Following this, Prince Francesco immediately left the Inner Palace.

　　On the other hand, Aura and Zenjirou, both still speechless, headed straight to the room of their child.

　　Their aim was unfortunately not to embrace their healed child, but to bound the confined physician, wet nurse and waiting maid to secrecy once more.

　　“Listen, under no circ.u.mstances are you allowed to speak of anything that happened in this room today. If it does come to light by chance, remember that not only you, but your whole family will pay with their lives for it. Understood?”

　　“Of course.”

　　The doctor, the wet nurse and the waiting maid answered and bowed in unison to the unvarnished warning from Queen Aura.

　　“Good. Keep it in mind.”

　　Aura nodded contented.

　　This should probably take care of it.

　　In his capacity as the royal physician, Doctor Mich.e.l.le was used to secrecy and the wet nurse Ca.s.sandra was a trustworthy woman with a profound loyalty to the royal family.

　　As for the blonde waiting maid… There was no need to especially point it out to Margret.

　　She was a trusted retainer of Aura.

　　If she couldn’t be trusted to keep a secret, then surely no one under Aura’s command could be trusted.

　　Considering all that, Aura had concluded that the secret would be safe unless something drastic happened.

　　“Fuh…”

　　“Even I am all exhausted today.”

　　Having moved from Carlos’ room to the living room, Zenjirou and Aura threw themselves onto the couches and slumped into it like a wet sack without saying anything for a while.

　　“…..”

　　“…..”

　　All too much had happened for one day today.

　　Carlos had fallen ill.

　　Prince Francesco had paid him a sick bed visit.

　　Then he had confined them his secret and revealed the secret of Carlos.

　　Each and every one was already a shocking matter on its own.

　　The sunlight, coming in from the windows, was still illuminating the room brightly, but Aura and Zenjirou had no longer the energy to even turn their heads.

　　Zenjirou had already cancelled all his work in the morning, but Aura was supposed to finish some more work today. Nevertheless, she had decided to call it a day at this point for once.

　　She knew very well that she eventually would be overwhelmed from too much work if she kept pressing on at such a time.

　　Besides, abandoning her work in the royal palace didn’t equal having free time from now on.

　　“…Kuh.”

　　They lazed around for a while. When Aura recovered somewhat of her strength, she sat up straight on the couch.

　　“Do you need more rest, Zenjirou?”

　　“Uhh… Mmh? You want to get started already?”

　　Called upon, Zenjirou just turned his head towards his across-sitting wife without getting up.

　　“Yes, if it is alright with you, I would like to begin.”

　　“Mm… Okay.”

　　Answering like that with sleepy, half-closed eyes, he, too, sat up straight.

　　“Now then, where do we start?”

　　Not yet back in top shape, Aura sloppily crossed her legs on top of the couch, whereas Zenjirou replied with interjectional yawns while craning his neck.

　　“Mh? Can I ask then what I found strange first?”

　　“Sure, go ahead. I do not know whether I will be able to answer it, though.”

　　OK’d by her, Zenjirou spoke up hesitantly as he was collecting his thoughts.

　　“Then a fundamental question first. Or rather, a review. It really was ‘Healing Magic’ that Prince Francesco used to heal Zenkichi, right? And not that he secretly used the ‘Imbued Stone of Cure’ in his right hand instead.”

　　“Yes, no doubt. You must have seen it, too. The magical power back then really came from Prince Francesco’s body and showered down on Carlos. That was his magic beyond question.

　　And as you can see, the ‘Imbued Stone of Cure’ is not consumed.”

　　Saying so, Aura placed the white stone redundant with magical power on the table.

　　Zenjirou blinked surprised.

　　“Huh? He left it with us?

　　“Yes, because the official reason for paying Carlos a sick bed visit all the way in the Inner Palace was to use the stone. It would contradict itself if he were to leave with an unused stone.”

　　“But didn’t he say that Princess Bona would be angry if he used it?”

　　“According to him it is an everyday occurrence for both of them that she gets angry at him.”

　　“Oh no… That sounds like Prince Francesco has a hard time, but when you think about it, it’s Princess Bona, who has a hard time.”

　　Zenjirou apologized to Princess Bona in his mind.

　　“Anyhow, the prince wasn’t an idiot after all. Then the story that the king himself appointed Princess Bona as his chaperon…”

　　“She was undoubtedly used for obfuscation. Prince Francesco’s foolish acting becomes so more believable when someone is actually taking him serious.”

　　“How pitiful…”

　　Tears welled in his eyes.

