Chapter Nine: The Real Intention, the True Feelings, and the Blue Wings

The sound of a knock echoed through the room. Herscherik turned his eyes toward the entrance, and his butler immediately walked up to the door without even needing to wait for his master’s instructions, opening the door and letting the visitor in. In came Tessily, wearing a stern expression and accompanied by Tatsu, his knight of service.

“Herscherik.”

Herscherik instinctively straightened his back upon hearing his full name, looking his brother straight in the eyes.

“Tessily. What are you doing here?” Herscherik asked, playing dumb even though he already had an idea what the answer would be.

In response, Tessily shot his brother a piercing glare, the very opposite of his usual gentle expression.

“Why do you think? Your knight of service came back to the castle covered in blood. The whole castle is in an uproar.”

Though Herscherik had ordered the soldiers from earlier to keep quiet, if a commotion had already broken out when they arrived, that had been a waste of time.

Seeing his younger brother tense up, Tessily let out a deep sigh before continuing in an utterly exasperated tone.

“I swear... That’s why I told you to be careful with them.”

“Did you know about them already, Tessily?” Herscherik asked almost resentfully, as it sounded like Tessily had seen it coming all along.

“Not quite. It’d be more accurate to say that I had a good guess. But I think you did too—didn’t you, Hersch?” Tessily answered, his expression changing into a regretful smile.

Herscherik fell silent. Just as his brother had said, he had actually had a good idea of the pair’s true identities—but he had refrained from alluding to it, as he’d thought it irrelevant to the business of helping them escape. Though he did not consider his decision wrong, exactly, it was in part what had resulted in the current situation.

As he watched his brother furrow his brow, Tessily let out yet another sigh before continuing.

“Do you know why I’ve been visiting all these different countries?”

“I was told it’s for your studies,” Herscherik replied, perplexed, to his brother’s abrupt question. Tessily nodded.

“Yeah, that’s the cover story, anyway. Well, it did start with just wanting to learn about the rest of the world, so it’s not completely a lie. But I learned something after observing Gracis from the outside.”

At the academy, students would only learn about internal affairs. That’s why Tessily had ventured outside to broaden his horizons. With an outside perspective, he had noticed how twisted Gracis had become, and how it was referred to as the Kingdom in Woe by other countries. However, with Barbosse in power, changing the country would be no easy task.

That was what had propelled Tessily into action.

“Barbosse had contacts outside of Gracis. That’s why I started spending all my time in foreign nations, in order to make contacts of my own and to gather intelligence. I needed the means to outdo Barbosse and corner him. Of course, that ended up being wasted effort in the end—but I’m still putting my contacts to good use.”

Barbosse’s influence had extended even past the borders of Gracis, and time was needed to completely overcome him. But then Herscherik had swept in and brought an early end to the minister’s schemes, turning Tessily’s work into wasted effort. Even so, he still used the connections he had made to the kingdom’s advantage.

Among the countries invited to the harvest festival, there were those that, while not outright hostile toward Gracis, were far from being on good terms with them. But with the help of his connections, Tessily had managed to convince them to send a delegation anyway. As a result, Gracis would likely not have to fear an attack from its neighbors for another few years.

Using his connections, Tessily had also gotten his hands on information relating to Felvolk’s internal affairs. Felvolk was far from unified, and there were those who opposed the rule of the ten houses or would gladly provide information in order to hinder a rival faction.

What Tessily had learned was that the army leadership and the ten houses were all desperately trying to capture a particular tactician who was on the run. Felvolk had even secretly issued a bounty for the tactician’s capture, dead or alive.

Though he had been unable to find any specific information pertaining to the tactician’s appearance or name, the timing made it easy to conclude that Felvolk’s missing strategist was none other than the woman Herscherik had brought to the castle.

“Knowing the truth would’ve made you really want to help them, wouldn’t it, Hersch?”

“Even if I had no idea who they were, I’ll help anyone as long as they need my help,” Herscherik answered without hesitation.

