”
In one of Rhad’s private rooms—now taken over by Vigo and Selena as their office and break room—Selena, Vigo, Yuki, and Rhad sat around a table drinking tea.
Rhad answered Selena with indifference from where he sat beside Vigo, “I can’t explain anything when you suddenly summon me and abruptly ask questions without context.” He shrugged.
“There are several things we want to ask you. First, our food concerns have been set at ease because of the recent donations made by the nobles, but how were you compensating for the quick decrease in supplies before their arrival?” Selena asked, holding her index finger up.
“I took from my own supplies.”
Further pressing on the matter let them learn the Mende Family was a powerful noble family and Rhad had been taking from his family’s reserves. Yuki scrutinized him from where she sat diagonally across from him—his nobility was news to her. Selena and Vigo showed no outward signs of surprise over the revelation.
Selena took a long sip of her tea and set it down on the saucer, taking her sweet time before saying, “…Recently, there have been a lot of Adolunde’s nobility among our patients. Fol is still too unsecure for there to be many nobles living here. Where are they coming from then?”
“Beats me. Isn’t it because they caught wind of rumors about the medical treatment here?”
“Rumors, eh? If rumors are the cause, do you know who might be spreading them?”
“Who knows? We can’t force people to keep their mouths shut. Perhaps it was some blabbermouth noble?”
Selena let out an exaggerated sigh. “…I’ll change my question then. Just what did you do when you went to Adolunde’s Royal Capital the other day? If memory serves me correctly, the nobles increased in number after our return.”
“The other day I went to my family and negotiated with them to share more supplies.”
The aromatic scent of a good black tea filled the room. Steam no longer billowed from the cups.
“…Are you trying to keep us confined to Fol?” Rhad stayed silent, a smile on his lips. “Why don’t you say something for yourself?”
Yuki sensed an icy chill come from the right of her. Selena had unleashed something. She couldn’t do anything about the bone-chilling air coming from Selena.
“I am not obligated to answer you,” Rhad said, further rubbing Selena the wrong way. “You are doing what you requested by entering this castle and healing those infected with the Ten Day Fever.” He shrugged as if to say he wasn’t doing anything wrong. “Fallen Kingdom of Rvydom’s Mad Dog and her tamer…what did you even come to Adolunde for? You’ve got guts to question me when I’m letting you act freely without asking questions.”
Vigo’s eyes widened and his hand wrapped precariously around the teacup handle. “You—”
“I know. I might not look like one, but I am a nobleman and a prince’s proxy. I have broad knowledge about the successive generations of military and famous people of note from the three nations.”
“You knew? …Why did you stay quiet about it then?”
“Why? Let me throw a question right back at you. I don’t know what it is you’ve come here to do, but what are you going to do if your foolish questioning puts your efforts of healing the people infected with the Ten Day Fever for free at risk?” Rhad glanced at Yuki. Noticing his gaze, her eyes met his. A ghost of a smile touched his lips. “Just like you have your circumstances, I have mine. Isn’t that the way the world works?”
Circumstances… Is he implicitly referring to Luca? Yuki searched Rhad with her eyes, but his grin only widened.
“Circumstances, is it? Then the rush of Adolunde nobles coming here suits your circumstances?”
“……”
Vigo stroked his beard contemplatively. His gaze was fixed on the center of the table. Unconcerned, Rhad reached for the sugar bowl in the middle. He used the tongs to drop two cubes of sugar into his teacup. The clanging of a spoon swirling the sugar around the cup filled the silence. Chilly air continued to emanate from Selena as she sipped at her tea and restlessly glanced at Vigo.
Vigo dropped his hand from his beard and said, “Your circumstances revolve around Prince Lucat, no?”
“What?!” Yuki nearly dropped her teacup.
Why did he bring up Luca? They shouldn’t have known Luca is a prince.
“And if they do? What is it to you?”
“From what I’ve observed, what has been happening in Fol and with the nobles all seems to be happening at your sole discretion. Why would that be? Because there are no orders from Prince Lucat for you to follow. If true, then we can surmise you haven’t had any contact with Prince Lucat either.”
“Wait. What? Why? What are you saying?” Yuki rushed out and looked around the table.
“What it all comes down to is that the prince Yuki is looking for is in a situation where even his proxy—Rhad—can’t get in contact with him. Am I right? Even if he is say, unconscious, his proxy should have the authority to see him in person. But it doesn’t look like he’s even seen his face,” Selena surmised and glared at Rhad.
“And he’s either keeping us here because he views us as a possible threat or has some other ulterior motives… We want to know where he stands,” she supplied for Yuki’s benefit and returned her glare to Rhad. Yuki looked at him too.
Sick of three pairs of questioning eyes on him, Rhad lifted his shoulders in a half-shrug. “What’s the big deal with you people? You have your motives. I have my motives. What does it matter if it becomes clear my motives will put you at a disadvantage? You can’t do anything about it. My motives won’t change if I lay them out on a shiny silver platter for you. If you get hung up worrying about every little detail you’ll go bald.”
“You’ve got a point,” Vigo conceded, then frankly countered, “But all of that stands on the basis one of our motives putting the other at a disadvantage. My point in all of this is that if your motives and our motives are the same, we should cooperate.”
“Huh? How could our motives be on the same page?”
“We need—no, we want to let this little lady here meet up with Prince Lucat. For that to happen we will go to any ends necessary to wake him up.”
A light glinted in Rhad’s eyes.
They want me to meet up with Luca? How do they know about him? How do they know about us? Doubts whirled around her head. She stared a hole through Vigo.
Noticing her surprise, Selena put her arm around her shoulder and whispered into her ear, “We heard from Rifaenotis that Prince Lucat is your Knight.”
“Rifae told you?”
“We had him tell us a bit about you before we decided to take you with us.”
Yuki never imagined they had that kind of conversation behind her back. She curled her hand into her skirts.
How am I so stupid? It’s only natural for them to have dug into who I am before they took me with them. I didn’t realize at all.