Chapter 83 - <5>
On the same day, at roughly the same time that Anna found herself in such a situation, at the peaceful Clayton Residence, they were blissfully unaware.
At this hour, when people were preparing to go home, Franz was packing his luggage, about to head out with it on his back.
He was worried about Anna, but he couldn't break his promise to Greig. He had heard that the maids disappeared after about a month, so he didn't think there would be any developments today or tomorrow.
He told himself that.
"Are you going out?"
As he left his room on the second floor, he ran into Ritz, who was coming out of his own room at the same time.
"I'm going to pretend to camp in the forest with Greig. It's a promise from a while ago that I can't break."
Because it was an excuse, he ended up explaining more than usual. He wondered if he was being suspicious.
"I see…"
Ritz nodded with a listless air, then went downstairs with a sigh. In front of Joe, Annie, and Evans, Ritz acted as he always did. He talked cheerfully and made jokes. It was probably the same at work. He didn't know since he hadn't seen it in person.
But Franz knew that Ritz was actually on edge. When they were alone, the余裕がある state he had maintained up to that point would vanish as if it had all been a lie.
After Joe had gone to bed, they would continue to organize documents as before, but for the past few days, Ritz's speed at sorting through them had slowed down helplessly. Franz had no intention of blaming him for that, nor did he think it was pathetic.
It was true that it was Ritz's mistake to have let Anna go to a dangerous place alone. But as for being helpless, Franz was the same.
Franz was the opposite of Ritz. He was the type who could forget his worries by concentrating on his work, so this task was not a burden to him. Moreover, he had gotten used to it, so his work speed was remarkably fast. Therefore, Franz was digging out the documents from the pile that only needed to be read, not the minister's approval, and was sorting through those mainly.
Thanks to that, the mountain of documents had been reduced considerably. It seemed that there had been a lot of last-minute documents at the beginning of the year, and quite a few that just needed the minister to read them. He had summarized the main points of all of those and written them down, so in a pinch, Ritz just had to look at this notebook.
Ritz, while apologizing to Franz, seemed unable to sort through the documents. The documents in his hands were never turned.
When he noticed, Ritz would look up from the documents with a more serious expression than he had ever seen before and be lost in thought, something that had happened more than once.
Was it the mixture of the part of him that had to be cheerful and the bitter part mixed with regret that was causing some kind of strain somewhere?
Or was he meticulously planning something… Franz had no idea.
The letters from Anna addressed to Joe, which he looked at every day, were all with Ritz. So he knew the whole situation. For now, it seemed there was no danger.
This was Ritz and Franz's conclusion.
But Franz had to go out at a time like this. That was painful for him. But with the situation not moving, there was no point in staying at home and doing nothing. Besides, the temptation of the old documents and the royal important documents in the underground treasury was hard to resist.
He went down to the first floor and headed for the dining room with the sun terrace. His indispensable partner for this occasion was here. In this lounge where everyone gathered after meals, he (she?) spent most of the day.
When it was time to sleep, Anna would take him to her and Joe's room, but now that Anna was not here. In that case, the only one in this house who could confirm the figure of his partner in the flames was Franz.
He peeked into the fireplace, and his important partner was sleeping, enveloped in flames.
"Sara, it's your turn."
"Kii, Fra-kii."
Sara opened her eyes and chirped happily at Franz. She must have been bored out of her mind. Ever since moving into this house, Sara had been in a state of being a caged bird for the most part.
"It's been a while, but I need you to work."
Saying so, Franz removed one of the glass panes of a sturdy lamp and placed it on the floor. Sara joyfully went inside. The cheap lamp he had before had broken, so Anna had bought a large, sturdy one. Despite being put in a narrow lamp, Sara looked happy.
"Fra-kii, Fra-kii!"
"Are you happy to be outside? I bet you are."
He muttered in a low voice and left the lounge for the dining room.
'Oh, Franz, already?'
Annie, who was packing rye bread sandwiches into a large basket, hurriedly looked at the grandfather clock on the wall.
"…It's time."
