Imperial Direct Temporary Collaborator

The first thing I saw when I opened my eyes was not the ceiling, but a bandage.

My right hand, wrapped in white, filled the center of my vision.

I stared down at it blankly for a moment before the events of the previous night came flooding back all at once.

What had happened at the abandoned pumping station.

…Young Master.

Even the slightest movement made my shoulder and side ache. My ankle was no better. And my hand went without saying.

This could hardly be called a good morning.

On the small table beside the bed sat a cup of tea that had not yet gone cold, along with a single medicine bottle. There was also a thin cloth pouch stamped with an unfamiliar imperial crest. When I opened it, I found a new pair of gloves. They fit my hand as if they had been made to measure.

I looked at them for a moment and gave a faint smile. The princess would never have prepared something like this herself, and Dein hardly seemed the type for such delicate tastes. Only one person came to mind, but I did not bother saying the name aloud.

Just then, a careful voice came from outside the door.

"Lord Elverhart, may I enter?"

"Come in."

A servant entered with his head bowed. He had a young face, but his expression was firmly controlled. Typical of the palace.

"Her Highness has ordered that you be brought to her the moment you awaken."

"Right now?"

"Yes. However, she also said you should eat first."

I sat on the edge of the bed and asked, "What about the pumping station?"

The servant set down the tray he had brought and answered my question briefly.

"It was completely sealed off during the night. I heard a considerable number of those involved have been detained as well."

"Has there been an official announcement?"

"Not yet. But the rumors have already spread."

I had expected as much. I picked up the gloves and rose from my seat.

"Her Highness summoned me."

"Yes. She said to come at once, as soon as you can move."

The message was short and clear enough that I saw no need to ask further. After changing clothes and stepping into the corridor, the cool morning air of the imperial palace brushed across my face. The hallway was so immaculate it was hard to believe the place had been turned upside down overnight. The gazes of the people, however, were not so clean.

Knights, servants, record-keepers, officials. Everyone kept their mouths shut, but their eyes flicked toward me one by one. I pretended not to notice and walked along the gallery.

My steps paused briefly at the turn toward the garden. A short distance ahead stood Serena Valter. Today she wore a simple dress. It was neat, but her complexion was poor. She looked pale, with a thin layer of fatigue settled under her eyes. The face of someone who had not slept all night.

She seemed to have noticed me as well. Her gaze swept over my face first, then settled on my bandaged right hand. I gave a short bow.

"Young Lady."

Serena's lips moved ever so slightly. I could guess what she meant to say. But there was no reason to take up a conversation that had already ended. I spoke first, half a beat ahead of her.

"Would you step aside? Her Highness is waiting."

Serena froze. In that brief moment, several emotions flickered through her eyes—wounded pride, bewilderment, and the resignation that followed a beat too late. Yes. Even she would know that this was no longer a stage where words could hold someone back.

In the end, Serena stepped aside.

"…Are you all right?"

It sounded like the only words a person who could no longer hold on had managed to force out. I did not stop walking.

"I'm alive."

I did not look back. What Serena needed now was time to accept that the conversation was over.

When the reception room door opened, two people were already inside: Princess Isabella and Lady Adelaide. The princess was leafing through documents, while the lady was checking something by the window. As I entered, both of their gazes rose at once.

The princess spoke first.

"You woke sooner than I expected. I thought you'd sleep until evening."

"When Her Highness is waiting, I can hardly afford to be late."

"Still sharp-tongued, even like this."

From the side, the lady added flatly, "Just because the words come out fine doesn't mean the body is fine."

I pulled out a chair and sat.

"If the two of you take turns pressuring me like this, it's rather exhausting from a patient's perspective."

"Good."

The princess closed the documents.

"That means you've recovered enough to feel exhausted."

This princess never gave anyone a moment to catch their breath. She pushed several sheets of paper toward me.

"Let's start with the summary. By dawn we had secured nearly everything on the pumping station incident down to the working level. Ledgers connected to Bren Theo, night-passage permits, the bypassed use of administrative seals, and approvals for access to the pumping station."

The lady continued calmly, "The Calibration Bureau and the Administration Office have also begun partial investigations. At the very least, direct involvement in this incident ends here."

I picked up one of the documents. This was what I had needed.

"So the official announcement will go that way as well?"

