16th Red Ash Moon, 908

Following the trail down the rocky roads and having to navigate around the Outlands, Serell and Linota eventually came up on the fabled town bordering on the lawless territory. From their steeds, they saw the infamous Copper Gorge and remnants of mining facilities built near the edge. After that was the old mining town of Copper Bluff, small town roughly two or three times larger than Castle Talbot.

The two knights signaled their Tauros steeds to slow down at the town entrance. They slid off and patted their sides. "Alright. You boys check in somewhere. We may be here for a week at most."

They nodded. "As you wish, Dame Linota." They went ahead into the town.

Serell crossed his arms and squinted. "Yeesh. This place still looks like an old mining town. Some of the buildings look like they haven't changed in decades."

"And it's pretty out of the way, too," Linota added, glancing over her shoulder. "I can't imagine anyone being brave enough to come this far out near the Outlands. Then again, I can't imagine folks living this close to the Outlands."

Serell pulled up the hood of his cloak. "Well, whatever the case, best to start looking. Adenine's family owns a tailor shop, right? Shouldn't take too long to find."

Linota pulled her hood up. "Let's move."

They crossed through the town gateway and made their way down the main road. Upon passing through, they took note of the people going about their day. For the most part, everything seemed normal as Pokémon walked to and from different buildings as part of their daily routes. Though, it didn't take long before eyes fell upon the two, some more mistrusting than others.

Whispers floated around as the two passed by, some speaking of suspicion against two strangers wandering into the town. It made Serell feel a bit self-conscious, pulling tighter on his hood. Linota paid the unwanted attention no mind and kept her eyes ahead.

"Geez, do we really stand out that badly?" Serell mumbled.

"They're probably on guard," Linota whispered. "Living on the Outland's boundary, they would be naturally suspicious of newcomers like us. Just don't draw any unnecessary attention to yourself."

"Yeah, yeah."

"What the hell's this shit? You call this ale?!"

The knights stopped and glanced over at the outdoor seating area of a bar. They spotted a Chesnaught and Toedscruel harassing a Quilava barmaid. The Chesnaught wore a massive brown coat with the back blown out for his shell and gray pants. The Toedscruel merely wore a black cloak over his body. Both men also happened to be wearing white bandanas with the golden letters 'DMS' written across.

Serell narrowed his eyes. What the…?

The Chesnaught waved his tankard at her. "You trying to poison me with this or something?!"

The Quilava winced. "A-Ah'm terribly sorry, sir. Ah'll go get ya a refill." She took the tankard and ran off.

"Make sure it's the good stuff, woman!" the Chesnaught yelled. He groaned. "Is everyone in this town incompetent?"

"Mind your manners, Vitus," the Toedscruel informed. "We're on break, remember?"

He huffed. "Whatever." He glanced over and noticed Serell and Linota's staring. He glared at them. "Whatcha' looking at?"

Linota pulled her hood down and glared. "Has anyone ever taught you to be polite? That poor girl looked like she was in tears."

Vitus waved it off. "Bah. It's her fault for bringing me crappy ale. I swear, no appreciation from these people."

Linota scowled and took one step forward. "You think harassing other people is funny?"

Serell grabbed her shoulder and tried to pull her back. "What happened to not drawing attention to ourselves?"

Vitus smirked. "What a woman. I haven't been talked back to like that in a while. Maybe I can interest you in a drink as well, milady?"

She snarled. "I'd rather eat dirt."

"Feisty~."

The Toedscruel sighed. "Knock it off, you idiot." He glared at the pair. "I don't remember seeing you two around here before."

Serell pulled Linota back and laughed nervously. "Just…passing through. Don't mind us."

"Hmph. Do yourself a favor and teach the rat to keep her mouth shut. Count yourselves lucky you're new here."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Linota growled.

Vitus grinned. "If you want to see for yourself, come a little closer."

She nearly did, but Serell squeezed her wrist and shot her a firm glare. She glared back at him, but got the message across. She growled through clenched teeth and straightened up. "Come on. These idiots aren't worth our time." They continued on ahead.

Vitus waved to them. "Enjoy your stay here in Copper Bluff~."

Linota scowled, but kept it hidden under her hood. She cautiously glanced back to see the Quilava barmaid returning with a fresh tankard of ale and looking as meek in front of the thuggish brutes as before.

"We're out of our jurisdiction," Serell reminded. "We can't go around starting fights, especially since this mission is off the books."

Linota groaned. "I'm a freakin' knight. I shouldn't be letting crap like that go on scot-free."

"I don't like it either. Let's just…focus on our task."

