“Passports, please.” The border officer asked.

“Here you are.”

“Let’s see… Well, everything checks out. Welcome to Centralis, enjoy your stay!”

From here on out, we were officially in the royal country. The country that is considered the ‘Capital Country of the Continent’ for lack of a better term. It’s here where the Grys Royal Family resides, and also where we’ll be meeting up with their youngest prince, Adam Grys.

Anna is yet to find this out, though, but Grim and I met Adam back in the Neo Urbana party over at Melgam. I wanted to keep the fact that I’m well acquainted with a member of the Royal Family a secret from her, mostly because I just want to see her honest reaction to her finding that out.

Adam was a bit older than us, but he’s a sheltered and tender soul, even by my standards. Guess it’s just the perks of being raised by nobles, but he’s an extreme pacifist through and through. That doesn’t mean that he wasn’t of any help to us during the fight that broke out there, though, as he saved Grim from a sticky situation, and volunteered to be used as a meat shield by him and Cecily (Now that I think about it, so was I…)

“So Ed, you gonna tell me who this friend of yours is? Some adventurer buddy you met during you travels?”

“Well, yes and no. You’ll just see when we get there, but before that, let’s go sit down somewhere, the wagon ride here really tickled my motion sickness…”

And so, after a quick stroll around the town, Anna and I sat down at a café that looked promising. And when I say promising, I mean luxuriously beautiful! Like, I can’t even describe how rich it looked, but when we entered the actual place and had the waiters sit us down at our seats, we realized it’s quite a homely little place. The prices seemed quite reasonable as well.

“Šta hoćete?”

Oh right, I can’t speak Cardinic. Well, based purely on the context, as well as his tone, I’ll assume he’s asking us what we would like to order. Now the only question is how I’ll go about ordering anything from this menu written in a language I have yet to learn how to read. It uses the same alphabet as Entropic, but no matter how hard I try to read the words, they always come out with a strong accent. I just can’t wrap my head around it.

While I was fumbling over my words, Anna simply chuckled at me and pointed to the thing she wanted to order. After the waiter wrote her order down, Anna turned to ask me what I’d want and I pointed to what I assume was the Latte.

The waiter gave us a warm smile and went to the back to make our orders. I sighed as I slouched back in my seat before noticing Anna’s previous laughter and jovial nature had ran dry.

“Everything alright with you? You seem troubled.”

“Of course I am. Honestly, I’m surprised you’re not worried about Lune in the slightest, aren’t you two best friends?”

I see. So she’s still worried about Grim’s wellbeing. Well, can’t say I’m not happy to hear that, but seriously, worrying isn’t gonna do us any good. I need to somehow convince her into believing wholeheartedly that Grim is, in fact, not dead.

“That’s precisely why I’m not worried. Grim’s strong, he won’t die from the cold environment. In fact, he developed a new power to light flames from his han-”

I wanted to mention the fact that he can now use Spark to freely heat himself up whenever he wanted to (even though he didn’t really like to use it that much after Carter died), but I realized just how crazy that made me seem. I stopped talking for a second, trying to find a suitable way to explain it all to her whilst also making it sound believable and genuine, but then she said something crazy.

“…I know.”

“What?”

As she answered back with this surprising phrase, I sat with my mouth wide open in sheer shock while the waiter handed me my Latte, and Anna her lemonade.

“I know… Lune can do that. It… happened before one time.”

“It did?”

“Yeah, back when he fought off that Stray Wolf when we were staying at your Uncle’s house. I was unconscious from the fear, so I only remember tidbits about it, but he… he was different. He seemed more vicious than the wolf, if I had to describe it. So hearing that he has that under control makes me very glad.”

“Oh, I see then. Well, apart from that, I have more proof about him being alive.”

“And that is?”

“Think about it. The ITA are a shady bunch, they like to lie to us a lot of the time and are genuinely unpleasant people. Also, they like to chalk things up a lot too. For all we know, maybe everyone from that party apart from Linus is alive and well.”

