Disclaimer: Yes, I do own the original story and characters (Hey, I can dream, can't I? XP)
A king's tale
4
The sun had set a few minutes ago. It was a warm evening. It had been a warm day.
Van watched the last sparks of daylight disappear over the horizon as if he was in a trance. It was his favourite time of the day. It had always been. A palette of blues and reds tinted the sky but he knew darkness would soon consume the valley, immersing it in an eerie silence, so powerful it could cause shivers.
It was a feeling of comfort that invaded him though, one that could only be understood by someone who had lived enclosed by those mountains for as long as he had.
He sighed quietly. Now if he could only manage to get his chief advisor to stop prattling beside him…
"Sire, I must again alert you to the dangers of your decision." The man said; anxiety plainly visible on his features. "To come to this deserted valley, without the proper protection of the royal guard-"
Van feigned confusion. "But counsellor, I could not possibly conceive of anyone more adequate to protect me than the people currently with me. Why, is not knight Schezar over here the finest swordsman in Fanelia?" He said with exaggerated graveness, while tapping his friend on the shoulder.
"And I'm sure you yourself counsellor, would jump to my rescue, if any speck of an attempt against my life would be made… Would you not?"
"O-Of course, sire!" The man retorted, clearly fidgeting now, which nearly caused his king and the knight to burst out laughing. "But to arrange a meeting with King Mamorou in such a place… The peril is too grand! After all, that missive we intercepted most irrevocably stated that King Mamorou cared nothing more than to-"
"-have my head on a plate?" Van finished. "Oh, don't make such a face, counsellor. It's not like I intend to give in to him. I happen to like my head where it is. Besides, ambushes are not King Mamorou's style. He would never kill me without a proper audience."
"But then why come all the way here?" The counsellor asked.
"I want some answers." Van replied truthfully. "…And the fact that King Mamorou has consented to this meeting, makes me think he wants some answers to."
"Your highness." Allen's voice cut in.
Van turned around to face the knight, who was visibly on high alert now; his eyes focused somewhere in front of him. "The tree line up ahead."
The king followed his gaze until he spotted three mounted figures, half-hidden in the shadows, slowly making their way to the clearing close to where he now was.
Even from the distance, Van could see that King Mamorou's retinue was heavily armed and ready for business, and for a moment he wondered whether or not the trees now falling behind them, concealed any unpleasant surprises.
Pushing the thought away from him, Van gently tapped his mare to move in the same direction as his counterpart, followed closely by Allen.
As the two Cesarian soldiers stopped short of the clearing's entrance, Van signalled Allen to halt as well.
"Just between us, Van." Allen whispered. "I think this is the stupidest idea you've ever had!"
Van smirked. "Just between us, Allen." He whispered back. "I think so too." And he tapped his mare to go forward.
From then on, Van's eyes were fixed on his counterpart, until they both stopped their rides in the middle of the clearing, a few meters apart from each other.
"Van." His opponent greeted, with a slight bow of the head.
"Mamorou." The young king mimicked the greeting.
A short pause followed, neither party seeming at all interested in being the one to formally start the conversation.
"I was advised that I should thank you for agreeing to this meeting." Van finally said; his voice unaffected. "…So thank you for agreeing to this meeting."
"…Which, knowing you, you are no doubt saying unwillingly, but you are welcome."
"Why do you want me dead?" Van asked flatly; his bluntness making the other man smile.
"Are we jumping into unpleasantries so soon?... I suppose I should had been expecting it, though. You were never one to dwell on small talk."
The young king narrowed his eyes at him. "I'm waiting…"
A tense silence ensued between them, while their gazes remained locked.
"We were friends once, Van…"
"Friends don't issue death warrants on each other."
At the sound of the accusation, king Mamorou unconsciously tightened the hold on his horse's reins, making it shift nervously under his weight.
"What makes you think I'll answer truthfully?"
"You also want me to answer to your questions truthfully, do you not?" Van grinned, relishing on the fact the other man seemed visibly upset now.
"Let me make this clear to you Van. I have never wished for your death."
"That's odd!" Van frowned. "Did you sign my death warrant by mistake then?" He asked; his voice dripping with sarcasm.
