Chapter 26: Professor Namir Dagon
"Choo, choo."
A loud whistling sound echoed simultaneously with a man entering the carriage. The man wore a white shirt beneath his red coat and black trousers. It was clear to the passengers from his attire that he was the train captain, even without looking at the badge settled on his shoulder: 'Train Captain: Patrick Antonio'.
Train Captain Patrick sighed softly before saying with a clear respect that hesitated due to his lack of experience, "Ladies and gentlemen passengers, we have arrived at Patis Station. The train will remain stationary for five minutes before we move to Britannia Station. I hope those who wish to disembark take their comfort."
Patrick went silent for a second when he noticed the passengers' gaze upon him. He swallowed hard and looked at them with a hesitant expression in his eyes before continuing, "Thank you for listening. I apologize for taking your time."
The captain departed from the carriage and returned to his own. As the train captain, he only had to alert the first carriage due to its importance and its status as the luxury carriage, unlike the secondary carriages in the back.
A person stood up from one of the luxurious red sofas in the carriage. Each sofa was sufficient for three adult men, and opposite each sofa was another sofa of the same size, separated by a wooden table. Behind each sofa was a green wall that reached half the height of the carriage, where each table possessed a single ticket.
The person wore a black leather jacket over his green suit. This person did not wear a hat, unlike the people around him, and his pitch-black hair drew glances toward him; it was obvious from his hair that he was not a man from the Kingdom of Vagin, which was distinguished by blackish-green hair.
He possessed black eyes that gleamed with a hazel hue, and handsome facial features, while his body was that of an athletic and experienced individual.
He raised his hand to the shelves and took his gray bag upon which was written in the Vuden language, 'Namir Dagon', before disembarking from the carriage.
Namir stepped down and noticed that he was the only person who had exited from his carriage, but he was not surprised by this matter, for the station was linked to the University of Patis, and not all nobles had ties to it.
He moved a few steps away from the carriage and noticed numerous young men and boys descending from the lower carriages—university students.
He intended to head to the stairs to ascend and go to the other side of the station, but he noticed a plaque beside the stairs upon which was written in the Vuden language, 'Ascending is forbidden while the train is stationary'.
Namir sighed at this and leaned his back against the train, waiting for it to finish while he thought, 'The station is clean and perfect; the rumors are clearly lying... but these nobles never cease spreading their nonsense.'
After two minutes of waiting, he noticed a chestnut-haired girl wearing a dress exiting from his carriage. She was staring at him with many signs on her face: curiosity, wonder, disbelief...
Their eyes met for a moment. Immediately, Namir smiled and nodded his head to her as if giving her a message that he had noticed her.
Despite his attempt to send the message, the chestnut-haired girl continued to stare even more intensely.
In a few simple seconds, the girl walked toward Namir while drawing a smile on her face.
When she approached Namir, she tilted her head slightly and extended her hand to shake his while saying quietly, "Sir, are you the new history doctor?"
Namir nodded his head and said immediately while shaking her hand, with his other hand behind his neck, smiling, "Well... I did not expect one of the students to recognize me directly on my first day. Yes, I am Namir Dagon, but I am not a doctor; rather, I will be a professor of history. May I know your name and the reason for your question?"
The girl smiled at his question and held her dress, raising it slightly, and said, "Eliza Potter. I was curious about the identity of the person who might arrive via the first carriage, for that is rare. I apologize to you if my question has caused you some inconvenience."
'Oh, Potter... Now I understand our facial resemblance and this chestnut hair... I think she noticed the slight resemblance in our features, and it seems this is another reason she concealed from me.' Namir addressed her hair and thought at maximum speed when he heard her family name, for it was the royal family.
Namir smiled a smile full of comfort and reassurance before continuing, "I am honored to see you and know you, Your Highness the Princess. Well, I understand your curiosity, for rumors might prevent nobles from attending."
Namir was not lying or exaggerating in his speech, for there was an immense number of bad rumors that prevented people from entering the university—rumors about negligent students, about unworthy teachers, about bribes in admission, about thrown garbage and soiled facilities. The rumors surpassed the capital and became known in all parts of the kingdom, and thus the number of students in the university was decreasing every semester.
