He recalled the conversation and frowned, "I had thought he was hiding something but…" Trey hesitated as he recalled the light reflecting off of her face like something he'd only seen on television. Lotus was hardly ugly but nor was he pretty. Yet, her cheeks was much slender than those from Pomefiore with any feminine beauty. He muttered as it dawned on him, "Could it be… Nah, it can't be."
However, he paused as he recalled when she took off her glove to touch his forehead. They were as cold as ice and nearly made him flinch with a shiver down his spine. He was afraid yet also unsettled. He recalled struggling to remain quiet as though she would be able to hear him breathe or his heart beat loud. But as he thought this, he paused when he remember the look on her face. It reminded him very much of when Cater had stared at his phone that one night during the ending of the orientation this year. He looked…
Tired?
Sad?
No. He frowned, perhaps pitiful would be best to describe it. It was as though he had lost all purpose in life and was just living it. He shook his head. Now was not the time to be thinking about this, he needed to hurry and wake up Azul!
He quietly reached over and tried to wake up Azul who finally opens his eyes quietly after much effort.
"Nh? What is it?"
"Hey, Azul. It's me."
Azul barely managed to grumble before opening his eyes. Trey handed him his glasses which the boy put on.
"What happened?" He grumbled.
"It seems like lotus used some sort of sleep potion." Trey hesitated, "He's quite unusual."
"Aren't you close to him? I've heard he's often visited Heartslabyul with the other four."
"Yes. He is usually focused and organized. Even in the cases of poisoning like today, he is always the first to think everything through and react efficiently." Trey hummed.
"That sounds a lot like a certain someone." Azul hummed.
Trey couldn't help but pause in deep thought. Lotus was connected to the princess. The fact that she had other people in the dorm shouldn't be surprising anymore. However… That look she had while looking out the window… was quite discerning.
"This place…" Azul shuddered, "It's much more intidimating than Diasomnia."
Suddenly, something shiny caught his eyes! He slung around curiously before seeing it was a beautiful glass ornament made with jewels and gold. Curious, he reached out to touch the glass ornament, but froze when he heard a sound behind them.
…..
Lotus walked down the steps when she noticed Yuu hurrying over to him, "Lotus! Are you all right? Did something happen?"
Surprised, she was left speechless.
"Hey, what's up? Why are you just staring?" Grim called out to her breaking her shock.
She shook her head, "I'm fine…"
She quickly recounted what had happened and said, "I plan to speak with Leona a bit. The situation is very fragile, so it's better not to talk about Cheka feeling sick."
"I see. We should probably call the headmage." Yuu suggested.
"It's fine." She replied, "I already texted to him…"
"I see. Then, will you take care of the kids? I'll take care of cleaning the tables today." He wore a dry smile.
"Okay. Thanks!"
As she walked down the steps and Grim went for his bed, Yuu secretly snuck up to her room and knocked on the door.
Shortly after, there was a little crack from the door as Trey peeked outside only to breathe a sigh of relief, "Oh good. It's just you."
"Lotus will stay to take care of you guys. Sorry if it gets too cold tonight." Yuu sighed.
"That's fine." Azul replied, "I've been here before, so I have experience."
"We'll be staying with Leona's nephew. So don't worry." Trey replied, "You shouldn't worry about us. We got it handled. I'll take care of the dishes."
"You should go to bed. Now that you're kids, I don't think you can reach the sink." Yuu wore a dry smile. "Otherwise, Grim would not pass up on any opportunities to stir up trouble… Also, he tends to sneak out for midnight snacks. A lot."
Hearing this, Trey sighed in disappointment, "That's… fair."
…..
In the lounge, she noticed Leona lying back on the sofa with a towel over his face and the chamberlain looking rather disappointed. Lotus raised a brow and walked over to Leona as she hummed, "Looks like things went smoothly… for a poisoning case."
"Yes. The culprit is the new royal chef." The chamberlain sighed, "Our camera showed the head chef instructing him how to cook the bamboo."
"Oh?" She hummed, "By any chance, was he hired from the far east or Hot Sands? Without the proper culinary education?"
"Hot sands." He replied with a nod.
"What is it this time?" Leona groaned.
"My guess is that he used to cook with sugar. The far east has a type of bamboo called Sugar Cane. Sounds familiar?" She sighed.
"Ah yes!" The chamberlain frowned, "Is there something incorrect?"
"Those who have interacted with sugarcanes know that the bamboo isn't edible, but the juice from it can be used to make sugar. However, nowadays, sugarcane are rarely sold unprocessed. Those who often purchase it now don't know what it's sprout originally looked like but that it's very similar to bamboo. Perhaps he mistook the ingredients and failed to cook it properly?" She hummed.
"That is possible." Neji frowned, "I will share the detail with his majesty. Thankfully, nobody has seen the prince vomit just now."
