Chapter 278

Volume 2 Ch 21: Moonlight

Only a single crystal-shaded magic desk lamp was lit in the study. The light had been adjusted to be warm and focused, casting a bright pool over the broad desk while leaving the rest of the room in a comfortable dimness. Moonlight poured through the spotless glass windows, edging the furniture in a pale silver glow.

Behind the desk sat the mistress of the residence.

Cecilia was dressed far more casually at home than she ever was on formal occasions. She wore a soft, comfortable pale-gold house robe, and her long golden curls fell loose over her shoulders, flowing like honey in the lamplight. Her ice-blue eyes remained clear and bright, now fixed on the guest seated opposite her, while a thoughtful expression rested on her lovely face.

The woman sitting across from her had long gray-green hair, elegantly pinned up behind her head.

She wore a well-tailored travel dress in a restrained gray-blue, simple in style, easy to move in, yet still neat and proper. Her expression was calm, and her gray eyes were quiet and clear.

Cecilia tapped the edge of the documents once with her finger, then lifted her gaze toward Vera.

“You know what to do next.”

Vera dipped her head slightly, her gray eyes tranquil as still water. “Yes, Your Highness. I understand.”

To put it simply, they were aligning their story.

Although they had already produced a roughly unified version of events when they first left the ruins and faced the initial questioning, everyone knew it would not end there.

The Emperor—or rather, the true intelligence apparatus behind the imperial family—would never be satisfied with a superficial report.

The only ones who had truly gone deep into the ruins’ core and reached the final point were their own group. The Emperor would inevitably want to know exactly what had happened behind those ancient stone walls, down to every detail—especially the fate of the elites from the other factions.

Cecilia had given very explicit orders.

No matter who the Emperor later questioned, or by what means, when it came to the specific fates of Parker and his men, as well as the other faction members who had disappeared in the depths of the ruins, they were to maintain complete consistency: they knew nothing; they had no direct involvement; the causes were to be attributed to the ruins’ own dangers, unknown defensive mechanisms, or internal conflict.

On the other hand, the credit for resolving the core problem of the ruins and bringing back the crucial information needed to be skillfully directed, as much as possible, toward Ryan.

After a long and meticulous exchange, everything that needed to be clarified had already been clarified.

Vera rose to her feet and smoothed a nonexistent wrinkle from her skirt, her posture as composed as ever.

“Then, if there is nothing further, Your Highness, I will take my leave.”

Cecilia stood as well and walked to the study window, glancing out at the still night beyond.

“Travel safely. Would you like me to send an escort?” she asked. “With the ceremony so close, the Royal Capital may not be as peaceful at night as it appears.”

“Thank you for Your Highness’s concern, but that won’t be necessary.” Vera shook her head lightly. “I did not come alone.”

Cecilia seemed to think of something and nodded. “Very well. Be careful on the way.”

Vera gave another flawless curtsy, graceful as ever, then turned and slipped soundlessly out of the study.

Cecilia remained at the window and did not leave immediately.

She watched the gray-blue figure below cross the garden path beneath the accompaniment of guards, heading toward the gates of the residence. A plain, unremarkable carriage stood waiting there in silence, its curtains lowered. Vera stepped into it at the coachman’s quiet greeting, and the curtain fell shut, sealing off the sight within.

The carriage soon set off, vanishing soundlessly into the deep night and into the interwoven shadows of the capital’s streets.

Cecilia still stood by the window, the cold moonlight reflected in her ice-blue eyes as her thoughts turned.

She had placed eyes within Ryan’s residence. They could not reach anything truly important, but some movements on the surface were still within her grasp.

She already knew of today’s meeting between Ryan and Ilis. She even vaguely knew that, later, the two of them had attempted something in private. Given Ilis’s—no, Iruya’s—identity as an elf, and the thing Ryan had brought back from the ruins, it was not difficult for Cecilia to guess that they had most likely been trying to resolve whatever abnormality had afflicted Ryan’s Mana.

“If he can recover his strength, that is good news at least...” she murmured softly.

Ryan was one of her most important collaborators. A Ryan who had lost his power entirely would see his value greatly diminished, perhaps even become a burden.

Now, things seemed to be moving in a favorable direction. At the very least, Ryan had not become a complete cripple.

That allowed her to relax somewhat.

As for Iruya...

Cecilia’s brows drew together faintly.

Ryan’s relationship with that elven girl seemed somewhat closer than she had originally anticipated.

Still, for the moment, they both counted as her people in one sense or another—or at least they did where shared interests were concerned. So long as it did not affect the larger situation, a little personal familiarity between them was no great issue.

She turned away from the window, and the warm light cast her elegant silhouette over the thick carpet.

The board had already been laid out. The pieces were slowly returning to their places. What she needed now was to decide how to make her next move.

Inside the carriage, Vera lifted the curtain and sat down, letting out a quiet breath as the tension in her always-straight back eased slightly against the soft padded wall.

“So?” came a rather unserious voice from beside her. “What new instructions did our esteemed Royal Princess give this time?”

Vera did not even need to turn her head to know who it was.

“What else would it be?” she replied flatly. “Nothing beyond the matter of the ruins, and how we’re supposed to keep our story consistent afterward.”

“Oh? So, coordinated testimony?” The person beside her seemed to smile, their voice sounding somewhat low in the enclosed carriage. “Makes sense. Still, that princess’s mind is no less deep than her father’s. The old Emperor has been trying again and again to sound out the truth. I doubt it’ll be so easy to fool him. The waters of the imperial family run deep indeed~”

“That is not something we need to worry about,” Vera said, closing her eyes and rubbing at her brow. “Her Highness has her own arrangements.”

“True enough.”

The other person answered, and the carriage fell quiet for a moment, save for the faint sound of wheels passing over stone.

After a while, that voice spoke again.

“To be honest, I’m curious. I understand why she’s so determined to hide what really happened to Parker’s group and the other elite teams. She doesn’t want trouble coming back on her, obviously. But why is she so set on pushing most of the credit onto Ryan? That guy... tch. Standing out too much is not always a good thing.”

At that, Vera opened her eyes and turned her head.

Moonlight slipped through the swaying gap in the carriage curtain and fell over the profile of the person beside her, illuminating a head of neat blue short hair and a face that always seemed to wear a touch of irreverent amusement.