Interlude: Watching Him Leave

Four days had gone by since Kiara had been taken captive by Salekhard. While Reggie seemed his usual self as far as appearances went, Alan could tell that he was growing more unbalanced with each passing day. He regarded Alan and everyone else around him with a bland, gentle smile, and he never showed signs of unrest on the surface. However, he spent more and more moments lost in thought. Every so often, he would stare out the window with his face set in a grim frown.

When smoke had risen from the direction of Liadna the other day, which Reggie had observed from the main tower with a look of intensity, Alan had grown nervous. He’d had the sinking feeling that Reggie was ready to take off at any moment.

Neither of them had any idea what had become of Kiara. At the very least, based on Wentworth’s account and the intel Gina had provided them, the king of Salekhard seemed unlikely to treat her poorly. That said, Lord Credias was among the Llewynian troops. If he tried anything, it was hard to say whether an ordinary human stood any chance against his magic.

At the moment, Reggie was once again staring silently out at Liadna. Reluctant to leave him by himself, Alan stood alongside him, gazing down at the scenery below. Now that the Llewynians had withdrawn from the area, the Farzians had called for a fresh shipment of supplies, which explained the carriages rattling down the road toward the fort.

That got Alan thinking about Reggie’s decision to retreat to the fort. Fort Liadna was closer to Delphion than the town was. Staying there would give them an advantage when it came to acquiring supplies and soldiers alike. Reggie had managed to account for all that on the spur of the moment. What’s more, the fact that he had yet to march his troops any farther south was a sign that he intended to recapture Liadna and rescue Kiara in the process.

“I’ll bet you anything Kiara’s alright.” That was Alan’s way of saying, I know we have no choice but to bide our time and wait, but don’t let it eat away at you.

“Kiara used far too much magic for her own good, and I doubt the king of Salekhard can do much to help her on that front. The only one we can count on for that is Lord Credias, but who knows what he’ll take from her in exchange.”

That appeared to be Reggie’s greatest concern of all—probably due to the time Kiara had fainted after healing him, her fingertips nearly turning to sand from overusing her magic.

“She’s pretty tough. This is the same woman who tried every trick in the book to apprehend a spellcaster when you weren’t around, remember? Wentworth told me she was able to turn her fingers back to normal with her own powers, too. There’s little she couldn’t manage on her own.”

“But Kiara is... too detached.” Reggie brushed his hand over an arrow slit, only to clench it into a fist. “That’s what Wentworth said. She can remain as innocent as she is because no matter how much she suffers, no matter how sad she gets, she believes everything that happens in this world is just part of a story.”

“Wentworth said that?”

If the same knight who was always by Kiara’s side thought as much, it had to be true.

“I suspected the same, but I didn’t want to acknowledge it. If she thinks this world is all just a dream, it could very well mean she believes that if she dies, she’ll go home to the real world she remembers so fondly.”

“Come now, that can’t be all she thinks this is. Kiara’s not as stupid as she acts. I doubt she truly believes her whole life is just a dream.”

And yet, Reggie felt little attachment to the world himself. Since he knew what it was like to be ready to give everything up and depart this mortal coil at any moment, he was all the more concerned that she might actually act on it.

Even so, he cracked a smile at Alan’s remark. “You’re the most ruthless of us all, Alan. Nobody else would carry on calling her ‘stupid’ to her face.”

“Well, she is stupid. Bleeding heart that she is, she’d do anything to help people—even become a spellcaster. She’s always overthinking things despite her lack of brains, only to launch herself into some bizarre scheme.”

That only made Reggie’s grin widen. Alan was relieved to see such a bright expression on his friend’s face, if only for a brief moment.

When they came down from the main tower, the frostfox Lila was there waiting for them—still the size of a horse for some reason. Ever since Llewyne’s and Salekhard’s soldiers had retreated, eliminating the need to constantly stand watch outside the fort, Lila had gotten in the habit of showing up wherever Reggie went.

“I’d never gotten the sense that she was particularly attached to me before, but I think I know the reason for the change of heart.”

“You do?”

“The foxes took well to Kiara, remember? Assuming they were drawn to her mana, well, I’m the only person around carrying traces of that same magic.”

Alan knew why: it went back to the prince’s near-death experience in Évrard. A fragment of the contract stone used to make spellcasters had been injected into his body then. Every once in a while, it would wreak havoc on the mana flowing through Reggie’s body, causing him to fall ill.

Reggie took Lila with him and headed for the fort gate. A few of the carriages he’d seen earlier had just arrived. The baron of Delphion’s daughter, Emmeline, was inspecting the luggage.

She strode briskly around in a military uniform. The way her outfit just barely revealed the lines of her legs—combined with the hint of her nape peeking out from under her high ponytail—gave her an even more alluring aura than when she’d worn a dress. As soon as any man met her cold gaze, however, he’d forget about everything else in an instant.

When Emmeline spotted Reggie, she bowed and informed him, “The resources you requested have arrived safely.”

Alan wondered what she could be referring to, only to find the two carriages fully loaded with cages of giant... mice? Their bodies were much rounder than your typical rodent’s, so the resemblance wasn’t actually that strong. Their soft, brown fur and round eyes certainly qualified as cute... or perhaps they could have on a smaller animal.

“What are these?”

“They’re terramice, Alan.”

“Why did you bring these...?” Alan trailed off as something occurred to him. I see. He’s going to use them to rescue Kiara.

He’d heard an account of terramice flocking to Kiara, an earth wielder, hoping to squirrel her away with their copper ore. So long as Kiara could use her magic, the mice could surely suss out where she was, knocking down all the enemy soldiers in their path to get their paws on her.

