Chapter 6: Interrogation
The three of them moved to Euclase’s room.
“Now, you have some explaining to do!”
As Euclase stared at them with a look that demanded a straight answer, Ruri and Joshua knew they had nowhere to run. Euclase wasn’t the chancellor of the nation for nothing; the pressure they exuded was the real deal. So Joshua reluctantly explained what he’d observed about Ruri from their stint in Nadasha.
Once they heard the story, Euclase commented, “I can’t believe they’re that stupid.”
“I figured you’d think that,” Joshua replied.
Ruri listened to their conversation, pensive.
“alright, I know what happened in Nadasha. Now, you’re going to tell me why you’ve turned into a cat when you were a human up until you left Nadasha.”
“It’s apparently because Dad mucked things up.”
“You mean Claus?”
“He said he was glad I wasn’t a human Beloved. And I was afraid of how he might’ve treated me if I told him then that I actually was human, so I decided to keep things up as a cat instead.”
“Did Claus really say something like that?” Euclase asked with a look of disbelief.
“Yes, he did.” It was the honest truth.
“I don’t know what Dad meant when he said that, but it sounds like he did say it.”
Euclase breathed a heavy sigh. “I’ve got the picture now. If that’s the case here, then you just need to talk to him when you’re able to.”
“Huh? You won’t reveal I’m a human?” Ruri asked with a wide-eyed gaze, convinced they would immediately report this to Jade and Claus.
“We promised you that we wouldn’t force you into anything when you first came to the castle. You should be observant and make the call yourself. But I will tell you this. Neither Claus, nor any of us, for that matter, are so fickle as to change our behavior just because you’re a human,” Euclase stated. “Well, there is one person who might,” they added under their breath, so low that Ruri couldn’t hear it.
“Thank you very much. Also, I’m sorry for keeping this a secret this entire time.”
“It’s fine. After all, Claus may not be aware, but he’s accountable for making you feel too awkward to speak up. Although, if you keep being wishy-washy, it’ll be harder for you to do so, so I advise you to be careful about that.”
“Right, I will.” Ruri nodded, taking Euclase’s warning seriously.
“Sure, but you know the war with Nadasha is around the corner, don’t you? That’s why I was sayin’ it’s about time for you to come clean.”
Euclase nodded. “A valid point. But we still have time, so I believe she should think about it a little longer.”
“I’ll wait and see a little longer, then.” In the end, Ruri decided to put revealing her identity on hold.
“So then, now that I have the gist of your situation thus far, how does one go from human to cat, pray tell?”
Since explaining Lydia would take too long, she provided an abridged explanation. “I came into possession of a certain bracelet with an odd history. Once you put it on, you transform into a cat.”
“And that’s the bracelet you have on right now? It can even transform your scent and presence into a cat?”
“Yes, it was crafted by an overly obsessed eccentric.” It was a creepy level of obsession, to be sure, but it was also this same eccentric’s work that had helped her out this entire time.
“But why did you turn into a cat in the first place? If you had just gone to Claus as a human, then this misunderstanding would have never happened.”
“The thing is, a pair of men chased me around as soon as I got to the royal capital. I bumped into them the day after, too. I thought I would be inconveniencing Claus-san if they were to spot me as I was going into his house, so I turned into a cat. Also, I was hiding my hair and eye color in human form because of how uncommon they are, but when I was running away, I got spotted by a suspicious man, so I figured it was better to be safe than sorry.”
Euclase took an oddly long pause before asking, “...Say, Ruri? You said your hair and eye color are uncommon, but what color are they specifically?”
“My hair is platinum blonde, and my eyes are lapis-colored.”
Joshua reacted this time, sheepishly asking her, “Uh, if you don’t mind me asking, what did this suspicious man look like?”
Ruri thought about it for a moment. “If I recall, he was fully dressed in black with only a slit open for his eyes. He seemed to have an unhealthy interest in my hair color, so I took him for a slave trader and ran away as fast as I could.”
Silence descended upon the room.
“Wait, Joshua, you never once caught on?!”
“No, I mean, I never thought she was right under my nose this whole time...”
Ruri listened to their mysterious back-and-forth in confusion.
“Ruri, I need you to change back into your original form,” Euclase said anxiously.
“Huh? Right now?”
“Yes, now. Hurry.”
Urged to do so, Ruri asked Euclase to take the bracelet off for her, causing her body to radiate with light. After the light died down, Ruri appeared in her human form. Once Joshua and Euclase caught a glimpse of her platinum blonde hair and lapis lazuli eyes, they collectively looked stunned.
Joshua held his head and threw it back in frustration. “Gaah, are you freakin’ seriooous?! What in the hell was all my hard work for...?! I even extended my search to other nations, too, arghhh!!”
“You have my condolences. You did all of that hard work for nothing, it seems,” Euclase said, poking at their brow with a sigh.
“Huh? Is something wrong?” Ruri asked. They seemed surprised over something other than her being a human or her uncommon color combination, which left her confused.
“No, you needn’t worry about it, Ruri. Just a personal matter.”
Ruri tilted her head, completely stumped.
◆ ◆ ◆ ◆
Euclase and Joshua huddled together and whispered among themselves.
“Hey, you sure we shouldn’t inform His Majesty?”
“We told her that we wouldn’t tell, so our hands are tied. He will end up finding out anyway if Ruri speaks up, so there is no need to rush the process.”
“Okay, sure, but unless Ruri talks, they’re gonna make me go on this manhunt forever.”
The manhunt he spoke of was for the girl with uncommon platinum blonde hair and blue eyes that Jade had met in town. Since he had shown interest, the elders wanted him to marry her, which led to them ordering Joshua to conduct a search. That all coincided with Ruri first arriving at the castle.
Joshua regretted not catching on to that coincidence sooner. Under the assumption that this mystery girl was sold off by slave traders since he couldn’t find any trace of her, he extended his search into other nations. He never would have guessed she was right under his nose the whole time.
Technically, he did track down his target, but unless he spoke up about Ruri’s identity, they weren’t going to allow him to cut his search short. If they told him to go to another nation, he would have no choice but to oblige.
“Just concede. Your father is the cause of this in the first place,” stated Euclase, mercilessly cutting Joshua’s complaint down to size.
Joshua slumped his shoulders in defeat. “Ugh, dammit, Dad. Kind Euclase, can’t you do something, seeing as how you’re chancellor? I don’t really have the time to be working for a pointless cause, you see.”
“I understand your concern, but you know I can’t really do anything. Not with the elders in a frenzy over His Majesty saying that he showed interest in someone. Nothing I say will sway them. Until either Ruri feels inclined to speak up or His Majesty brings home a bride, it’s simply impossible,” said Euclase, somewhat peevishly.
“That’s easy for you to say. That’s not going to be an option for a good while and you know it. His Majesty has definitely forgotten he even said that by now. So what’s the point in searching?” Joshua knew this because ever since Jade told the story of the girl, he never once brought up the subject again himself.
“I can’t refute that. I swear, His Majesty’s interests are solely on Ruri right now. But considering the person he mentioned and Ruri are one and the same, I’d say his intuition led him in the right direction.”
“Bet the old timers would be ecstatic...”
“Yes, but it’d be better if they got so ecstatic they keeled over.”
“Well, they did make it their life mission to find His Majesty a bride, after all. I wish they’d walk a mile in the shoes of the people they got wrapped up in this mess. I’m pretty freaking busy, y’know? What with the stuff with Nadasha going on right now, and all.”
“Finding a bride is far more important than any war—to them, at least. We have no choice but to comply with their wishes.”
Hearing that, Joshua let out a deep sigh of resignation.
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