The Art of Deception (2)
Hearing the commotion, Ren rushed over and found the Elder standing in the middle of a swirling dust storm, his long white beard whipping in the wind.
"Are you alright?"
"And why wouldn't I be?" the Elder replied calmly to Ren's worried inquiry.
"That outsider might truly be someone sent by the imperial family."
Seeing the anxiety Ren couldn't hide, the old Elder simply offered a silent, knowing smile, confident that such a thing was highly unlikely. Ren let out a heavy sigh at his nonchalance.
"I have served you for many years, but this time, I cannot understand you in the slightest."
"You speak as if you understood me before this."
"Ratel is still a child with many shortcomings. To leave a boy who still needs so much tempering and polishing in the hands of someone like him..."
Patting the shoulder of the speechless Ren, the Elder spoke.
"To forge a sword, one must go to a blacksmith. No matter how much we hammer away at it, we are not craftsmen; we will only dull the blade. If we make a mistake, a masterpiece of a sword might end up as nothing more than a plowshare for tilling fields."
"Do you truly believe that old man is such a master craftsman?"
Once again, the Elder merely smiled without answering. Explaining that he was the only craftsman left to them would only deepen Ren's already heavy anxieties, so the Elder swallowed his words. He also kept to himself the fact that they had very little time left.
Anna walked carefully, making sure the small cage didn't shake. Having never stepped foot outside the Seventh Prince's Palace before, the young girl found herself stiffening under the tense, rigid atmosphere of her surroundings. She had to force strength into her legs, praying she wouldn't drop the cage.
Anna stole a glance at the maid leading her. Although they wore the same uniform, this woman was entirely different from the older maids she worked with at the Seventh Prince's Palace. Tasked with quietly delivering something to the Eighth Prince's Palace, Anna gripped the cage's handle tightly, praying this errand wouldn't cost her her life.
Anna had been pushed into this after the Prince requested a tight-lipped servant. As the youngest among her coworkers, she was frequently singled out for such tasks. To avoid these situations, she usually had to be quicker and more diligent than the others, but this time, there had been no escape.
On the day the Eighth Prince had visited, Anna had fainted, failing to finish her duties. Consequently, someone else had to pick up her slack. "Anna's been quite idle lately, shouldn't she be the one to go?" Anna couldn't say a word to the coworkers who pushed her forward at the Seventh Prince's summons. She held no resentment about being called for this task, knowing her unavoidable neglect had provided them with the perfect excuse. The people she worked with weren't overly generous, but they weren't malicious either. She had no complaints about paying her dues through labor. She only felt a deep, gnawing anxiety.
Squeezing her trembling hands, Anna had entered the Seventh Prince's office. She didn't miss the way Ran Abaran's face briefly contorted before smoothing back into a neutral mask. To the thoroughly intimidated Anna, who stood with her head bowed low, the Prince spoke bluntly.
"Come to my office after sunset, right when the guards change shifts. There will be a cage on the desk. Take it and head out the back door. Someone will be waiting for you; follow them. Once you deliver the item, say nothing and return immediately."
Terrified that she was getting entangled in some dangerous conspiracy, Anna trembled, unable to even meet the Prince's gaze. Yet, ever the dutiful servant, she managed to squeeze out a question.
"Wh-What... what should I tell the others I am doing?"
At her question, she felt the Prince's gaze settle quietly on the crown of her head.
"Tell them you have been put in full charge of feeding the squirrel. It was getting tedious to feed it every hour anyway."
For someone who finds it tedious, you seem to carry a handful of acorns in your pockets at all times, Anna thought. But knowing when to hold her tongue, she simply nodded. She could have sworn there was a hint of amusement in his voice when he answered.
When the night deepened and she dutifully went to the office, she found the cage on the desk covered with a black cloth. Anna was curious about what was inside, but she lacked the courage to lift the cloth. She carefully picked it up and set off.
The person waiting at the back door was a woman wearing the same maid uniform as Anna, though she was far more mature, blunt, and silent. She led the way without a word, and Anna followed in silence. However, as they drew closer to the Eighth Prince's Palace, Anna's hands began to shake uncontrollably.
For a terrifying moment, she wondered if she was being sent because she had incurred the Eighth Prince's wrath during the previous incident. Her heart sank, but she quickly forced herself to calm down, reminding herself that she was likely just a random maid chosen for the task. She had been told to simply deliver this and leave. That was all. Nothing more.
Unconcerned with whatever thoughts were racing through Anna's head, the leading maid guided her toward the stairs to the third floor without hesitation.
"I cannot go any further than this. Go up, touch nothing, and knock three times on the third door from the stairs. When the Eighth Prince comes out, hand this to him and come back down. This place is different from where you work, so do not lay a finger on anything."
Anna was so tense that the simple, obvious fact that the woman could speak startled her. Unable to find her voice, she merely nodded her head vigorously. The maid bowed her head with a blank expression, falling silent once more as she stood at the foot of the stairs. Anna dragged her heavy feet upward.
Reaching the door, the girl let out a soft sigh, closed her eyes tight, and knocked three times.
