Chapter 38
Continental Year 761, March 11 (Thursday).
“Alright! One, two! Three, four!”
The cheerful and lively chants echoed from Princess Muriela’s bedroom.
It was the day after the heated discussion on how to save Princess Katrina and Prince Brandon. Princess Muriela began her morning exercises with a sense of pride.
Although the final moments of yesterday’s discussion had turned into utter chaos due to the bombshell she dropped, things had fortunately calmed down in the end.
While she had been left utterly exhausted from repeatedly explaining herself, it was over now.
Yesterday’s events belonged to yesterday. Today was a new day. Fully revitalized by Solinor’s philosophy, Muriela pushed herself forward.
In hindsight, the discussion had been riddled with risky keywords: bard, Grand Magician, Spymaster.
The most difficult question had been, “How did you know the bard was a Grand Magician?” That was Solinor’s Achilles’ heel, a truth he could not reveal to anyone.
Lacking a talent for lying, he had done his best to weave a plausible excuse.
If he were ever to return full control of the body to his granddaughter, he had to minimize his influence.
But wasn’t that already a failure? In just two months, he had effectively replaced all eight years of Muriela’s life. Among the royal family, only the king still remembered her as she once was.
Fortunately, Queen Elodia and her children had witnessed the events during their outing.
Solinor crafted a flimsy yet believable excuse: “He recognized Muriela as a princess first, and then we conversed using magic.”
Solinor decided to lean into the fact that Muriela was only eight years old, coining what he called the “Eight-Year-Old Shield.”
Whenever she was pressed for answers, she could feign ignorance: “I don’t know,” “I don’t remember,” or “Do you have proof?”
For someone who had prided himself on honesty throughout his life, such tactics were trivial when it came to protecting his granddaughter.
After finishing today’s schedule, they would reconvene for another meeting.
Gathering the royal family two days in a row was sure to arouse the king’s suspicion—or rather, it likely had already been reported.
Even the dismissal of servants had probably been seen as suspicious. But it was a necessary risk.
“Alright! Morning exercise complete!”
After finishing her routine, the princess happily enjoyed her breakfast.
She then set off to her supplementary etiquette lessons with Princess Adeline. Along the way, Solinor sensed something strange.
“Why haven’t we received a response from Sylvius yet?”
Zephyr had returned much faster than expected yesterday, saying it wasn’t difficult to find the person.
He had confirmed that the message was delivered and even recited it twice to ensure accuracy. Shouldn’t he have brought back a reply immediately?
In truth, the oddity should have been apparent at the time, but Muriela had been too busy dealing with the royal family’s uproar over her remarks.
“Zephyr! Are you there now?”
“Princess? Who is Zephyr?”
“Oh, Florina.”
The one currently accompanying her was Florina, the elite spy determined to uncover something significant today after yesterday’s failure.
Servants had been sent back to their quarters on Crown Prince Alfred’s orders, leaving Florina with no opportunity to gather information. Although sneaking out was an option, her roommate Bianca had kept watch, making it impossible to leave unnoticed.
Desperate for information, Florina latched onto the name “Zephyr” like an oasis in the desert. Her eyes burned with curiosity as she began interrogating the princess.
“This is the first I’ve heard that name. May I ask who Zephyr is?”
“Oh, it’s not a person’s name.”
“I slipped up.”
Solinor’s mind raced to find a way out.
One of the many challenges of being in a child’s body was the difficulty in controlling impulses.
Words tended to slip out without filtering whether they should be said.
But once a mistake had been made, true skill lay in resolving the situation.
Solinor, the master of improvisation, reassured himself. Convincing a mere maid was nothing.
“You just called out as if asking if Zephyr was here.”
“I meant if there was an item named Zephyr.”
“You were asking me?”
“…”
“That means you assumed I would know what Zephyr is, doesn’t it? But this is the first time I’ve heard the name.”
“This is bad. If it were Bianca, she’d have dropped the issue by now.”
Why was this maid being so aggressive? Shouldn’t she back off when her master deflected? It was almost as if she were trying to dig up a secret.