When he answered with few words, Annie shrugged her shoulders without seeming to mind.
'Oh dear, I've been taking my time. These are sandwiches, salmon and hamburger. And chicken. Growing boys need this much, you know.'
"Thank you."
A growing boy. Annie was about the only one who would say that to Franz's face. Or was she talking about Greig?
For some reason, Annie treated Franz as a troublesome younger brother. He didn't know the reason. He didn't ask, so. Anna was also treated as a little sister in the same way. Anna, who had no sisters, seemed happy about it.
Franz felt more a sense of discomfort than happiness. But compared to his many real sisters, Annie was thousands of times better.
To Franz, who was silently trying to pack the basket into his bag, Annie spoke.
'Franz, what about besides the sandwiches? Tea? It's going to get cold, so you should take a pot so you can make something warm. Oh yes, your winter clothes? You'll need a blanket too, won't you?'
"…His Highness the Prince has prepared them."
Actually, Franz hadn't told the truth to Annie, Evans, Joe, or even Ritz. He had said that he was going to play at camping in the vast mountain behind the palace at Greig's request.
There was no way he could say that he was going to sneak into the underground treasury using a map stolen from His Majesty the King's room.
'Really? Will you be okay…?'
"I'll be fine."
He said so to the still worried Annie and headed for the entrance. Ritz, who had come out of his room earlier, was nowhere to be seen. Seeing that Joe was also not here, the two were probably practicing their swords in the backyard.
Franz also knew how serious Joe was, so it would be bad to interrupt her. So he decided to go silently.
'Be careful, Franz.'
"I'm leaving."
He said so to Annie, who had followed him, and left the entrance. He closed the door behind him without looking back, and a cold wind immediately enveloped him.
It was cold, really cold. Franz was weak to changes in temperature. His family home was kept at a spring-like temperature all year round at great expense, and even when he became an apprentice, he was never ordered to do such harsh work.
So going out in the cold season like this was really a pain. And it was at dusk, when it would get even colder. It was really unthinkable.
But now, a small sense of anxiety and a large sense of anticipation were swirling and holding hands in his heart, greatly outweighing the cold. The day before yesterday, he had received a message from Greig that everything had gone smoothly. In other words, he had obtained the map of the underground treasury and the key to enter it from the king's private room.
He had probably made an excuse to the king, like wanting to play with him or wanting to hear a story, to get into the king's room, and then stolen those items in the moment the king left his seat.
Did Edward really not notice? If he had noticed, then Greig was being allowed to run free, knowing what he was doing.
Even so, fear crept into Franz's mind again. The person he was acting with was a prince, but he himself was just a commoner. If he was found, he couldn't imagine what kind of punishment he would receive.
Greig's 'I, a prince, am with you, so it's fine!' was not trustworthy at all.
Franz knew a few people who wouldn't give Greig special treatment just because he was a prince. And those few people were the king, the queen, the prime minister, and the minister, so he couldn't imagine what kind of ordeal he would be put through.
In the first place, if he was caught on the spot by the military police or the royal guard, what would happen to him? Would a mere commoner sneaking into the treasury be given the death penalty? Or a life sentence?
He was trying not to think about it, but he couldn't help it. Even though he was terrified to the core, his desire for knowledge and truth easily surpassed it.
So there was no point in thinking about such things. For Franz, the situation had already reached a point of no return.
"Well, what will be, will be… I guess."
Before he knew it, Ritz's carefree catchphrase came out of his mouth. Realizing it himself, he frowned with a sigh.
"…I'm supposed to hate saying things like that."
It seemed he was being considerably influenced by Ritz. If this continued, he was worried he would become a person who acted without thinking. Franz wanted to be a person of reason at all costs. Since his companions were Anna and Ritz, that wish was strong.
If even Franz became carefree, who on earth would stop those two from running wild?
With a big sigh, Franz looked down at Sara's lamp in his hand. Her bright red figure,浮かび上がった in the twilight, was so beautiful it almost felt divine.