“So then why wouldn’t they report back to the ITA?”

“Like I said, they’re a shady organization. I’ve actually met up with a relative of one of his party members named Sullivan, and the relative mentioned that he too was forced to attend the excursion. Another thing to note is that you can’t leave the ITA, ever. If you try to run away, they’ll label you a deserter and go after you and/or your family.”

“Yikes, I remember hearing about it, but it’s still hard to believe that such an organization exists. So what, you’re saying they faked their own deaths to escape from the ITA?”

“Exactly. That’d also explain why they’re not home yet. They’re probably laying low somewhere while the dust settles, making sure not to contact a single soul. Remember, if they were to send a letter to us telling us they’re safe, then that letter would pass by hundreds of hands before making its way to us.”

“Right. Heh, that level of discretion and careful thinking is definitely a Lune thing to do. But then that begs the question, where are they now?”

“…Well, that’s something even I don’t know myself. But knowing Grim, he’ll definitely be back home someday. But for now, let’s just hope I’m right.”

After that, we decided to not worry about him for the time being and chatted about more lighthearted things. It’s not a matter of us not caring for his wellbeing, it’s just that he himself would surely not want us to get disheartened, whether he was alive or not. Back when we were traveling, he would always tell me the exact same thing over and over again. No matter what, don’t make Anna cry. Lie if you have to, just don’t leave her feeling sad, so that’s precisely what I’m doing.

***

“Halt! You are nearing the Grys Royal Family Estate! State your names and business!”

“E-Ed, I think you took a wrong turn or somethng…”

“…This lady here is named Anna Grey, and I myself am Edward Saint. We seek an emergency audience with the prince, Adam Grys.”

“That’s interesting, sir, but I sure don’t care!” The guard raised his guard, “Now back off from the premises or I will be forced to resort to violence!”

“Hey, hey! Calm down there, I’m a friend of the prince! We met back when he was in Great Hiana!”

If you encounter this tale on Amazon, note that it's taken without the author's consent. Report it.

“Phah! Now I know you’re lying! The prince never left the Royal Country of Centralis!”

These words threw me for a complete loop. We’re talking about Adam Grys here, right? If so, then I’m 100% sure Grim and I met him during the fight in Neo Urbana. Hmm, then this can only mean one thing… The prince is being held captive and the guard here was tasked with keeping it a secret from any and all outsiders! In which case, we now have to find a way to infiltrate the castle through stealth and skill! Once inside, we-

“Oh, sup Ed.” Adam suddenly showed his face, “What’re you doing here?”

“M-Milord! You know these people?”

…Orrrr the guard just didn’t believe a commoner like me was acquainted with the prince.

“Geez, didn’t I tell you to first inform me of who was coming to visit me before just telling them the ‘I was never in Great Hiana’ lie?”

“I-I understand that, Milord, but they didn’t appear to be of noble descent, so I figured-”

“You figured? Did I hire you to ‘figure’ if I know these people? Or to stand guard in case someone ‘who I personally don’t know’ shows up?”

“T-The latter, Milord, I’m sorry, Milord…”

Adam turned around towards us and immediately changed from being a terrifying but competent leader to a kind and innocent man with a warm smile. He certainly matured in the time since we last saw him, but you could probably still recognize him from afar if you saw him out in the street (not that you’d see the prince of the Royal Family out wandering the streets…)

The main difference in his appearance (apart from his clothes being a lot more casual than what we saw at the party) is his beard. It was a full grown beard that didn’t at all fit his youthful voice. And by the Gods, it’s certainly a sizeable one! In any case, it’s no stubble, I’ll tell you that much!

“Well, before anything Ed, isn’t it proper manners to introduce me to the lovely lady standing next to you?”

“Oh, this is Anna. Don’t mind her, she’s just a bit shy around new people. She’s a genuine delight once you get to know her, though.”

