Logic and planning.
In a chamber of Tempel Castle, Sauvel asked the guard to relay his presence to the king.
Even though he’d already arranged it, waiting still made his stomach twist.
Yet the guard returned almost immediately with word that the king would receive him.
Sauvel was not entirely surprised—when he realized his brother and niece were the targets, he stiffened at once.
He remembered how, years ago, a royal letter had summoned his daughter and drawn her into a kidnapping. He nearly sighed at the thought of another letter from the king bringing nothing but trouble, but managed to swallow it down.
“Your Majesty, Lord Sauvel has arrived.”
“Let him in.”
The king’s voice came from beyond the door. The guards flanking the entrance swung the double doors open. Sauvel stepped inside, bowed, and the king gestured for the guards inside the room to join the conversation as well.
“Yes.”
This matter involves the neighboring country as well.
In the tense atmosphere, the king told Sauvel, “Bring Lovell and Elen here.”
“Brother, Elen. Please come.”
With Sauvel’s words, Lovell and Elen appeared together, hand in hand.
The two descended lightly, bowing respectfully to the king.
“Long time no see, Your Majesty.”
“Good day.”
The king nodded and smiled at Lovell and Elen’s greeting.
“Elen… it’s been a while. …You haven’t changed at all.”
The king’s tone carried a faint sadness. Elen said nothing in reply.
It had been since the incident at the academy that Elen had last seen Raffilia.
A child of her age should’ve grown noticeably in just a year—but hardly any change was visible in Elen.
Come to think of it, even Lovell, whom she’d known since childhood, showed no sign of growing up.
I felt the distance between people all over again—how strange it was that my own son, now eighteen, looked almost the same as he had when he was younger. Even Lovell, whom I’d known since childhood, showed no signs of growing up.
But Ravisel didn’t let it show on his face. He got straight to the point.
“Lovell’s fine. Elen—do you remember Agiel? She’s my sister.”
“I’m aware.”
“I wrote in my letter—Amiel, the girl, was studying abroad in the neighboring country. …But she hasn’t come back.”
The king frowned, but his expression wasn’t one of worry for his niece’s safety. More like… confusion. Like he couldn’t make sense of it.
“Amiel’s exchange was supposed to be mutual—our side hosted their students, and they hosted ours. We’re supposed to be exchanging people across the border. …But Amiel, who should’ve returned after her studies, never showed up.”
“…………”
I contacted Helgner with magic right away. We’ve never gotten along, so I figured they’d be eager for war…
But the reply I got was completely unexpected. We hurriedly started investigating on Helgner’s side too. If she’d gotten caught in something, there should’ve been traces left behind.
Yet it wasn’t just Amiel—everyone who’d been accompanying her vanished without a trace.
And even worse, Amiel’s mother, located in the opposite direction, disappeared at the same time.
Lavissel had Amiel’s group’s whereabouts investigated jointly with Helgner, but nothing turned up.
They all just… vanished at once.
“So you’re saying we’re at a dead end and you need the spirits’ help, huh?”
“Exactly. You’re still quick to the point. Good.”
While the king chuckled, Elen fell into thought.
Disappearing without a trace, even the servants of the other nation—definitely suspicious.
The most likely explanation is that the neighboring country is hiding something.
That’s why His Majesty saw it as involvement from the neighboring realm.
“Hmm…”
The first time I saw Amiel up close was two years ago, when we went to Raffilia’s mother’s hometown.
Back then, Amiel really did say, “I’ve come for a final look.”
If those words were said because the plan had always been set in motion…
If it was a sign that she never intended to return to this country…
“…She might have been planning this all along.”
“What?!”
“Two years ago, Amiel came to Vanclift territory saying she was here for a final look. Would someone returning from studying abroad really use those words?”
“…True.”
“Wait, Elen. When are you talking about?”
Sauvel blinked, surprised. Right—two years ago, Raffilia had asked him not to mention that Amiel had appeared.
He thought, *Damn*, but didn’t let it show. Instead, Elen explained.
“I met her when I went to town with Raffilia two years ago. I didn’t know who she was back then….”
That was all she said, and Sauvel sighed.
He seemed to know exactly what that moment had been like.
“Ahh… Elen, you must’ve been shocked. That’s why you remembered, huh?”
“Yes.”
Everyone knew her daughter had a rocky relationship with Amiel’s daughter. Their clashes at the academy had become legendary.
So Elen, not knowing Amiel’s true identity, probably just assumed she was some unpleasant acquaintance of Raffilia’s—nothing more, nothing less.
Sauvel sighed. Raffilia wouldn’t be the type to openly admit she’d run into someone she disliked—she’d have just kept quiet, no doubt.
“Your Majesty,” Elen asked, “are you certain of this?”
“Absolutely. She even told Raffilia she’d never meet her again.”
“…………”
Elen exhaled. Once you thought about it, the whole sequence made sense. She delivered only the conclusion.
