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"Your Majesty… may I ask something?"
Faria Belpharia's hesitant words came after a stunned pause, likely over a minute, though Setsuna, grappling with his own shock, hadn't tracked the time. He lacked the mental space or interest for such trivialities.
His surprise stemmed from learning "Bel," mentioned by Leongand Rei-Gandia, was Faria. The report Leongand read was based on her interrogation of Setsuna, somehow reaching the king's eyes.
Setsuna, an outsider a mere student from another world couldn't grasp the ties between Faria's Continental Summoners' Association and Gandia, but they seemed significant. His guess could be off, though.
"What is it?"
Leongand, composed, met Faria's recovering gaze with a refined smile, not like one for a stranger or subject, but akin to a fond look for a beloved sister.
They didn't resemble kin, but Setsuna's racing mind entertained the idea that Leongand cherished her like one.
"Your Majesty, why are you here when you're supposed to be at the Mardal exercises?"
Her words, regaining calm, were news to Setsuna. A king attending exercises in Mardal Gandia's second-largest city, per Faria and Elina, the only other "city" besides Gandion. A fortress city, though details were sparse.
To Setsuna, battling relentless muscle pain, such talk barely registered. In his ignorance of this world, city details were vital, but back then, his fight with soreness overshadowed all.
"I heard of Karan's fire just before leaving Gandion. I couldn't stay put," Leongand said, unapologetic, as if it were natural.
"That's reckless!"
Faria's outrage was justified. A king shouldn't upend plans for personal reasons. It wasn't that simple.
A king wasn't just a man but an institution Setsuna couldn't recall whose words those were, watching their faces.
"The exercises are fine. Someone's handling it, keeping morale high. But this couldn't wait, right?"
Leongand's profile was striking, noble, stirring Setsuna's belated tension and awe at his own dullness.
Faria's expression wavered between anger and confusion, her passion fading before Leongand's smile.
"But…!"
"A king acting on whim is that right? I agree. I'm no kingly sort," Leongand said, detached.
Faria's eyes narrowed, emotionless, her icy voice echoing in the dawn street. "Your real purpose?"
Her words carried the weight of a blade at the throat, chilling even Setsuna.
Leongand, unfazed, deflected her gaze. "What do you mean?"
"You wouldn't skip crucial exercises for this alone, would you?"
Calling Karan's fire "this" seemed callous, but the scale of the disaster wasn't the point.
"Come on, what kind of guy do you think I am?"
"Scheming, ruthless, downright vile," Faria shot back.
Setsuna shuddered, not at her tone but her words. A commoner Association officer or not shouldn't speak so to a king. It crossed all bounds.
"Such insolence to a king. Treason, perhaps?" Leongand grinned boldly.
Setsuna could only watch, sidelined, unable to interject.
But Leongand's next words eased his worry. "Fine, but believe this: I came for Karan's fire. I learned of the summoner boy and his mentor, Azmaria Altemax, from your report."
His purpose shifted after reading it, Setsuna realized, sighing at Leongand's flawless beauty, which could grate.
"!?"
Faria's eyes widened, her second shock that day. A surprised face revealed one's true self unguarded, vulnerable.
(Probably.)
Setsuna, musing, saw a flower-like grace in her stunned expression, unlike the interrogator or the furious figure charging him. If that was her essence, so be it, he thought.
"That surprising?"
"Of course! How'd you see my report!?"
Faria's shout echoed loudly in the early morning, unnoticed by her, focused on Leongand.
He seemed equally absorbed, matching her intensity.
Left out, Setsuna fought loneliness not fear, but the sting of being ignored, unbearable. Yet asserting himself risked worse.
"On my way, I saw a carrier pigeon"
Faria's scream cut off Leongand's casual remark.
"You shot it down!?"
Her wild leap stunned even Leongand, too shocked to respond, as Setsuna could tell.
"How could you…!"
Faria grew more animated.
"Poor Beatrice…!"
"No, no, no!"
Setsuna and Leongand shook their heads in unison, exasperated.