CHAPTER 9

They weren"t the words he"d been expecting. Wolfram thought he had misunderstood.

"But why can"t I go along?!"

"The search troops have already been a.s.sembled. They"ve been divided into seven lines of approach. Their objectives lay in the motherland Simaron, the autonomous as well as the occupied territories, and the islands. According to the latest facts and the results of the latest a.n.a.lyses, it was decided that the s.h.i.+ps will set sail for Simaron this evening."

Lord von Voltaire unfolded a map on which the lines of approach were drawn. Out of the corners of his eyes, he threw a brief and grumpy glance towards the doll on the chair. 

"If the situation here were different, I would be going myself. But someone has to stay here and take care of the castle, now that Gunter finds himself in this condition."

Madam b.u.t.terfly, whose chin had fallen carelessly open, let her glance sweep around the room. The smile in her crescent-shaped eyes did not reflect her true feelings. If one looked closely, her gaze was actually somewhat threatening.

"Ceding the responsibility for the king"s castle to a doll is out of the question," Gwendal said decisively.

"But I said that I want to go!" shouted Wolfram.

"In that case, I would have to confer the command of one of the search troops to you, and rea.s.semble it anew. That would cost us unnecessary time. We don"t have any time to lose."

"But none of that is necessary at all! I don"t need a search team, I"ll be fine on my own."

"I won"t allow it."

"But why not?!"

"If you take part in the expedition, certain precautions would have to be taken. I forbid you to take part in this rescue mission. Now please don"t give me any trouble, I really don"t have time for that at the moment. Everything being done is in Yuri"s best interests, and that"s what you want, too." Then he issued further orders to his men.

"We still don"t have an adjutant for the second troop. Who did Makalhin suggest for the position? Take people from Lord Weller"s troops along. They’re well versed in human culture. There"s no reason to stand at attention, I"d rather see you hurry it up."

The young soldiers hastened back to their areas of responsibility. Wolfram watched his oldest brother with bloodshot eyes. He hadn"t gotten a wink of sleep since yesterday but because of the tremendous tension, he wasn"t feeling the fatigue. 

"Is everything going according to plan with the third and fourth troops, the ones departing from Gyllenhal? Last I heard, Heathcliff intends to recruit a civilian as a go-between in Hildyaard, and an unofficial team will set forth from Cavalcade. The cards for relaying information will be deployed in this order: white, yellow, and red. Hammer that into your skulls, we can"t make any mistakes! Lord von Bielefeld?"

"Yes?" Wolfram answered in surprise.

"Do you understand why I don"t want you to go?"

"Because I lose my composure too easily and I always want to get my own way?"

"That is also a reason."

Wolfram clenched his fists tightly. "I"m not very discrete. I"m too emotional and in enemy territory, I won"t be able to stay inconspicuous. Is that it?"

"Well, that is truly an accurate self-a.n.a.lysis. But that isn"t the main reason."

"And that would be?"

Gwendal opened a b.u.t.ton on his collar, pulled up a chair, and sat down. A shadow lay over his blue eyes. 

"You"ll have to find that out for yourself while you lend me a hand in the castle."

It was already late afternoon when Wolfram noticed Gisela leading a horse by the reins. He still hadn"t felt like eating even a bite.

Despite his brother"s veto, he had come to the decision to board a s.h.i.+p for Simaron. He had spoken with a few trustworthy soldiers discreetly. All of them were prepared to support his plan. A few had even volunteered to accompany him. 

Still, the Bielefeld soldiers were first and foremost beholden to the Demon Empire. It was taken for granted that in the absence of the king, they would follow Lord von Voltaire"s orders. If it became known that they acted contrary to his orders, their brave behavior would be seen as an act of betrayal.

Wolfram didn"t want these respectable men with families to get into hot water just because he had a thick skull. As he walked along the stone path to the inner courtyard, musing, he encountered Gisela, stroking her horse"s neck cheerfully as she made her way to the riding corral. She was accompanied by several men.

"Oh, Your Excellency! What a small world!"

In her dark brown hair, which was bound into a bun at her neck, a delicate silver hairpin sparkled.

"If you"re looking for Gunter, he"s with my brother. He perches on a stool and mutters indeterminate things to himself. Now and then he flings fire-red thunderbolts from his eyes." 

Gisela laid her finger against the corner of her mouth and took on a worried expression.

"I am truly sorry that my father is conducting himself in such a creepy way."

"That"s nothing you need to apologize for."

