Chapter 86: 5-10 Mountain

Surprisingly, the arrangements Gustav promised came rather quickly. Only a couple of days after our meeting, I received a summons from Rupert asking for my presence. That was fortuitous since the matter with Sieg was making no progress. Sasha was proving to be rather inept at veiled communications; she outright refused my order on the matter.

“If you wish to speak with that man, simply summon him; you are the wife of the crown prince now. Do not debase yourself.”

“And you are refusing to carry out my orders? Does that not ‘debase me’?”

“In this case, I am; as a maid of the royal family, it is my duty to ensure that it does not lose face. You are a new member of this family, I can respect that the leap in station will be jarring. But that is only all the more reason for me to guide you firmly along the proper path.”

In short, Sasha seemed to think it was her duty to make me act a certain way. It would be extremely easy to have her removed from my service; one word to my guard knights, or really anyone would probably accomplish that. However, doing so would set a dangerous precedent. Sure, her refusing here was extremely frustrating, but she could have a good reason. It was doubtful but possible.

Before I do anything myself, I should ask Rupert… Sasha is such a stickler for the rules of society, that I really don’t think she would refuse a direct order like that. If I had to guess, Rupert might have told her to help me learn what is required and expected of me. Then, she just took it too far.

In the short term, Ferris would make a good messenger boy while he wasn’t training with my knights. Though sending a former duke’s son to ferry communications between myself and a lowly commoner alchemist probably seemed like a waste. The fact that my future involved repairing the kingdom’s spy ring meant that Ferris was going to have to get used to stuff like that if he was going to be in my service. Though his honor was a potential source of worry there; it may cause him to object to certain orders.

That was all for later though. For now, I was actually alone with Rupert. Well, there were two guards, so we were not technically alone but the lack of servants and such meant we were extremely isolated. It was… actually a bit disconcerting and made me feel exposed; I had grown used to having everyone around me at all times.

Then again, we were in some sort of large room, with a pair of ornate doors. This part of the palace was extremely old by comparison to the rest of the structure. Opening the doors would reveal the outside, and the pathway which wound up the side of the mountain. At the peak… was whatever Adroni wanted me to find so badly that he would offer a spoiler.

Actually, does Adroni really care that much? Since I met them, I’ve been given nothing but a string of spoilers. Hell, I was literally shown what was happening right after my death.

“Prince Rupert, what exactly is up on the mountain peak? Clearly something of great importance.”

He raised an eyebrow, “You do not know? After what Gustav said, I had assumed that your benefactor told you.”

“They did not. It was simply suggested that I should come here after the wedding, though at the time I did not realize how soon it would happen…”

“That is unlike you, I would not expect you to take such a vague suggestion at face value. Especially not from a god.”

He had me there. In my efforts at transparency, I had disclosed my feelings regarding the gods here.

Actually, it is rather strange… Is Adroni influencing me to act this way? They said they wouldn’t… But they had no problems confusing Sana to keep things interesting and pull me away from the Goddess of Light…

As concerning as it was, it was a real possibility that even now my thoughts were being influenced. All there was to assure me that was not happening, was the accord we had made.

But at the same time, there really is no reason not to go and check this place out. From Gustav’s words, I know that I would be taken up there eventually. The fact that Rupert is being so accommodating as well indicates that this isn’t really a big deal from his perspective, secrecy aside.

“Perhaps, but even still, I would like to follow through; that god did send me back after all. If all they want now is for me to go and visit the mountain peak earlier than I would have originally, then it is not much to ask.”

“True, and indeed, you would have been brought there soon in any case; the source of the royal family’s magic is what resides on the peak of the mountain. You need to present yourself to it in order to fully take on the duties of the queen. Obviously, this is a rather large secret.”

Yea, no kidding. I knew that the Voice of the King and those eyes Rupert used when I got shown his perspective existed outside the system of the majority of the world. I thought they were something inherent though, like Gustav’s and my own Blood Magic.

The source of blood magic was one’s own mana and will. This revelation implied that the magic used by the royal family had a different source entirely.

I also already have used the voice once, without visiting this source… So, what’s the difference there?

Asking the question now would simply delay things; there was a good chance it would be answered by this visit to the source.

“Then, let us go.”

At my words, Rupert nodded and turned to the knights.

“The door.”

