“Thank you for doing this, Leia,” said Eric after I returned to his study and reported on what I’d learned. “Wow, so you spoke with Berklein as well as Jill Westoria.”
The information I’d gathered hadn’t exactly cracked the case, but I hoped that if we sorted through what we knew from the premise that Dale could be trusted, we might find something.
In other words, I hoped that Eric’s shrewdness could find something. I believed that unlike me, Eric could see angles I couldn’t imagine and make connections I couldn’t see from the given information.
It was a belief not based on anything, but I believed it all the same.
“Leia, is your sister doing well?” Lingsha asked.
“She’s…really run down, as you’d imagine. I could hardly call her ‘well.’”
“Oh, she’ll be okay. When you’re locked in the dungeon in the Ren Empire, each of your fingers gets a name, and you have tournaments to find out which one is the strongest, oh yes!”
Hm? Why would Lingsha ever set foot in a dungeon?
I was scared to find out, so I decided not to ask.
She was probably just trying to say that Jill’s experience was normal. And normal was an apt word. She was much easier to talk to now than she was back at home. You might even say her mental health had greatly improved.
“Leia, your Lingsha knows just how much it hurts to fight with sisters, oh yes. I’m sure you can’t forgive her for trying to kill you. But you’re still alive, yes? So even if you can’t be friends, you can still start over.”
“Miss Lin…”
Lingsha was the twelfth imperial princess of the Ren Empire. According to Eric, her siblings had ruthlessly warred with each other. And while a part of me was grateful for Lingsha’s extensive experience with war, sometimes my heart breaks knowing the deep sadness she carried with her. So when Lingsha told me that we had a chance to start over, her words carried a lot of weight.
“Okay… I think I know what our next move should be,” Eric suddenly said, interrupting our conversation.
I hope my intel gave him the hint he needed.
“Sounds like you’ve got a good plan, Your Highness.”
“Weeell…I’m not quite sure it’s a good plan, per se. It involves more deceit on our part.”
It sounded like Prince Eric had another ruse up his sleeve. And this time, Duke Algrene would be the target. Eric didn’t look that excited about it.
“By deceit, do you mean the sort of trap we set for Berklein?”
“Yes, exactly.”
We had set the stage at Philip’s engagement party. There, we had lured Berklein into our trap and gotten him to confess his crimes on the spot. Our operation succeeded because we used a ruse to lull him into a false sense of security and created the ideal scenario for a confession.
“Um, I’m almost afraid to ask this, Your Highness, but not much time has passed since our ploy at Lord Philip’s engagement party. Are you sure this will go well?”
So much had happened since then that I was surprised to realize only a month had passed since Berklein’s arrest. Duke Algrene surely knew about our little trap at the engagement party, so it was hard to believe we would be able to fool him so easily.
“You’re right. Algrene witnessed Jade’s downfall, so he’s sure to have his guard up.”
“You’re going to lure him into a trap all the same?”
“That’s the plan, yes. And I of course know that luring a cautious man into a trap will be no easy task. What’s more, this is Duke Algrene we’re talking about. Our plans must be immaculate.”
He sounded confident that he could trick Algrene, despite Algrene’s heightened alertness.
Well, when he’s this committed to an idea, I can’t refuse him.
Eric thought we had a real chance of victory, and it was my job to support him wholeheartedly.
“Understood. I’m entirely in your hands, Your Highness.”
“Thank you, Leia. You’re my rock.”
“And your Lingsha is on standby to blast everyone away, oh yes.”
“Good, Lingsha. I look forward to your brutal display.”
As a unit, we hyped ourselves for our battle against Duke Algrene.
Eric says he looks forward to Lingsha’s brutal display. That must mean…
“Leia, Lingsha, let’s move. Leia, we will have an audience with His Majesty. Lingsha, I’m going to write a letter and I need you to deliver it for me.”
“Yes, Your Highness!”
“You’ve got it, Eric!”
Eric drafted his letter, and we prepared for the final showdown with the mastermind who had raised hell in the palace.