6-78 Leovin
The day at the royal palace ended uneventfully for Erin and her companions. As they were told, it was nothing more than a hearing. The consequences were all decided beforehand. The hearing was nothing but a display of action to the court and the public. The only variables that could be slightly altered by Erin’s words were the fate of the secondary and tertiary perpetrators of this plot, Baloc and Genna. However, Erin didn’t have much to say about them. They were just as guilty as Marsh himself. And so, they were found guilty of the highest order. Strangely enough, they didn’t receive the death sentence. In fact, Erin didn’t remember hearing any sentence being passed on to them, at least not on the surface. She had no doubts that the kingdom intended to exploit the talent and knowledge of the two.
After Erin had finished her conversation with Crowned Prince Leovin, she and her companions were sent back to their residence afterwards. The day was coming to an end, though their predicament had only just begun. Marsh was only the appetiser. Even the road home had quite the show of a dilemma. At Nivia’s insistence, she returned with Erin and the others instead of her people. The looming threat over the nobility’s offspring had been unearthed and promptly eliminated. Therefore, the Fae no longer had any reason to keep her contained in the embassy. Naturally, Lilian followed suit. The Fae objected at first, but after a brief back-and-forth, they relented to Nivia’s insistence, on the condition that she would periodically write to them about her status.
The petty squabble didn’t end there. There was the problem of who would be in the same carriage as Erin. As they were a party of eight, or nine if Ruri was counted, a single carriage could not accommodate all of them. There was quite the discussion. If Erin hadn’t put her foot down and made her own decision, the royal guards would have been forced to intervene, and that would have been extremely embarrassing for them. Aedan would be in the same coach as Aera, Lilian, and Amyra. The rest would be with Erin. Together, they all returned to the hotel where Iris had so graciously hosted them.
On the carriage to the hotel, everyone was hounding Erin for the details of her exchange with the newly crowned prince. She promised them she would tell them everything when they reached the hotel. She didn’t tell Aedan anything either yet, but she saw his face when they boarded the carriage. She saw the slight grimace he had, suggesting he might already have had an inkling of what the contents of the conversation with the crowned prince were.
****
“Ah, Lady Erynthea. You’re back,” a woman in elegant attire greeted them warmly as they all poured into the parlour of the hotel’s top floor.
An unexpected guest was waiting for their arrival, along with Iris. They were having tea and chatting happily about something. The presence of Erin and her companions did not dull the merriment between the two one bit.
“Lady Melissa, this is quite the pleasant surprise.” Erin returned the greeting. “I suppose this is the reason that I didn’t see you at the hearing.” She looked around the room. There were no knights or soldiers in the room, which was slightly odd for a high noble to be in the absence of their guards.
“Quite right, Lady Erynthea. Oh, I suppose it is ‘Erin’ now, since we are among friends here.”
“Not all of us,” Nivia grumbled.
The girls scattered and went to their rooms, not without leaving a trail of doubtful gazes on Melissa first. Only Erin, Aedan, and Nivia remained in the parlour. Lilian was about to remain, but with the needy Ruri crying for attention, she retreated into her room. The room wasn’t necessarily hers, but she simply picked a room that looked vacant.
“Ah, you must be Nivia.”
“Have we met?”
“No, but I know your aunt.”
Nivia raised an eyebrow. “You know who I am?”
“Of course. Your… nobility isn’t exactly a secret.”
“Is that a threat?”
“Gosh, no. Just want to warm things up between us. I’m curious, Nivia. Have I offended you somehow?” Melissa asked.
“You have not,” Erin answered. “My friend here is just wary of nobles.”
“Well, her wariness is well warranted. I’m also quite wary of my peers. So, I heard the crown prince has granted you a private audience with him. Might I know the contents of the conversation?”
Iris didn’t look surprised by Melissa’s revelation. The Umbrum knew it all along, too.
“...News travels fast, but isn’t it too fast?”
“It would seem the crown prince’s intent is known beforehand,” said Aedan. “News can’t have travelled that fast.”
Melissa nodded. “You are correct in that regard, Your Grace.”
“When was it known?” Erin inquired.
Iris tittered. “Come. Have a seat. We’ll talk about this over tea and cakes.”
Erin and Aedan exchanged a glance. No words, as always, but the intent was conveyed. They walked towards the table and joined the two. Nivia also followed. She took the seat by Erin’s side, sitting as closely as she could. Their shoulders were basically touching. Before they could begin, doors on the rooms burst open and the others came flooding into the room.
“You are not starting this without us!” Lyra came running up to Erin’s side and took the seat beside Erin. She was in her casual garb. They all were, except for Aedan, Nivia, and Erin. They had shed their dirty garments and put on fresh garb.
“W-what are you all—”
Lilian was giggling. “Nivia. Surely you don’t think we will miss out on the fun, do you?”
“Kyu~!” Ruri chirped in agreement.
“The great Erynthea has a private talk with the crown prince. How can we be absent from such a discussion?” said Amyra. She took a chair from her room and placed it behind Erin. She sat down with her arms and legs crossed. The rest followed her example since the table didn’t have enough chairs. They brought their own chairs to the tea session that was about to be turned into a tea party.
