Stahlia, 17 Years Old, Eighth Month of 949

After departing Ris, it would typically take a day to get to the kingdom’s border. But instead, I had us make a slow and detoured approach. Leaving the supply train on the main road with the minimal guard, an advance force proceeded through the forests and foothills.

In actuality, we were only killing time. Departing Ris earlier than anticipated, while the correct decision given the circumstances, meant that we would have arrived at the border far earlier than scheduled ―not a good idea, given that this was a diplomatic envoy.

“We have met no resistance besides a few scattered Goblins and Stawri.” Commander Alriss finished his report.

Good. Looks like Aaron is holding up his end and keeping things under control near the settlements.

“What about the men? What seems to be the general attitude as far as you can tell?” I was worried that the men would view this whole affair as a waste of time, thus lowering morale and making things more difficult.

Alriss glanced down at the paper in his hand, “The men maintain high morale; it helps that you accompanied them on this diversion. While there might have been issues among ordinary troops, these men were hand selected by His Majesty and myself for their loyalty. Most of them were there to witness you speak.”

“I see.”

That’s something of a relief, then. I’m glad.

“Then, at our current pace, when will we arrive?” I could quickly figure that out for myself, but since Alriss was here, it would be better to ask; he would have the answer ready.

“It will take another two days to arrive at the border, and we will arrive one day ahead of schedule. Should I slow our pace further?”

“No, one day ahead of schedule will be fine; we will spend a day camped waiting on the border before approaching.”

Alriss bowed, “Then, there is one other thing.”

“And that is?”

“There was… something of an incident with the supply caravan we left behind.” His tone was a bit cagey, as though he were uncharacteristically unsure of how to proceed.

I narrowed my eyes, “And that is?”

“Well, one of the Supply Officers informed me there have been signs of missing things. Nothing major; a crate of rations was broken into, a spare blanket vanished, and some supplies are in different places than they should be.”

“…And you bring this to my attention; why?” It didn’t make any sense; there had to have been a reason for him to bring it up. Something as petty as that would have nothing to do with me. Hell, it should have nothing to do with Alriss.

This sounds like an issue the supply officers should solve, so why did it make its way up the chain of command…?

“That is because they caught the culprit, and it wasn’t one of our men.”

“Enough. What is going on, Lord Alriss?” I was getting extremely tired of him beating around the bush like this, and things would be a lot better if he just came out and said what he intended.

“Of course.” Perhaps sensing my budding irritation, Alriss nodded, “They caught Miss Felicity attempting to hide in one of the grain carts. She then promptly eluded the guards assigned to that part of the line and has not been seen since.”

I blinked slowly, taking in what he said, “…And you are sure it was her?”

Alriss nodded affirmatively before dryly adding, “How many other eight-year-old girls do you know that have two cat tails?”

In light of the specific issue, I’ll excuse that bit of lip.

“I see. Well, considering that she has once before eluded the palace knights for nearly a month while I was indisposed, not to mention she has been getting along well with Rosial… No, I don’t imagine the men will find her again. Especially not if….”

…Not if Claire is helping her. I don’t think Claire would let her do anything she deemed dangerous, so why did she let her come along?

Despite disliking it, Claire could assume control of their shared body without Felicity’s consent. Typically, my former professor opted to act the part of conscience or an advisor, only directly controlling the body when Felicity was asleep. And only then to do the absolute minimum, such as have a short conversation with me, or walk themselves to a proper bed. But, if they were in danger and Felicity refused to listen to reason, Claire could directly interfere, like when she ran them away from me during the incident with Dominic and Five.

“Lord Alriss, I will be going back to the supply train ahead of schedule. Please arrange my escort.”

There’s no way the soldiers and knights can find her on their own. Hell, I might not be able to. At least, it won’t be easy. But there’s a chance she might just come out if I ask nicely… assuming she isn’t mad about being left behind.

Considering that she had stowed away, her being mad was a distinct possibility.

In light of that, I gave Alriss additional instructions, “…I will like as not fail to rejoin the advance force before we rendezvous at the border, so make plans with that in mind.”

Alriss performed a quick salute in lieu of a noble’s bow, then departed to fulfill his given tasks.

Damnit! What is that stupid girl thinking!?

There was no way I could make it back to the supply convoy in a timely fashion; it would be at least half a day. Given that the current time was just after noon, my party wouldn’t be back before after dusk at the earliest. However, fortune was on our side, as a full moon provided enough light to continue traveling. Sasha and Frieda did not complain.

Really though, why am I bothering to rush back? She’ll be tucked away asleep somewhere by the time we get there, so I won’t have a chance to get anything done until the morning at the earliest.

It was something I could only chalk up to how uneasy the whole idea made me feel. Felicity was attached to me but wasn’t as dependent as she had once been. Me leaving early was something she did not like. But she should have been able to rationalize it, especially if Claire had stepped in. The only explanation was that Claire supported this course of action. That was the only conclusion that I could draw. And it scared me.