After all, a fire spirit was beautiful in the dark. Sleeping in a fireplace might be unnatural. Sara herself looked at Franz nonchalantly and tilted her head.
"Fra-ki~?"
Influenced by Anna, Sara had become a spirit who was beautiful as long as she didn't open her mouth. Understanding that half the responsibility lay with him for not paying her any attention, he had already given up on Sara's future.
Unable to properly sort out his thoughts, Franz arrived at the royal castle. He slipped into the castle grounds through a gap in the closing gate. A gatekeeper he knew noticed Franz and gave him a bright smile.
"You're quite late today. Aren't you accompanying His Highness the Prince?"
"…I am accompanying him…"
"I see, do your best."
Having been dragged around by Greig recently, he had become quite well known to the gatekeepers. Franz didn't talk much, but Greig, in turn, talked a lot about him.
Everyone knew that Franz was not a royal or a noble. That's why they treated him kindly, as if he were a page serving Greig. After all, even though they were soldiers, it was probably easier to get along with a commoner child than a prince.
But no one knew that Franz was a companion of the minister.
He passed through another gate inside the castle, walked down the corridor leading to the palace, had the gate to the palace opened by a familiar royal guard, and finally arrived at the meeting place.
It was the royal family's training ground in the basement of the palace. Here, Franz had been made to be Greig's opponent many times. The swords and weapons hanging on the walls were Greig's favorite toys.
Even so, to specify a time when so many people would see his face and then try to sneak into the treasury was quite a thing to say. He couldn't understand what he was thinking at all. There was definitely a hole in this plan.
No doubt about it. They would definitely get caught.
Having decided that in his heart, Franz went down to the training ground.
"Welcome, Franz Lucina."
Greig was standing with his arms crossed arrogantly, with a small piece of luggage and his own sword, lightly equipped. He started to get angry for some reason.
"It was you who told me to come, Your Highness Prince Greig."
"Are you angry? Franz?"
When Franz got angry, he would call the other person with excessive politeness. Of course, only to those who would feel disliked being called with such politeness. Greig already knew that. After all, he had gotten angry and called him that several times.
"…Your Highness, you said you were going to sneak in secretly…"
"Yep. I did."
Greig answered cheerfully. Unlike Anna, he was not innocent. Greig was enjoying Franz's reaction. Realizing that his sarcasm was having no effect at all, Franz dropped the polite tone.
"…Do you have any idea how many times I was asked, 'Are you accompanying His Highness?' on my way here?"
When he asked in a low voice, Greig started counting on his fingers with an unconcerned expression.
"The gatekeeper, the inner gatekeeper, then the palace gatekeeper, then the civil and military officials you meet in the central corridor. That's about it, right?"
"We're sneaking into the treasury, aren't we? What are we going to do with so many people seeing our faces!"
He regretted shouting without meaning to and immediately closed his mouth. "It's fine, even if they saw our faces."
In contrast to Franz, Greig was grinning mischievously.
"How can you be so sure?"
Throwing his luggage at his feet, Franz glared at Greig.
"Don't make that face. You'll ruin your handsome looks."
To Greig, who spread his hands and shrugged his shoulders, Franz directed his anger in a low voice.
"…Don't change the subject."
"Fine, fine."
Greig sat down on a bench in a corner of the training ground and beckoned for Franz to sit as well. He reluctantly sat down next to the bench.
"It's only natural for me to summon you in this palace now, isn't it? So even if you're carrying a suspicious-looking large piece of luggage at this hour, everyone will just think, 'He's being made to go along with His Highness the Prince's whim again,' and that will be the end of it. They won't think at all about what we're trying to do."
It was true that in the past few weeks, that kind of atmosphere had formed in the castle. After the soldiers learned that the king and queen had something like trust in Franz, Franz's position as 'Prince Greig's friend' was unshakeable. Although from Franz's perspective, it was nothing but a nuisance.
"See? If you think about it, that's how it is, right?"
"…You think so?"
It was true that if he thought about it, that would be the case, but it was frustrating to admit it, so he mumbled his words.