　　Seriously pitying Princess Bona now, Zenjirou moved on to the next topic in order to shake off that feeling.

　　“Anyway, I kind of understand the explanation that Zenkichi can use ‘s.p.a.ce-Time Magic’ as well as ‘Bestowal Magic’, but why did Prince Francesco go to such length to prove that to us? In my opinion, that was only beneficial to us.”

　　Aura shook her head to his question with a slightly bitter expression.

　　“No. In the short run, knowing that actually holds no merit for us.

　　Think about it. Do you actually believe it is possible to learn the correct intonation, magical power input and perception for the ‘Bestowal Magic’ without a teacher?”

　　“Oh, right. Just knowing the fact that you can use it doesn’t mean you can actually use it. You need to learn the right way to use it.”

　　Zenjirou was convinced, whereas Aura nodded displeased.

　　“Exactly. Without the help of the Sharrow Royal Family, it would probably take three or more generations to learn it by trial and error.”

　　“Uwah, that’s long…”

　　Now it made sense that Aura said there was no merit in the short run.

　　“So, in other words, Prince Francesco’s going to ask for something in exchange for teaching Zenkichi any time soon?”

　　After a bit of pondering, Zenjirou made a conjecture about the ulterior motive of the foreign prince, which Aura affirmed, albeit correcting it a bit.

　　“That is more than likely. Still, it is hard to believe that Prince Francesco is acting on his own on this. The revealed information is just too grave for that.

　　If the Crown Prince or the King of the Sharrow Family are pulling the strings here, they might be after something entirely different.”

　　“Something entirely different?”

　　Since Zenjirou inclined his head puzzled, Aura continued to explain with a slightly stern expression.

　　“Yes. There is no real benefit for the Sharrow Family when Carlos can use ‘Bestowal Magic’. But who do you think will profit when it becomes publicly known that Carlos is a pract.i.tioner of the ‘Bestowal Magic’?”

　　“Prince Francesco?”

　　“Indeed. Leaving his political standing aside, he has an incredible talent.

　　It is only natural to want to pa.s.s his immense amount of magical power on to the next generation, not to mention his special feature of having two magic.”

　　“Right. The amount of magical power’s generally inherited from the parents after all, with a few exceptions.”

　　The inherited factor was only as noticeable as one from a phenotypic trait from the parent, though, but having more magical power was appealing to royalty, who were using “Bloodline Magic”.

　　Yet Prince Francesco, in possession of tremendous magical power, was forbidden to make children by reason of their secret agreement. From a certain point of view that was certainly a waste.

　　“In short, they are planning to overrule the agreement, where the ‘lineage of those with two bloodline magic has to end’, by establis.h.i.+ng a public precedence in form of Zenkichi?”

　　“Well, yes, but that is just my personal deduction. The Twin Kingdom would practically bring about a revolution if they actually were to do that, so I doubt that they will go so far.”

　　“I see. Then it won’t become such a big fuss?”

　　His somewhat hopeful remark was merciless dismissed by the Queen.

　　“No. I am afraid that it will. Now that foreigners know how Carlos can use ‘Bestowal Magic’, it is more than likely that our own people will get to know about it, too.

　　And when that happens, the next question will be: ‘How did Prince Carlos get the disposition for the Bestowal Magic?’

　　Then it will only be a matter of time until it is exposed that you, Zenjirou, have inherited the blood of the Sharrow Royal Family. And at long last, the radical faction, starting with General Puyol, will surely insist even more forcefully than before that you take a concubine.”

　　“Oh G.o.d…”

　　After she had indifferently talked about the presumptive future so far, the Queen showed a cramped expression that suppressed her pain when her husband leaked a despairing outcry.

　　“Sorry. In the end, I am always breaking my promises to you, even though you have never broken any to me…”

　　Since his wife slouched her shoulders so much so that you could practically see her dejection, Zenjirou reflexively answered with comforting words.

　　“Nah, don’t worry about it so much. You didn’t break your promise to me, the circ.u.mstances of my ancestors are just a little bit too special.”

　　In fact, it really wasn’t Aura’s fault. If anything, her only mistake was that she had been too naive about the initial future prospect.

　　Things were just developing into an unpleasant direction for him, but as the Queen, Aura had no choice but to burden him with it, since the country would suffer too much otherwise.

　　“Nonetheless, I have given you the condition that ‘you do not need to do anything except making a child’ when I summoned you. I wish I could travel back in time with ‘Time Reversal’ and slap myself in the face.

