Chapter 90 - The Imperial Palace - 2

“Your Highness, and...”

The master of the Magic Tower looked Bera and Renée over. Her fiercely upturned eyes narrowed into crescents, the red pupils within them shimmering.

“... The Saintess, with an apostle beside her, I see?”

Her voice was full of amusement. Renée bowed her head.

“... Hello.”

Even as she spoke, Renée felt goosebumps rise all over her body. It was the youthfulness in that voice. It sounded far too contrived.

The master of the Magic Tower was an old woman, one hundred and twenty years old this year. She should not have had such a vibrant, youthful voice.

Though her blindness kept her from checking the woman's appearance, Renée instinctively knew it would be much like her voice.

'How?'

The question surfaced, but then she recalled what had happened two days earlier, and her mind began piecing together an endlessly ominous answer: some hideous secret must lie behind the tower master's youth.

Renée clenched her fists to hide their trembling. The tower master giggled at the sight and continued.

“You've come to bless His Highness, haven't you? Everyone is talking about it.”

The tower master's roaming eyes swept briefly over Bera this time.

“It should be a truly magnificent festival. Hmm, with so much talk already, I wonder how many people will gather when it begins?”

Why did those words sound so ominous? Renée struggled to suppress the fear rising within her and forced the corners of her mouth upward.

“I hope it will be an enjoyable festival.”

“Of course it must be. Oh, that reminds me. Is Trebo doing well?”

Renée flinched, her shoulders trembling.

“... Yes. He's always a great help to us.”

“I'm glad he's doing well. Ah... Such a shame. There was no other child as complete as he was.”

Her voice held a thick, lingering regret.

... And greed.

“He has such a thirst for learning. And the ability to support it, too. Did you know? Theory alone can never take you to the very limits of magic. A more fundamental understanding, a yearning for the laws of existence, and the finesse to turn a conception into a phenomenon. Not one of those can be missing.”

Heat entered the tower master's voice. A cackling laugh began to creep into her tone.

“That's why I liked him. He lacked nothing. He was truly the culmination of talent itself. He knew the shortest path to the laws of existence. No, it doesn't have to be short. It can be slow. If he needs more time, that's fine too.”

The heat intensified, joined by ecstasy. Her breaths between words grew shorter, and her face began to go blank.

“He could do it. He could see the truth in that faraway place. Why did the gods give him a sacred mark? Why did he leave me? I don't understand. I made him and cherished him and raised him and loved him and guided him so why won't he show me that—”

“Tower Master.”

Her words stopped short at Albrecht's intervention. Life returned to the face that had, at some point, lost all expression and become like a doll's.

“... Oh my.”

The tower master smiled sweetly.

“Was I being terribly foolish? I'm sorry. Thinking about him fills me with such regret.”

“I understand.”

Albrecht answered her with a smile, then asked,

“But why were you coming from inside?”

“I had something to discuss with His Highness the crown prince.”

The tower master covered her mouth and laughed lightly, then straightened her back and continued.

“Well, I should be going. You seem to have come on business. Have I kept you too long?”

“Not at all. Go safely.”

“I'm glad. Until next time.”

CLICK.

The tower master stepped away. Bera, who had remained silent until then, saw her eyes curve into crescents as she smiled while passing him.

The sound of her heels faded into the distance. Silence hung over those left behind.

It was only after Albrecht had dismissed everyone around them that the silence ended and conversation resumed.

“... I thought she was merely eccentric, but seeing her like this, there are certainly more than a few suspicious things about her.”

His eyes, unusually somber, glared at the place where the tower master had disappeared.

“Let's go for now. My brother will be waiting.”

Albrecht turned and headed into the palace. Clasping Bera's hand tightly, Renée followed, feeling inexplicably as though she might retch.

'... This feels ominous.'

The tower master's laughter was still echoing inside her head.

* * *

“A pleasure to meet you.”

A deep, dignified voice rang out the moment they entered the drawing room. Bera turned toward its source.

A powerfully built adult man stood there. His sturdy frame was much like Bera's, with bright blond hair above his broad shoulders. His features were sharp as an eagle's, and the eyes set within them shone the same gold as his hair.

Crown Prince Maximilian van Frich.

The future emperor, whom Bera had never seen in person in his previous life.

Reflecting on what it meant to meet him, Bera bowed his head in greeting, and Renée followed suit.

“A pleasure to meet you.”

“Hello.”

“Yes, please sit.”

Their greetings were met with a gesture toward the table. Bera took a seat while holding Renée's hand, and Maximilian sat opposite them and addressed her.

“How has your stay in the Empire been? Have you experienced any difficulties?”

Renée gave a small start, then smiled and answered.

“No. It's a safe place, so I've been quite comfortable.”

“I'm glad.”

It was a brief reply. Listening to his voice and his choice of words, Renée thought that the crown prince was a truly taciturn man.

