After strolling along the alley of ostentatiously adorned houses, we found ourselves at the palace. A red carpet stretched from the entrance, cascading down a long staircase. Royal guards, clad in lavishly decorated armor, stood along the carpet. The princess was indeed received everywhere as befits her status.
"Mmm, I wonder how much this expensive armor can fetch," Vina remarked, looking at the nearest guard with a completely serious expression.
"Vina! They're not for sale; each guard's armor is individually crafted, made from the finest mithril of our dear Liri."
Leira blushed slightly upon realizing where her father's supplies went.
We ascended the carpeted path, and at the top, we were greeted by a beautiful young woman. She had fiery-red, almost crimson, flowing hair that reached her waist, and unusual red eyes, just like our princess. She was dressed in a long red gown that accentuated her figure, and most unusually, her skin was not as tanned as that of most Leran residents and appeared only lightly sun-kissed despite the scorching sun. At a glance, the young woman seemed to be around 25 years old, leading me to draw a logical conclusion.
"Do you have a sister?"
Seleria lowered her head.
"No, I don't have a sister," Seleria bowed to the young woman and followed her into the palace.
We followed the red-haired beauty into the palace. After passing through the grand hall with columns and statues lining the walls, we entered a spacious dining room.
"Please, have a seat. I've already instructed the servants to prepare the best meal for my daughter's arrival, so dinner will be served soon."
"Daughter?" I glanced at Seleria, and she simply shrugged. "So, you're Seleria's mother?"
"Yes, I am called Sheraza. Pleased to meet you."
"You look so young. If it's not a secret, how old are you?"
"It's always pleasant to hear a compliment from a young man. As for my age..." she seemed to be calculating something in her head, "thirty-five, yes, exactly thirty-five years old. My husband and I have been living soul to soul for a long time, but due to certain political reasons, I rarely appear in public."
"Umm, darn, what kind of cosmetic is she using?" Vina enviously nibbled on her nails. "I can't compete with her, even if she's twice my age."
"You have interesting friends, dear," the queen affectionately stroked Seleria's head, making her slightly flustered but not pulling away from her mother's touch. "You've never brought friends home before. I'm glad you've become more sociable."
"Mama! I'm not some kind of social outcast; what will they think of me?"
"Sorry, sorry. I'll check how things are in the kitchen for now."
The queen decided to leave us alone for a moment and exited the room.
"It turns out we're the first friends the princess has brought home. What an honor," I couldn't resist teasing Seleria.
"Krito! Don't make things up; I have plenty of friends," the princess paused briefly. "It's just that they fall into two categories: the first ones are imposed on me by my father's politics. Children of wealthy houses, those who will lead the country in the future. I had no problem socializing with them, but many of the boys saw me only as a future contractual marriage, and the girls often envied the fact that the most handsome boys paid attention to me. Alas, it was inevitable, but thanks to them, I experienced what it's like to compete for power within a closed circle. Among noble children, I probably didn't have a single true friend, but I had allies. However, I could only meet with them once or twice a month when the lords gathered for their regular meetings or for the birthday celebrations of important people."
Seleria smiled, reminiscing about the old times.
"And what about the second category of friends?" I inquired.
"Hmm, those whom you wouldn't invite to the palace."
"Is that related to how warmly the townspeople welcomed you?"
"Not without it. But keep it quiet, don't tell my mother, although I fear she probably already figured out what I did in my free time instead of etiquette and music lessons."
A high-pitched bell rang in the room.
"Get ready. Now you'll experience all the hospitality of Leran," Seleria smirked and moved closer to the table.
The doors of the hall swung open widely, and chefs brought out delicacies of all kinds. The table was overflowing with treats, and I could see Ragni's eyes darting around the table in feverish excitement.
"Ragni, mind your manners," Seleria chided.
"Huh? Hmph," the dragoness closed her mouth and proudly lifted her head.
Following the chefs, musicians emerged and started playing pleasant local tunes. Last to enter was the queen.
"Dear guests, feel free to indulge," she said.
Even though she said so, we were still in the royal palace. I glanced at my companions. Miriam and Vivien were carefully studying the spoons and forks, trying to figure out their purpose. Asura sat proudly in perfect posture and only occasionally glanced at the nearby food, her pride preventing her from admitting she wasn't familiar with the proper use of the utensils. Ragni was vigorously poking at her cutlet with a knife, showing that someone must have taught her the etiquette for high society when she was younger, but she had diligently erased it from her memory in recent years. Only Katrina and Leira felt at home. Even Seleria, with a hint of reluctance, used all the utensils. I had a feeling I might go to bed hungry tonight.
