Mushoku Tensei (LN) - Volume 19 - Chapter 8

Chapter 8:

An Urgent Message, and Zanoba’s True Feelings

TEN DAYS HAD PASSED since the battle of Fort Karon. In that time, Zanoba had proposed a ceasefire with the enemy, using our royal hostage as a bargaining chip. I didn’t know the specific details, but it sounded like the war would officially be over soon.

We’d also sent a messenger to the capital on a fast horse to inform them of our victory, the captive we’d secured, and our efforts to strike a truce. Zanoba had proceeded with the peace talks without waiting on orders from the king, but Shirone was in no condition to fight a drawn-out war, so it was hard to imagine Pax objecting. The man wasn’t stupid, after all. Although it felt a little worrisome when we didn’t hear back immediately. 

Even after more than a week, the fort echoed with passionate commentary on our victory in battle. Roxy and I had left a big impression with our huge, flashy spells, while Zanoba’s bold performance on the front lines was just as talked about. Some of the troops were still riding that adrenaline high, I guess.

Perhaps because of my performance in the battle, or the way I’d dealt with that sneak attack, the soldiers were finally warming up to me a bit. They’d always treated me with politeness, but their faces used to clam up every time they saw me. These days I was getting actual smiles from the people I ran into. Even a bit of cheerful small talk. I guess they’d reclassified me from “a dangerous foreign mage who popped up out of nowhere ” to something like “a comrade in arms.” No one gave me a hard time about the soldiers I’d killed accidentally with my magic, at least. 

Between that, my regular counseling sessions with Roxy, plus Zanoba’s attempts to cheer me up, I managed to pull myself together emotionally. At this point I could look back on my actions without viewing them as crimes or terrible mistakes.

Honestly, I’d beat myself up about it way too much. This was not a peaceful world in general, and I was a direct subordinate of Orsted. To protect my family, I’d picked a fight against a vicious god. I must have known this day would come. At some level I must have accepted that, even if half-heartedly.

But even so—I felt pretty sure I wouldn’t sign up for any more wars after this one, no matter who tried to recruit me. War was like…a whole different world. I preferred the one I usually lived in. I wasn’t going to kill anyone unless I absolutely had to. I’d decided to stick with my old policy on that one after all. For one thing, all this anguish about it after the fact was exhausting. Hardly felt worth taking lives if all I got out of it was a bunch of week-long nervous breakdowns, you know?

I was trying to put all that behind me now, anyway. Moving on…

I’d stayed alert for signs of danger in the ten days since the battle, but nothing much had happened. My mana capacity had fully replenished by this point, so I was in peak combat condition. I also had the Magic Armor Version One close at hand, and I wasn’t allowing myself to get careless. It was hard to imagine the Death God coming for us now. His advantage would have been greater if he’d attacked during our audience with Pax. 

The possibility that the Man-God wasn’t actually pulling the strings here got more plausible by the day. Maybe it was like Orsted said. Maybe these events had taken place in the other timeline and simply weren’t mentioned in the diary. Zanoba might have dealt with this problem without my help, or he might never have been summoned in the first place.

I wouldn’t call this whole trip a waste of time, though. My friend’s life had genuinely been in very serious danger. But the war was over now, in any case. There were no more enemy armies lurking on Shirone’s borders. Surely that accomplishment would be enough to satisfy Zanoba’s sense of duty. Now we just had to talk him into coming back home to Sharia. I wasn’t about to leave him here under Pax’s thumb.

“Hnnngh!”

I stretched out the kinks in my arms and back as I basked in the morning sun. I had no solid proof the Man-God wasn’t up to something, but given that we’d been left alone this long, the odds he’d laid a trap for me were low. Thanks to that reassuring thought, I’d gotten a good night’s sleep for once. I woke up with a spring in my step, and decided to go wash my face in the nearby river. A bit of magic would have done the job just fine, but I was in the mood for a stroll.

By the time I got there, a few small groups of soldiers were already at the riverbank, splashing water on their faces and brushing their teeth.

“Hey, it’s Rudeus! Good morning, sir!”

“Thanks for keeping watch again last night!”

“You know, I just assumed that huge metal suit was some toy of Prince Zanoba’s or something. Quite the impressive magical implement!”

I was surrounded before I could even reach the water’s edge. I had really become popular in this fort all of a sudden. This daily barrage of flattery sure took some getting used to.

