“Are you sure the one you saw to summon the sea fairy was one of the royal guards?”

It was a peaceful Monday morning. The accident the night before sure made some people surprised and terrified. But the news about Cain and Rigel's easy win over the monster made the whole castle filled with joy. For now, they thought that as long as their powerful prince and his strong guard dog was in the palace, their safety was guaranteed. 

“Yes. The robe was the same that the guardian used.” Rigel sipped his tea. Cain was being questioned by the king in the audience room so he had to wait patiently until his master came back. Fortunately, Alan invited him for afternoon tea in his office.

“It would be difficult then.” Alan whispered. “Afterall, the robe was given to all workers. Not only the royal guard. Even I possess the same thing.”

“What? Really?”

“Yeah. I also want to give you one today.” Alan then opened his desk drawer and brought out a medium sized box, he put it in front of Rigel. “The fall seemed to come sooner this year. The air was colder than it used to be. So princess Estelle put an order for a warmer robe for all the workers. Yours came late because the order was placed last minute.”

“... You're basically telling me that the information I gave you was no use right?”

“No, no. Of course not.” Alan quickly explained. “I’m just telling you that with this fact, we know that the culprit was within the palace, though not only the royal guards. We never knew if the maids or servants did it. And also…”

Rigel waited for Alan to continue his sentence. 

“The summoning magic… ”

Rigel knew that in Alrauna, those who possessed the ability to perform summoning magic were registered under royal protection. Summoners were rare beings and placed highly in the wizard rank, could not be rivaled even by Paladin the sacred knight. 

“Wait…”

Based on the accident the night before, Rigel now knows that Cain is also a summoner. He could handle most monsters as long as their grade was under his level. Then why pick Rigel as guard? 

“You must think that why are you being picked when he was that strong right?” As if he could read Rigel’s mind, Alan said in a calm tone. “I do think he needs extra protection and attention. But the princess goes all the way to propose to the King that a Paladin should guard the prince.” 

“But she chose me because the prince trusts nobody within the palace?”

“ ...Yes.”

Rigel really wanted to terminate his contract and work for a new master. When will he be able to pay the sin debt if Cain treats him the same as a nanny?

Rigel thought hard. He felt like he forgot something. 

“Within the palace and aside from the prince, how many summoners gathered last night?” he asked.

“Just three. The king, general Lynx, and the head wizard, Madam Asenath.” 

“And where were the other two at that time?”

“Madam Asenath was with the Queen. She was in charge of her well being. And General Lynx is currently being investigated. He said he was asleep in his office. No witness.”

Aside from the king, they were all suspicious. The queen did not like the prince and the general’s reason was not a strong alibi. Who could stay asleep in such a ruckus? 

“Which of them had a silver purplish aura?” 

After all, just like the magic rune, each person's aura that could be seen when they chant spells and create magic circles is different from person to person. 

“Madam Asenath’s aura is purple. But deep and rich in color.”

Rigel groaned. He dislikes things he could not comprehend. It was all too complicated, just like when several ropes tangled and nobody knew where to start pulling to untie the knot.

“We currently have no lead in our investigation.” Alan lifted his hand, a small blue magic circle appeared in the air and then he pulled a thick book and pen. “But I still have to take notes.”

***

There was a call from the King this afternoon. He called all the royal wizards and high ranking generals. Rigel and Alan were also called for this meeting. The goal was to openly judge the suspect's alibi.

In the center of the throne room, Madam Asenath who was a young lady with silver long hair and black robes stood up proudly. Beside her, a tall bearded man–General Lynx–seemed so uncomfortable. Cain and Estelle sit beside their parents looking at each other. 

“I am sure that your majesty the queen had testified about my whereabouts last night.” Asenath said in a firm tone. “I did nothing harmful to the prince. I did not have the chance to either.”

If only the hatred from the queen toward the prince was a secret, everybody might  believe Asenath. Nobody dared to confess they suspect the queen as well, but the sentiment was there. 