"Ha-ha-ha," Sheraza watched our attempts with amused laughter. "I understand that you're not accustomed to such service. If you want, you can eat with your hands or use any utensil you like. I won't take offense."
"Really!?" Fire sparked in Ragni's eyes.
"But this is the royal palace; I'd feel rather awkward," I glanced once more at the grand dining hall.
"Don't worry about it. My husband isn't here, and I'm not particularly fond of all this formality myself."
"Thank you, Your Majesty, you're the kindest ruler of them all," I silently expressed my gratitude.
"So, these are your companions, Seleria? I heard from your father that you lost to one of them."
Seleria choked on her water.
"Cough-cough. Yes, Mother, these are my guildmates. Kurone, Grain, Vinila, Algo, Leira. Rizel and Ragni. This is our Deputy Guild Master, Krito, and our Guild Master, Katrina. And these are our companions from Shiroyuki no Hana: Vivien, Miriam, Werner, and Asura."
It seemed to me that Seleria purposely avoided mentioning our last names.
"Yes, I lost to the Guild Master. Katrina is a very powerful lightning mage, and there's nothing shameful about that."
"Also, she's Princess of Verania," the Queen said with such a radiant smile that it sent shivers down my spine. I almost saw how those words pierced Seleria's back.
"And she's Princess of Verania," the princess repeated in a barely audible whisper.
"Katrina, what do you think of my daughter? I hope she's not causing any trouble," the Queen completely ignored her daughter's presence.
"Seleria is a very skilled mage; she has saved us many times."
"I'm glad to hear that my daughter is not as useless as she sometimes appears. And how does she behave as a person? Does she cause you any problems?"
"Oh, no, nothing like that. She does, of course, say things off the mark, is a bit reckless, and may offend strangers. She acts like a spoiled girl," I could see every word of Katrina driving nails into the coffin of the red princess, "but overall, she's a decent person, and occasionally shows her good qualities. She knows how to get along with people and is genuinely kind-hearted, though she hides it."
"I'm glad to hear that. When I sent her to the Academy, I was afraid that her pride would prevent her from making friends. Depriving her of her parental money was the right decision."
"Ugh, I can live without you! We, the guys, earn well enough without you. And after this festival, we'll have mountains of gold. Hmph."
"Mmm, so that's why you came. You've decided to challenge the Sphinx?"
I exchanged glances with Vina, but she didn't understand what was going on.
"You mean the monster from the pyramid?"
"Exactly, we call it the Sphinx."
"We've never heard of such creatures before. There's a hypothesis that it's a golem, given an artificial form."
"What a perceptive young man. Indeed, the creature is lifeless, and it guards the tomb of the royal family."
Seleria jumped up from her chair.
"MOM!! Is that true?! Are we going to rob the tomb of my ancestors?? And Dad allowed this?!"
"Hush, Seleria. A princess shouldn't display such turbulent emotions. Don't worry about it; the real tomb is much deeper than your destination, and the Sphinx is only the first of the guardians. Every year, we purposely place new treasures in the Sphinx's chamber to pique the interest of the youth. Of course, your father would never allow raiding his father's tomb, or yours in the future."
Seleria calmed down slightly.
"But still, couldn't you find a better location?"
"Sorry, but the Sphinx refuses to leave the pyramid, even by order of the king. So we had to arrange the challenge right there. I must warn you: this golem is very strong, and many guilds have surrendered without inflicting any damage. Moreover, a small surprise awaits you inside. But the treasure room contains only jewelry, gold, and precious stones, so whatever you take will be worth a considerable sum."
"Thank you for the hint, but you won't tell us everything, right?"
"Otherwise, it wouldn't be interesting," Sheraza flirtatiously smiled. "I'll be rooting for you, and perhaps I'll even come to the award ceremony."
"Your Majesty, you know so much. Can you tell us anything about the Golden Tomb? I still haven't learned anything specific," Vina decided to draw a little more information from the Queen.
"I can only say that it's a trial for the strongest warriors. Well then, I'll be on my way. Pleasant dreams to all of you; the servants will show you to your rooms."
The Queen left us after that enigmatic phrase.
"Vina, you still couldn't find out anything about the tomb?"
"No information about the guardian or the treasures. And that's considering the tomb is open for hunting every year. I can only assume that it's too difficult, and almost no one managed to conquer it."