The prince approached her, gestured for her to bring forth her hand, before gently giving it a peck. I do believe this is just a custom of nobles and the like, but it still didn’t really sit right with me.

“I see. In that case, nice to meet you, Milady.”

“Wawawawa-n-nice to meet you too!” She flubbed about for a moment, but for a moment I could read the thoughts popping out of her head, “[Oh my God, it’s a real prince! And he kissed my hand!!!]”

“Haha! No need to be so tense, Milady! Come, if you two wish to speak with me, then by all means, I’ll have the servants prepare us some tea!”

As such, Adam was now happily leading us into the Royal Castle, and Anna and I followed shortly behind. While walking, he called out to a maid.

“Mariabelle, would you mind preparing some tea for me and our guests here? We’ll be in my room.”

“Of course, Your Highness, I’ll be sure to make it extra tasty!”

The maid was certainly an interesting one. She stood out almost immediately, if not for her sizeable breasts, then certainly for her hair color. It was incredibly eye-catching, in that her long hair was pink, but the accents at the tips of her hair were almost white, as if the color alone was fading out despite her age being quite similar to our own.

“Now now, Mariabelle, no need for you ‘extra tasty tea’. These people are very dear friends of mine, so I’d prefer it if you didn’t pull such pranks.”

The maid’s cheerful tone turned into a disappointed pout after her prank was dismantled by Adam.

“Ah, come on, Your Highness, it’s precisely because they’re your friends that you need to pull some pranks!”

“Oh? Then do you, pray tell, pull any pranks on Sol?”

“Only when we’re in bed, but those pranks aren’t the family-friendly type.”

“…”

This maid seemed innocent and cute from first glance, but she’s definitely not pure at all! Her mischievous side seemed to have shown itself for just a split second there, but it was enough to embarrass everyone in the room (safe from herself somehow). Well, at least her husband or whatever is satisfied…

“Okay, now that we’ve all been seated (and Mariabelle’s out making the tea for everyone), you should probably first tell me what you need.”

“Straight to the point? That isn’t like you at all, Adam.”

“Spare me the pleasantries, Ed. If you two traveled from Great Hiana to here just to see me, then obviously something isn’t right.”

Anna was finally starting to catch up on the situation, but she still wasn’t completely herself here. At the end of the day, she’s a waitress at a family restaurant, of course she’s gonna feel a bit out of place in this giant castle, so it’s to be expected. Either way, she decided to explain the story so far.

“A-Ah, actually, I’m from Springwood. My grandfather is suffering from an unknown illness, and while we were researching various ways to cure him, Ed just so happened to pass by to come visit us.”

“I see, I see. So, you’re thinking I’m a bit more knowledgeable on the supposed cure then?”

“Actually, Ed already found the cure. It’s a plant called… I forget the name, but basically it only grows in Umoris. The issue is we can’t find anyone willing to exchange our travel funds from coins into shils, so Ed proposed we come visit you.”

“Oh, that’s all? No problem then, I’ll even set you up with a transport wagon to there, until then you may stay here for as long as you’d like!” He laughs as Mariabelle enters the room with the tea, “Oh right, where’s Lune?”

In that moment, Mariabelle accidentally tipped my cup of tea while pouring it, spilling the tea on both Anna and me, “A-Ah! So sorry! I had my head in the clouds!”

“Mariabelle! What is wrong with you?!” Adam shouted out, “Sorry about that guys, I’ll have the servants get you some replacement clothes.”

“Oh, no need for that, really! It’s just some tea, it’ll dry out soon, plus these are our casual clothes, nothing to worry about.”

“Nonsense! Mariabelle, take them to the dressing room, and DON’T let something like this happen again.”

Mariabelle gulped before turning tail and rushing us out of the room to let the prince calm down. Looks like Adam’s quite scary when he’s at home, hard to believe this titan of a man was used as a human meatshield by Grim…

“Man,” Mariabelle sighed as she guided us to the dressing room, “Sorry about that, I really don’t know what happened there.”