"…Right. Thanks for holding me back."

"Looking out for my own neck personally, but you're welcome."

"Think this is the place?"

The knights wandered around for another ten or fifteen minutes before finding an old, withered building tucked away on the east side of town. The building stood two stories tall. Blue paint chipped off the wooden exterior. An unlit lantern hung from the awning and gently swayed with the wind. A large window showcased a wicker dress form with a blue dress and matching hat.

Linota squinted at the sign hanging by two rusty changes. "Brennan Tailor Shoppe. Yeah, I'd say this is the right place."

Serell dusted his cloak off. "Alright, uh…how should we start this exactly?"

"How about by heading inside first?" she suggested. He rolled his eyes as she pushed the door in, followed by a bell ringing over their heads.

They stepped into the shop and, as the door shut behind them, admired the modest arrangement of clothes on display. A few racks of clothes and a changing room tucked away in the corner. The front counter sat near the left side of the door, where a male Granbull in a plain white shirt and overalls propped his feet up and read a book.

Linota raised her brow. "Well, I wasn't expecting anything fancy."

Serell approached the counter. "Uh, excuse me, sir?"

The Granbull looked down from his book for a moment before hollering, "Ma, Pa! We got a customer!"

The knights glanced at each other awkwardly until a male Kecleon and female Granbull walked out from the backroom. The Kecleon, wearing a brown coat and black pants, smiled and walked up to the knights. "Howdy. Welcome to the Brennan Tailor Shoppe, where we accommodate all yer clothin' needs. Need a fittin'? Need a new outfit? Adjustments? We do it all!"

Serell smiled meekly. "Uh, wow. Talk about a friendly welcome."

The Kecleon laughed. "Well, we here at Copper Bluff always believe in a positive attitude with our work." He extended his hand to them. "Ah'm Doc. This here's mah wife, Pearl."

The Granbull, wearing a blue dress with sleeves, curtsied. "Pleasure to have ya."

"And that there's our boy, Monroe."

The other Granbull, returning to his book, gave them a simple wave. "Hey."

Linota bowed back. "Nice to meet you all. I am Linota, and this is Serell."

Doc crossed his arms and grinned. "Haven't seen the likes of ya around these parts. Ya new to town?" His expression drooped a bit. "Heh, and…ya wouldn't happen to be here regardin' taxes, right?"

"Huh?" the knights responded.

Sensing their confused expressions, Doc returned to smiling. "Never mind! So, what'll it be? Perhaps some new cloaks? Ya both look like seasoned travelers, Ah can tell."

Linota rolled her eyes. "Uh, not exactly. Yes, we're from out of town, but we came here to…find work. Right, Serell?"

"Huh? Oh, right! Yeah, work."

Monroe snorted. "Ya city folk picked the wrong town to be findin' work."

"Monroe, manners!" Pearl scolded.

He winced. "Sorry, Ma."

Doc waved him off and grinned at the knights. "Don't mind mah boy. It's just…we're not used to gettin' visitors here in Copper Bluff. Kind of a rarity, ya could say. Not a whole lot of friendly faces here."

I'll say. Linota restrained herself from growling over the earlier experience.

Serell laughed and wrung his hands together. "Well, we're used to a little hostility, so it's not out of place for us. If we have to adjust to some rougher characters here, so be it. We've been traveling far and could really use somewhere to settle down and earn some coin before we get back on the road."

Pearl smiled. "Well, we'd be more than obliged to help ya out with that. Truth be told, we don't need any help. We're more than capable of managin' the shop with just us three, but nothin' wrong with lendin' a hand. It's the neighborly thin' to do."

Linota smiled. "Well, we don't mean to impose—"

"Nonsense!" Doc interjected. "If mah wife's fine with it, it's fine by me." He patted their shoulders. "We'd be more than happy to start ya off today and give ya the spare room upstairs."

The knights' eyes widened. "O-Oh, uh…wow," Linota mumbled. "That's a bit much—"

"It's no trouble at all. We Brennans do our part to help our community, even for a couple of out-of-towners. Monroe can show ya to the guest room while we get ya set up for the work shift. It's a bit of a slow day, but it'll start pickin' up in the later hours."

Pearl curtsied again. "Make yerselves comfortable durin' yer stay." She and Doc headed to the backroom.

Monroe set his book down and stretched. "Alright, follow me." He got up from behind the counter, but stopped to glare at them. "Ya two don't have weapons on ya, right?"

They glanced at each other. "Uh…"

"Hand them over."

"…" They sighed and undid their dagger holsters, handing them off to Monroe.

