"Hmm… Rosalyn, you say?" Viscount Kent had a ponderous expression on his face but didn't say much.
"There are certain exceptions in the palace's defence. Certain people from certain families are allowed to use spells although only for a certain extent. I'll inquire with the palace's Baron and Inform you."
Viscount Kent and I stood in the corner of the third floor, him sipping black coffee leisurely as he spoke. "However, I do think that she was authorised…"
Seeing the uncertainty in his voice, I tried. "Please confirm… and if possible, can I get some information about her and her family?"
Viscount Kent nodded, although with a strange expression.
"I will make sure," he said, placing the tea cup back on the plate. "But you should go to the underground area of the palace, the king awaits you."
"The King?" I asked back, a bit startled.
"Yes, he wishes to speak to you." Viscount Kent said, handing over a black key that didn't reflect light. "Please head to the palace's underground as soon as possible."
I nodded, taking the key back from him.
Having already been taught the basic structure of the royal palace, I go downstairs to the ground floor first, then head to where the throne was.
Meanwhile, feeling inexplicably nervous about meeting the Supreme King and Rose's warning, I glanced around, looking at the commoners and merchants that had gathered, noticing that their choice of food was typical.
Many picked fried fishes, prawns and sea foods, and they were abundant in the Kingdom of Shattered Stars… or mostly the Southern Kingdoms because they were located near the Blue Sea — at the edge of the continent — which was also known as the Fable Sea, and Sea of Myths.
Although many that preferred a change in their appetite picked something different like the northern styled omelette, eggs and crisps etc, I say that many still picked southern meals. Maybe this was because us southerners had pride in the place where we were born in… and also because sea foods were balanced and a delicacy in their own rights.
And there were many people like Viscount Kent that had picked black coffee as well, since coffee seeds and many plants had grown extinct after Last Embers, coffee was considered a higher class drink.
The choice for coffee was also because of the fact that it contained enough caffeine to keep a person awake, perfect for the commoners who worked restlessly, and also because sleep was considered "Death's second self."
Although it wasn't in the Ancient Death's Church's preachings or holy books, many people believed sleep to be blasphemous, while there were also people that believed sleeping would make one closer to God, or Death.
Although the former were less, it was still a sort of untold rule to work more than you sleep, mostly for the middle class, ofcourse.
While thinking about such matters to keep myself from feeling worse, I arrived from behind the throne where the balcony was set up, and unlocked the trap door on the floor behind the throne as I descended downwards via the large stairs, making sure I closed the door behind.
It looks like there were already a few servants underground, as they led me to the "real" Throne Room of the Royal Palace.
Taking a deep breath of fresh air, I looked at the black door that was thicker, taller and far more robust than any I had seen.
In fact, it looked like an ancient door that was well preserved throughout the centuries, having various battle scars on it.
Whether it was for decoration, or it really had battle scars and was ancient, I did not know. I merely watched four to five people push the door aside and gesture me inside, and as I went in, the door was closed.
What revealed inside, did startle me a little as I watched the red carpets in the room, the wooden desk with many papers, the various cupboards and mainly, the large throne at the centre of it all, with a large scenery of water beyond it and a robust figure sitting on it.
"Welcome, Ruiki Imara, to my humble… workplace," Evanus Williams said, standing up as I came in. "This originally wasn't the place we were supposed to talk in but unpleasant incidents happen, let's keep it at that."
Looking at him closely, I realised just how young he looked. He looked even younger than my mother, looking as if he was only a few years older than me, with the stubble less pristine face and pitch black eyes.
He did look like a student who wasn't particularly into studying, but studied the whole night due to being forced by their parents.
Just then, beside him, I saw darkness itself writhe, and the figure of Diablo Orsent step outside the shadows, startling me as I took a step back.
"Don't be alerted, now. He's my disciple who I took in twenty years ago." The King smiled while looking at him, "He's been very helpful for me ever since."
Diablo Orsent bowed to the king, kneeling with one hand on his extended knee.
"It is nothing compared to the grace I have received…"
Evanus' Williams smiled but quickly waved him off, saying. "Enough. I shall talk to my grandchild, you go and prepare for the journey."
"Yes, father."
Wait, father? As I look at Diablo Orsent once again merging into the shadows, Evanus Williams notices the confusion on my face and explains.
"He calls me as such ever since the day I took him in," He then winked at me, "And since the government was hastily formed after the Last Embers, I was able to set him off as a spy in the north… and then seeing him as a fellow southerner, the Archduke of the Black Gold Region approaches him, and things happened."
"Then doesn't that mean there are spies in your governance as well?" I asked, to which Evanus Williams nodded, walking up to the large scenery of the blue sea behind him.