Incidentally, the soldiers were all dressed in light brown shirts and pants, the standard clothing they wore when off duty. The outfit was the same for men and women. And it seemed the women didn’t wear bras to bed, judging from the visible perkiness currently being displayed by that archer who’d given me a hug the other day. What a lovely way to start my morning.

“Ah, I was wondering what this crowd was about. Good morning, Master Rudeus.”

Turning, I saw Zanoba had come strolling up to us as well. He wore the exact same outfit as his soldiers. Thanks to his height and oddly skinny limbs, he looked a bit like some unwashed NEET leaving his room for the first time in a year.

“Prince Zanoba!”

Despite his less than regal appearance, all the soldiers dropped to their knees at the sight of him.

“There’s no need for that. Go on, get back to your washing up.”

“B-but Your Highness…”

“At the moment, I’m a drowsy soldier like the rest of you,” said Zanoba, emphasizing his point with a big yawn. “And surely you don’t expect me to act all high and mighty in this outfit?”

The man had been absurdly busy lately. I couldn’t tell you all the details, but evidently there were a thousand different tasks that needed seeing to after such a large-scale battle.

Incidentally, although the fallen were left lying on the battlefield, a group of tough-looking customers showed up within a few days to strip them of their equipment and incinerate the bodies. It seemed there were people who hung around in war zones and made their living off this kind of work. Sort of professional versions of the peasants who hunted down deserting samurai for cash.

Zanoba and I made our way to the riverbank together, and kneeled down to splash our faces with water.

“…So how’s it going with the negotiations? You think they’re going to sign off on the truce?”

Instead of jumping straight into persuasion mode, I led off with a light jab. Once we got that truce signed and implemented, there would be no real need for Zanoba to keep hanging around in Shirone. The war would be over, after all.

“They will. We received a provisionary reply just yesterday, in fact. While no official decision has been made, all indications are they will soon accept a truce. There should be no further incursions for…oh, at least the next three years.”

At those words, several of the soldiers within earshot murmured in excitement.

Whoops. Maybe that wasn’t a question I should have asked in public…but I guess the news was good, so it shouldn’t be too much of a problem.

That tidbit about “three years” was interesting, though. Given the way he’d phrased the sentence, Zanoba thought the Kingdom of Bista hadn’t fully abandoned their hopes of conquering Shirone, despite that crushing defeat the other day.

I had to assume they would dismiss most of their current command structure, which meant they’d have to find new generals who were competent. Replenishing their forces would take time, as well. And they’d have to find some halfway-plausible excuse for breaking the truce they were about to sign. At a bare minimum, it would take three years to sort out all of the logistics. In practice, it might well be far longer before they were ready to make another move…

“That should be time enough for our purposes, however,” said Zanoba. “Given three years of peace, I’m sure our kingdom will grow strong and stable once again.”

While Bista was regrouping, Shirone would have a chance to fully rebuild its own government and armies.

“You think King Pax can pull it off, though?” I asked.

“I don’t doubt it for a moment,” replied Zanoba with a firm, confident nod.

I wasn’t sure where his certainty was coming from, but maybe there was some plan in the works. One way or another, it sounded like this war was over. That sure hadn’t taken long.

“Good to hear. Hope they sign off soon so he can get started,” I said. 

“Indeed…”

There was happiness on Zanoba’s face in that moment, but a hint of melancholy, too. I guess I could understand that. He wouldn’t have much of a role to play around here once things were nice and peaceful.

This seemed like a good opportunity to change gears.

“Hey, Zanoba…what are you planning to do next, once this war is over?”

I led off with a second light jab, although the question came out sounding more ominous than I’d intended. Hopefully Zanoba didn’t have any plans to propose marriage to his sweetheart, which was the surest foreshadowing for his death. If he hit me with “I’ve already bought the bouquet,” it might be beyond my power to save his life.

“I suppose I’ll return to the capital to receive new orders from His Majesty, first of all. Although he might also opt to keep me posted at this fort for now…”

“You mean you’re staying here? In Shirone?”

“…Hm? Well, yes. Naturally.”

To be fair, that was the reply I’d been expecting. But it almost seemed like the thought of returning to the Magic City of Sharia had never crossed his mind. The Magic Armor hadn’t been fully perfected yet, our study of the automated doll was stalled halfway through, and our plans to sell figurines produced by Julie were only now beginning to come together. Wouldn’t he regret leaving any of those projects unfinished?

