Hidden Message

“...Yikes. I can see why you wanted to talk about it now, Viviane.”

Viviane nodded in response as she placed the letter to the side. The two of them sat in a massive suite that rivaled even the princess’ chambers back at the academy. Honestly, the room was more of a small mansion with its separate bedchambers, dining room, parlor, and living room.

Thanks to Medrauta nearly fainting upon seeing the absolute grandiosity of the mere entry hall, the two of them sat in the parlor after Viviane managed to help her stunned knight to the nearest chaise-lounge. Fortunately, the knight had quickly recovered, though she still gawked at the many gilded decorations peppered throughout the suite from time to time.

“Indeed. Compared to the official statement, Dame Marilyn’s story tells an entirely separate narrative. In fact, I don’t believe Dame Marilyn was even mentioned in Lord Bastiche’s missive.”

“I suppose it just comes down to who we trust,” Medrauta shrugged. “Personally, I think what Dame Marilyn’s written here is far too outlandish to be fabricated. I mean... I ran into her once or twice while I was still serving as a squire, and she certainly wasn’t the most imaginative person I’ve encountered, that’s for sure.”

“Somehow, I doubt she’d appreciate you saying that.”

“Hah! That’s true, but more importantly, I don’t think she’d be able to make this up. However, there’s a few parts of her story that don’t really make sense.”

“Hm?”

“First of all, there was the whole thing with Lady Sakura and Sir Riku being seized.” Medrauta said, picking up the letter and tapping the portion that she was referring to. “I understand that Dame Marilyn might not have been focused on them at the moment, but I doubt either of them would just casually allow themselves to be captured.”

“...You’re right. Especially Sir Riku,” Viviane frowned as she read over the letter more carefully. “He would never allow Lady Sakura to be placed in danger, so not reacting to the arrest is just... unthinkable.”

“‘Surprisingly, the foreigners didn’t resist’, huh? I seriously doubt it, but even so... It wouldn’t make sense for Dame Marilyn to lie, especially if she’s requesting help from the capital.”

“Exactly! Why would she hide—” Viviane paused, her eyes widening as she suddenly realized the significance of Marilyn’s deliberate attempt at concealing information.

“Viviane?” Medrauta asked, placing a hand on her lady’s shoulder after watching Viviane stare off into space for several prolonged seconds.

“A-Ah! Sorry! I kinda got lost in thought for a second there.”

“You don’t say?” Medrauta smiled wryly.

Instead of returning her knight’s smile, Viviane gripped Medrauta’s arms with a renewed sense of urgency. “I think Lady Sakura and Sir Riku might be in danger. We have to go. Right now.”

“H-Huh!? It’s in the middle of the night, Viviane! With the way the country is right now, it won’t be safe for us to tra—”

“You’re with me. That’s as safe as it can get, Medrauta.”

Medrauta froze, staring Viviane in the eyes. Although she was elated over her lady’s unwavering trust in her skills, Medrauta still wasn’t entirely convinced. They would be traveling in the dark with nothing more than a lantern to light their way, and the coachman was only human.

While Medrauta would be able to meet Viviane’s demands easily thanks to an abundance of energy and stamina stemming from her unique constitution as a knight and copious amounts of sleep deprivation training, the coachman was nothing more than a mere soldier who was unfortunate enough to have been dispatched on this potentially deadly mission.

Of course, Viviane didn’t possess Medrauta’s abilities as a knight nor had she undergone strenuous training, but she was awake and alert as worry-fueled adrenaline pumped through her veins. It was clear to Medrauta that Viviane wasn’t going to be able to get any sleep even if she managed to convince her lady to stay the night.

“...Alright, but at least tell me what led you to this conclusion. The coachman’s not gonna be happy, but he’ll at least understand if we have a valid reason.” Medrauta sighed.

She’d been looking forward to spending the night with Viviane despite her unfamiliarity with such a luxurious standard of living, but it seemed that whatever realizations her lady had come to were quite urgent.

After all, Viviane made no effort to hide the disappointment and reluctance in her eyes. Even now, the selfish part of her mind nagged at her to stay the night, telling her that one more night wouldn’t make a difference. Despite that, she knew just how crucial every passing moment was. The sudden tragedy at the academy had taught her that much.