Knock, knock, knock.
I just need to hand this over quickly and leave. The Eighth Prince won't even remember my face anyway! If I keep my head down when I give it to him, he won't have any idea who I am. Her self-soothing mantra did not last long.
Slam!
"What took you so long?!" The door burst open violently, and the Eighth Prince, his eyes bloodshot, stormed out with a loud, irritated shout (which sounded like a deafening roar to Anna). He stared at the cage before slowly raising his gaze to the girl holding it.
"I-I was told to deliver th-this." Stuttering once again, Anna thrust the cage forward. Selos's brow furrowed deeply. He tilted his head as if trying to recall something.
"You..."
Hiccup.
Her self-hypnosis had been entirely useless. Seeing the Eighth Prince again, he was just as massive and terrifying as before. Worse, he seemed to recognize her. At best, a severe thrashing. At worst, death. Just as Anna's legs were about to give out from sheer terror, causing her to hiccup, a sudden distraction occurred.
"Squeak!" The black cloth covering the small cage was suddenly cast aside, and a tiny brown ball of fur shot out. It leaped straight onto the Eighth Prince's shoulder, bounced off, and dashed into the room.
"Hey! You little pest! Get back here!" Startled by the aggressive movement, Selos Abaran's attention snapped away from Anna and into his room.
"Damn it. You, get lost already," the Eighth Prince muttered dismissively to Anna, turning around in irritation.
"E-Excuse me!" Anna practically creaked as she shoved the empty cage inside, quickly shut the door, and bolted down the hallway without looking back. The other maid was still standing exactly where she had left her. Guided back to the Seventh Prince's Palace, Anna tried to calm her racing heart. Once her pulse slowed to normal, the image of what she had just witnessed finally registered in her mind. The thing that had leaped into the Eighth Prince's room... that was definitely a squirrel, wasn't it? Why is the Seventh Prince's pet squirrel going into the Eighth Prince's room? Unable to find an answer, Anna quickened her pace. For her, it was a night of utter confusion.
She should be back by now.
Once Anna was sent away, a tense quiet settled over Selos's room. Selos Abaran, who had been lunging and scrambling to catch me, sat on his bed and glared at me now that I had calmed down. I stood by the window, surveying the view outside. Transforming into a squirrel had significantly lowered my line of sight, but it was still more than enough to appreciate a view far more beautiful than anything at the Seventh Prince's Palace. Unlike my own desolate, overgrown estate, the landscape here was meticulously planned, with carefully sculpted trees and shrubbery bathed in the gentle glow of the three moons high in the sky. Even the Empress's palace, visible in the distance, boasted a beautifully manicured garden that stood in stark contrast to my run-down quarters. As someone who had come to ruin this peaceful sanctuary, it was almost a pity to look at.
My infiltration into the Eighth Prince's Palace had gone exactly according to plan. Anna's involvement had been slightly unexpected, though. She had clearly tried her best to suppress her fear, but her violent trembling had vibrated through the cage, shaking my tiny squirrel body along with it. This is going to be a problem if I have to use her to transport me a few more times.
"Damn it, useless squirrel. Just like your master, you don't listen to a single word." Selos Abaran's muttering broke my train of thought. He seemed worried I might run away again. That's no way to talk to the person who came to help you. When I turned my gaze toward him, he flinched, then scowled deeply as if frustrated by his own reaction.
"That annoying Seventh Prince... this had better actually work. If there's anything you can do, you'd better do your absolute best to protect me, got it?"
Watching the Eighth Prince point his finger at me so arrogantly made any desire to help him instantly evaporate. Granted, helping him didn't even make up ten percent of my actual goal tonight, but it was still irritating. So this punk calls me 'that annoying Seventh Prince' when he's by himself, does he? I made a mental note to make him call me "brother" ten times over the next time we met face-to-face as humans.
Rattle.
At that moment, the sound of someone grasping the locked doorknob echoed through the room. Every drop of color drained from Selos Abaran's face. He clutched a useless dagger tightly to his chest, pressing his back flat against the headboard.
Rattle. Rattle. Rattle. Rattle. Rattle. Rattle. Rattle. Rattle. Rattle.
The frantic, maddening rattling of the doorknob continued without pause.
"Hey, hey! Go block it! Hurry!" Selos hissed in a panicked, terrified whisper.
Ignoring his frantic urging, I quickly scurried toward the door. Peering through the keyhole, I saw him standing outside once again. Yigo Crysa, clad in tattered rags. What a relief. I had been worried he might not show up again after our last encounter.
"Wh-What? What are you doing?! You said you'd stop him from coming in!" Selos shrieked in panic.
When did I say that? I only said I might chase away things that aren't alive.
Leaving the Eighth Prince's horrified screams behind, I kicked the lock on the doorknob with my hind leg, releasing it.
There was a saying about entering the tiger's den to catch the tiger. Though in this case, it was more like inviting the tiger right into the house.
The door swung open, and Yigo Crysa slowly stepped inside. In the background, I could have sworn I heard Selos Abaran gasp and faint.