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Beretin’s warehouses held quite an assortment of goods. Much of it was disturbing contraband, but most items couldn’t be characterized as illegal, per se. At least, not before he actually attempted to ship them out of the country.
For example, it was no surprise, since we already knew about the slave girls who were almost certainly breeding stock for the production of half-demon soldiers, to find a fair amount of women’s cold-climate clothing. After all, these half-naked women were destined for the high-altitude Demonic Plains, the massive, often very cold high desert plateau that stretched across the West Baris continent from the frontier ranges of the Great Wall westward for nearly a thousand miles at its broadest point. They couldn’t give birth if they were too busy dying of exposure.
And the crates full of spirit-stone-grade mithril ore, a.k.a uncharged mana stones, wasn’t technically illegal. However, the act of exporting them during a time of war, when they are classified as war resources, certainly would be. And such a large stash being held back, if the merchant had no plan to export it, would be presumably to wait for the price to rise. In peacetime, this act would just be business, but in wartime, with all our soldiers depending upon a reliable supply of weapons and war engines, it became war profiteering, a criminal act.
But it wasn’t these, nor the magic-grade woods, gems and rare metals that also qualified as war material, that Beretin’s people had been loading first. Nor was it even the coffers of gold coins, in pretty shockingly large amounts. It was not even the antique magic tools and amulets that the constables discovered, which Amalis had immediately called for the Royal Knights to investigate, on suspicion they would be stolen goods. It seemed he recognized a couple items as missing high-value artifacts.
No, what Beretin’s people had been loading up on the wagons first, despite their considerably lower price tags, were cases containing the very same magic weapons that the Pendorian Army was currently using to roll over the rebel forces.
Gyges saw my face pale and nodded. “Lord Amalis told me that this is direct evidence of treason. He seemed quite upset.”
She looked like she didn’t quite get it, which surprised me, considering the intellectual power she held.
“My intellect is distributed, Your Highness,” she stated with a slight smile. “I can only devote so much at a time to each body. Could you illuminate me?”
I felt this was like a two year old being asked to explain a complicated matter to an adult, but I decided to comply.
“It explains why he was desperate to retrieve the cargo,” I explained. “For everything else in the warehouses, Beretin could have received high fines and loss of licenses, but with his possession of those weapons, he became all but a convicted traitor. We would have to hold a trial before actually declaring him one, of course, but it’s practically an open-and-shut case.”
“It’s a greater matter than illegal slave smuggling?” she asked, still puzzled.
I wondered, wasn’t she already picking this up in my mind?
“Your current state of development still allows me to pick up surface thoughts, but to drill down, I would have to concentrate more of my spiritual powers on this body. Don’t confuse me with your divine spouses, Your Highness.”
I twisted my lip, forcing myself to accept the idea, then explained, “Beretin’s operation should absolutely not have possessed these weapons, and certainly should not have been trying to transport them somewhere. They are property of the duchy, and their designs are military secrets. Eventually the enemy and others will get hold of examples on the battlefield and reverse engineer them, but the slower that happens, the longer we hold our war-fighting advantage.”
I had learned that much earlier today from Rod, after I witnessed the battle in the warehouse and wanted to know more about the unfamiliar weapons. So I had realized the ramifications the moment I heard it, thanks to Royal Knight training, and maybe my awareness from my life on Earth of how much of a difference advanced military technology could make.
From the Crimean War all the way to the Gulf War, technological advances have given the victors an edge. Their technology in World War II favored the Axis powers early, and the fortunes of war reversed when the Allied powers caught up to and surpassed them. But perhaps too much of that realization had been at a deeper level than she could pick up from surface thoughts?
I added, “Shipping in Pendor became tightly controlled and monitored as soon as the war broke out. Once that happened, Beretin didn’t dare move them out of Narses. But that doesn’t mean he hadn’t successfully shipped out anything else, prior to the war.”
The actual weapons in Beretin’s hands would have never made much of a difference in the war. There were only about twenty cases in total. But the rebel dukes could have duplicated them and completely changed the war. Assuming they were headed to the rebel territories and not into the hands of the demons.
“It’s absolutely vital that we find out”, Gyges agreed. “Otherwise, a nasty surprise might be waiting for your troops on the front line.”
“Where is Beretin?” I asked.
“In the prison quarters of Aldat Citadel, Your Highness.”
I touched the chime to summon Hedrit. He opened the door almost immediately. “My Lady?”
“I need to arrange to go over to Aldat Citadel,” I told him.
Immediately, Gyges objected. “You’re going there yourself? Absolutely not!”
Hedrit blinked and grew a baffled look. I sighed, then signaled for him to exit.
Once the door shut once more, I told her, “We have to interrogate him as soon as possible, Miss Gyges.”
“You have people for that, right?”
“I have prior life incarnations that could probably run circles around anyone from Pendor when it came to the mind. Both Fan Li and Kwelabi have far more insight into the human psyche than any human interrogator.”
But then she shook her head. “You should absolutely not step outside this castle, Your Highness! You have more important matters to attend to!”
Exasperation welled up inside me, requiring me to hold my mouth forcibly closed for a few seconds and simply glare at her, before I told her, “The lives of my troops may be depending upon what Beretin can tell us! This is extremely important!”
She folded her arms and countered, “The lives of your babies are depending upon you to stay here and take care of matters, are they not? Matters that must be attended to, immediately. You’re running out of time.”
It was my turn to blink. Gyges had joined Team ‘Keep the theoretically pregnant woman out of danger!’ In fact, it seemed she was fully aware of Gaia’s urgent request for us to handle things before tomorrow morning.
