Chapter 3: Chapter 3

“Prince Osas, huh? I have heard of him.”

It would be hard for Rinaldo not to recognise the name. His sister married a noble from the Setem Kingdom. She knew every important person there. Prince Osas' name was on the list of people she wouldn't associate with.

“What do you know about him?” Olivia sounded interested.

“Not much. Most of what I know comes from hearsay,” he replied. “All I know is that the man is not a person to be trusted.”

He did not know how accurate the information given by his sister was. Out of all the people in Rinaldo's family, his sister was the only one showing excessive paranoia. She trusted nobody, hiding a knife under her pillows for as long as he could remember. Her favourite phrase was: trust no one, even yourself.

It was strange for someone like her to tell Rinaldo not to trust a specific person any more than the others. King Ose's youngest son must have wronged her or her husband to leave such a powerful impression on her.

“Why?”

Before Rinaldo could answer, something in the darkness caught his attention. He turned his head a little, trying to see what was lurking in the shadows. Rinaldo stood there for a moment. “Hold on.”

“What's wrong?”

“I thought I saw something.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yes, I'm sure. I heard something move over there. I'm going to take a look.” He pulled the blades of his daggers out of their sheaths and crept behind a pillar near the back of the room.

Rinaldo waited silently, listening to every little noise he could hear. He stood there for what seemed like hours, but it was only a matter of minutes. Eventually, there were only two possibilities: either he had been too suspicious or he was really looking for something.

“I think it was just the wind.”

“Maybe.” Rinaldo didn't sound convinced.

“Or maybe it was just your imagination. I see nothing.” She did not raise her voice, in case the wind or whatever was out there was still around.

They both stood there for a moment longer, before Rinaldo broke the silence. “We should probably go. It's getting late.”

Olivia nodded, and they turned to walk back to the brighter part of the palace that no one used to detain prisoners. Rinaldo cast one last look over his shoulder, but whatever he had seen had disappeared now, lost in the darkness.

It was then that Olivia realised she had walked ahead of him. She turned around, and as she did, she saw, or rather felt, something. She stopped, her heart pounding when she saw Rinaldo had also stopped.

“Did you hear that? Someone's coming.”

“I hear nothing.”

Olivia stood there, being the only one who could hear the footsteps. Then they stopped. They both stood there, waiting to see who or what was approaching. “It's probably nothing.”

They heard a thud, and then it stopped. The two both froze, waiting for whoever it was to move again, but nothing happened. They stood there for a while longer. Eventually, the footsteps moved again. They seemed to come towards them.

Rinaldo turned to face whoever it was. Olivia stood there next to him. They both saw that whoever it was, was a woman. She was tall, with a slender body and long black hair. Her dress suggested that she was working as the palace's maid.

“Can I help you?”

He didn't recognise this woman, and Olivia seemed to think the same. It would be normal for Rinaldo not to recognise her since he was born with a trifling case of face blindness, but not Olivia. Her duty was to manage the palace's servants as the emperor's stewardess.

If Olivia didn't know who the woman was, that would only mean that she wasn't working here.

“I'm sorry to intrude, but I'm looking for someone.”

“Who are you looking for?”

Rinaldo and Olivia exchanged a quick glance. What the woman said next would determine whether she was an ally or an enemy—Or both. Rinaldo's sister once said an ally was an enemy who hadn't attacked. According to that definition, everyone could be an enemy.

“I'm looking for Sir Rinaldo.”

“You've found him. I'm Rinaldo.”

“Master Orlando wants to see you in the office.”

Orlando was the Luminous Knights' captain, the holy sword holder. He wasn't only a great warrior who led his comrades to many victories, but also a great diplomat, always resolving conflicts without resorting to violence.

Whenever the emperor needed him elsewhere for his diplomatic expertise, Rinaldo would have to take his job as his second-in-command. That was why he was doing paperwork in his office today until Olivia's apt arrival saved him from losing what remained of his sanity.

“Now?”

“Yes. He said it was important.”

Rinaldo didn't know what to expect, but he was sure it wouldn't be good. He blew Orlando's office to smithereens, after all.

“Thank you. Tell him I'll be there in a minute.”

The maid bowed. If Olivia didn't know her because she didn't work here, she must work for the Ariosto household—Orlando's family. Before she could leave, however, Olivia asked her if she followed them all the way from the dungeon.

The maid shook her head. “No. Master Orlando said that I should wait outside.”

“Oh. Thank you. You may leave now.”

Olivia frowned. She had not seen the maid as they were leaving the dungeon. Did Orlando tell the maid to wait outside before they left the dungeon, or after they left it? She saw the maid bowing again, and left. As Rinaldo headed down the hall toward Orlando's office, Olivia turned to him.

“What do you think Orlando wants?”

“I'm not sure, but I guess we'll find out soon enough.”

“I'll go with you.”

