My Childhood Friend Is An Archmage Chapter 95
Translated by d6y (ko-fi)
Chapter 95
* * *
The next day.
"My lady, there is a letter for you."
In the early afternoon, I am eating fruit in my room when Austin approaches me. It's not often that Austin brings me letters himself. Unless they're important, he usually sends a servant to deliver them to me.
"Thank you." I take the letters he hands me.
Not one, but four letters. In addition to the letters, there's a small gift box. How surprising.
"Is there anything else you'd like me to do for you?" Austin asks after I glanced at the letters for a moment.
"I would like you to increase the inspection of personal belongings that people bring into the Kaerun Duchy. Especially books."
"I'll be sure to pass it on to the servants." With a curt nod to me, Austin leaves the room.
Popping a few more fruits into my mouth, I sit down at my desk and go through the letters one by one.
The first letter is from the Crown Prince. When he wrote to me, he always sent a messenger to make sure I received it.
But that's not the case today.
This doesn't seem to be urgent. With that thought, I stare at the envelope, gleaming with gold leaf, and then open it with a paper-knife.
The letter was handwritten by the Crown Prince himself, the ink smudged slightly.
Dear Kayla.
It was a pleasure to be at the theatre with you yesterday. I hope you had a good night's rest.
His handwriting looks just like him. I examine the graceful, cleanly formed letters. The royal family sure is different.
I've also been thinking about how I unintentionally got you involved in an incident yesterday, and I want to apologise for that.
The 'incident' he refers to is presumably the scheme to obtain evidence that would lead to Carberry's dismissal from the Imperial Knights.
I saw your necklace yesterday and thought of something for you. I hope you like it.
If you don't mind, I'd like you to wear it to Julia's birthday party in a few days.
To keep it short, I'll end it here.
And so the letter ended succinctly.
I look at the gift he sent along with it. It's a small box, no bigger than the palm of my hand. It seems luxurious, the box threads trimmed in soft silk and lace. I could have sworn the box was a gift, not its contents.
So this is the by-product of power. I wonder how much the nobles have been taxed to pay for such imperial goods. Unfortunately, I can't help but let those worldly thoughts precede my emotional reaction to the gift.
"Wow." I let out a small exclamation as I opened the box.
Inside was a sparkling emerald necklace.
I don't usually wear jewellery, so I don't know much about it. Judging by its unusual size, it seems like a fairly expensive piece.
Did he give me this because the necklace I wore yesterday was green? I thought back to the necklace I had worn to the theatre yesterday. The gemstone necklace that Lancer had given me was also green.
I inspect the emerald necklace for a while. I feel burdened. There's no reason for me to feel that way…, but….
Yesterday, the only thing I did to help the Crown Prince was to act like a victim after being hit by a fake egg. It wasn't a very good performance.
Yet I got this necklace in return.
Was he that sorry for what happened yesterday? Is he trying to make me feel better because he's worried about the aftermath?
In truth, Carberry was a man who, if left to his own devices, would have made a mess of things. However, the Crown Prince wanted to get rid of him from the imperial knights as soon as possible. And yesterday, he concocted a plan.
Oh, I see. So in exchange for this emerald necklace, I won't tell anyone about this incident.
But using such an expensive trinket as a bribe is something, to say the least.
The imperial family is indeed on a different level, an idea that a mere noble like me cannot keep up with.
Returning the emerald necklace to the gift box, I pick up the next letter.
It was from Hubert.
Did something happen? Hubert is someone who rarely writes to me, save for the occasional greetings.
Shaking my head, I open the letter and see his handwriting.
Skyla.
I apologise for the short notice, but if you're free tonight, would you like to join Lancer and me for dinner?
Nothing happened, I just have some good news and would like to discuss it over a meal.
Come to a restaurant called Rabin's Bistro at 7 pm. It's run by a former imperial chef and the food is amazing.
Don't worry, I'll be the one paying tonight.
Dinner on a whim. And what does he mean by good news?
I cock my head slightly as I read his letter. As far as I remembered, he was always busy with the Imperial Knights. I rarely saw him except on special occasions. So it was quite unusual for him to make a sudden appointment today.
I glanced at the clock on my desk.
1.40 pm.
That's a pretty short notice.
It was customary among the nobility to send an invitation at least a week in advance, but Hubert and I had known each other since childhood, so there was no need for formality.
Should I get going now? I hesitate for a moment. I don't know if I should rush Phoebe and Ticef to get ready to go out, but then the last paragraph of the letter caught my eye.
P.S. Even if you don't come, we'll still be eating. So do what you want. But of course, I'd love it if you came.
(Lancer wants to see you.)
"...."
My hand grasps the rope and pulls it down in a hurry.
Not long afterwards, Phoebe enters the room.
"I'm going out tonight," I say, "I'm dining with Brother Hubert at Rabin's Bistro at 7 pm."
With that, I send her off and move on to the next letter.
To my surprise, the next letter was from Artberry.
Why would she write to me? Intrigued, I quickly ripped open the envelope.
The contents of the letter were not what I expected at all.
Dear Princess Skyla.
I am so sorry for writing to you so suddenly. But I don't know who else to write to besides you.
Ever since Brother Carberry came home yesterday, he hasn't stopped crying.
When I ask him what happened, he won't say anything other than that he won't be allowed in the palace anymore. He also keeps looking for alcohol.
This morning, he still didn't report to the Imperial Knights and kept trying to drink, so I had to knock him out for a while.
Yesterday, Princess Skylar attended a play with His Highness the Crown Prince, and I heard that your brother Carberry was her escort.
What happened yesterday? Please tell me. I'm so worried about my brother.
Thank you, and I'm sorry.
Artberry Vrans.
I can guess the reason for Hubert's sudden call to me today.
Carberry…. It will all soon be over for him.
Yesterday, Carberry must have realised that this situation was beyond repair, and he would be expelled from the Imperial Knights.
And by the way, how can he not show up for work this morning? As long as he hadn't been officially expelled yet, he was still a member of the Imperial Knights. That meant he had to go to work.
If it were me, I'd be out at the crack of dawn, begging for forgiveness for my mistake.
Either he had guts, or he didn't have a wrinkle in his brain.
I hold no personal grudge against Carberry, but I'm glad to see him thrown out soon.
I'll have so much to talk with Hubert this evening.
I decided not to write a reply to Artberry. I don't know how things are going to turn out, so I don't want to take any chances.
I put the letter down and picked up the last one.
The envelope reads:
Dear Skyla, from Lancer.
My heart sank. It sank to the depths like a pebble dropped on a calm surface. I hastily tear open the simple white envelope and pull out the letter.
The letter only contains one line.
Skyla, I'm sorry. Please come see me.
That one line says enough.
The ink smudged uncontrollably, as if it took Lancer great pain to write that short sentence. The edges of the paper were curled as if they were being held.
I wonder how much time Lancer has spent sending me this single line.
But….
I'm grateful. For writing to me first, for telling me he wants to meet, for asking me to reconcile first.
So I'm grateful.
But I'm not prepared to go to the Soli Duchy. Unfortunately, my pride is still strong for no reason. I'm not ready to apologise to Lancer.
So, after a moment, I write back to him.
You come.
