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— Watermelon, — Valria said shortly.
— Watermelon? — The princess raised her eyebrows.
— If I catch the killer before the secret police, you will give me a watermelon. — The elf wiggled her pointed ears. — I don't remember the last time I ate it, and I have no doubt that it would be easy for the ducal court to bring fresh watermelon to Elvart from the south. As for the gold, I will report on the expenses for the time of work. I don't need more.
— So be it. — The heir to the throne smiled less sadly and left, leaving them alone.
— Watermelon, — Carlon repeated.
— Well, I decided that it is more important to earn a good attitude of our future ruler than to squeeze a couple of extra coins out of her, — the elf shrugged.
— In this manner? And why did you fit into a deliberately hopeless case? The killer is probably already flashing his heels on the other side of no man's land.
— I do not think so. — The girl shook her head, twisted a long golden strand around her finger. — You see, the princess and I agreed that this was no ordinary political assassination. The borderlands are restless, the Empire moves troops without explaining anything to the vassals. The coalition stirred. Something is planned, and the assassination attempt on the head of one of the strongest vassal states of the Empire is just in time. Christina is the only direct heiress. If the killer manages to get Christina as well, chaos will begin.
— But now? — the mage frowned. — Christina will be guarded with special care ...
— Only those who are really faithful to her, and there are not very many of them. — The elf's face became serious. She let go of the strand, folded her hands on the blanket, leaned back. — It is best to fish in muddy waters. Besides, her ladyship couldn't lock herself in her chambers right now. She has a number of public actions ahead of her. The funeral of her father, the coronation, a trip to the imperial capital to bring homage... She is vulnerable, no matter how the police and guards comb the city. Especially in front of a killer whose abilities are... unusual.
— He passed through the magical barrier as if through an empty space...
— That's it, — Valria agreed. — There is something to think about. Moreover, in case of failure, no one will ask us. Although, of course, I want watermelon, and strongly.
They were silent for a while, each thinking about his own, then the elf asked uncertainly:
— Carlon... hold my shoulders, okay?
She sat up, swinging her bare feet off the bed, and immediately staggered. The magician supported the girl, asked, not hiding his concern:
— Did the doctor say you're okay?
— My ears are okay, — the elf answered with annoyance. — But the head is not very good. It cannot be cured with magic or herbs. Tomorrow I'll be back to normal, but not before. For now, just... help.
The girl put on her boots, put on gloves, a hat with a disheveled white feather. She got up, held by Carlon's elbow.
— My legs do not tremble, I just sometimes confuse the floor and the ceiling. — Valria sighed as she took a step towards the door.
A familiar girl-guardsman was waiting for them outside the threshold. Her lynx eyes flashing, she bowed her head for a moment.
— I am Lady Yana. Her ladyship ordered me to help you. Now I will accompany you. If you need to return to the palace or speak with the princess, just tell the guards to call me.
The coldness of the guardsman did not disappear anywhere, but now she was emphatically polite. Noticing the state of Valria, she offered her hand, but the elf replied with a charming smile that "her heart is already occupied by another." Carlon deliberately let the captain stumble, nearly knocking her down the stairs, and they reached the gate in complete silence. Valria pouted like a child, and Lady Yana walked ahead without even looking back. Having received the elf's sword and some papers from the secret police in the guardhouse, they said goodbye to Yana. They went home on foot, leading the horses by the bridle. Valria walked very slowly, hugging the magician by the shoulders, practically hanging on him. It was rather pleasant for Carlon — the girl seemed weightless, and her hair smelled of floral perfume. The captain herself, however, was not happy. Halfway through she said plaintively:
— You could take me in your arms, barbarian. I don't weigh that much.
— I still don't understand... — the magician said slowly, not even glancing at her. — How do you try to present yourself in the eyes of others? As a fragile graceful lady, or as a stern, fearless warrior?
— Like a fragile graceful warrior. — Valria snorted. — The stern, fearless lady is Dallan.
