How pompous they were. With trumpets and gongs, they announced their arrival at the imperial palace. The crown princess sat on her throne, at the end of the red carpet. Similarly, a tiara outfitted with jewels rested atop her head.

“The Empire of Soavan greets you.”

Haein bowed her head slightly. A tanned, young looking man approached her on the red carpet, and he bowed his head in response. Around his head, there was a golden headband spanning the entirety of his skull. That was their equivalent of a crown. The second prince of the Loyra Kingdom smiled and lifted his head.

“Good afternoon, your highness. I trust that you’ve been well?” He looked around the imperial palace as he spoke.

“Fine enough. I heard you wanted to talk about the trade envoys, your highness?”

“Yes. You are most correct.”

That man clapped. Prince Zoaani-mu was the one in charge of diplomacy. In addition to his title as second prince, he was more or less the ambassador to the empire. When he spoke, his voice and words had traces of an accent. Wrapped in loose robes, and greyish hair, he definitely stood out from everyone else in the empire.

Crown princess Haein met with the second prince. He had requested a meeting days prior, and she had no choice but to accept. The Loyra Kingdom was an absolute pain to deal with, but like an annoying chore, it had to be done.

“Well? Is the Loyra Kingdom unsatisfied with our goods? Or do you wish to amend the agreed upon terms?”

“None of that. We want to increase the number of goods being traded. We can send you more shipments of sugar and wine, in return for more mana stones,” he said.

“Ho. And what are your plans for those?”

“Don’t you think you’re prying too much, your highness?”

“Our mana stones are a precious commodity. We will not trade them away without knowing why.”

“It's for a project that our mages are working on. Is that answer satisfactory?”

“Ha... Our miners are currently overworked. We can’t supply you with more.”

“I’ll give you a shipment of bread, and a shipment of sugar for every half a shipment of mana stones.”

“Hoh. That’s a lot. What quality of mana stones are you looking for?”

“Raw. Unrefined, straight from the mines.”

She raised her eyebrows. This was not what she expected. Pure, unrefined mana stones had their uses. But they were typically used for other reasons. Mages had no reason to touch them. So why did the Loyra Kingdom want raw mana stones?

“Denied. Our mana stones have more use to us than your sugars and wine.”

That much was true. Mana stones helped to augment tools, and weapons. But another part of it was what they wanted to do with them. If she helped them invade the empire by trading with them, Haein would never live that shame down.

Prince Zoaani-mu sighed, and rubbed his forehead. Just how much did he need it? The royalty of the Loyra Kingdom often acted haughty and talked down to other royals. It was rare to see him like that. Never had she watched a Loyra royal be in such a predicament. She stifled a laugh.

“Please, we need it more than you.”

“What for. I think that’s all. Anything else you wish to add, your highness?”

“We’ll have to deal with the Arcane Tower at this point. Can’t you understand my position here?”

“What’s wrong with dealing with the Arcane Tower? They have their uses.”

Of course, she knew well what was wrong. Once the people there caught a whiff of something that they could exploit, they would never let go of it. They only got worse the moment they sunk their teeth into it. She recalled the recent kidnapping. That reminded her.

“Hello? Francis? You there?”

No response. It had already been quite a few days since they found him. So where was he? She had half considered making a visit, but knowing the Rayleighs, they would never allow someone of royal blood to step foot inside their manor.

“The Arcane Tower is dangerous, your highness.”

“Everything can be dangerous. What’s your evidence?”

“Well... They managed to do something to your close friend, did they not?”

“Ho? Mind elaborating on that? I don’t recall anything like that happening.”

“Is that so.”

He smirked. When he smiled, he had a habit of revealing his teeth. With those yellow eyes, he stared at her as his lips curled up.

So that was his plan. Did he have a spy? Most likely. If so, who was it? Out of everyone that knew, it was only those close to her and the unfortunate victim. She could narrow the list of suspects down, at least on her side.

Herself, the unfortunate victim. The court mage, the victim’s family. The dutiful knight, and the holy knight. Was there anyone else? The official story was that he had gotten sick. Was there a leak? Most likely. Or could someone be listening in on her? That was possible too. When she got the chance, she would need to get Zeno to create a barrier. But back to the second prince, he walked around the meeting room.

The prince looked at the various decorations the imperial family had. Priceless ceramics, all with historical significance; antique paintings all made long ago by famous artists known throughout the entire continent.

“These are rather valuable,” he said as he inspected a glazed ceramic urn.

“Yes. They are.”

Haein stood up from her throne. She made her way towards the prince, and stood beside him. The elegant dress dragged behind her. Its purple fabric was thin. Small shiny reflective things were sewn with the deep purple dress that resembled the night sky.

“Well, I’m sure you know what’s valuable and not, your highness,” he spoke.

“And what might you be implying?”

“Oh, you know.”

“Hmm. Anyway, I decline the trade deal.”

“Is that the case?”

“Yes. Now, do you have any other business that you wish to discuss?”

“Not really, I suppose you want me gone then, your highness?”

“Oh I wouldn’t quite say that, prince.”

“You would never be quite so blunt with me, would you?”