“I am also innocent. As you all know my aura is green. You heard the prince’s guard testify the aura of the culprit is silver.” General Lynx seemed to be desperate to prove himself. Understandable, he was cornered since his alibi was the weakest among the two suspects.

“This leads to nowhere.” The king massaged his temple. Deep inside, He believed his general more than the Queen’s aid. But as a husband, there was no way he could humiliate his own wife by asking her in front of so many witnesses. 

And the most crucial thing is the aura. The prince’s guard had testified that the aura he’d seen was a silver purplish aura. 

In this room, the only person who had an aura in that color was.…

“Your majesty,” A black haired young girl from the wizard group raised her hand. Judging by her appearance, she would not be older than Cain. The fact that she was seated with the senior wizards already tells a  lot about her ability. Also, the badge on her robe is the true evidence that this young lady had such a high ranking among wizards. “With all respect, I think we should not eliminate the third summoner in this room. And also the color of the aura seen by the prince’s guard.”

The girl looked at Rigel for a moment. Her gaze lasted for several seconds, but it left a deep impression on Rigel. The blue eyes were icy, sharp, and showed complete distrust.  

The room went into complete silence. Rigel could not comprehend the meaning of this situation. He only knew that the third person registered as the summoner aside from two suspects and the prince himself was…

“Are you…” Finally one of the senior wizards asked in a trembling voice. “Are you pointing your accusation to the King?”

“I did not say that.” The girl said in a calm yet firm tone. “It was true that the King was the third summoner aside from the prince. And his aura was silver. A bright silver.” 

Almost all the audience had a weird expression; a mix of confusion and curiosity about what this girl would say next. 

“Miss Callisto… You know this is seri…”

“Why do we eliminate the fact that the guard could tell a lie to make a mess of this situation?”

Now it’s Rigel turn to be in confusion. Before he only followed the conversation to see how far this meeting could cornered the suspects if their alibi was indeed fake. But now in an instant, he was pointed as one of the traitor candidates? 

How ridiculous. 

“Just think about it. The silver and white aura was the sign of royalty’s direct bloodline.”

Just like a distinct rune used in their magic circle, the royal family aura varies from silver to white. Sometimes with a hint of other pale colors, like the bluish white Cain has.

“And the possibilities could be deduced by saying the summoner aura was silver that ‘the culprit must be someone from the royal family’. Who that might be? Of course the suspicion would fall to the king or the prince himself.”

Cain’s face turned sour after hearing this. His hand turned into a tight fist. “Lumi… enough…”

But his words fall to deaf ears. Lumi Callisto paid no attention to him and continued her arguments.

“But it’s not making any sense, right?” The girl smiled gently. But her eyes were not smiling at all. “Why would your majesty the king do such a thing to his majesty the prince? And why would the prince staged the drama when this would bring no benefit to him?”

“What do you want to say, Miss Callisto?” It was Estelle who asked in a calm manner. “Can’t we just go to your main point?”

Lumi smirked. “The binding vow keeps the guard dog from harming its master. But it did not forbid him to tell lies. He could be lying even at this moment. But if he tells the truth? We all know who has an aura in that color.”

I am telling the truth! Rigel screamed in his mind.

All of this was ridiculous. He was being super honest as a witness and now his statement made him counted as one of the suspects? Hell, if there was someone who would benefit from telling a lie in this room, surely it was not him. Even if the kingdom collapsed before his eyes, he would still be Rigel. No noble status to gain nor wealth to acquire. On the other hand, staying with Cain would be more beneficial. As a guard dog, at least he has a job and nice food.

But Rigel held back his words. He gotta be careful here. One wrong word and it would be the end for him. Not only being freed from the contract with Cain, he could probably end up with a death sentence.

Without anybody expecting it, someone from the judge’s line raised his hand.  

“This is beyond rude, Miss Callisto.” It was Alan’s turn to reprimand Lumi. His voice was calm but his sentence sharp and defensive.“To accuse the princess for all of this despite knowing how much she adores the prince.”
“You seem confident in your judgment, Mister Phoenix.” Lumi smirked. “Is it not suspicious for you that this incident took time exactly after Her Majesty gave the palace workers the same winter robe? And that she is the one who suggested that this criminal here,”–she pointed her finger at Rigel impolitely–“to guard the prince?”