"It is."
After he finished talking, Greig stood up nimbly.
"Franz, let's have dinner! You brought it, right?"
With a sigh, Franz also stood up. He opened his luggage and took out a basket. Inside were the sandwiches Annie had packed earlier.
"But for breakfast tomorrow, there's only bread and butter, you know."
"It's better than nothing. If I brought out food, Grandfather and the others would definitely find out."
That was true. Franz absolutely did not want that 'Grandfather' to find out.
"Wow, this looks delicious! Thanks to the ghost maid at your place, Franz! Let's eat~"
To Greig, who opened the basket on his own and started eating, Franz sighed. Before this prince becomes king, it might really become his role to educate him a little. Thinking that, he felt discouraged about the future.
"…Aren't you going to eat? It's delicious, you know?"
Amazed at Greig, who was talking as if he had prepared what someone else had brought, Franz reached for a sandwich.
The crispy fried salmon, with a sauce fragrant with lemon and yogurt, was a good match, creating a refreshing taste. This was delicious.
The two ate sandwiches side by side. Greig, who couldn't stay silent, would talk to Franz every time his mouth was empty. It was about the content of this treasury infiltration operation.
According to Greig's investigation, if they waited until late at night, there would be only two guards, and the surrounding corridors would be empty.
"First, we put the treasury guards to sleep."
Licking the sauce off his fingers, Greig said something outrageous.
"…How?"
"Back when my mother was still alive, she had trouble sleeping. So my father got this medicine from an eastern country."
Greig took out a small glass bottle from his bag at his feet.
"If you put a few drops of this in water and then warm that water, you fall asleep smoothly. I experimented with my father the other day, and he fell asleep so easily."
"…"
Franz was speechless. He wished he wouldn't experiment with sleeping pills on the Crown Prince. What would he do if something happened? Mistaking the silent Franz for being impressed with his story, Greig continued.
"We'll burn this near the guards. If we put in a lot of drops instead of just a few, we can definitely put them to sleep!"
Is it okay to do something like that… Franz swallowed his words. In the first place, they were trying to infiltrate the underground treasury where state secrets were kept, which was located even further down from the treasury. That itself was a crime.
Considering that, putting the royal guards to sleep was just the beginning.
"We're acting late at night, right? So we'll infiltrate, and then once we get to the basement, that's it for today. We'll take our time looking around tomorrow after we wake up, and when we get bored, we'll sneak out."
"How do we get out?"
At the overly sloppy plan, Franz sighed and took a bite of his sandwich.
"During the day, there are guards and people passing by, but if we act like we have the king's permission, we'll be fine."
Well, unlike when they entered, even if the king was immediately reported to and confirmed, they probably wouldn't be questioned about what they were doing in the treasury. If it was when they were entering, the king would surely be suspicious and send soldiers. That must not happen.
Even so, there was a lot of time until the operation started, but what on earth were they going to do?
"Alright, I'm done eating. What about you, Franz?"
"Yeah, I'm done too."
Franz said so and closed the basket. There was quite a bit left, so it would probably do for breakfast tomorrow. Or would it be a late-night snack?
"Franz! Keep me company until it's time."
Greig stood up and took his sword. As expected… He had somehow imagined it.
"What if I say no?"
"There's nothing else to kill time with."
Turning his back on Greig, who was standing like a statue with his arms crossed confidently, Franz opened his bag. He took out a semicircular board and a cloth bag containing shell-like buttons that were black and white on the front and back.
"Let's use this for once."
Franz pointed to his head.
"My head?"
Ignoring Greig, who tilted his head in confusion, Franz dusted off the board. He had been carrying it with him throughout his journey, but it had been a long time since he had actually played it.
Or rather, he had even forgotten it was in his luggage and only remembered it after arriving in the capital. Since he hadn't put it in himself, it was only natural that he had forgotten.
He unfolded the semicircular board and placed the now circular board on the bench. Its surface, painted a deep blue and polished to a beautiful sheen, was connected by a small circle and countless lines of shining silver.
"What's this?"