“I would never be blunt with anyone. Basic politeness and courtesy must still be present.”

“Of course. Because I’m not him, am I?”

“I have no idea who you’re talking about.”

“Haha. Sure thing, your highness. But if for example, if someone came to you with a trade deal, I’d recommend you do not decline them.”

“Might you be threatening me, your highness?” Haein asked.

She poised that question as she hovered behind him. As he stood in front, bent down, looking at an ancient piece of pottery, she wondered if she could strangle him. If someone saw the look she had on her, they had a great chance of thinking she was a seasoned killer.

If she did kill him right here and now, the consequences would be unimaginable. Undoubtedly, war would rage across the entire continent, no, the known world. Despite the Soavan empire military might, it lacked precious resources that were essential for a long and drawn out war. Mainly, iron. And by extension, steel. That meant that once their weapons and armour broke, there was no way to replace them.

The Empire of Soavan had vast resources, sure, but they were not perfect. Crown princess Haein knew of that. Meanwhile, most of the iron mines were located in other countries. Notably, the Republic of Kujani with their large swathes of lands and sizable veins of ores.

“No, of course not. How could I ever.”

He turned around to face her. Up close, she could see the fine details of his face. A slight wrinkle near his eyes, and through the thin layer of makeup, a pimple.

“Is that so?”

Haein met his sight. His toothy smile was unsettling, to say the least. With uneven teeth, he was far from pretty. Or maybe her standards were raised far too high. Granted, after being around people like Francis for long enough, one would get desensitised, or at least get used to beauty.

“Yes. I would never threaten someone. Anyone, actually. Wouldn’t even be mean to an animal. But someone else might be.”

“So you’re issuing a warning, then?”

“Non, you misunderstand me.”

“Then please elaborate.”

“I am simply stating a fact.”

She stayed silent. If that man was making a threat, oh then she had something on her hands. A diplomatic issue, in fact. Those were always hard to deal with. Especially since there was a lack of witnesses here.

“I suppose we have no other business to discuss,” she said as she made her way back to her throne.

“No, we don’t. I shall take my leave then.”

“That is up to you.”

“Its fine. I accomplished what I wanted to do.”

“If you say so.”

He waved goodbye as he left the meeting room. Outside, she could hear the bombastic blasting of trumpets and gongs. The Loyra Kingdom always quite had a flair for performance. Various skilled performers came from there, and the most well known schools for drama and music were within its borders.

Once he was gone, she breathed a sigh of relief. He was a pain to deal with. But that aside, he did help her. Who was the insider? As the servants returned to their posts, she walked out of the meeting room and made her way to her private study. With her fingers on her chin, she walked without paying any attention. In deep thought, she had to ponder.

Who? She began to rule out suspects. It wasn’t her. Nor was it Francis, for the reports given to her stated that he was asleep. His guards then? No, they swore an oath of loyalty to the Rayleighs 4 generations ago. Edmond Ren, then? He could keep a secret, definitely. His accomplishments and allegiance were towards himself, and the temple. The same applied for pretty much everyone else. Then, did the Loyra Kingdom have connections with the Arcane Tower? No, unlikely. It was far more probable for them to have ties with the Atlas Association.

She pushed the door open with her body and sat down. Located on the corner of her desk, there was a bottle of black ink, with a feather pen sticking out of it. It seemed like the table was cleared by a servant. That was fine. What she was writing before the annoying disturbance was useless. Just a list of potential topics that the second prince might have wanted to discuss.

Reaching into her dress, she pulled out a necklace. A key hung on a thin string. Usually, it was tucked away inside her clothes, close to her chest and heart. She gripped it carefully, and inserted it into a keyhole in the bottom of her desk. She didn’t need to see to know where it was.

With a click, she removed a drawer. With a thin layer of varnish, the wooden drawer had a glossy look. Placing it onto her desk, she made sure no one was there to watch. After closing the windows, Haein locked the door. She drew the blue, velvety curtains across, blocking anyone with a telescope from peeking in.

Good. There were no signs of disturbances. The depth of the inside of the drawer was far too shallow. Of course it was. She designed it. Even if one took into account the thickness of the wood used to make it, there was simply no way. With a soft push, she removed the false bottom and set it down onto her desk. That was where the important notes were.

“Good. Nothing wrong.”

She grabbed a thin stack of documents. Ordered chronologically, it was her journal that she kept. There was no title, nor was there much formatting. It was meant for her eyes, and her eyes only. But what she was interested in was the sheet of paper at the bottom of the stack. Logically, that would be the last entry in the journal, or the earliest. But it was neither. In fact, it wasn’t even a journal entry at all.

“Let’s see. Did he tell me anything about the Loyra Kingdom?”

Haein scanned the sheet. In a neat handwriting, words spanned from top to bottom, left to right. Not much white space was left.

“Shit. Nothing, huh?”

Written on the paper were statements. These were vague, but useful. Yet, nothing about the Loyra Kingdom. ‘The youngest child of Rayleigh is key’ and ‘A long game of forbidden and divine’ and such were the sort of statements she had there. They were far too vague to reach any form of conclusion, but there were still glimpses into the future.