As always Giliath demands your power stones!
*
Both Giliath and I cordially introduced ourselves to Her Majesty the Queen of Liberl. Once that introduction was over, the royal audience officially began!
We all saw her suddenly stand up from her throne. The moment she did, all of the soldiers saluted her. A rare smile appeared on her face before speaking to Giliath.
"You did well in coming here, General Osborne. You've proven yourself against Colonel Bright time and time again on multiple occasions. I do not see any faults in you coming here unannounced. This was bound to happen, so I went ahead and decided to give you an audience.", Queen Alicia replied, remaining courteous.
"Surely you jest, Your Majesty. I merely know how to respond in kind. That is how I rose the ranks in the military, becoming a General in the process.", Giliath responded with a curt nod.
'Heh. So this is what he meant by watching. Father is definitely trying to butter up to Her Majesty. This is their own type of battlefield. One I may very well step into in the future...', I mused, keeping to my thoughts while watching the two's interactions. If that's the case, where will I end up? I do want to visit some places here and there before each series takes place, but I do not have much plans after that. Maybe attend school, but that's about it.
Right now, Father is still part of the Imperial Army. It will be like that for a few more years at the very least. There's still time. Until then he won't be Chancellor, nor will he form that Intelligence Division of his. That's where things turn interesting. Father will end up recruiting rather special talent holders into his wing, called the Ironbloods.
"You are saying that now, General. But becoming a General is no easy feat. I don't think that is your final goal either, hmm?", Queen Alicia asked. Her smile from earlier curved upward, revealing a grin.
"I only do whatever His Majesty the Emperor requests of me.", Giliath simply replied. All this while, I remained silent, continuing to observe the two's exchange. It was now a third voice entered the conversation, which drew my attention to him. His voice sounded even more stern than Hilda's voice.
"Hmph. Your words of flattery will get you nowhere, General Osborne. May I remind you that you are currently in the presence of Her Majesty the Queen? Stay your tongue, and keep it on a leash. You are bound by international law. If you plead guilty in any shape or form, we will persecute you.", General Morgan said in a serious tone. Right off the bat, he started with threats. But I can see where General Morgan is coming from. Father is dangerous in many ways. General Morgan has every right to go on defense.
"I understand that well, General Morgan. We have not crossed paths in a while, it is good to see that the War God is still in good health.", Giliath replied, keeping his stance firm. I could see an invisible streak of thunder clash against their eyes. Now that would be something. The War God clashing against the future Blood and Iron Chancellor. Now is definitely not the time for that.
But it will happen once Father steps onto the battlefield during the Hundred Days War!
I didn't see Her Majesty budge an inch during this exchange. It was definitely releasing a hidden pressure, causing the atmosphere to stiffen. I just stood beside my father, not backing down either. This only lasted for a moment as I heard a commanding voice come through from none other than the Queen.
"At ease, General Morgan. These two are not here without reason.", Queen Alicia said to him.
"As you command, Your Majesty.", General Morgan replied. He turned quiet, and back down. Just like that, huh? That's how much power royalty of Liberl holds. They can command the entire military on a whim. A pressure that could be mine one day too...
"What you two just conversed about is aside the point as to why I invited these two here. They are not here without reason, General Morgan. This is a matter of national security. A nationwide secret, if you will. Colonel Bright will not be with us to discuss this. Even the men inside these walls cannot be privy to this information we will discuss.", Queen Alicia explained the situation at hand.
"So that is why General Osborne is permitted to have an audience with you. What in Aidios's name are we about to discuss, to the level of it being a nationwide secret. Could it be...?", General Morgan began to say, realizing what it was Her Majesty was referring to.
"It may be as you assumed, General.", Queen Alicia said, before turning her head my way. Doing this surprised me. "Come here, my child."
I looked up at Father, only to see him nod my head.
"Go, Naoto.", Giliath said, urging me to approach Her Majesty.
Hearing that, I parted from Father's side, and stepped forward. Unexpectedly, once I arrived before Her Majesty, she bent down and picked me up. I felt a strange warmth enter my body, acting as if it found something that it had lost. I just looked at her with eyes of interest. It isn't every day you'd see a Queen pick up a child!
After doing that, Her Majesty brought me closer to General Morgan. Once he was able to get a good look at me, General Morgan raised his eyes.
"This child really does look like the child of Her Highness...", General Morgan said, taking a moment to observe me. That sense of familiarity only grew. I don't know why. This is all foreign to me, but I felt strangely relaxed.
"Colonel Bright was able to deduce the same outcome based on his investigations. I don't think this needs further explaining, does it?"
"So that brat figured it out before I did. Without a doubt, this is the child of Her Highness. Now I know why you brought this matter up to being a national secret. I can see why you dismissed everyone.", General Morgan said. It is true, as Her Majesty gave that earlier command, she dismissed all the soldiers in the room at the same time.