　　To be perfectly honest with you, the Royal Palace would sink into total chaos right now, if I really were to have you ‘do nothing’.”

　　Aura vomited out these words just like mocking herself for her naivety back then.

　　“Hmm, but I never really thought that I would get to do nothing. And I did have my share of free time for a few month after the wedding.

　　But not having to do anything wasn’t as fun as I thought it would be. So it’s all right in the end, I guess.”

　　He certainly had chosen his words in order to comfort Aura, but they weren’t a lie either.

　　For the better or worse, he had gotten used to the pressure that he felt when he acted as a representative for the country, so he no longer felt all that mentally tired.

　　He had nothing serious to complain about in his current lifestyle.

　　But especially because of that he absolutely wanted to refuse a “concubine”, who would turn this life upside down.

　　Of course he would need to find his inner peace with it when, in the worst case, he could no longer avoid it, but he once again vowed to himself that he would at least “not take a concubine” until the time he ran out of options.

　　“But is there nothing you want to have or do?”

　　Zenjirou was already used to his wife’s question as she asked it for the nth time, and mused for a moment, then gave a slightly different answer than usually.

　　“Hmm, let’s see… Doesn’t have to be right away, but I want to hold Zenkichi.”

　　His response was completely different from what Aura had expected, but it was undoubtedly his greatest wish right now.

　　After all, he had been unable to visit him in the past few days due to work, and today had been the ruckus with the “Spotted Fever”.

　　His beloved son was supposed to be healed, but he wanted to hold him with his own hands and feel his warmth in order to erase all doubts within him as soon as possible.

　　“Zenjirou…”

　　Even Aura could only make a wry smile in response.

　　She had asked him the question, because she had wanted to reward him in some way or other for not voicing a single complain when she had put him through so much trouble, but she suddenly emphasized with his reply.

　　“You are right. His illness is already cured, so Doctor Mich.e.l.le surely will not fuss anymore. Let us go pay him a visit in the near future.”

　　“Yeah, let’s. Good, the mere thought of it gives me back my power!”

　　Just as he had said, his eyes were bursting with strength again as he leaned forward on the couch and rolled his shoulders.

　　“However, you are not allowed to speak in front of Carlos.”

　　“Oh, come on! I’ve been studying like crazy lately. My p.r.o.nunciation has gotten better, too, so I wish you would let me say something else than ‘it’s me, papa’ now.”

　　“Nope. Your effort is laudable, but not so much the outcome.”

　　“Harsh words…”

　　“Fufu, the future of our child is at stake after all.”

　　The following chit-chat continued happily, replacing the gloomy atmosphere from before.

　　* * *

　　“Prince Francesco, you are being too careless! I cannot believe you demanded to be allowed into the Inner Palace. One wrong step and it would have caused a huge scandal!”

　　At the same time, Prince Francesco, now back in the south building of the Royal Palace, received a really long lecture from the angry “chaperon” woman, like he had expected.

　　With the hottest season of the year out of the way, the room should have a rather pleasant temperature, since it was cooled by a magic tool called “Fog Genesis”, but Princess Bona’s flushed face was drenched in sweat while she was raising her voice.

　　Unlike Prince Francesco, who sat cosily on the couch, she had been standing most of the time with her arms pressed onto the table, leaning forward aggressively.

　　“My bad. But don’t you feel sorry for Prince Carlos? He isn’t even two years old yet and had an illness that might have killed him.”

　　When a royalty, whether from the Sharrow or Jilbell Family, got sick in the Twin Kingdom, the healers from the Jilbell Family immediately used their “Healing Magic”. Due to that, the members of the royal families in the Twin Kingdom were not used to dying from an illness.

　　In this way the “excuse” from Prince Francesco had had cogency, but not enough to convince the diligent Princess Bona.

　　“I do feel sympathy for Prince Carlos. However, I have been told that the ‘Spotted Fever’ is not such a lethal illness. Yet you used the one and only ‘Imbued Stone of Cure’ you possess!

　　What are you going to do when you yourself catch an illness now! We are not in the Twin Kingdom here. There are no healers around!”

　　She made a “sound argument” as she talked herself into a fury, but to anyone, who knew that the pressed prince was actually a healer himself, it only looked like she was making a fool out of herself.

　　Having said that, there was a possibility that he would be unable to use “Healing Magic“, because he lacked the concentration when his illness suddenly worsened or he suffered an unavoidable wound. Likewise might he be unable to p.r.o.nounce the incantation properly when he got a hoa.r.s.e voice in the worst case. Consider that, it really had been careless to give away his one and only “Imbued Stone of Cure”.