"You left me no choice! I have tried every damned diplomatic way to get through to you, and to what avail? None whatsoever!... By the gods, you are the most stubborn bastard I have ever met, Van. "
The young king snickered at him. "I'll bow to you on this one Mamorou. It was a cunningly conceived plan… from willingly signing the peace treaty, to marrying of your sister to the enemy and now plotting to make her a widow so you can usurp Fanelia's thron-"
"Leave my sister out of this!" King Mamorou retorted angrily.
"Why? Isn't she the reason why you agreed to this meeting?" Van asked. "Aren't you dying to ask me how she's faring? After all, I bet you can't find it in you to believe anything she writes in her letters to you. She's the type of person who would lie about her own misery just to spare you the grief."
The other man's eyes flickered with rage as he grabbed the hilt of his sword. "I swear I'll trespass you right here if you so much as suggest you are not treating her with the dignity and respect she deserves." He threatened.
"You should have thought about that before you sold her off to me." Van retorted heatedly, gripping the hilt of his own sword.
Sensing the eminence of an attack on their monarch, the two Cesarian soldiers quickly stirred their rides to his aid, followed closely by Allen on the opposite side of the clearing, although both their lieges swiftly raised their hands in the air, as a clear sign for them to halt their advances.
King Mamorou breathed in deeply, trying to control his rage. "I didn't sell my sister off to you, Van." He stated, a few seconds later. "She agreed to marry you out of her own free will. Believe me… I tried to talk her out of the mistake several times."
"…What? What are you talking about?" Van asked. "Our marriage was one of the conditions of the treaty. You imposed the condition yourself."
"Because she asked me too!" Mamorou confessed, shaking his head. "Only the gods know what she saw in you all those years ago, Van; what fantasy ended up clouding her head into thinking that every sickening story of your conduct that reached her ears had to be a lie." He laughed bitterly. "My poor sister is indeed a fool! To think that she would have felt it a blessing to marry you, even without the prospect of peace between our countries."
Van was stunned by his confession. "All those years ago? Are you mad, Mamorou? We had never met before our wedding day… and for your information, she bloody hell hates me! She's hated me ever since she first laid eyes on me that day."
King Mamorou laughed at his confused state. "Somehow I am not surprise you don't seem to recall anything… At least I'm glad my sister seems to have gained some sense of reality when it comes to you. As bitter as it might have felt to her, it was probably for the best." He gently tapped his horse to turn around, leaving Van behind to dwell on his words.
"Annul the wedding, Van." He shot back at him over the shoulder. "Annul it, let my sister return home and I'll grant you a new peace treaty. We'll shut our borders to each other and never have to speak of death warrants again."
She was finally convinced that she was sick.
One whole week of feeling nauseated, feverish and light-headed had finally been enough to persuade her to go see the royal physician.
Of course, sooner or later someone would undoubtedly have dragged her to him anyway, seeing as she looked increasingly paler with each passing day.
She suspected a mild case of food poisoning; the mere thought of any simple meal being enough to make her want to throw up.
The funny thing to her was, that given different circumstances, had her marriage started off on the right foot with Van, she would probably be attributing her current symptoms to a whole other cause.
Hitomi shook her head to dispel such absurd thoughts. She had no energy left in her to devote to the childish fantasies she once harboured.
Right now the only thing she wished for was to reach the security of the physician's office and his array of reportedly miracle herbs and drugs, before she passed out cold in the deserted hall.
She had already experienced quite a feat in having been able to escape her chambers without being spotted by neither her ladies-in-waiting, nor her trusted maid Mirana, although she now wished she had paid more attention to the latter, when the chief chamber maid had tried, on more than one occasion, to detail to her the vast number of corridors and halls that connected the different wings of the palace.
Hitomi knew very well she was lost, but in no way was she ready to give in to defeat and ask for assistance in finding her destination. The last thing she wanted after all was to bring the palace to an uproar, thinking that there was something wrong with her.
If there was one thing she had learned from her still brief stay at her new home, was that the Fanelian court was quick to panic. She remembered the day when Van had lightly hurt his arm in the friendly match with his general, only to end up causing a commotion within his council, with the majority of his advisors seeing the occasion as the perfect excuse to arrange an extraordinary meeting to discuss emergency plans related to their monarch's possible doom.
Meeting which would probably had ended up taking place, had Van not threatened to send all of his advisors to the palace's dungeons for a couple of days, in order for them to discuss their ridiculous plans there.
Hitomi couldn't help but smile as she remembered the scene. Van sure knew how to keep his household in check. She had to give him credit for that.
