Chapter 7:
Dependable Rae and Me
“YOU MUST BE JOKING!” My shout shook the room.
It was already late in the evening. We were in my dorm room at the Royal Academy. Ralaire cowered back on the desk, trying to make herself small.
After being freed from prison, Rae gave me some unbelievable news. First off, she was no longer a student of the Academy but had been appointed to the Secret Service, reporting directly to King l’Ausseil. Lilly and I were to aid her. Though surprising, this made sense. I even felt a little proud of her—a commoner—for rising above her station. But I was galled to find out she was tasked with investigating nobles for corruption, including my own father.
“My father, corrupt?! You must be out of your mind!” My father was the very embodiment of a perfect Bauer noble. He had dedicated his life to serving the kingdom as its Minister of Finance. I would not stand to hear his name sullied.
“Now, now, the king just has some doubts. Nothing is set in stone yet,” Rae said. But I did not believe King l’Ausseil to be thekind of man to act on mere doubts. He had to have some basis for suspecting my father.
“The fact that His Majesty would doubt my father at all makes me doubt His Majesty’s sanity! Has the François family not always protected the kingdom’s treasury with the utmost honor?!”
Ever since my vacation with Rae, I’d come to question the edifice of the nobility as a whole. I’d even done some investigating of my own and learned of some nobles who were likely corrupt. But my father could never be one such person… Right?
“M-Miss Claire, this might actually be a valuable opportunity.” Lilly, who looked terrified of me, spoke up all the same. She had just happened to come by my room before Rae returned to make her report.
“How so?”
“I-I also don’t want to believe my father is doing something corrupt. That’s why I think we should take this chance to prove our fathers’ innocence.”
Lilly was being optimistic about this, and rightfully so, as she had a point. But it was harder to prove the absence of guilt than it was to prove guilt. Investigating our fathers and procuring nothing to prove their innocence could ruin their standing and result in them being wrongfully punished.
“Wh-what sort of corruption are our fathers suspected of?” Lilly asked.
“I don’t know yet,” Rae answered. “His Majesty told me to speak to Rod.”
“Then let’s go see him already,” I said. I was eager to learn what manner of hogwash my father was suspected of.
“Not today; it’s already dark out. I’m sure you’ll both receive official instructions from the king tomorrow, so let’s wait until then.”
“…How vexing,” I said. Rae was staying calm to balance out my loss of composure, it seemed. Or perhaps she was just always this calm. “And why have you dragged Cardinal Lilly into this, anyway?”
“Well, I thought that since we have to investigate Master Salas, we could use Miss Lilly’s help—”
“You really don’t understand how dangerous this is, do you? Prying into the affairs of powerful people will make us equally powerful enemies.”
Investigating lesser nobles was dangerous enough, but my father and Salas were some of the highest-ranking nobles out there. If, by some minuscule chance, we found evidence of wrongdoing, it wasn’t out of the question that they might do unthinkable things to keep our mouths shut.
“I-I can use water magic. I’m sure I can help,” Lilly said.
“It’s not a question of whether you can help; it’s a matter of safety. Rae is only fine because she has me protecting her.” I had high aptitude in fire magic. It would take a lot to get through me.
“B-but I’m worried!” Lilly said.
“You have nothing to fear. All these suspicions will prove unfounded,” I replied.
“I-I don’t know what Miss Claire will do to Rae if you two are alone!”
“That’s what you’re worried about?!” And if anything, shouldn’t it be what Rae would do to me?!
“Huh? Are you going to do something to me, Miss Claire?” Rae asked.
“I am not!”
“Why not?!”
“Because why would I?!”
“Y-you don’t want to do anything to Rae?!” Lilly stammered. “Have you taken leave of your senses?!”
“Ugh, you exhaust me! Both of you!”
It had been a while since we’d had such nonsensical banter. We’d been busy lately, after all. Ralaire, sensing the mood had lightened, seemed to grow cheerful once more.
“I suppose it can’t be helped,” I said. “I consent to Cardinal Lilly joining us, but please, be extremely careful.”
“Y-yes, of course,” said Lilly.
“You too, Rae.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
And that was where we decided to call it a night.