The Romantic Trials Of A Transmigrated Empress-Chapter 243: Another fate for the spider.

In the morning, Sigrid feigned surprise when she heard the news of Romilda’s state of mind. She followed Roland to the royal hospital where they found her, in a state of of disorientation. She did not recognize Roland or Sigrid and appeared to be scared of everyone. Her eyes were hazy and she was mumbling jumbled words to herself.

Sigrid went from feigning surprise to being truly surprised because she had left Romilda in a catatonic state. Someone else had used magic to undo the work which she had done and then do some damage of their own.

Slowly, her eyes roamed over everyone in the hospital room suspiciously. Who...who had done it? she wondered. Was it Roland, the Lord mage or another mage in Eldoria whose identity she was unfamiliar with? She had given the system clear instructions, if there was an awakened or hidden Eldorian mage, she wanted their identity. All of them were under her thumb so who was the new player on the board?

"Cosmos." she called out in her mind.

"Someone from Medoris undid your work, they wanted to question her about the whereabouts of the shards. This was the best they could do. Her mind is forever fried, don’t worry." He assured her.

Sigrid’s heart became settled. "What happened to aunt Romilda?" she put a hand on her chest and asked in a small startled voice.

One of the knights provided the answer, "The royal castle was under attack last night. Word had spread far and wide about the Eclipsion sword so mages and knights from everywhere are coming out of their holes to find the sword."

Sir Augustus, one of the Roland’s quietest and most loyal knights filled in the rest. "We found her in the hallway near the king’s study, a mage was doing something to her mind. He escaped but....." He shook his head.

"But Princess Romilda was already harmed." Roland finished off.

The Lord mage moved from Romilda’s side and approached her family that was grieving already as if a death sentence had been announced. Her daughters were sobbing loudly, embracing each other.

"I am afraid that her mind is now...." The Lord mage exhaled sadly. He looked at Romilda’s husband and said, "There is nothing more that I can do for her. The good news is that she is healthy in every way except for her mind. She will live out the rest of her life no wiser than a two or three year old child."

Someone let out a high pitch wail and one of Romilda’s daughters fainted.

The Lord mage gestured for Roland and Sigrid to follow him out of the hospital such that they could talk privately. They three stopped under an elder tree near the hospital building and the Lord mage blocked out all sound.

"Whoever did this is powerful. Powerful enough to get past the magic barriers without being detected. He put everyone in the royal castle to sleep using magic. If a knight had not sneaked in to engage in some mischief with a kitchen maid, this unknown mage would not have been discovered." he said speedily.

"We knew that there would be many eyes on the Eclipsion sword, I just didn’t think that my aunt would be a victim of the battle for its ownership." Roland drew in a shaky breath. "The shards need to be moved. Having them in the royal castle is too dangerous."

"I agree." The Lord mage said. "The mage estate is the best place for them, our barriers are impenetrable and we have magic beasts now. Nobody will trespass on the estate carelessly."

"We will move the shards, one by one and replace them with fake ones. This is the best way to protect the sword while fooling everyone." Roland suggested.

The two engaged in an in depth conversation, building their plan one suggestion at at time. Ten minutes later, they concluded it. Sigrid was quiet all through their conversation, she did not contribute a single thought.

Her thoughts were on the unknown mage. Had he or she searched Romilda’s mind using magic and if yes, what had they seen? If that individual was successful, then they were aware of Sigrid’s presence in the war room. Would they be coming after her?

This unknown mage had displayed incredible talent. Was it a possible friend or foe? It seemed mages in Medoris were somewhat stronger than Eldoria’s mages and that needed to change soon.

"My love." Roland called her. He shook her arm, waking her out stupor.

"Mmm." She responded, gazing up into his eyes. "What were you saying?"

He pointed at the royal advisors and herald who appeared to be quite impatient. With a new ruler in charge, there was a lot to do. The daily twenty four hours of the day were not even enough to accomplish it all.

"I must attend a meeting with the feudal lords whose land used to boarder Nemoris. They are worried about what the new changes in the empire mean for them.

After that, I have a meeting with the general’s of the red knight army to discuss how we can strengthen the boarders. Medoris will be restless come spring so we must be ready."

"Then another meeting and another and another..." Sigrid butted in, tilting her head from side to side. "This first month is going to be rough on us. I will do my best to help you. So go....." She pushed him and then pulled her back. Steeping on her tip toes, she kissed him on the lips briefly and then pushed him away. "Bye, I have meetings of my own to attend. We will meet for lunch, no excuses."

Half an hour later, Sigrid took her very first meeting of the day. It was with an unexpected guest, Lord Benwick. He met her in the glass gardens on the grounds of the royal castle. He came in with a twinkle in his eyes and a deceptive smile meant to disarm her.

Sigrid remained seated, pretending that she was very interested in the cup of hot chocolate Lanai had just set before her on a wicker table. She did not say a word for fifteens and neither did he.

He stood before her, hiding his discomfort. His expectation was that she was a fledgling crown princess suddenly thrust into power ans in need of an experienced advisor to show her the ropes. He was the perfect man for the job.

He had been swimming in the murky waters of Eldorian politics for so long that he could analyze what was on the mind of every noble lord and courtier with his eyes closed.

He could help Sigrid and all he needed from her was simple: submission.

"Kneel." Sigrid ordered.