She was reliving in her mind his latest altercation with his advisors when she heard a dull thud coming from somewhere near her.
Suddenly frightened, she looked around the deserted hall for the source of the disturbance, only to notice a large number of trunks and suitcases strangely scattered about an open chamber not too far from her.
Before she knew what to make out of the scene though, a young blonde woman appeared at the chamber's entrance, pulling a small trunk along with her and dropping it with a thump beside the other ones.
"Well, this was the last one!" She said to herself, apparently relieved. "Thanks for nothing, stupid maid. I won't be asking for help around here again, that's for sure… Standing me up! Hmpf, the nerve!"
Hitomi recognized the blonde immediately. Lady Millerna Aston was quite famous within the Fanelian court after all, although some might say, not for the most virtuous reasons.
A former courtesan, occupation she seemed not at all embarrassed to hide, she had acquired her 'Lady' status within the court by marrying an old Fanelian nobleman a few years prior, who had however died under mysterious circumstances just a couple of months after the wedding.
Widowed and arguably heartbroken, she had appeared at court one day, pleading for the king's aid as she was being persecuted by creditors who intended to claim, according to her, her late husband's many debts.
Some say it was love at first sight between her and the king of Fanelia; others say it was lust. Whatever the reason though, the truth was that Lady Millerna had since then taken up permanent residence at the palace, and all her creditors had been fully repaid.
It was no secret to anyone though, that her bond with the king was far from proper. She had reportedly been given free access to his private chambers, honour no other Lady shared, and was indisputably remarked as being the woman with whom he had maintained his longest relationship to date.
She was even rumoured to have had become pregnant with his child at some point, although a miscarriage had destroyed her ambition of giving the country its first heir, much to Van's advisors relief.
Hitomi had seen Millerna around the palace many times; perhaps as many as the rumours that circulated about her, although the young queen had to confess she paid very little attention to them at first.
After all, her ladies-in-waiting, who seemed to wish to want to let her in on all the court's gossip, were well known for their jealous tongues. And a woman as beautiful as Lady Millerna, brought out the worst in them, so much so, that Hitomi had long since played a deaf ear to the stories they came up with.
She wasn't naïve to the point she believed all the rumours to be unfounded though; particularly the ones that involved Van. And even though it was not in Hitomi's nature to judge people based on rumours, the truth was that she had already witnessed first-hand the ultimate proof of their bond, when she caught them by surprise in the royal gardens just a week after her wedding.
To her own surprise though, the scene hadn't shocked her as much as she had expected it to. If anything, it further helped her to realise just how foolish she had been in believing the fantasies she had created in the past regarding Van had any shred of truth in them. Not that she really cared anymore…
"Are you leaving on a trip, Lady Millerna?" Hitomi asked; her voice cutting through the silence of the deserted hall.
Realising for the first time she wasn't actually alone, the blonde woman nearly jumped in fright.
"Oh by the gods, you scared me." Millerna confessed, immediately turning to face her speaker; a hand above her heart. "How long have you been standing there, woman? You nearly gave me a heart attack!" She asked almost amused, before her eyes widened in sudden realization as she looked over Hitomi. "O-Oh your highness! My apologies. I did not recognize you."
Her awkward bow made Hitomi smile inwards. She realised it was the first time they were actually speaking to each other and judging by the other woman's sudden tense demeanour Hitomi figured she was the last person that Lady Millerna would have cared to encounter in that hallway.
Nonetheless Hitomi slowly approached her, pretending to be interested in the collection of trunks and suitcases scattered around her.
"It's quite a considerable amount of luggage." She noted.
"Oh, yes. You see, I have a sister living in Asturia who recently gave birth to a girl... Since I haven't been home in a while, I thought this would be a good opportunity to visit and to lend her a hand…"
Hitomi eyed her curiously. "And will you be gone for long?" She asked. Somehow she found it strange that Van would approve her prolonged absence.
A thin shadow of a smile appeared in Millerna's lips as she looked outside a window, avoiding Hitomi's gaze. "Perhaps… I guess only time will tell."