He tucked them into the large pocket on his overalls. "Ah figured as much. No one's stupid enough to come out here without a weapon."

Linota raised her brow. "You don't trust us, do you?"

"Hard to trust anyone out here. If Ah catch ya robbin' mah folks, though…" He slid his finger across his throat. "Got it?"

Serell winced. "Loud and clear."

He nodded and waved them along to another door in the back. "Follow me." He opened the door, revealing a spiral staircase leading up. Linota and Serell followed behind, closing the door behind them.

Verde Kingdom

She finally found the time to sneak away and get some work done. JoJo managed to task Charlie with distracting Nathaniel again, this time with a game of checkers and the Clobbopus purposefully ignorant to how the game was played. She almost forgot to sneak off, too absorbed at the amusing sight of Sir Nathaniel having to explain why the pieces needed to move diagonally and why there wasn't a queen piece to pair with the king.

That kid is good at asking the most trivial of questions. I'm so proud.

With her chance to sneak off, JoJo took her time to invade Roscoe's study. She made swift work raiding his desk and drawers for anything suspicious. Letters, scrolls, and the bookshelves were raided. She had to be fast, but she managed to skim through just about everything she got her hands on in less than fifteen minutes.

Unfortunately, once again, she wasn't coming up with anything of use. It was either work documents or boring books she couldn't bother to read thoroughly. No hidden compartments in the desk, no secret space inside the drawers, and nothing so far from the bookshelves.

JoJo walked up to the bookshelves on the left side of the room, the last one to be examined. She traced her fingers across the spines and grunted. This is ridiculous. Maybe Jason's being paranoid over nothing. There's no way Roscoe would hide anything explicit out in the open. Does he expect me to find some hidden compartment in this room?

She considered the possibility one of the books was attached to a hidden switch that could open a hidden compartment, but to test them all? She wasted enough time reading through boring documents about recent road construction or health code violations at a bakery.

She sighed and started pulling on books mindlessly. "So stupid…"

She moved her hands along the spines, quickly pulling and shoving on books. She stretched her arms to reach the higher shelves, barely paying attention. Unbeknownst to her, as she reached the fourth shelf, her hand was seven books away from one volume in particular. A plain blue book, nothing out of the ordinary and nothing remarkable about it.

Six books. Five. Four. Three. Two.

JoJo pulled on the next book over and still nothing. She yawned and set her hand on one after. Maybe I should try raiding his room again.

She lazily pulled on the book and—

"Princess! Where are you?"

JoJo yelped and let go of the book. Crap! I've been found out! She pushed the book back into place and hurried to the door.

She stretched one eye under the door and peered around. She was relieved to see it was Ortwin looking for her, not Nathaniel. He had his back turned to the study. She quietly melted her way under the door and reformed under the guise of the princess with an innocent smile.

"Good day, Ortwin."

"WAH!" He turned around and stared at her in surprise. "P-Princess? Where'd you come from?"

"Hmm? I was standing here the whole time," she insisted.

"You…huh?"

"I was just coming back from the washroom. I did not want to bother Nathaniel and Charlie during their game."

Ortwin blinked twice and sighed. "My eyesight's worsening each year…"

"I am sorry if I caused any distress."

The old Noivern shook his head. "Never you mind that. Follow me to the foyer." Hobbling on his cane, he gestured her down the hall.

JoJo groaned under her breath and dragged her feet behind him. I swear, if this is another ribbon cutting ceremony…

JoJo followed the old dragon into the foyer, where she spotted Charlie and their guards already in attendance. She snickered at the Lucario knight's frazzled appearance, no doubt from his unnecessary explanation of a simple game.

"You'll be happy to know, princess, that you have a visitor who wishes to see you."

JoJo snapped out of her thoughts. "A visit—"

"Hello, Melissa. How have you been?"

The fur stood up on the back of her neck as the faux rabbit turned to the main doors. To her horror, standing with luggage at their side, it was Prince Erasmus and two of his knights in attendance. He waved to her with his usual charming smile.

"E-E-Erasmus?!" JoJo gasped. She gulped and worked a forced smile. "O-Oh, uh…hello, dear friend. I was not expecting you. At all."

Ortwin bowed to her. "Prince Erasmus traveled from the Senbo Kingdom to observe your recovery."

Erasmus nodded. "Indeed. How could I possibly not check on my former fiancé after such troubling times? The royal lifestyle must have been harrowing to readjust to. Since my current duties have been…alleviated, to put it lightly, I took it upon myself to visit. Think of it as a vacation."

