49. A Family Secret

Arganan had a lot to sort out. Sure, Vishnal and Frey's problem was solved.

But then there was Arthur and the whole issue with his mother. On one hand, Arganan felt that Arthur's past issue involving his mother was a bit…much. After all, it was in the past now.

Then again, who knows when family issues could arise again? And Frey seemed intent on helping Arthur figure that side out, too, so Arganan figured that as her friend and as potentially-future-ambassador between Selphia and Lazulis, he should probably help, too. Personal troubles would do no one any good.

So, he decided to ask the one person he figured would know Arthur well, other than Frey: Volkanon, the head butler. Ventuswill couldn't be asked, given her obvious demise, and after all, it was Arthur that Volkanon probably first expected to rule Selphia, not Frey who dropped in randomly and was mistaken to be him in the first place.

Thankfully, Volkanon was in his office in the castle's servants' quarters, so it wasn't hard for Arganan to visit him.

"Volkanon?"

Volkanon was working away at his desk, but he looked up from reviewing a few files to face the other. "Yes, Arganan?"

"I was wondering if I could speak with you about Arthur."

The older man nodded, putting a paper down on the desk, before standing to properly face Arganan. "About Sir Arthur? What would it be, exactly?"

"Arthur spoke to me about him potentially returning to the capital. Is that true?"

Volkanon frowned. "I don't believe it will happen too soon, but it is a possibility, especially once the capital hears of Frey ruling Selphia instead of him. A soft sigh left him. "I heard why Sir Arthur was the prince sent here as the official, er, ruler at the time."

"You know why?" Arganan raised a brow. "Despite the fact that he's the son of a mistress?"

"I do know why." Volkanon confirmed. "His Majesty the King said that one day, he must become a leader the people can trust. However, he feels that Arthur is bound by the past he shares with his mother. He is also aware that Sir Arthur is very much concerned about his mother, and due to that past, does not trust others. But..should they discover the switch…" Volkanon shook his head. "No. What's done is done. There is no turning back now. His Majesty thought that Arthur being here would help him learn to trust others, given how the people are kind-hearted here."

"Well, I think His Majesty made a good decision." Arganan shrugged. "He does trust Frey now, as well as everyone else at least to an extent. He's been a help to Frey, and…I know he wants me to help Frey with ruling Selphia and eventually dealing with other political endeavours, given my past experience as the Count of Lazulis, but Arthur would be more qualified. He knows the ins and outs of Selphia due to his previous status as Prince. I'm sure he has nothing against the capital itself, but…do you think he passed on his duties as Prince to Frey because of the ties with his mother?"

Volkanon shook his head. "I don't know him well enough to know if that's the connection, but I do know that his past pains him deeply."

"Speaking of his mother…" Arganan tried tot hink. He didn't really know much of the extent on Arthur's supposedly shaky bond with his mother, right? "What's his mother like? Did she ever come visit here?"

"She did. In fact, she visited our town with His Majesty and Arthur, many years ago when Arthr was still a child. They were picture of a happy family, then." Volkanon mused. A wistful look came to his gaze. "Sometime after that, supposedly she was asked to leave the castle, as she was too harsh on her child. I remember at the time that I heard nothing but unflattering rumors. But when I met her, she didn't seem like a bad person at all."

Arganan frowned. "But people can change, right?"

"That is fair. But I also believe that there was a reason the family came here other than just a visit, however. There were…Superstitions in this area. Traditions about finding love and happiness."

"Superstitions?"

"There was a cave, long ago, just outside of town. It used to be very popular with tourists due to its superstitions of love and happiness involved. However, it collapsed…" A frown came to his face. "I'm afraid I cannot recall what the superstition was specifically granting in terms of love and happiness."

"that's fine." Arganan paused, thinking on the past encounter with the shady merchant. "Now that you mention it, when I was at the cave with Arthur the other day with the shady merchant, Arthur mentioned a cave-in, too. Maybe that's the same one."

"What?"

"Do you know where Frey is?" The former Count had a feeling that he had to let Frey know rightaway.

"I believe she just headed to the restaurant just now…"

"Good. Thank you!"

"Wait!"

It was too late. Arganan himself already dashed off as fast as he could to try to find her.

The good news: He found Frey just outside of Porcoline's restaurant, having left the building.