The following day, I awoke in my bed at the main camp feeling tired and anxious; considering the amount of worry I’d been experiencing the day before, that was unsurprising.

No matter the reason, I first need to find her.

It went without saying that doing that would be remarkably difficult…

It will be even more challenging if she’s copied any of Rosial’s Talents.

Felicity’s [Envy] Skill allowed her to copy other people's Talents. It was extremely taxing, though; without Claire’s presence, it might have ended up killing her. But then, she somehow managed to grow a second tail during my Coma. Because of that, she gained another skill, [Talent Void], that helped organize the lethal side effects. Or perhaps the second tail was actually because of [Talent Void]; I didn’t know.

It could be a highly potent set of abilities were she to train them, but I had not brought up the possibility with her; she deserved to have as normal a childhood as she could in light of her past. Once she turned ten, we might approach the subject, but for the time being, I had left her well enough alone as far as that was concerned.

And, if she has been copying Rosial’s abilities, I wouldn’t know.

Appraising Felicity was something well within my ability to do, but doing so seemed like it would have violated her privacy; I had stopped doing it once I was reasonably sure her evolution posed no risks. Likewise, I only remembered a little of her Talents that she had already acquired as of the last time I appraised her. It had been a long list.

The standout ones were the various magic talents, most of which she got from me. But, then, she definitely had [Sneak] and [Sword Fighting]. She probably has many “fighting” Talents, given the company we’ve kept. So, Yea, it makes sense that she hasn’t been seen since they first caught her. And that was probably sheer luck on their part.

As much as I wanted to skip eating and go straight to searching, that would set a bad image for everyone around me. What’s more, the search wouldn’t even be handled by me. Mostly, I would have to content myself with being visible and accessible while otherwise directing the soldiers and the knights to look. Ideally, she would approach me herself.

She did not. The first and second days passed by without seeing even a whisker of her. The men searched as we traveled but could not even find any sign of where she might have been sleeping. The man who had initially spotted and apprehended her was leading those efforts with manic energy; it was like he thought that if we didn’t find her, I would blame him. 

I probably would, but it isn’t something I’d act on.

We finally found a sign that she was still with us on the third day. Since we had arrived at the border, I ordered that each wagon be unloaded and thoroughly searched as we made camp. A rather large task, but the advance force had rendezvoused with us by now, so there were plenty of hands.

“Your majesty, are you sure she is still here? Might she not have returned to Ris after being caught the first time?” Alriss was now assisting me in running the search, and I got the feeling he was trying to tactfully inform me that I had gone a bit overboard.

“Perhaps, but we will not know until this evening when the messenger I sent yesterday returns.”

It looked like there was something he wanted to bring up but was hesitating. Fortunately for him, I had a pretty good idea of what it was, “I will not delay crossing the border over this… As much as I would like to. Frankly, I expect that is when she will turn up.”

Because once we’re across the border, sending her back to Ris would become more complicated, something Claire would be well aware of. So at this point, it’s safe to say that they are one hundred percent in cahoots with each other over this.

“Sir!” One of the soldiers, not a knight, had approached Alriss and me and saluted.

The commander nodded toward the man and began to rattle off a report, “Sir, we have found the missing blanket balled up in one of the materials carts. It was-”

“Which?” I cut him off, not meaning to be rude, but the various concerns and worries that had been gradually calming over the past couple of days without news, his report caused them all to flair back into prominence.

Alriss interceded on my behalf, much to the soldier’s relief, “Please, show us to the wagon.”

The man saluted and began to lead us through the camp. Granted, we had quite a ways to go owing to the size of the camp. While we walked, he continued to explain how they had found the blanket, “There was a small hollow between two crates of nails; for anyone with a normal size and frame, getting back there would have been impossible. Even for a child. But, once you squeezed through, it opened into a small cavity where the blanket was used as bedding.”

[Flexible]. She probably got that one from me before I removed it.

With that Talent, fitting into a tight space like that would have been easy. 

And she got abandoned it once we started unloading all of the wagons, and is now hiding somewhere else. So that’s that.

Another man, this one a knight, caught sight of Alriss and me heading through the camp. He was heading in the opposite direction as us, towards my carriage, when he changed his course to join us. He saluted to Lord Alriss and bowed to me before stepping alongside the commander.

“Sir, Zensten sends a messenger to meet with Her Majesty.”

Zensten, the city a day’s march across the border. So they were watching for our arrival.

Alriss looked over at me, where I had stopped walking, “Your Majesty?

“Lord Alriss, call off the search. We aren’t going to find her until she wants to be.” Now that I had confirmation that Felicity was probably still traveling with us, there was little point in continuing to look for her. Especially not when there was a foreign dignitary to contend with.

“Delay the messenger for half an hour, then show him to my carriage… Give him a tour of the camp; that should disarm him that we are not keeping any secrets. Then,” I turned to the soldier that had initially brought the word of Felicity, “Run ahead and inform Sasha that she must prepare to receive a foreign delegation.”