JoJo's fake smile wavered. "O-Oh. You…should not have." Really, you shouldn't have. At all!

Gaufroi bowed. "I do hope our presence won't be cause for concern. I understand the Verde and Senbo Kingdoms had a rocky start due to prior negotiations—"

Ortwin shook his head. "Say no more. You are still considered our allies here. You are welcome to stay."

Charlie raced over to his fellow prince and held his hand out. "Hello! I'm Charlie!"

Erasmus smiled and shook his hand. "Erasmus Talbot. You are the prince I have been hearing so much about?"

"Uh huh! My big sister is teaching me how to be a great ruler—"

"How sweet."

"—and how to manipulate people with schemes!"

A pin could be heard dropping from how quiet it became. All eyes fell on the false princess, who pulled on her dress collar and laughed awkwardly. "Kids these days. Always saying the strangest things. N-No, Charlie. Not manipulate or schemes. It's persuade and…uh, complex opportunities for a better tomorrow." She laughed nervously.

Erasmus raised his brow. "Hmm…"

"Oh, my bad!" Charlie exclaimed. "Sorry, I used to live as a thief. I got the words mixed up."

Rikmai grinned and patted his head. "Oh, that's okay. Honest mistake."

JoJo sighed internally. Oh sweet merciful Mew, thank you!

Erasmus narrowed his eyes a bit, but soon shifted to a smile. "Well, I know Melissa has much to teach you about the future. A shame you lost your right to the throne, my friend."

JoJo waved it off. "Oh, that? Pft! Small sacrifices. I mean, yeah, still recovering from the whole being held prisoner fiasco. HA!"

Erasmus approached and took her hand in his paw. "Rest assured, though, I will see to your recovery every step of the way. I owe you that much."

"Heh. Great. And you will be staying the week?"

"Perhaps longer if Father permits it."

"Oh. Wonderful!" Damn this arrogant, chivalrous cat! Screw off! I have enough people watching my back already!

Ortwin bowed. "Shall I escort you all to the guest chambers?"

Erasmus smiled. "Much appreciated, my good man. Gaufroi, Rikmai, bring our luggage." He and his knights followed the old dragon up the stairs.

Nathaniel walked over to JoJo and smiled. "Well, isn't that nice of him to come all this way for you? You must feel special."

"Oh yes," she said through gritted teeth. "I am the luckiest girl in the world right now…"

Copper Bluff, Wick Kingdom

Monroe pushed open the door to the guest room and let Serell and Linota through. It was a cramped space with the bed taking up a quarter of the room. A writing desk stood by the small circular window, which let in a little light, and a small wardrobe stood beside the bed.

Linota raised her brow. "Huh."

Monroe sighed. "Yah, yah, Ah know. Not exactly luxury. Sorry, but it's the only space we got. Hope ya two don't mind sharin'."

The knights shared an irritable grimace with each other, but shook off their worries. "No, no. This will suffice," Linota said. "We can make do with this space."

Monroe nodded. "Alright. Be down in half an hour. Ma and Pa should have work for ya by then." He stepped back and shut the door behind him.

Serell listened out for the Granbull as he walked away. Once he was out of earshot, he sighed. "Friendly welcoming from him."

"I call the bed," Linota said, sitting down on the mattress.

"Wha—hey! Why can't I sleep on the bed?!"

"If you wanted it, you should've asked first."

"That's not fair! Do you always have to push me around with stuff like this? Do you expect me to sleep on the floor?"

"Well, I'm certainly not sharing with you."

"You make it sound like I'm going to kick you in my sleep!"

"It's a matter of you doing in on purpose—" Linota caught herself and took a deep breath. "You know what? Let's worry about this later. We promised the prince we wouldn't argue during our mission." She sighed through her nose. "How about this? We switch off every night. One of us takes the bed tonight, the other gets it tomorrow."

"…Fine." Serell crossed his arms and sighed. "So, what do you think so far?"

"I hate this town."

"Yeah, same here."

Linota slid off the bed and paced around, which consisted of a small patch of floor. "I expected some tough individuals, but I didn't expect our first interactions being literal thugs. I swear, if we were in Senbo—"

"You'd still be in trouble for starting a fight," Serell reminded.

"Oh yeah, because you're clearly the picture of good will. Get serious, His Highness is the reason you aren't serving a prison sentence right now."

"I never got arrested for fighting! I'm not the one with a bad temper."

Linota rolled her eyes. "We're getting off topic here. The point is, this…this isn't Senbo. Not even the worst parts of Senbo. Just something about this place doesn't sit right with me. The people are suspicious and jerks like that get to roam around consequence free for whatever reason. I could've put an end to that."

