“At long last…”
I descended the stairs leading to the royal palace’s underground dungeon. I had been granted a visitation with Rae, who was imprisoned while under investigation for her involvement in Yu’s whole fiasco.
The stairs leading down to the dungeon were poorly lit, the torches spaced several meters apart. I was worried I might trip with how dark things were. Slowly, I made my way down together with a guide. As unshakable as Rae might be, surely being locked up in a place like this had done a number on her?
“We’ve arrived, Lady Claire.”
“Thank you. I request you let us meet alone.”
“Of course. And, um…”
“Yes?”
“Please give my regards to Master Dole. As requested, none have laid a hand against her.” The guard saluted and stepped away.
…Hmph. So my father did ensure her safety after all.
Rae noticed me right away as I neared her cell. She seemed to be in better spirits than I had imagined she would be. I hid my relief and said, “You look better than I expected.”
“If I seem well, it’s because you’re here with me now,” she said happily.
To think that was the first thing she had to say to me after a week apart. She never changed. Rae was Rae to the bitter end. Despite it only being a short seven days, it felt like we had been pulled apart much longer.
“How has prison life been?” I asked.
“Not too shabby.”
Apparently, the investigation hasn’t been too intense. Despite being confined, she hadn’t been tortured or anything, just questioned lightly. This was likely due to Yu and everyone else involved keeping their stories straight. Yu claimed she had ordered everything herself, and Lilly and I backed her claim up. Rod and Thane did the same too, apparently. I didn’t know why, but King l’Ausseil was on our side, causing the majority of the palace to side with us as well. I figured it’d only be a matter of time before Rae was released.
“Oh. My food was poisoned, though.”
“What?!” I exclaimed in disbelief.
She explained that it was likely someone in Queen Riche’s faction trying to get revenge. Queen Riche took the biggest loss out of everybody with this incident, what with her hopes of Yu ever inheriting the throne being crushed. It made sense to think someone in her faction would try to get revenge one way or another. That much didn’t surprise me, but the fact they’d go as far as to try to poison Rae was a shock. Thankfully, Rae was cautious enough to inspect and even cast antidote magic on all her food. My father had negotiated things so she could bring a wand with her. Ever brilliant, he was.
“Well, I’m relieved you’re all right.”
“I have Misaki to thank, really.”
I hadn’t a clue what she meant. Misaki, as I recalled, was that haughty ingrate mentioned in the story of Rae’s first love—though I suppose they all did reconcile afterward, enough for Misaki to confide his gender dysphoria problems to Rae. But I thought Misaki had ended his own life?
“Misaki? What do you mean?” I asked.
“He showed up in my dreams.”
Apparently, the night she had been put in the dungeon, Rae saw Misaki standing by her bedside.
“You never change, always too eager to get wrapped up in another’s mess,” he had said in his usual snide way. “But you did good. I can rest easy now knowing somebody out there who knows what it’s like is all right.” He flashed an awkward smile. “Now don’t be an idiot. Make sure you check your food.”
Before Rae could even respond, he disappeared.
“So things like that can really happen, then,” I mused.
“Eh. It was probably just my mind manifesting my unconscious desires.” So she said, but she was clearly happy.
“Putting that aside… You could have died. I told you this was dangerous business.”
“Yes, yes you did,” she admitted.
The one most opposed to Rae’s scheme was none other than myself. I was reluctantly persuaded after she told me what happened to Misaki, but that didn’t mean I approved of the plan. She could have made an enemy of the royal court, for crying out loud. As someone who knew just how fierce high society could be, I could not help but stand against her.
“I haven’t a clue what’s going on from in here,” she said. “Any developments?”
“Things are going almost exactly as you anticipated.”
I filled Rae in on the events that followed the ceremonial dance. Firstly, Yu was sent to a convent. As I’ve mentioned, the royal court was publicly going with a different story, claiming Yu was staying at the convent for medical care. That said, it was clear the situation had spiraled out of the royal court’s hands; it wouldn’t be long, I imagined, before Yu had the freedom to do as she pleased.
“Yu wanted me to pass a message along to you,” I said. “She says, ‘Thank you. I will be sure to return the favor one day.’”
“I see. How are people reacting to the news of her change?”
“There’s a bit of stir, as we expected. Those in the know assumed her change was temporary, caused by the full moon.”
Those who knew Yu’s circumstances had assumed she appeared as she did at the ceremonial dance because of the light of the full moon, but that was actually not the case. We had actually cured her of the Crosswise Curse with the Tears of the Moon. To receive permission to use the Tears of the Moon, the approval of two people at cardinal ranking or higher was required; thankfully Lilly and Yu met that requirement. Lilly had been investigated for her role in all this, but she was able to just say she couldn’t refuse a request from Yu—just like Rae planned.
“Miss Lilly possesses a fair amount of status anyway, so the palace cannot easily punish her.”
“What’s Misha up to?”
“She’s negotiating with her parents.”
Misha wished to leave the Academy and join Yu in a convent, but her family was resisting. Misha was an extremely gifted student, and House Jur expected great things from her. For her to throw all that away to join a convent must have seemed like a waste to the family. Her mother supported her, however, reminding everyone that House Jur had other gifted heirs. Of course, Yu telling the family herself that she wanted Misha by her side swayed them strongly as well.
“Since it was her parents’ fault that her childhood was so rough, it seems they feel obligated to give in a little,” I said.
“I see.”
From what I could tell, Misha has always had feelings for Yu. Perhaps her wish would be granted in time.
“And how have you been, Miss Claire?”
“Perfectly fine. Except, of course, for the embarrassment of having my maid arrested.” So I said, but the past week had actually been unbearable for me. I was beside myself with worry, wondering if something terrible was happening to Rae. I couldn’t express such a thing directly, but Rae had become someone dear to me, more so than I ever imagined possible. I was relieved beyond belief that a repeat of what happened to my mother hadn’t occurred.
“Is that it? You haven’t been lonely or felt any yearning while we were apart?”
“Well, don’t you think highly of yourself?” I hid how surprised I was that she’d actually guessed correctly and huffed. She grinned as though she saw right through me. Honestly, her personality was just the worst.
“Did Master Dole say anything?”
“Nothing.” I cocked my head to the side. “I thought for sure he would fire you, but that hasn’t come up at all… Exactly what dirt do you have on my father?”
“It’s not like that. Master Dole is just a kind man.”
I didn’t believe her one bit. There was definitely something going on between her and my father. Neither would tell me anything, however, so I felt a little left out. Surely it was only a matter of time before they talked to me, though?
We continued to talk for some time until the jailer appeared. “Apologies, Miss Claire, but Rae is to be questioned again.”
“What more questioning can even be done?” I said. “Is it not clear already that she was only acting on Lady Yu’s orders?”
I implicitly demanded Rae be released already but received an unexpected response.
“Well… This time His Majesty King l’Ausseil wishes to do the questioning.”
“His Majesty does?”
But why? Was King l’Ausseil not on our side?
“At any rate, I ask that you leave for today,” the jailor said.
“Very well. I shall come again.”
Reluctantly, I left the dungeon behind.
Back in my dorm room that night, I talked with Catherine.
“Queen Riche has declared war with her actions, and I do believe I shall accept.”
“Oh, c’mon, Claire. Poisoning Rae’s food was just a warning, at best. There’s no way she wouldn’t know she brought a wand with her.”
“Even if that were true, she still has no right to be doing such a thing! Not to my Rae!”
“Wh-whoa, okay, let’s calm down now.”
My fit of rage did not last long. Neither could I have expected what would come next—that Rae would be expelled from the Royal Academy and be made an officer of the King’s own Secret Service.