Tessily sighed. “That’s exactly why I told you to be careful,” he said, furrowing his brow in response to his resolute brother. “Did it not cross your mind that if this came to light, it might very well give Felvolk a pretext to attack the kingdom?”

“Yes... It did.”

Herscherik had been well aware that sheltering two people wanted in Felvolk could very well result in international strife. Even if the two of them had fled to Gracis of their own free will, Felvolk would be able to claim that the pair had been kidnapped and launch an invasion with the pretext of recovering them. Felvolk would never just stand idly by while Gracis had their hands on the genius tactician that was known as their Greatest Treasure.

Herscherik had not pressed the matter as a result of his own naivety, but also in order to ensure some amount of plausible deniability. That way, they would be able to play ignorant even if Felvolk tried to accuse them of anything after the couple had escaped the kingdom.

“Herscherik, you’re a prince of Gracis.”

Herscherik fell silent. His men threw their master concerned glances, but he did not return them.

“I’ll say it again,” Tessily continued. “You belong to the royal family of Gracis, regardless of what anyone—including you—thinks. I don’t need to tell you what kind of responsibility comes with that title.”

As Tessily continued to emphasize his point, Herscherik could only listen. He had no idea how to respond.

“Our topmost priority must be our country’s safety. This matter could very well become a problem that would result in war between Gracis and Felvolk. You cannot endanger the whole country just for the sake of two people who aren’t even Gracis citizens. Herscherik, do you still insist on helping them?”

Tessily’s question was one Herscherik had already asked himself before, on the night he spoke with his father and predicted the worst possible outcome. He was a prince of this kingdom, and just like his brother said, he had to prioritize Gracis and its people. If this caused the relationship between Gracis and Felvolk to turn sour, he would have plunged the kingdom into turmoil with his very own hands, just as peace seemed to be on the horizon.

But despite all that, Herscherik had only one answer.

“Yes, of course. No matter what anyone says, I’m going to help them. And I’m going to protect the kingdom at the same time,” Herscherik declared, looking Tessily straight in the eye.

As royalty, he had to prioritize his own kingdom—but using that as a reason not to help the two was nothing short of an excuse. They had approached him and asked for his help. Herscherik didn’t have the heart to turn them away.

Ultimately, Herscherik was greedy. He wanted to save everyone and accomplish his every goal. He also refused to lie to himself. All of this was for the sake of his own dreams and ambitions in the end. It was something he had sworn to himself once in the past—that he would never try to dress up his actions as being for the sake of others.

Tessily let out a deep sigh at the sight of his brother’s resolute gaze. His stern expression then softened.

“I swear... You really are a greedy little kid. Okay, fine!” Tessily said as he threw up his hands to signal defeat before patting his brother’s head and vigorously ruffling his bright golden hair. “Honestly, you’re such a handful. I guess I’ll just have to lend you a hand, then!”

“T-Tessily?”

Tessily’s cheerful demeanor—a stark contrast from his seriousness only a moment ago—left Herscherik at a loss for words as his brother ruffled his hair however he pleased. Herscherik had thought he would be getting even harsher criticism, yet reality had defied all expectations.

“Hm?” Tessily’s pink hair shook as he tilted his head inquisitively, looking at Herscherik with his kind, chestnut-colored eyes. Herscherik, in his confusion, couldn’t seem to settle on any one expression.

“Are... Are you sure?” Herscherik asked.

“I mean...” Tessily said, shrugging his shoulders. “You’re going to help them regardless, aren’t you? And you’re prepared to take responsibility for them, right?”

Herscherik nodded without hesitation, at which Tessily gave a conflicted smile.

“Then there’s no point in me trying to convince you otherwise, is there?”

Tessily had already heard from his older siblings how, despite his gentle appearance, Herscherik was actually tremendously stubborn. If he wasn’t, he wouldn’t have been able to defeat Barbosse to begin with. Tessily did not possess the skill to change Herscherik’s mind once it was already made up. Thus, all he could do was to help him and try to minimize the damage.