Well, of course he would. He was passionate about them all.

“Look, Zanoba…”

“Yes, Master Rudeus?”

“Once that truce gets signed, how about you come back home to Sharia with me? Let’s keep making figurines together.”

Damn, that kind of sounded like a proposal. And I didn’t even buy a bouquet first.

You know…maybe it is a proposal, in a way. I’m not looking to get married or anything, but I’m basically asking him to choose me over his homeland.

Zanoba looked over at me expressionlessly, water continuing to drip from his face. All the emotion had drained right out of him. It was hard to believe he’d been smiling so cheerfully just a moment earlier.

Not good. He was clearly going to shoot me down. I’d messed this up completely, hadn’t I? I should have gotten him in the right mood before I declared how I felt. All of my well-calibrated rejection sensors were screaming brace for impact. This guy was about to break my heart.

“Uh, I mean…it’s not like I’m asking you to abandon the kingdom or anything, just…Hmm?”

At that moment, I heard a commotion coming from the fort, and the loud sounds of hooves against the earth. There was no cavalry stationed at Fort Karon. Who could that be?

I looked back toward the fort in time to see a single rider turn the corner and head in our general direction.

“Hmm. A messenger from the capital, perhaps?” said Zanoba as we rose to our feet. “I expect they carry a letter from Pax regarding our negotiations.”

“So what’s the plan if he tells you to stay out here fighting until the enemy’s completely crushed?”

“Ah, now there’s a question. I suppose it may be possible, if you were kind enough to accompany us…”

As we bantered, the horse had grown steadily closer. I realized that I recognized its rider. It was someone we both knew well.

“Ginger?”

It was her, all right. And she was driving her horse forward with a look of pure desperation on her face. What was going on here?

She spotted us and turned the horse sharply, spurring it directly up to us. The nearby soldiers stepped in between us, forming a protective wall.

“That is my personal guard!” Zanoba shouted. “Make way at once!”

An expression of relief flashed across Ginger’s face as the troops stepped aside and Zanoba strode forward to meet her. Then she slipped out of her saddle and tumbled to the ground.

“Ginger! What’s happened?! Speak to me!”

“Haaah…haaa…”

Zanoba lifted her off the ground in his arms. She was in clear distress, and her breathing sounded harsh and labored. She had no obvious external injuries, but her face was clouded with exhaustion. It looked like she’d been riding at top speed for days without a moment’s rest.

“A-an uprising in Latakia, Your Highness. Jade, the former general, rose in the name of the Eleventh Prince. His army has…surrounded the royal palace!”

Managing to barely gasp out her message, Ginger promptly fell unconscious.

“The Eleventh Prince? But there were only ten of us! What’s the meaning of this, Ginger?! Explain yourself…you must explain at once!”

“Calm down, Zanoba. She obviously needs some rest…”

After I got Zanoba to stop shaking Ginger frantically in his arms, we brought her to a room inside the fort to recover.

The Eleventh Prince was a boy named Haruha Shirone.

He was a child three years of age, sired by the former king Palten Shirone quite late in life. His mother came from a farming family, a lineage that should have disqualified her completely as a potential royal consort. For that reason, Haruha’s existence was never publicly acknowledged. Officially “finding employment” with a provincial lord, his mother was granted an isolated mansion in a distant corner of the kingdom in which to raise her son in secret.

Precious few within the kingdom even knew of Haruha’s existence. There was the king himself; the minister who procured the mansion; and General Jade, who happened to be the brother of Haruha’s mother.

Two of these men died in Pax’s bloody purge, but General Jade did not.

Jade had sworn an oath of undying loyalty to the former king. Despite his humble origins, Palten recognized the man’s uncommon talents and raised him steadily through the ranks to his position. And that position allowed Jade to lift his family from a life of grinding poverty into one of comfort and indulgence. Jade owed the king everything, and his gratitude was great. So great that when the king’s eye settled on his younger sister, he offered her up willingly.

At the time of Pax’s coup d’état, Jade had been stationed at Fort Karon. The fort’s garrison numbered nearly a thousand back then. Jade took half that number and rushed back to Latakia. But by the time he arrived, it was too late: he learned the king was already dead, along with the rest of the royal family. 