Princess Eliza noticed a reassurance in Namir's smile and noticed its difference from the smiles of sycophants. She had also noticed Namir calling her Princess despite her not mentioning her father's name, for princes and princesses are none other than the direct children of the king, unlike cousins and illegitimate children.
Princess Eliza did not attempt to circumvent and asked Namir how he knew directly, "Professor Namir, you stared directly at my hair and drew a smile on your face. Did you know my mother?"
Namir nodded at her question and said, "Yes... but I apologize to you, Your Highness the Princess, I cannot disclose my knowledge of her except with a written promise from you."
Princess Eliza frowned slightly, but in a second she returned to her smile and said while her eyes directed toward two young men who were talking at the station, "That is fine with me, Professor Namir. I am the deputy of the students' committee. Do you see signing the promise in the committee room as better? It is in the same administration affairs building."
Namir understood her glance toward them, for they were spies placed upon the princess. Despite his lack of knowledge regarding the person who placed the spies, he thought it was one of the princes by virtue of the custom of the war of succession to determine the next king. He noticed that she asked him for his opinion on signing in the students' committee room despite her knowledge of the spies, so he suspected that she was evaluating his behavior and skills in such situations.
He remained silent for seconds before lowering his bag to the ground and saying, "It is fine. My going to the committee on my first day directly might arouse the curiosity of the administration..."
Without giving her an opportunity to speak, Namir pulled out a white paper upon which he had recorded a few words, and pulled out from the bag a book upon which was recorded 'The Flyer Empire'.
Namir picked up the pen from the bag, placed the paper on top of the book, and wrote upon it.
Princess Eliza understood what Namir would do; he would make her sign her promise via the paper and would give her the book as a diversion from the spies.
"Choo, chooo." Namir kept writing for seconds, and the train completed its path after the five minutes had passed.
When he finished writing, he closed his bag then smiled and walked toward the stairs, and the princess was walking beside him without delay. In the university, there were two areas separated by the train; in the area where Namir was, there was a huge gate in the middle of the station written upon in the Vuden language, 'Students' Housing and Public Facilities', while in the second area was a gate of the same magnitude written upon in the Vuden language, 'Academic Buildings and Administration Affairs Building'. In order for Namir to reach the second area, he had to ascend the stairs and descend into the second area.
While they were walking across the stairs, Namir extended the book to the princess, and the paper was on top of it. She took the book and took the pen from Namir before reading the paper:
' Written Promise:
By virtue of this contract and under the protection of the Mother of the Earth, the two parties, Namir Dagon and .... .... must fulfill their following promises:
1- Namir Dagon must inform .... .... about his relationship with the sixth queen of the Kingdom of Vagin, Force Vallo Potter, without lying or concealing the truth.
2- .... .... must not disclose what she hears except with permission from Namir Dagon.
3- .... .... can disclose what she hears on the condition of writing a written promise to protect Namir Dagon from the problems that might follow from the disclosure.
4- Namir Dagon must not exploit the truth he will say with any bad intention toward .... .... or her mother.
Signature of Namir Dagon: Signature of .... ....:
... ........ '
The princess completed the promise without asking about its details or adding her own conditions, for these conditions satisfied her and she did not see another condition that required being added.
After her signature, she returned the paper and the pen to Namir to write his signature. He signed the paper, and both felt life pulsing in their bodies and their fatigue vanishing, for the promise had entered into execution under the supervision of the Mother of the Earth, Gaia.
Namir folded the paper a few times and preserved it in his pocket before speaking in a low voice to ensure that no ordinary person heard what he was saying, "Like the ruling family, the Vallo family conducts a war between the children to know who will win the inheritance and be the next duke."
"Your mother was eight years of age at that time when the duke announced the start of the war of succession between the children to know the legitimate heir of the dukedom."
Princess Eliza nodded her head at what she heard and said in a low voice without turning behind her, "Correct. The four dukedoms—the Vallo dukedom, the Habsburg dukedom, the Normandy dukedom, the Medinchi dukedom—all conduct wars of succession alongside the ruling family."
Namir maintained his smile and said, "Your mother had nine older brothers and three older sisters. She was the last daughter, and her twin brother was also the youngest of the children. There was no chance for her to inherit or survive, so there was nothing before them but to withdraw and exit from the family's authority if they succeeded in convincing the duke."
