When Aeren said they had a guest to attend to, Vivia had assumed them to be some noble. Meeting a demon was the last of her expectations.
The said demon stood tall, his slit eyes carefully studying every member of the family. His age suggested he was older than Zerath but not too old.
"Thank you for the warm welcome, Emberlain King," he said, his voice neutral. "My name is Valdin and by His Majesty's permission, I'm here to stay in the Emberlain palace as the Demon Realm's envoy."
The outcome of the discussions in Rudaheim were about sending a representative each to the other realm for political stability, especially concerning the Realm of Harmony's interests.
Vivia threw a quick glance at Elvin, whose diplomatic smile was intact, but dissatisfaction thoroughly poured through his gaze. Valdin was supposed to be the reins holding him back from invading the Realm of Harmony and potentially harm Rudaheim's interests. On the other hand, Aeren seemed like he had no opinion at all, as if his only job was to be formally present, considering that the exchange of representatives was his idea.
"Welcome to Emberlain," Rosrell smiled. "I hope the journey was not too tiresome."
"It went fine, Your Majesty. His Majesty, my King, hopes you're in good health."
"Indeed I am. Clairette's safety had me worried a lot, but Rudaheim took such great care of her."
Yeah sure, why not? Your love almost brings tears to my eyes, Vivia inwardly scoffed.
"I understand that the environment here can be difficult to adjust to, but I'll make sure you're as comfortable as possible. If you've any grievances, don't hesitate to come to me."
"Thank you, Your Majesty."
Then came a new face Vivia hadn't seen during her prior meeting with the Senate.
General Ivor of the Ministry of War and Defense had been scrutinizing Valdin on high alert as if he would set the whole palace on fire. It seemed as if just one order from Rosrell, and he would be happy to cut the demon's head off. He held that gruff look like Gressil held, minus the mischievous streak.
The hostility cannot be any more crystal clear…
"Xaviston, please guide him to his office."
Vivia quickly raised her hand. "I'll accompany them too."
Elvin's expression grew wintry. "I believe Xaviston knows the way, Clairette."
Indirectly, his words translated for any royal to stay out of Valdin's way. He was just a diplomat, and a royal shouldn't needlessly interact anymore than necessary.
"I believe he does, Brother. But is there any harm if I accompany them too?" She cast a harmless smile.
Rosrell said, slightly narrowing his eyes, "It's okay. You can go. Just don't bother him too much. Our guest must be tired already."
—
The same pleasantries were exchanged at Rudaheim's side too. After the formal meeting with Nefarion, they walked down the courtyard, breathing in the fresh air and enjoying the melodious chirps of the birds.
"It's quite a beautiful palace, Crown Prince."
Zerath smiled. "Thank you, Sire Leroy. It's the maids who work so earnestly to maintain the garden."
"Indeed. It's similar over at our palace."
Zerath clasped his hands behind his back. "Reminds me of Princess Clairette. She used to play around in the courtyard with Eurus."
"Eurus?" Leroy blinked twice.
The grass carried the sound of footsteps, and Eurus toppled over Zerath's legs, clutching onto his thigh. He looked up, curiously studying the new face in the palace.
"He's Eurus. He's the child we found in a cave living all alone."
Leroy stared. "I see."
Zerath looked down. "Say hello to Sire Leroy, Eurus. He'll be staying with us here for a while."
Eurus didn't move from his hiding spot but did wave his hand in response.
"Nice to meet you too," Leroy then looked back. "It's unfortunate to know his history. Did he live there all alone?"
"He lived with his mother at one point, but we didn't find her anywhere. We're trying to search for her now."
"And this cave where he lived in hiding - Was there nobody else?"
He blinked. "No. He was the only one there."
Leroy sighed. "I hope you find his mother soon."
Zerath's attention then drifted to Eurus. "Weren't you supposed to be with Sir Draconis?"
Eurus averted his gaze.
"The training is boring, but you've to do it. You must learn to control your magic. Go back," he softly flicked his forehead.
Eurus stubbornly remained glued to his leg.
Zerath's eyes narrowed. "I won't give you Princess's gift if you don't drop it."
His head snapped towards him at once.
"Yes. Sire Leroy here is from Emberlain. Princess has sent some gifts for you through him. But I won't give it to you until your classes are over for the day."
A look of betrayal flashed past his eyes.
"You can accuse me all you want. But you cannot skip training."
It was a rock and hard place, but eventually Eurus released his hold and stepped back. His ice-silver eyes silently sent a glare and warning to Zerath.
I'll come back for the gifts!
Seeing him run away with lightning speed, Leroy asked, "Why do you think I have any gifts from Emberlain?"
Zerath glanced at him. "Do you not?"
"Princess Clairette doesn't have any reason to send any gifts. Crown Prince Elvin might send some presents with the next carriage."
"Or Prince Aeren?"
"Yes?" His eyes faintly stretched wide, surprised. "Prince Aeren is the last person to send any gifts. His Highness doesn't like presents even on his own birthday."
He smiled. "But it seems he certainly likes to give surprises."
Leroy tilted his head. "I don't think so."
"Hmm, is that so? Probably, I was overthinking then."
"About?"
"Nothing significant. Shall we continue?"
Leroy stood where he was. After a long beat of silence, he took something out from his robe.
"These are some letters from my lady to the demons here. She was very grateful that everyone took such great care of her. And yes, there're some presents too."
Zerath glanced at the sheaf of letters, faintly holding his breath.
Was there a letter for him among that pile too? He couldn't help but wonder.
"May I?" He offered his hand.
Leroy handed them over, not shifting his focus even for a fraction. "You've come to know my lady quite well."
"It was just a hunch, that's all," he smiled.
Once he was escorted to his room, he said, "If you've anything you need, don't hesitate to ring for either Azarael or Vespera. They'll help you with whatever you want."
"Gracias, Crown Prince."
Walking some distance away, Zerath checked the letters. He was sure that Vivia would have wholeheartedly written letters for everyone she had spent time with here. Nevertheless, it was a good tactic to mask Zerath's letter within them. It would have certainly raised eyebrows had Vivia written a letter solely for him. Shuffling through them, he smiled, finding a letter in his name at the very last.
"My lord," Lucian stood beside him. "What are those letters?"
"Sent by Princess Clairette through Leroy. Here's one for you."
Lucian stared. "For me?"
"You thought she wouldn't write you one?"
"I didn't."
"Well, she wrote one anyway."
Lucian took the letter and asked, "What do you think of him, my lord?"
Zerath raised a brow. "The Emberlain people are too used to talking about Crown Prince Elvin. He's the future face of the Human Realm. Leroy kept mentioning Elvin, but hearing me mention Prince Aeren had taken him aback."
"Does it mean anything my lord?"
"I think standing behind Elvin, he wants to obscure the fact that he…most definitely is working for the second prince. There's something that Aeren wants from Rudaheim. I felt I could sense something through Sire Leroy, but I cannot figure it out."
"Do you think it's about Sir Malphas's death?"
"I think Father thinks so too, which is why he'll ask Sir Gressil to keep an eye on him. But our discussion with the Convoy had happened before Sir Malphas's death. Do we then assume that they had already planned to murder him and thought that far ahead to place a spy?"
"...That's indeed quite a far leap to take."
"I'm not saying they couldn't be guilty of the murder. But we've to keep our minds open to other possibilities too. We need to know what Leroy is really here for."