“Think about it, Medrauta. There’s no reason for Dame Marilyn to hide anything, especially when Lord Bastiche and Dame Ritya are supposedly traitors to the empire... So why would she do it?”

Medrauta frowned. For a moment, she was stumped, but a possible reason quickly surfaced in her mind. “...It’s a letter. Had she written that Lady Sakura and Sir Riku resisted or killed duchy soldiers, it could’ve been used as evidence against them if this progressed into a trial.”

Viviane nodded. ‘That’s a possibility, sure. But more importantly, its destination was the academy. The place where the witch had first appeared. The only reason why Dame Marilyn would send the letter there instead of the imperial palace would be to...”

“...Create a diversion.”

“Exactly. We have no way of knowing whether the letter and its contents were intercepted, but Lord Bastiche or Amelia probably still have people watching over the academy. In all likelihood, Lady Sakura and Sir Riku have already escaped from the ducal castle.”

“What makes you say that?”

“Well, think about the people who were in the room at the moment. There was Lord Bastiche, Dame Ritya, Dame Marilyn, Lady Sakura, and her knight Sir Riku.”

“And the soldiers,” Medrauta pointed out. “A lot of them. I don’t think even I’d be able to deal with that many soldiers as well as Ritya while protecting you without a weapon.”

Viviane shook her head. “But you wouldn’t have to deal with Dame Ritya. She chased after Dame Marilyn, leaving her lord alone with only soldiers for protection. In the letter, Dame Marilyn’s duel with Dame Ritya was described rather thoroughly, and Lord Bastiche never made an appearance, which can only mean that he was held up for quite a long time.”

Medrauta pursed her lips, mulling over the thought for a couple of seconds. Viviane was right. If Dame Ritya was removed from the picture, then even several platoons of soldiers would be nothing more than a trifle despite being weaponless. Medrauta knew that Riku wasn’t as skilled as her in unarmed combat, but the man was still a knight and no doubt trained.

Plus, thanks to Sakura’s weird technique, Viviane would be able to hold her own against normal soldiers too... Yeah. They wouldn’t even be a challenge for Sakura and Riku. Medrauta had no choice but to accept Viviane’s version of events.

“...Right.” Medrauta’s brow only furrowed even more.

Medrauta did fine in her tactics classes, but this sort of diversionary scheming was too annoying for her to even bother with and she hated exercises in deduction even more. The only reason she managed to power through detective novels was purely out of dedication to learn more about her beloved Viviane’s hobbies.

“In any case, what about this? Can we still assume this is accurate, then?” Medrauta asked, tapping the end of the letter which contained a line of text detailing a proposed meeting place.

“Probably. Dame Marilyn will most likely be hiding somewhere safe before she reveals herself at the meeting location.”

“That... makes sense, yeah. But if what you’re saying is true, I don’t see how Lady Sakura or Sir Riku are in any danger. I mean, if they’ve successfully escaped, that means the official statement declaring that they’ve been arrested is false. They’ve probably returned to Higashi by now.”

Viviane shook her head. “There’s only one way to get to Higashi, and that’s through the country gate. I’ve never visited the Revelo duchy, but I’m sure country gates function identically throughout the empire. That is, the imperial writ must be placed on a special magic tool that allows the gate to open.”

“...Ah.” Medrauta nodded, beginning to understand the situation. “In other words, Bastiche’s men would never let them get anywhere close to the tool, and to make matters worse, they’re currently treated as escaped criminals on the run. Even if they managed to send a letter to the capital, no one would believe them thanks to the official statement.”

“That’s right. Every second that passes is a second they’re being hunted, Medrauta.” Viviane said worriedly. “We have to get there as soon as possible before they’re captured!”

Medrauta nodded and pushed herself up from her seat, extending a hand toward Viviane. “You’d better make it up to me, Vivi.”

Even as Viviane took Medrauta’s hand, part of her still regretted having to give up the rare chance of pampering her knight, but her concern for her friends had won out in the end. Just the mere thought of Sakura and Riku running around afraid and in the dark had her heart ache dreadfully.

Instead of allowing her anxiety to show on her face, Vivane gave her knight an impish wink.

“Don’t worry. Next chance I get, I’ll give you a night you’ll never forget.”