Bad news? Arganan was out of breath at this point. Bado was by Frey's side, speaking with her in low voices, but Arganan knew he had to cut their pleasantries short.

"Frey!"

"Arganan?" Frey whirled around to see him. "Are you okay? You look out of breath."

"I ran all the way here after I learned something important." The former Count took a deep breath, looking her in the eye. "Sorry for interrupting, but…according to Volkanon, apparently Arthur and his family visited this town years ago. And they went to go to a cave with superstitions about love and happiness, but then it caved in and…" A sigh left Arganan. "Honestly, I probably should have asked Volkanon for more details. But according to him, Arthur's mother seemed exceptionally kind."

Bado blinked, looking up at Arganan. "Oh. Hey."

"Greetings." Arganan managed quickly. "Apologies for interrupting again. What are you doing here?"

"Doing Frey a favour." Bado offered Arganan a grin, before looking towards Frey. "Just got back from the capital, actually."

"You were gone for a while?" Arganan hadn't noticed. Then again, it had been a while since any of his prosthetic limbs got broken, so he hadn't really visited Bado in a little while.

"Yeah. Surprised you didn't notice. Then again, it was a short airship trip. I was just there to deliver a shipment of some new work." The other mused, before looking towards Frey. "I nosed around in the capital like you asked, while I was there."

"Oh?" Frey raised a brow. "What did you find?"

"Well…" Bado shrugged. "I dug up a little on Arthur's mom. Seems like she was a kind, delicate lady."

"Is that true?" Arganan asked. "That would match what Volkanon told me."

"Yeah." Bado nodded. "That's probably what did it, to her. Her leaving Arthur eventually that is. She was way more aware of her being a mistress than anyone gave her credit for. It's also why she started avoiding her own kid."

"Huh?" The Princess frowned at that. "Why?"

Bado's nose wrinkled. "To teach Arthur that the two of them were of very different social stations. That's what I suspect at least. That way, he could avoid going through the pain she dealt with."

"But," Arganan pointed out, "You have no proof of that. Is that truly the case?"

Bado frowned. "What if she never had bad eyesight? I heard that she never needed glasses until after Arthur was born. It was only after that she started that."

"What!?" The group turned to see Porcoline. The man was probably just stepping out to take a break when he noticed them, jaw drdopping. "When they visited my restaurant, the lady wasn't wearing glasses!"

"When they visited your restaurant?" Arganan stared back at him. "Did they visit your restaurant the last time they visited?"

"You're talking about His Majesty, young Arthur and the lady with them, correct?" The chef came running over, nodding. "I do remember that the lady didn't wear glasses at all, back then!"

"What?" Frey's jaw dropped, before she gasped. "Wait. That means…Arthur's mom might not have had bad eyesight, but we need proof…and we do have it!"

"Wait, what!?" Arganan started, but Frey was already running off.

"I'll explain later! I'll be back!" With that, Frey ran off in the direction of Arthur's office.

Arganan stared in the direction where she ran off, before looking towards Dolce, Bado, Pico and Porcoline. "Can any of you please explain that?"

Bado chuckled a bit. "Frey told me, before I went to the capital, that Arthur told her that he had a pair of glasses from his mother before she left him entirely. He's never worn 'em…and apparently she'd take off that pair every time she went to see him, so she could get up close to him to see him by claiming she couldn't see."

Frey then came running back, hodling a case in her hand. "I got it! Right here." She opened the case. Inside was a rather plain pair of glasses. Arganan was surprised by this; he knew about Arthur's large collection of glasses, but this seemed like an especially common-looking pair. Why keep it, other than it being a keepsake from his mother?

Frey held up the glasses to Bado. "Can you examine these, please? Can you tell if they have a prescription?"

"I can try." Bado picked up the glasses, examining them. After a moment, he frowned. "The lenses have no prescription."

Arganan frowned. "How did Arthur himself fail to notice yet? You would think someone so fond would know about the lack of prescription."

"He never put them on." Frey managed, looking towards Arganan as she put the glasses back in the case. "That's why he never knew. And I know that because he directly told me that."

"Arthur's mom only pretended to have bad eyesight, then." Porcoline concluded. "Why?"

