After agreeing to meet up at a certain location, Kain and the others left the Queen and her son.
Usually, Queen Himiko would never leave the palace without an entourage or formal announcement—but curiosity, and perhaps a trace of hope, outweighed her need to follow such rules and procedures.
After dismissing her attendants, she stepped into her private dressing room and returned wearing a long, dark robe that covered most of her ornate clothing and veiled her face. Her son, the Crown Prince, followed suit with practiced ease, clearly familiar with this kind of quiet excursion.
"We'll go ourselves," the Queen said, her tone calm but the excited twinkle in her eye couldn't be concealed. "If this young man's method truly works, I want to see it with my own eyes."
