The Prince didn't try to retort. He simply admitted defeat and went toward the empty chair, planting himself at the far corner of the table. The meeting resumed quickly after that as if nothing had happened. Argillys had attended meetings from time to time as part of his education, but most of the time it was just a boring excursion for him. He would've thought the same at the moment, if only the cat was not scurrying around under the table without a care in the world! He could felt the feline slinking around his legs. He had to muster his entire determination not to try kicking the cat right then and there. God knows what will happened if he did that and kicked the table instead.
"Troubling...I have heard rumors about that as well, but I thought it was only in the capital. Did not expect it to spread to your region. I don't like it. Even if it's just a rumor now, if we don't do anything to investigate it, the citizens would see us as weak. It might even incur a real rebellion in the near future."
the King's speech roused the people into a heated debate. After all, rumors are just rumors, and it would be hard to determine the exact source of such vague information.
One of the Duke suddenly raised his hand. The entire court fell to silent in an instant. "What if we send the secret service to investigate? The Second Prince, Lord Hathaway, had led many success as its new leader. Surely he could do something about this?"
"A good suggestion, Lord Paddington," the King nodded. "It's certainly a sound course of action to take. Well then, is there any of you gentlemen willing to partake in the investigation-"
When they were starting to debate among each other, Argillys managed to peek under the table to see the cat now sitting beneath his uncle's chair. He cursed mentally, and started to formulate a way to get there without getting caught. But no matter how much he gave it a thought, the solution would not come to him. In his frustation, ignoring what his father the King had been saying, he rose up from his chair, attempting to cross the room with the pretense of having a business to attend. But he stood right when the King had proposed the offer, and so everyone was staring at him once again.
"Argillys? Are you volunteering for the task?"
"Huh? Yes. Uh...wait-"
"Splendid! Think of it as you redeeming yourself for the intrusion!"
The court got lively again, and the Prince scurried out upon the chance. Only after he got out of the room that he understood the repercussion of what he had done.
"...What, seriously...? Me, investigating with the secret service?"
The Prince's mind had been wandering off for quite a while, not sure on how to feel about the course of events. The cat seems to be a curse lingering off him, dragging him to one mess after another. So great was his inner turmoil such that he didn't realize Amelia's presence nearby. Her sudden appearance, at least for him, surprised him so.
"Lady Amelia! Please don't sneak up on me," although she did not, but it was beside the point. Argillys took a deep breath, trying to calm himself down. No reason to make her more anxious than she was.
He hadn't met his older brother the Second Prince for a long time now, and for a good reason. The Second Prince, Hathaway Leorenz Serion, had been appointed the head of Secret Service directly under the King, and was almost always found in his office, taking care of the nation's affair from beneath the shadow. A task less renown than the First Prince's exploit, who controlled the nation's military, but an important task nonetheless.
"I am fine. I just got caught up in an...errand, of sort. I might be out of the castle for a while."
He flashed her a courteous smile, and then left the corridor without waiting for her. Oh well, now that he was knee-deep in the problem, he would see it through.
First thing first, to meet up with his brother in the secret service. The Prince would finally started his first foray to the outside world under the sun, for the first time in years...
Hathaway was sitting in his office like usual. His sharp coal black eyes locked onto the report sitting on his desk. His office held an unsettling stillness, save for the rhythmic ticking of the heirloom cuckoo clock hanging over the mantle. His office was quite sizable to reflect the importance of his position, but he did little to ever decorate it. He was much too busy attending to issues that needed a quiet and tactful touch. Recently, Hathaway had just received the new missive.
An investigation was to be launched around the fief land kept by the Rorickstein family. It came as little surprise to the master of whispers. What did come as a surprise was the face suddenly peering through his doorway. Prince Argillys, his younger, meeker, half-brother. Though he did not hold any ill-will against the lad, Hathaway saw Argillys as nothing more then a layabout, happy to seclude himself in his study. He had no idea why the young man would come to his doorway.
"Argillys...? --Can I help you?" The second prince barely even removed his eyes from the parchment to address the young man. His tone was altogether dismissive as he was sure the young man had shown up for some frivolous reason. Recent rumors circling Argillys had been quite odd, but the fact he had enough gull to damage his father's precious collection was completely out of the norm. Therefore, Hathaway was also somewhat suspicious at Argillys' presence.
