Esmuer Bistim Tel Nua
Esmuer Bistim Tel Nua
"It's quieter around here than I expected, isn't it? I thought the people watching your every move would be on edge."
That was the first thing Ragnis said after finishing class and coming to the cafe. She let down the ponytail she'd had tied up, casually ordered a drink, and threw that out there.
It was true that ever since Esmue had visited, foot traffic had dropped off like a barrier had been cast around the area.
"The princess stopped by earlier. That might be why."
"Princess...? If you mean Eselua, she was in the same class as me."
"Not her. The First Princess Esmue visited."
"The First Princess?!"
It was a reaction I'd never seen from Ragnis in all the time I'd known her—she moved exactly like a cat startled by a cucumber. She practically jumped out of her seat as if Esmue herself had been sitting in the chair she was about to take, and I was genuinely impressed.
'So she could move like that, huh?'
"Wh-why on earth would the Iron-Blood Princess... wait. That Rudra's Dog bastard kicked up such a shitshow that it wouldn't be strange for her to get involved directly, would it?"
"Hold on. Iron what? Iron Blood?"
'What kind of outlandish monstrosity of a nickname was she pinning on someone else's hamster now? Was there some homonym for Iron Blood that referred to something cute that I didn't know about? Apart from her slightly peculiar way of speaking, there wasn't a single thing about her that warranted being called Iron Blood.'
Contrary to my confusion, Ragnis sat back down with a reaction that said it was only natural I wouldn't know, and calmly continued her explanation. But she was acting cautious as hell, as if someone around us might be listening to her story.
"She's a monster among monsters who, even at only 18, has nearly cemented her foundation for succession to the imperial throne. She excels at everything except swordsmanship, which she couldn't learn because of her frail body, and she even built her power base by purging the Empire's high nobles—the old snakes who had clung to power for years."
Huh...?
"Publicly, I think it took about four years? We have no way of knowing what really happened, but the Emperor has plenty of children and they don't even get along, yet as things stand no one except the Second Imperial Prince can object to her succession. She showed enough of a tyrannical streak getting there that people started calling her Iron Blood. In fact, she's been called that since she turned 15... now nobles bow on their own the moment she appears."
The words coming from Ragnis's mouth were so far beyond my imagination. Purges? A tyrant?
'The little cake-monster Hamster, who gets flustered and turns red, stammering and anxious at the slightest mistake, but melts at any praise...?'
"Our Hamster could never..."
"What the hell is a Hamster supposed to... wait? What did you just say? 'Our'?"
Ragnis's eyes suddenly lit up again, and I instinctively leaned back a little as I relayed the story of what had happened while she was in class. I thought it was just a simple story about butchering some cake, having a pleasant chat, and receiving a promise regarding the Gwilb matter... I... thought... but...
Ragnis's expression was anything but simple.
"To the Iron-Blood Princess... some madman was hitting on her...!"
"Oh my god. You're saying things people would misunderstand if they heard. Hitting on her? We merely had a delightful tea party, that's all."
Of course, the fact that she was a full three years older than me, not just one or two, was a considerable shock, but in the end, she was still just a kid.
Even if she was a natural-born scheming empress who, unlike her appearance, had enjoyed a life of purging the nobility... anyway, she was a cute little kid.
"Can't you just live normally, Eldmia? How is it that there's an unending stream of incidents and accidents wherever you go?"
"Well... if you're asking if this is entirely my fault..."
"Then is it my fault?"
"No... now that I think about it, it really is my fault..."
'Now that I thought about it, it really was.'
You could argue that Ragnis, who told me to beat the Hero, was the trigger for the whole incident, but honestly, even without that, looking at that shithead Zeke's attitude at the time, I would have been desperate to win anyway. Because I won, Rudra's dog latched onto me, and unless he was some alternate-universe mutt who'd turned over a new leaf, he would've died by my hand regardless.
"Even if we let it slide that you didn't know the other party was the princess, that's one thing. But if you knew it was her in person, you should have reacted differently!"
"No, that's not it. I have no doubt I survived because of my absolutely badass choices."
If I'd gone with any other option, my neck might have been lopped off on the guillotine just like the necks of all the enemies I'd sent flying. That was one thing I couldn't compromise on.
"Haaah... my head is throbbing. How on earth did Asilie raise you for six years?"
"With love and affection...?"
I said it for nothing and just got kicked in the shin. A world where telling the truth brings pain, huh. No different from my previous life.
"...Hoo. I don't know what kind of miracle happened, but the fact remains that the Iron-Blood Princess left without holding any ill feelings toward you."
"She actually left with a favorable impression, thanks to the amazing social skills of Eldmia Ega, whose mental age is over 30."
"......If she were an elf, that'd be one thing, but a future emperor is way too serious, seriously..."
"Huh? What did you say?"
"Wh-why are you listening to someone talking to themselves!"
"Ow! You said it pretty loud yourself, and then you kick me?!"
"Shut up!"
I didn't know what it was, but convicted of 'offensiveness by atmosphere' and kicked in the shin, I had no choice but to submit to the violence and shut my mouth. Ugh... so unfair.
"Right. We still... we still don't know yet."
She kept mumbling to herself, looking like she was carrying every worry in the world all on her own. I was curious what she was agonizing over, but it felt like I'd just get my shin chewed out for no reason if I said anything, so I kept my mouth shut. Finally, as if she'd finished thinking, Ragnis returned to the main topic.