It was just us four in the Throne Room.
"It is as you say, General. There is one sure-fire way we know.", Queen Alicia responded, only to reach into her bosom. She took out a fancy...metal key of sorts? Keys are meant to unlock things, so where did this key lead?
"That is...The key to The Treasury?", General Morgan asked, showing eyes of doubt.
"Correct. This key is passed down from generation to generation in my family. It's sole purpose is to protect what is kept within. As much as it pains me to say this, you are not permitted to see this, General Osborne.", Queen Alicia said, looking back at him.
"This is understandable, as I am not of the same blood as you and my son share. It would do us no good if either of our country's secrets are shared. I did not come to stir any trouble today, only to give my condolences on tomorrow's passing. You may take my son with you.", Giliath said, looking back at me.
"Naoto, be good and follow Her Majesty, alright? I will come pick you up at a later time. And remember, do not speak of anything outside of these walls.", Giliath continued to say.
"I understand, Father.", I answered, nodding my head.
"Thank you for your understanding, General Osborne. The castle lobby and guest rooms are available for use until the banquet begins tonight. You are more than welcome to dine with us, your son included of course.", Queen Alicia said. A banquet huh? I wouldn't turn down a free meal!
"Then I will wait for tonight and take my leave for the time being. I bid you all farewell.", Giliath said, doing a final bow. I made sure to take notice of that too. After all, this interaction was meant to be a lesson for me. The first of many I will receive, I'm sure.
Once Giliath left the Throne Room, it was just us three now. Seeing the three of us remain quiet, I decided to change the topic a little, bringing up the matter of Princess Klaudia.
"Is the Princess aware of this, Your Majesty?", I decided to ask.
"Oh my. You can speak quite well already. I'm pleased to see that. It would seem you've been in good care under General Osborne.", Queen Alicia responded. I could see that she was happy, knowing I could hold conversations like this. I'm not an expert in speaking yet, mind you. She still answered me, which was nice.
"She is. Princess Klaudia is my granddaughter, and she was fortunate to survive this tragedy by not going with her parents. She's the same age as you, in fact. You will get a chance to meet her at tonight's banquet.", Queen Alicia said, causing me to get excited.
"Really!?", I happily replied.
"Hmph. Just so you know, I haven't recognized you as a member of the Auslese family yet, boy. We should do this test at once, Your Majesty.", General Morgan said, reminding Her Majesty.
"Very well. You may lead us to The Treasury, General."
"As you command.", General Morgan replied, doing a salute.
Before long, still in Her Majesty's arms, the three of us left the throne room. We eventually paid it down to the ground floor and didn't spot anyone along the way. Father likely retreated into one of the guest rooms already, which is fine. Thanks to that, it didn't take long to reach the basement where The Treasury was located.
This place was quite special in the games. It was the focal point of Trails in the Sky. It was where one of the Sept-Terrions was located. Way, way further down into what's called the Sealed Area. This Sealed Area acted as a barrier to keep the treasure out of reach of humans. Its name? The Shining Ring. Or more commonly known as the Aureole, the Sept-Terrion of Mirage.
Approaching the large silver marbled sealed door with a pillar on each side, I could see the white falcon crest embedded on it. Right in its center. There was also a small hole, which was big enough for a key to fit inside it. That was the very same key Her Majesty held in her spare hand while she held me in the other.
A gigantic and endless labyrinth, full of twists and turns rested beneath here. It was the final dungeon of Sky's first chapter, and it was very easy to get lost inside there, even with the minimap. You could pick several places to go at once, and it was hardly linear.
What I do know is that only members of the royal family could open this door. If I truly was one, this door should open. It had a very specific orbal energy wavelength signature, which reacted to just the royal family. In the games, the villains stole this key, and they had to hack their way inside it. At least that's how I assumed it went. It only showed the door being opened when Estelle's group arrived.
There was just a little problem. I was still a tiny kid. I couldn't even reach my hand to where the key hole was!
"Umm...", I uttered. Her Majesty smiled back at me, and laughed.
"Haha, I couldn't help it. I understand your predicament. Let's fix that.", Queen Alicia said. Still holding onto me, she raised my body upward. General Morgan let out a dry cough seeing this, but remained silent. Once the Queen raised me high enough, I was able to slot the key into the gigantic door. Click!
The key hole suddenly shot out a faint glow of light, which shot straight into me, acting as some sort of synchronization. All it took was a simple click before the gears started turning on their own. The door opened before our very eyes.
This time, it was General Morgan to be shocked to his core. He was by far the most surprised out of us three, seeing the door leading to the Aureole open right before us!