The trip to Beraud’s border was a painful reminder of exactly why I was going. Once we crossed the border we were able to pay for passage aboard the trains there, and I took the opportunity to observe how they worked. It was mostly as expected, but there were a few points that surprised me.

For one thing, the seating was something more like one would expect on a bus, and the high-class seating skipped private cars and went straight to moving luxury suites. It was a bit excessive but with a class system like Beraud had, I could see why there was such a difference.

Since it would still take more than a day to travel to the capital of Beraud by train I ended up with a train car all to myself as the only female aristocrat. Coincidentally, my subordinates had to sit in the common seating. As I said, a strict class system. It was something I had forgotten about having been born in Tethia.

Unfortunately, once we did arrive in the capital there was no time to corner Alois, and he had made certain I couldn’t speak to him during the journey. Alois hadn’t said too much about the life he had led before this second chance of his, and part of me was concerned that he had a grudge against Beraud for something they had not done yet.

That was how I found myself in the audience hall of the king of Beraud almost immediately after my arrival in the capital.

“Princess,” the king called warmly, “It is an honor to have you visit our country. You truly must be special since the king of Tethia personally selected you to be the first diplomatic visit since we formed our alliance.”

I managed to smile despite the pressure. “This is certainly a diplomatic visit but I came here to present a business opportunity that could be equally beneficial to both of us.”

“Oh?” he asked in interest, “I will have to hear more of this proposal in detail at a later date. You must be tired from your travels. I have prepared accommodations for you and your companions. Feel free to tour our fine castle.”

“I certainly have a lot to expect,” I replied, glancing at the chandeliers above us, clearly running with electricity, and the other dignified technology displayed proudly in the throne room, “If this room is anything to go by, Beraud has a lot to offer that most countries would not.”

“We pride ourselves on our technological prowess,” the king replied, “When I had the chance to join hands with the only other country who could match our innovation I simply could not pass it up. It is a shame my only son near your age is a disgrace or I would offer you his hand in marriage.”

I felt a chill at that barely dodged bullet. “Thank you for your kind words, but I am merely the tenth princess and new to my position,” I replied, “As a political marriage candidate I won’t be worth much to you.”

“I have heard otherwise,” The king chuckled, “but that is a topic to discuss after you have rested. I look forward to our next meeting.”

I left the room as directed and made sure to keep a perfect smile until I was alone in the room the king had prepared for me. It was too luxurious. As far as I knew, Beraud only paid attention to the king and queen of Tethia and treated the princes and princesses as mere ministers. What had the king been told to make him act like this towards me?

King Nero likely wouldn’t have drawn attention to me like this, and there shouldn’t be too many rumors about me since I had only just begun my role as the tenth princess. One thought did come to mind. I had asked Silas Toll to help me with negotiations, but surely he would have known that this was not the kind of help I desired.

There was another option I had to consider. This could be a trap. I needed to tread carefully and warn the others. When I brought it up with Alois he revealed something unexpected.

“I wasn’t sure if I should mention this or not, but in this situation…” Alois hesitated, “The old headmaster would often make secret visits to the King of Beraud. I am not sure if they were partners or friends. Either way, both of us should be careful while we are here. We were directly involved in Osmond’s downfall.”

“So I wasn’t just imagining things,” I muttered, “Do you think he has anything to do with Osmond’s disappearance?”

“I am not sure, but even if he does, the Pavilion has enacted its punishment according to Alvis. Osmond should not have been able to survive that,” Alois explained.

“Should not have been,” I repeated, “Not could not. Perhaps Osmond already had a plan.”

“We should definitely prepare for that possibility,” Alois agreed.

We ended our discussion there since we did not have enough information to work off of. The next day the king invited us to a luncheon. The invitation stated that they could present their proposals after that as the king had emptied his schedule until dinner for them.

“Again with the suspiciously good treatment,” I muttered to myself.

Then again this might be a chance to get some answers if I was careful. Bringing up the topic of Osmond before negotiations were finished might ruin our chances so I decided against the idea.

The luncheon was meticulously prepared. A special feast, even for a king. Alois was also invited but no one else that I brought was allowed to attend. At the same time, while the meal was incredible the table was not uselessly large or gaudy. I was surprised by the practicality.

“Surprised?” the king asked, “There is a different room I use for larger conferences, but this room is my favorite for luncheons. Feel free to relax.”

“Thank you, Your Majesty,” I replied.

“Feel free to call me King Ryne,” he told me, “We are both royalty, after all.”

“I will keep that in mind,” I managed, but my caution and suspicion were making it difficult to focus on politics and manners.

