Chapter: 10
To deal with that rite of passage-like task, I needed a great deal of information. I had no intention of wasting my mealtimes here, either.
I planned to use these moments to gather various pieces of information from Henrik and the chef here that could help me arrange a proper banquet.
“Yes, please leave it to me, Your Highness.”
“The matter concerning the delegation is indeed your responsibility.”
I glanced down at my plate. Even the cucumber salad sitting on this plate was a dish that did not exist in the Kingdom of Francia. Could I make use of things like this as well?
“But what exactly is your method?”
I was continuing to think about it in my own way when, just as I took a bite of the apple pie served for dessert, Henrik tilted his head slightly and asked.
I glanced toward the knight standing behind him, as though deliberately taking notice of him. He was the same knight who had been present when I first encountered Henrik. He was undoubtedly a highly trusted aide.
“I will be able to tell you before you have lunch, Your Highness.”
As soon as the meal was over, I immediately asked a maid and headed to the room prepared for me thanks to my position as Henrik’s consort.
“This room is exclusively for Your Highness. If there is anything you need, please call me.”
The maid who opened the elegantly decorated door politely informed me before stepping away.
Now I could have some time completely to myself. Just as I had wanted.
I had kept my use of magic a secret from both Antony and Selena. I had done so because I wanted to protect my mother’s dying wish and her belongings.
Besides, whenever I used too much magic, I would instinctively clutch my chest and gasp like a sick person. It was hardly a sight I wanted others to see.
If only I had hidden my abilities from them from the very beginning.
“Haah…”
A deep sigh escaped me. Discovering how foolish I had been was always unpleasant. At the end of my sigh, I bit down hard on my lip.
The room prepared for me was so clean and spacious that even my breathing sounded clear.
Atilenta, things are very different now.
I quickly pulled myself together, took out the mirror I had hidden inside my loose clothing, and began using the magic that drew upon my mother’s power.
All right, mirror. Show me the spies who are leaking this country’s information. Henrik… If I am going to make use of that man, I have to do things like this.
“That is how I can achieve the future I want, mirror.”
The mirror quickly responded to my wish. Green light spread across its surface in rippling waves.
The mirror showed me someone sending a carrier pigeon from some secluded corner. Judging by the black walls, it seemed to be somewhere inside the royal palace. I carefully observed the person’s appearance and actions, as well as where they sent the carrier pigeon and where they stored the letters.
As promised, before lunch, I handed Henrik a list of the spies I had written down.
“Here is the information I mentioned, Your Highness.”
“I’ll talk to you after I’ve confirmed it.”
Even after looking through the lengthy documents, Henrik’s reaction remained calm and composed. I withdrew without saying anything more.
Night came, and once again, I was with him in the same bedroom. However, Henrik became absorbed in his own work and eventually fell asleep.
After making sure Henrik was completely asleep, I quietly slipped into the bathroom.
“Cough, cough!”
As expected, after several bouts of coughing, I coughed up blood. There were more than just one or two spies, so the result of using magic repeatedly had taken its toll.
This had happened before.
When I had followed Antony onto the battlefield, I often became ill after using magic because the environment was unfamiliar to me. Even though someone in such a condition would hardly be useful on a battlefield, Antony had taken meticulous care of me.
He used to say that once all of this was over, we would go to the sea I had always wanted to see, and that he truly cared about me.
I glared resentfully at the blood I had spat up.
“Damn it… damn you… Antony.”
There was no warrior in this world who would willingly choose to wield a worn-out weapon.
For now, Henrik was acting as though he intended to honor our deal, but who knew? One thing was certain: I absolutely could not let him find out about my coughing up blood for no reason.
I hurriedly moved around and cleaned up every trace of blood.
I did so desperately, as though I were erasing the traces of the time I had once spent with Antony.
That day, I had a very strange dream.
I was wandering through a forest, lost, when I collided with something. It was a gigantic tree. Startled, I burst into tears and called only for my mother.
The tree grabbed me with dozens of branches and gently told me,
“Don’t let them find out, Atilenta.”
Find out what?
Even while crying in the dream, I thought,
I’ve been careful until now. Neither Antony nor Selena knows my secret.
A very peculiar laugh, “ho-ho,” drifted from the thing that had no lips.
“Atilenta, you must not lose your way, and you must not let anyone discover that you do not know the way.”
Who, exactly?
I woke up instantly.
“…Haah.”
When I finally let out the breath I had been holding, the morning sunlight shining through the curtains was so dazzling that I blinked several times.
Henrik was sitting quietly on the sofa reading some documents. He spoke to me as though praising me.
“Are you awake? The information you gave me yesterday was quite helpful.”
“I’m glad to hear that, Your Highness.”
I quickly wiped away my cold sweat, gave him a polite response, and got up.
There had been five spies I had identified yesterday. I planned to use magic to find out whether there were any other spies besides them. It would probably put quite a strain on my body again today, though.
“I have no intention of sending them back to their homeland. Now that I know how and where they send their information…”
“That is certainly wise.”
Henrik could now manipulate the contents of the information handled by the spies however he wished. Controlling information in such a manner was one of the useful strategies that could be employed in warfare.
In the long run, it might even produce better results than simply torturing the spies and driving them out of this country.
“I had suspected there must be spies when that kingdom acted as though they knew me even though I had never gone south. Thanks to you, dealing with this matter was remarkably easy.”
Henrik seemed as though he were genuinely praising me, but I was neither pleased nor flattered.
Because I knew this was another test he had given me.
In truth, Henrik could have handled something like this quite easily even without me. He had knights who were deeply loyal to him.
As he had said, there had to be a reason he had become famous as the Black Dragon of the battlefield even though he had never set foot in the south.
I stared into Henrik’s amethyst-colored eyes, which remained completely undisturbed even in the bright morning light.
An ordinary person would have been tired or drowsy by now, but he was not.
His eyes always seemed like sparkling jewels, or perhaps a tranquil lake.
No… They weren’t always like that.
The moment when those eyes had strangely brightened as they looked at me flashed through my mind, but I quickly erased it.
There was no need to think about something like that again.
“If you need anything, command me again, Your Highness. I came here to carry out that task, after all.”
And then I gently reminded myself of something I could never say to him directly.
This man could betray me, too. You know that well, don’t you, Atilenta? We are only making a deal based on what benefits us both.
Perhaps the dream had been warning me about him.
Even so, I had no choice but to offer him a certain amount of my ability. I needed to do so if I wanted to obtain the sweet reward I desired.
Henrik rose gracefully and rang the bell, and a knight entered.
He was the knight who had been present when I made my deal with Henrik—the one whose thoughts I had guessed when they were “too difficult to tell his master.” He was also the very same man who had stood behind Henrik during meals.
“Your Highness, I hope you slept well. Your Highness the Consort, allow me to formally introduce myself. I am Krakow, His Highness the Prince’s knight.”
“Nice to meet you, Sir.”
“Please feel free to speak casually with me. I did not intend to disturb the two of you during breakfast, but I have something to give Your Highness the Consort, so I came here.”
Sir Krakow knelt on one knee and handed me a small box.
Inside was a small ring set with a black gemstone. I was no expert when it came to jewelry, but even at a glance, it looked extremely expensive.
I opened my eyes wide and alternated between looking at the ring and Henrik.
I never asked for anything like this. What on earth is going on?
I was so caught off guard by the sudden development that a hint of my confusion appeared on my face.