Right, and those aren’t either of our guard knights. They were already in this room when we got here…

The two of them bowed briefly to Rupert before turning and walking up to the door. Once they were standing next to it, I gulped. It hadn’t been easy to tell until they were right next to the monolithic wooden slab; each of the guards was around ten centimeters taller than Rupert, who was around that same amount taller than me. The door was easily twice the height of the knights.

It was heavy as well and made a dull groaning sound as they opened it. The two of them moved slowly, and their muscles bulged visibly under the strain of the weight. Whatever wood it was made from, it was nearly a meter thick and opened outwards.

That being said, as slow as the door opening was it ended quickly. Rupert held his hand out toward me wordlessly. I felt my stomach lurch as all those memories came back again.

Seriously? He’s just offering me a hand!

Maybe it was because my mind had already created an association between Rupert and that trauma after what happened at our so-called wedding. Whatever the case, it wasn’t like there was a reason to worry over it now.

Rupert and Dominic… Those two are not the same person. Eventually, stuff will happen but it won’t be like that…

“I understand why you might be reluctant, given what happened. But there is a barrier in place; you will not be able to cross without taking my hand.”

Blinking rapidly, I realized that I had been staring at Rupert’s hand wide-eyed.

Right, he wouldn’t offer his hand unless there was a reason for it…

I sucked in a breath and bit down hard to force myself past that, then took his hand. Rupert nodded once again, then led the way through the doorway. True to his word, there was resistance as we passed through the doorway. It felt like trying to force two rather weak magnets to touch their north poles.

Once through, we emerged out onto the upper slopes of the mountain. The walls of the palace wrapped around, vanishing as they matched the curvature of the monolith. It was cold and the air was thin enough that it caused my breath to come out in short gasps.

A massive door wasn’t enough, there was also a barrier. Just what is so important that it takes something like this…? Also, I needed to hold his hand to be allowed through? What kind of shit is that? If the contract was enough for me to use the voice, should I not already be recognized as a member of the royal family?

A quick glance at Rupert revealed something rather concerning; he was looking around somewhat in awe.

“Prince Rupert, have you not seen this before?”

“Only once; I was six. We do not make a habit of visiting here if we can help it… it is suffocating.”

I bobbed my head in understanding “The altitude would be a bit much, and if it is kept only for the royal family then coming here would be inconvenient.”

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“No, not the air though that is an issue. The mana; if you can not feel it now, you soon will. Come.”

Without wasting time on any further explanation, Rupert began walking up the path. It had been a minor concern that this outing would involve actual mountaineering. Not that it would be difficult with my abilities, it would however have been inconvenient. The only reason I had not brought it up, was because this was a place the royal family visited if not regularly, at least every few years or so. Thankfully, such a worry proved to be baseless; though the path was ill-maintained it was still a path. Hurrying my steps, I caught up so as to be walking just behind Rupert.

Evidently, there was still a little ways to go, however, my husband was content to continue in silence. After a little while of this I could wait no longer, “…I have a lot of questions.”

There was a pause before he answered, “I am sure. Most of them should be answered once you meet him; for now though, in his eyes, you are only a provisional member of the royal family.”

“I see, thank you.”

It was subtle, but the way Rupert spoke made it sound like he wasn’t supposed to talk about certain things. I doubted that he was actually incapable; he would not have allowed a clause of total honesty to go into our engagement-now-marriage contract if there were things he could not say no matter what.

Still, he has given me enough room when it comes to secrets that I can wait here. At the end of the day, I do trust him. He also answered my biggest question, though I suppose that figuring out what that was isn’t exactly an achievement since it was pretty obvious.

If whoever this “him” was only viewed me as a provisional member of the royal family, then it made a certain degree of sense if a few areas directly related to this “him” did not recognize my status. Presumably, Adroni had wanted me to have this audience as soon as possible and thus pushed me in this direction. There was also the fact that I was going to meet someone. Someone who presumably lived on the mountain and held some modicum of power over the royal family.

That being said, the silence was still awkward.

Well, I had that random thought earlier that Gustav was thinking for this outing to bring the two of us closer together. I said it then, and it looks like I was right; there was no way that was going to happen.

In a way, I almost felt bad for Gustav, but had that really been his intention he should have known better. Especially given that he had been present when we did our negotiation in the first place. He had also known Rupert for a long time, he should know best that Rupert wouldn’t ever feel any closer to me than was required.

