“Victoria, I’m learning quite a lot from interrogating Gunther or, rather, Grayson.”
“Is he still here? I thought he had been sent back to Eagal long ago.”
“That was my boss’s decision. The truth serum from Shen worked remarkably well on him.”
“You used the truth serum on him? Even though he’s the nephew of Eagal’s king?”
“Well, he lied about his identity to get close to our royal family. It’s only natural.”
I’m not sure about that one.
Returning him to Eagal and making them owe us a debt could’ve been a strategic move for negotiations. Instead, they treated him like a criminal and used a drug on him.
Apparently, whoever was in charge of the Third Order didn’t show any mercy, no matter who was involved.
During my time in Shen, I witnessed the use of truth serums on criminals, and it was frighteningly effective.
Under the influence of the drug, the subject would spill everything without even realizing they were revealing secrets. However, the serum was exorbitantly expensive, and its manufacturing process was a closely guarded secret.
“There isn’t much time left to deal with the threats against Princess Delphine.”
“Because the festival is approaching?” I asked.
“No, because there’s a power struggle for Eagal’s throne behind the scenes.”
“I see. Their king is quite elderly, isn’t he?” I said.
“Yes. As long as Princess Delphine remains the crown prince’s wife, our forces would join Eagal’s royal army in the case of a civil war after the king’s death.”
“Ah, so those who wish her harm belong to the antiroyalist faction, and they want her out of the picture.”
“Exactly. And with the king’s health rapidly declining, they’re likely running out of time. That’s probably why they resorted to the poison.”
If they were in such a hurry, then we needed to act quickly, too.
“Mike, although I don’t have any concrete evidence yet, I’ve pieced together the gist of how I believe the poison ended up in Princess Delphine’s meals.”
“Why, Victoria, you’ve hardly had time to leave your quarters. I’m impressed you’ve managed to uncover so much. Please tell me.”
“First, I have a question. Is the Third Order involved in the royal family’s security detail? Or unable to be involved?”
“No, the Third Order isn’t involved at all.” He answered without changing the impassive look on his face; not even his eyes moved. It was a blatant lie. And it only reinforced my impression of Mike as a highly trained individual.
It was clear the Third Order was barely involved in protecting the royal family. And that allowed Elly to have obtained the poison herself.
In fact, the security around the royal family was so lax that Elly had been able to obtain the poison without even leaving the castle. That meant someone inside the palace must have supplied her with it. However, the number of people who had access to her was extremely limited.
“Elly took the poison herself. She couldn’t bring herself to harm her beloved princess, but at the same time, a simple suicide wouldn’t protect her family from ruin. That was why she likely tried to frame things as a failed poisoning attempt on the princess, one that would result in her own death as the taster. Even if the poison had killed Elly, however, her passing wouldn’t have actually erased her family’s debts. She must have been desperate.”
“Hmm…”
“It seems someone swapped the poison that Elly was meant to consume with something weaker. She must be utterly confused right now, as she was willing to throw her life away. I’m sure she’s struggling to decide what to do. I need to act before she gets even more distressed and tries to end her life by other means.”
“Do you have any idea who might’ve switched the poison?”
“I think it might be Nina, the maid who takes the shift after me. She’s the only one who could enter Elly’s private quarters without suspicion.”
“But still…,” Mike trailed off.
“It makes sense given the royal family of Eagal temporarily sent Nina here to protect Princess Delphine until their nation’s succession conflict calms down. Officially, Nina is posing as a noble from this kingdom. Surely, you and the others are aware of Nina’s true identity, right, Mike?”
“…”
“I may be an outsider, but if you continue keeping so many secrets from me, I won’t be able to fully perform my duties as Princess Delphine’s body double. Protecting her just won’t be possible unless we share our information. The enemy is already making moves close by. Mike, Nina is from Eagal, isn’t she?”
Mike gave a small, resigned nod.
“Yes, she is.”
“And Elly doesn’t know that, does she? The way she interacts with Nina suggests she has no idea the woman is also from Eagal.”
Mike let out a deep sigh, as if giving up.
I had realized Nina was from Eagal for one simple reason.
When I first spoke with Princess Delphine in Eagalian, she’d pointed out my northern accent. And Nina had slipped into that same accent twice during casual conversation.
Accents tended to surface in unguarded moments. During my days as an operative, I had pulled off many international assignments because I was able to speak without slipping into my native Haglian accent.
“Nina was likely chosen for her fluency in Ashburian, but her northern Eagalian accent still lingers.”
“I see…,” said Mike.
“When I spoke with Elly, she told me she was the only one who had accompanied the princess here from Eagal, so naturally, I deduced Nina’s true background.”
Mike let out a small sigh for some reason.
What’s that supposed to mean?
I held back the urge to ask and continued, “Mike, I’m going to intervene before Elly tries to harm herself in another way. Is that all right with you?”
“Of course, Victoria. I’m sure you’ll handle it well, but please ensure neither Elly nor Nina lose their lives. If there’s a suspicious death near the royals, you’ll be investigated, too. Right now, you’re considered one of us. But if your true identity is revealed, people will begin to question why Lord Asher’s wife was involved in such matters.”
“I promise no one will get killed.”
“Then I’ll leave the matter to you. I can’t easily enter the royal living quarters myself, after all. By the way, there’s another important matter to attend to. You have a visitor today.”
Mike approached the door and cracked it open slightly, before a large figure stepped in.
“Jeff!”
“Long time no see, Anna. It’s been a month, hasn’t it?”
I ran over to him and wrapped my arms around his neck. I breathed in the familiar scent of my husband; he smelled just as good as ever. Mike quietly slipped out of the room to give us some privacy.
“What’s wrong? Don’t tell me something’s happened to Nonna.”
“Nonna’s fine. She’s staying at my brother’s estate. She’s been getting along well with my mother and is keeping her company. I came here today because I wanted to let you know I’ll be away for a while.”
“What? Where are you going?”
“The western forest.”
“The western forest? Don’t tell me there’s going to be a war with Subartu.”
“I’m going on a diplomatic mission to prevent that. The noble council has specifically requested me.”
“But you aren’t a royal guard or the captain of the Second Order anymore!” I instinctively glared at the door Mike had left through.
“It’s not Mike’s fault or the Third Order’s fault, either, so stop glaring. This has nothing to do with them. I was given a peerage for establishing a trading company in Shen and rewarded for discovering a gold mine, so I’ve drawn too much attention. It’s no wonder I’m sticking out. Besides, I’m the most knowledgeable among the nobles when it comes to the western forest. I’ll serve as a guide and mediator between the Subartuan military and the delegation.”
“Won’t the Ashburian military accompany the delegation?”