Kiku strolled down the hallway, listening carefully to make sure nobody was trying to sneak up on him. He didn't need the Tark servants reporting to the Queen that he had been to Ivrark.
It had now been three days since the ball, and the rumour mill throughout Stulikya had been set on fire with the royal news. The day after the ball, Queen Erzsébet had announced the unfortunate and unexpected death of Princess Natalya. As per the Queen's word, the Princess had gone for a midnight stroll in the Bueswood after attending the ball, only to be devoured by the same Beast who killed her brother five years ago. Since the body could not be recovered, they were unable to perform the customary funeral rites for the last official member of Stulikya's royal bloodline.
Kiku came to a stop in front of the door to Ludwig's quarters, knocked three times, and waited for an answer.
"Come in," Ludwig called from inside.
Kiku opened the door, walked through and closed it behind him. Ludwig was standing there in the middle of the room waiting for him, and motioned for Kiku to follow him. Kiku did as directed, allowing Ludwig to lead him out onto the balcony before shutting the doors behind them.
"What news from Ivrark?" Ludwig inquired, "Were Natalya's reports true?"
"Unfortunately yes, Natalya was telling the truth," Kiku reported, "The people there are starving, they have no food to eat and no gold with which to purchase it. And yet, Queen Erzsébet is demanding taxes from them on a regular basis. Even the fare we paid to the innkeeper when we passed through the other week has already been claimed towards the taxes."
"Taxes that are no doubt paying for the Queen's lavish lifestyle," Ludwig remarked, "Not to mention the ball she hosted in my honour."
"Yes, the ball does factor into it," Kiku added, "This current round of taxes was declared payable the day after we arrived in Tark. The full balance is due to be collected six days from now, and the people have barely been able to collect half of it."
"That's not good," Ludwig said, "Is there nobody else in Ivrark who can help them?"
"Some men by the pub said that a mysterious benefactress usually makes an appearance by now with a generous stipend," Kiku explained, "A woman wearing a grey cloak would stop by the magistrate's office and leave a donation that would cover much of the bill. Unfortunately, she has yet to be seen this time around."
"Princess Natalya in disguise," Ludwig realized.
"My thoughts exactly," Kiku agreed, "Whether she had other sources of funnelling money under the Queen's nose, or if she took the money from the Royal Treasury herself, Natalya had been helping Ivrark all this time."
"And now she's dead, or so the Queen claims," Ludwig noted, "I think there's much more to Princess Natalya's death than Queen Erzsébet claims."
"Why do you say that?" Kiku inquired, "What could she be hiding?"
Ludwig glanced around nervously, making sure that nobody had opened a nearby window to eavesdrop on them. Kiku did a similar check, noting nothing of interest before nodding to Ludwig that they were safe to speak freely.
"Foul play," Ludwig whispered, "The Queen orchestrated the Princess's death."
"You can't be serious," Kiku refused.
"There's no way Natalya could've died so easily," Ludwig justified, "In the few moments we spoke to her, there was enough there for me to see that she would not have gone down without a fight. She had been clever enough on her own to sneak past Erzsébet's eyes to visit Ivrark all those times, and brave enough to sneak into the ball to ask for my help. She also had that dagger on her when she freed us in the forest, she had the means to defend herself."
"She also was reportedly devoured by a gruesome Beast," Kiku reminded, "The same one that killed her brother, no less. If King Ivan could be so easily killed by this Beast, then how could a trapped Princess escape that fate?"
"There is no Beast, Kiku, there never has been," Ludwig claimed, "Both their deaths were reported by Queen Erzsébet, who could whip up any story that she wants and force everyone to take her word for it. I bet if you spoke to the villagers in Ivrark, none of them have ever actually proven that the Beast exists."
"Your Highness, this is preposterous," Kiku argued, "You're suggesting that Queen Erzsébet killed both her husband and her sister-in-law, and that she's covering it up with some story of a beast haunting the woods! Please rein in your conspiracy theories and focus on what we know for certain."
Ludwig took a deep breath, and Kiku paused to make sure he hadn't crossed a line with that outburst.
"You are right, Kiku, I'm sorry," Ludwig apologized, "I allowed my thoughts to run away from me, and I don't know why."
"I think I know why," Kiku said, "If I may be so bold as to say it."
"Speak freely," Ludwig permitted.
"You liked her," Kiku declared, "Princess Natalya might have been the first woman I have ever seen you so fascinated by. And now that she has mysteriously died, you're having trouble believing that she could've died so suddenly and in such a manner."
"Am I that obvious?" Ludwig confided, "She appeared out of nowhere, filled my mind with questions, and then disappeared just like that. Now I can't stop thinking about her, and I'm doubting everything. There's definitely something happening behind the scenes, here in Stulikya."
"So what do we do now?" Kiku redirected, "There needs to be evidence before we can accuse the Queen of mischief."
"I will write to Gilbert and tell him everything," Ludwig decided, "He should be able to provide guidance on how to assist with Stulikya's financial situation without garnering the Queen's suspicions. He may also offer advice on how to verify Princess Natalya's death."
"Another solution could be to return to Ixaidel," Kiku suggested, "While I refrain from accusing the Queen of murder, she does seem untrustworthy. If we returned to Inasdiff now, we could have Gilbert and Basch with us on a future journey, and let them hold the Queen accountable for her intentions."
"I believe we should stick this out," Ludwig shut down, "Maybe if Basch has already returned from Prathage, and is up for another long journey, Gilbert can send him our way. For now, I believe we'll just have to do what we can on our own."
"And what will we do?" Kiku pried.
"I will attempt to speak to the Queen about the state of Stulikya's affairs," Ludwig planned, "You can continue speaking to the servants who are willing to tell you what's really going on. You can also make a couple more trips to Ivrark, and find out what anyone knows about the Beast of Bueswood."
"Yes, Your Highness."