There were around two thousand soldiers stationed at the capital, now under the command of Pax. Jade’s own army was now fifteen hundred strong, swelled by the troops of local lords who’d sent reinforcements along the way. They were outnumbered, but given Jade’s great skills as a commander, they could potentially have triumphed.

But in the end, Jade opted not to fight. The reason for this was simple: his own army was now internally divided into a pair of rival factions. Half of his allies wanted to drag the usurper Pax off the throne. The other half wanted to recognize him as king at once. Watching the nobles squabble viciously with one another, Jade realized he had no real hope of victory. He surrendered without a fight, and swore his allegiance to the new king of Shirone.

There was, of course, more to this decision than met the eye. Jade had learned for a fact that his sister’s child, the Eleventh Prince Haruha Shirone, was still alive.

He would wait patiently for the right moment. He would bide his time. And in the end, he would avenge the king’s death in the name of his nephew. This was the true oath he swore that day.

In the weeks that followed, Jade made his arrangements quietly. He sought out those who resented Pax’s rule, and unified them into a secret alliance. He searched for the Eleventh Prince. He made the necessary bargains with the local lords…and before long, he had raised an entire rebel army, ready and eager to strike at his command.

Victory was now a real possibility.

And then, the perfect opportunity presented itself.

Bista’s armies were preparing to invade, and Pax began to send his troops to garrison the northern fortresses against this threat. Thanks to Jade’s departure and the chaos of the coup d’état, Shirone’s military had been severely weakened, and the King Dragon Realm wasn’t sending reinforcements. In all likelihood, this war would not go well. Once the enemy pushed past Fort Karon, the most defensible of Shirone’s border forts, Pax would have little choice but to use his trump card and send the Death God to the north. And with Randolph gone, even a smaller force could succeed in murdering the king. 

Jade had failed to account for one crucial factor: the sudden return of the Third Prince Zanoba Shirone. His appearance on the scene was shocking enough, but he’d also brought along the former court magician Roxy Migurdia—and a mage named Rudeus Greyrat, said to have felled both the North Emperor Auber and the Water God Reida in battle.

Perhaps Jade had considered reaching out to Zanoba, on the chance he’d returned to take revenge on Pax. But Zanoba showed every sign of loyalty to his brother, and set out to defend Fort Karon on his orders.

Jade’s plan soon careened off course. Shirone beat back the invaders at Fort Karon in a historic victory, and the Death God stayed put at Pax’s side.

The armies of Shirone were currently weakened, but would recover in due time. And there was a good chance Pax might recall the forces he’d moved north to the area around the capital. In particular, if Prince Zanoba, Roxy Migurdia, and this Rudeus returned, any attack would be doomed to failure.

Jade’s window of opportunity was closing fast. And so, for lack of any other option—he launched his uprising. Gathering his rebel troops, he seized the capital in one lightning-fast strike and besieged the royal castle.

This was Ginger’s outline of the incident, which she gave to us when she woke up after several hours of exhausted sleep. She was in Latakia itself when the rebellion began, but managed to slip out the gates in the first chaotic hours of its occupation. The very next moment, she rode straight to Zanoba as fast as her horse would carry her.

“When I fled the capital, it seemed like the king was holed up in the palace with a small force of defenders…but I couldn’t say where things stand at this point.”

Ginger brought her lengthy story to a close with a calm and steady voice.

The royal palace was a solidly defensible position. But days had passed since Jade’s forces surrounded it. Pax might well be dead, and his castle occupied by the rebels.

But why had he chosen to hole up inside its walls? His “small force of defenders” included the Death God, Randolph Marianne. They could have broken through the enemy’s encirclement and fled.

There was so much we didn’t know yet. The best option, I assumed, was to move carefully and gather—

“I see. Let us head for the capital at once, then,” said Zanoba, in the tone of someone proposing a quick stop at the convenience store. He rose from his seat before he even finished speaking.

Ginger seemed relieved by this pronouncement. But at Zanoba’s next words, her face froze up with shock.

“If His Majesty has escaped, we can bring him back to this fort for his protection. If he’s been unable to flee, we can enter the castle through a secret passage known only to the royal family, and escort him out to safety.”

“W-wait, Your Highness!”

Pushing herself up in her bed, face filled with desperation, Ginger grabbed Zanoba’s sleeve before he could stride away.

Zanoba smiled over at her reassuringly. “We’ll be quite all right on our own, Ginger, I assure you. Stay here and rest up while we’re gone.”