“...”

“Can’t we think about another option that this attack was staged to terrorize the prince? Instead of killing?” Lumi’s voice grew louder. “The sea fairy was venomous. But its intelligence was low. You do not have to be a powerful summoner to summon one. As we all know, there’s another method to call a low grade beast. We can use…”

“Enough!” 

The roar from Cain made Lumi shut up in an instant. Instead, she seemed hurt that Cain snapped at her.  

“Son…”

“I am fine now. Isn’t it okay to stop this useless trial?” Cain asked the king with a hurtful expression. “I am no longer concerned about who wants to kill me. I hope your Majesty can stop before this trial gets more absurd.” 

***

And just like that the trial ended sooner. The prince refused to investigate more and the case was forced to be closed. The prince had walked out from the  throne room by himself. His action was considered rude but if the king did not bat an eye, then who else dared to criticize him? Lumi Callisto had wanted to follow Cain. But she was stopped by one of the senior wizards. She was told to go back to her seat and be quiet until the trial formally ended. 

As Cain’s guard, Rigel was not stopped to follow his master walking out from the trial, something he was grateful for because he did not think he could control his temper if he had to be accused once again. The young lady named Lumi sure got on his nerves.

Cain slammed the door to his study in front of Rigel’s face. It was so hard and fast it could hit Rigel’s face if he was slow to respond. The red haired guard sighed. To serve a royal family means to be tangled in their royal drama, he had expected much but to suddenly be involved as a suspect was beyond his imagination. If only he could resign.  

“Your majesty.” Rigel knocked the wooden surface several times. “I do not think it is wise to act like this.”

Something hit the door surface harshly. Aggravated, Rigel raised his tone. “And just so you know. I was not lying about what I saw.”

Another thing hit the door again. If that door was not there to shield his face, Rigel would have suffered some damage already.

“Did I say something wrong?!” Rigel retaliated by hitting the door hard with his fist. “If this is how you're gonna act, please release me. After all, it’s no use for me to work as a babysitter! And to kill you also brings me no benefit. At all!”

Rigel could feel the atmosphere turn chilly in an instant when he saw Cain finally open the door. His eyes red as if he held back some fire burning inside him to go wild. 

“Now what, young master?” Rigel asked in a clear mocking tone. 

Cain raised his right hand. In his wrist, now appeared a bracelet formed by white bluish rune. As if there’s an invisible giant hand pushing him down, Rigel was forced to his knees. As if that was not enough, when he tried to keep his upper body up, Cain stepped on his palm. Quite mercilessly also for he made sure the heels pressed hard on the skin.

“Let me test if you are really honest.” The prince’s voice was cold, void of any emotion–a total opposite of what his face showed. 

Torture was a method quite commonly used in Alrauna. Rigel had faced it before, hence why there were many scars on his body. But to feel torture by the contractor is another level of hell. Furthermore, Cain is powerful. 

“Are you really telling the truth?”

“I… am…” Rigel answered as he tried to catch his breath. The air felt suffocating. He inhaled as much as he could, but his lungs almost could not feel anything. 

 “The color of the aura… was it really purplish silver?” 

“I… Can… “ 

“Answer me!”

 In anger, Rigel hit Cain’s leg with his other hand which was not stepped on. It was quite hard and surprising. Cain lost his concentration and let loose his invisible magical leash on the red haired guard. 

Rigel could finally breathe in some air. 

“I wasn’t lying damn it!” Rigel coughed. His throat felt like it was burning, his eyes teary. “I don’t even give a damn to you, royalties!” 

 Cain finally willing to release Rigel from the torture. 

“You made some serious accusation by telling people that the aura you saw was the same color as the princess’...”

And now that was new information for Rigel. 

“Go.” Cain stepped back into his room. “I do not want to see your face anymore. At least for today.”

And with that, Cain once again slammed the door in front of Rigel. 

In his heart, Rigel cursed. Crazy brat!