"I get it." Frey managed, looking between the three."Arthur's mom said she had bad eyesight…but she always took her glasses off to see him. She wanted to make everyone think that she was being mean to him. She had to play the part of a jealous mother who hated her son's station because of their separate statuses. There was no other way for her to get close to him! The farce of her bad eyesight allowed her to call her child closer…so she could be close. She wanted him to be happy, but she made him hate her."

Arganan frowned. "As much as I hate to admit it, Frey…" He paused, thinking back to his past rule as Count, of how some nobles would look down on others simply because of status, "You might be right about that." It was messed up, but it was the truth. How else could someone of lesser status be close to their child of a higher one?

"I wonder what it's like for her." Porcoline managed, frowning. "For Arthur's mother, I mean. What did she see on the other side of those glasses, or how she felt when she saw her son's face?"

"Arthur?" The whole group turned to see Kiel. "Are you looking for Arthur?"

"Yes." Arganan quickly managed. "Have you seen him?"

"If you're talking about Arthur," Kiel quipped, "He went to a buried cave close to Yokmir Forest."

"He what?" Arganan stared. "But didn't it collapse years ago?"

"Yeah, but…it's not completely collapsed, even if it's closed to the public."

"Arthur went to the buried cave!?" Frey's eyes widened, before she looked towards Arganan. "We have to get to him now! Come on!" Cue her grabbing Arganan by the hand, trying to half-drag him off.

"Easy there!" Arganan warned her, grimacing as his upper left thigh ached from the earlier running with his metal leg. "I can only go so fast."

"Sorry." Frey grimaced, but still continued a mostly-hurried pace. "Flying over with an airship won't be fast enough. We have to go now!"

Somehow, the two managed to make their way all the way to the mostly-collapsed cave and made it inside without the cave falling in on them. The former Count could tell, however, that it seemed on the verge of collapse. If they were trying to find Arthur, they had to find him fast and get him out of here, lest he get buried alive in here.

Thankfully, they did find him not too deep into the cave, on the ground. The bad news was, he was clearly unconscious and not well.

"Arthur!" Frey ran to his side, shaking him lightly. Arganan quickly used his healing magic to heal Arthur's visible bruises, and Arthur's eyes fluttered open. "Are you okay?"

"Oh, Frey, Arganan…" Arthur got up, wincing lightly. "Once I made my way in here, there was another tremor…then…"

"Did you find the names?"

"What names?"

"That's why you came here, right? To see the names of your family so you could find proof of the visit you had here years ago?"

He shook his head. "I haven't found them yet."

"Okay, then let's…"

The cave shook again, and Arganan jumped a little. How long would it hold before it collapsed? If they didn't get out soon, all three of them would be crushed!

"I don't think this will hold for much longer." Argaann warned, but that was when Frey ran to the closest wall, trying to read the various writings on it.

"Frey!?" Arthur burst out, but Frey scanned the walls, running her hands along them.

"I have to check before it all collapses!"

"Frey! No, it's all right. We have to get out of here as quickly as we can…"

"It's not all right!"

"What?"

"You finally got the chance to see the truth, once and for all! You've been looking for it all this time. You can't just give up now!"

The cave roared again, and Arganan grimaced. "No, it's too dangerous. We have to leave, now!"

"But…" Frey starting arguing, but Arganan shook his head at the sight. She really is just as stubborn as my niece, isn't she?

"No buts!" Arthur half-snapped back, still trying to pull Frey away from the cave walls. "I may lose my past. But I can't bear to lose you! Let's go. Hurry!"

Arganan, Arthur and Frey all managed to leave the cave in time, only moments before it completely collapsed. Arganan looked away as dust rose from all the rocks now blocking the entrance, trying to wave it away with an arm, but it was of little use.

"Are you okay!?" He heard Frey call, and Arganan tried to look in her direction.

"I'm fine! Just the dust, that's all." He hissed as some of it got into his eye, and he used his right hand to try to rub it out. As he lowered his hand from his eye after a few decent attempts to get sand and dust out, he noticed Arthur brush himself off, before looking up at Frey and Arganan.

"How did you know I was here?" Arthur managed, looking between them.

"Kiel said that he saw you going this way." Frey explained, pushing a few bangs out of her face. "That's how we found you."

"I see."

"Why run all the way out here yourself?" Arganan frowned, trying to look Arthur in the eye. "You knew this cave was practically already caved-in, even before…" He gestured to the even more caved-in cave, "That."

