The kidnapped owl

At Balmoral Castle, Allen was handling official business in Edward's study under his father's guidance.

The two were remarkably alike in both bearing and appearance. Whenever they sat together to discuss serious matters, the atmosphere inevitably grew solemn.

A series of knocks against the window interrupted them. Both frowned and turned toward the sound.

They had assumed some cleaner had mistaken the scheduled time for washing the windows.

Instead, they saw a plump owl struggling to carry a letter almost as large as itself, banging its head against their window.

Allen: ...

Edward: ...

"Father."

Under the owl's increasingly fierce stare, Allen spoke. "...Should we let it in?"

Edward glanced at him, pressed the security bell, and ordered someone to remove the owl outside the third-floor study.

They had thought it was merely a minor incident, but the next day, the owl and letter appeared again.

His Majesty once again ordered the owl taken away, puzzled by these creatures' reversal of their biological clocks.

When an owl and letter appeared at the window for the third day running, even the most oblivious person would have realized something was wrong.

Allen and Edward went to inspect the owls themselves. After the staff had checked the letters with various instruments, they took the strange correspondence into their hands for the first time.

Puzzled, Allen followed beside the king, carefully maintaining the distinction between sovereign and crown prince.

Edward's expression changed the moment he saw the envelope. Written on it was:

[To: Alan Cornwall Windsor, in the bedroom at the far right of the third floor, Balmoral Castle]

Allen's expression changed at once. When he looked up again, the king's face was as black as thunder. His voice rang out, barely containing his fury. "Summon the prime minister!"

(Foreshadowing, developed in Chapter 90.)

The prime minister's expression changed the instant he saw the letter.

He studied Edward's expression uncertainly and ventured, "Your Majesty, do you mean... arrest whoever sent the letter?"

Edward fixed him with his deep, sea-blue eyes and demanded, "Or do you believe, Prime Minister, that someone discovering the crown prince's address in such precise detail is a trivial matter?"

The prime minister was even more puzzled. He glanced uncertainly at the emblem on the envelope, finally understanding why no one dared tell Allen about the wizarding world.

The king's attitude was simply too strange.

Slowly, he bowed with a hand over his heart and said respectfully, "As you wish."

The intelligence service sprang into action, establishing layer upon layer of defenses around the old castle of Balmoral.

Cutting-edge military weapons and defenses sealed Balmoral up like a fortress, ready and waiting for the fourth owl.

By then, the king and crown prince had moved to Windsor Castle. Both had read the letter and sat facing each other in silence.

Edward was perplexed. Surely no one would play such a prank on the royal family.

Besides, the letter included such a long list of school supplies that it hardly seemed fake.

But a school for wizards was simply too incredible!

He handed the letter back to Allen and watched him read it again, seemingly coming to a momentous decision.

"Allen, if MI6 catches the fourth owl, reply to this school and ask them to send a teacher to explain. We can consider the matter afterward."

Allen looked up and instantly understood the king's choice. He gave him a reassuring smile filled with wholehearted trust. "Father, I understand."

And so Edward had no need to voice any of his worries or explanations.

The intelligence service stood ready at Balmoral.

Yet the owl they awaited with such vigilance and anticipation flew straight to Windsor Castle and began pecking incessantly at the window of the study where Allen and Edward sat.

Father and son exchanged a glance, and Allen pressed the security bell.

Ever since they had discovered that the precise location of the crown prince's bedroom had been exposed, agents had guarded him around the clock. Now they filed into the room.

The owl was quickly caught, locked in a cage, and brought before the king.

As usual, the letter was screened with instruments before reaching Allen's hands.

Allen quickly finished reading it-

It hardly took any time, since the contents were exactly the same-

Then he looked up at Edward before turning to the owl thrashing around its cage. Hesitantly, he asked it, "Do you want me to write back?"

The owl calmed down and nodded. Feathers drifted slowly to the bottom of the cage, making it look rather comical.

Edward watched the owl in disbelief.

Allen took a fountain pen from an attendant, selected a sheet of stationery bearing a watermark of the royal coat of arms, and wrote:

"I am Allen Cornwall. I am deeply honored to receive an invitation from your school of magic.

However, as this nation's crown prince, I cannot respond to this invitation without full confirmation of the circumstances, nor would the king permit me to do so.

Please send a teacher from your school so that we may learn the relevant facts.

Yours sincerely, the Prince of Cornwall."

Allen folded the magical letter, placed it in a royal envelope along with his reply, and sealed it with the royal wax seal.

Edward silently permitted this-

He knew his son was making a show of authority to that world, reminding them of the respect due to a crown prince.

Allen gave him no cause for concern, carefully writing the recipient's details on the envelope.

[To: Headmaster Albus Dumbledore, Hogwarts School]

Once he had finished, Allen pointed to the cage holding the owl, and an attendant brought it within his reach.

Allen waved the envelope at the poor owl and received a shrill cry in response.

For some reason, Allen felt that the owl was demanding a tip and food, as though it expected him to make amends.

The absurd thought left him unsure whether to laugh or cry, but he still ordered an attendant to prepare food for the owl and had someone fetch a pound note.

The owl haughtily accepted his food, but scorned the pound note-

It kicked the note that had been placed in its cage, turned its rear toward the unfortunate banknote, and deposited yellow-and-white droppings on it.

Edward turned his head away and leaned back slightly in his high-backed chair, his face expressionless.

The attendants immediately moved to carry the owl's cage away.

Allen raised a hand to stop them. After a moment's thought, he said, "Bring me a diamond."

It was a diamond the size of a soybean, which an attendant placed inside the cage with tweezers.

The owl looked at the diamond and tilted its head, apparently considering it.

A moment later, it gave a reluctant nod and held out its right leg, indicating that the diamond should be placed in the little leather pouch tied there.

The attendant complied, and sure enough, the owl nodded in satisfaction.

It pecked at the cage and glanced at the letter, signaling that they should open the cage so it could get to work.

With a soft laugh, Allen ordered the window opened and watched the owl pick up the letter, which was barely smaller than itself, and fly into the brilliant sunlight.

Edward's face remained expressionless, his Sea Blue eyes dark. He waved a hand. "All of you, leave."

The attendants and agents filed out. Allen looked at His Majesty and reassured him, "Father, don't worry. If this headmaster really is willing to come in person, then the wizarding world must be relatively safe."

"I know." Edward looked at his son. "But... letting you face such an unfamiliar world alone..."

Allen chuckled. "If you're worried, you could let me take a camera."

Edward ignored him and glanced at the sky outside.

Was sending letters by owl really reliable?

If magic truly existed, would a camera really be of any use?

Owl post was clearly reliable. After all, four owls in a row had found Allen without fail. That made Edward all the more concerned for his son's safety.

"An unfamiliar world is extremely dangerous, especially when that world possesses powers we know nothing about."

Edward looked at Allen. "As crown prince, Allen, you are qualified to enter that world. And so you must go, for the sake of our people."

He reasoned that if the unusual abilities Allen had possessed since birth were magic, there must be others like him.

Such people were likely a minority, but their power was by no means insignificant.

Thus, learning about that world and gaining some measure of oversight over those citizens with extraordinary powers was also part of the crown prince's duty.

Allen had clearly thought of this as well. They exchanged a glance, understanding each other without words.

"I understand. If I do go to that world, I will investigate every aspect of it, compile my findings into reports, and submit them weekly."

Edward hesitated, wanting to say more.

Smiling, Allen answered before he could speak. "And I will make sure to protect myself, never deliberately approach danger, keep a daily record of my activities, and send you letters."

Only then did Edward nod.