"So you're just going to cover it up?" Leona growled as he removed the towel.
"For now, it would be a good plan." She nodded, "Not like I'm part of this-"
"You are now." Leona scoffed.
She laughed, "You want me, someone related to the fairy kingdom, to get involved with the matters of another? Seriously?"
"You have ties to the fairy kingdom?" Neji looked to her in disbelief.
"I'm the princess's worker now. I originally had fairies as my clients, but I ended up meeting her." She shrugged, "That said, the one funding my studies are from Briar Valley. But since I have to get involved with this now… Is this how you ensure secrets do not get out?"
"Then, what about those kids?" Leona huffed.
She laughed with a glance, "Those… kids… should be clever enough to keep their mouths shut. Even if they failed an experiment or two in school, they should be able to control their own mouths, don't you think so, dormleader Leona?"
Leona scowled, but said nothing. The chamberlain sighed in disappointment, "Enough. How is his highness now?"
"Hes calmed down after emptying his stomach. He'll be on rice gruel or cheese cottage for a while until he recovers. Anything to sooth the stomach and nothing greasy. He's asleep now with the kids. You may go see him whenever you wish."
"Thank you."
After Neji left, she remained quiet before turning to Leona who huffed, "So, what's your plan now?"
"What plan?"
"Don't make me say it twice." Leona growled.
"Fine…" she took a seat on the other sofa, "It's dangerous for little kids to run around in the middle of the night. That said, we can't have Scarabia became chaotic while he's gone. Why not send Ruggie over there for a week?"
"A week?" Leona growled.
Lotus smirked, "What? Can't live orderly without your vice dormleader?"
Leona raised a brow. She sighed, "I guess I could sent Yuu and Grim, but those two are suppose to come and help you. Seeing how Ruggie has never taken anything from you and does his job perfectly, I assumed he'd be the perfect candidate to help Scarabia with the chaos."
Leona frowned. For this girl who never talked of being involved with royalty to talk like a noble was already very annoying.he sighed as he recalled something similar. A very annoying little girl who ran through the halls of the castle with him while being chased by the servants. He paused as he glanced over to the girl curiously. If it's her, could it be? Thinking back, that kid was also just as crazy as this guy too. He paused, "Have you ever been to Afterglow Savannah?"
She raised a brow, "That's out of the blue…"
She paused for a little while before nodding her head, "I had. It was a long time ago."
"What were you there for?" He hummed.
"Poison." She said with a big smile which unsettled him more, "Because there are rain forests far away from the Savannah, they become home to special plants and animals that thrive there. It's nothing like the rain forests in the Land of Dawning, but patches of rainforests experience a lot of evolution in order to survive-!"
"Cut it short." He frowned.
"I was there to study poison and medicine." She grumbled with a pout.
He hummed in thought, but shook his head. That girl may be acquainted with the princess but this one didn't even met her until recently. He frowned in deep thought. It couldn't be. There was a sudden knock on the door as she sat up, "Oh, he's here!"
She got up and opened the door. Just as she thought, a little boy with long hair and a small braid on the side walked in with a large hoodie. She raised a brow, "It looked like you struggled for a while. Good thing I had a friend buy some children clothing."
She hummed, "I should get the ghosts to have you changed."
Leona watched as she did this from afar before getting up and once he heard the footsteps. With her gone, Neji spoke up, "His highness seem to be in better health now that the situation is over. If he continues to recover well, we will bring him back in a couple days."
"Seriously? Don't tell me Farena gave his permission." Leona scowled.
"No, it was her majesty." Neji replied.
Leona grimaced but didn't say anything. Her majesty, his sister-in-law.
After their mother passed, it had just been the three of them until his brother got engaged to a lioness beastmen.Then his father stepped down and gave the reign to Farena before he remained bed ridden for a long time. The last time he ever left the room was when he insisted on attending the celebration over that cub's birth. Since then, the household matter has been sorted out by her. She even left him in charge of babysitting the brat who took his place in the competition for the throne. Now she's decided it was safer to leave him in the care of a stranger?!
Neji sighed, "Looks like her majesty bear confidence in seeing the prince with you."
Leona frowned, "Fine…"
Neji got up and sighed, "Looks like I will have to leave now…"
As Leona escorted him out, Neji paused before turning to Leona, "How have your condition been since then?"
"Hah? Nothing much. Same as usual." Leona grumbled and paused before continuing to turn around, "If we're done here, I'm leaving now."
Neji couldn't stop him before he had already returned to the dorm. However, this didn't stop him from being surprised. For a second, it was as though he wanted to ask him something. He recalled what the student said about having his vice-dormleader help another dorm and how good he was at helping Leona. If he recalled correctly, this person was a hyena beastman from their home country. A country with discrimination against their kind. He remembered the results of the investigation back then being quite positive despite having pickpocket tendencies.