Serell frowned. "Lin, take it from me, you don't want to get involved with guys like that. It never ends well."

"Why? Cutting down jerks always worked for me on the streets."

"But like you said, this isn't the streets of Senbo. I don't know what's up with this town, but we should just mind our own business and look into Adenine's past here. Helping others doesn't me you'll be able to help them."

"…" Linota eased up and frowned. "But that's all I know how to do. If you don't stand up for others, who will?"

"Sometimes it just makes things worse. Just…forget about the town for the week and focus on the assignment. Maybe that incident with those jerks was just a one-time thing."

"…" Linota closed her eyes and exhaled through her nose. "Fine. Fine, whatever. But don't expect me to stay silent forever." She opened the door and stepped out into the hallway. "I'm going to tour around the house for a moment." She shut the door behind her.

Serell sighed and fell back onto the bed, rubbing his eyes. Believe me, Linota, I didn't like our introduction to this town either. You aren't the only one getting a bad vibe about this town.

Later…

Adorning work aprons, Linota and Serell started their first day of work. Linota was tasked with gathering fabric for Pearl as she worked on dresses while Serell swept the floors. Monroe manned the front of the shop as usual, engrossed in his book, while Doc placed new clothes on the racks and shelves.

Serell looked up from his sweeping and asked, "So, you made all the clothes here? By yourself?"

Doc laughed. "Pearl is a talented seamstress. Ah'm not too shabby mahself. A lot of backbreakin' labor around these parts. We occasionally get customers from out of town, though they're few and far between as ya can imagine. But we get enough business to get by each year."

Pearl joined the conversation from the back. "It's not a whole lot, but it's honest work."

Serell raised his brow. "Huh. So, what kind of work does the town do? I heard the gorge hasn't been in use for over eighty years. Wasn't that Copper Bluff's main source of income back then?"

"…" Doc shrugged off some jitters and grinned over his shoulder. "Oh, don't go worryin' over that. We've been…doin' fine without the gorge. As long as business for us stays afloat, it's…a livin', Ah tell ya."

The Togetic frowned. "Ooookay."

Linota stepped out from the back with some fabric tucked under her arms. "It's amazing you get any business outside of town given how rude everyone is."

Doc smiled apologetically. "Oh, the whole town isn't like that. Just a bit jumpy with strangers."

"What I went through was not what I would call jumpy."

"There's just some folks who don't have a way with their manners, that's all. Plenty of folks in town are very nice."

Linota rolled her eyes. "I'll believe it when I see—"

RING!

"Awful! Simply awful!"

Serell and Linota jumped as a Clefable came charging into the store. Monroe looked up from his book and met eyes with the frantic Clefable before pointing toward the back. She ran to the back and peeked inside, followed by a started gasp from Pearl.

"Oh dear, Clarissa. What now?"

The Clefable, Clarissa, put a hand to her forehead and sighed dramatically. "Oh Pearl, it's just awful! The clothes Ah bought mah youngest have been completely ruined! Oh, so dreadful!"

Pearl stepped out from the back. "Ruined how?" The Clefable reached into a bag she brought along and presented the mud-soaked clothes. They were completely drenched, their original colors unidentifiable. "Oh dear, he was roughhousin' in the mud again."

Clarissa sighed. "Ah was hopin' he would wear these to school instead of those old rags we have. Oh, it's simply awful!"

Pearl patted her shoulder. "Do not fret further. Ah'm no stranger to gettin' mud off clothes. Ah have a homemade formula that should do the trick."

Clarissa smiled. "Oh, bless ya, Pearl! Ah knew Ah could count on ya! Ah'll make it up to ya with a homemade pie this week."

Pearl smiled. "Oh, ya don't have to—"

"Ah insist. It's the least we can do for yer family."

Linota glanced at Serell. In silent agreement, they both sensed a pang of sadness in the Clefable's tone. Could it have something to do with Adenine?

Doc dusted his hands off. "Alright, alright, we've got work to do. Clarissa, ya can leave the clothes with us and we'll have them back to ya by the end of the week. Will that be a problem?"

Clarissa sighed. "Ah'd prefer mah boy have nice clothes, but Ah suppose his regular ones will have to do for another few days."

"Great! Ya can give them to the Togetic over there."

Serell's eyes widened. "Give them to who now—" Clarissa raced over and shoved the muddied clothes into his arms. He shivered in disgust as the mud pressed into his shirt, making Linota snicker.

