Never had Sidis been so utterly entangled in his work. Even when Emperor Egbert had sent him all over the empire to monitor things following his engagement, the prince had still had time to himself whenever he returned to the palace.
“I hope this isn’t taking too much of a toll on him,” fretted his fiancée.
Though imperials were exceptionally long-lived, they were still susceptible to illness. There were even cases of nobles suddenly fainting when their health failed them. Word in the palace had it that Duke Lasuarl would be the next to fall prey in that regard.
“Except Duke Lasuarl isn’t as busy as he is prone to losing his cool... Meanwhile, Sidis is the type to brood over things. Combine that with his workload, and I’m afraid he might be the one passing out next.”
Lyse found herself thinking of her betrothed’s well-being as she made her way across the palace. When she hit the courtyard, greenery and blossoms alike were dancing in the morning sunlight. Gardeners tended to the verdure as other workers bustled to and fro under the covered walkways. Things were busy both indoors and out. Many palace servants had been able to return to work thanks to the extra shielding against the Light of Origin. Lyse couldn’t help smiling to see the place coming back to life.
It was a welcome change all around. The past few days had been trying for everyone left to pick up the slack. Alcede had had to do his own baking, and the court ladies had been tasked with doing the wash, to name a few examples. Even with the help of magic, the work had been exhausting.
Lyse—who’d awoken this morning earlier than she would’ve liked—strode through the courtyard in hopes of finding Seren. It had been some time since their last chat. She thus made her way toward the chicken coop, which was situated a ways from the palace proper because of the noise, and more importantly, because of the malodor.
“Oh my,” she exclaimed at the sight of it.
Lyse didn’t think the palace had changed much in the past century, yet the coop standing in a grove of trees was much larger than she’d envisioned. The hutch itself was made of solid walls and accompanied by a vast wire-enclosed pen that made good use of the wide-open space, allowing the chickens to roam freely. And beside it stood a mild-mannered brunet talking with the silver-haired prince.
“So Sidis came to question Seren again today...” Lyse remarked, though their interaction looked more like a friendly chat than an interrogation. She wondered what they were discussing.
Seren had essentially been locked up for the past fifty years, so his common knowledge and social etiquette were lacking. He had a lot to catch up on. In light of that, he’d recently been assigned a knight who would accompany him into the capital periodically so that he might have occasion to learn and grow in those regards.
“I’m sure they’re talking about the Donan situation, so I guess this is work-related...”
Lyse didn’t want to butt in if the men were talking business. Anything she did to waylay Sidis here would only cramp his already busy schedule further. So, instead of risking that, she chose to wait patiently until they were finished, which didn’t take long at all. Sidis soon departed with a wave, and Lyse approached Seren once her fiancé had disappeared into the distance.
“Good morning, Seren,” she called out to him.
He quickly whipped around, caught by surprise. “Is that you, Miss Lyse? Fancy meeting you here.”
“I heard that you’ve developed quite a fondness for the chickens, so I decided to swing by.” Lyse was quite frank about her motives. “I saw Lord Sidis here just a moment ago. What were you two discussing?”
“Oh, we were talking about the Donan Faith,” Seren answered coolly. “Little did I know how complicit I was, but I was apparently some sort of key figure in the organization. Rather than try to pry answers out of Caldo in his jail cell, Sidis drops by to question me now and again.” With that, Seren reached a hand out toward Lyse. “How about you? What would you like to know from me? More about the Donans? Or perhaps you’re curious about me personally?” he asked with a smile.
I guess it’ll be a while before he learns to outgrow that part of his personality... It’s too ingrained in him.
“The Donans for sure, but I’m honestly more interested in your conversations with Lord Sidis,” Lyse confessed.
“Let me be clear—he wasn’t hitting on me,” Seren replied, cutting straight to the point.
It was all Lyse could do to force a smile. Seren seemed unsure of how to interact with her, likely because they hadn’t known each other long, but he was entirely mistaken in assuming that Lyse was lonely and jealous from being neglected by her fiancé.
Well, maybe the lonely part is true...
Still, Lyse knew that she’d been the only person in Sidis’s heart for over a century. She was certain he wouldn’t cheat on her.
“The thought never even crossed my mind,” she insisted. “It’s just that Lord Sidis has been so busy day in and day out. It has me worried he’s carrying too great of a burden alone. If you two were discussing something private, then I won’t pry. But I am hoping you’ll tell me if it’s something that I can help resolve.”
