Chapter 5: The Prince and The Problems

“I have a proposition,” he starts.

“What’s the good news?” I jest anxiously.

“Your humor will not spare you this, J. The Topaz mines are being targeted.”

I pause mid-thought to meet his gaze.

“I don’t understand,” I respond.

Topaz is required for new enhancements. Why would someone not want her future generations to have what she had? I don’t plan on having descendants so maybe I can’t fully understand the desire to deprive one’s child of such a gift.

“Yes, well, neither do I. The one in the North has already been obliterated. I hear Northern children can barely find scraps of shards, much less intact gems.”

That would explain the increase of Northuns in the WarLands, no doubt the Northern Queen knows of this. The palace knights may witness the Northerners in all their glory just yet. No new gems mean no new enhancements and no new enhancements mean no new soldiers. She most likely lied to the populace to avoid suspicion or mutiny, claiming we have hostages to deflect public attention off of her. She won’t be able to hide this for long though. Maybe that’s our foothold to winning the war; a sovereign who lies and no longer has the support of her people might as well be a sitting duck.

“Isn’t that a good thing?” I suggest.

“It would be,” Akechi leans forward, his thick eyebrows furrowed, “If our mine didn’t have the misfortune of being targeted as well.”

Unlike the North, whose mine was under the watchful eye of the royal family, our mine was maintained by the common folk. This allowed for efficient and widespread distribution of the gems so that no one party held too much power. Unfortunately, this also meant that if our mine was to be sabotaged, we wouldn’t be able to hide it.

“How do you know this?” I immediately inquire.

He must have either an extremely good or an extremely bad informant if he received such information before the king did.

“I heard it from the Northern Queen herself. As you know, my father doesn’t concern himself with his children who he believes hold no usefulness to him. Such neglect allows me to wander to and from the castle whenever I please. I am not well known like some of my siblings so gaining entry into the Northern Queendom was simple enough. It is a pity that the Northerners could identify my homeland from the manner of my speech. Can you believe they threw things at me? Rotten vegetables, slurs, the like. How uncouth. I had the right mind to remove-”

“The point, Akechi,” I cut in to get him back on track.

“Yes, yes, of course, forgive me. So, while traversing the fertile plains of the country, I pick up on an abundance of hearsay and gossip. All of it I filter, naturally, but luck seemed to favor me when I had arrived in the Northern capital right as there was a grand opening precession being held by the queen and her entourage. This is where I overheard her conversing behind the closed doors of her armored vehicle of these most recent happenings.” He finishes with a sigh, like just recounting the event made him weary.

He bats his long eyelashes at me, expecting me to pity him. 

Shit. It’s working.

I bring his hand to my face and brush my lips along his knuckles. I’m pretty sure he has a thing for me but I, and I could not be clearer on this, do not reciprocate. But princes like this sort of thing, and upsetting this guy would be on par with placing my head under the guillotine so I play along.

“Poor thing, it must have been hard for you,” I coddle him like the child he’s feigning to be.

“How could you hear them?” I ask, lightly stroking the back of his hand with my thumb.

I already have a decent guess, I just need him to confirm it. I’ll sacrifice my dignity for the sake of my neck and necessary information.

“You already know, don’t you? I have an ear enhancement.”

To tell someone one’s enhancement, other than one’s own family, is to show that person one’s nape. To trust in her completely and believe that she won’t go blabbing to others or only use it for her personal advantage. This tradition is especially approached with caution by the royal family. When I first met this prince, I had no qualms with telling him that my enhancement was as a Mental. While not the whole truth, it wasn’t a lie either. It’s probably why he feels the need to show his hand to me in turn.

“Why did you tell me that? What’s your angle?”

I can’t fathom what he has to gain from telling me this now though, in this situation.

“Simply because it pleased me. Do I require any other reason?” He gives me the soft smile of a man bearing through the pangs of grief.

“Alright,” I say, wanting to move on to more pressing matters but still not completely accepting that answer. “what do you want me to do about it? Protect the mine? Stop its destructor?”