"As I just said, she's the most likely next in line for the throne. It's no exaggeration to say that her words are absolute. Even if she only said it to you, she's not the type of person who speaks lightly. This Rudra issue seems like it'll be a very unexpected windfall for me, for us."
Even as she said that, Ragnis couldn't quite put on a bright expression, as if she had other worries.
'What the hell was it?'
◈
The third day in the Empire passed without any further trouble, probably because I'd gone through the massive event that was Esmue. Even just the rumor that I'd spoken with her spread, and I was able to enjoy a very peaceful walk back from school.
"Bwahahaha! Kid! I knew I could count on you! You never let me down, you little shit!"
"I haven't had a single normal morning since coming to the Empire. Why is your bullshit flaring up again first thing in the morning?"
The fourth day began with Zeke, that bastard, sprinting over like a ghost to slap me on the back and laugh his ass off, so I greeted it feeling ominous, like the calm before a storm.
"I heard you met that Forehead Ghost yesterday?"
Esmue's smooth white forehead came to mind immediately, but his bait was obvious, so I pretended not to understand. The ordinary word for forehead existed here, but using this clipped, crude slang for it was something only a Reincarnator like him would do. If I reacted, I'd give myself away.
"Who are you talking about? What even is a 'Forehead'?"
"Ah! I meant her forehead, forehead. I heard you met Princess Esmue."
"Did you just call Princess Esmue... Forehead Ghost?"
'Wow, this bastard is seriously unfiltered. Does he even call the Emperor 'Uncle' or something?' But instead of getting offended by my reaction, wasn't the bastard giggling and grinning, looking more delighted than ever?
"Heh heh. Normally, I couldn't call her that either. But as long as she voluntarily crawls under the academy's rules, she's nothing more or less than the Forehead Ghost."
"Excuse me?"
'What was that supposed to mean? Did imperial citizens have the principle of equality applied to them just by visiting the academy?'
"Anyway, I knew I could count on you! I'm honestly sad there are only four days left. Why don't you just stay in the Empire and live here with me?"
"Please stop saying such horrific things. Why the hell do I have to hear that from a grown-ass guy?"
'Fuck, I literally got goosebumps all over my body for a second.'
"Hah. Such a waste, such a waste. I wish there was a way, you know? But what can you do? I'm a man who knows how to enjoy the day. I'll just set aside the regret and enjoy the remaining four days."
"What the hell are you..."
"That sound right there!"
Even though he was shorter than me, Zeke casually threw his arm around my shoulders and pointed toward the academy's main gate, the one I'd just passed through. Following his finger, I looked at the main gate and saw students visibly flustered by an unforeseen situation, along with a very expensive-looking carriage entering.
"Th-that's the carriage of Her Highness the First Princess!"
"Her Highness the Princess is at the academy...?"
"S-someone must have committed a crime!"
'What the hell was that last reaction? Is that seriously her image? Hamster?'
Looking at the carriage that slowly pulled in and stopped, Zeke was laughing so joyfully it made me want to flick him on the forehead.
"Heeheehee, that goddamn Forehead. I heard you honor-killed that Rudra lunatic yesterday?"
"Please, for the love of god, speak words I can understand. What's a lunatic? I fought a duel for honor, but 'honor killing'? Where the hell does that bizarre vocabulary of yours come from?"
'Seriously, talking to this bastard is pointlessly familiar, but having to react to every single thing is so annoying.' But Zeke, not caring at all anymore, just kept talking.
"You just gotta understand what I mean. This kind of thing happens a lot when you talk to me, so just roll with it. Anyway, thanks to that lunatic causing an unprecedented incident, that Forehead Ghost got pissed as hell. Man, I wish you could've seen her yesterday. That tiny little thing was so angry her hair looked like it was about to stand on end. She was about to summarily execute Rudra's envoy right then and there, you know?"
When the elderly butler with a solemn face, who had gotten down from the driver's seat, opened the carriage door, a very dainty foot revealed itself. And soon, Esmue fully emerged, wearing a simple dress woven with dark violet dye—not too flashy, but anyone could see it was of a different class that marked her as nobility—accented with gold ornaments.
"She said that instead of standing by and watching something like that happen twice while envoys keep coming over the next few days, she would personally accompany you. That Forehead has an insane amount of work, so if that happens, the people around her are gonna have a rough time, but they couldn't even squeak out a single complaint."
"She's going to hang around with me?"
"Yeah. She said she'd tag along with you. Keheheh. I know that chick's temper well, and she's gonna be shitting blood, seriously."
'This bastard was laughing like he'd lost his goddamn mind, he was enjoying it so much. Was it really that funny? More importantly, there hadn't been any problem yesterday. Was it different when things were official?'
After lightly giving some instruction to her butler, she answered the surrounding students' dilemma over whether to kneel before her or just go to school normally by ignoring them, and naturally walked over toward me. Relieved that she didn't point out their irreverence for not kneeling, the students began hurrying to school very enthusiastically.
She looked at me and gave a slight smile, then looked at Zeke, who was stuck to my side, and seemed to furrow her brows for a moment before smiling again. Judging by that look, the action I needed to take was obvious.
"We meet again, Esmue. This is much sooner than I expected."
"Huh?"
I naturally slipped out of Zeke's shoulder embrace—he looked like he was going to zone out mid-laugh—and Esmue lightly accepted my greeting as she answered.
"It turned out that way, Eldmia. As I said, I staked my name on it."
"...Huh?"
The only one who couldn't understand the conversation we were having was Zeke, who just stood there with a dumb expression on his face, unable to process it.