At that, Vyce nodded and raised his pointer finger. “There are three ships leaving from here in the near future. The first goes to the continent to the east, but it leaves the day after tomorrow, so you won’t make it unless you really hurry to make your preparations for the journey. Not to mention it’s a trading ship—don’t get your hopes up for any hospitality.”
Vyce flicked his second finger up. “The next goes to the neighboring country on the other side of the eastern sea. You’ll arrive after a day or so, so it’s probably good for your sea voyage. It sets sail two weeks from now.”
“And last,” Vyce said, raising his third finger, “is the ship going to the nation to the south. It’s a passenger ship, and the most luxurious of the three, so a young lady like you wouldn’t have anything to worry about, but it’s not going where you wanna go, so really, you only have two options.”
Just like that, Vyce propped up his chin with his hand and narrowed his eyes like a cat. “No matter what ship you go with, I’ll talk with them to make sure you’re not treated badly, and I’ll make arrangements so you can hop right on,” Vyce went on. “Either way, you have a whole day tomorrow. You can fret over it or start preparing—whatever you’d like. Once you’ve made up your mind, tell whoever’s close to tell me, Arvey, or Jeykos.”
“I apologize for the delayed introduction. I am Arvey,” the attendant said with a polite bow.
Arvey’s smile was frighteningly beautiful. Sophie remembered that she’d heard many of the demonkin had well-shaped features.
Crediting his beauty to the fact that he was a demonkin was just a bit nonsensical, given that Sophie had a human beside her who periodically left her wondering if he were actually an angel. Either way, Arvey had a sort of beauty that seemed to conceal both his age and gender—the sort of charm that made her nod right along with the stories she’d heard.
“Your Majesty...” Quietly laying down her cutlery, Lunetta called to Vyce.
“Huh?”
Come to think of it, Lunetta had been munching away in silence the whole time. The small plates that had almost certainly been prepared just for Lunetta had all been cleaned off.
“May I be excused?”
Vyce paused. “Sure. That’s enough for today. Get some rest now.”
Lunetta fell silent.
“Makin’ a face like that won’t get ya anywhere,” Vyce said. “Aysha, you locked the laboratory, right?”
From Sophie’s perspective, Lunetta looked completely expressionless, so she couldn’t say either way. The maid—Aysha—bowed her head and answered, “Naturally.”
Guess he’s got a point. If he didn’t do all that, I could see Lunetta hiding away in her laboratory all night long. On second thought, she’s probably got a habit of doing that.
“You heard me—that face ain’t gonna work,” Vyce repeated.
“I know...” Lunetta answered.
“Arvey, what about the library?”
“That door’s been locked as well,” Arvey said, beaming.
Lunetta froze. Even though she was expressionless, Sophie could tell Lunetta was so shocked she could practically see a bolt of lightning crashing to the ground behind the girl. Yup, this has definitely happened before.
“Your Majesty,” Lunetta said.
“You were plannin’ on runnin’ off to the library, weren’t ya?”
“I’ll go back to my room...”
“Yes, you will.”
With a heavy, defeated sigh, Lunetta rose to her feet and gave a polite bow. The way her black dress fluttered was stunning.
“I’ll be taking my leave now, Sophie and Livio.”
“Okay,” Sophie answered. “Get some rest this evening.”
“Good night,” Livio said.
Lunetta nodded before the maid named Aysha—the one with the key to the laboratory—guided her out of the room. Sophie watched Lunetta’s small frame as she exited. Even after she’d gone, Sophie couldn’t help but keep her eyes fixed on the door.
“Is Lunetta okay?” she asked.
“Especially after all that commotion earlier,” Livio added.
“Yer right,” Vyce answered with a laugh. “Yeah...that’s probably part of it.”
“Was there anything else worrying her?” Sophie asked.
“Who knows?” Vyce said with an airy laugh. The smile that broke across his face seemed both mean-spirited and kind all at once—it was right in character for him. Sophie tilted her head in confusion.
