Raghav and Aurelia walked out onto a balcony that overlooked the city. She traced her hands on the railing, looking at the city. "Isn't it beautiful?"
Raghav standing to her right, looked at the gigantic city for the first time since he was summoned. "It is."
'A wide brick road leading straight from the castle's outer door to the main gate of the city. That isn't ideal in case of an attack on the city, but I guess King Istreid did not want to place the people in danger.'
Raghav approached the railing, leaning on it as he placed his right foot between the openings. "What is the population of this city?" "Two million; give or take a few thousands."
Raghav looked at the city. "Seems about right; the houses are two to three stories tall made of bricks, the streets are straight and well planned. There are parks in the city as well, but none like that one."
He pointed to a giant circular park in the western side of the city. Aurelia looked at the park. "That is the central market of the city; the shops are all arranged around the garden on both sides of the street." She then looked at Raghav. "Are gardens called parks in your world?"
Raghav shook his head. "No, gardens are private, only meant for some people; meanwhile parks are open for everyone." Aurelia nodded, turning back to the city. "I remember someone saying that she was going to tell me everything."
Aurelia looked back at Raghav as she lowered her gaze. "Five years ago, my brother was practicing in the royal garden; I was supposed to be there for him like always, but that day he and I had a fight and I did not go with him. I left him all alone after a few hours; one maid, Venessa, found him unconscious on the ground. We tried healing magic, enquired the sages as they passed through; did he have an illness or was he cursed? We never got to know. That is not all; I saw the assailant who attacked father, I could have been quicker, I could have prevented father from getting injured. I could… NO! I should have…"
Raghav watched as Aurelia's head began to fall lower with each word. "Stop beating yourself over it; we cannot change the past, but we can make the future better."
Aurelia looked up at Raghav with tears in her eyes. "How? Nothing works, we have tried every…" "Shhh!" Raghav silenced Aurelia as he gently held her face, wiping the tears; he looked into her eyes as he smiled. "These tears don't fit well on your beautiful face. You can stop now; I am here with you; I cannot help your father, but I can save Vonreid."
Aurelia calmed down as she wiped her tears and held Raghav's hands, looking into his eyes. "How?" Raghav let go of Aurelia. "In my world, this slumber is known as a coma and it can be caused in numerous ways from injuries to illness and it can even be medically induced."
Aurelia looked at Raghav in confusion. "I do not understand what you are implying." Raghav's face hardened. "I am implying that someone might be giving your brother certain medications to keep him in this state." Aurelia's eyes widened as she shook her head. "Why would anyone do that to Vonreid? He was just seven years old. We do not even have enemies. Our relations have always been good with all the kingdoms."
Raghav turned his head to the city. "It might not be an outsider; the attack on your father yesterday and your brother's condition might be the doing of someone from this kingdom itself. I already have a suspect."
Aurelia grabbed Raghav's chin, turning his head towards herself. "WHO?" Raghav's calm and narrow eyes met Aurelia's worried and widened eyes. "The Duke of the west, Galreid."
Aurelia backed off. "No, it cannot be him. He is our family. What reason could he have to do that to Vonreid and attempt to kill father? Do you even know it was Uncle who helped father through the grief when Vonreid fell into the slumber? He hugged him for hours until he felt better and you think he can betray father." Raghav remained calm. "Aurelia, sometimes the ones that hug us do so, so that they can bury their daggers in our backs."
Aurelia looked at Raghav in shock. He turned to walk back into the castle. "Please, do not mention this to anyone; I need some time to gather the evidence; I will bring my findings to the King tonight. It's time to take things seriously. Please don't blame yourself anymore. It pains me to see you like this."
Aurelia's eyes widened as she looked at Raghav walking back into the castle, leaving Aurelia standing alone on the balcony. She turned to look beyond the city towards the crops, fields and the lone tree. 'Is this what you meant when you said you will always be by my side?'
Aurelia then wiped her eyes and continued to admire the tree.
.
.
.
Raghav was escorted by two guards through a hallway containing multiple cells on either side. He looked at the cells and the people inside until he heard a scream as his head snapped forward. As he walked forward, the scream got louder and louder until he reached a metal door. The Guards opened the door and gestured him to enter.
Raghav nodded as he entered, finding the assailant with all of his limbs chained. His arms were chained to the ceiling while the legs were chained to the back wall and the metal collar on his neck chained to the floor. He was stripped down to rags that covered his privates; he was beaten up as his body was turned purple with the bruises.
"Raghav." Raghav looked to the left, finding Vaughn there. "Prime Minister." The two shook hands as Raghav gestured to the assailant. "Will this be able to hold him?" Vaughn nodded as he grabbed the chains. "These can restrict the Mana flow by effectively extracting the Mana from the person." Raghav looked at the chains, then back at the assailant. "He said anything?"
Vaughn shook his head as he sat back down in his chair and offered one to Raghav. "Thank you." Raghav sat beside Vaughn as he looked at a mage, grabbing hold of the assailant and pouring Mana into his head as he screamed. "What are they doing to him?" "Invading his mind with spells to find out his secrets, but he is resisting for now. You did not have to bother with this; the royal court can handle the investigation on its own."
Raghav kept looking at the assailant as the mage stepped back and the assailant fell limp, unable to fall to the floor as his chains made him hang in the air. "I was going to offer an alternate method for questioning, but I feel like that won't be needed. I shall take my leave then."