Reggie said to Emmeline, “A few of them might die. Is that alright with you?”

“At the end of the day, terramice are monsters. Mere pests. While I am somewhat fond of them, I only used them as a barricade of sorts, knowing they were liable to turn on me at any moment.”

“Regardless, it’s all thanks to you that we could gather this many of them. I’m most grateful for your help.”

Emmeline flashed him a rueful smile. “Don’t worry, Your Grace. I’m invested in rescuing Miss Kiara myself, not to mention that she’s an essential part of our army. I’ll start off by having them dig a hole, just as we discussed.”

The two had already worked out their plans in advance, it seemed. As he watched the terramice dig a hole just outside the fort, Alan listened as they explained their strategy.

That might actually work, was what he thought at the end of it.

After that, Reggie got to work picking out a team for the Kiara rescue mission. Reggie’s knights, who had encountered the terramice once before and were thus familiar with their idiosyncrasies, were at the top of the list. Emmeline, their owner, would join the force as well. She had the most thorough knowledge of the beasts.

Alan was just relieved to see that Reggie hadn’t put himself on the retrieval team. It wouldn’t be until the battle had begun that he would find out he’d miscalculated.

◇◇◇

A golem that bore a striking resemblance to Kiara’s mentor had shown up on Salekhard’s side. That told them both that Kiara was with their troops, and that she had made enough of a recovery to wield her magic.

Most likely, Salekhard had ordered Kiara to attack Farzia in exchange for her own safety. Alan figured that a fair amount of casualties would be unavoidable, only to be shocked by the golem’s next move. It barreled straight into the Llewynian troops, sending their soldiers flying.

Once he’d promptly ordered an all-out assault on the Llewynians, Reggie dismounted his horse with a laugh, then went to join up with the team charging in with the terramice.

The knight who had been handed the reins to Reggie’s horse looked resigned, but Alan wasn’t ready to let this slide so easily.

“It seems Kiara is safe and sound, so I might as well pick her up early. I leave the rest to you, Alan.”

“This was your plan from the start, wasn’t it?! I bet you conspired with your own knights and left everyone else out of the loop!”

“You know me too well, Alan. Look, I realize I’m being selfish. I am the best man for the job... but above all else, I simply want to go,” Reggie declared, staring Alan right in the eyes.

Alan knew why Reggie was the perfect choice for the assault team. Still, he was a prince.

“There’s a chance I may be taken captive if I go. If that does happen, I’ll do my best not to burden you... so don’t you bother trying to rescue me, either.”

For the first time, Alan finally understood Kiara’s despair.

This was his closest cousin. Reggie outranked him, sure, and Alan acted accordingly when the situation called for it. However, Reggie had never kept Alan at arm’s length in the ways that mattered.

From an early age, Alan had known full well that he came across as the more childish of the pair. Reggie already had a proper knowledge and understanding of far more things than he did. But rather than putting on airs, the prince—who never had the opportunity to play with children his own age—went along with the games and pranks Alan taught him. He didn’t know the first thing about that sort of mischief, so he was eager to learn whatever he could. Getting scolded together afterward only strengthened their feelings of camaraderie.

The way he handled the aftermath was rather adult, so it was still hard to consider Reggie particularly “childish”—and it seemed Wentworth worried about that, too—but Alan had been no less pleased with it. He was proud that he had something to teach that brilliant cousin of his.

While Reggie worked to gain that which he lacked, Alan likewise strove to catch up to the prince. He wanted the two of them to stand on equal footing.

Who wouldn’t be shocked to hear “I might die, but don’t bother saving me” from someone like that?

Kiara must have been the same way. After hearing that from the person she trusted and depended on the most in the whole world, of course she’d grow desperate.

Reggie, you fool, Alan fumed.

“I’m starting to understand how Kiara feels. How can you think I’d be fine letting you die? Why would you toss away your life so readily? You’re going to grow up to be our king! If you know that, why would you so flagrantly disregard your own safety?!”

Wearing a despondent look so rarely seen on his face, Reggie replied, “Kiara is irreplaceable to me. Nothing could ever be more important. No matter how many times I think it over, my answer is always the same. If that makes me unfit for the throne, then I don’t want to be king.”

When Reggie declared that he would abandon the throne for Kiara, Alan was struck speechless. Answered with silence, Reggie went on, “You’re the reason that I was able to experience a normal childhood, Alan. It’s all because of you that I grew up to be only slightly twisted. I’d hate it if I missed my chance to tell you that, so I’m thanking you now.”

“Damn you, Reggie! I don’t want you to thank me! I want you to let me help you!”

“You and Kiara are a lot alike, you know.”

“What?!”

Is this the time to be saying that? Alan thought, the wind briefly taken out of his sails. A moment later, his anger finally boiled over. “In spite of what you’re saying, you have some intention of becoming king, don’t you? Otherwise, you wouldn’t have led our army this far. But king or not, it isn’t wise to write off anything and everything holding you back. Make use of that stupidly sharp mind of yours and don’t just cut all your losses—find a way to get everything you want!”

Reggie stared back at Alan, dumbfounded, until he finally burst out giggling. “You really are something special, Alan. I love you.”

“Egads, man! Have you lost your mind?”

“I don’t think I ever had it to begin with,” Reggie responded through fits of laughter, looking truly refreshed. “But I’m feeling quite alright. Well then, I’m entrusting everything to you.”

That remark held a double meaning: “everything” included what would happen next if he didn’t come back, as well as the country itself if it lost its prince. What a terrifying man Alan was dealing with. Still, he had no intention of tamely sending Reggie off to his death.

“Leave it to me,” Alan replied with steeled resolve, watching as Reggie slipped down into one of the holes dug by the terramice.