The elf and the magician reached the house with the garden without incident. Dinner was long past, so after putting the captain to bed and thrusting a bowl of half-eaten crackers into her hands, Carlon jogged off to the market. Unfortunately, the shops selling ready-made food have already closed. Except for one, but a middle-aged elf traded there, and the master never bought anything from the elves. Not out of any prejudice, he just didn't want to get involved with hucksters with hundreds of years of experience swindling customers. He had to make an order in a tavern. Returning with a pot of hot porridge in his hands, Carlon found the girl talking with a thin old man in black clothes.
— You can be left for a quarter of an hour, huh?! — The master angrily slammed the pot on the table, only after that he welcomed the guest. Hello, Mr. Sandr.
The Imperial intelligence resident in Elvart responded with a grin and a nod.
— Do not swear at the girl, master. I came here myself. You are the first witnesses to the murder released from custody, and I needed to know something. This is faster than me making my way into the palace through all the bureaucracy, and I would not want to appear there once again. And now I see that you can use my assistance.
— Valria has already told about the princess's request.
Mister Sandr nodded once more.
— And I can only approve of the captain's initiative. Her Ladyship... although I guess it's safe to say "Her Highness"... Well, Her Highness Christina asked you to look for the killer. And I ask you to protect the princess. Not directly, for this there is a guard. But if you sit on the killer's tail, it will be more difficult for him to prepare an assassination attempt.
— Why we, and not ... you? Or the duchy's police? — Carlon sat down on a stool.
— Because this case is connected with the past, in which you participated. — The old man explained. — And because of its secrecy, the fewer people involved in the details, the better.
— The past case ... with the portal in the dead fortress? — The magician tensed up.
— Yes. — Sandr nodded. — I'm going to fill you in on the details that only a few operatives in my department know.
— Maybe you shouldn't do it?
— Shut up. — Valria shushed the master. — Go on, Mr. Sandr.
— The archmages of the Imperial University have analyzed the records you obtained in the fortress and the signs written off from the arch of the portal. — The resident put his fingertips together. — We have combined their findings with intelligence reports from the Iderling lands. And made some conclusions. We believe that during the war years, the Coalition conducted experiments on moving between parallel planes of reality. Are you aware of the multiple worlds theory?
— Yes. — Carlon rubbed his chin. — If it is known for sure that our material plane of existence exists, and several ethereal ones outside it, where angels and demons come from, then theoretically it can be assumed that there is another material plane somewhere. Also inhabited by people, elves, some other intelligent species that we are not even able to imagine.
-This is the kind of world the Coalition mages found. — Mister Sandr looked at him over his clasped fingers. — A human-inhabited world with laws of nature somewhat different from ours. At first they only watched him, then tried to establish contact. Each such attempt ended in disaster. In the fortress where you were, and in several other places. There has been no progress whatsoever. A year ago, the king of the Iderling dynasty imposed a personal ban on further research in this area. But... at the same time, during the last attempt, the magicians achieved little success. They dragged a man into our world... from the other side. As far as I understand, not random.
— Killer, — Carlon breathed.
— Most likely, though we can't know for sure. We greatly appreciate our agents at the top of the kingdom, and after receiving the first information, we ordered them to lay low. But here's what we've found out. There is no magic in that other world. Generally. But there are more developed technologies, including weapons.
— Yeah-ah... — The master pulled his beard, captured by the idea that came to mind. — If there is no magic as a phenomenon in that world... that person from there can be... like, a part of that reality. In our world, there is no magic for him either... I don't know how to express it more clearly...
— Archmages spoke about the same. — Mr. Sandr noted with approval in his voice. — And you said that you are far from theory... In general, we are dealing with a hired killer from another world. Who possesses martial skills unknown to us, unknown techniques, who can pass through magical barriers and alarms, who is elusive to sympathetic spells, and perhaps invulnerable to combat spells. To the confrontation with which the entire system of protection and search, both Elvart and the Empire, are completely unprepared.
— And who I know how to find. — Valria smiled broadly. — Assuming he's still in the capital...