Well, that’s because she was. Florina, the spy obsessed with scoops, and Muriela, a princess brimming with secrets, were creating the perfect storm of chaos.
Florina began relentlessly interrogating Princess Muriela, who had inadvertently revealed an additional vulnerability.
“Moreover, when you asked if Zephyr was here, weren’t you assuming that I had Zephyr with me?”
“Uh, uh…”
“Very well, if Zephyr exists, then bring it to me immediately. What is Zephyr?”
At that moment, the clueless wind spirit appeared and spoke up.
‘Princess, I’m so sorry! I was playing in the garden because the flowers smelled so nice, and I didn’t hear you calling. I didn’t mean to be late!’
Not even a minute had passed since Muriela had called for Zephyr. Although the delay wasn’t significant, the newly promoted spirit was so flustered that he didn’t know what to do.
However, Solinor had no time to focus on Zephyr’s apologies. His entire mind was occupied with deflecting Florina’s interrogation.
“Uh, Zephyr is… nothing! It doesn’t exist!”
“Hmm, I find that hard to believe. You clearly asked me if I had Zephyr.”
‘Gasp! Princess, am I… nothing? Waaahhh!’
Apparently, spirits could cry.
‘What have I done? Poor Zephyr…’
Solinor was struck with guilt upon seeing Zephyr’s crestfallen expression.
“No, no! I misspoke. Zephyr is my precious friend!”
‘Princess! I’m so glad you forgive me! From now on, I’ll always stay by your side.’
Fortunately, Zephyr’s mood brightened quickly, and he resumed smiling. What an endearing little spirit.
However, the situation was far from resolved. Florina’s eyes narrowed dangerously.
“So, are you changing your story?”
No matter what she said, misunderstandings were inevitable. Solinor was cornered, with no way forward or back.
Meanwhile, Princess Adeline sat miserably in her quarters. Anna, the etiquette teacher, was in front of her, and Queen Elodia loomed behind.
Despite the etiquette lesson having started ages ago, Adeline had no companion to suffer alongside her. Internally, she let out a bitter scream.
‘Why isn’t Muriela here yet?’
As the saying goes, “There’s no paradise for those who flee.” When the two princesses finally reunited later, it was under dire circumstances.
“Tardiness without a valid reason is unbecoming of noble status—”
“Muriela, how could you break your promise and be this late? I must have misjudged you—”
“Muriela! This is too much!”
Apparently, three opponents were even worse than two.
Having spent all her mental energy fending off powerful adversaries like Florina and Zephyr, Muriela was utterly defeated without mounting a proper counterattack.
***
That afternoon, the royal family once again gathered in Queen Elodia’s garden, just as they had the previous day.
The purpose of the meeting was, of course, to continue their discussion.
At Crown Prince Alfred’s command, all servants were dismissed once again.
Florina had tried to stay, but no one could disobey the Crown Prince’s orders. However, she ground her teeth in frustration, vowing to report this suspicious gathering to Corbin.
Luckily, Princess Muriela had recovered somewhat by then.
Sipping on a fruit smoothie prepared by Queen Elodia, she savored the sweet and tart flavors as they slid down her throat, giving her a much-needed energy boost.
Truly, sugar was the best doping agent in hard times.
Back when Solinor was alive, he used to regain strength by eating meat. Perhaps the change in body had shifted his tastes.
Crown Prince Alfred clapped his hands briefly to draw everyone’s attention and announced the start of the meeting.
“All right, everyone’s here. Let’s begin. This time, we must come up with concrete solutions.”
***
That evening, Corbin sifted through various reports that had come in from different regions.
Among them, a few stood out as particularly intriguing.
“Hm, so some nobles in the provinces are moving their private soldiers. Things have been looking suspicious for months now.”
“Reports say that all the royal children gathered in Queen Elodia’s garden. The fact that Crown Prince Alfred dismissed all the servants? Something’s definitely going on.”
The final report concerned the exiled royals.
“Katrina and Brandon… disappeared overnight.”
The contents were shocking, but Corbin’s lips curled into a smile as he read the report.
—
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