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They made their way to the office, the same room Astoria and Rinaldo had destroyed earlier in the day. They knocked on the door and then entered.

Orlando was leaning in his chair, looking at some papers. He was a tall, muscular man with blond hair and aqua eyes. The man wore his usual attire, a blue tunic with gold accents. He also had his sword, Durand, at his side.

The thorny sword's status as a holy weapon would impress Rinaldo if he didn't know its creator named it after a tropical fruit.

When its current wielder saw them, he raised his head. “I was wondering when you would get here. I was getting worried.”

“You wanted to see me, captain?”

“Yes, come in. Close the door behind you.”

Rinaldo did as instructed, and then Orlando motioned for him to have a seat. He sat on the chair and looked around the small room, noticing that the maids had cleaned up all the mess he had made. They even replaced the window.

He wasn't sure which maids did the cleaning, the palace's maids or the Ariosto's maids. He didn't know how to start the conversation, so he just blurted out the first thing that came to mind. “I'm sorry about what happened. I didn't mean to break the window.”

His captain just waved his hand dismissively. “It's not a big deal. I have my maids clean it up after you.”

Orlando's casual response took him aback. He had expected him to be more upset. Instead, he seemed utterly unconcerned about the whole incident. Rinaldo worried he would be in trouble for making such a mess. The room wouldn't be in such a state if the mechanical bird didn't find him there.

“Thank you, captain. I'm sorry for the trouble.”

“Don't worry about it. It's not a big deal.”

“What are your maids doing here, anyway?”

“The palace is currently understaffed. We have to pay half of the maids to stay at home because of the beast's plague. Isn't that right, Olivia?”

“Shouldn't you consult it with me first?”

“I already have Charlie's permission to bring my maids here. They're here for reinforcements.”

There were many problems with that statement. The Ariosto's maids weren't just maids. They received training from an early age to excel in information gathering and espionage. Their proficiency in both unarmed and armed combat was no joke, either.

Only a select few knew this. Naturally, the emperor was one of those in the know. Was he expecting something big to happen in the palace?

“Now, let's get down to business. I'm sure you're wondering why I've called you here, Rinaldo,”

“The thought had crossed my mind. What's this about?” Rinaldo was curious. “Is this about the interrogation?”

“Not quite. Astoria already briefed me on the important parts. You can submit your report later.”

Rinaldo nodded. “Okay. You need me for something else, then.”

“You're certainly right. I'll get straight to the point. I need you to go on an important mission.”

He looked back at Orlando, who was now sitting across from him. “What kind of mission?”

“I need you to go to the city of Viennetta. There's been reports of strange activity there.”

Orlando's explanation intrigued Rinaldo. Viennetta was his hometown. It was the place his mother sent the letter from. He wondered how the woman was doing. Maybe he should use this opportunity to visit her. It was not like he had anything better to do.

“People have been disappearing at night. No one knows why. Find out what's going on and stop it.”

“I see. I'll leave right away.”

Rinaldo couldn't help but feel a bit excited about the prospect of returning to his hometown. It had been a long time since he had been back. His excitement turned to trepidation when he thought about his mother. He knew she would be happy to see him, but he wasn't sure if he was ready to face her.

“Good. Olivia, I need you to come with him.”

“Me?”

That Orlando asked Olivia to go with Rinaldo was a surprise to her. She thought she would stay at the palace with the captain. She wasn't sure what she could do to help him, but she didn't want to let Orlando down.

“Yes, you. I need you to monitor him and make sure he does nothing stupid.”

“Yes, sir. I'll do my best.”

Olivia bowed. She understood what the captain was asking of her and was happy to do it. She knew Rinaldo could be impulsive. Sometimes, he didn't think things through. She would make sure he stayed out of trouble.

Rinaldo wished those two wouldn't talk about him as if he wasn't in the room with them.

“I know you will. Now be careful. Use the anywhere door.”

“The anywhere door?”

“That's what the Count calls them. He is waiting on the other side of the door.”

Could this Count be the same person who reverse-engineered most of the ancient technologies from the Sage's era for everyday use? Rinaldo had never met the man before.

Rinaldo thought this was an excellent opportunity to meet the mysterious man known as the Count of St. Germain and see if he deserved his reputation as an eccentric but excellent inventor.

Before Rinaldo could rise from his chair, something unexpected happened: The windows broke again. This time, the cause was a humanoid projectile appearing to naked eyes as a blur. From a distance, Rinaldo could hear an exasperated feminine voice yelling, “God, not again!”

At least Rinaldo had nothing to do with it, for once. However, he was wrong. The universe must have hated him because he did something terrible in his previous life. Not that he could remember, of course. Orlando was the only one in the Luminous Knights, with memories of a past life, to Rinaldo's knowledge.

“Rinaldo, my eternal rival. I challenge you to a fight!”