　　“Don’t worry. I already informed my father in the capital with the ‘Burning Pair Parchment’. He’ll send over a replacement at once.”

　　“Y- You even used the ‘Burning Pair Parchment’!?”

　　Princess Bona nearly fainted when she heard his answer.

　　The ‘Burning Pair Parchment’ was a magic tool.

　　It had originally been created with the military intentions to lit a fire in far away places, because one parchment from the bestowed pair of dragonskin parchments burnt exactly the same way as the other when you lit up one. But as soon as they discovered that they could write on it by means of burn marks, it was immediately established as a way of communication.

　　It hardly needs mentioning that its rate of transmission and secrecy was outstanding, considering that the fastest means of communication in this world was usually the “Small Flying Dragon”.

　　To cite an example: One country could use limited “emails” while the others were still using carrier pigeons or mounted couriers. Its value of benefit was extremely high. So high that it was said that its designer was the hidden mastermind behind the rise of the Twin Kingdom as the supreme ruler of the central region of the South Continent.

　　On a related note, magic tools such as the “Sand Pair Box”, which tried to generate the same effect with Earth Magic instead, or the “Water Pair Parchment”, which used water instead of ink, were developed, too, but never found practical application.

　　As a general rule, the “Burning Pair Parchment” was so valuable that it was only given to commanders of a fortress near the country border or diplomats in foreign countries for genuine emergencies.

　　Yet Prince Francesco had used his so readily, so Princess Bona was at a loss for words about his carefreeness.

　　Was it due to the fact that he was a prince of gentle birth?

　　That thought crossed her mind for a moment as she was well aware that she had a parsimonious spirit.

　　“Yep. My father and grandfather told me to inform them at once if I use the ‘Imbued Stone of Cure’. Oh, I asked them to send other stuff we are lacking, too. They will bring a support and fixture for your engraving, too. The other day you said you couldn’t find a good fixture here, right?”

　　“Really? Thank you very much! That has been troubling me. I know I should not be saying this, but the engraving techniques in this country leave a lot to be desired, and the same goes for their tools.”

　　“Yeah, I know. Kind of loose, aren’t they?”

　　“You noticed it as well? That is indeed the case. How do I put it? It does not properly fixate the metal and every time you apply the graver, it slips slightly out of position. The craftsmen here do not seem to mind it, though, so I cannot bring myself to mention it… Wait a moment, we are getting off-topic!”

　　Loosing herself in the talk about jewellery, Princess Bona suddenly noticed that she was led astray. She withstood the temptation and got back to the original topic.

　　“Let’s say I acknowledge your fellow feeling for Prince Carlos. Could you not have handed the ‘Imbued Stone of Cure’ to Her Majesty Aura or His Majesty Zenjirou?

　　Why were you being so reckless and entered the Inner Palace yourself?”

　　“The Carpa Kingdom has its own stock of ‘Imbued Stones of Cure’, you know? But they didn’t use one this time. So I couldn’t be sure whether Her Majesty Aura would use mine, even when I handed her it.”

　　That was definitely a sound argument from him, but Princess Bona got a bad feeling when she heard his justification.

　　“Uhm… Prince Francesco? I do not think it is possible, but I would like to ask just in case: You did not say something similar to Her Majesty Aura, correct…?”

　　“Similar? I practically told her that word by word.”

　　“…..”

　　She put both hands on the table and hung her head so much it seemed it would fall off.

　　“Don’t worry. Her Majesty prefers a direct approach and is frank with you about small matters.”

　　Prince Francesco laughed it off unconcerned and appeased her by shaking his hand in denial, but Princess Bona didn’t hear anything of it.

　　“I- I personally have to apologize to Her Majesty Aura… No, she must be rather busy, so I should discuss it with His Majesty Zenjirou first…”

　　The fact that she, despite the circ.u.mstances, mumbled a constructive plan to fix the situation to herself, instead of harbouring a grudge, proved how genuine her diligence and sense of responsibility were, even if she was still hanging her head.

　　After behaving like that for a short while, she raised her head, as she had seemingly made a resolve, and spoke.

　　“Prince Francesco, I have something urgent to attend to now, so you will have to excuse me. And for the love of G.o.d, please stay put.

　　Do you understand? If you have to go out, you absolutely have to tell me, okay? I do not need any weird consideration.

　　Well then, I will see you later.”

　　Once she had rattled away, she quickly left the room.