"Thank ya all! Have a wonderful evenin'!" Clarissa headed out the door, but it opened before her. "Oh, thank ya." She curtsied and walked around the Goodra holding the door open. The Goodra walked in afterwards.

"Evenin', Doc," he greeted. "Bad time to drop in?"

Doc shook his head. "Not at all. Serell, take those upstairs and place them in the washroom tub for now."

"Uh, sure." Serell walked over to the hidden staircase door, moved it open with his foot, and went upstairs.

Doc smiled at the Goodra. "What can Ah help ya with, Stephen?"

The Goodra laughed awkwardly. "Nothin' really. Just lettin' ya know there'll be a delay on mah shipment. Y'all are stocked up on plenty of food still, right?"

Doc nodded. "We should be. We can last a couple more weeks."

"That's perfect. It'll be here by the end of the week regardless. Oh, and Ah took the liberty addin' some extra stuff to the order. Ya know, like if ya want to bake some treats or somethin'."

"Oh, ya didn't have to—"

"Ah insist. Y'all need the help, and we can't let one of our own down. Think of it as a thank ya."

Doc sighed, but smiled. "Well, thank ya anyway. Since ya're here, fancy a wardrobe change?"

Stephen grinned. "Ah suppose a little browsin' wouldn't hurt." He walked around Doc and a perplexed Linota to check out the clothes.

Linota glanced at Doc. "Food shipments? I thought you said you make plenty of money."

Doc sighed. "Well, plenty enough to get by on small meals. Stephen buys up tons of food for the tavern here, but he gives a decent share to us. He's an old friend, and he doesn't mind sparin' some of his products."

"Huh."

He grinned. "Like Ah told ya, not everyone here's like those brutes ya encountered. We receive a lot of favors from our neighbors. It's a mite embarrassin', Ah admit."

"Clearly. How come, though?"

"…" Doc looked away. "Ehm. No reason. Just…makin' the days go by easier." He shook his head and stepped away. "Ah should get back to restockin' the racks."

Linota frowned. "Hmm…"

"Ugh!" She heard Serell walking up behind her, scrubbing the mud off his shirt with a rag. "I hope that special formula can fix my shirt, too."

"The Brennans seem pretty popular with the town according to Doc," Linota mentioned.

"Hmm?"

"They seem to receive a lot of favors from the town, and without need of repayment. Just…kind little gestures just because."

Serell frowned. "You don't suppose…?"

"It's a hunch."

"…" Serell reached under his shirt. "Actually, while I was dumping the clothes in the washroom, I happened to find this on my way down." He pulled her aside near some racks and showed a framed portrait.

Linota's eyes widened at the portrait of Adenine Brennan in a white blouse and blue skirt, smiling with her hands crossed delicately in her lap. She seemed so peaceful, a far cry from the nervous wreck they were familiar with.

"I found it in Doc and Pearl's room," Serell whispered. "Yeah, yeah, shouldn't steal, I know."

"…So, they still remember her."

"There's more." He turned the frame around, showing something written on the back.

Ma. Pa. Monroe. Ah'm mighty sorry for bein' a burden. Please stay safe, and stay strong. Ah'll be fine. Ah promise.

-Love, Adenine

Linota frowned. "Burden? What does that mean?"

Serell shook his head and hid the portrait away. "Don't know, but…it might be in our best interest not to bring up Adenine while we're here. They'd get suspicious if we start asking about her. We'll just have to figure out what happened on our own."

"…" Linota closed her eyes and sighed. "Right."

Verde Kingdom, Sundown

Silence permeated through the dinner hall, save for the occasional smacking of the lips as the occupants ate their meals. JoJo and Charlie sat on one side of the table while Erasmus sat on the other, joined on both sides by Gaufroi and Rikmai. They all ate a gorgeous occa berry steak with a side of mixed vegetables prepared by Gustavo.

JoJo minded how she ate, feeling Erasmus' judging stare directed onto her. She knew enough about the cat to know he was highly perceptive when focused on something that interested him. She couldn't be sure if the way she ate was a dead giveaway, so she took whatever table manners she absorbed in the last several weeks and focused all her attention on looking prim and proper.

I don't remember dinner being this stressful, she thought.

Erasmus looked up from his meal and cleared his throat. "So, Melissa. How have you been recovering since your return?"

"Eh?" JoJo snapped out of her thoughts and forced a smile. "Oh, uh…quite swimmingly. Though, I must admit, I am simply tired from all the events I attended. Everyone…shows their appreciation for my return in their own way."