The queen was unable to register her mysterious omen though, as a sudden wave of dizziness caused her to lose focus on her surroundings for a few seconds. "Will you be needing assistance with the luggage?" She forced herself to ask, hoping to push the feeling away. "Perhaps you could request help from the maids…"
"The maids?" Millerna laughed suddenly. "Oh, I apologise for my outburst your highness, but no, I will not be requesting help from this palace's maids ever again. Not the most dependable staff, I'm afraid!" She added with bitterness and Hitomi recalled her first comments earlier on. "Besides, I'm waiting for my ride. He's bound to come pick me up at any time now."
Feeling a new wave of dizziness threatening to take over her, Hitomi had to discreetly support herself on a mantelpiece to maintain balance. She desperately needed to reach the physician's office as soon as possible.
"…Is something wrong, your highness?" She heard Millerna's voice from far away say. "You don't look well."
Hitomi forced out a smile. The last thing she wanted was to faint in front of Van's mistress after all. "A minor heatstroke I suppose…" She shrugged, seemingly unperturbed.
"Well, Lady Millerna, I do wish you a pleasant journey to Asturia." She added, turning away from the blonde while the other acknowledged her remark with another awkward bow.
"…You need not feel threatened of me, your highness." Was the comment that made Hitomi turn around to face Millerna again.
"Excuse me?"
"He doesn't love me…" The blonde said quietly.
"Who?"
"Va-… I mean, the king." Millerna quickly amended. "Despite the rumours you've no doubt heard about the two of us, I can assure you he doesn't love me... He never did."
Hitomi stared at her in surprise. She truly hadn't expected the blonde to be so open about her affair. "I do not care who the king loves." She found herself stating nonetheless.
Millerna chuckled. "That's the problem. He doesn't love anyone. He's got himself convinced he cannot love anyone. That love is some sort of disease that if he succumbs to it, it will eat him up from inside and make him weak and pitiful just like his mother."
"Lady Millerna, I hardly think we should be having a conversation of this nature in such a pla-"
"Your highness, in all the years I've known him, I have never seen him make the slightest effort to put a woman's happiness above his own. Yet for some reason, he unconsciently seems to be attempting to do just that with you." Millerna said firmly. "I guess what I'm trying to say is that I think he has feelings for you, even if he doesn't realise them himself yet."
Hitomi grabbed the mantelpiece for support again. Her nausea had now returned as well, although she was having a hard time figuring out whether or not it were the blonde's remarks that had brought it about this time.
"And may I ask what makes you think I care?" She asked Millerna with a hint of defiance. She couldn't fathom why Van's mistress, of all people, was trying to push them to be together.
Millerna smiled at her nonetheless. "Because I saw how you looked at him when you caught us together in the gardens…" She answered simply. "Your highness, the truth is I do not love our king enough to save him from himself… but I have a feeling you might."
"Lady Millerna? Lady Millerna!" A young gentleman interrupted her suddenly, as he came into view at the end of the hall. "Oh, indeed it is you. I thought I had heard your voice." He added as he approached her. "Oh, and your highness." He courtly added as he saluted Hitomi, albeit a bit surprised of seeing the pair together in such a place.
"General Hideto. There you are!" Millerna called out, a charming smile instantly gracing her features. "I was beginning to think you had forgotten your promise to me."
The general shook his head dismissing her words. "I would never do such a thing Lady Millerna. I am a man of my word." He said, almost blushing under her penetrating gaze. "B-But is this your luggage?" He asked as he took notice of the amount of trunks and suitcases.
Millerna chuckled nervously. "Well, I do suppose I might have exaggerated packing, but the Asturian weather is so unpredictable at times one needs a variety of clothing options, wouldn't you agree general?... General Hideto?" She tried again, although was quick to realise that Hideto was eyeing his queen with sudden concern and had stopped paying attention to her.
"Your highness, are you feeling well? You look quite pale... Would you like me to escort you back to your chambers?" He asked his queen.
Hitomi tried her best to sound normal although she was painfully aware the task was probably pointless by then. She had just caught a glimpse of herself in a mirror and feared her complexion was starting to resemble that of a ghost. "Thank you for your concern general Hideto, but I'm… I'm fine. As I have previously explained to Lady Millerna, I just seem to be suffering from a minor heatstroke, that's all…" She lied.
For once though, neither of her listeners seemed convinced at all. "Perhaps it would be best if you did escort her highness back, general." Millerna whispered. "I can wait here for your return".
"Please, there is really no need. I-I…I'm sure it will pass soon enough." Was the last thing the young queen remembered saying before fainting.