"Ofcourse, all the people in power, mostly at the starting of the Glorious Era, have suffered from this problem. But if you offer them more than what their masters originally did, then they will convert."
"Ofcourse, this is only stating those who covet materialism, wealth and things. There are many others like Diablo who stand rigid amidst the sea of greed…" he turned his head back and looked at me, smiling warmly. "...for those, the only option is to find them and pluck them before they have any chance to grow."
"A series of trust issues, if you ask me." I said, to which the King surprisingly nodded, turning back.
"Indeed. One of the examples of the so-called trust issues is Lenjvík's father, who only kept his trusted guards with him and had even sent them away when in need of covert… let's say, plunder."
Although not quite the expert in politics, the political science subject that had been taught in school did help me get the gist of it, although common sense had a bigger part.
"That's when such underground places in palaces started to be built — although "my" palace already had one— and although religion was a bigger factor."
"Well, let's keep the intricacies for later and decide what to do next," The King, wearing ordinary black robes, went up to one of the cupboards and opened it, fetching some documents on the work table.
"Sit, if you would like." He said, sitting behind the working table and looking up at me while wearing reading glasses, while I stood there idly, wondering what would be considered rude or even worse.
But eventually, I decided to remain standing.
"Originally, you were supposed to be declared as the future Queen's son, an heir to the future throne, today in the royal palace. But damned circumstances didn't allow it," He said, looking at the documents. "So I have decided to conduct your wedding first and then announce it, giving you an official title in the process."
The future Queen's son?! The sentence struck me harder than anything as my body went rigid. My mother, a Queen?
Although I hadn't done anything to give it away, the King smiled and said to me, "That is my plan, for now. Although I don't look like it, I am very old. And I want to rid myself of this position soon, but I also want a smooth transfer of power."
His smile soon faded, though. "Which isn't proving to be easy, considering that the Kingdom didn't have a successor for many years."
This was a well-known fact throughout the kingdom, and the succession was questioned even now.
"The nobles asked me to remarry, but how could I?" I saw the King's fist's holding the papers clench. "And then, they proposed to hold an election, and decide my successor among the nobles."
"But such foolish ideas were what led to the downfall of the old government and not to mention the internal struggle of the kingdom during these so-called citizen's elections, where the nobles would squeeze their finances dry or perhaps bring an internal war just for the throne."
Is it that serious? Was the peaceful Kingdom I had lived in so close to the brink of war? These are the so-called political undercurrents, huh?
"But my mother being the queen…"
"Yes, It is another problem as well. But with many female leaders being seen in the past there wouldn't have been much problem since we aren't like those northerners…" he paused, then sighed. "It wouldn't have been a problem at all, if she hadn't married that lad."
He loosened his fists and corrected the wrinkled papers as I stood there with sweat forming on my palms as he looked at me.
"Keeping them aside, you will currently go to the Black Gold Province, marry Lenjvík's daughter Yoimira Deroz Yr, and after coming to age, succeed as the Archduke of Black Gold Province."
My jaws suddenly loosened at the revelation as the King continued on.
"Ofcourse, that's if things go as planned, which I doubt will since other archduke's and marquesses are already sending proposals to her… Damn, news reaches fast." Evanus' Williams scratched his chin, standing up.
"Regardless, you will go to Black Gold Province's Deroz Yr City and the wedding shall be held there. This is the best I could do." He said, putting a hand on my shoulder. "Although the wedding was planned to be held in the Royal Palace, with the recent scrutiny we are facing and Yoimira's father's imprisonment, it would be best to go to the province personally."
"And don't worry, there would be Blessed escorts watching you over on your journey."
My head spun, remembering the fact that Deroz Yr City was close to Wind Flower City, which was very close to the north's Madilan, which Rose asked me to avoid.
"...Can I get some spell books or artifacts, atleast?"
"I can arrange the spellbooks, or scrolls. As for artifacts… hmm, what type of artifact do you want?"
I ponder and say. "The artifact specialising in escaping or combat?"
"The latter, then." Evanus' Williams said perfunctorily, as I felt a chill in my spine from how deep his voice just sounded.
Why was he so sensitive to me carrying artifacts? Was it related to my mother, I didn't dare ask loudly.
"Go meet Diablo, he will lead you to the library where you can pick the spellbooks. He will come with you on your journey, and don't worry, he is a reliable and powerful Shadow Master, a Blessed of Death." He said, sitting in the work table's chair and looking at the documents again.
"Now off you go."
A Blessed of Death, huh? Ruiki left the Throne Room, walking towards the library on the first floor as he ascended the stairs.
Just how strong are the Blessed and their Blessings, really? It was something he was very curious about, and something he made a mental note to ask Diablo Orsent on their journey to the north.