Like this, I can probably avoid worrying about her, and simply trust that she can look out for herself... But when she does show up, we’re going to have words…

Half an hour later, I was sitting across from a man wearing something similar to a business suit, except instead of buttoning, the front was folded in on itself like how one might fold a bath towel when coming out of the shower. His skin was darker than a Drakan’s typically was, closer to a bronze or a brown, and he had shaved his head bald. Combined with a pair of spectacles and a sturdy frame, his appearance was striking in an off-putting way.

“My name is Emmanuel, heir to the chair of Zesten… That makes me roughly the equivalent of a Count, to use your country’s terms.” 

At his sides stood two rather tall men wearing armor made from leather and metal plating sections. It was, by technical definition, armor. However, compared to the full plate of my knights, or the standard uniform of my regular soldiers, it could have looked more impressive.

Only at first glance. But it’s actually rather ingenious. Metal over the vital organs, with leather over the places that would be crippling instead of lethal. Everything else is left unarmored; you keep the weight down and preserve the ease of movement. It wouldn’t work for everybody, but that’s pretty effective for people who know what they’re doing.

It was a similar method to my own, for lack of a better word, combat dresses, which only had armor plating over the vital areas. Otherwise, they relied on defensive enchantments supplemented by my own defensive abilities. I had Lord Alriss serving as a Drakan noble in addition to his role as expedition commander at my side. Behind me were two members of my personal guard and the knight who had escorted the man earlier. Employing the full scope of my [Acting], I answered my opposite.

“Truly? I would say it places you closer to a prince's title.” The Free Cities Alliance was a conglomerate of loosely connected city-states that were only allied with each far enough to ensure common law and mutual defense. Beyond that, they were entirely independent; if Emmanuel was the son of Zesten’s Chair, he was essentially a prince of that city.

He shrugged, “But in terms of influence, I am hardly one to claim such a title. Thank you for having your men show us around the camp.” 

I already don’t like him. Not sure what it is, but something about him is just… It makes my skin crawl. Drakan nobles are easier to deal with than whatever he’s doing.

“But of course, and please, have a seat. After all, this visit is meant to discuss mutual cooperation in the face of the coming threat. Why would I seek to hide anything from our future allies?” After we were seated, Sasha poured out three glasses of tea, and Emmanuel took a moment to appreciate the aroma.

He nodded and answered without taking a sip, “Though I must say, I find it interesting; how you are setting up camp… Would it not be more efficient to leave things packed? If I am not mistaken, you intend to cross the border tomorrow.”

There was no way I could admit that we had been searching for my not-legally-adopted little sister, as that would also mean acknowledging that an eight-year-old was eluding capture.

After pausing a moment, I shook my head, “I thought it prudent to conduct a thorough inventory; once we cross, we would be at the mercy of your markets to procure anything we needed; this is not a mission that can afford undue complication.”

It seemed he bought my excuse; it was plausible enough that questioning it would be an error, even if it was flimsy, “True. Though I must wonder at the timing of it all… Did you not only just secure your own power?”

Picking up my own cup, I took a sip of it myself to both demonstrate the lack of poison and to buy myself time to consider my response, “It was not as difficult as you make it sound; the country stands united between His Majesty and myself. But, as much as we would prefer to further consolidate things, the times do not afford us that opportunity.”

“Yes, we read the letter you sent earlier this year; Drakas believes that the Demons are returning. However, my father and I have considered the evidence; we have dismissed those claims.”

Oh, you bastard.

“Then, are you here to refuse our entry? It was my understanding that the cities were free to conduct business as they saw fit and may not obstruct others from doing so.”

Emmanuel narrowed his eyes, “You claim that you mean to conduct business now?”

I nodded, “Yes, even if Zesten will not stand with us, my husband and I believe it is in Drakas’ best interest to forgo the policies of our predecessors. Instead, forming a more stable relationship would benefit us all; if some cities decide to join our coalition, so be it.”

Really, we hadn’t expected much from the Alliance. Except for the previous king, who had maintained a somewhat uneasy peace with our eastern neighbor, all those prior to him had sought to expand without any sort of check. As far as Zesten and the other cities were concerned, our sudden change of heart was similar to a wolf handing a lamb a knife while saying, “Actually, bears are scary.”

Besides, my primary objective isn’t so much to get a handful of contributions from minuscule cities; we have our own economy that trounces theirs, even if only in quantity. No, I need to locate the champions, and it would certainly be “interesting” if one of them were in the bordering country to me.

That was my only reason for choosing to start things in the Free Cities Alliance; slight as it was, something was telling me to trust my gut.

Emmanuel eventually conceded, “No, we will not deny you entry. But we will limit the number of your men who can enter Zesten, though I must first confer with my father.”

I dipped my head, “Thank you for your understanding of my own position. Please, set up the details with Lord Alriss.”

Instead of handing them a knife and claiming bears are scary, it’s much easier to offer to sell them knives.