She answered my thoughts. “It’s less a question of you staying out of danger at this time than a matter of you not getting caught up in other matters, Your Highness. Who knows what distraction will follow this one? And perhaps another distraction after that? Your seniors made it very clear to me that they want you to focus on the bigger picture. You still work for them, do you not?”
By ‘my seniors’, she meant Gaia and Eurybia, of course.
“But…”
“I will focus on this matter for your, Your Highness,” Gyges declared. “I can delay meeting with your business staff until another time, and head straight over to the Citadel. Will that suffice?”
“They won’t let you just waltz in and interrogate a prisoner!” I rebutted.
“I am already communicating with Lady Benedetta, Your Highness,” she answered. “She should have clearance for me by the time I arrive there.”
Seeing my continued reluctance and my resistance, Gyges smiled and added, “Gaia told me about a surveillance technique you have, which you can attach to people by touching them. Feel free to put one on me and monitor my actions.”
I sighed, conceding defeat, then stood and crossed around the desk to reach her. She had stood as soon as I did and was waiting for me. Without another word, I put my hand on her back, silently cast [Blood Tracker], then told her, “Please go take care of it, Miss Gyges.”
She smiled at me, bid me farewell with an Atian bow, and left the room. I signaled to Hedrit through the open door as she exited.
“Send word for Miss Mireia to come see me,” I told him when he came in.
His poker face is good, but I think I caught him off guard.
“His Royal Highness’s young lady, My Lady?” he asked.
A suspicion occurred to me, that Mireia might have some bad rumors circulating. Or perhaps, given my bad reputation, maybe she was seen in a positive light and the bad rumors were attaching to me.
I needed to do something about that. I assured him with a smile, “She happens to be my very dear friend, Mr. Hedrit. Please don’t let the fact that we get along confuse you. His Royal Highness and I both value her highly.”
Okay, I don’t know if I really have the right to claim her friendship, given that our relationship was at least partially based upon blood bondage, but it would be much better for us both if we gave everyone else that impression.
He nodded, having recovered his studious neutral expression. “I shall send for her right away, My Lady.”
I went back to studying the notebook while I waited, but it wasn’t very long before she appeared.
After lunch, I had told Sir Makit, the Castle Steward, to assign Mireia a couple maids and a wardrobe budget, and it was clear that they were already on the job. She entered beautifully decorated in a creme-colored qipao, a garment popular in her native Suldor and a popular semi-formal wear among young women throughout Doria. Hers was a fancier version, with magnificent silver ‘frog’ fasteners and mithril and gold thread woven into the opulent embroidery.
Miss Laela the maid had shown her in, and lingered at the door, probably expecting to serve tea. I signaled for her to leave as I stood, then went back to admiring the pink-haired beauty.
She blushed and looked away, and blushed deeper after the door shut, when I told her, while circling my desk in order to go meet her, “That outfit really suits you, Mir.”
Still looking away, she objected, “It doesn’t suit me at all, My Lady. It’s like putting a dress on a pig.”
Her life as an otherworldly priestess had been austere and devoid of luxury, and her life in this world had been as a slave working as domestic staff. Rod had made sure she had better clothing while with him, even some reasonably formal dresses at dinner, but she hadn’t worn luxury attire at this level until now. Her discomfort was very plain to see.
I reached her and caught her hands, squeezing them. “It suits you so well, Mir. You are much better suited to Dorian clothing than me.”
She turned a side-eye at me and asked, “Is that a reference to my bust, My Lady?”
Okay, so it’s true that fairy figures ill-suit Dorian clothing, and my half-fairy figure pushes the limits of what works. Mortal Dorians aren’t busty, as a rule. But Mireia is a fairling, so she isn’t that small either.
“It’s ‘Ti’, remember? And no. We’re not very different in that respect.”
“Heeeeeeh…” she countered, eyeing the relevant anatomical feature on me.
“We’re not!” I retorted. “And I’m talking about the rest of you! You have the delicate build and face that suits Dorian women’s clothing. A fighter like me is better suited to military uniforms.”
She shook her head. “You must not know how pretty you are, then, My Lady.”
“You really aren’t going to call me Ti, are you?”
She dimpled, then asked, “Will we be taking dinner together, My Lady?”
I pooched my lips, then noted, “I’m missing some vital information. Have you and Rod taken care of your… task yet?”
She giggled. “To what task are you referring, My Lady?”
Blushing, I accused, “You know exactly what I’m talking about!”
Her giggles erupted into a short, merry laugh. Then she sobered up again and looked at me warmly.
“It’s very difficult, My Lady,” she confessed. “I don’t know if you believe us, but His Highness and I really have never slept with each other. Do you have any idea how hard it is to just…”
She broke off as she saw me turning deep scarlet and looking away. Then she giggled.
“You truly do have trouble talking about this, don’t you?”
I sighed. “I do. Okay, that settles it. You two have dinner together, just the two of you. Have the maids serve everything and leave, so it’s more intimate. Keep it romantic and don’t hold back, understand? Get it taken care of!”
She nodded, with a wry smile. “Rhea did say that we have to get everything done before morning.”
“That includes my part, so I’ll be waiting for you in my suite at exactly Late Evening.”
Meaning three hours after Evening, or three hours before Midnight. In other words, Nine P.M. At which time, while sitting in my reading room, I was alerted by Genette that I had visitors. Plural. I reached out with my fairy sense to discover that Mireia had brought Rod with her.
After Genette left in order to show them in, I facepalmed and muttered, “Mir, what are you thinking…”
