48.
48.
It must have been an impressive sight. For the Romans here, and for the Norsemen behind me as well.
The meeting of two cultures, visibly distinct even in their attire.
My cloak, trimmed all over with the warm fur of beasts, worn over the pure white garments gifted to me in Cherson, and the exceedingly soft and fine cloth worn by the Roman emperors. And even the golden crown resting upon their heads.
If someone were to capture this scene in a painting, it would be a sight to deeply stir the people of later ages.
"Welcome, Archon Helgi. I am Rentakios—"
"Enough, that will do, Rentakios."
Rentakios? The friend Damian told me about?
The man robed in purple waved his arm and approached me, cutting off the beardless man, Rentakios, who had been trying to lead the introductions on behalf of the high and mighty emperor.
"I am truly pleased to meet you. Helgi, Konungr of the Rus. I am called Michael, Basileus of Rome."
Stepping forward first with a friendly laugh and spreading his arms wide in welcome, the one who greeted me introduced himself as Michael.
'So this is the famous drunkard.'
The drunkard emperor whose name even Oleg of Novgorod knew. But contrary to my expectations, I saw no sign of the generous bulk of flesh unique to a drunkard, nor a scrawny frame. Nor did he smell as strongly of drink as I had thought.
When it is like this, it is one of two things. Either the rumors were exaggerated, or he is a natural-born drunkard.
"Thank you for welcoming me thus, Basileus Michael. I am Helgi Ragnarsson, Konungr of the Rus."
[Swish—]
I extended my Örn arm as I usually did, and I saw the men behind the emperor all flinch in surprise as one.
'What is this, did I make a mistake?'
Is one not supposed to shake hands with an emperor?
How could I, who had never seen nor learned Roman etiquette, know? Fortunately, the emperor, seeming rather pleased by the arm offered before him, boldly gripped my arm and shook it.
"Truly glad I am, Helgi Konungr! What other Basileus of Rome but I has ever clasped hands thus with a foreign ruler! Ha ha!"
For whatever reason, Michael, who had been gripping and shaking my Örn arm with an extremely excited look, turned his body and introduced another purple-clad human to me.
"Now, this man here is called Basil, my co-emperor."
"It is an honor to meet you thus; I cannot contain my joy. Helgi Konungr."
"The honor is mine to give. Symbasileus Basil."
He was a man of such ruthlessly cold impression that it seemed not a single drop of blood would come out even if you pricked him. Men of this kind are those who will do anything for their goal. Was Eudokia Ingerina this man's nominal wife, and in truth the mistress of Emperor Mikhaíl?
The wife of the co-emperor, bearing the child of the legitimate emperor.
I knew not what kind of deal had been made, but my instincts screamed that Emperor Mikhaíl had made a great mistake.
"Now, now! You must be weary in body and mind from your long journey. Let us go in and talk! Rentakios! Prepare a banquet!"
"Understood, Your Imperial Majesty."
Following the spirited emperor who had taken hold of my arm and was leading me, I felt the countless gazes following behind me. Curiosity, wariness, hostility, goodwill.
Though not a single day had passed since I set foot in this city, a fantasy flickered through my mind, as if the serpents coiling around the highest throne in the world were slowly, stealthily raising their heads.
*****
Past the emperor's personal guard, through the chamber with the nineteen couches prepared for them, along the spiral staircase that connected directly to the imperial box of the Hippodrome,
through the smooth, beautiful marble and countless pillars, at last the emperor and I, the Roman and Norse escorts, the eunuchs, and a few bishops panting heavily from their hurried movements, all arrived together at the Palace of the Bull and the Lion.
The Black Sea I had gazed upon from the fortress in Cherson had been beautiful, but the view of the Propontis from the Boukoleon was beautiful enough to rival it.
A feast of ships ceaselessly heading for the city over the rippling waves.
As the hour slowly approached sunset, in the two towers to the left and right visible beyond the high terrace, soldiers prepared to light the fires, and the people within the palace, bustling with the preparations to receive guests, ran about mindlessly, breathing life into this pure white palace that felt almost pale.
'I have indeed... come far.'
How in the world had I reached this place from distant Árós in Scandinavia?
When I had last checked in Kiev, I had confirmed that Árós and Northumbria beyond it had all finished their winter preparations without issue and were gradually settling in for the winter.
Though I was assigned a room on the top floor of this splendid palace and was enjoying all manner of luxury, my head was filled only with thoughts of my homeland and family.
'Good, Constantinople. Whatever troubles lurk within you, I will solve them. In return, you must give what I need most.'
[Squawk— Squawk—]
If a spirit existed in this vast city, could the seagull that just flew over my terrace toward the sunset cast upon the sea be some kind of answer?
I decided to think so.