“Besides, your mother asked me to take care of you. I swear, you’re just like her.”

“My mother did?”

Tessily nodded as he reminisced about the woman who had been like an older sister to him. The “Sunshine of the Royal Quarters,” as the king’s favorite queen had been called, had been loved by not just the king, but the other queens and their children too. But as the youngest prince at the time, Tessily had felt like his beloved sister had been taken away from him when the queen became pregnant, and as a result he had started to rebel. Despite the admonishments of those around him, he had kept on sulking, but the queen herself had simply smiled.

“Tessily, you’ll be a big brother soon. You’ll take care of the baby, won’t you?” the queen would always say with a smile when Tessily visited her every day without fail, despite his sour mood. Perhaps she had known from the start that she might not survive the birth.

And then Herscherik was born, and the queen passed away. Tessily had then sworn to keep his promise to the queen—to protect Herscherik and support him no matter what.

In order to protect his younger brother, Tessily had traveled abroad in search of all the knowledge he could find. All for the sake of his brother and the country his brother lived in.

“So I’ll always be on your side, unconditionally. Though I’m pretty sure the rest of the family would agree with me.”

Their father and siblings were all beside themselves with worry about what the youngest son’s next enterprise might be—but even more than that, they all loved him dearly. In the end, the whole family was remarkably soft on Herscherik.

“Now then, Herscherik, I’m thinking it’s about time for me to go on another trip,” Tessily said as he clapped his hands together and gave Herscherik a bright smile. “I’ll be visiting the Principality of Parche. You talked with an emissary from Parche during the banquet, didn’t you? I was just thinking how I’d like two or so people to travel along with me... You wouldn’t happen to know anybody who might be interested?”

“Tessily!” Herscherik exclaimed, his face showing a mix of surprise and joy.

Herscherik had not met with any key figures from abroad during the harvest festival—with the exception of one: an emissary from the Principality of Parche who had approached him during the banquet.

Parche had cooperated with the royal family in secret during the recent battle with the Empire, and as a show of gratitude, Parche had received favorable treatment during the harvest festival—their merchants, for example, were allowed to pay a lower tariff. When an emissary from Parche asked to meet with Herscherik, he had taken the opportunity to make a small request.

The Principality of Parche was a maritime nation, and their trading partners included the Lustian Confederation. Herscherik had asked the emissary—who was actually the chairman of the House of Representatives—to let the couple in question pass through Parche on the way to Lustia.

Though they would likely have had no problem going by themselves, Tessily’s presence would mean that their safety was all but guaranteed. Tessily knew that full well as he proposed his solution to Herscherik. Traveling with the pair also meant that they wouldn’t have to worry about the border inspection.

“Thank you, Tessily.”

“You’re welcome,” Tessily responded with a smile. “Also, I’m thinking about asking Father to help too. I think it’s about time for this country to change, don’t you?”

Herscherik realized what Tessily was suggesting and nodded.

“Hersch, I’m counting on you to deal with the current situation. Make sure you bring them both to me.”

“I will!”

“Well, I’ll be going to pay Father a visit. I’ll get a doctor while I’m at it. Also, since you can’t exactly take your knight with you right now, I’ll let you borrow Tatsu. Are you all right with that, Tatsu?” Tessily turned to the samurai who stood behind him.

“As you command,” Tatsu responded with a nod, holding his tachi.

“Okay, I’ll see you later then. Make sure you introduce the two of them to me properly when we meet again,” Tessily finished.

Tessily turned around and walked up to the door, but just as he was about to put his hand on the doorknob, he stopped. With his back still turned to Herscherik, he began to speak.

“Hersch...”

“Tessily?” Herscherik asked, puzzled.

Tessily continued in a quiet, but somehow sad voice.

“I won’t accept your wish.”

The room fell silent. The men of service looked at each other and then to their masters, unable to understand what Tessily was referring to. Herscherik felt his heart beat ten times before he finally broke the silence.

“Even so, I...” Herscherik started to speak hesitantly, but he did not finish his sentence.

