The Princess and the Human, Book 2 Ch. 22 (Patreon)

Author’s note: wow, that had to be my WORST writer’s block yet. Then again, I hear stories of people who can’t get over their block for months, so I guess I should be glad that hasn’t happened to me yet. Anyway, I sincerely apologize for making you wait and thank you for showing patience.

And no, the first paragraph is NOT a play on the delay, I’m literally only realizing the parallel as I’m uploading this xD

The asterisks seem to mess with text, so text meant to be crossed out is now <written like this> . 

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86th day after my arrival

Dear Diary,

it’s been a while since I last wrote. To be honest, it’s hard to wrap my head around how much time has passed since then. When I looked at the number on my last entry, I needed to ask Mhita to check the date for me because I was convinced there had to be a mistake. But no. It has indeed been an entire month. More than that when considering the longer days here. <How can an entire month with nothing>

Sil isn’t in the palace today. Neither are the siblings, they’re accompanying her. I was offered to come as well, but I refused. The two seemed rather disappointed that I didn’t come with them. A bit strange, I don’t feel like we’re THAT close yet. Or am I reading the signs wrong? <Maybe Vanaery nobility is just>

Either way, I just couldn’t bring myself to go. They’re holding the trial for all the spies who worked for Kykla’s goon and who got caught during the crackdown. Since it involved a foreign power, Sil once again has to be the judge.

It’s strange that the Vanaery don’t have dedicated judges. A verdict can be made by any noble who is of higher rank than the involved parties unless that’s impossible. Well, I guess all nobles have to know the law. Still, it seems strange. But maybe that’s just because I’ve only seen court cases of the highest order here.

Going by what Sil told me, it’s mostly a formality this time and the result is more or less decided already. They’re all charged with treason, and Vanaery law doesn’t seem to know any extenuating circumstances for that. Not even if they acted under threat. In other words, there isn’t really a scenario where this won’t end in a mass execution. I know she’s just doing her job, Sil doesn’t make the rules (yet), but being right there when she does it…

I just can’t. 

<I wonder if they’d do it differently if it weren’t only “commoners” who>

But for the two, this is probably great. They’re being publicly seen with the princess, which <is prob> should be something good. I assume. <I guess I never really> 

<Maybe I have a too narrow view on>

Well, my personal bias aside, they deserve it. I don’t know how much of an outlier they are compared to other noble children, <but if this ends up causing a stir-up> but after helping oversee them, I don’t think they are like what I heard about most.

The highest rank seem to have those the translator translates as “Duke”. It sounds like they can cause a lot of trouble for Sil if they don’t see eye to eye with her. That’s also the title Reiykin will inherit if I remember correctly. Wouldn’t that mean he could end up being a powerful ally to her?

Well, not like anyone seems to believe that at the moment. I really need to start looking into some of my newer ideas. For example, the translator reads intent. Shouldn’t that be compatible with some form of speech-to-text? I really need to talk with some experts. Not just because of that, <but after Sil’s offer>

IF I were to stay on this planet, training alone probably couldn’t compensate for the lower gravity. <Maybe the effects on my body are already irreversible> Maybe I should’ve done that sooner. They HAVE artificial gravity tech, so this should be doable, right?

Speaking of, Sil also said I would be getting a ship, crew and everything. <With it, maybe I could go by myself and look> I still don’t know how should feel about this whole award ceremony. While everyone was gone, I spent most of the day trying to draw our crest as detailed as possible. They don’t have colored pencils here, so it was a bit tricky. I hope it’ll look good in the end. Funny, I never really cared much about it outside of thinking it was cool that we had it, but now

UPDATE!!! Still the 82nd day after my arrival

Dear Diary,

it happened! Mhita told me they just got a message. Sil’s uncle is apparently on the way back and sent one fast ship ahead. They just left the hyperlane and will be here tomorrow, much quicker than expected! With the info they bring, we’ll finally able to send the expedition force on their way. <I hope they already found something>

Now that I think about it, I haven’t heard from Doc in a while now. I wonder if she found anything new.

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Over the course of the last couple of days, Falpiyne’s view of the princess had shifted a bit. She was, of course, still a figure that demanded respect, but the more time she had spent in close proximity to her, the more she realized that Her Highness wasn’t someone she needed to fear without reason. She wouldn’t be able to properly put it into words if asked, but while her respect had only grown, the Silpiyne Heiress no longer felt as intimidated in her presence as she used to.

Today, the princess had taken her and her brother with her for a mass trial. Falpiyne had heard about these spies before during the trial of the ambassador - even if that hadn’t been part of the section she and Reiykin had watched over and over - but the situation had turned out to be vastly different than she had expected. The people on trial didn’t act at all like what she had expected traitors to be. Some had tried to talk their way out of it despite the evidence, some pleaded for mercy, and some openly admitted it, apologized, and seemed almost… relieved? It hardly fit the image.

Of course, the outcome didn’t change for either of them. Treason was treason. The executions were conducted right afterward, with no delay as no appeal time was granted. The two of them hadn’t been present for that part. Instead, the steward gave them a lesson about all the paperwork that came with such a trial as well as some pieces of it to work on.

By the time the group sat in the shuttle back to the Star Palace, the day was already about to end. Currently, they all sat there in silence while the princess looked at her datapad, checking the work the two had done in the trial’s aftermath.

“Decent,” she eventually commented. “Lady Falpiyne, you made some minor formality errors, but nothing big. That’s something that’ll come with experience. Lord Reiykin, your work was… less satisfactory.”