* * *
Mr Sander left them in a very gloomy mood. The elf flatly refused to share her plans with him, only teasing him with a couple of vague hints. When the Imperial Resident left, she asked Carlon:
— Walk the streets. If you see any of my guys, tell them to find the rest. Let them gather in my yard.
The magician completed the assignment quickly — it was not difficult to stumble upon one of Valria's underage spies anywhere in the capital. Not that there were too many of them, just that they were always scurrying around the city blocks, from the port to the outer outposts. By sunset, a flock of two dozen boys and girls of all ages had gathered in the apple orchard in front of the house. The captain met them sitting on the porch. She asked Carlon to stay in the house, and the master watched from the window as the girl cheerfully greeted each newcomer. What she was talking to them about, the magician did not really hear, but he saw how the children surrounded Valria in a semicircle, listening to her words with all seriousness. However, the elf obviously ended her short speech with a joke, as the children suddenly rolled with laughter at once. Valria joined them. After laughing, she wiped away her tears with the hem of her glove, said something else that caused another explosion of children's laughter. She answered several questions asked by the older guys, hugged the fair-haired girl who approached her, patted her on the head with a gentle smile. Finally, she disbanded her young guard. She gestured that Carlon could leave.
— Well, what was it? — the master chuckled, helping the elf to stand up — her legs still gave way. Or she was just faking it, the magician wouldn't vouch for it.
— I asked them to patrol the city and watch people. And let me know if they see a stranger doing something weird.
— Is that all? — They returned to the house, where Carlon put the girl on the bed. — Is this your whole plan? So you're going to track down the killer who outflanked the secret police and the palace guards?
— Are you suggesting that I compete with Imperial Intelligence in its own field? — Valria grinned wryly, pulled off her gloves, grabbed her boots. — The city will be checked by the usual methods even without us. I want to use a tool that serious people neglect.
— And you think it will do something? — Carlon sat down next to her on the edge of the bed.
— I hope. Children have sharp eyes. Even human ones.
— But what should they see? It's a port city on a trade route! Can you imagine how much... strange things are going on here?
— And you forget that children are local. — The elf poked the magician in the nose with a grin. Long and thin, the girl's finger was already covered with calluses from sword exercises. In recent years, Valria has been training with gloves. — Their notion of the strange is tailored to the local realities. They will understand when they see something really out of place.
— Imperial spies have tight control over the borderlands, — Carlon remarked. — I'm ready to argue, all the agents of the Coalition are under their hood. If the murderer had been brought to Elvart by agents of the Iderlings, this would not have gone unnoticed. Surely he arrived himself, as a private individual with a reliable "legend". So, he has already got used to our world. According to Mr. Sandra, he had a whole year to do it.
— I have been living among you, unwashed barbarians with short ears, for half a century. — Valria threw off her waistcoat, pulled a snow-white blouse over her head, under which was a thin undershirt. — And I'm still an elf.
— Well, yes ... — the master chuckled. He stood up and turned away so as not to interfere with the girl to undress. — But the difference between elves and humans...
— The difference between Imperials and Republicans is greater than between Elvartians and Elves, — Valriya interrupted him, puffing and rustling her clothes. — A person from another world can pretend to be local, but he will not cease to be himself. Sooner or later he will give himself away. He will do something that will seem wrong precisely in the eyes of a simple city dweller.
— If only earlier, not later. — Carlon sighed. — We are limited by the time before the first event where the princess will have to make a public appearance.
— If we do not have time to sit on the killer's tail in time, then we will ask for an escort and we will guard her ladyship nearby, along with the guards, — the elf answered. After a pause for a second, she suddenly asked: — Carlon, maybe you will spend the night here?
— Why? I'll come in the morning.
— It's just... I didn't sleep last night... — Valria stuttered. — I'm not sure I'll sleep tonight. It turns out I'm completely out of the habit of being alone. Someone needs to be in the house. I'll make a bed for you on the rug, at the threshold.
— Very tempting, — the master snorted skeptically, turning around. The girl had already climbed under the covers, leaving her clothes on the floor. Everything, including underwear.
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