As we neared the Zestella castle, a dozen burly knights of the Zestella House bowed their heads and greeted Celeste with fervor.
"S-Stop that! We are currently on a school excursion!" Celeste, subjected to this royal welcome, was visibly embarrassed, as expected.
"Princess, it's been a long time since you've come to the castle. We are just delighted to see you."
A lean old man in armor arrived with a kind smile. I recognized him immediately. It was August, a Commander of the Zestella Army and one of the strongest people in Sancta Vedelia. He had also taught swordsmanship to Celeste and Evan.
"Whatever…" Celeste muttered slightly embarrassed.
"Lord August," Professor Raven greeted politely.
"James, it's been awhile. The last I saw you here was during your academy days," August said. "I still remember you and Leora bickering on a daily basis." He added with a chuckle.
But James's expression clouded upon hearing the name of his ex-wife. Leora Ashborn was James' ex-wife and thus Alicia's mother. After James reportedly cheated on his wife twice, his wife snapped and divorced him. Since then, his relationship with his children, especially Alicia, had been cold or distant, except for Victor.
Upon noticing Professor Raven's gloomy expression, August understood his blunder and coughed lightly. "Well, students, please follow me."
"I can't believe he is that monster from the game," John mumbled under his breath.
"Right," I nodded. He didn't look like one of the monsters, but well, don't judge a book by its cover, right?
Entering the castle, we were greeted by a lot of maids and butlers, but their presence was merely a formality. They would do nothing for us as we were here to fulfill a task—
defeating the mana beast assigned to us.
"Excuse me," I stepped aside from the group and approached a maid.
"Y-Yesh?!" The maid bit her tongue at my sudden approach. Soon her face flushed bright red, and she lowered her head in shame.
'Can't blame anything except my face.'
"I'm just looking for the restroom; can you point me in the right direction?" I asked the maid, offering a friendly smile.
"Yes!" The maid nodded and led the way.
"Amael Falkrona." Professor Raven eyed me for a moment before nodding and continuing with the rest of the group.
"What's your game here?" John squinted at me.
"Just exploring the palace a bit," I replied nonchalantly.
"You're not being honest, are you?"
"Nope," I admitted and followed the maid.
Instead of heading towards the southern wing like the others, I found myself being directed to the eastern wing. A quick query about the off-limits areas revealed that the northern wing hosted important VIP events, and the western wing, where the royal family resided, was rarely used by Prince Evan and Princess Celeste.
"Got it," I said with a nod.
"We're here, sir—" Before she could finish, a swift strike to her neck put her to sleep. I caught her and propped her against the wall.
"You know it," I smirked, continuing my solo exploration. I wanted to check out the Western Wing before my absence was noticed.
Passing a few busy nobles, I gradually found myself in a quieter part of the palace. When faced with a junction, I glanced left and decided, "Right."
Attempting to open the door, I found it locked. Ensuring no one was in sight, I employed Ruah and mana to force the door open. With a satisfying crack, the door yielded.
Ahead lay a long, dimly lit corridor. There was something intriguing about this place—no, I knew there were interesting things in this wing.
"Yeah." I shrugged, sensing a mana fluctuation around me, like an alarm signaling someone's intrusion. "That's why I need to find quickly—"
"Find what, young man?"
I grimaced, recognizing the voice behind me. Sighing, I turned around. "Headmistress. Thank god, you are here."
Melfina regarded me sternly, awaiting an explanation.
"The maid who accompanied me to the restroom suddenly fainted. None of the nobles would have helped me, so I looked for a knight, and here you are, Headmistress. Please help the poor maid," I explained, exasperated.
"We will take good care of our maid, Amael. Now you can join your classmates who must be worried about you," she said, maintaining that stern gaze.
"If only it were true," I retorted and walked past her.
"Are you up to no good?" She asked suddenly.
I stopped, a bit confused by her sudden wariness.
Melfina sighed, noting my perplexed expression. "Strange things have occurred these last days in Zestel. I don't need any more confusion, especially inside my palace. My granddaughter and the students of my academy are here."
"I am included among your students, right?" I raised a brow.
Melfina chuckled and nodded. "Of course you are, but you can't expect me to put you apart, you know that."
"I'm not here to harm your granddaughter or any of your students," I stated. "Everything I'm doing is for selfish reasons, but I don't need any reasons to harm them. If I really wanted, I would have wiped some faces off Sancta Vedelia but thankfully I've grown patient in the course of the last year."
"This isn't reassuring me, boy," Melfina's brows twitched.
I smiled as I left. "As long as they don't cross my way or my limits, I won't do anything. Relax, Headmistress."
I didn't even have time to get a proper look in that aisle. I just wanted to search for some clues about my father's and brother's deaths but she arrived as soon as I stepped inside.
I could also ask her directly if she knew something but I couldn't trust her words. I wanted to see with my own eyes. As for why I was looking for clues about my family in Zestel, it was because I feared that there might be some kind of connection between Celeste's death and my father's. I'm not saying that they died for the same reason at all but maybe…there might be some leads. I honestly don't know.
But I was in the most important place of one of the great kingdoms of Sancta Vedelia. If I could find important information somewhere, it would definitely be inside the royal palaces.
Moreover something was bugging me about Celeste's mother. She died but the circumstances of her death were somewhat not well explained in the Game. The Game told me how she died but the reason seemed a bit off.