“Do you truly mean to take King Pax’s side in this?!” cried Ginger. Her tone was one of utter disbelief. 

Zanoba turned back to face her, quirking one eyebrow quizzically. “Naturally. Who is this Eleventh Prince to me? I’ve never seen the boy’s face, and have heard nothing of his birth until now. I’m somewhat skeptical that he’s even my father’s son.”

He did have a point. It was possible General Jade just loathed Pax for other reasons, and had fabricated this new prince to serve as his puppet. Assuming the king really had been intimate with his sister, it would be easy enough to make the story sound convincing.

Ginger was having none of this, however. The bewildered frown on her face was only growing deeper.

“So you intend to come to King Pax’s aid, rescue him from the palace…and then do what, exactly?”

“Our course of action will be a matter for His Majesty to decide. But if he orders me to defeat the rebel army, I suppose that will be my next priority.” 

“You can’t mean that, Your Highness. Why would you go so far to help that vile creature?!”

Zanoba’s eyebrow twitched at that. There was anger on his face now. “Did you just call our king a creature, Ginger? Is that truly what I heard you say?”

“I’m aware I overstep my bounds! But Prince Zanoba, please—have you forgotten what Prince Pax did to me?”

“What on earth are you talking about?!”

“He took my family hostage, Prince Zanoba!”

Zanoba’s eyebrow twitched again.

I’d almost forgotten about that ugly detail myself, after all these years, but you could understand why the memory stayed fresh for Ginger. She suffered Pax’s cruelty directly, and such memories stayed with you forever. I had to assume Lilia and Aisha would back her up right now, if they were here.

“What sort of a king coerces the obedience of his personal guard by threatening their families?! Why lift a finger to keep him on his throne?!”

I recalled that the Edo-era shoguns built a whole system around that concept. Too bad Ginger hadn’t been around to chew them out. Though from what I remembered, the royal family’s personal guards were a big deal in this kingdom. The more knights a prince had under his direct control, the higher they moved in the order of succession…or something like that. The guards probably took pride in their vaunted position. They weren’t ordinary lackeys.

“Hrm,” said Zanoba after a moment. “Well, Ginger, I have a question of my own. Why do you protect a prince such as Zanoba Shirone?”

“What…do you mean?”

“I sold you to my brother, as you may recall. Hardly the deed of a worthy prince, or one deserving of protection. Why do you serve me nonetheless?”

A very reasonable point. It was Zanoba who’d put Ginger at Pax’s mercy in the first place. He’d literally traded her for a figurine of Roxy that Pax had purchased somewhere. Why was she so damn loyal to this guy, anyway? 

Oh, right. She’d promised his mother to look after him…

“Well, I…I know that you’re far wiser than you let on…”

Ginger didn’t bring that up, though. I guess it wouldn’t help her case that Zanoba was any less crappy of a boss than Pax.

“Pax is quite a clever man in his own right, wouldn’t you say?” replied Zanoba.

“Perhaps clever, but not wise. He gives no thought to the consequences of his actions, only the pleasure they bring him in the moment. It’s the behavior of a fool…”

“And I’m a fool who’s devoted my life to dolls and figurines. It seems that Pax and I are much the same.”

“That’s not true,” said Ginger, locking eyes with Zanoba without moving from her kneeling position. “You are a Blessed Child, Prince Zanoba. To reveal that you possessed both strength and wisdom would have put a target on your back. You played the fool to avoid your rivals’ notice…I’m certain of it.”

Zanoba said some oddly profound things from time to time. He’d deciphered that bizarre ancient writing we found on the automaton’s core—he made the Magic Armor for me. Since returning to Shirone, he’d also proven himself a quick-witted commander with real strategic vision. There were plenty of reasons to believe Ginger might be on to something here.

That said, his obsession with dolls was…clearly genuine. There was no way to fake that kind of passion. If anything, I guessed he wasn’t that interested in showing off his intelligence in front of people. 

“I have no need to play the fool, Ginger,” Zanoba said. “I’m the very definition of one. All I want from life is to drown myself in my absurd interests.”

“In that case, let’s head back to the Magic City of Sharia immediately. You could devote the rest of your life to your passions there.”

“I’m afraid that’s not an option. A puppet like myself can only move as it’s directed.”

“I…don’t understand…”

At this point, Ginger turned to look at me. The message in her eyes was clear enough: Say something to him! You know I’m right about this.