If Seren was privy to confidential knowledge, it had undoubtedly come from Sidis—but Lyse also knew that Sidis was exceptionally tight-lipped. She wasn’t sure if the young Alstran was just being considerate or if he’d truly come to learn secrets he couldn’t divulge. Either way, she wasn’t going to force him to talk.
“Erm, hrm...” Seren was audibly conflicted. Lyse waited quietly to hear why.
“I want to tell you, but a man has to keep his word. On the other hand, there are others who know—believers, even. And I think it’s only natural that imperial knights and court ladies should know about it too. Maybe you already do? I just can’t say anything about that one specific part, right?” Seren mumbled to himself for a spell before finally looking at Lyse. “Um, since you bear the Light, I presume that you’re familiar with all classified information regarding the Donan Faith. Er, is that right?”
The particular way he phrased the question was odd, but Lyse played it straight and nodded in the affirmative. There weren’t many details regarding the origins of the Light that she didn’t know. Moreover, there was nothing about the Donan Faith that Egbert or Alcede needed to keep from her.
“What exactly are you getting at?” she pressed him. “Judging by what you said, I can only assume that this is something only those close to the Light should know.”
“Ummm... How much do you know about the black stones?”
Seren was referring to the Donan crystals—the catalyst for their powers of suggestion. Lyse and the imperials were more than familiar with them. Plenty of citizens within the capital had recently been transformed into dogs because of them, but thankfully, that was the extent of the damage.
“I know the stones can be used to control minds, attract monsters, and summon pillars like you did.”
“And what do you know about where they come from...?”
“I’ve heard that the cultists harvest the raw stone from a mine.” Given how much of it the cult had spread around the city, Lyse figured they must have a reliable supply.
Seren nodded before continuing hesitantly, “The truth is that there are small veins of the stuff all over the place. More than you might think. My home... Near the town where I was born and raised was a considerable deposit. That’s probably why monster appearances were so frequent there.” Alstra was second only to Razanate in terms of monster attacks, and Seren’s story would indeed explain why. “The black stones come from the bottoms of deep ravines where sunlight is scarce. The deeper the fissure, the bigger the veins.”
“I suppose the darker, the better,” Lyse surmised, prompting a nod from Seren. Only then did she realize Seren was taking a very roundabout approach to the subject at hand. “Is Sidis touring the ravines and fissures of the empire in search of the stones?”
After learning what Seren just told me, he’s been busy flying all over the country... He’s just not sure he’s on the right track. That’s why he hasn’t told His Majesty what he’s doing, and that’s why he was so evasive when the emperor asked for an update back at the villa.
“I, um...” Seren hesitated again. There was clearly more he was uncomfortable saying.
And so Lyse decided to change her line of questioning. “Did Sidis say what he was planning to do with the stones?”
Seren paused before answering, “He said there was something he wanted to find out regarding the aberrations of the Light.”
“The aberrations and Donan stones...” Lyse mulled to herself. The stones had never had an effect on the Light—neither now nor a century ago. Cultists had tried to cast them into the radiant pillar and ultimately accomplished nothing. So what was Sidis so intent on doing with the two of them together? “Did he say how he intended to use them?”
Seren immediately covered his mouth with both hands. “Please, no more, Miss Lyse. Forgive me, but a man’s word is absolute. If I go back on it, death awaits—so said His Grace Duke Alcede.”
Lyse had to wonder what on earth Alcede was teaching the poor boy. But either way, it was apparent that Seren didn’t want to continue the conversation.
“I understand,” she said before taking her leave.
At the very least, she’d learned a little bit more about Sidis’s recent behavior. Once he found the Donan mine he was looking for, she was confident he would report to Egbert. He would then surely tell her everything and she could come up with a way to help. Thus she would wait for her beloved.
Three days later, Lyse received a summons from the emperor. Once the other court ladies and chamberlains were dismissed from his office, he issued her a simple covert order: “Pursue Sidis.”
“Are—” she began, but her confidence faltered before she could finish the thought. “Are you afraid that Lord Sidis is working against the empire?”
Surely Egbert wouldn’t issue such a directive unless Sidis was hiding something dangerous. Something that stood to harm the empire. Its sovereign leader, however, shook his head.