Did His Majesty have information on Yelenetta’s internal workings? Was he certain that a third party wouldn’t step in? One way or another, it was clear he had something in mind.
I had used too much magic and couldn’t think straight. “Stradale! I leave the rest to you!”
“Yessir!”
I retreated from the front lines. When I reached the rear, I stumbled into His Majesty, who was descending from the roof, accompanied by dozens of royal guards. Quite honestly, it would be more efficient for us if His Majesty stepped back so that we could have access to his men.
“Marquis Fertio, will you be taking a rest as well?” he asked. “Yelenetta may yet deploy dragons, so we will remain split into four groups and swap in and out to continue the attack. While the fortress can only provide lodgings for about two Orders, there is still plenty of space outside to rest. Besides, Baron Van might be expanding the fortress for us.”
He said this last part with a meaningful smile. It felt almost like a threat. Either he’d heard what happened from Van or he’d come up with his own hypothesis.
Whichever it was, I could afford no mistakes. Baron Nouveau and Viscount Tron were behind what happened, and they were directly connected to me. I had been forced to give them strict orders to make no further moves for the time being. If His Majesty discovered that they were the culprits, he would trace it back to me.
“…Are you listening, Marquis Fertio?”
His Majesty was frowning, turning to look at me. I had let myself go too deep in thought. “Yes! My deepest apologies!”
He sighed lightly and continued down the stairs. I trailed him until he stopped before the doors. The royal guards stopped as well. Hoping to learn what was going on, I pushed past His Majesty’s guards—and froze in place.
Before my eyes was a long corridor that had not been there the first time I came through.
“Did he build an annex to some barracks? How very like Baron Van. He always surprises me with his workmanship.” His Majesty smirked and proceeded down the corridor. Clearly curious, he opened multiple doors along the way, but quickly turned his attention to the other floors when he realized they were all the same kind of room. “I saw a few sets of stairs along the way. I imagine there are personal rooms above. Does that mean he has set up an open bath below us? I wonder…”
He descended the stairs.
That made sense. All of Van’s previous buildings had personal rooms on the upper floors for high-ranking officers. In light of that, I understood His Majesty’s interest in the lower floors. I followed him, only to be greeted by another shocking sight.
We had descended the stairs furthest back in the building, but there were no rooms to be found. In fact, we found ourselves outside, faced with a mysterious gate.
“This is…spectacular…” Even His Majesty could not find the words to describe the structure in front of us. The royal guards were all speechless.
How could they not be, faced with a gate that grand?
“What style of building is this?” asked the king. “From what culture did it originate? It seems so refined. Marquis, do you know?”
“I-I do not. I have never seen decorations like this, much less the form.”
We went back and forth, and I found myself incapable of tearing my eyes from the astonishing gate. It was heavily engraved and decorated in a way that arrested the gaze, and yet the elements all came together in such a way that it felt like the most natural thing in the world. All I could say was that it was truly beautiful.
“Having seen his swords and now this, I can say without a shadow of a doubt that Baron Van is an artist of surpassing skill. To think he would create so magnificent a gate… But why here? Does he plan to protect against attacks from the opposite side by closing the gate? There are no walls to either side…”
“It is spectacular, but I do not think it is designed for combat. There also appear to be no doors.” Unable to answer His Majesty’s questions, all I could do was ask the same ones in a different way.
Before long, Panamera appeared from within the gate and walked toward us. “Your Majesty, will you be taking a break?” she asked like there was nothing out of the ordinary.
His Majesty, unable to answer, pointed at the gate. “Viscount Panamera, what is this? Is Baron Van here?”
Panamera grinned and nodded. “He was until a moment ago, but now he has left to build his own lodgings. This gate is a special facility he made for you to rest in. What do you think? Would you like to take a look inside?”
Still looking somewhat perplexed, His Majesty nodded, and Panamera guided us both into the fascinating building. We climbed the stairs and passed through the first door. Immediately it was as if we had stepped into another world. The room was spectacularly bright and beautiful.
“Ooh, this is…” Even His Majesty, who lived in an extravagant castle, could only express words of wonder. As for me, I was dumbstruck, helpless to do anything but cast my unblinking gaze around the room.
The walls were painting in calming colors, while some sort of beautiful red carpet was laid over the floor. The wooden ceiling was covered in small embellishments, and though the pillars and ceiling beams were visible, their beautiful symmetry made the space feel balanced.
I touched one of the pillars. “How mysterious. They are merely carved wood, but they have such presence.” It wasn’t normal wood, though. Perhaps that was why?
The king hummed. “Indeed. But more impressive is the lighting. This does not seem to be a window…”
I looked up to see that multiple square pieces of glass were lodged into the ceiling, emitting light. “Oh, yes, you are right. It is…” I trailed off. How did this even work?
“Both the bed and sofa are made from the highest-quality materials. There is an office and a shower room, too, and the floor above this one features an equally luxurious bedroom and shower.”
“How wonderful. I did not expect to be able to rest in such luxury this close to enemy territory,” His Majesty said happily.
Curse you, Van. You’re still trying to get in His Majesty’s good graces. You are wiser to the inner workings of the world than I gave you credit for, I thought, furious at my own inability to do what Van could do.