Yohana told Fabian everything, about her kidnapper, the strange man, the queen, and how the maid had helped her escape.
"It seems that the queen doesn't want our mother in the palace. She kidnapped you to distract her and prevent her from moving into the palace."
"But mother wouldn't leave us," Yohana retorted.
"Yes, but the queen didn't know that. Dear sister, people can act recklessly when they are in fear because their judgment is clouded, and all they see is hell," Fabian explained.
After pondering for a while, Fabian spoke gravely, "Your testimony changed everything. Mother's death might not have been an accident. If the queen resorted to kidnapping you, I can't be confident that she wouldn't consider killing our mother to protect her position."
Realizing the gravity of the situation and the potential danger, Fabian insisted that Yohana stay at Nina's house until the situation calmed down. He promised to inform their father and find a solution to bring Yohana back home safely.
"I'm sorry for leaving you, Yohana," Fabian winced, reluctant to part from his sister. However, he knew it was the best option for now. He hugged her tightly and kissed her forehead. "I will see you again. Take care."
Nina, remembering Yohana's aspiration to become a doctor, introduced her to an acquaintance who was a herbalist.
"He's an oddball, but he's not a bad man. He's really good at his job, although he's picky about whom he wants to help," Nina said as they made their way to the herbalist's house.
Per, the herbalist, lived secluded in the middle of a forest. It was challenging to reach his dwelling without being familiar with the terrain. Since Per grew up there, he knew it like the back of his hand.
Per didn't speak much and often kept to himself. When Nina suggested that Yohana become his apprentice, he scoffed but ultimately accepted.
From then on, Yohana became Per's apprentice, visiting his house early in the morning and returning to Nina's place late at night.
Fabian and their father would visit Nina's house occasionally to meet with Yohana and check on her well-being.
Then, one fateful day, something happened that changed Yohana's life forever. While she was at Per's house, they received news that Nina's house was on fire.
***
Fabian extended his hand, requesting a dance. Yohana took his hand, suppressing the urge to jump into his embrace as she did when they were younger. The seven-year age gap had always made Fabian more mature and nurturing toward Yohana.
"Did you ever look for me after the fire?" Yohana asked with a sorrowful tone as they moved in sync. The dance provided perfect camouflage to discuss sensitive matters.
The fire incident had prevented Yohana from meeting with her brother and father again. It had made her realize that Queen Charlotte's hatred toward her ran deep.
If the queen was willing to kill Yohana's mother, there would be nothing stopping her from harming Yohana as well.
Therefore, Yohana had decided to live by herself, avoiding involving Fabian or her father any further. It had felt like the best course of action to keep them safe and away from the queen's watchful eyes.
"We did. We tried to be discreet, but it was difficult to search for one person without others finding out," Fabian replied, turning his body away from Yohana, following the rhythm.
"It must have been hard for you. I'm truly sorry for causing so much trouble," Yohana said, lowering her head.
She missed having heart-to-heart conversations with her brother like this. During the time she had to survive alone, her thoughts often went to her brother.
Fabian pulled her closer, locking eyes with her. "What are you saying? It must have been harder for you."
"Indeed, it was hard," Yohana replied. "Thank you for not asking why I took that job. I'm sorry, but I will tell you about it when I'm ready."
Fabian squeezed Yohana's hand and tightened his grip on her back. "And I'm sorry I can't hug you like we used to. People would get the wrong idea if I did."
Yohana smiled, reminiscing about the warmth of his big hand in the past. Then she suddenly remembered a part of her memory that stood out like a sore thumb.
"Ah, right. I just remembered something. In my previous life, I had seen the exiled prince, and his hair was red. In my memories, Prince Ansgar was a blondie."
"Are you sure? Is someone pretending to be him in exile? What for? And what happened to the real Ansgar?" Fabian frowned, deep in thought.
"My memories were fragmented. When you brought up the past incident, the memories finally fell into place. I still forgot some details, but I remembered that Prince Ansgar's hair was blond because it was the first thing I noticed. He inherited Queen Charlotte's hair."
"Do you think it has something to do with your resurrection?" Fabian held Yohana's hand as she twirled around. He was ready to support her as she bent backward.
Yohana straightened her back, pressing her body against Fabian's chest. "I don't know. For now, shouldn't we explore all possible leads?"
They turned several times until the song was over. "Alright. I'll look into it."
Both of them bowed to each other. Fabian put his hand on his chest, while Yohana spread her skirt.
After the dance, another man was already waiting his turn to take Yohana's hand. It was Count Yannik, who inquired politely, "How are you, Princess?"
They exchanged small talk before Count Yannik gave an update on the responsible party behind the leakage of her location.
"There is an underground organization known as The Rats. They are very good at hiding and sell information for a huge price, but their intel is solid. It's possible that someone bought your information from them or someone from the organization leaked your location themselves."
The Rats was well-known among high officials and people of high stature as they helped them maintain their power.
However, approaching The Rats was nearly impossible, as they always took the initiative to contact their clients, making them difficult to track.
Count Yannik continued by revealing the progress of his investigation into the evidence of treachery against the royal family. "Some evidence seems to lead to the Zamek House of West Matzovia. I found an emblem of Zamek in several of the documents."
Why would the former king and queen be in contact with West Matzovia? Matzovia Kingdom had separated into eastern and western kingdoms due to their differences in ruling the kingdom.
West Matzovia was the one who initiated the separation as they felt that the then-monarch favored the eastern area more, leaving the western area impoverished.
East Matzovia was definitely a more beneficial ally for any agreement as they were richer in minerals, and they had robust regulations in place already. Other kingdoms would also be more confident in investing or forming trade alliances with the east rather than the west.
"Thank you for that information, Count," Yohana said, though she still couldn't see the connections. Perhaps she needed more information to be able to see the big picture.