Draconia Offline vol. 1

60.1. In Mourning - Part 1

I obey but I'm chewing mechanically, not really paying any attention to what I'm eating. I might be much more assertive now but this is something they have every right to just order me. Making sure their Emperor is clean and well-fed is a priority.

"Bauerova wants to talk to you," Liana says carefully. "Can we send her in?"

I nod and wipe my mouth with a napkin. There's still one third of a portion left but I simply can't eat anymore. Ayala sighs but she takes the plate away while Luviael goes to fetch our guest.

"Your Majesty, how are you coping?" the Czech Prime Minister blurts the moment she sees me. Her wife Elizabeth is with her.

They're humans and politicians but I'm glad to see them. They genuinely care. I try to smile a bit but it's cringy. Erik clutches my hand and Gotrid starts caressing my feathers. I'm still this close to make everything tremble.

"Did the police discover anything? Any clues? Camera footages? Witnesses? She lived in a huge block of flats; somebody must have seen something," Liana asks for me.

"Nothing," Bauerova shakes her head. "Whoever did it, they were professionals."

"So it wasn't hate crime?" Liana is making sure.

"Improbable, it was done too expertly," the Prime Minister answers. "Footages from security cameras were deleted remotely and it happened at night so there were no witnesses. If she struggled, nobody heard it because her apartment was sound-proofed. The ambulance was alarmed in the morning only after the monitor detected she didn't take her medicine."

"I don't understand, why her?" Erik is confused. "Sure, she was connected to the Celestial Emperor but it was publicly known she renounced her grandson."

"Ehm," Bauerova bites her lip. "There's more. She was tortured before she died. Probably for information."

"T-tor...?" I finally speak up but my voice fails me.

My mana starts leaking again and my partners have to do their best to calm me down. Bauerova and Elizabeth can't sense mana directly but they get goosebumps nonetheless. Even humans can vaguely tell when the embodiment of magic does magic.

"Your Majesty," Bauerova coughs to clear her throat and gets extremely nervous. "People are panicking. They think you might want revenge."

"I wouldn't do that," I frown.

"You would never or you wouldn't do that in this case because you weren't close with your grandmother?" Elizabeth says rather sharply.

I want to reply that I'd never launch a conquest just for revenge but then I look at Erik and Gotrid. If something happened to them, I have no doubt I wouldn't rest until those responsible weren't eradicated.

"Not helping to calm them down, Ryuu," Erik hisses because the sudden silence pretty much confirms it.

"If something happened to either of you...," I don't have to finish the sentence.

Bauerova twitches in her seat and Elizabeth gulps.

"Still, I'd never hurt innocent people," I make that perfectly clear at least. "Your idea of conquest and our idea of conquest isn't the same."

"That remains to be seen I'm afraid," Bauerova doesn't back down. "But as I was lucky to get to know Your Majesty better than the rest of the world, I put my trust in you and I'll do anything in my power to investigate this horrendous crime."

I nod gratefully. Even though it doesn't make the pain go away, it's something. Grandma was a Czech citizen so Bauerova can do a lot to push the investigation and share findings.