Everyone found their spots, eventually, but only four of them sat around the table. The rest were just scattered. They didn’t come for the teas and cakes. They were here to listen to what Erin had to say.
Erin began with a sigh. “He reassures me that he is not my enemy, nor are the nobles, at least most of them anyway. They are aware of my… associations, and they wouldn’t dare to go against me for no good reason.”
“Oh, that’s good to hear,” said Melissa. “Prince Leovin is as reasonable as I heard.”
“Why wasn’t he the crowned prince in the first place?”
“He’s not the eldest,” Aedan said.
“Stupid archaic traditions,” Lyra scoffed.
“So, the Leovin called you into a private audience just to tell you that you’ll have no enemies in court?”
Erin shrugged. “That’s about it.”
“There’s more to it, isn’t there?” Nivia questioned. She gripped Erin’s shoulder and looked her directly in the eye.
“...He did ask for something.”
Everyone’s eyes seemed to widen except for Aedan, who made a quiet click of his tongue.
“Kyu?”
“Are you at liberty to share with us regarding the crown prince’s request?” Melissa asked in the most delicate manner.
“I wasn’t asked to keep this a secret, so I don’t think he cares if this request was known to everyone. In short, he requested that I cure the king of his sickness.”
Silence fell into the room, but it fell loudly.
“Kyu?”
“Now, that is… curious,” Melissa muttered.
“A son wants his father to get better. What’s so curious about that?” asked Amyra.
“The king is a stickler for traditions,” Melissa explained. “If the king were to… recover, Prince Leovin may very likely lose his status as the successor to the throne. He has no reason to want the king to recover.”
“A filial son, perhaps?” Lilian suggested.
“Kyu~” Ruri was nodding.
Iris chuckled. “In another life, perhaps. Love is nothing more than a means to be exploited; that is what is taught in the royal syllabus.” Her gaze seemed to veer slightly towards Aedan. “Whatever reason he has for wanting His Majesty to recover, it isn’t love.”
“Damn the reason,” Lyra huffed. “The question is, are you going to heed his request, Erin?” she asked. “What did you tell him?”
“I didn’t make any promises. I don’t even know why the king’s bedridden.” She turned to Melissa. “Do you know why?”
Melissa shook her head. “I’m in the dark, too. The details regarding the king’s sickness are kept well hidden.”
Erin’s gaze trailed to Iris, and so did everyone else’s.
“Wow. I am very flattered that everyone regarded me so highly.”
“Do you or do you not know why the king is ill?”
Iris smiled wryly. “Unfortunately, I am not certain of what illness befell the king. I have even questioned and pestered my usual associates with the royal family for the piece of information. They were being extremely adamant or they truly do not know of it either.”
“What about rumours? You must have heard some.”
“I have. Quite a lot, too.”
“Any of them that you held favourably?”
“...Well, there is one. His Majesty isn’t physically ill. He has been struck by a terrible curse, one that can only be dispelled by servants of the Divines. I held this rumour most favourably because of the increase in pilgrimages in the city. The capital city is the centre of power and information, the kind of things that pious followers of the divines tend to avoid. Yet, ever since the king has fallen ill, the number of faith servants has increased by twentyfold.”
“Whoa… that is a lot,” Lyra gasped.
“It is certainly strange,” said Siv. “His Majesty has fallen ill for no longer than a year. Wariness is warranted on the influx of these faith servants.”
“Rumours are rumours. Now, we may just have a way to confirm a fact for ourselves.” Iris grinned. “Erin, my dear, since the crown prince has requested your assistance in treating the king, this will be a good opportunity for all of us to learn about the true condition of the king.”
“All of us?” Erin narrowed her eyes. “Are you sure you aren’t the only one benefiting from all of this?”
“Nonsense, Erin. I trust that you will be staying in the capital city for some time, no?”
“I am.”
“Well, then, it will certainly benefit you to learn more about the king’s condition. As long as you are staying in the capital city, you are involved in this quandary, like it or not.”
“You do realise that if I ask to see the king, it will be no different from accepting his request, right?”
“I am aware, but just imagine the associations you can achieve by curing the king. It may seem like an impossible task, but we have someone among us who is quite well-versed in the arts of medicine.”
“Oh? You have someone like that amongst you?” Melissa inquired with beaming eyes. “Who might you be referring to?”
Iris smiled and gestured at Aedan.
“His Grace?”
Aedan grunted.
“Iris. What are you doing?” Erin asked with a glare.
“Melissa is a friend, my dear. A trustworthy one. There’s no harm in telling her. Besides, for what’s to come, we may need all the friends we can gather.”
“What are you talking bout?”
“William Marsh may have been concocting a foul plot, but he is not the leader of his own scheme. He was only tricked into thinking that he was. He was desperate, after all.”
“What is it that you are not sharing with us?”
“It is not that I’m not sharing. This piece of information came to me just this morning. It is also the reason that I believe that the king is set with a curse that can only be dispelled by divinity. William Marsh has a backer, long before he was acquainted with the former crown prince.”
“And who is this backer?”
“Dorvus. The leader of the Aerys Faith. His whereabouts is unknown, but many of his known associates have been spotted entering the city through the hidden channels.”