Chapter 159
“After we parted ways with you and the others last year, Roa-sama, I believe I mentioned that we were heading to the Greedol Empire. True to my word, our troupe traveled there and spent some time wandering through the Empire wherever the wind took us. What do you think was the topic we heard people discussing?”
Zodia asked me, wearing a slightly mischievous expression.
“...The Second Prince’s rebellion, I guess.”
That was far too easy. Zodia nodded as if it were the obvious answer and continued.
“I’m not sure how the story has been told in Rudek. I only returned here recently, so I haven’t had much chance to gather information. But in the Empire, everyone was talking about it.”
“Oh? What were they saying?”
“Normally, information like this would come at a price, but I’ll make an exception. They said the prince who had hidden the fangs he inherited from the Emperor had finally gotten serious. They said the Emperor had ordered his favored son to smoke out the rebels. And they said the truly fearsome one was a young consort who had come from another country... Well, there were dubious rumors, like that last one, but in any case, everyone was praising the Fourth Prince, Tsetsedra-sama.”
...I think that last rumor was probably the most accurate one, actually. Well, probably.
“When we had an audience with His Imperial Majesty, we asked him about the matter ourselves.”
“What?! Wait, you have connections to the Emperor, Zodia?!” I blurted out. Zodia looked a little surprised, then flicked her gaze somewhere for just an instant.
“Yes. Thankfully, we are permitted to perform even our lowly arts in the Imperial Capital.”
“That’s amazing...” As I sighed, Nelfia joined the conversation.
“Honestly... I find it a little frightening that you managed to become so close to Zodia without knowing who Zodia is, Roa-sama...”
“Huh? What do you mean?”
“Zodia is so famous that no one in her world doesn’t know her. She’s even called ‘a walking trove of secrets.’ Whenever Zodia visits, kings are the first to welcome her.”
Nelfia said that, but I’d never heard of Zodia—not even in the future, when I traveled with the troupe. Which meant that Zodia might be someone the people at the top wanted to keep hidden.
At Nelfia’s words, Zodia looked a little surprised, then asked, “Is that all right?”
Nelfia’s reply was...
“My presence here is your answer. Also, Roa-sama recently became Prince Zerand’s first direct retainer.”
“I see... I had expected it would be a little while before I saw you again, Roa-sama, but perhaps it was inevitable that I came here after all...”
Hearing Nelfia’s words, Zodia murmured to no one in particular.
“Um, are you and Nelfia acquainted, Zodia?” Unable to follow this sudden turn in the conversation, I cut in, and Nelfia answered me.
“That’s right. When Zodia visits the royal capital, I’m the point of contact. Please keep it secret from Sazaby. It’d be troublesome if he found out.”
I could see why it would be a hassle if Sazaby found out.
“Still, you two seemed rather formal with each other...”
“I didn’t know what Zodia was going to talk about.”
“I wasn’t sure if I could talk about my relationship with Nelfia-sama.”
I see. It was clear they were close.
“To be precise, I still don’t know what Zodia is going to talk about. Zodia, please understand that anything said while I’m here will reach the king’s ears.”
“Of course. If you think it’s something that ‘should be told.’”
“That’s a rather suggestive way to put it, isn’t it?”
“I don’t really know myself.”
Zodia and Nelfia shared a knowing laugh. Um... could we get to the main point soon?
“Oh, I’m sorry. I got carried away. Now, where was I... Ah, yes. I was talking about meeting His Imperial Majesty. He seemed quite pleased with how this whole affair had been handled. He kept praising the Fourth Prince and his wife. I think it was rather unusual to see His Majesty like that.”
“I see.”
I couldn’t help smiling, pleased by the news. Seeing my reaction, Zodia gave me an inquisitive look. “As I thought, you know something about this, don’t you?”
Well, this had technically been a top-secret mission. I wasn’t sure if I could tell her. It felt like she’d have to pay for that information.
When I honestly told Zodia as much, Zodia didn’t press me further and continued.
“After hearing what His Imperial Majesty had to say, I became very interested in Prince Tsetsedra. So I went to see him.”
They were a troupe that loved freedom, so that in itself wasn’t unusual.
“Fortunately, I was able to meet Prince Tsetsedra and his wife right away.”
...That part wasn’t normal, though. You can’t just pop in to see royalty whenever you like, you know?
Then again, maybe you could, considering Prince Zerand was always hanging around in my room.
“Tsetsedra-sama was very approachable, and his wife was quite witty. We had a wonderful conversation. Then I asked Tsetsedra-sama to read his stars.”
“Was there something wrong with Prince Tsetsedra’s stars? Something bad?”
Zodia’s star readings were genuine. If Tsetsedra-sama was in any danger, I needed to think of a way to counter it. That was how much I valued our friendship.
“No... nothing of the sort. If anything, it was as though an unfavorable celestial course was improving...”
I breathed a sigh of relief. That was good, then.
“However, the course of Tsetsedra-sama’s stars felt as if someone had forcibly moved them. It was as though, just as the stars that had been forcibly shifted were trying to return to their original positions, new stars were guiding them down a different path...”
Could that be Lurlia’s influence?
At that point, Zodia looked at me with the most serious expression I’d seen from her today.
“This is only the second time in my life I’ve seen the course of the stars move abnormally, then slowly begin to return to normal.”
...Ah, I see. I understood what she wanted to ask.
“The first was you, Roa-sama. Twice in such a short span... This is far too unnatural to be coincidence. Roa-sama, did you do something?”
...I was at a loss for how to respond to Zodia’s words.
I have a pretty good idea what she’s talking about...