Actually, all the men in my life are kind of… strange, aren’t they? Gustav is nearly bi-polar with how he flips back and forth between being eccentric and being utterly professional. Rupert has his issues with emotion and attachment, Ferdinand isn’t really involved directly with me but I know he will be in the near future. He’s far too cold and calculating with everything he does. Ferris is so wrapped around the idea of honor he threw his family away… It’s a damn good thing this is just a fairly standard fantasy world and not one of those Otome settings Claire mentioned.

“…Stahlia, how are you holding up?”

Pulled out of my idle, and frankly embarrassing, contemplations I realized that while I was off in my own world Rupert had pulled decently ahead of me.

“My apologies, I was lost in thought and it slowed my pace.”

“I see, if you begin to feel ill, speak up immediately; I would find it difficult to carry you.”

Did you really need to add the last part?

“I will keep that in mind.”

“Good, I imagine it would be a difficult experience for you at the moment.”

Without elaborating, he went back to walking up the winding path.

At this rate we should make it to the peak in ten minutes… The mana coming down of the peak is quite heavy, though the presence doesn’t really compare to Androni.

I could see why Rupert would describe this as “suffocating” but in my case, it was like moving from a large city to a medium one. Sure both of them had smog, but compared to the large city the medium one would feel practically clean.

Though, it isn’t like I really noticed the presence Adroni exuded in the moment… I wonder if being just a soul had something to do with that? Whatever the source, it will be revealed soon enough.

A few minutes later, the path we had been following made one final hairpin turn and crested the mountain’s peak. The view that was revealed was breathtaking: the palace and city spread out below us like a cone wrapped around the mountain’s slopes. Beyond that, past the outer wall and slums lay the massive plains, and off in the distance on the horizon I could even see the Ris mountains, tinted blue. Though I could not see my home village, it really did put in perspective just how high this peak was.

You really don’t notice the thin air in the noble quarter so I never thought about it before, but it should be really hard to breathe there and, in the palace. I wonder if it has something to do with that barrier?

“It’s gorgeous…” And those were my honest thoughts.

Rupert fell back a few steps to my side and looked out over the same scenery before commenting, “I suppose it is.”

That was when I felt it. A powerful gaze bearing down on me. It was overbearing and suffocating, more so than the mana in the air at least. My spine tingle and out of the corner of my eye Rupert stiffened.

“He’s here.”

Turning around, I saw the figure of a man. In terms of height, he was between Rupert and me. Handsome, but not astoundingly so, he was dressed in a Roman-style toga and wearing a laurel on his head. Like the majority of the kingdom, he had fair hair and blue eyes. What stood out the most though was his pupils; they were slit-like, and reptilian in nature.

Again I shivered, after all the first thing I had done was look at him with my divine eyes. Though not as strong as Five had been, his mana was bright. It was also moving incredibly swiftly; if the flow of mana really did match the flow of blood as I thought it did, then this man’s heart was beating over three hundred times a minute. Furthermore, his stance had no openings.

“Sire, this is my wife, Stahlia von Drakas und zu Ris; in accordance with the first law, I have brought her before you that we might receive your blessing. Stahlia, this is Drakas; the first king.”

His eyes met my own and narrowed. When he spoke, his voice was deep and guttural, “Rupert, you have married an undead? And one bearing that thing’s taint?”

Before giving Rupert a chance to respond, he addressed me, “Well? Speak your piece before I send you back to your god.”

I should by all rights have been terrified out of my mind. Perhaps my mind had left me though because all I could do was laugh at the absurdity of it all.

“Ha! I have no gods; maybe I made a deal with Adroni, but they do not own me or my allegiance. You, of all beings, should be able to tell that.”

The man looked down at me sternly, and I felt the force he was exuding multiply several-fold.

“Go ahead and dispel the illusion; I can see through it anyway.” His voice was a lot more mellow than it had been the last time he spoke. Considering it a wise move to do as he said, I forcibly stopped the mana from flowing to my ring.

“Then, will you dispel yours as well?”

His eyes widened, “Well Rupert, this is indeed interesting. Not since Denal has anyone seen through this shape. Very well girl, we shall see how you do.”

The shape of a man faded before my eyes like a mirage coming undone. At the same time, another shape faded in. The true form of the first king of Drakas. Though my eyes had already spotted the faint silhouette of his mana, seeing the real thing was something else entirely; where there was once a man, now stood a nearly eight-meter tall dragon with silvery-white scales that gleamed in the sunlight and refracted into all the colors of the rainbow. It turned its head and fixed one massive eye upon me.

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