“Don’t worry about it, like I said, it’s nothing too serious.”

“Right!” Anna added, “It can happen to anyone!”

“Ah, you two’re too kind. No wonder you’re friends with my Master.”

Oh, looks like her matter of speaking is way more casual when she’s not in front of Adam. That at least makes it easier to talk to her. Which reminds me…

“Miss Mariabelle, how come you speak Entropic so fluently? Barely anyone speaks it in Cardina, so I was thinking you might originally be from Entropa as well.”

She glanced back before chuckling to herself a bit.

“Nah, I just talk with Master a lot. He just can’t seem to let go of the language, it appears.”

“Hey, hey!” Anna ran up next to her, “What’s it like working for a prince?”

The maid was caught a bit off guard from the sudden change in topics, but she was certainly happy after having found another female to talk to in this big castle of theirs, so she answered Anna in an instant.

“Well, I’d like to say it’s amazing, but really it’s just a job like any other.”

“What? How come? I mean, you’re in a castle all day long, that’s super cool!”

“Eh, I’m basically a janitor here. The only productive thing I do all day is count the seconds before I can go back home.”

“Home? You don’t live here in the castle?” I asked.

“No, I live nearby in a house with Sol.”

At these words, Anna immediately entered ‘Gossip mode’.

“Sol? Is that your husband? You mentioned him before! Err, nevermind...W-What an eccentric name! What does he do for a living?”

Mariabelle looked on at her new friend with a dumbfounded expression before bursting out in a fit of laughter.

“Phahaha! We’re not like that! Honest! It’s just easier on our wallets to share a house instead of both of us renting out separate ones is all.”

“Wait, you’re not together? But didn’t you say…” Anna recalled what the maid said back in the hallways about ‘pulling pranks in bed’ with this Sol person.

“Eh, it’s not that serious of a relationship. We just do the deed to relieve some stress, no biggie. In any case, here’s your clothes, go change over in that room there.”

After she pointed us to the right room, both Anna and I came out through the doors looking like completely different people. I was wearing a noble’s suit, tailored to fit me to a T, meanwhile Anna looked stunning in her dress.

“Holy crap, it fits you guys better than I expected! I should call up Master as soon as possible and have him see you for himself! I’m sure he’ll be just as thrilled!”

“Ah, no need for that, it’s quite late, so if you don’t mind, could you show us to the guest rooms?”

At this denial, she made a bit of a disappointed face before turning that frown into a mischievous smile. She must be planning another prank again like Adam warned us about…

“Ah, apologies again, kind guests, but it appears we only have one vacant room left, and it’s a one bed room at that. If you wish to stay here, you’ll have to share, will that be alright?”

Since I Beheld a Brown Iro, I could all too easily read her mind and tell you exactly what she was plotting. She was expecting us to get all flustered, and I really wanted to wipe that smug aura off her face, so without thinking I went:

“No problem.”

“EH?!” Anna turned to face me with astonishment in her eyes.

“We sleep in the same room all the time.” I added to the maid with a striking dose of seriousness, “No biggie.”

“ED??!?” Anna once again didn’t follow my lead in trying to diffuse the maid’s tease.

“Heheh, looks like there’s nothing to worry about then. Good luck with him tonight, dear.” Mariabelle laughed.

“ED YOU IDIOT! SHE’S MISUNDERSTANDING SOMETHING!”

I was now too far gone into the plan. If I backed out now, then this annoying maid would continue to tease me about it for the entire duration of our stay. So I had no other choice but to double down.

“Anna, get in the room.” I said before whispering to Mariabelle, ”(Oh, and another thing.)”

“(Yes?)”

“(You’d best get some clean sheets ready for the morning. Anna might be a bit hesitant to use the guest rooms of my friend, but I’m planning on going all night long.)”

Mariabelle’s face went a bit red while she commented with an Oh my! Yep, needless to say, my counterplan went smoothly! Thanks to my little lie there, I’m sure she won’t be messing with us again!