Tessily let out yet another sigh in response before shaking his head.

“Don’t worry about it. We’ll talk again later,” Tessily said before leaving the room.

As confused gazes turned toward Herscherik, he clapped his hands together once to switch gears.

“Now then, let’s go bring Kurenai back, shall we?” Herscherik said with a smile, signaling the end of the discussion.

Realizing that his master would not answer even if questioned further, Kuro lightly shrugged his shoulders before turning to the issue at hand.

“And how exactly do you intend to do that?” he asked.

Kurenai would not have left without a plan in mind. The fact that she made a move meant that she had already secured some means of returning to Felvolk.

“She must have approached someone from Felvolk during the banquet, when none of us were looking,” Kuro continued.

“Ao, how did Kurenai seem that night?” Herscherik asked.

Ao thought for a moment before speaking. “I went to sleep earlier than she did that night, so I don’t know if she was in the room the whole time. But if she put me to sleep with magic...”

He had little recollection of what had happened that day. After eating, he had felt a sudden drowsiness come over him. Ao remembered that, in addition to the magical device, she also carried a variety of drugs on her person. Among them were concoctions for putting people to sleep.

Ao was speechless at the thought that Kurenai might have drugged his food.

“Well, there you have it. But that puts us in a spot. The emissary from Felvolk was supposed to depart today,” Kuro noted.

Normally when Kurenai or Ao walked around the castle, either Herscherik or one of his men would accompany them. Though that was partly to prevent anything from happening to the two of them, it also served to keep them under supervision. However, during the banquet on the last day of the harvest festival, Herscherik’s men of service had been busy accompanying their master, and they had been forced to leave the two of them to their own devices. Additionally, most of the guards had been concentrated in the main hall. It was very possible that Kurenai had evaded security and made contact with the emissary from Felvolk. If that was the case, Kurenai had likely already met up with him and was even now on her way out of the country.

“If she’s traveling by carriage, we’ll never catch her now,” Kuro said.

With how much time had passed, it would be nearly impossible to catch up, even on horseback—not to mention how crowded the castle town was currently with people returning home. It would take a significant amount of time to even exit the capital, and in that time Kurenai’s carriage would have traveled too far away to reach in time.

The room fell silent once more. After a short moment, though, one person broke the silence.

“Why don’t you just fly?” Shiro said, nonchalantly suggesting something that sounded outrageous. He spoke matter-of-factly, sparing no thought for the mood of the room.

“Shiro?” Herscherik threw him a confused look.

“You there—you can fly, can’t you?” Shiro said, turning his gaze toward Ao.

Though still remaining expressionless, a glint of bewilderment flashed in Ao’s azure eyes.

“How did you know?” Ao asked after a moment’s pause.

In response to Ao’s slightly confused tone, Shiro narrowed his eyes wearily.

“Birdmen need their wings for casting magic. If your wings were really so badly injured you couldn’t fly, then you wouldn’t have been able to use magic either.”

The reason that beastmen had more pronounced strengths and weaknesses was that their bodies were much more specialized. In the case of birdmen, they could use wind magic to fly without even having to prepare a magical formula, as naturally as humans walked. They accomplished this using their wings. So if Ao really had damaged his wings as claimed, he shouldn’t have been able to cast any spells during Herscherik’s kidnapping—yet he had successfully used both investigation magic and wind magic.

There was only one reason Herscherik could think of as to why Ao would have lied.

“Ao, did you claim you couldn’t fly in order to stop Kurenai?”

Ao turned his gaze down. With his eyes still on the floor, he opened his mouth.

“Yes. It wasn’t hard to imagine what she might do otherwise.”

Possessing not just talent and knowledge, but a strong conviction as well, Kurenai had been able to act ruthlessly on the battlefield. At the same time, she was very compassionate toward others, and she treated her soldiers as friends, not pawns. This was also why her men had been able to exercise their full capabilities and emerge victorious each time—it had all been because of her.

