After hastily sending Adrian away, Karla summoned the handmaid she had assigned to keep watch over him.
“You called for me, Your Majesty the Empress.”
“…Adrian’s emotional state seems a little… questionable. Has something happened?”
She couldn’t bring herself to say the words aloud — Adrian seems to have lost his mind.
Karla did not fully trust even the handmaid she had personally appointed.
The handmaid appeared to think for a moment before shaking her head.
“No. Nothing particularly problematic has occurred, Your Majesty.”
“Then why has Adrian’s behavior been so… unfocused lately?”
When Karla voiced her frustration, the handmaid replied with careful diplomacy.
“…Might it not be because he has had a great many troubling things weighing on him of late?”
As the handmaid said, a great deal had happened to Adrian recently.
Karla had sensed, in some unspoken corner of her mind, that her son was struggling.
But that struggling son was not to her liking.
“So weak. If he falls apart every time things get difficult, how will he ever bear the weight of something truly important?”
“….”
“…Make sure the people of the imperial palace hold their tongues. In particular, ensure nothing related to Adrian reaches His Majesty’s ears. Be thorough.”
“Yes, I will keep that in mind, Your Majesty.”
“Ah, and one more thing.”
Karla called the handmaid back as she turned to leave.
After a long, hesitant pause, Karla asked in a probing tone.
“I’ve heard there is someone Adrian has been spending time with lately… What do you make of it?”
Of course, that was a complete fabrication on Karla’s part.
Adrian had never disclosed who had asked him to find the Staff in the first place.
“Someone he has been spending time with?”
The handmaid stared at Karla for a moment, then smiled pleasantly.
“What is there to worry about, Your Majesty? Only those whose identities have been properly verified may come and go within the imperial palace, is that not so?”
“…You’re right. I suppose I worried over nothing. You may go.”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
The handmaid gave a polite bow and stepped out of the room.
But alone now in the empress’s chambers, Karla’s expression refused to ease.
One small thing the handmaid had said lingered unpleasantly in her mind.
A place where only those with verified identities may enter.
That was the imperial palace, yes.
And yet, on occasion, those whose identities were not so clear did slip through its doors.
Like that man she had seen eight years ago.
A flicker of unease passed through Karla, but she shook her head immediately.
“…No, that couldn’t be it…. That girl would never lie to me.”
If the handmaid had witnessed someone of unclear identity approaching Adrian, she would never have said what she just said.
After all, Karla was the one looking after that handmaid’s family.
Had the girl not begged to be spared, swearing she would play dead for the sake of her family?
Karla quickly swept away the doubt.
⁂
A resplendent chamber.
One of the castles at the very heart of the Declair imperial palace.
He had thought all that remained was to sit back and enjoy a life of luxury, and yet…
Hmph. To think I’d spend my days eating on borrowed patience — me, of all creatures!
He had found himself face-to-face with an unexpectedly bewildering situation.
Surely the old saying — a divine beast lives the finest life of all — no longer applied.
I know you’re in a bad mood, but… have you forgotten something?
“….”
Isierd, are you even listening to me?
“….”
Ugh, when are you going to give me my snack…! Fine! I’m not saying another word!
The divine beast finally reached the end of his patience and erupted with wounded indignation.
Compared to their first meeting, the two of them had not grown any closer whatsoever.
Hmph.
The divine beast, who had been sitting beside Isierd, sprang lightly to his feet.
Plop!
He hopped up onto the table and began nosing around the fruit basket, sniffing curiously.
He selected the most perfectly ripened apple from the bunch and settled down to devour it with quiet contentment.
For a while, the only sound in the room was the crisp crunch of each bite.
Isierd, I’m done. Look — I even cleaned the juice off my fur. Very neat.
…But no answer came.
Instead…
“Haa.”
Isierd let out a deep, heavy sigh. It was not a surprising sight — not to the divine beast. He had grown very familiar with it by now.