“If you feel like it, go and check on her,” Vyce said.
“Is it okay if I go?” Sophie asked.
“You’d prolly be the best choice.”
As far as Sophie was concerned, there was no one better suited for the task than Vyce himself. But if Vyce, who knew Lunetta better than anyone, was telling her to go, then she was more than happy to rush to Lunetta’s side.
“Would it be all right if I went after her now?” Sophie asked, knowing full well she was breaking etiquette. While she had her reservations about taking her leave when she was in front of a king, letting it get too late wouldn’t be good either.
Vyce nodded back and raised his hand toward one of the maids waiting.
“Grab some tea or something and show her the way,” Vyce ordered.
“As you wish,” the maid answered, then turned to Sophie. “Might you be so kind as to wait just a moment?”
Sophie nodded before turning to look at Livio, who greeted her gaze with a gentle smile. Urgh! He’s practically shining!
“If you’d like, why don’t we go down into town tomorrow?” Livio asked. “We can talk about which ship route we’ll take then.”
“That’d be wonderful!” Sophie replied. “I’m already looking forward to it!”
As a former noble lady, Sophie had never explored a town before. Even when they’d stayed in the inn, she’d slept through the chance to explore the town, so it was no exaggeration to say that it would be her first time going out and about. Sophie was so delighted she couldn’t contain the wide smile that broke across her face, which made Livio cover his face with both hands.
“You’re so cu—”
“You two goin’ on a date?” Vyce asked. “Well ain’t that nice! Go and have a good time!”
“Would you like me to provide you with a map highlighting all of our local recommendations?” one of the servants asked.
With the pleasant stares of the adults all falling on her, Sophie’s face grew even warmer. She felt she was bound to be wine red.
After coming to collect Sophie and inform her that all the preparations were in order, the maid knocked on the door before her, the sound echoing out in the long hallway they now found themselves in.
In response, Aysha, the maid, poked her head out from behind the door, looking at Sophie and the maid who had guided her.
“Just a moment, please,” Aysha said before bowing and retreating inside.
After a moment, the door swung open wide.
“Apologies for keeping you waiting,” Aysha said. “Please—come in.”
Sophie gave a brief nod to the maid and stepped inside.
The room was well organized—a far cry from the laboratory. Both the sofa and cushions in the room were plain and lacked any pattern, but even then they seemed fitting for Lunetta.
Just when Sophie started to feel alarmed that she didn’t see Lunetta, the girl poked her head out from the other side of the balcony. Her hair and dress were the same as they had been at dinner—it seemed Sophie hadn’t bothered her while she was trying to get some rest. Whew!
Sophie smiled. “Sorry to bother you.”
“You’re not bothering me...” Lunetta answered. “I wasn’t planning on going to bed yet.”
“Oh, okay. Um...would it be all right if I came over to you?” Sophie asked furtively.
Lunetta nodded.
Seeing this, the two maids began laying out the teaware on the balcony’s tea table. The tea set was made of white porcelain with flowers etched onto its surface in black and gold. There were large flowers, small flowers, and tangles of ivy. It was an intricate design, but as the colors it used were rather simple, it had a refined elegance to it that suited Lunetta.
The two maids gave a polite bow to Sophie and Lunetta before leaving the room. The maids didn’t miss a thing, that was for sure. Sophie wouldn’t have expected anything less from the maids working in Vyce’s castle.
It was now just the two of them as a gentle breeze of wind swayed the room’s curtains. It was a splendid night, the air reverberating with the distant buzz of insects and the calm breeze.
Sophie looked back at Lunetta. Lunetta stared back at her, looking perplexed.
“I was just a little, well, worried about you at dinner back there,” Sophie finally said.
Lunetta paused. “I’m sorry if I upset you.”
“That’s not it at all!” Sophie quickly shook her head. Ugh...this is a tough one. Really tough.