Her ability to be ruthless toward her enemies, while treating her comrades with compassion—these two sides of her were what made her the genius tactician that Felvolk had valued so highly.

But this compassionate tactician had lost her family to the scheming of the ten houses. She had lost her comrades, who had been like a second family to her, as a result of her country’s betrayal. As devoted to her loved ones as she was, she would never let them get away with their crimes. Ao knew that she would attempt to exact revenge on Felvolk. Even if he had begged her not to go, she would still have taken the first opportunity that presented itself to return to the country of her birth. Her hopes for Felvolk, and the despair and rage that had taken their place once those hopes had been shattered, were simply too great.

“Alte could never be ruthless enough to leave me alone in a country that outlaws beastmen without my ability to fly.”

She chose Ao’s life over her own revenge. Even as she was tormented by guilt toward her fallen comrades, she chose and treasured him—someone who until then had only lived to fight and kill as a slave. This had filled his heart with happiness.

“I think she knew that I really could fly and use magic still.”

As part of the plan to save Herscherik during his kidnapping, she had instructed Ao to use magic. Though her main objective had been to save the prince, it had likely also been an attempt to test whether Ao was telling the truth.

If he wanted to keep up his lie, he had to avoid using magic—yet he also needed to use his magic to save Herscherik. Ao, too, wanted to save the prince—and he had grown conceited, believing that Kurenai really had chosen him over her revenge, no matter what.

But that had been a mistake. For better or worse, Kurenai had come across someone who she could trust from the bottom of her heart in this country. She had entrusted Ao to him before leaving to exact her revenge.

“Ao, let’s go,” Herscherik said firmly.

Ao was unable to lift his eyes from the ground.

“Let’s go to see Kurenai,” Herscherik repeated.

“That’s not what she wants,” Ao said in a feeble voice. The fact that she was gone, leaving him behind, was all the proof he needed.

Ao clenched his fist as his own powerlessness tormented him.

“I don’t think that’s true,” Herscherik said, refuting Ao’s assertion.

Hearing his words, Ao lifted his gaze in surprise to find a pair of green eyes staring straight into his.

“How...can you be sure?”

“Remember what she said? ‘I wish I could have served that prince like you.’” Herscherik’s voice brimmed with confidence.

Those weren’t the words of someone who cared only for revenge. Herscherik was convinced that it had been her true feelings slipping through.

“When I decide to help someone, I go all the way. I don’t care if Kurenai doesn’t want me to. What the other person thinks is no concern of mine,” Herscherik explained. “What about you, Ao?”

“I...”

Ao thought back to her smile. She had been special to him. She had caught his attention ever since the day they first met. Her knowledge had given him life. Her plans had saved his friends. Her smile had brought him peace. Even though he was a slave, she had accepted him.

The ten years he had spent with her flashed before his eyes. His answer was obvious.

“I don’t want to lose her.” Those were his true feelings.

Herscherik nodded at the sight of Ao’s unwavering azure eyes.

“Ao, would you be able to carry me in the air?” Seeing Ao nod, he turned to Kuro. “Kuro, fetch my sword.”

Herscherik’s request caught Kuro off guard. Though Herscherik owned a sword made for his stature—a real sword, not a practice one—he had never requested to carry it before except at ceremonies.

“All right,” Kuro replied after a moment, before going to the dressing room to fetch the sword.

Herscherik took his sword from Kuro and attached it to his hip before nodding in Ao’s direction to indicate that he was ready.

Ao removed his coat and spread his wings—the same deep blue as his hair—and lifted Herscherik up with one arm.

“Hold on tight.”

“Okay,” Herscherik responded before turning his eyes to his men of service. “What are you going to do?”

“No problem,” Shiro responded.

Herscherik wondered for a second what exactly Shiro meant by that, but as they were pressed for time, he decided not to question him.

Ao walked up to the window and opened it. A wind rushed in, rattling the windcatcher of fortune that was hanging by the window and refreshing the air of the room in the blink of an eye. With Herscherik under his arm, Ao placed his free hand on the window frame.

