The gentle sunshine of April almost made the filth of the poverty bearable. Nevertheless, I winced as my carriage drew near the destitute city that had recently been hit by a flash flood. Another terrible infrastructure problem I would address once I became queen. Wonderful how I was able to start thinking about these things that actually mattered in earnest now, without the pesky weight of fate!
"...the priests are ready, the reporters from all the major newspapers are on their way, and all is in order. Everyone is very excited for your first large-scale charity tour in so long, Your Holiness. It was an eventful year, and the people will be touched to see you so soon after your own recovery. They will rejoice at how God protected his saintess, and how you carry that protection to them."
Across from me, Priest Fernandez beamed. Next to him, Nathaniel gazed out the window, lost in his thoughts. Beside me, Tia helped me brush up my makeup, a gentle look that softened my features and brought out the compassion in my eyes, with modest, light jewelry that elevated my presence without it being overbearing on the impoverished state of the city. I smiled at my reflection in the handmirror she held up: the people were going to love this.
The carriage slowly drew to a stop in front of the devastated city. Poorly set up temporary shelters stood around us, trying their best to provide asylum for the displaced and dishevelled residents. A pitiful sight that would gather many donations.
I stepped out of the carriage. Immediately, I was greeted by the mayor and his entourage of attendants. The exceptionally well-fed man who did not seem to have lost much sleep over the wreckage of his turf introduced himself and shook my hand heartily.
"It's truly an honour for Your Holiness to visit us! We are immensely grateful for this privilege, and I only regret that I could not show Your Holiness the beauty of our humble home before this disaster."
What beauty? His poor management had thrown the city into crippling debt long before the flood.
"Thank you for this hospitality, Mister Mayor," I smiled graciously. "It is merely my duty to convey God's blessings to his children in your domain during such difficult times. I hope to do my utmost to relieve your burdens and get the residents back to their livelihoods."
With that, we set off, starting with a tour of the makeshift shelters so I could organize Nathaniel and my priests and soldiers in the distribution of supplies. We brought tents, clothes, blankets, food, clean water, medical supplies, and other provisions. It was a touching sight, my subordinates carrying out aid systematically on such a large scale, and the refugees being warm and fed for the first time in days.
"Do you remember me, Your Holiness?" The mayor asked eagerly with a plastered-on beam as soon as we moved out of the earshot of the reporters, who had dispersed to observe the aid. "You blessed my family and I on Salvation Day. I also met you at your grandfather, Sir Nelsley's seventieth birthday banquet a few years ago. My brother had worked with one of his shipping companies."
"Ah, is that so? Grandfather, God bless him, indeed had quite a number of companies and collaborators."
So many, in fact, that his birthday banquet had been one of the largest events in years, probably up until my eighteenth birthday that just passed. There had been many interesting people and valuable connections there, and the mayor was not one of them.
"Yes, what a brilliantly successful man! I heard that Your Holiness takes after his intelligence and charisma, and I see today that this impression was right. With the noble blood of Avington also, no wonder Your Holiness is so accomplished at such a young age!"
This man's position was low and unimportant enough that he had gotten by without taking a side among aristocracy, but with the recent political scene becoming more polarized, largely due to my faction gaining significant power with my influence over the past years, it was wise of him to try to win me over now. Unfortunately for him, no amount of flattery could make up for the incompetency that led to such horrible flood precautions in a zone known for its susceptibility.
"Thank you, Mister Mayor. I take great joy that my bloodline blessed me with these traits that have helped me broaden my impact, bringing me here to aid these people."
The reporters were starting to converge around us, so it was time to get to work. I spotted an opportunity and waved to Priest Fernandez with a slight nod towards the target. He immediately handed me a blanket and signalled inconspicuously to the journalists.
I stopped in front of a woman sitting cross legged on the wet grass, shivering with her clothes in tatters. She held a baby in her arms, who wouldn't stop crying despite her best efforts to comfort it. When she lifted her head to look at me, I saw her pitiful little face, wide-eyed and tired. Perfect.
"God is with you," I told her. I knelt slightly and swung the blanket around her, smiling gently as I tugged it snugly on the front. She closed her eyes as I placed two fingers on her forehead and murmured a prayer. Her posture eased at my soothing voice as if it healed her and gave her strength. Amazing what faith, in God and in me, did for people.
By the end, a slight, peaceful smile crossed her lips, and her baby had stopped crying. It looked up at me with curiosity and held out its little hands. I glanced at the mother to confirm it was all right and extended a finger to the tiny thing. It held it and giggled, doubtlessly warming the hearts of all.
"Everything will be fine now," I said softly. "Have faith."