"The two tried to flee from the war and obtain a pardon from the duke, but the duke would not accept their withdrawal even for once. But somehow, her brother managed to communicate with the royal family..."
Princess Eliza glanced at Namir's face and focused on their slight resemblance, and an idea came to her regarding what he would reach from his speech. Her feeling was strange, and she would not have believed the probability of her thoughts occurring were it not for his written promise not to lie.
Namir completed his speech, having an idea of what was revolving in Princess Eliza's mind, "He communicated with the king and the heir to the throne at that time... and somehow convinced him to become betrothed to Force Vallo. The matter was strange and resembled an insult to the Vallo family, for he already possessed five fiancées before her, and his first fiancée was her beloved sister, Marika."
"The news was shocking to the duke and to her, for Force was aware of the love of the queen and the king, as she and her brother were present in some of Marika and the king's meetings... Were it not for his duty as the heir to the throne, he would not have betrothed the others. The war of succession is mandatory to designate the coming king, and being the survivor of the war of succession, he was obligated to marry ten marriages and sire a son from each wife as a minimum estimation."
"Queen Marika was angry and grateful at the same time for the news, for Queen Marika was never of limited vision; she knew that this was a step executed by her brother to distance his twin from the war. I do not know about Queen Marika's current feelings, but before this step, she loved them with a true love. The news was like a lie due to its difficulty."
The princess remained calm while she listened with all seriousness, "The betrothal of Force Vallo to the heir to the throne made her excluded from the war, owing to her being from the ruling family."
"A short period after the betrothal, the brother met with Queen Marika. No one knows what transpired between them except the queen and..."
After this word, Namir stopped speaking and walking while he stared with extreme care into the eyes of Princess Eliza, who had stopped to keep pace with him.
He noticed her eyes determined and devoid of doubt regarding his words. Her lips trembled for a moment and she said directly while staring at Namir's neck, "My mother did not tell me much about... but I thought that Queen Marika had killed him. This is what my mother told me... that she harbors a great hatred for the queen."
Namir nodded his head and said, "I know."
The princess's pupils dilated from his response before they contracted, signs of anger clear upon her, "My mother was suffering all those years! Everyone talks about her and me behind our backs. What is it that you know?!"
Namir's lips shook slightly before he nodded his head and said, "She is alive."
Anger and hatred were clear on Princess Eliza's face. Were they not in a public place with students around them, Namir would have suspected that she would grab him by his neck.
Princess Eliza shouted in a loud voice heard by the students around them, "She was going to die!!"
Namir shook his head and said clearly and confidently in a voice heard only by the princess, "She was not going to die, I am certain of this."
Namir noticed numerous students staring at her. Some had curious faces, some had fear of what might happen, some had blank faces, some had worried faces, and some had amusement in their features.
The princess's lips trembled and she remained silent for two seconds. She did not know what she ought to say; her feelings overcame her logic amidst her shock. She could not think about the reason for his confidence and brought out what was inside her directly in a broken voice in the middle of the courtyard while lowering her head to the ground, "What... what about me? Did you not think of her duty to sire me?"
Namir remained silent at her question. It was not as if he did not know about Queen Force's duty to sire children, but he knew that the princess's mood would become worse no matter his response. She was an outcast by virtue of being the daughter of the girl who married her sister's husband; conversations spread around her no matter what she did or excelled at in her field, and even her joining the University of Patis was only because of her rejection in other universities.
Namir noticed a tear falling to the ground. He was on the verge of raising his hand and holding her shoulders to comfort her, but her voice interrupted him, "Why did you tell me this?"
Namir remained silent without answering, which prompted her to add, "You could have avoided the topic and kept the secret so things would remain as they are. Why did you tell me? Why?"
Namir went silent again, and another tear fell from the princess's eyes while she repeated in a voice he could barely hear, "Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why?.. "
Amidst her repetition, she heard his voice, which she did not expect to hear again, "I had to tell you."
The princess raised her head and stared at Namir's face despite the redness of her eyes and the trapped tears.
She continued to stare at him silently for seconds before she nodded silently and retraced her steps back to the station.
Namir accepted her will and did not attempt to stop her or say anything to her. He watched her silently from behind her back as she was moving forward to the station while he realized that he would be watched by the nobles and the ruling family in the coming period, for he felt certain within himself that her sudden outburst would spread like wildfire.