“Well, hello there, Brother. And Miss Leia too. I anticipated that you would come see me right about now.”
We’d arrived in Dale’s study. He was smiling as usual, but the smile didn’t reach his eyes. He knew we were there to confront him, and that was exactly why Eric needed to question him.
You know, this is my first time in Prince Dale’s study.
It looked much more ornate and fashionable than Eric’s did. It held a menagerie of antiques, had a comfortable sofa, and the print on the curtains tied the room together. Dale likely cared about appearances because he often had visitors. Eric, on the other hand, showed no interest in interior design. The only thing lacking was the tea; Lingsha’s tea was much better.
“Thanks for getting us tea when we dropped in unannounced.”
“No need to thank me, I had a feeling you were coming. Besides, being prepared to serve tea is basic hospitality.”
Dale set out the silver teacups that would react to poison, and just to be sure, had someone test the tea for poison before serving us. Like Eric, he was a prince, so he was quite thorough in these matters.
“Ah, then we can cut to the chase,” Eric said. “You know why I’m here, I take it?”
“Of course. This is regarding the intruder, correct? I have final say on the execution list, and you thought something was amiss when you found out the intruder was executed this morning. Am I wrong?” Dale’s voice was calm, and he didn’t skip a beat in answering Eric’s question.
It was almost as if the answer was rehearsed. He brought up the intruder immediately, showing no interest in avoiding the subject. I couldn’t imagine how he would plead his case, but he at least seemed unperturbed by discussing it.
“Exactly. I had planned to interrogate the intruder to try and discover who was behind the plot against the king. But as he was executed, I couldn’t do so. If you have an explanation, I would love to hear it.”
“I have no explanation.”
“You… What do you mean?”
He couldn’t explain? Did that mean he authorized a wrongful execution? No, there was something unusual about his answer.
Eric looked just as confused by Dale’s answer as I was.
“The premature execution was my mistake. Please forgive me, Brother. You’re right, we should have gotten more information out of him before the execution. I deeply regret my rash decision.”
He just apologized without making excuses. All we could do was stare in shock.
He admitted he made a mistake, so we can’t press him further. It’s a simple but effective way of ending the conversation.
Dale was Eric’s brother, after all. It wasn’t easy to get the upper hand with him. He was a master of human psychology, and he rarely showed any weakness.
“You say it was a mistake? Dale, I know you. You’re not that careless. Wasn’t there some reason behind your actions?”
“You overestimate me, Brother. I was careless. Father was… The king was nearly killed. I couldn’t bear the thought of the would-be assassin continuing to draw breath. It was a lapse in judgment. When I thought about how our father was almost murdered, I couldn’t help myself.”
Dale claimed to hold a grudge against the assassin. I could sympathize. Anybody would hold a grudge against someone who tried to kill a family member. Some could even want the killer eliminated.
But it just doesn’t sound like something Prince Dale would say.
Gentle Dale wouldn’t impulsively kill someone. Even if his temperate personality was a guise, that would have been even more reason for him to uphold it.
I refused to believe that it was a moment of weakness. There had to be some reason.
“I see. So you resented the king’s assassin so much that you rushed his execution. I suppose you didn’t feel the same resentment against all those assassins who came after me?”
“Brother, you’re being unfair. Of course, I was angry then as well, but I was just in a particularly bad place this time.”
Eric was as much Dale’s family as the king was, and Eric survived countless assassination attempts. I agreed that Eric was being unfair in pointing that out, but at the same time, I could understand why he would highlight Dale’s hypocrisy.
“You were in a bad place… Okay, I’ll take your word for it.”
“You don’t believe me, do you?”
“Were you hoping I would?”
I looked at Eric. His eyes narrowed to slits as he glared at Dale. The air in the room grew very tense. Eric was unyielding—misdirection had no effect on him.
“I would never lie to you, Brother. Please, trust in me.”
“I’m just surprised you can make such an excuse without batting an eye after what’s happened.”
“I understand where you’re coming from, Brother. I destroyed the one link that could lead to the mastermind behind this plot. It’s only natural for you to blame me.”
Eric was at a loss for words. Dale’s tone was still placid. Surely, Dale knew that Eric wouldn’t believe him that easily. The way he returned Eric’s gaze made him seem sincere, but sincerity wasn’t enough to win Eric’s trust. He wasn’t that naive.
“I should have taken the time to question the intruder, and if any contradictions were found, launch a full investigation. My failure to do so is a reflection of my lack of virtue. I deeply regret the severity of my actions.”
Eric remained silent.
“If you wish to punish me, then I will humbly accept it.”
“I see…”
Eric listened to Dale’s testimony to the end then fell into silent contemplation.
✦ ✦ ✦
I hoped that we would discover something here, that we could figure out whether or not Dale was Eric’s ally, but I still couldn’t get a read on him. During my time as a saint, I had acquired all sorts of abilities most people didn’t possess, but in matters like this, I was no better than the average person.
The act of trusting someone came with its own risks. Sometimes you had no choice but to go with your gut and trust somebody because you wanted to, even if you couldn’t see what was truly in their heart. Whether Eric chose to trust Dale here all depended on what he was able to discern from the conversation thus far. Would he renew his faith in his brother or not?
“Leia, I’ve run out of questions to ask Dale. Let’s leave.”
“A-all right, Your Highness.”
After what felt like hours in silent thought—but was probably only a minute or two—Eric finally suggested we depart. I wondered what this meant. What sort of judgment had Eric made about Dale?
Regardless, I obediently rose from my seat and bowed to Dale. “Well, Prince Dale, I must be on my way.”
“I’m sorry I couldn’t help. I’m sure you had your own questions to ask. Perhaps we could meet some other time.”
He was right. I had kept quiet since it was unrelated to our current task, but I had my own burning question for Dale: Why was he visiting Jill every day?
To be honest, I understood that even less than how he handled the execution. Dale knew that I had something on my mind; perhaps that was why he added that little remark when we were taking our leave.
Was coming here a mistake?
I knew it was too late to ask that question now, but I couldn’t help but doubt my own suggestion.
No, Leia. It’s better than knowing nothing at all. It was surely worthwhile.
With these thoughts lingering in my mind, I followed Eric out of Dale’s study.