The next day,
After twenty-five days, Prime Minister Mervil and Royal Security Chief Sendrav returned from their travels.
The Land of Fallen Stars had revealed many hidden secrets, while some mysteries remained concealed, giving rise to even more questions.
The Prime Minister and Chief Sendrav entered the Queen’s royal office, where she was having her high tea.
Both greeted and bowed to their Queen.
Queen Clasida nodded and gestured for them to sit.
They took their seats across from her as a maid entered to serve the tea.
The Queen looked at them, picked up a tea biscuit, and leaned back while continuing to observe them.
“Your Majesty, the Land of Fallen Stars seems even more mysterious now. Apart from the ordinary people, who are concerned only with their daily bread, there is an air of mystery lurking within the dark shadows. It is dense,” Sendrav began.
The Queen’s gaze remained fixed on them as she took a bite of her biscuit.
“He is right. If my senses are serving me correctly, then the Black Sage and the Chitkin clan have gained a strong hold over the land,” Mervil added.
“Also, the maid we went to investigate is from the Chitkin clan, though she is not officially recognized as a Chitkin. But…” Mervil paused.
“Given the fact that she was born to a middle-order Chitkin, we may be looking at a large conspiracy.”
“How did this woman pass royal scrutiny and become one of the royal maids of our late Queen?”
He paused pressing his lips inwardly, he left a soft exhale,
“This was quite a major security lapse,” Mervil continued.
The room fell silent.
“Who was the Royal Security Chief back then?” the Queen asked.
“Mahendra Urvasa, from the Urvasa clan.”
“But later, he was replaced by Kathwar Vrishan, the cousin of the former tyrant monarch, though he continued to work as a security advisor under the tyrant,” Sendrav answered.
The Queen nodded and took another sip of her tea.
“By the way, I did receive a report about a Black Sage attack on the Shakta Princess,” Sendrav added.
“Oh, yes. Please give me the report as soon as possible,” the Prime Minister said.
“I am sure I will have to face questions soon.”
As the three continued discussing the matter, someone knocked on the door.
“Come in,” the Queen said, her voice soft yet firm.
The Deputy Prime Minister walked in.
“Is the Shakta head here?” Mervil asked.
“The Shakta clan representative, Sudas Shakuntala, is here and requesting an urgent audience with you,” the Deputy reported.
The Prime Minister sighed and rose to his feet.
The Queen spoke.
“Bring him into my office.”
The Prime Minister blinked, slightly surprised.
Then sat back on the cushioned chair.
The Deputy nodded with a slight bow before leaving the room.
A few moments later, the Shakta clan representative entered and respectfully bowed before the Queen.
“Your Majesty.”
Queen Clasida leaned back and observed the court member for a moment before speaking in a calm yet dignified voice.
“The incident was brought to my notice on the very night it occurred.”
“We had some prior intelligence regarding this matter. Hence, I ordered surveillance on your clan members.”
“The security team is looking into the matter.”
“Your Majesty, as a father, I would like to express my sincere gratitude,” Sudas said with a bow.
The Queen nodded.
“Tell your baby girl to come home early. Meetings with friends can be held either at the Shakta Haveli or in a public place.”
“I will, My Lady,” Sudas replied.
“Please tell your mother that I would like an audience with her. The place and time can be decided according to her convenience,” Mervil said calmly.
“Of course, Prime Minister. I will make the necessary arrangements,” Sudas replied politely before leaving.
The Prime Minister and the Chief looked at their Queen.
With a smirk, she said, “Tell me about the diary.”
Both men sighed.
“The maid’s daughter happened to mention it. She said that the late Queen used to write something in a diary every day.”
“She used to follow her mother into the quarters and play around. Considering what we know about our late Queen, that isn’t surprising,” Mervil answered with a shrug.
“I questioned her further, but she was too young to remember much. Fortunately, she did remember asking the Queen what she was writing. The late Queen replied, ‘My journey,'” Mervil reported.
The Queen sat in silence for a moment.
Then, she spoke in a calm tone.
“We have no clues about the diary.”
Both the Chief and the Prime Minister nodded.
The three continued discussing other details for a while.
At the Shakta Haveli
The Head Matriarch sat quietly in the grand hall on her high-backed chair.