I agreed that Pax had done some truly unforgivable things. He’d captured Lilia and Aisha, lured me into a trap, and tried to make Roxy into his own personal slave. I’d seen him punch Lilia in the face. I kept my cool at the time, but it sure as hell pissed me off to think about that now.

“Listen, Zanoba…I don’t like this plan either.”

“…Oh?”

“Maybe Pax did change a little during his stay in the King Dragon Realm. But that doesn’t mean he’s someone worth risking your life for.” 

Zanoba turned to face me now, pouting irritably. “I hardly expected this from you, Master Rudeus. As I’ve explained before, my life is the property of this kingdom. And of course, this kingdom is its king. With his life in danger, I can hardly sit back and—”

“Do you remember what you told me before we left, Zanoba? ‘It’s my duty to protect Shirone against her enemies. That is the reason I’m alive…and was permitted to indulge myself for all these years.’ That sound right to you?”

Zanoba made no reply to that. I’d memorized every word perfectly.

“Why would you care if it’s Pax or this Eleventh Prince sitting on the throne? Your job is to protect Shirone from invasion, not to sort out all its ugly power struggles. Once that truce is signed, the war with Bista will be over. Seems to me like you did your duty perfectly.”

“Master Rudeus, please…”

“Can’t you call it a day for now? Maybe I shouldn’t say this out loud, but the trip over here isn’t exactly grueling. You could go right back to your normal life in Sharia, and pop over whenever it seems like a war might break out.”

“Hrm.” 

Zanoba brought his hand to his chin and looked up at the ceiling. After a moment’s contemplation, he turned his gaze back to me.

“It’s quite an appealing idea, I must admit…but I can’t accept.”

“Okay, but why not?”

It was getting harder to keep my cool. Much harder. I knew I had to try, though. Shouting at someone was the last way you’d ever change their mind.

I knew there were flaws in my reasoning, of course. The Kingdom of Shirone wasn’t likely to let Zanoba just wander off because his job was done for now. And if he kept popping up out of nowhere to take command at the last possible moment, it would cause all sorts of headaches and complications.

I could see all that. I knew my arguments were flimsy. But he could still use them as excuses to come back home with us, to the place where he was happiest.

“Can you at least give me an explanation, Zanoba?”

“Hmm… I’m not entirely sure I understand it myself.”

Oh, come on! Are you serious?!

Ugh. Okay, calm down. Gotta stay patient. He has to have a reason. There has to be something that’s making him this stubborn. Just stick with it and keep poking, and we’ll get there eventually…

“Listen, Zanoba… You do understand Pax must be terrified of you, right?”

“Terrified of me? But why?”

“I mean, he killed the rest of your family, remember? And you’re a Blessed Child.”

Zanoba bore the man no grudge, but Pax had plenty of reason to feel guilty about his actions. Kings in that position tended to get paranoid.

“If you show up in the palace to help him escape, he could easily assume you’re there to kill him. You might end up getting murdered by the Death God on the spot.”

I was met with silence.

“The same thing could happen later on,” I continued. “You could save his life a dozen times, and I still don’t think Pax will trust you. Eventually, he’ll find some convenient excuse to have you killed. It makes no damn sense for you to stay with him.”

Zanoba said nothing. He gazed at me, his face impassive and unreadable.

“You told me that if your kingdom wants you to die, then you’ll accept that. And I can understand why you’d be willing to die in battle, okay? It’s your duty. It’s the reason they let you live. But why would you let Pax murder you out of paranoia? What good would that do for Shirone, exactly?”

Zanoba closed his eyes and drew a long, slow breath, as if trying to digest my words. As he exhaled, he opened his eyes halfway.

“Despite it all, he’s still my little brother…and the only family I have left,” he said.

And just like that, he’d knocked all the wind out of my sails. The man was fighting dirty now. What was I supposed to say to that? 

Seemingly unaware that he’d already won the argument, Zanoba kept going.

“Perhaps it sounds absurd, coming from a man who’s never spoken of such things before…but Pax is my brother, Master Rudeus.”

His face was blank. There were none of the usual theatrics—no laughter, no shouting, no pompous posturing. Zanoba was merely staring at me. Or maybe through me.

I let out a long, audible sigh. It seemed I had to add persuasion to my list of his skills and gifts. By introducing the “he’s family” angle, he’d kneecapped my ability to oppose his plans altogether. His stubbornness suddenly seemed understandable.