"A territory expansion game. Commonly known as Territorial."
"Territorial? Territory?"
Greig tilted his head. Without paying him any mind, Franz continued his explanation.
"First, you place a white and black shell in the small circle in the middle of this disk."
With a practiced hand, Franz took out the shells from the bag and arranged them on the surface of the disk. Four shells were arranged in two vertical and two horizontal rows, alternating white and black.
"It's a simple game. If Greig is white, then I'm black. If you place your color's shell so that it sandwiches the opponent's color's shell, like this…"
Taking out a black shell, Franz placed it on both sides of the white one.
"It flips over. You increase the number of your color's shells like this."
"Hmm."
He had anticipated Greig's unenthusiastic reply. So he continued with these words.
"…Are you not good at strategy games? Your Highness the Prince."
At those words, which were like a sneer, Greig glared at Franz with a sullen expression.
"I'll play!"
Franz, inwardly relieved, began to play against Greig, who was engrossed in Territorial.
Actually, this Territorial board originally belonged to Orphe. He had given it to Franz, who had become addicted to the game. When he was about to set out on his journey, he had thought of leaving it behind, but for some reason, Orphe had forcibly shoved it into his luggage.
He had never taken it out until now, but when he was getting a little tired of being Greig's sword opponent, he had suddenly remembered this game.
Even so… Franz thought as he flipped the shells. He had gone to a puzzle shop in the capital, but a game like this did not exist. He had never seen it anywhere else. Was it a game from outside the kingdom, or was it a game Orphe had invented?
Greig, being a sore loser, lost quite a few times and almost couldn't go to the treasury, but he somehow managed to overcome that.
In the end, they continued to play this game endlessly until late at night, and then the two of them, mentally exhausted, headed for the treasury.
As planned, they easily put the guards to sleep, entered using the key, and then locked the door from the inside again. This way, no one would know that someone had snuck in. If a thief had broken in, they wouldn't have locked the door from the inside.
What was written on the map Greig had brought was the entrance to the underground treasury and the stairs leading down from there.
"This bookshelf here…"
As indicated on the map, when he pushed a part of the bookshelf, the bookshelf, which had been solid and seemed like it wouldn't budge, rotated lightly. Beyond the revolving door was a staircase. In the darkness, Franz held up Sara. It was several times brighter than a normal lamp.
"That's unusual. This lamp has no fuel."
"There's a fire spirit inside."
When he said that curtly, Greig nodded with a puzzled expression. It seemed he had no aptitude as a spirit user.
Behind the bookshelf was a normal door, and it seemed it could be easily opened even if it was closed. Just in case, they left the bookshelf half open and went down to the basement.
"It's quite warm, isn't it?"
As soon as they descended into the dark underground space, Greig muttered.
"Unlike above ground, the temperature is probably constant throughout the year."
Franz held Sara up high and examined the interior. It seemed this was originally a cave. It had been maintained by human hands. The place they were in now was as wide as a hall with a high ceiling, and the floor was firmly paved with stone, and there were also places to light candlesticks.
But beyond this hall, it was completely undeveloped. In front of them, three large caves opened up in three directions.
"Greig, the map of the basement?"
"It's simple. There are three paths ahead, the middle one is a dead end, the left one is a straight line to the treasury. The right one seems to be undeveloped. But there seem to be side paths here and there, so we have to be careful not to enter them."
"I see."
It was a labyrinth where you would never get lost if you had a map. It was true that it would be pointless if people were constantly getting lost in the treasury under the palace. Only for those who didn't have a map and didn't know the location of the underground treasury, this place was a labyrinth.
"Franz, let's hurry to the treasury and continue our game of Territorial!"
"Huh?"
"I won't let you get away with winning!"
He had made a mistake, he might have taught him something terrible. A wave of regret washed over him, but it couldn't be helped. Franz also wanted to go to the treasury and rest.
He absolutely had to see the documents. For that, a tired mind like this would not do.
"Fine. Let's go…"
Even though he wanted to sleep, the night was going to be long.