Raghav stood up from his chair and walked towards the door. Vaughn looked at Raghav reaching for the door, when he turned his gaze back to the assailant, a smile on his face. "Who do you think could be behind this assassination attempt?" Raghav stopped and turned his neck to look at Vaughn from the corner of his eyes; Vaughn, on the other hand, did not look at Raghav at all. "I don't know. Beside I don't really have to bother with any of this as long as people like you are handling it. Have a good day Prime Minister."
Raghav walked out of the room without waiting for a response. He looked at the guards. "Can you take me to the Kitchen that prepares food for the royal family?" The guards nodded and walked with him. Raghav walked behind them with his eyes on the floor. 'Aurelia was holding everything deep inside herself. I should find out the cause of Vonreid's condition and cure it. Then maybe she might be free from the burden.'
As they began ascending a spiral of stairs from the prison to the higher levels of the castle. Raghav suddenly stopped, his eyes still on the floor. He slowly closed his eyes and took a deep breath before lifting his head to look ahead of him as he exhaled. His expression just as serious as ever.
He began walking again, following the guards. 'Vonreid was targeted not because he was the king's son but because he must have seen something, something he wasn't meant to see. Maybe he saw Galreid planning something or overheard his scheme.' Raghav looked at the royal garden to his right as they walked through an open corridor with knee high barriers and pillars at a distance separating the garden and the corridor.
'If King Belreid dies, Galreid being the son of the previous King Delreid's younger brother; he would receive emergency powers and would be made king until Princess Aurelia marries or Vonreid comes of age. That must be the end goal.'
Raghav put his thoughts on hold as he arrived in the royal kitchen. "Thank you for bringing me here. I know my way back from here." The two guards slightly bowed before leaving.
Raghav looked around as one of the maid approached him. He avoided looking at her instead, opting to look around. "May I help you? Sir Hero." Raghav nodded. "Could you bring me the ledger, which keeps a record of the inventory?" "Yes, I can." She then left to get the ledger as Raghav sat on a stool, looking down at the floor.
Soon, the maid arrived with the ledger, which she presented to Raghav. He nodded and took the ledger and opened it without looking once at her. "Thank you, Miss?"
"Venessa. My name is Venessa." Raghav's eyes narrowed as he turned a page. "Where are you from, Venessa?" Venessa smiled as she brought her hands together. "I am from the city of Marne." Raghav closed his eyes. "It was you who I saw in the royal wing at lunchtime." Venessa nodded. "Yes, it was me. I am surprised you remember, you did not even look at me once. Do you have eyes at the back of your head?"
Raghav kept his gaze down in the ledger as a man approached the two of them. "Venessa, how many times do I have to tell you to stop acting childishly." He then turned to Raghav. "I apologise for her behaviour; she can be childish sometimes."
Raghav kept his head down but raised his hand, waving it slightly. "It's okay, I am not bothered by it." "May I ask what you are looking for?" Raghav, for the first time since he entered the room, looked at someone as his eyes met the man's. "I am currently checking the items that you have in the inventory, since I do not eat meat or eggs. I hope to see what choices I have for food."
Raghav then looks back at the ledger as he pulls out his phone, taking a few photos before closing the ledger and handing it to the man as he looked him in the eye. "Thank you and you too, Venessa."
Raghav then turned around, walking out of the kitchen. Venessa looked at him, walking away. 'He still did not look at me once.'
As Raghav walked the halls, he kept looking at the pictures on his phone. 'Neem leaves, valerian flowers and passion flowers; simple yet effective sedatives. Vonreid gets a dose of these all mixed up every day, but even that should only have been able to keep him unconscious for a few days; these are probably enhanced by Mana.'
Raghav turned his phone off as his hand lowered to his side. 'Venessa, the maid who found Vonreid five years ago, is the same maid who has been feeding him for the past five years. She is from the city of Marne. The city directly under The Duke of the west.'
Raghav reached his room as he entered it and pulled his phone out again. 'Kava, a very useful herb from the Pacific islands in my world, I do not know where it grows in this world, it usually has a calming effect on a person, but in some rare cases can cause irritability or mood swings, including increased anger. The King is being given a dosage of this herb in form of powder added in his steak to enhance its flavour and help the king relax. They don't even know it's having the opposite effect.'
Raghav sighed, placing his phone on the table as he unzipped his jacket and took it off along with his shoes and laid on the bed with the inside of his elbow resting on the bridge of his nose.
"I just need something to nail it home." Raghav laid there for an hour, not moving until he suddenly stood up, his narrow gaze moving towards the laptop.
He moved over to the table and opened it, sitting down on the chair as he saw the assailant chained up in the room. 'Good thing, I had the wireless spy cam with me.' Raghav looked out the balcony doors as he saw the night had fallen over the city.
He picked the laptop and walked over to Aurelia's door knocking on it. Aurelia opened the door. "Yes? Raghav, what do you need?" She looked at Raghav, who held the laptop in his left hand and with his right hand gestured to the King's room. "Would you like to join me?"
Aurelia nodded as she stepped out, closing the door behind her. The two walked over to the King's room as Raghav knocked, his eyes locked on the door as Aurelia looked solemn, glancing between the door and the unbothered and serious Raghav.
The door was opened by Reinhardt, who looked at the two; his gaze as narrow and his face as serious as Raghav's. Raghav stepped forward. "I wish to talk with the King. May I come in?"
Reinhardt nodded gently, stepping to the side. As Aurelia and Raghav walked in and the door closed.
In the corridor, a figure watched from the shadows before disappearing into the darkness of the corridor.