I found myself wondering what I would do in his shoes. If Aisha murdered Norn, or vice-versa, I’d obviously be furious. It was hard to see myself forgiving that.

But what if I barely even knew one of them, or maybe both? And what if the killer was mixed up in something much bigger than her? What if she was trying to move forward, to accomplish something meaningful, despite her mistakes and crimes? 

I’d still give her a piece of my mind. But I’d probably try to help her, too.

“All right, Zanoba.”

Zanoba had no intention of coming back home to Sharia with us. None whatsoever. I finally understood that now. I didn’t know how honest he was being about his motives. But even if he was just manipulating me, he’d used the word family to do it. That was the strongest possible weapon you could use in an argument with me.

He’d made his decision, and he clearly wasn’t going to bend.

Sorry, Cliff. Sorry, Julie. Looks like I won’t be dragging Zanoba home to you after all.

The only thing I could do here, realistically, was to protect and support Zanoba until he somehow managed to win King Pax’s trust.

“To be honest, I was planning to bring you back home with me even if it meant groveling in the dirt and blubbering. But since you put it that way…I guess I’ll stick around for just a little longer.”

“My sincere thanks, Master Rudeus, and I’m glad it didn’t come to that. The sight of your tears would certainly have weakened my resolve.”

“Damn. Maybe I should have started off with that.”

“Spare me, please!”

For the first time in a while, Zanoba and I grinned at each other in amusement.

Cliff would probably understand once I explained the whole story to him. As for Julie, well…I could ask her what she wanted, and bring her safely to Zanoba if she chose to join him. 

The Ruijerd figurine plan would have to be scrapped. That was rough, considering we’d already gotten Perugius’s permission for it, secured Ariel’s cooperation, and put Aisha to work looking for employees… It did hurt to know that those years of preparations would amount to nothing, honestly.

Still, I wouldn’t complain. I couldn’t. Not if Zanoba was doing this for his family. 

He wasn’t…exactly on good terms with Pax at the moment. But that was something that could change with time. They could apologize for the past and find a way to forgive each other. Slowly, bit by bit, they could build a relationship based on trust and respect. Their mistakes could be corrected.

I didn’t like Pax one bit, but he was capable of change. He’d proven that much already. 

Anybody could change.

“No…you can’t be serious…”

Ginger stared up at us, her face pale with horror.

I could understand where she was coming from. She hadn’t been there at our audience with King Pax, had she? In her mind, he was still the same Prince Pax she’d known many years ago—a vicious, petty little bastard, in other words.

“I’m sorry, Ginger. Zanoba’s made his feelings pretty clear, and I think I have to respect that at this point.”

Under the circumstances, it was hard to imagine Pax maintaining his hold on the throne for long, but we’d have to see what we could do. The first step was obvious enough, at least. Plus, there was some room for optimism. When Zanoba showed up to rescue him, maybe Pax would actually reconsider his mistrust.

“I believe that concludes our conversation, Ginger. My apologies for everything I’ve put you through.”

With a gentle pat to his loyal bodyguard’s shoulder, Zanoba stepped past her toward the door.

“Y-Your Highness, wait! Please!”

Half-falling out of her bed, Ginger grabbed Zanoba by the leg. She made no move to release him, or to rise up off the floor, and there was total desperation in her eyes.

“I understand there’s no stopping you, Prince Zanoba. But at least allow me to make one small request of you!”

“What request would that be?”

“Don’t die, even if King Pax orders you to do so! Please…just don’t die!”

Her choice of words was clumsy. She probably hadn’t thought this out beforehand. Still, her meaning was plain enough. At the end of the day, all she wanted was for Zanoba to stay alive.

“Hrm. That seems a potentially unreasonable—”

I cut Zanoba off and accepted her request on his behalf. “You have my word on that, Ginger. I’ll make sure Zanoba survives this, no matter what.”

I understood Zanoba felt that he owed Pax his loyalty, but his death wouldn’t help either of them. If their relationship fell apart and there was no salvaging the situation, I’d have to drag Zanoba back to safety myself. That was the job I originally came here to do. I wasn’t going to let myself lose sight of it, no matter what else happened.

“Thank you so much, Sir Rudeus. You have my sincere gratitude…”

Ginger bowed her head deeply and said no more.