Meanwhile, the shadowy cat made its reappearance. Though this time, it stayed out of direct sight and lingered on the roof. A decorative stain-glass rosette provided a view down into the spy master's office, and the creature sat contently cleaning its paws and eavesdropping.
Profusely sweating after a brief intercourse under the scorching sun was the seventh Prince, Argillys Frauvert Serion, as he braved the ever-busy street of the capital in order to reach his older brother's office. The secret service was officially titled as the ministry of information, a front which was oblivious to the common masses. As expected, the office was laid bare saves a few clerks moving about documents scattered all over the place.
There was no need for the secret service to have a proper office. Even most of the documents were fake, constructed to give their enemies an easy yet entirely meaningless target. Most of the dealings were done hidden from plain sight. Nevertheless, some sensitive information was indeed stored inside the building. Although the exact whereabout was known only to the current head of the ministry.
In other words, his older brother the second Prince, Hathaway. Argillys scurried over toward his office, not given attention by the clerks who already known his identity from the moment he entered the building. He was designated no threat, as he was indeed a royalty, and so there was no need to prohibit his movement whatsoever.
He peeked through the door, trying to see what his brother was doing. As expected, he was busily reviewing documents upon documents, with the particular parchment atop his desk given priority. But even so he still recognized Argillys's, presence, and beckoned him to come inside. The younger brother followed suit.
"Greetings, brother Hathaway. Fath-His Majesty had ordered me to help you in the investigation."
There was a brief silence as the second Prince sat there unmoving, as if hearing that the world had ended.
"-really, that Father, to make Argillys do some actual work...has the sun rose from the west already?!"
Hearing such remark from his own brother, Argillys couldn't help but felt a tinge of pain in his chest.
"Anyway, it's fine, it's fine. I can give you a job you certainly can do. Take some vacation in your friend, Lady Amelia's, land. Please go as soon as you can."
...What did he just say. Hearing such request, Argillys couldn't believe his own ears.
"That's how we work in this office. No question asked. Go."
"But-"
"It'll be fine, just a simple vacation, no? It's just a couple of hours with the carriage. I heard they're preparing for next week's Festival as well. Just enjoy the occasion to your heart's content."
Aah. His brother was already in that mood. Certainly no matter what question he asked, no satisfactory answer would be given. In that case all he could do was to comply.
"Then I'll ask for Duke Yorickstein's hospitality for a while. Please inform Father as well. Until then..."
The Prince left after saying that, back to the unrelenting heat. So in the end he had to talk with Amelia again. Even when she was supposedly visiting the capital, to take her back home so suddenly...wouldn't that raise a lot of problem? But nevertheless, if that's what he had to do, then there's no other way but to try. Finally having the cat out of his mind after quite a while, he dashed back toward the palace.
Nazena had been listening from the shadows, and scoffed lightly at the thought of the prince being assigned to such a simple task that was meant to keep him out of the way. By no means, did she intend to let that happen, and in order to stir things up-- she'd have to do some digging of her own. Now the secret police would have one of the most lethal assassin's in the kingdom on the case, and she had no ties to politicians or loyalties to any kingdom, which gave her a far reaching influence in the underworld. She no doubt would track down the leaders of this supposed rebellion-- for now, she'd let Argillys rest and feel as though his days of misfortune had finally begun to fade. Disappearing into the shadows of the alleyways and streets, she began her own investigation.
Meanwhile Amelia sat in the courtyard of the palace. She was quite fed up with this trip-- it had been nothing but boring meetings and stuffy tea parties in the garden with snobbish women who all told the same story. She had hoped to distract herself with Argillys, but it seemed to young man was bent on avoiding her. She sat plucking the petals from a rose as she recalled his odd behavior.
"What has gotten into him?" She murmured to herself. Just as she plucked another petal and allowed it to flutter to the ground and nestle with the others at the hem of her gown. Argillys arrived through the entryway to the courtyard grounds, but this time, Amelia huffed at the sight of him, and cast her eyes downward in a hard glare at the ground-- she wasn't going to chase him around any more! If he didn't want to speak to her; then that was fine by her! The nobleman's daughter kicked a few rocks as she rose from the bench she had been perched upon and began heading inside.