"Thank you," the woman whispered.
"Express gratitude not to me, but through your love for God, brave child. He knows your devotion, and he will protect you."
What a touching scene. Saintess Valentina, delivering both spiritual and material relief. I seemed to get better at it every time, and the people loved it too. Upon my return, I must commend Damian on the soothing charm I asked him to cast on my jewelry.
With the supplies distribution smoothly underway, we could move from the displaced residents to dealing with the city itself. Just as we were about to enter the city gates, the mayor casually mentioned, "Thank you for sending the young doctor, by the way. She has been a huge help these few days."
"Hm?"
I concealed my confusion well, in the unlikely event that I had sent a doctor and forgot about it. My perplexity was quickly resolved.
"Good day, Your Holiness!"
I turned to see a girl about my own age, with pink hair and a distinct bearing. Her composure carried the elegance befitting of an Orilon lady, but with a foreign air I had seen only on ambassadors from a certain nation, though her accent was native. The clothes she wore were of Orilon style and matched well with excellent practicality, though not of the latest fashion. She was greatly changed since I last saw her years ago, carrying herself with much more confidence, but I recognized her nevertheless, having long etched the original characters of the novel deeply into my mind.
"Good day to you too, Lady Sophia Newfield."
She curtsied, still with that odd but rather charming demeanour. "I hope I have not interrupted anything? There are many sick here, and I came to help them, as Your Holiness sent me to Zeryn to learn is the duty of a physician."
"That is very well. I am glad that you are putting your learnings to use."
I smiled, my mind racing through the possibilities. We had established a firm friendship over the past decade and wrote regularly, my last letter dispatched about two weeks ago. I had a firm understanding of her character, her sincere appreciation for my sponsorship and her loyalty to me. Thus, for her to return suddenly without informing me meant external forces.
"Would you like to join us in observing the city in preparation for repairs?"
"That would be my pleasure."
The mayor looked slightly puzzled at our interaction but did not question it. We set off into the city together, or what remained of it. The destruction was worse than I had thought, which meant more sympathy and more money.
"Mister Mayor, how many buildings are completely unrepairable and must be rebuilt?"
"Ah… I don't have the exact number, allow me to consult my secretary."
The man scurried off. I shot Priest Fernandez a quick glance, and he immediately slowed his steps to narrate our plans for next steps to the reporters, leaving a safe distance for Sophia and I to converse privately. We made a nice scene too, the unity of religion and science, both wielded by me.
"It is good to see you, Lady Sophia. How come you did not mention you were returning in our last correspondence?" I said softly but pointedly. There was no need for reserve; despite the distance, she was almost as close to me as Annalise and Delilah.
"I'm afraid it was not up to me, Lady Valentina," she replied, her way of speaking odd but charming. "You see, I was directly summoned by Her Majesty, Queen Josephine."
"Oh?"
Under my request, the temple had forbidden the queen from sending any of her own people to Zeryn. To be so bold as to 'borrow' one of mine, knowing that I would certainly find out, must mean that she was desperate.
"Her Majesty's guards escorted me from my dormitory in Zeryn directly to the castle, where I met with Her Majesty. From what I could tell, Her Majesty fears that His Highness is being poisoned."
My heart skipped a beat. "And is he?"
"I haven't had the chance to find out. His Highness has been away on some business trip and will not return until next week. They were going to keep me in the castle until then, but I used your name to force them to release me," she smiled. "And now officially, I've returned for my father's fiftieth birthday. In any case, I thought you ought to know about this, and I wasn't sure our usual channels would be secure."
"Smart," I agreed. "Very well, then. Someone will come to you to detail how to send me your findings. Her Majesty is right that if anyone can find if there's anything wrong with His Highness, it would be you."
"You also believe His Highness is being poisoned, Lady Valentina? I thought you kept me up to date on all the latest tea!"
"Ah, but this is a mere suspicion, and I reserve for you the best tales, my friend, which are the ones I know to be true."
We talked and laughed, catching up like the old friends we were, in the ruins of the city. To my surprise, the news that Queen Josephine shared my wild conjecture that I'd long pushed to the back of my mind did not bother me much. After all, what was there to be done now? It was good, if anything, that she did for me what I wanted to but could not.
However, as my thoughts settled themselves, one contradiction arose. I had previously concluded that to drug Oscar without detection, it would have to be someone on the inside. Subconsciously, I had labelled the queen as the most likely suspect, as she held me in mild disdain, and perhaps thought Catherine's naivety would make her a better daughter-in-law.
Thus, if not her, then with her iron-clad grip on her children's lives, who could it be?