King Ryne turned to Alois. “From what I understand you are the future Headmaster,” he began, “I have seen you a few times before. How are things going for you?”

“Busy,” Alois replied shortly.

The king chuckled. “Aren’t things always busy for those in our positions? Your etiquette is still lacking, but you grew up well.”

Was the target Alois rather than me? No, the king had been paying plenty of attention to me earlier. He could be trying to fool us, though.

I somehow managed to make it through brunch and all of the royal small talk. As the dishes were being cleared away, King Ryne spoke.

“Before you make your proposal I believe I have something you need to see,” he told us, “I heard that there was some kind of magical tool amongst your belongings so you might know what it is.”

“What what is?” Alois demanded.

“It is something that Osmond told me to keep for him before he disappeared. Since he escaped your prisons to give it to me I thought you might want to know about it,” King Ryne explained.

This was probably the real reason behind all of the good treatment. Beraud did not want to lose their new alliance with Tethia, but they had harbored a criminal and received a gift from him Though, from how he had stated it, Osmond didn’t stay long enough to be reported, and it would be too much to expect Beraud to hold him if he still had magic left.

“Do you have any idea what happened to Osmond after that?” I questioned.

“There was only one witness to his disappearance and they were not taken seriously at first. Even for Tethia, the kind of phenomena they described was ridiculous,” the king replied and stood, “It might be faster if I just showed you what he left behind.”

“Are the tool and the phenomena related?” I asked.

“Yes. As soon as he handed the tool to the servant, he vanished. No one else has experienced and strange side effects, though,” King Ryne answered.

“You mentioned a phenomenon. What else happened besides him vanishing?”

“The servant claimed that darkness itself came alive and swallowed him whole,” the king told me. It seemed he had wanted to avoid saying that sentence.

I hesitated for a moment longer before I got up to follow him. Alois shadowed me closely as we walked through the hallways to a highly secured vault. Since this was Beraud the vault was secured with several complex mechanisms. Inside this vault was a single item.

A scepter, or perhaps something more like a magic staff, stood on its own in the center of the room with no supports around it. The handle was made of wood so dark it was almost black, but it was not dyed. A glimmering blue gemstone the size of a man’s fist was attached to the head of the staff by delicate silver tendrils in a spiral formation.

“Eerie, isn’t it?” King Ryne spoke, breaking the silence, “There is no magic in Beraud, and we have been careful not to touch it since we locked it away, yet it stands there so magnificently.”

“Osmond gave you no clues as to what it does?” I asked.

“He said that it would reveal its true form in the hands of Tethian.”

“Then why did he give it to you?” Alois demanded.

“Why indeed,” King Ryne muttered, “He did mention one more thing. It would only glow blue for a true Tethian.”

“You intend to test us?” I asked with suspicion.

“Perhaps, but my opinions on what makes a true Tethian differ greatly from his,” the king replied, “You don’t have to touch it, but I will need my most secure vault back sooner or later. Possibly sooner depending on the gift you prepared. Originally I intended to present this as my return gift but I don’t want to risk a breaking of relations if it has harmful effects.”

“It should be fine for you to present it since you have warned us of the risks,” I mused, “We will definitely want to research what Osmond was doing after he escaped. Also, if this is the reason he was swallowed by darkness we can’t risk leaving it here.”

“I will present it to you upon your departure,” the king replied, “Would you like to inspect it before we leave?”

I hesitated, but it might be good to test it now in a place where we could not be seen rather than the staff activating or reacting in some strange way in front of a crowd.

“I will test to see if I can safely carry it,” I replied and approached the staff.

The moment my fingers brushed the polished wood the room was filled with a blinding blue light. That wasn’t all. My chest suddenly began to feel warm and steadily grew warmer. I quickly released the staff and stumbled back. I let out a breath I wasn’t aware I had been holding.

“Is that staff’s goal meant to destroy those true Tethians?!” I demanded.

Both the king and Aloid were still staring at the staff. “Cassandra, you might want to look closer.”

I looked back and the polished wood had turned to gold where my fingers had touched it. It was a scepter, not a staff, but I could only think of it as menacing.

“I will have to make sure to wear gloves when I receive it,” I muttered, “Did it look like this when Osmond held it?”

“No,” the king replied, “This is the first time I have seen any kind of reaction from it.”

“Let’s leave this thing locked up and discuss the reason we came here,” I pressed.

“Of course,” the king replied and led us out of the vault.

For a moment as the vault doors closed I thought I saw the scepter slowly floating towards me. Because of this, I missed King Ryne’s thoughtful gaze directed at me.