"I know. But I came here to confirm not how she felt about me, but how I felt about her." Arthur sighed, shaking his head. "All of what I did was because of her. So I thought…should I ever stop chasing her, I'd lose sight of everything I had. It scared me, or so I thought. I came here to part with my old self, once and for all. But when I saw the cave, I couldn't help myself. I don't know what I hoped to find in there. Neither me, nor her…"

"I think I understand."

"Oh?" Arthur frowned. "What do you mean?"

"Your mother's glasses. They weren't a prescription pair." Arganan managed.

Arthur's gaze snapped towards Arganan, eyes widening. Arganan wasn't sure if he'd seen Arthur so shocked before. "What are you saying…?"

"Someone with bad eyesight could never have worn them. Your mother's eyes were fine." Frey managed. "I got Bado to check for me."

"But…Why pretend all that time?" Arthur frowned.

"Given what we learned from you, as well as from Volkanon and asking around at the capital, I think your mother made "I can't see without my glasses" as an excuse to bring her child close." Frey explained. "Given the difference in stations, that's all she could think of."

"Wh-what? That's…" Arthur's voice trailed off, and Arganan sighed.

"She was a mistress. She never felt like she belonged in the palace, but as a mother, she wanted to be with her child. The only way she could think to get close to you, was by pretending she couldn't see you without glasses."

Arthur swallowed. "Th-then she…"

Frey nodded, offering him a soft smile. "She never hated you. She loved you, Arthur."

Arthur went silent, completely stunned. Arganan wondered what Arthur must be thinking. Was he sad? Angry? Shocked?

Much to his surprise, a soft chuckle left Arthur's lips, before he shook his head. "So it was me."

"Huh?"

"I was the one who glared at her back then." He looked up at Arganan, and then looked towards Frey. "She'd hold my face and never let go, when she visited me. She would just look at me, but I…all I did was glare at her. I hurt her."

"Your past self led your present self here." Frey managed. "Just like what you said to that fraudulent information collector, for example. And I don't know what I did in my past, but I know that it made me end up where I am now."

Arthur took a moment to

"I understand now. True trust comes when you choose to believe in others. It doesn't come from telling them you trust them. You have to trust in yourself to trust others. That's what it meant. And that's what I choose to believe."

Besides, if she wished for me not to trust others, she would have simply made me suspicious of everyone." A soft smile came to Arthur's face at that, before he looked towards the others. "Thank you. Frey. Arganan. Everyone. I don't know what I would've done, without you."

Arthur, Arganan and Frey returned to town, safe, and Frey returned the pair of glasses to Arthur as well. Arganan was just glad that the issue about Arthur and his mother was now resolved, for the most part. He wondered what became of Arthur's mother, but as far as he knew, no one had any idea at all. Perhaps she was off living a quiet life elsewhere. Maybe she wanted to reconnect with her son one day, and would come find him.

Either way, things were at peace for Arthur, at least for now. Arganan was glad he could help Frey help Arthur in that sense.

"Hey, Arganan?"

Arganan looked up to see Amber approaching him. The usually bubbly and happy seemed solemn, which was odd for her. "I…think I'm starting to remember."

"Remember?" Arganan raised a brow. "Remember what?"

"About Venti. All the memories."

That was when it dawned on Arganan; the memory-wiping that Ventuswill previously did for most of the Guardians must be…

It must be fading because of her death. The memory-wipe is wearing off, so…

"What do you remember?" He asked, keeping his voice low.

Amber frowned a little. "I remember flying…can't remember much else, but I can feel it coming back to me." That was when he noticed a little teardrop forming in her eye. "I-I miss her. Venti that is. I just…"

A sigh left Arganan, and he offered her a handkerchief. "Cry it out if you want."

He didn't know much about the Guardians too well, but he had a feeling that they were close to Ventuswill, given how Ventuswill seemed to care for them as is, and the measures she went to to make sure they never tried to seal themselves away for her again. As Amber cried, Arganan couldn't help but wonder: How does one deal with the memories of the one they lost, after forgetting all of that for such a long period of time?

Author note: Arc 3 FINALLY begins! We'll settle into the "Memories" event for these upcoming chapters, and go straight into Arc 3 from here! I hope you enjoy reading the new chapters to come!