Interim

Aldrich found an attendant waiting outside the room as soon as he walked out the door. A man around his height, with short, spiky black hair and tired looking eyes. He had a large scar across his face from above his left eyebrow to his right cheek. He gave a small bow when he saw Aldrich.

"Oh, hello." Aldrich greeted.

"Good morning, honourable guest," the man replied. "I am Yasuo. I've been sent to attend to your needs."

"That's perfect. I want to take a bath. Where exactly would I have to go?"

"Understood." Yasuo responded. "Please, follow me."

Yasuo led him down some winding corridors before they came to a stop in front of a large door leading to the baths. Yasuo positioned himself beside the door and gestured for Aldrich to enter.

"I shall wait for you here."

"Oh, okay. And are there already… towels and stuff in there? You know what, I'm sure there is. I'll just go in now."

Yasuo didn't seem at all bothered by Aldrich's rambling. Or at least his face didn't show it. Aldrich darted into the room to keep himself from tripping over his words any more than he already had.

Baths in Shinkoku looked a lot different than the ones in Yves. He recognised the giant wooden tub in the middle of the room well enough though. He stripped down and sank into the warm water, letting out a sigh. It was so relaxing, especially after all they had been through in the past week. He shut his eyes and sank a bit deeper into the water, letting all his thoughts drift away…

"Honourable guest."

Aldrich's eyes shot open at the sound of Yasuo's voice. He cracked open his eyes to see Yasuo standing over him. He had a towel in his hands.

"You fell asleep." He explained. "I've brought you a towel. I'll leave it here. I took the liberty of sending your old clothes to be cleaned. There are some new ones for you to wear in the meantime, folded beside the bath. I shall take my leave now."

He placed the towel down carefully and exited. He was out the door before Aldrich could voice his thanks. Aldrich got out of the bath and grabbed the towel.

The clothes left were a simple kimono, complete with a pair of slippers. After towelling himself off, he slipped into the clothes and headed towards the door to thank Yasuo properly. But he was nowhere to be found.

Instead, a familiar voice greeted him. "If you're looking for Yasuo, I sent him away." It was Princess Rei. She was wearing an elegant pink kimono, with her brown hair tied up unlike the day before. She gave him a small smile. "I wished to speak with you alone."

"G-good morning, your highness." He stuttered, standing up straighter.

Rei held up her hand to her mouth as she gave a small laugh. "There's no need to be so formal." She slipped her arm under his and began to pull him along. "After all, a friend of Veliona's is a friend of mine."

"I thought you two couldn't stand each other?" Aldrich asked, confused.

"Oh, we can't," Rei affirmed. "But only in private. In public, we're the best of friends. But enough about me, I want to know about you."

Aldrich gulped a little. She was really close to him. And it got even worse when she leaned in even closer and sniffed at him.

"You smell like roses." She stated.

Aldrich ran his fingers through his hair nervously. A perk of being the son of the knight of roses. The rose scent never seemed to come off. "So, what do you want to know exactly?"

Rei locked her eyes with his. "Did Veliona really get kidnapped?"

"You don't believe her?" Aldrich asked.

Rei tilted her head to the side. "I just wanted to make sure. It's not like I completely distrust her. Veliona is a lot of things. A liar isn't one of them, as far as I know."

Aldrich nodded in agreement. "She was telling the truth."

Rei grabbed onto his arm tighter. "Who kidnapped her? Where are they now? Should I ask my father to send out a warrant for their arrest?"

"Well… they're dead, I'm pretty sure." Aldrich decided not to mention Van Salvatorre, he had helped them in the end after all. Even if he was the one who put them in that situation in the first place. Aldrich reckoned he wouldn't be an easy target to track down or capture anyway, wherever he had wandered to after they had left Yuiitsu's home.

"You defeated them and saved her? Very impressive." Rei praised.

Aldrich chuckled nervously. "Well, it wasn't just me." He tried to explain, but Rei didn't seem to hear.

"So, Aldrich de la Rossa." She stopped walking and moved in front of him, still holding on to his arm. "Do you… have a partner back in Yves?"

That was an abrupt change of topic. It took a few seconds for what she had asked to fully register in Aldrich's brain. And even after that, all he could muster was flustered mumbling. Rei stared at him intently, waiting for his answer.

"I knew I smelled a skank!"

Rei groaned as Veliona walked up and pretty much ripped Aldrich's arm out of her hands. "Don't you have literally anything else to do?"

Rei gave her a forced smile. "It's so good to see you, Veliona. I trust you had a good sleep?"

"No, not really."

Rei's eyebrow twitched slightly. "Well, maybe next time we can put a pillow over your face? I don't know about you, but it would definitely help me sleep better."

Veliona stuck her tongue out at her and Rei returned the gesture. So this is what princesses were like in private, Aldrich thought.

"I have some matters to attend to anyway," Rei conceded. "I shall have to take my leave now. Goodbye for now, Sir Aldrich."

Veliona watched Rei until she turned a corner and disappeared. Then she turned to Aldrich. "You haven't had breakfast yet, right? Come with me."

×

Levi paced around the large room. He wasn't sure exactly what to do since Aldrich wasn't there. Up until he had met Aldrich, he hadn't spent much time in cities, or buildings for that matter. He was bored.

And there was no second voice in his head to keep him company. He let out a loud sigh.

"You okay, buddy?"

Levi jumped a little before turning around to find Van Salvatorre sitting on the previously empty bed, holding an apple. "Where did you go off to?"

He wiped the apple with the sleeve of his coat and took a bite, chewing loudly. "Getting myself supplies. I'm leaving Yumekawa soon."

Levi moved forward. "Where to?"

"Who knows," the man replied, leaning back on his arms. "I hear the weather in Quelkriste kingdom is nice around this time of year."

Levi wasn't sure what to say to him. The man who had kidnapped the princess and them, but then later helped them out. So he just went with a simple goodbye.

Van Salvatorre gave him a large smile. "I'm sure we'll meet once more. Who knows, maybe I'll have to kidnap you again? But before I take my leave, I was asked to relay a message to you. And before you ask, I have no idea what it means. 'Beware the rose's thorns'… or something like that. Okay, debt fully repaid now, I'm out."

He tossed his half-eaten apple at Levi, who caught it. When Levi looked up again, Van Salvatorre was gone. He must really enjoy appearing and disappearing like that. Levi placed the apple on a nearby table.

Over the past week they had spent at Yuiitsu's house, Levi had learned not to take much of what the man said seriously. He was very strange, even by Levi's standards.

A knock at the door called Levi's attention to it. He walked over and opened it to find a young woman standing behind it. She gave him a courteous smile.

"Good morning, honourable guest." She said. "I'm here to guide you to the dining room. The princess of Yves and your other companion are waiting."

"Oh, okay." Levi replied. He closed the door behind him and followed her.