“Hey,” Kuro said to Ao as he was about to leave. “There’s a barrier that stretches across the sky above the castle. However, it’s thinner near the east tower. You can pass through the opening there.”

“Got it,” Ao said, immediately grasping what Kuro was saying.

The castle was surrounded by a magical barrier, and were Ao to touch it, he—along with Herscherik—would find himself on a one-way trip to the ground. Thus Kuro’s advice was very welcome—though Herscherik threw his butler a glare in response.

“Kuro, make sure you report that to the department of Magic later. Oh, but you don’t need to report my secret path.” An opening in the castle barrier was a major concern, but so was losing access to his secret exit.

Kuro could do nothing but shrug in response to his calculating master.

“All right then, let’s go, Ao!”

But as they prepared to leave, Herscherik realized something important.

“Wait, hold on. If we’re going, that means we’re flying, and...”

Ever since his previous life, Herscherik had been particularly susceptible to motion sickness. He had also always been deathly afraid of thrill rides—you couldn’t have paid him to ride a roller coaster.

Ao jumped down from the window in Herscherik’s room, which was located on the third floor. In midair he spread his wings, activated his wind magic, and quickly soared high up into the sky without anyone spotting them. He then passed through the hole in the barrier by the east tower that Kuro had told him about, flying even higher.

It goes without saying that Herscherik was screaming with a voice too shrill for human ears to perceive for the entire duration. As they soared through the sky, he held onto Ao’s clothes as tightly as he could while Ao examined their surroundings.

“H-How are y-you planning on f-finding Kurenai?” Herscherik asked in a trembling voice as he observed the capital below him.

A significant amount of time had already passed since she left, and there was more than one path to Felvolk. Being able to fly meant little if you didn’t know where to fly.

“All I need is the general direction,” Ao responded confidently. “I can clearly see any object, no matter how far away it is. I’d even be able to spot a single baby mouse hiding in a forest.”

Ao turned his gaze in the direction of Felvolk. His ability to see objects far away was referred to as “telescopic sight.” It was a rare ability that only manifested in one particular tribe of birdmen. It allowed him to find a single needle in a haystack, or a speck of gold on a beach. During the night, however, his eyes were no better than a human’s.

In addition, Ao also specialized in Investigation Magic. Kurenai may have been a genius, but it was in large part Ao’s ability to probe the enemy for information that allowed her plans to succeed.

After no more than ten seconds had passed, Herscherik felt the arm holding him tense up, signaling that Ao had found his target. He grabbed onto Ao to ensure he didn’t fall.

“Hold on as tight as you can.”

Without waiting for Herscherik’s reply, Ao sped through the clear, autumn sky.

Three people were left behind in Herscherik’s room. Kuro walked up to the door to his own room—the only room that was directly connected to Herscherik’s—and was about to leave when Shiro threw him a suspicious glance.

“Hey, Schwarz. How did you know where the opening in the barrier was?”

Barriers were transparent and colorless, and could not be seen by the human eye. A skilled enough Spellcaster might have been able to spot it, but Shiro could not imagine that Kuro possessed magical abilities on par with a first-rate Spellcaster.

“’Tis as I thought—thine eyes are...” Tatsu muttered.

The moment Kuro heard this, he opened the door to his room, stepped through, and closed it behind him. It was a clear refusal to answer anything.

“Hmph,” Shiro huffed as Kuro left. Just like Shiro had a past he didn’t want others to know, so too did Kuro clearly have some secrets of his own.

Shiro looked to the side to find Tatsu, who seemingly knew some of those secrets, with his eyes fixed on the closed door.

I guess it doesn’t matter. If the time ever comes when we need to know, he’ll tell us himself.

Shiro had never been very interested in people other than Herscherik, and he would never attempt to do something so boorish as to expose a past that someone wished to bury.

“We should go after Hersch,” Shiro said.

“And how dost thou propose to do that, Master Spellcaster?” Tatsu asked.

Shiro responded with the enchanting smile of a goddess.