“Amiel likely came here with the intention of aligning with the other side.”
“Y-you—!”
The royal guard, standing nearby, couldn’t contain himself at Elen’s accusation of treason.
In an instant, Lovell and Sauvel stepped forward, positioning themselves between the guard and Elen.
The King silenced them with a single word.
“B-but…!”
“I agree with Elen. It all fits. …Amiel has strayed from the path.”
But no such evidence has shown up yet!!
Elen said, "That's exactly why nothing's coming out," in response to the guard's unbelievable claim.
"...What does that even mean?"
Elen turns back toward the guard, who wears a puzzled expression. Then she says clearly.
There wasn't a group like that from the start, you know.
"What... what was that?!"
It's a group escorting a foreign royal family. If anything goes wrong, it'll turn into a full-blown war—so there's no way just one or two guards could handle it. And a royal woman traveling long distances on foot? Impossible. They’d definitely be using a carriage. Carriages only travel on set paths, and those paths are always heavily trafficked. Even with a gag order, you can’t possibly silence the common folk.
...
Tried to gather intel by sneaking through the grass, but nothing came of it. Makes more sense to think that whole line never existed to begin with... and that Agiel-sama is gone too.
"What?!"
The guards couldn’t hide their shock. Even Lavisel seemed to have noticed something—eyes wide open, as if finally understanding.
"If the royal family vanishes, tensions between the two nations would spike. If the other side deliberately provoked that... then the country would surely fall into chaos. If you knew that... and someone important to you was in that country... what would you do?"
"...Let them go."
The guards' eyes snapped open—finally grasping it.
"So that’s why Father...?"
A deep sigh escaped the king, who slumped back into his chair.
Only Elen remained unaffected—her expression unreadable. The others, though, wore solemn faces. Elen tilted her head, puzzled.
Right—her predecessor had died of illness, and a funeral had been held. But when exactly?
Elen’s face froze in disbelief. The king let out a wry smile.
“The king died of illness… but he was actually murdered. The reason finally makes sense.”
Elen stared, wide-eyed, at the king’s remark.
If the rescue operation for Agiel had been carried out in secret…
Then the previous king— who’d isolated his own daughter— couldn’t have missed it.
If it had been planned all along, swapping out a few servants in the mansion would’ve been easy. And Agiel, though secluded, had reportedly been behaving tyrannically. Replace every restless servant with loyal ones, then carry out the rescue.
But the arrival of the troops must’ve been earlier than expected. It didn’t make sense— all that secrecy, and yet the previous king’s body was left behind.
We were told, at the time of discovery, that my father’s body hadn’t even dried completely.
Probably fled without even a second to hide the corpse when the troops arrived.
"Such... that..."
"Of course, these are just speculations, but if you think about it, everything finally makes sense. At first, I thought Helgner hid Amiel out of a desire for war, but then Agiel doesn’t fit....So Amiel was the real goal all along."
The king sighed without pause, clutching his head as if warding off a headache.
It was plain to see he was overwhelmed—too many problems, too much pressure.
Elen felt a flicker of worry. The usual sharpness was missing.
"Why would they start a war?"
Without hesitation, the king answered Lovell’s question.
"Helgner’s target was clearly Elen. And Amiel... well, likely Lovell was the real objective."
"Wha...?"
"Elen, the favor you bring is immense. No nation could possibly not want it. Amiel must harbor deep resentment toward the Vanklyft Family and the Royal House for what they did to her mother. Or, even if we assume Gadiel still desires Lovell, that alone would be motive enough. Helgner sees Lovell as an obstacle. If Amiel can be used as leverage against him, their interests align perfectly."
"...That’s... So what? Just because—"
"Likely, Amiel offered herself as a hostage. If a royal is held captive in another country, even a hero couldn’t just march in and snatch them. That’s probably what she thought. Naive."
Lavisel spat the words, clearly placing Amiel in the enemy column.
The guard who’d been defending her noticed, and simply fell silent, watching events unfold.
The letters had all been examined, yet Amiel had managed to secretly exchange correspondence with Agiel, slipping past surveillance. …Yet not even her current whereabouts can be pinned down.
Clearly, someone’s meddling.
If the neighboring country truly wants relations to deteriorate further, this isn’t exactly ideal.
“Why not lure her out?”
“…You’ve got a plan?”
Elen sighed, almost imperceptibly, at the king’s smug smile. Of course he’d been counting on that from the start.
Still, if war breaks out and people I care about get hurt, then this little trick is nothing.
Whether Amiel’s goal is truly her father remains unclear—but if she’s doing this for selfish reasons, then no mercy will be shown.
“We’ll give her just enough information to make her want to talk. That way, everything will finally become clear, don’t you think?”
I won’t miss a single word that slips from your lips—I’ll position the wind’s spirits accordingly.
Elen stared straight ahead, laying out the plan.