I wanted to ask a few more questions about the Teleportation circle or the trip to the capital. Still, my questions would have taken too much time away from everyone, so Janus appeased me by promising to answer them later, when it would just be the two of us.
Of course, Anna couldn't hold back and added another side remark,
“Really now, if you're going to claw your way into this family, at least learn the basics. Or is ignorance part of your charm?”
I knew she was just trying to get a reaction from me.
Why?
I did not know yet, though I already had a strong hunch. I fully expected Janus to stand up for me, and he was already preparing himself to bark back when his father interrupted her barrage of insults,
”Are those Bastards in your belly even...”
“Enough!”
Wilhelm slammed his fist into his desk, making it quake under his strength.
“You will stop that vile tongue of yours! Or I will put you under house arrest!”
Everyone watched the interaction in total silence, while Anna pressed her lips into a thin line. She adjusted her glove with deliberate slowness, her fingers tugging at the soft leather as if sharpening an invisible barrier between herself and the others. For a moment, it was hard to believe these two had ever been married. But at least she kept her mouth shut for the rest of the meeting.
Once it was over, she stormed out of the room just like she had entered, and everyone made sure to stay an additional minute so that they wouldn't accidentally run into her.
Later that same day, it was finally just Janus and me once again in my room.
“Can you tell me now?”
Janus hesitated.
“I can tell you about teleportation circles and the capital, but not where our circle is. At least not yet. I hope you understand.”
I didn't really understand, or at least I didn't want to; however, I could tell that Janus wouldn't budge on this, so I didn't push my luck and just nodded.
First, the most important thing is that the circles only work on fixed days. Those would be the first of June and the last day of August.”
“Why only then?”
“It simply would be too expensive. Every time they are used, they need a high amount of mana stones from monsters. And those days are usually our kingdom's social season. That's where most of the balls, tea parties, tournaments, and theater plays are held.”
“Then why does their location have to be a secret?”
“In a perfect world, they wouldn't, but we don't know how to make them anymore. That knowledge got lost shortly after the ancient civilisation collapsed. And, in fear that others might break our only means of instant travel, its location was to be kept secret. Only the government knows where all are located. Even though we don't know where any others are.”
Janus's expression grew more serious, and I could tell he was uneasy about sharing even this much.
“That doesn't really sound like the only reason.”
“Sigh, you are right, we also fear someone with the right amount of resources could use them to invade.” As Janus said it, his jaw tightened for just a moment, and he looked away, fingers drumming lightly against his knee. The possibility clearly unsettled him, even if he tried to sound nonchalant.
“What?”
“Don't worry, the chances of that happening are extremely low since all the teleportation circles are linked to a counterpart in the capital, so someone would have to smuggle troops into the capital itself.”
Even he himself didn't sound too convinced that it couldn't happen. Still, he clearly seemed uncomfortable, and there was no way a place as militaristic as Fort Rosedorn wouldn't have a contingency plan in case someone did abuse them to invade. Or at least I hoped,
“That would actually answer most of my questions…”
“There are more?”
“Of course, there are more. It's a Teleportation circle, a magical device. How could I not be excited?”
It has been more than six months since I came to this world, and this is the first time I have heard about a magical device. I can't even imagine how it would work.
“But it's enough for now. Could you instead tell me about the capital?”
“Sigh, do I have to?”
Janus slouched deeper into his chair, jaw tensing as he traced a faint scar along his knuckle. His fingers kept fidgeting with the cuff of his sleeve, and for a second, he seemed to be searching for a way to avoid my request. But everyone was always talking about it, yet I still knew so little, so I pressed on while giving Janus my most convincing puppy eyes,
“Yes!”
“Sighhhh, Okay. Amor is well… a shithole.”
“Ehm, what? a shithole?”
And Amor like cupid? It seems even their deity's names have been, well, let's say, divinely inspired. Seriously, there had to have been other people who reincarnated. Maybe some of them are alive right now. While I wondered whether or not I could find someone who could tell me how my favorite series ended, Janus went on with his rant while answering my question.
“Like I said, a shithole and a snake den.”
“What do you mean, isn't it supposed to be the biggest and best city in this country?”
Isn't that what a capital usually is supposed to be?
“Oh, not by a long shot, the only grand thing about that ruin is the noble district. Everything else is a glorified slum.”
“You must be joking, right?” In my mind, the capital of a magical world built on an ancient ruin was supposed to glitter with golden spires and shining marble, throngs of elegant nobles drifting through clean, lantern-lit streets. But the image Janus was painting grated against that fantasy, shards of disbelief prickling at me. Was he really telling me all that filth and chaos was reality?
Oh, it is. You see, it is built on the ruins of a city that fell during the cataclysm. Lean-to labyrinths, stacked and tangled structures, sprawl across the six lower circles that surround the main hill, on which the noble district is built. Not to mention the sewage that's either dumped into the sea or straight on the street, where it flows down into the lower levels. There are people whose entire job in life is to shovel the endless stream of Horse shit.
All of that sounded horrible. I mean, of course, I had heard how big cities were during medieval times, but to have it laid out like that by someone who had experienced it firsthand was something else. Then one question dawned on me,
“But we will be in the noble district, right?”
“Ah, yes. Yes, we will be in the noble district, in my, I mean, our family mansion. But just because you are in the noble district, don't believe you are safe there. The nobles in Amor are not just liars; they're master manipulators, always scheming and plotting behind each other's backs. Every smile hides a dagger, and every favor comes with a hidden cost. Trust is just another weapon in their games, and they'll turn on you the moment it benefits them. So just have to stick close to me, and you will be fine.”
Phew! That's good to hear. And though all that talk about liars and snakes got me worried, I can't deny that it felt like he was being overdramatic. Still, as I let out a breath, a faint cold draft curled along my ankles, making me shiver. The candles on my desk flickered for a moment, their shadows throwing odd shapes on the wall. Maybe Janus was exaggerating, but somehow, I couldn't quite shake the feeling that danger might be waiting even in the "safe" parts of Amor.
“Thats quite a lot. You really don't seem to like the place.”
“I used to, but not anymore. That was also the reason why we met so early. If not for my hating to go there with all of my being, I would have been dragged there for some marriage proposal again.”
“Is there anyone in the Capital you do like?”
“From the Capital directly, no. But mmmmhhhhhh, Frederick the Third, the first son of the western duke Frederick the Second, isn't all too bad. So if you ever need something and neither I nor anyone else from our family, who isn't Anna, is there, you can count on him, I guess.”