Erasmus nodded. "Indeed. Having gone the year with your disappearance, they wished to celebrate your return. I suppose, in some way, we should be grateful to have found you when we did, even if the incident costed us the train."

"Heh, yeah. I am sorry about that."

"Fret not. Once my father makes peace with our subjects and assigns a new heir in my place, he will return to constructing a safer train system." Erasmus leaned back in his seat. "He wants to make an effort to connect our allies together and ensure peace between our kingdoms." He frowned and looked off to the side. "My father makes an honest effort, though sometimes I wonder to what expense…"

JoJo frowned back and prodded at her steak. "Being a leader must be exhausting."

"It is taxing. I held a lot of responsibilities as the heir, and I messed up because of my lack of foresight. Stubbornly ignoring the obvious truth in front of me while I focused more on the task at paw. I regret a lot of things as of late, but your recovery brings an inkling of hope."

"Heh. Good to know."

Erasmus glared at her. "I am curious as to what happened during your capture. Being held prisoner for so long must have been taxing itself. If you do not mind me asking…"

"Eh?" JoJo dropped her fork and glanced off to the side. Hoo boy, uh…

Charlie raised his hand to speak. "My big sister didn't let those big bullies mess with her! She told them straight who the boss was and lived in luxury!"

Erasmus and his knights stared at the adopted prince in bewilderment before looking at JoJo, who tried her hardest to hide the panic inside with a small, unassuming smile and coincidentally wide eyes.

Why did I have to showoff in front of my not-brother?!

Gaufroi rested his chin on his fist and huffed. "Really now? That's quite impressive, princess. I didn't think you could be so bold. We were under the impression you were living in horrible conditions."

JoJo gulped and laughed nervously. "Did I say that? I think I may have embellished some of the truth when I told Charlie. I-I mean, I certainly did not let them intimidate me, but…well, you can never be too careful. I knew they would use me as a bargaining chip, so I knew they would not rough me up too badly. Heh."

Gaufroi nodded. "I see."

Rikmai drummed her digits on the table with a tinge of red in her cheeks. "By any chance, during captivity, did you happen to see a Smeargle?"

JoJo eyed her oddly. "Uh, sure?"

"Cool, cool. So, speaking from a tactical perspective, do you know anything about him? Is he seeing anyone? Does he have a type? What does he think about Vaporeon? Or women who come from upper class? And does he think women who work in forges are attractive—" She paused, feeling the baffled stares she was getting from everyone at the table. "Uh…purely for tactical purposes, of course."

Gaufroi facepalmed. "Good grief…"

Charlie laughed. "Her face is all red!"

Rikmai whimpered and sank back into her chair. "Heh…um, never mind."

JoJo blinked at her. Okay, jotting THAT down in case I need to distract her.

Erasmus shook his head. "Forgive Rikmai, she has been…fixated as of late." Rikmai sank further down into her chair, hiding her embarrassment. "Back to the topic at hand, I find it impressive you held your own in captivity. I did not think you had it in you."

JoJo waved it off. "Oh, it was nothing—"

"Though, you sounded much more traumatized by the events when we found you."

Curse my overblown acting! JoJo winced internally before smiling at him. "Oh, I was just so relieved to see a familiar face that I got emotional."

"Hmm, that so? Tell me, while you were held captive, how much did you see or hear?"

The shapeshifter eyed him suspiciously. "What do you mean?"

"I am curious as to what prompted the Foresters to attack Castle Talbot a couple months ago, or to attempt an assassination on my brother."

JoJo winced. "The…assassination?"

Erasmus glared. Her answer does not matter in the end. I do not expect her to learn every trivial piece of information in the Foresters' secret hideout. They obviously were not responsible for Dimitri's near-death experience, but I need to hear it from a different perspective. If they were not responsible, why would Darby go so far to blame them? On top of that, if Darby set everything up, that means he did something to Vanessa that forced her to take the fall as a scapegoat. If Melissa heard something, it may tell us the bigger picture.

JoJo bit her lip. If I hint to anything about the assassination and the fallout, it might not look good on me. Does he suspect something? I wouldn't have access to all that information if I really was a captive. Depending on what I say, it may look suspicious. The Foresters don't have to worry about spies, but the story is that Melissa was held captive. He doesn't just want to know what happened, but he's testing how much I do know. What if I mention something Melissa shouldn't know? However, I already confirmed I had a fair assessment of the base and what goes on around it. Staying silent or ignorant may not work out either.

She took a deep breath and smiled. "Heh, hard to say. I remember a lot of buzz going around their hideout. Sounded like an emergency."