"Most likely."

The princess spoke as if it were nothing.

"Anomaly in the banquet hall barrier, exposure of corruption in pumping station management, and suspicion of misuse of the internal barrier network. For the outside world, that much is enough."

"Clean."

"Making dirty things look clean from the outside is the job of those at the top."

I looked at the princess with tired eyes.

"When Your Highness says things like that, it's frightening."

"At this point?"

She brushed it off, then continued with a face a shade more serious than before.

"What matters is from now on, Lord Elverhart."

I looked at her instead of answering.

"For the past few days, you have been far too visible to eyes both inside and outside the palace."

The lady added quietly from the side, "Wandering outside the palace right now would not be good for your safety."

I knew what she meant. I spoke as if sighing.

"How bad is 'not good'? The kind where knives come for me? Or the kind where rumors circulate?"

"Both, wouldn't you say?"

The princess answered far too easily.

"So I have reached a conclusion."

She pushed the final document toward me. I took it, and the moment I read the title, I pressed my fingers to my brow.

It was perfectly clear. And beneath it, my name was written distinctly.

Rion Elverhart.

I said nothing for several seconds. The princess's face was nonchalant. The lady already wore an expression that said she had known.

"Your Highness."

"What is it?"

"This is not a consultation. It's a notification."

"I'm glad you understand so well. Saves me the trouble."

She was so brazen I had no words. The princess propped her chin on her hand and spoke at her leisure.

"If I place you under my name, at least no one will be able to touch you lightly. It also gives us a pretext for protection."

"And my opinion?"

"You slept in too long for it to be considered. A pity."

"You just said I woke early."

"I believe I attached the words 'sooner than expected' in front of that."

From the side, the lady supported her with perfect calm.

"It is reasonable."

"Even you, Young Lady?"

"I already said it would be dangerous if you went outside right now."

I looked down at the designation again. I hated to admit it, but the measure was not entirely wrong. Bound directly under the princess, it would at least be difficult for anyone to lay hands on me freely inside or outside the palace. Access to information related to the northeast would also become easier. The cost, however, was high.

The entire capital would go mad before the day was out. There would be no better piece of bait to sink one's teeth into.

"This is going to get very noisy."

At my muttered words, the princess smiled very faintly.

"Which is why it's even better."

"Better?"

"Yes. It will be interesting to see who tries to take the first bite."

I lost my words for a moment. That, too, was not entirely wrong.

In the meantime, the lady pushed another sheet of paper toward me.

"Look at this as well."

I picked it up. This one was shorter.

"Did your hand reach even this far, Young Lady?"

"I merely confirmed it."

She said so, but from the way the edges of the paper had been arranged and the order of the seals affixed, it did not seem as if she had left it entirely untouched. I thought of the gloves left beside the bed, then looked at the lady.

"Did you merely confirm the gloves as well?"

Adelaide's gaze wavered for the briefest instant. For her, that was a rather large reaction.

"…Did they fit well?"

"Yes. Unnaturally so."

"…Then that's fine."

It was an indifferent answer. Even so, that single line was the most human thing I had heard all morning.

The princess looked back and forth between the two of ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠us and said quietly, "The two of you are falling into step faster than I expected."

She was not saying it with kind intent. I chose not to rise to it and set the documents down.

"So from now on, I belong to Your Highness."

"Temporarily."

"The word 'temporary' is the one I trust least."

"Same here."

The princess gave a small laugh. For that moment alone, the air in the reception room lightened a little. It was a moment in which one could catch one's breath, however briefly.

But such things never last long. Hurried footsteps approached from outside the door. It was a knight. The moment ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠he opened the door and entered, he bowed at the waist as if kneeling.

"Your Highness."

The princess's expression settled back into its usual gravity.

"Speak."

The knight glanced at me briefly, then returned his gaze to the ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠princess. It was not the face of someone bearing good news.

"His Majesty the Emperor summons Lord Elverhart."

The room fell quiet. Unconsciously, I flexed and unflexed my fingers. The palm beneath the bandage throbbed again.

Temporary collaborator directly under the princess. I had thought that alone was enough to make the matter large enough. There had been a level above it ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠still waiting.

The princess rose slowly from her seat. She looked at me without hesitation, as if what was coming had always been inevitable.

"Prepare yourself."