“Both of those suggestions would be preferable if we had any information on who the destructor is. And our mine is already partially destroyed, that’s why the Northern Queen knew about it being a target. I believe something went wrong on this attempt, no one who works in the mines even speaks of this so the effect must be minimal. Hence my proposition. If I can solve this problem before my father can even address it, he would feel indebted to me. He would name me his heir apparent and successor. Once officially coronated as the crown prince, I would make you the most powerful woman in-” he derails, his eyes no longer focused as he daydreams about being king.

“Pass. Hard pass. I’m already on that route because of Boss. You’re gonna have to do a little better than that if you want my help. And don’t try to appeal to my ‘humanity’ to save this world’s future children from being gemless. I’m no saint,” I cut off his ramblings for the second time.

“You know how my father owns several properties? And how you despise nobility and staying in this castle with the Royal Crafter and my family? I could give you a mansion. Just for you and no one else. Think about it. No royalty or researchers in the comfort of your own abode. Mansion staff to do your bidding just as the castle staff does mine,” he offers.

“Deal. What’s our first move?” I smirk as my own daydreams plague my mind.

“Well, my current suspects are high-ranking nobility with TB and the High Priest of the Topaz worshippers. Those are the only people I could see with a motive and the resources to destroy the mines. The nobles would blame Topaz for their affliction while His Holiness would think no one other than worshippers is worthy of harvesting the gems. I say we attend tonight’s ball and scope out the scene. You offer some ‘helpful’ suggestions to both parties and I would listen in on any information they could spill after you bait them. I could also use you to protect me if I get caught,” he devises this plan in a matter of seconds.

Or maybe not. Maybe he already had everything planned out because he knew I would succumb to the promise of barricading myself away from irksome people. 

Damn, I’m predictable.

“Wait, wait…” I backtrack, “A ball? Tonight?”

Boss loves these sorts of things, she would have told me.

“Yes, a ball to applaud the neutrality of the Eastern ShArc Republic. I heard the High Priest also attended one in the North too. My father should have briefed you on it after your mission today,” he says, confused at my ignorance.

It was probably when I zoned out on that marble floor. I would’ve listened if that old man had mentioned that the High Priest was coming.

The High Priest of the Topaz worshippers, I believe the current priest’s name was Mike-el. At any rate, for a holier-than-thou shaman who hails from the completely neutral Shattered Archipelago (ShArc for short) Republic, there certainly are a lot of rumors about his disposition. Word on the street is that people, regardless of their nationality, throw themselves at his feet so that he may step on them. I kind of want to see for myself if he’s really worth all the trouble.

“Given that His Holiness is our culprit and is as handsome as they say, I’m sure that I can screw him and screw him over all at once.” I grin, licking the edge of my lip.

“Good luck with that. More likely than not, if you succeed in assisting me to get rid of the destructor, you will be seen as a villain by the people. Especially considering that you’ll probably need to assassinate a high-ranking official,” he warns, his voice carrying the gravity of my predicament.

At least he somewhat realizes that since he’s royalty, in some people’s eyes, he can do no wrong and every fault he presents can be blamed upon the incompetence of his retainers. Such is the privilege of the Regises. He tugs a paper itinerary from his back pocket and hands it to me.

“Besides, I don’t think the Murderous Harlot Troupe will be attending for you tonight. Should I check with the servants?” he teases as he stands to leave.

He heads to the window. Of course, that’s why the knight didn’t see him come in, I’ll apologize to her later for chewing her out.

“No need, they do have a king bheja dish on the menu though. Get that, it suits you, and the brain would do you some good,” I snicker, watching the esteemed prince crawl out my window.

What a sight.

“One last question, Your Highness,” I lean over the base of the aperture so that I can look down at his monkey-like maneuvering across columns and other windowsills.

He pauses and looks up at me, sweat already starting to gleam on his neck.

“Are pets allowed?”