CHAPTER 79: CHAPTER 79 - THE CAPITAL DISTRICT

"I see... so the goddess is silent or absent. This is good for you, Lovelace, isn’t it?"

"Yes, it is, Lady Lillian. It will make it easier for me to go after my memories unimpeded. I wonder what the cause of it is, though."

"And how long it will last as well. What can silence a god? It has to be something at least as strong as a god, right?"

"Maybe. We have no way to know ourselves."

Maybe if I had a way to get in contact with Oya. I’ve tried several things during the last three years, to no avail.

She said something about being hard to come undetected by the goddess... But if the goddess is absent right now, then it’s the perfect time to come.

"And you said that my brother was in Amapytu the night we escaped, Aurea? And that he was the one responsible for calling off the pursuit?"

"Yes, that was what the guys from the Network said, at least."

"I’m so happy to know that he’s well and still with more power than the Duke. He might have gotten wind of my presence during the escape. If he interrogate the overseers..."

"Is my uncle trustworthy?"

"Yes, he’s a nice boy. I think. I mean, if he called off the pursuit, at least he isn’t on the same side as the Duke."

"Which is already useful knowledge. It might end up being easier to get back into the palace than expected."

Lovelace is just listening to our conversation, looking a bit absent-minded. I guess she’s thinking about the goddess and what might have happened.

We’re inside our room in the inn, and Mom put up an Air spell that dampens the sound so nobody can listen from the outside.

After all, I can’t have my own trick used against me, can I?

"There’s too much information for us to digest, and we have to continue our journey. Therefore, let’s go down and eat our breakfast. We can think through it all while we walk."

"You’re right, Mom. Lovelace, are you okay?"

"Huh? Ah. Yeah, I’m okay. Just too much to think about. Let’s have breakfast."

:::

"And now, we’re officially inside the Capital district."

We just passed a marker on the road that signals the provincial frontier.

It’s been a very fun little trip up to this point. I will miss the days of anonymity; of that I’m sure.

I’m not really looking forward to being acknowledged as a princess, nor to going to a royal school. But well, one can only play the cards one is dealt.

It’s certainly an improvement from the life I lived before. But these weeks of roaming free through the land were the best.

I know that I can’t simply live like that forever, though. Not if I want to accomplish my goals. And help Lovelace with hers.

To the capital we go, then. Let’s just hope it’s an interesting place.

"Is the capital bigger than the other cities we visited, Mom?"

"Yes, it is. I think that it’s at least five times bigger than the second biggest city in the country, and we didn’t pass through that city."

"Whooo. That’s nice. I bet that there are lots of nice places to explore."

"There are... we’ll go to some before we announce ourselves in the palace."

"Yayyy. A proper metropolis. That will be fun."

"I don’t know what fun there is in such a big agglomeration of people in the same place."

"I will show you, then. I bet that I will find something that even you will find amusing or interesting."

"We’ll see about that."

:::

PoV: Crown Prince Jyllian Annes

The elf maid, Shalia, is on one knee in front of the crown prince, inside his office. It’s a bit unusual to see her in that posture, as she often has a more maidlike demeanor.

She usually only does that when addressing a serious matter related to her other, less known, position. The one who is head intelligence officer under the prince.

"Master, I just received word that princess Lillian is, in fact, coming to the capital."

"That’s great news. I’ll finally be able to see my sister, after all those years."

"I’m not sure about that, Master. She seems to have other plans. She seems to be very suspicious about everyone in the palace."

"I wonder what happened to her during the coup attempt that got her captured. It might have something to do with her suspicions."

"I also think so, Master. Oh, and she isn’t traveling alone. The same girl I saw in Amapytu is with her, as well as another woman the informant has never seen before."

"That same girl? Are they using illusion spells to disguise themselves again?"

"No, they are using black-haired wigs and some makeup to make freckles on their faces. It seems that nobody suspects them."

"Not even the Network people?"

"Not even them. The informants haven’t noticed any movement on their side about the bounty that was placed upon her."

"That’s weird. They are greedy bastards all the time; why would they skip that bounty?"

"Princess Lillian was always adored by the people of the poorer areas. Also, there was always some talk here and there about her not being dead but just captive somewhere."

"Which was true, in the end."

"I think that they were spread by some people who worked for the slavers at some point, but what matters is that over time those rumors became something almost religious."

"Religious?"

"Yes. Did you know that some people in the slums call her the ’Mother of the Poor’ and ’The Saint’?"

"That’s news to me."

"I’m sorry for not informing you before, but at the time it sounded like mere delirious and harmless rumors. Now that she’s back, it will certainly have some impact on the kingdom as a whole."

"You don’t need to apologize; your judgment on the matter was sound. As it is sound the thinking that now that she’s back, all that talk has had a change of relevance tier."

"Thank you, Master. But getting back to the matter at hand, I suspect that the overall feelings about her are stalling the Network’s hand. It’s just a gut feeling, though."

"Your gut feelings are often more trustworthy than most scholars’s theses. And the logic of your reasoning seems solid. If that’s the truth, then I’m glad that those feelings are keeping her safe."

"But they might become a hindrance later when the king passes down the crown to you."

"That is true. I’ll burn that bridge when I get to it. I want to first get my sister to reach the palace safely. And to learn that she can count on me."

"Yes, Master."

"Go yourself to where she is, and defend her against any intrusion. Also, try to learn about the exact relationship she has to the little girl and the other woman."

"Yes, Master."

"And don’t interact with them unless extremely necessary. In any other case, report to me first, so I can decide how we will approach her."

"Yes, Master."