Falpiyne could see her brother tense, and she herself, even though she wasn’t the one criticized, shared the feeling. The displeasure in Her Highness’s voice was audible. What had he done wrong? As far as she recalled, he had gotten a lot of praise in his previous tasks at the palace.

“Wh-what is wrong about it, Y-Your Highness,” he asked in a panicked voice.

“Multiple things. For example, stating that some got sentenced on testimony alone isn’t exactly accurate considering the evidence we had on top of that. Calling the list unverified is also untrue.”

“I-I never dictated those things!” he desperately pleaded.

“I know, but it’s written here nonetheless. Because I told the servant to try and sabotage you.”

Falpiyne’s brain needed a while to catch up with the last sentence and even then, she was sure she had misheard. Her brother couldn’t even close his mouth, only staring in disbelief.

“Your work isn’t lost, don’t worry, he also made a correct version. But imagine you wouldn’t have been reporting to me but acting on your own, imagine this would’ve been your orders to someone or something like that. How long, do you think, it would’ve taken for you to find out? How much damage do you think could’ve been done? Would you have even noticed at all?”

The two were still frozen in place when Her Highness put the datapad away and leaned back.

“That may seem a bit mean, but it is something you need to keep in mind. You will be a duke. You can’t allow yourself to be manipulated. Not everyone around you will be someone you can trust, as today’s trial hopefully demonstrated.”

Her words were harsh, but she wasn’t wrong. It was likely the main reason why the other ducal clans expected Reiylar to fall once he claimed his inheritance. Could Lady Nadine’s strange ideas really help him? He had sounded pretty excited when he had told Falpiyne about it, even though she hadn’t really understood most of it.

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“Welcome back,” the head maid greeted them as they left the shuttle. Mhita, if Falpiyne remembered correctly. “Your Highness, Lady Nadine wishes to speak, she has news for you.”

“Thank you. Do you know what it is about?”

“Yes, though I believe she wants to be the one to tell you.”

That sounded odd to Falpiyne, but she didn’t voice it. Instead, she let Reiykin grab her right arms and guided him through the halls as they followed the princess to Lady Nadine’s chambers.

“And that’s four,” they could hear her voice coming through the slightly open.

“Damn it! I swear by the First Ones, I’ll get you one day!”

“Well, I would normally say something like “Then better don’t slack”, but considering the fact that the first thing you did after waking up was to call me and demand a game, I’d say you got that covered. But you’re getting better. Anyway, got to go. The next game should be done soon.”

“I can’t wait!”

The princess opened and Falpiyne could see the alien put the datapad away and stand up.

“Sil- ahem. Your Highness, good evening.”

“Likewise. You wanted to talk?”

Lady Nadien nodded in a way that looked almost enthusiastic.

“Your u- err, General Mirtan sent a messenger.”

“Admiral,” the princess corrected.

“Ah, yes, that. Anyway, they’ll be here tomorrow, do you know what that means?”

“It means we can accelerate our schedule,” she confirmed as she turned to the two. “It seems tomorrow will get busy.”

And with that, she left, leaving the two alone with Lady Nadine who gestured for them to take a seat. Falpiyne led her brother over to the chairs.

“So, how was the trial?” she asked somberly.

The two recounted their day, excluding what they had learned during the shuttle flight back. Reiykin didn’t seem to want to talk about it so Falpiyne kept quiet as well. Instead, they ended with the executions, even though they hadn’t seen them themselves. During that part, Lady Nadine seemed to shift in her seat for some reason.

“I heard about it,” she ultimately said. “They will be thrown into space, right?”

“Yes,” Falpiyne affirmed. “The law demands that no part of them will ever touch Hohmiy again.”

The alien got quiet. She could get quiet to a degree that almost felt uncanny.

“Out… of curiosity,” she eventually asked, “would nobles in the same situation be treated differently?”

“Naturally,” Reiykin answered without hesitation. Lady Nadine’s facial features shifted to a degree that made them almost look distorted, a change so fast it startled Falpiyne. Her brother, oblivious to it, kept talking.

“After all, nobles always represent their clans, so their actions reflect on them. Clan members can easily suspected as accomplices. A noble committing a crime as severe as treason wouldn’t just doom themselves, depending on the circumstances, they might cause the downfall of their clan.”

And just as sudden as the last change, her facial expression was more like it had been before again.

“Oh,” she said. “That’s what you meant.”

Reiykin tilted his head, looking confused.

“Yes? Are the Human’s nobility treated differently?”

“Remember what she told us,” Falpiyne reminded him.

“Ah, right. I apologize, Lady Nadine.”

“It’s fine. It’s a foreign concept to you, so you have a hard time wrapping your head around it. It was similar for me. Though, in reverse, obviously. But now that you mention it, I can’t recall hearing about anyone actually getting charged with treason in my country during my lifetime.”

“I see. Well, a high noble being found guilty of a severe crime doesn't just affect their clan though,” he continued his explanation, reciting their lessons almost verbatim. “It can have rather wide impacts on the standing of lots of different parties. Like the execution of the son of clan Gatriy for harming the prince.”

Lady Nadine blinked.

“With prince, do you mean Kiyrtin?”

“Yes…? Is there another prince?”

“No, but… when did that happen.”

“I’m not sure, I think we heard about it… about sixty days ago?”

“Yes,” Falpiyne confirmed. “It was right before the rainy season started. Have you not heard of it? Many, not just the ducal clans but also a lot of counts were quite unhappy with how the matter had gotten handled.”

“No, I haven’t heard of it. Please enlighten me.”