"Well, let's hope we'll be lucky. Seleria, thanks for the treat. But don't you think there's too much food here just for us? Even Ragni won't manage to handle so much."
"Don't worry about that. Do you know why the royal family is still so popular among the people? Because we feed all the homeless. Whatever remains from the royal table is given to help the poor in the city. So don't be surprised if you see orphans peacefully eating sandwiches with black caviar or lobsters. This rule also applies to the king's vassals, so every merchant house follows this tradition."
"It must be nice to be poor with you. I want that too."
"Krito, you're always looking for the easy way."
"Your mother is pleasant. She looks so young, and surprisingly, she doesn't like excessively strict etiquette rules."
"Yes, I've always got along better with my mom than with my dad."
"But I still don't understand why there's so little known about her. The guards seemed to know about her, but the royal emblem was lowered, even though she was in the city."
My arguments seemed to confuse Seleria a bit, and she didn't know whether to tell us the truth.
"Well... Mom... She's not exactly nobility, I mean, she's not from a classical noble family, as is expected of a queen."
"You mean lower nobility?!" Katrina raised her eyebrows in surprise. "But if that became known, Leran would lose influence in many lands!"
"That's why I wouldn't want you to spread this information. I believe you'll understand my feelings."
"I must have missed something. What lower nobility? After all, she's still from a noble lineage, right?"
"Krito, you don't understand. It's a peculiarity of Leran; titles are given to families for their services to the country or their accumulated wealth and influence. In their family, there may not even be powerful mages. All ancient noble houses trace their lineage back to powerful mage-contractors. For them, learning something like that would be almost a direct insult. Nobody outside this city should find out about Seleria's family."
"Everything is so complicated for you. If you love someone, it doesn't matter which family they're from. I'm going to sleep."
I stood up from the table and followed the servant to my room, but my words made the noblewomen left in the dining room ponder.
I wasn't actually planning to sleep yet. We were in the royal family's house, and I didn't want to miss such an opportunity. Here was one of the richest libraries on the continent, and I wanted to learn a bit about those strange magical wands I found in the library.
On my way to the bedroom, I noticed a room with large bookshelves along the walls, and when everyone was asleep, I headed there with a small lamp.
The books here were the most diverse, but I was only looking for information about the magical wands. Unfortunately, the same books were here as in the Academy, and I could once again learn about the materials and their application. Of course, different tips were suitable for different types of magic - sapphire for water, diamond for ice, ruby for fire, topaz for lightning, and so on. But nowhere was it written why they were made hollow inside.
"I thought there would be something useful here."
"If you can't find it yourself, ask the librarian," a gentle voice sounded behind me.
"Oops, sorry, I didn't mean to intrude," I turned around and saw the familiar girl with red hair in a long red nightshirt. "Lady Sheraza, you scared me."
"Apologies, I saw movement and decided to check. Thieves don't visit us, we have an agreement with them, but I thought someone among the guests got lost."
"It's okay, knowledge is open to everyone, so what were you looking for?"
The Queen sat down on the adjacent sofa and crossed her legs, revealing her white knees from the nightshirt's revealing slit.
"Do you have knowledge in this area?"
"I told you, if you can't find it yourself, ask the librarian. By the way, I've been a librarian for thirty years."
"Thirty?? Are you not mistaken?"
"Ahem... Yes, I'm probably mistaken, of course not thirty, I'm not that old. So what did you want to know?"
"Oh yes," I reached into my bag and took out the wand and the box with tips. "I found these in one of the dungeons, but I don't know what they are for. They look like ordinary wands, but they are hollow inside."
"How long ago was this?" the Queen took the box from my hands. "If I'm not mistaken..."
Using her nail, the Queen scratched the box with tips and took one out. On the inside wall of the box, there was a seal of a golden feather with red spikes branching out.
"A master's seal? So someone famous made them?"
"Not exactly," Sheraza smiled coyly. "It's a mark of belonging. This box with all its contents belonged to a famous ancient clan. They were distant relatives of my family, so I know something about them."
"So these wands are not worth much?"
"Mmm, you mistook them for magical wands, and that's not surprising. Whoever placed this set in the treasure room thought the same."
"And what are they then?"
"They are writing tools," the Queen said, standing up and pointing at the door, hinting that it was time to leave.
"But they wouldn't be very convenient to write with. Ink won't stay inside, and the tip isn't smooth."
"Krito, writing is not only done with ink, and not only on paper. I will definitely come to the ceremony; it will be interesting to see what you can do."
The Queen approached the door and added in a quiet whisper:
"Especially after what Ignis told me."