195: Summons

It was early the next morning, while I was sitting in the dining room with a melon on the table as I was practising the rune, when Archie came inside.

“Hello, sir. Princess Kathrine would like to speak with you. She is at the entrance.”

I was surprised that she didn’t just come in like she had done in the past, but shrugging, I stored the melon, collected Crisplet from the kitchen, and made my way to the entrance hall. I was surprised to see she was already speaking with Hari at the entrance, who appeared to be annoyed over something, as he currently had a deep frown.

“Ah, Trevor. I’m sorry to bother you so early today. I was hoping you could accompany me to the palace. The King has requested an audience,” Kathrine said.

It wasn’t until she turned towards me that I noticed just how fatigued she looked. She even appeared to still be in the same clothes she was wearing yesterday, with noticeable bags under her eyes, and I remembered back to when Milo was avoiding sleep in Greyrock. I was sure I still had a couple of the honeyed-herb mana candies handy.

I was just pulling one of the sticky things out when Sylverith came through the door leading to the library.

“I’ll come along too,” she simply said.

Kathrine looked to go visibly pale but didn’t protest it.

“Here, Kathrine. Eat this,” I said, handing the candy over.

She hesitantly took the sticky candy from my hand, looking at me oddly.

“It will probably wake you up a little. It has all three regenerations along with endurance,” I said happily.

Kathrine just shook her head. “Of course it does.” Before putting it straight into her mouth.

“Honey, with an interesting tang,” she mumbled before pulling herself together.

“The carriage is waiting out front if you’d like to get changed into your formal outfit and join us to the palace now?” she gestured.

Hari still had a look of concern, but Sylverith seemed to notice it too.

“Don’t worry. I’ll get him back here without issue,” she said, giving him a gentle pat on the shoulder.

I didn’t see Lily while I was in the room, but I’m sure she wasn’t far away, or in the kitchen wondering where breakfast was, so I rushed back downstairs with Crisplet hot on my heels, waving to Hari and Liane, who were now talking, before joining Kathrine and Sylverith in the carriage.

The silence of the trip was broken by Kathrine, who was already looking slightly better.

“Do you have more of those candies I could buy? It worked great.”

I shook my head. “No, unfortunately, I only have a few left. I could probably make similar ones, but they are stronger than I’d like to normally share with people.”

“Even if I promise only I would use it and not share it with anyone else?” she said hopefully.

I really wasn’t sure. I wasn’t that worried about sharing it with her if she kept it to herself, but what I did have an issue with was using too much of the rare honey I had. It was a limited supply. I decided instead to tell a half-truth.

“I don’t have any more of the honey I used to create it. Rare ingredients are difficult to source,” I said.

“If I could source the rare ingredients for you?” she asked hopefully.

“This particular one, no. I would like fewer people in the dark forest, not more,” I replied. I would have liked more.

Sylverith was nodding beside me.

“So, what am I walking into?” I asked curiously.

“Well, it’s been a lot to deal with since we had nearly forty people placed into our cells, and this has caused some other nobles to grow concerned,” she started.

I couldn’t help but notice the smile on Sylverith’s face.

“She did well with that one. She wanted to kill them all, for fairly obvious reasons. However, they were just pawns,” Sylverith commented.

I couldn’t help but notice Kathrine’s eyes open wide at that comment and seemingly struggle to respond.

“But she didn’t, so it’s fine!” I chuckled awkwardly.

“I think the main concern is Marie Belwyn. She’s causing some issues,” Kathrine added.

“Oh, she’s still here, is she?” Sylverith said, raising an eyebrow.

“Not by choice. She’s tried to escape dozens of times and insists you’re going to burn down the city around her if she doesn’t get out,” Kathrine added.

Sylverith nodded. “Well, she’s being rather dramatic. I simply said I would slowly turn her to ash while her entire house burnt around her, unless she left the city and never thought about interfering again.”

Kathrine let out a sigh. “It’s okay. I think we’ll continue the conversation with my father in private, but first, Trevor, ah, never mind. It’s best you see it rather than explain it. You’ll be fine, though.”

I wasn’t overly worried. I had Sylverith and Crisplet, and I could feel the very faint presence of Lily watching as well.

Looking out the window as we moved, I activated my arcane foraging. The talk of rare ingredients reminded me I needed to complete my quest, and the only place I knew there would be a collection of rare ingredients right now was the royal garden.

It wasn’t long before I saw the notification come through.

Notification:

Evolution Quest:

Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

Discover a land of abundance, view 20 or above rare items at one time: Complete!

Seven evolution options are available for Arcane Foraging.

I had gained two new Arcane Foraging upgrades,

Skill: Arcane Foraging → Bounty Sense

• Cluster density becomes visible.
• Soft directional pull towards the rarest cluster of three or more items.

Skill: Arcane Foraging → Abundance Echo (Passive)

• Locations where rare ingredients were found are remembered.
• The afterglow of rare items slowly fades over months.

I would be sure to speak with Milo tonight and make my final decision, though. I was leaning towards the passive forager’s sight, although I would lose a mana-draining ability, so I would need to remember that if I chose it.

I was distracted from my musings by Kathrine. “Alright, here we go. Follow me.”