Ray x Reader One Shots

Wisteria Nectar

Part 4 of Love with a Loss of Innocence

(y/n)'s pov

I wasn't able to ask what Gilda meant last night about "winning the war." I had to wake up early the next morning to travel to Ellesmere, which was about a thirty-minute walk away from Ravaryn City. 

"Let me accompany you," Gilda suggested. "I lived in Ellesmere for quite some time, so I know my way around there. And also, I myself want to destroy Asteria's corrupt society."

I nodded, while we said our goodbyes and as our thank-you's to Josephine and Mendel. 

"Be sure to kick some royal ass, okay?" Josephine advised. "If you ever need help, I'll always be here."

She hugged me, as Mendel said a few words. 

"(f/n) would be so proud of you," he said, embracing me. "It's a shame we didn't have the time to get to know you as well."

"Thank you for everything," I stated. "Until then, see you later!"

I waved, as Gilda walked forward. I went next to her, and we finally parted ways with Josephine and Mendel.

fifteen minutes later

From where we stood, we could see the tall spires of the imperial palace. I shielded my eyes from the sun as I looked up. It really did look like it was peeking through the clouds. 

"Hey, are you hungry?" I asked Gilda. She nodded in confirmation, so I shared half of my bread. "It's not much, but I hope we can find more in the marketplace."

"We probably can," Gilda answered, between bites. "Food isn't that expensive here." 

After a few minutes of silence, I asked her,

"Is it true you can order a dozen corpses to do your bidding?" I inquired. Her eyes widened and she shook her head in embarrassment.

"No, I'm not that powerful," she replied. "I honestly don't even know how that rumor came out. The most I can do is commanding flowers to dance in unison. Although I usually save that spell for children's entertainment." 

"I see," I said, looking forward. "Did you want to become a sorceress when you were younger?"

"At first, I didn't want to," she explained. "I desired to be a doctor, in charge of a clinic. But, my mother fell ill, and I needed to find a way to make money. For some reason, the mages said I had a lot of mana in me, and so I became an apprentice to help my family."

"But one day, when I came home from work, I found my mother deceased on the floor. She was reading a letter, and it said that my father was killed in the war against Asteria," she added. "My mother died of heartbreak because of that, so I went to live with Ms. Krone ever since."

"Oh, I'm sorry," I whispered. I looked at her, and she had tears in her eyes. "I didn't know."

"You're fine," Gilda said quickly. "I miss them, and sometimes I wish they were still here with me. But, I remember that they are always with me. Inside my heart, of course."

A few seconds later, we found the gate to Ellesmere. It was tall, and the hinges were a bit rusted. It automatically opened for us, and we went in. 

It was strangely quiet. I was half-expecting it to be bustling and filled with rows of people. I looked at the sun, and it was northeast above us. So it should be around 10 in the morning, I thought.

"That's odd, no one's here," Gilda murmured. She must have noticed the eerie stillness. We cautiously walked forward, and the more we ventured inside the kingdom, the more we heard mutters of people.

The ground had cobblestones, and between the cracks grew small, delicate purple flowers. The stores showed signs elaborating on what they sold or catered to. We passed by the butcher's, the library, the apothecary, and the carpenters.

I was getting a little creeped out when suddenly, we saw a crowd of people around a government official. There were about twenty people here, and I hoped it wasn't another execution. I heard some hushed sentences of what was going on

"I don't know, but someone snuck in."

"How did the news even get out so quickly?"

"Beats me. Seems like a case for the imperial courthouse."

We stood behind them and noticed these were the villagers. I looked around and noticed some with interesting features. One had red hair and a sharp, distinctive nose, and another had yellow hair and a bandana.

The government official herself had pale blond hair, green eyes, and a pink scarf. She was holding a parchment scroll in her hands and requested complete seriousness. She cleared her throat and started reciting what was on the scroll.

"The child heir to the kingdom of Ellesmere, Prince Phil of the house of Xanchior, was found poisoned and deceased in his chamber, at 9:30 am."

This caused an uprising, and the official had to call for silence again. I glanced at Gilda, and even she herself was confused. 

"Prince Phil? Dead?!" she whisper-screamed. "That's unheard of! Who would want to kill the future king?!"

As she ranted quietly, I myself was thinking about the crime.

Poisoned? There was only one kind of poison that could be here in Ellesmere, and that was Lily Nectar. Strong and potent, it can kill in a matter of seconds. But if he had it in his drink, then it had to be tasteless. In addition, she said he was pronounced dead around 9:30. That means it had to have been something that caused great suffering before passing. 

In other words, Wisteria Nectar. 

Wisteria Nectar was something that could only be bought with large amounts of money. It was so valuable, that only a noble could buy it.

That was it. 

"Only a noble could buy it."

If only a noble could afford that, then that means someone with high status was responsible for the death of the prince. Someone who wanted the throne for themselves. 

There was only one more question left to answer. Wisteria flowers aren't native to this land, so where did the culprit get it to begin with? 

Even from before I arrived here, I knew some knowledge of the child inheritor. He showed great brilliance for his studies, and even at his age, he figured out the art of leading a kingdom. Some say this prodigy could rival the smartest person in all the tri-kingdoms, Marquess Norman. 

"The infirmary found traces of liquid darkness in his blood," she stated, as the crowd listened intently. "Until then, the imperial guard will be looking for the murderer."

Liquid darkness. I've heard of those before, but from where?

"However, we may already know who they are," the official added. 

"We believe the runaway Asterian is the one to blame."

She looked directly at me before I was constrained and blacked out.

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And that was Part 5. 

Yesterday I had a lot of ideas for this story, and it was hard picking one. So I hope you're enjoying the plot so far.

Thank you for 150k reads and have a nice day/night!