Hitomi woke up again the following day shortly before sunrise. Through the window of her chambers she saw dawn breaking over her garden and for a few seconds laid still in bed, hoping that her memories from the previous day had been nothing but a bad dream.
She could see a tick mist moving slowly across the garden and found herself wishing for it to cross over her window and engulf her room so that she could safely hide from the rest of the world in it.
Had she really embarrassed herself to the extent of fainting in front of Van's mistress? The thought mortified her, as well as the commotion her fainting lapse must have caused within the court.
She silently prayed that at least general Hideto had been discreet about the ordeal, although she was convinced that whatever pains were taken to hush the subject, the quick, sharp tongues of the ladies of the court would no doubt extrapolate the situation to embarrassing proportions.
A thought suddenly crossed her mind, causing a chill to run down her spine. Did Van already know? Of course he did, he knew everything that happened in his household after all.
Did he laugh at her ordeal? Did he hear it from Millerna herself? Were they both laughing at her right now?
She stared at the mist outside again. A walk in her garden was what she needed. If the mist would not come to her, she would go to it instead.
Resolution firmly taken, she sat up in bed so quickly that her head started to spin around.
"Oh no you don't, Lady Hitomi." Someone warned close beside her. "You are to remain in bed until further orders."
She recognized the voice immediately and for a second prayed to every god she knew for her to still be dreaming.
With her heart caught in her throat, she slowly turned her head to look at the figure siting in a chair right beside her bed. A pair of burgundy eyes was studying her face intently, beneath a collected frown.
"Oh don't look at me like that Lady." Van said with a hint of a smile. "I'll have you know, that the only way I got Mirana to allow me to stay in this room, was with an ultimatum not to allow you to get out of bed under any circumstances." He added, getting up from his seat. "Now I very much intend to honour my commitment to her, if only for the fact that she scares the hell out of me when she's angry, so do be kind and stay put."
He placed a few pillows behind her back so that she could lean into them comfortably, before sitting himself down in front of her on the side of the bed.
"Now… I was entrusted to ask you a few questions." He said thoughtfully. "That is if I can manage to find the damn paper the physician gave me." He said gravely, while searching the contents of his vest's pockets.
Unable to utter so much as a word, Hitomi was left to stare at Van in confusion. She looked from the chair where he had been sitting on, to him, and back at the chair once again, wondering how long he had been in the room.
He was fully clothed in his royal attire although he seemed more equipped to go horse riding than to participate in his normal everyday affairs at the palace, but Hitomi knew he usually only went riding at dusk, like he had done the previous day.
That was when she noticed the slight blue-ish tint under his eyes. Had he not slept since the previous night at all? He couldn't possibly have spent the whole night in her room… could he?
"Here it is!" Van said triumphantly, as he unfolded a thin sheet of paper he had been able to retrieve from his vest's inner pocket. "Now, Lady Hitomi, I am compelled to inform you that is to your best self-interest that you answer the following questions truthfully." He added solemnly.
Hitomi frowned at him, but chose not to reply.
"Very well, first question… Have you ever had any serious medical problems?" Van asked inquisitively, trying to take his role as serious as possible, although Hitomi was very much convinced he was trying very hard not to laugh in the process. "Well?" He pressed on, when she didn't answer him at first.
The young queen eyed him for a few seconds with suspicion but then shook her head.
"Ok then, so that will be a 'No'." He said while scribbling something down on the paper.
"In particular, do you have diabetes, hypertension, epilepsy or other seizure disorders, kidney disease, liver disease, heart disease, a clotting disorder, lung disease including asthma, thyroid disease or a connective tissue disease?" Van enunciated gravely, to which Hitomi replied shaking her head vigorously.
"Alright then, that will be another 'No'."
"Ok, third question… Has anyone in your family ever had diabetes, hypertension, epilepsy or other seizure disorders, kidney disease, liver disease, heart disease, a clotting disorder, lung disease including asthma, thyroid disease or a connective tissue disease?" He inquired again, to which Hitomi replied once again by shaking her head.
"Really? Do you mean none of your brothers have anything wrong with them that you might know about?" Van asked, seemingly disappointed, which caused her to roll her eyes at him.
"Ok, ok, I suppose not. No need to be offended, Lady." Van said, further scribbling in the paper.
"Where were we? Ah yes, fourth question…Do you –"
"And since when have you taken up the role of a physician, your highness?" She finally asked, tired of his little game.