Sudas narrated everything the Queen had said.
Lady Shakuntala’s facial muscles twitched slightly.
“Mother, you seem tense,” Sudas said, unable to hide his curiosity.
“I don’t know. I’m having a bad feeling.”
“All the events that have unfolded since the case was reopened are not adding up.”
“The Queen receiving a mysterious letter late at night, seemingly out of thin air, which is already a big security breach…”
“The reopening of , my cousin Amaranda’s case—the late Queen, who was a Shakta princess before ascending the throne…”
“And now, the current Shakta princess has been targeted,” Matriarch Shakuntala shared her thoughts.
Sudas’s eyes widened in surprise.
“You mean the two events are connected in some way?” he asked.
“I can’t say that with certainty, but the circumstances are too coincidental to ignore,” Lady Shakuntala replied.
Just then, Kaushiki, the heir to the clan head’s seat walked in.
“I happened to remember an old conversation with Clasida.” she revealed
As she sat beside her husband, Sudas.
Both looked at her.
“This was just a few days before she officially ascended the throne.”
“She did mention, ‘When the time comes, I will reopen the case of the late Queen,'” Kaushiki revealed.
Shakuntala pressed her lips together thoughtfully.
“When Clasida used to come to play with you at the Haveli back in those days, I saw her sneaking into the library countless times to read cousin Amaranda’s biography.”
“She did idolize her,” Lady Shakuntala recounted.
“So, irrespective of the letter, she was going to reopen the case anyway,” Sudas said, trying to understand.
Kaushiki nodded.
“Possibly. We still don’t know the contents of the letter,” she replied.
“Why did they target our daughter, Yani?” Sudas asked.
“That’s something I’m also trying to wrap my head around,” Kaushiki said.
“Mother, when you meet with the Prime Minister, you could ask him about the letter,” Sudas suggested.
Shakuntala said nothing.
The night fell silent.
The Next Morning
At the University
The selected first-year students gathered at the University main hall.
Their classes were to be allocated, and their Gurus assigned.
The Surya candidate and his companions approached a young man who had caught everyone’s attention.
He called out to him, full of attitude.
“Hey, you. What’s your name?”
“Kairav,” the young man replied coldly.
The instructor announced, “Attention, everyone.”
Kairav looked toward the raised podium and walked toward it.
The Surya candidate felt uneasy at his indifference but chose to ignore it for now.
Chief Sendrav stood alongside the two Gurus who had been elected as the classroom teachers for this year’s batch.
They would remain with the students until they graduated as Mayaveers of the Royal Military—an esteemed position reserved only for the worthy.
The University Chair, Lord Dharmapal Chitta, was also present.
Guru Sariputta and Guru Goalpara walked ahead with the lists in their hands.
Guru Goalpara, being the senior of the two, began first.
As he called out the names, the candidates came forward and moved to one side.
A total of twenty-five candidates were called, including noble candidates from the Surya, Naga, Panchbhuti, Chitta, and Ashwa clans.
Yani’s two friends, Megh and Seth, were also assigned to Guru Goalpara’s class.
The Naga clan youth was not pleased at all about being placed in the same class as the Surya candidate.
The Panchbhuti candidate was of no use to him either, as his clan was known for its exceptional self-healing abilities.
The Ashwa candidate was a potential ally, but everyone was aware of his proximity to Surya.
Guru Sariputta stepped forward, and the names were called out.
The noble candidates from the Chandra, Tarankan, Shakta, and Garuda clans were assigned to the same class.
Two more of Yani’s friends, Arun and Karuna, were also placed in this group.
The Shakta candidate was pleased to see Karuna in the same class.
The final name among the twenty-five candidates assigned to Guru Sariputta was announced.
“Kairav Urvasa.”
The Surya noble was taken aback.
“What a loss. He is not in my class,” he muttered.
Kairav took a few steps forward and walked toward the group.
“Kairav is Urvasa? Interesting,” the Chandra candidate thought
Faint smile appeared on his face
Chatter rose throughout the hall.
Everyone had believed that the Urvasa clan was long gone.
Yet here they stood before a descendant who had appeared out of thin air.
Sendrav watched with a smirk.