Castle

With a miraculous sixth sense, I'm certain of the relationship between that kid and Kaina, but actually finding Kaina is another issue.
I don't have time to immediately begin my search, unfortunately, because I have to report in at the castle. It'll be my main priority other than my actual main priority!

In the centre of the city, the maze-like alleyways make room for a cylindrical area of gardens. In one direction, there's a church. In another, there's a town hall.
Opposite the church is a building made of larger brick, with a metal door at its entrance. A red and yellow banner hangs from above.
Finally, there's a bridge leading to the castle. Where two guards stand, protecting the area from strangers, so does Ms. Tsa. Upon noticing me, she waves. I wave back and speed up a bit.

From there, I'm led into the castle not through the large main doors, but via a side exit. I'm taken up some stairs, through several well-cleaned corridors, and finally, to a room where the princess awaits. Is she still the princess? I should probably ask...

"It's a pleasure to see you again, Sir Hildna."

It's been less than a day since we last saw one another, but from the tired look on her face, it must've been a very long day for her.

"Oh, I have reason to be in your debt, once again."
"You do...?"
"The cube. You gave it to Ms. Tsa, didn't you?"
"Oh yeah. I had a feeling it would help."

The princess sighs, less disappointed with me and more exasperated.
"Why would you do that?" she asks. "You realise that your strategic value lies in that device, correct?"
"Well, yeah, I get that." Of course I know. The only reason I made it this far is because I kept a strong hold on it.
"If you give it to me, I don't need you anymore!" She explains with an angry look. "You would've been abandoned!"
"I gave it to Ms. Tsa though..." I look over at the taller lady. "Oh, do you still have it?"
She nods and retrieves the device from her pocket, then hands it back to me.

"I really don't think you understand, Ven."
"Because I gave the cube away? Would you prefer I don't trust you?"
"I'd prefer if you didn't trust anyone!"
"That sounds like a lonely way to live."
"You-! I give up..."

It's not like I'd've given it to anyone. Besides, neither she nor Ms. Tsa can use it for more than a moment, and when you think about it, Feana has no real power. Expecting people to listen to her just because she's the princess is entirely dependent on trust.
Anyway, I got it back, so none of this matters.

"So it was helpful then?"
"Indeed it was."
"Assassin..."

Ms. Tsa interjects. "Slow, but... a child."
Feana closes the gap between them and brings her hand up to stroke Ms. Tsa's cheek. "That kindness is why I treasure you so, Tsa."
I think back to our time in Shum. The kids there loved Ms. Tsa. She would always take time to play with them.
The idea of someone like her raising a sword against a kid... Even knowing how she is when the time comes to fight, I still can't imagine it. A guard may kill, but they still have a sense of honour. They still have morals.
They fight to protect, not to kill.

"Tsa was able to stun the attacker thanks to you. We captured the culprit without inflicting any harm."
"That's good... I think. But the kid is still an assassin, right?"
"Yes, we're keeping them in the castle's prison, for now."

I wonder what a castle prison is like in this world? Is it one of those dingy dungeon kinds of prisons, or do they have to give prisoners a degree of care due to political reasons?

"The current government is very hesitant to punish the assassin in any way."
"Because they're a kid?"
"Partly, yes. However, the child was, as I'm sure you can imagine, from Eraidus."
"Same as the assassins in Lann, huh? Then it really is Eraidus behind all this."
"Potentially."
"So the government wants to let her go because someone from Eraidus is pulling the strings in Yve?"
"I'm not sure how many people are involved in these decisions. The state of Yve is, as of current, unknown to me."
"Did you get to meet the people in charge?"
"Yes. They were very accommodating, yet not entirely eager to listen to what I have to say."
"Anyone seem suspicious?"
"I'll take my time to ascertain my suspicions before making judgment."
"Got it. If we've got enough time, that's probably for the best."

The conversation begins to drift towards the direction of my housing arrangements, but I interrupt it to bring something semi-related up.
"Speaking of Eraidus..." I chime. "I'm looking for a little Eraiden girl. She's called Kaina."
The princess, not recognising the name, shakes her head. She looks to Ms. Tsa.
"We can tell... the guards." Ms. Tsa slowly considers her words while she speaks, but her mind appears split in two directions.

"Eraiden girl... Assassin?"

That complicated proposal fills me with dread.
Please tell me there's more than one Eraiden kid in the city...

◇ ◇ ◇

With a brute-force show of "I'm the princess, I can go anywhere!", Feana leads us down into the castle's prison.
It's not the worst sight in the world, but I don't think people are expected to stay here long-term. Petty criminals get the boot; serious offenders are delivered to a dungeon. It's a temporary holding while deliberation is ongoing.

In one of the cells, there is, in fact, a dark-haired girl. She's maybe 7 years old at the oldest, definitely what I was expecting of an assassin.
Why would a kid this young even want to kill a princess? Is that something you naturally consider doing? And how did she get a weapon? How did she infiltrate the castle?
One look at her makes it incredibly obvious that this incident was orchestrated by someone within the government. Even in another world, I can't begin to believe this scenario would occur by any other means.

Somewhat afraid to find out the truth, I sit down before the bars and quietly speak a name... "Kaina?"
The girl's head jolts in my direction, almost robotically. "Ma?", she asks.
All three of us understand what that means.

"Yes?"

I... have a lot of questions, and that brother had better still be here to give me some answers.