"Ah, she speaks after all!" Van stated, unable to hold his laughter any longer. "The royal physician will be very pleased to hear it, when I hand him my report. You see, I asked him to write down all the questions he wanted to ask you so that I could ask them myself." He confessed. "I think I actually did the poor man a favour. He is so old that he would have probably fallen asleep in the middle of the check-up." Van added, when he saw her questioning look. "…How are you feeling by the way?"
"…Better, I guess." She said quietly, suddenly turning her attention to the intricate designs on her bedspread. "I-I apologize for any inconveniences I might have caused you with this situation. I.. should have consulted the royal physician days ago. I hope your court wasn't too disturbed."
Van chuckled; a few of his bangs falling over his eyes. "You are quite a handful at times, Lady Hitomi… Well, I won't pretend that the court wasn't in a state of havoc last night when I got back to the palace, but for once, I was actually glad that my chief advisor had gone out with me for a change, otherwise I have a feeling the havoc would have been ten times worse, if he had stayed behind to oversee your medical treatment."
Hitomi clutched the bedspread tightly in her hands. "I'm truly sorry, your highness."
"Yes, I suppose you'll have to repay me somehow for my trouble." He said with fake pompous.
"I will go see the royal physician immediately."
"Oh, there's no need for that. I will tell him to stop by here as soon as I leave, although he probably won't be changing his diagnosis since last night… You were already diagnosed with food poisoning, after all."
"But how was he able to diagnose anything? I didn't have a chance to speak to him at all last night."
"I guess the symptoms Mirana described to him that you were having as of late, fit right in with food poisoning."
"Mirana?"
Van smiled. "Don't tell me you thought Mirana couldn't tell you were ill? She knows everything, you know. She used to pinpoint exactly when I would have colds when I was a child."
Hitomi sighed, covering her face with her hands. "I feel like a fool."
"Just make sure you have plenty of rest and get well soon… Otherwise king Mamorou might show up at my doorstep demanding explanations…"
"Ask away." Hitomi said; her faced still hidden behind her hands.
"What?" Van inquired, suddenly confused.
"The check-up list. Ask whatever you wanted to ask me about. I'll reply to anything you wish to know."
Van grinned. "Anything?... Really?"
"Well as you said, I have to repay you somehow." She noted, finally looking at him. " I might as well start now."
Van leaned closer to her; a curious look on his eyes. He seemed to be searching for something in her face or her eyes, something he himself didn't seem to know what it was exactly though.
"Have we ever…"
"Have we ever…?" She repeated his words, feeling slightly uncomfortable under his penetrating gaze.
Van didn't finish his question though, and instead leaned back to his former position on the bed. "Never mind. Not important… Back to the list then…" He went through the remaining questions carefully, seeming to be debating with his thoughts all the while, until he suddenly turned back to her, with the same mysterious air he had sported moments ago.
"Would you…" He paused for a moment, apparently unsure whether or not he should proceed. "Would you consider yourself happy with your life as it is at the moment?"
"Excuse me?" Hitomi nearly laughed. "I hardly believe such a personal question is part of a health check-up list."
Van chuckled quietly, still looking at her. "You're right. It isn't. But let me rephrase it then… Do you think that… given the chance,… going back to your home now would make you happy?"
"…W-What do you mean?" Hitomi whispered, not sure if she had heard him right.
"Your highness!" Mirana's aggravated voice suddenly cut through the air, before Van had a chance to add anything else. "You should be lying down… Young master, you promised me!" The old woman said as she made her way into the room.
"Yes indeed, your highness, you should be lying down." Van retorted; his carefree personality apparently restored. "I have been telling her the same thing again and again since she woke up, Mirana. Lady Hitomi will simply not listen to anything I say at all. I don't know what to do anymore." He said with faked aggravation, getting up from his spot on the bed.
The chief chamber maid was not one bit fooled by his words though. "You always did have very poor acting skills, young master." She scolded him in a motherly tone, as she made her way towards her queen. "Now if you'll excuse me, I must assist Queen Hitomi in getting ready for the royal physician's visit and you have to get going to your daily council meeting. Are you not already late for it, young master?"
"I suppose so." Van shrugged, making his way to the door. "Rest well, Lady Hitomi." He nonetheless said with a small smile, before disappearing behind it. "…You can always answer me some other time."
Hope you enjoyed the chapter. Until next time :)