And this particular symptom had been going on for several days.
The divine beast shook his head with an expression that said he had thoroughly had enough.
Isierd, what exactly is the problem? I can’t know unless you tell me.
The divine beast couldn’t understand it.
Everything was going smoothly — beautifully, even.
He had read in books that humans typically sigh when something weighs on them or upsets them.
But Isierd had gotten exactly what he wanted. He had become an imperial prince. He was basking in the Emperor’s favor. He had been granted the most magnificent castle in the palace.
And that wasn’t all.
He had the Grand Sage — rumored to teach only the Crown Prince — as his personal tutor.
On top of that, Adrian Declair was wandering around somewhere with his head in the clouds, and his reputation had taken quite the turn for the worse.
Looking at all of this, there was simply no reason to find for Isierd to be sighing.
And yet, Isierd seemed to think differently.
“…She’s been connected to someone else for days.”
What do you mean? Who’s been communicating with whom?
“That thing.”
Isierd pointed to the crystal orb he had been glaring at for quite some time.
It was the crystal orb he and Riersha had agreed to use to stay in contact.
And now it was the very same crystal orb that could no longer be properly used — one that might as well wait for the day it finally collected enough dust.
That’s a pretty ordinary crystal orb. I used to see them at the temple all the time. Christia used to use one whenever he had to deal with a person he didn’t want to meet face-to-face. Sometimes he’d pretend to be away and leave it on vacant. Just to avoid answering.
“…Pretend to be away?”
Right. It seemed like something she did when she wanted to avoid contact. …Wait — why, why, why are you looking at me like that?
The moment those ice-blue eyes turned toward him, the divine beast flinched and scrambled backward. He racked his mind for anything he might have said wrong, but came up empty.
At last, Isierd put into words the reason his mood had been sinking for days.
“…I can’t get in touch with Riersha.”
Oh, that girl? …Wait — you mean she’s been avoiding your calls?
“….”
…N-No! No, of course not. From everything I’ve seen, you two looked perfectly close. I’m sure of it. And as you well know, I’m a divine beast — I am fundamentally incapable of something as base as lying. I swear it on the name of the goddess Rafella.
The moment the divine beast found himself staring into those terrifying ice-blue eyes again, he quickly shook his head and reversed his words entirely.
It was, of course, a complete lie.
Isierd listened quietly to the divine beast’s rambling, then waved his hand as though he couldn’t be bothered.
It wasn’t as though Riersha would deliberately avoid him. That was the one thing Isierd knew better than anyone.
Then what on earth was preventing the connection?
The divine beast, who had been watching from the side for a while, tilted his head.
Isierd, are you genuinely asking because you don’t know?
“…Of course I don’t know. That’s why I’m like this.”
Even I know, and I’m just a divine beast. How can you not?
The divine beast leapt up in astonishment.
And then, in genuine outrage over the fact that he had been forced to nibble his snacks in anxious silence all this time — over something so simple — he let his indignation show.
It’s obvious! The reason you can’t get through is because that girl is already talking to someone else!
“What?”
Isierd scowled deeply and demanded an answer.
The divine beast clicked his tongue and shook his head.
There was another trick Christia used when he couldn’t pretend to be away — he’d pretend to already be in the middle of a call with someone else.
In that instant, Isierd’s eyes went wide in a way that was almost startling.
The divine beast, clearly pleased to finally have a chance to show off his knowledge, puffed out his chest and continued his explanation with great pride.
If the lines overlap, of course that girl wouldn’t know you were trying to reach her! Not bad, right? I know quite a lot, don’t I…. Isierd?
Isierd rose from the sofa in one swift motion.
He strode directly to the desk and took the crystal orb in hand.
So, putting together everything the divine beast had just said…
“You’re telling me Riersha has been talking to someone else? Someone other than me?”
Uh — y-yes. That’s… how it works out.
The divine beast nodded before he could stop himself.