Erasmus glared. An impromptu retreat. They never planned on going to the Senbo Kingdom then. But Adenine and her friends were there, and they are all Foresters. So, either that was an unofficial infiltration mission or Adenine just wanted company given the tense situation she was in. Regardless, if it was a matter of emergency—

That might clue him in Dimitri's assassination wasn't our fault, JoJo thought as she cut into her steak. Assassinations aren't typically performed in the spur of the moment.

"That so?" Erasmus continued. "Must have been important."

JoJo sighed and shrugged. "Aside from that, I do not know much else. Though, the food they were giving me progressively got worse. Something about preserving meals for the rest of the hideout."

Preserving meals? Was there a food shortage? Erasmus thought. Or maybe a food shortage was going to happen. The Foresters no doubt had some supporters, otherwise there's no explanation for how they could feed an entire guild.

JoJo squinted. He's definitely testing my knowledge. I clued him in that the Foresters have been steadily losing influence. It means—

Darby planned all of this to weaken the Foresters. And he manipulated my family and me with Dimitri's condition. It makes the most sense. Erasmus glared. But that still does not explain the motive. Darby, you would not have gone this far unless something else was at stake. This was not a case of you getting rid of troublesome thieves. You attempted to sic the Senbo military on the Verde Kingdom even if it led to a war. However, there is something else…

"This isn't Melissa! Harlow is Melissa! I saw it!"

Darby did not sound like he was lying, and why would he even lie about something like that?

"Melissa, out of curiosity…"

JoJo winced. What now?

"Have you gotten a good look at Harlow's face before? Does it strike you as familiar?"

Her eyes widened. Why is he asking that? "Uh, I am not sure. Why do you ask?"

Erasmus closed his eyes. "Just…asking. No reason in particular." He returned to eating his steak, as did his knights.

JoJo reluctantly continued eating hers, maintaining her composure as her very soul trembled from his prodding. She knew the moment he walked into the castle this was going to be a difficult couple of weeks to get through. After everything he went through, it seems like he was taking an active approach toward the tragedies that have been unfolding. And with that last question still ringing in her ears, the purpose became obvious.

This is not just a vacation for the prince. This is a prolonged interrogation against me.

Meanwhile…

"We'll be coming up on the Wick Kingdom tomorrow afternoon, Your Majesty. We'll camp out here for the night."

"Aye. Sure."

Three days of travel for the Verde king, and Roscoe still hadn't come up with a plan to escape his knights. Not that there were many options for him to flee in the middle nowhere. His status as king left him as a target out in the open, especially so far away from home. It didn't help he was inexperienced with surviving on his own outside civilized society, meaning a successful escape meant another several days trekking on his own without support.

The Lopunny held his face in his hand and groaned. Even if I explain to Wilkin my summons, Matthias likely told the knights not to leave my side for a second. I won't be able to reconvene with Terrowin at this rate without raising suspicion. There's just no possible way to escape.

His only hope was that Wilkin had a solution to his troubles. Though he despised the man, his craftiness would prove useful if he gave enough reason to be left unattended. It might take heaps of convincing, but whatever allowed him peace of mind to escape his royal duties without a region wide disaster unfolding.

This is all the Foresters' fault. By kidnapping my daughter, Matthias has made doubly sure nothing happens to any of us. Tch. Then again, he's probably more concerned taking care of Melissa than me. She's a true-blooded heir, not me. Roscoe closed his eyes. Melissa…

Perhaps he was too preoccupied with his other tasks to notice, but it didn't escape him how calm Melissa was upon returning home. She had the odd panic attack or two, but…something felt off. She seemed bolder somehow. More confident in how she carried herself. He was almost certain he spotted her talking to one of a guard with grace unknown to him.

Well, that and he's also certain he saw her swiping coins from the guard while he was distracted.

Has spending time as the Foresters' prisoner changed her more than I anticipated? There's also her complete indifference to me leaving on my trip. I expected her to be a bit more upset after what happened last year. Maybe she…she doesn't care about me anymore.

The thought made him wince internally.

I wouldn't be surprised. I haven't been the best father figure. Not for a long time. He sighed and hung his head. I almost hate how I've neglected your abilities, but…

Melissa's beaming grin flashed before his mind.

I couldn't let Terrowin accept you as a candidate for the heir system.

A flash of Odolina appeared before him.

There's so much I allowed to happen that can't be forgiven.

He sighed and leaned back into his seat. He wasn't sure about anything, but one thing was certain to him: times will be changing soon, and only then may their efforts make up for the mountain of sins weighing upon his shoulders.