"Well, but he is still my father, who I"m otherwise so proud of. Madam b.u.t.terfly won"t budge from the king"s headquarters and Lady Anissina hovers over Snow Gunter so much that I am not even allowed to care for him as a nurse. So I thought since no one seems to need anything here, I might as well indulge in a holiday trip for recuperation with a few of my adopted father"s men. These men have always done so much for my father, and we"ve become friends. And we all love hot springs."

Wolfram knew two of the four men. Particularly the man with the bald head, who he"d seen around the castle all year. Was his name Dacascos? 

The bulk of the soldiers who served under Lord von Kleist originally came from other units. The king"s advisor could only give direct orders to the bodyguards and a small number of the castle guards. All of the other soldiers acted only in the name of the king.

These four men belonged to the small number of castle guards. It appeared that they hadn"t received any orders, even given the ongoing emergency situation. They were generally not responsible for battle a.s.signments, but rather for paperwork. 

Wolfram let his gaze wander over Gisela"s clothes and luggage. She wore an unpretentious rider"s uniform of moss green and white. Her body was not decorated with gold or gemstones. Her luggage consisted only of a somewhat large backpack, and a leather pouch that hung off the saddle, presumably filled with rations.

"You say you want to visit the hot springs? With so little luggage?" Wolfram asked in surprise.

"Exactly, Your Excellency. It probably looks very unusual to you lords of the high n.o.bility when a woman travels without a suitcase, right? But since I"ve spent many years of my life in the military, I prefer comfortable clothing and not having to worry if it gets dirty. After all, you don"t want to have to watch your every step."

She introduced her companions one by one. The men stood at attention and saluted. Only the last one slouched his head and scrutinized the former prince with uncomfortably cold eyes. 

As Wolfram was about to turn around and head back to the castle, Gisela grabbed his hand. 

"We plan to travel by boat from Hildyaard to the three Viyah islands," she said. "Unfortunately, now is not the time for the Fire Festival. We might travel a bit further, if we find ourselves in the mood for it. In case our vacation takes a long time, please check in on my father, okay? Please let him know I would be sorry if he worried about me."

"I will let him know."

But why did she make it sound like she wasn"t ever coming back? Did she perhaps want to elope with one of these men? When Wolfram had met her that morning in the Ancestral Temple of the Original King, it had seemed like her heart beat only for Conrad. 

"Gisela!" Wolfram called her back. The penny had finally dropped for him.

The group stayed where they were with their horses, but turned back to him, backlit by the sunlight. The light flooded over Gisela"s pale hair -- a special characteristic of her race -- and immersed her in delicate orange.

"Your Excellency?"

"May I come along?" Wolfram asked.

"Excuse me?"

"To the hot springs."

Wolfram searched through the pockets of his clothes. His fingertips. .h.i.t upon a bundle of bank notes. It was the money he"d taken along for palm-greasing to the Ancestral Temple. This sum would easily allow for a trip of several months.

"Will you take me along?"

As if she had only been waiting for this request, Gisela stretched her right hand out to him.

"It would be our great honor."

"But this isn"t going to be a luxury trip, Your Excellency!" chimed in the bald soldier.
 

The three Viyah Islands were situated at the western edge of the territory ruled by Simaron. s.h.i.+ps sailed from Van Noh Viyah towards the motherland. Wolfram asked himself how far this trip was meant to go -- presumably they all had the same goal. 

At long last, Wolfram loosened his right fist. Inside lay the small sh.e.l.l design, moist with his sweat and half burned to black. Perhaps Gisela needed this object more than he himself did. 

"This cuff link belonged to Conrad," he said.

"It"s from his arm?"

"Yes. If you"d like to have it..."

Gisela took it between her fingertips, lifted it up to the light, and examined its shape. Then she laid it back in the hand of the younger brother. 

"I think you are laboring under a misunderstanding, Your Excellency," she laughed joyfully, which she hadn"t done for a very long time. 

"Misunderstanding?"

"You surely think I have a certain kind of feelings for His Excellency Conrad, isn"t that so?"

"Am I wrong then?"

She swung herself light-footedly into the saddle and rode ahead. 

"I once gave a promise to a friend of mine that I want to make good on now. That"s all."

Who was this friend supposed to be? And what kind of a promise? She surely didn"t mean Yuri -- or did she?

Wolfram s.n.a.t.c.hed the horse from a soldier who had been heading for the stables, and rode after the traveling party.