'He's different from the second prince.'

Unlike the lively, effervescent Albrecht, he was deeply reserved.

'He doesn't seem particularly concerned with etiquette, either.'

Perhaps he was impatient. He had skipped almost every rule of noble etiquette she had learned when showing them to their seats.

How could two brothers be so different? As Renée was contemplating that question—

“Well, let's get to the point.”

The words came out of nowhere. Feeling somewhat taken aback, Renée nodded awkwardly.

“Oh, yes.”

“My brother has told me about it. You suspect the Magic Tower is behind the disappearances. Is that correct?”

“Yes. If you could investigate immediately—”

“I'm sorry, but that is impossible.”

“... Pardon?”

His refusal cut her off. Bewilderment began to show on Renée's face. Maximilian studied her expression briefly, then continued.

“The imperial family cannot help you. Nor can we make this matter public. With the festival so close, we must not create unnecessary friction.”

“Unnecessary friction? Is that what you called it?”

“Yes.”

Renée clenched her fists at his answer, her expression hardening.

“People in the imperial capital are disappearing and having who knows what done to them, and you call it unnecessary?”

“There will be no more disappearances for the time being. If the tower master has any sense, she will lie low for now.”

“So you intend to stand by and watch?”

“Acting would do more harm than good.”

Maximilian's gaze pierced Renée. He studied her quietly with eyes that, for a moment, resembled those of a predator watching its prey, then moved his lips to speak again.

“If we stir up the Magic Tower now, what we gain is the whereabouts of the missing people. And conflict. Creating such conflict with the festival so close would adversely affect the market. Naturally, if the market held during the festival shrinks, the people of the Empire will bear the losses.”

“Aren't the missing people citizens of the Empire too?”

“A small minority of them.”

Suddenly, a sharp, incredulous laugh escaped Renée.

“So you'll turn your back on them? Is that right? That isn't what I understand one's duty to be, at least.”

“Duty... A difficult word. I understand your position, Saintess. But I judge this to be right.”

“What do you—!”

“My duty, at least, exists to serve the majority.”

Renée stopped dead. Maximilian continued speaking all the while.

“I do not know what the Saintess's duty is, but I believe in a duty that serves the majority. I believe that is the duty of a ruler. Thus, the imperial family cannot help you. Nor can we make this matter public.”

Had she come all this way just to hear this?

As anger began to show on Renée's face at the thought, Albrecht spoke, a broad smile on his own.

“Brother, if you put it that way, the Saintess will misunderstand.”

“Hmm?”

“Couldn't she take it to mean that you won't do anything for her and that she should leave?”

“... Ah.”

The exclamation sounded a little dim-witted. Renée's face twisted into a peculiar expression. So did Bera's.

Listening to the brothers' exchange, Bera felt an inexplicable sense of déjà vu. It brought to mind someone who would be guarding the Holy Empire's gates right now.

'... No.'

Bera shook the thought away. On reflection, the comparison seemed a little too harsh, and his conscience pricked him.

“... Could you explain what you mean?”

Albrecht answered Renée with his characteristic bright smile.

“My brother means that while official help from the imperial family and making the matter public are difficult, he can offer help in other ways. Hmm, what he said earlier about the tower master staying quiet for a while was along the same lines. My apologies. My brother isn't very good with words.”

“Ah...”

“I apologize if there was a misunderstanding.”

“... No, it's all right.”

Suddenly, Renée felt embarrassment well up over how she had lost her temper without realizing it. Another thought arose at the same time.

'... Somehow...'

Didn't these two resemble the twins?

It was exactly the same thought Bera had just had. The difference was that Renée, unlike Bera, felt no pang of conscience.

She casually brushed the thought aside and asked another question.

“What sort of help can you offer, exactly?”

“We'll infiltrate the Magic Tower.”

“... Pardon?”

“We'll sneak into the Magic Tower. Meanwhile, my brother will summon the tower master and keep her occupied.”

With a slightly mischievous air, Albrecht added,

“We won't act immediately. It will require preparation, won't it?”

Renée nodded slightly, then asked a question that had occurred to her.

“But is that possible? Oriac is a Magic Tower floating in the sky. We won't even be able to enter without permission from inside...”

“Can't we simply break through from below?”

“What?”

For some reason, Albrecht suddenly felt he had the upper hand over Renée. Delighted by the feeling, he continued boastfully.

“We'll dig up through the foundations from the bottom. Using physical means like that will let us get in undetected.”

Albrecht's golden eyes curved into half-moons. His pearly white teeth gleamed with his smile.

Renée considered his words for a moment. Digging up from the bottom of a Magic Tower floating in the sky. It was easy enough to say, but...

“The bottom is floating in the sky too. Are you an idiot, Your Highness?”

Getting up there in the first place was the problem. What nonsense was he talking about?

When she voiced her question with that thought in mind, Albrecht froze.