What confounded Sidis, however, was why Seren chose not to chat up the female knight who was also a participant. She was looking at Seren like she was hopeful for his attention, but ultimately, she gave up and went to speak with the other men at the event. Sidis could now see why Lyse didn’t believe that Seren was really in the empire to find love.
Past sins, hmm?
The other day, Seren had referred to himself as a sinner. And before that, Caldo—Seren’s adoptive father and younger brother to the Alstran king—had said that Seren must “atone for his wrongdoings.” Sidis had asked Alcede to investigate that.
If Seren is only obeying orders out of guilt, he might not deny the crimes—ones he himself may not have even committed. That could be an issue.
Sidis’s previous discussion with Lyse, Alcede, and Egbert had concluded in an agreement to arrest Seren under the pretense of lèse-majesté. If the Alstrans demanded his return, the empire could easily summon an eyewitness to their mistreatment of Seren. That way, the imperials could prove they were dedicated to protecting him. However, if Seren were to deny that any abuse had taken place, he’d be leaving the empire without a leg to stand on.
Sidis’s greatest fear was that the Alstrans might turn out to be uninvolved with the Donan cultists, though that was highly unlikely. The Alstrans had passed through the part of town where citizens were first transformed into dogs. And following that, they were spotted sightseeing in the capital before the next incident occurred. It was probably a matter of time before it was confirmed that they’d also been around the wall where the monsters had gathered.
As for Seren, the plan was to secure him if Sidis and the others could manage to collect the necessary evidence today.
We have to keep him safe until then...
Yet no sooner had that thought passed through Sidis’s mind than he realized the man in question was gone. He’d already moved on from the court lady he’d been hitting on, and when Sidis scanned the room, he caught a glimpse of him outside. He’d likely escaped through the balcony and down a set of stairs to the garden. He was moving away at a brisk pace.
“Ack!” Lyse exclaimed as she and Sidis gave chase.
Egbert had been peering through the windows of Spring Hall from the yard, and the couple watched as he now ran after Seren himself. Sidis wondered what in the world he was doing. They all knew the Alstrans were up to something, so how could the emperor be so reckless?
“I’ll tail them,” Sidis said to Lyse as he dashed away.
He gave a guest a bit of a shock when he sprinted past her, but the imperial nobleman standing with her let out a chuckle at the amusing sight of the speeding dog. The sliding door to the balcony was left open and, just as a lady-in-waiting grabbed the door handle, Sidis zoomed through it.
“Oh my! Out for a stroll with Lord Seren? You’re quick to have made a friend already,” the lady-in-waiting muttered to herself, but Sidis heard it plain as day with his doggy ears.
He could barely contain his laughter as he ran when he realized how canine he’d become. At first, Egbert had had to mentor him on how to run like a dog, but it was second nature to him now. The next realization to set in on Sidis was that he’d lost sight of Seren, so he did what any dog would and began tracking him by scent. After all, his magical canine features worked as well as any real dog’s. Nevertheless, Seren’s scent was nowhere to be found in the garden. Sidis returned to Spring Hall and picked up the trail inside before losing both Seren’s and Egbert’s scents in the palace halls.
“Where could they be...?”
“Neither Lord Sidis nor His Majesty have returned,” Lyse muttered at the matchmaking venue as her heart raced anxiously. She knew she needed to be patient. Sidis and Egbert couldn’t speak as dogs without blowing their cover, so it wasn’t like they could ask Seren to come back to Spring Hall. Moreover, if they were dead set on pursuing him, they might find themselves waiting for some time before he let something important slip. Lyse just hoped they’d be back before the matchmaking event concluded.
Let’s see if I can pick out a juicy conversation today...
Lyse was on her second cup of tea as she listened in on the dog-loving damsel with blonde ringlets chatting with an imperial knight about where they were from.
“Oh, so you’re a Razanate noble yourself? Aren’t you a little far from your home territory?” she asked with great interest. The knight in question was the second son of a baron.
“Well, it’s quite the honor to be an imperial knight,” he responded. “If we’re assigned to serve the imperial family, you’ll find us at the front lines fighting alongside the emperor against terrible monsters. And if we manage to slay one, we earn not just the respect of the nobility, but potentially even commendation from the imperial family. But yes, while it’s important that the heir inherit the family domain, many younger noble siblings like myself aspire to knighthood.”
Lyse couldn’t have agreed more as she nodded along internally. There was indeed great pride in serving at the palace, as they faced the strongest monsters that had already breached the city defenses. That was why Qatora had jumped for joy when she was assigned to be a palace knight—it was a testament to her strength.
“But I only escort the imperial family when we travel abroad on inspection tours, so I’m not all that special or anything,” the knight modestly added.
“No, you are! Being able to take down monsters is already quite an achievement. Where I’m from, people don’t know how to use magic, so braving battle with one is an incredible feat—or so I’m told. I suppose it’s quite common here in the empire,” she said with genuine admiration as she sipped her tea.
“If I get married, though, I don’t think my children could become knights. That’s why I’m hoping they’ll grant me some sort of post, like they offered to.”
“Why couldn’t your children become knights?”
“Well, you see, that’s the going rate. An acquaintance of mine married a foreigner and their child only has the mana of a commoner. The child will likely live a long life, but nowhere as long as an imperial would,” the knight explained plainly.
“So their child didn’t inherit the imperial mana?”
“There are too many who judge people by their mana, but it’s not the end of the world for those who aren’t as blessed. There are plenty of other ways to be successful too,” he said, leaning toward her. “I hope that’s not too much of a concern for you.”
“No, that’s not what I meant...” Her gaze wavered as she hesitated. “I was just thinking of what they said before about how being in the empire won’t make someone live longer. And, well, it’s unfortunate that I won’t be with my future husband for long...”
“Oh, I see! So you were hoping we could be together forever, hmm?”
“I-I wasn’t talking about you specifically or anything!”