Volume 5 - CH 3.08

「Your Highness!」

Camuñas, who had rushed into the greenhouse, gasping for air, hurriedly wiped the sweat oozing on his forehead and began to talk rapidly.

「T, t-t, the queen, is , is returning!」

「That sort of thing, I know about it」

「Ha!?」

While having a page fan him with a large round paper fan, Isaac was pruning the roses without even looking back at Camuñas.

「H, how did you know? Even though the messenger who came to announce beforehand just arrived a moment ago—」

「That’s because if you count backwards from the day Haha-ue’s party left Gloom, you’ll know that she’ll arrive tomorrow or the day after tomorrow」

It was a distance of about five days, being jolted in the carriage leisurely and peacefully, from Gloom where Queen Almudena had been recuperating to this Roma, and there was no rough path along the way where they’d be stranded either.

「B, but Your Highness…! We didn’t receive the information of the queen leaving Gloom itself until today, you know? Despite this, how did Your Highness know the date and time of her departure—」

「Ah, that’s because I heard them from Chichi-ue」

「Haa!?」

The truth, which was a bolt from the blue, was thrust at Camuñas again, and he opened his eyes wide.

「I mean, it was Chichi-ue who instructed Haha-ue. He told her to leave Gloom secretly and come back so that she wouldn’t be found out」

「W, why did His Majesty issue such instructions!? Moreover, to have even kept it secret from us—」

「It’s probably to uncover the assassins」

「A, assassination!?」

「…You’re so noisy」

Isaac, who was surprised by Camuñas’s voice and almost cut off a large rose, tossed the shears.

「Chichi-ue had sensed that the wicked fox in Taroma was thinking of killing Haha-ue, and then he secretly provided her with bodyguards」

「When you say “the wicked fox in Taroma”, don’t tell me you mean, Countess Dryton—?」

「Yes, her」

Isaac, who had waved his hand to get the page to leave, removed his gloves and looked back.

Even though Camuñas, who was first-class on domestic affairs, understood that Purna Dryton was a wicked woman, it was certainly unexpected that the king’s womanising would even develop into an assassination plot against the queen. One might be able to say that it was because it was Jeffren Francesc that he could smell the stench of a scheme in the countess’s slight change.

Isaac, who had gulped down the water of a water jug, in which lemons and ice were floating, and then taken a rest, put his hands on his waist and bent and stretched lightly.

「…And then, the countess who knew that Haha-ue would be returning to the capital with a small number of people  hired assassins and had them attack her during the journey. —However, she had the tables turned on her splendidly. It’s probably because such a trouble had been mostly solved that Haha-ue’s party would dispatch a messenger to notify us of her return」

「Solved…?」

「Anyway, we’ll hear the details from Costacurta-geika afterwards. After all, the ones serving as Haha-ue’s guards are actually Her Eminence and Richternach-kyou」

「What… n, now that you mention it, I hadn’t seen them these few days or so, but the reason was like that, huh—」

「That’s how it is. If you understand, then—」

「Then, Your Highness!」

Return to your work quickly; Isaac was about to say that to drive Camuñas away, but Camuñas refused to back down, his eyes sparkling for some reason.

「—The queen getting well and returning is a joyous matter in any case! Therefore, whether it’s called a tea party or a garden party, how about holding a banquet to receive the queen at least? If we decorate the venue ornately with the flowers Your Highness had cultivated and then Your Highness personally receives the queen, she’ll surely be delighted!」

「……」

Isaac kept his mouth shut and stared fixedly at Camuñas, who was smiling while wiping his sweat.

It was unusual that Camuñas, who should be running around busily all the time because of the things the king and the Crown Prince had done, would personally suggest doing something in this way. More importantly, this full smile of his was suspicious.

「…You’re planning something, aren’t you?」

「Ha? No no no no」

「It’s not “no no no no”; I’m asking if you’re planning something」

「T, that kind of… w, what would you say I’m planning?」

「I wouldn’t have asked in detail if I knew. …I can somehow guess it though」

「No no no no, Y, Your Highness is thinking too much!」

「…Well, that’s fine」

「A, anyway!」

Camuñas retreated slowly.

「Please leave the selection of the venue, the preparations of the food and drinks, and the arrangements for the garden party to this me! I’ll make arrangements as soon as possible! T, then, I shall take my leave!」

He left those words behind like that and went out of the greenhouse at a quick pace.

「…Well, the fact that these flowers, which I’ve been cultivating because of my hobby, could be of use to some extent might be something I should be pleased with」

Isaac, who had followed Camuñas with his eyes, surveyed the flowers inside the greenhouse and sighed lightly.