211: Cian's Doubt

Cian's Doubt

Meanwhile, within the guest palace of Abetha, Cian stopped in his tracks the moment he entered his study. He glanced at the surroundings before walking towards the large desk. Something seemed off, and only realized what it was when he felt a breeze enter the room.2

'The window is open?'

He went towards the desk and observed each and every item placed on it. Others would see nothing strange, but Cian who would notice even the slightest differences in how his things were arranged. 

His fingers touched the ink bottle, adjusting it slightly to be perfectly perpendicular to the stack of papers placed next to it, the minor change causing his brows to furrow. He touched the brush of the quill pen and it was wet with ink, as if the last user tried to clean it in a hurry. 

"Eliot," was all Cian needed to say, but his guardian knight, Eliot Fletcher, began to move.

Seeing his liege frown while inspecting his own things, the knight immediately looked around the study to find clues of anyone barging in. He even checked outside the window, but the ground below was empty, and the grass and bushes showed no signs of being trampled. There were no signs of people jumping out. 

"I see no clues, Your Highness," Eliot said, aware of what was going on his prince's mind. 

The third day of the conference was still ongoing, but  the Crown Prince of Abetha left the conference hall abruptly, leaving the state affairs to his officials. From the time Cian departed in the morning to the time he returned to the mansion, merely an hour had passed. Whoever intruded in his study targeted that small window of time.

"Give me a list of the people who came in and out of the mansion this morning, or anyone sighted by the gatekeepers nearby," Cian ordered. "All the servants had been informed prior that no one is permitted to enter the study without my permission. It means someone deliberately sneaked in. This might be related to the window incident."

"I will get the information, Your Highness," the knight said with a salute.

It did not take long for the knight to return to the study. "Reporting to Your Highness, none of the servants left to run errands this morning due to the window incident, and other than Prince Arlan's aide, no outsider visited the mansion in your absence."

"Prince Arlan's aide?" Cian asked, startled. "You mean Physician Orian? What did he come here for?"

"He brought medication for your hand injury. Your attendant says he left after handing over the medicines."

There was a doubtful look on Cian's face, but then he let out a smirk. "He seems to care too much for a small injury of someone not his master."

"He came here just before the  incident of window shattering happened," the knight added. "Shall we bring him here for interrogation?"

"No need," Cian informed. 

The knight didn't question his leige's decision and asked, "Your Highness was hurt yesterday again. Since Griven's physician is suspicious, shall I ask for a new physician to come and check?"

"I am fine," he rejected. "We have to leave for the investigation today. King Drayce and Prince Arlan will join us this time."

—--

When noon came, the carriage of the officials headed by the Minister of Foreign Affairs returned on its own. Oriana got to know that Arlan would not be returning to the mansion, but as to his whereabouts, no one disclosed. She had spare time for herself. 

Oriana thought it was her opportunity to roam Nefer on her own, but she was called to the guest mansion Megaris under the excuse of treatment for the Queen. 

This time, the King of Megaris did not summon her to his study, but it was truly Seren's orders. The Queen and the elf welcomed her to chat, the range of topics ranging from the Queen's penchant for gardening, to Yorian owning two tigers as pets, as well as Oriana's unique situation of having both divine and witch's magic powers. 

It was almost evening, but Oriana was still in their mansion.

"... it is best we wait for Lady Evanthe and Lady Sierra to return from Agartha. Though for your magic, we will need a Black Witch to train you, I am not sure how it will affect the divine power inside you, or how they both will coexist once you start actively using them both." Yorian spoke as he snacked on a berry pie. 

They had finished their evening meal, and were lounging inside their meetup place on the top floor. Oriana was eating as well, munching on a similar pie. "Is this kingdom called Agartha far?"

"Very far. Like I told you earlier, Agartha is a place where all kinds of supernatural races live. When it was founded—I think around a thousand years ago?—its primary consideration was that the kingdom be hidden from humans, so you can imagine the distance and how isolated it is from the rest of the continent," Yorian informed. 

"Is that your homeland, my lord?"

Yorian shook his head. "The real homeland of elves had been ruined by humans a long, long time ago. Agartha is where the majority of the clans migrated afterwards. Alas, that was a chaotic time. Anyway, I used to be a citizen of that kingdom as well before I abandoned everything and left to wander around the world."

Oriana nodded in response and asked, "and who is this Lady Evanthe and Lady Sierra? Why do you hold them in such high regards?"

"Lady Evanthe is my mother-in-law," Seren answered her, "the most powerful White Witch and the Queen of your race."

"Oh!" With her eyes wide, Oriana thought, 'So King Drayce must be so powerful as well.'

"...and Lady Sierra…" 

Seren stopped, wondering how to introduce her, but for the first time, she blurted out the words she kept inside her heart. 

"...she is my mother, a witch as well." 

Yorian looked at her in surprise, though the reason for his reaction was different from Oriana.

"But Lord Yorian said you are not a witch, Your Majesty. How come your mother…" Oriana didn't know how to say it. Shouldn't a witch's daughter be a witch as well?

"It's a complicated matter," was all Seren said.

pqdm.com