"Archon Helgi, the banquet hall is fully prepared."
"Is that so? Noted."
At the low, polite voice beyond the door, I soon rose from the great bed and stepped out of the room.
I gave the door, a bright blue wood carved with fine patterns, a slight push, and it truly opened smoothly, without making any sound. 'Is being impressed by such trifles reading too much meaning into it?' I thought, and when I turned my head, I suddenly saw a somewhat familiar beardless man standing quietly, making no sound at all.
"Rentakios."
"Helgi Konungr. Did you rest well?"
A name Damian had informed me of, saying he would come find me.
"So you are the one Dami—"
"This way, the path you go is this way. Helgi Konungr."
Rentakios turned his body the very moment I began to speak Damian's name. Standing angled to the side, one arm outstretched to indicate the direction, his eyes told me a different story.
'It seems it is not safe.'
A situation where even a name could not be spoken carelessly... This might be far more dangerous than I thought, this beautiful palace.
"Thank you."
[Trudge— Trudge—]
Perhaps because my strides were too long, as I followed the quick-stepping Rentakios through the vast, elongated corridor, I soon got the impression that where we were going was not the banquet hall, but I silently followed behind the small fellow.
Soon we stopped in a place far darker and more secluded than the other parts of the palace.
"Shall we rest a moment before continuing?"
"Let us do so."
From the moment he asked me the question, Rentakios had been checking the path we had walked with sharp eyes, and soon he slipped a neatly folded piece of paper into my sleeve.
"You have come to Constantinople at a bad time, Helgi Konungr."
"No, it is precisely because of that I have come, Rentakios. Is crisis not also opportunity?"
"Indeed, a hero's thoughts differ from those of us ordinary folk. I cannot write the details, nor speak them, but beware of Symbatios and Basil."
"Symbatios, Basil."
I had sensed a chill from the co-emperor's gaze from the start, so I was prepared, but Symbatios was a name I was hearing for the first time.
But it likely did not matter. Since they were all names I was hearing for the first time anyway, things became easier if I simply considered everyone an enemy by default.
"Then, I shall escort you again, Konungr."
"Very well."
Walking between the pillars of the Boukoleon, where the shadows were as deep as the bright places were bright, at last before the great door from which soft fragrance and music flowed, Rentakios casually bid me farewell and vanished somewhere.
Having no suitable place to hide the note he had given me, I had no choice but to secret it carefully inside my undergarment, and soon receiving the silent bows of the guards watching the banquet hall, I walked into the brilliant light.
"His Grace, Archon Helgi Ragnarsson, who from the far north has pacified the savage Barbaroi and, in admiration of Rome, has at last arrived here, enters—!"
The sonorous voice of the attendant echoed through the banquet hall, and amidst the sudden silence that cut off the laughter and speech of people amicably conversing, Refil, Oleg, Djur, and Stórolf, who had arrived beforehand, rose and bowed their heads to me.
Long tables were set on either side of the great hall, and two seats at the highest place stood empty. This golden room, filled with all manner of fruits, foods, and wine, no longer appeared simply beautiful to my eyes.
Even if a throne were made of gold, if vipers coiled around it, would it be a good seat or a bad seat?
*****
"Wahahaha—! The Patriarch Photios should have seen this sight!"
The people's assessment that the emperor was a famous drunkard was not wrong. However, his disposition was a bit peculiar; Michael was, so to speak, the type of drunkard who could drink like a fish and get properly drunk.
"Is this not so, Basil? I have said I have never seen a bad person among those who drink well, so our new friend here, Helgi Konungr, and we shall be able to make true friendship bloom!"
"What words are these, Your Majesty Michael."
The co-emperor accepted the rambling words and heightened tension unique to a drunk man without a flicker of expression.
Looking at them side by side, they were completely a mix of ice and fire; depending on their intentions, the two could make a good combination, or perhaps not. All relationships between people depend on themselves, of course, but the relationship between these two... it seemed more extreme, shall I say. Not that I am versed in discerning compatibility, it was simply a feeling I had.
Fortunately, Basil seemed to acknowledge Michael's superiority, but the sharp glints glimpsed in his eyes now and then were chilling.
Of course, Michael, who had already reached another world on his own, truly seemed not to care in the slightest...
"Now! Let us drink another glass together! Helgi Konungr! This is a very, very fine wine made from the imperial vineyards of Bithynia! Tonight, together, let us go to Elysium...!"
"Very well, Your Majesty Michael! Good wine is all the more sweet when shared with a good person!"
"Wahaha! How true those words are! That one so skilled in Latin and cultured arts is not a Roman! I cannot believe it!"
As if one had turned on a faucet and forgotten to close it, the wine, music, and amiable atmosphere flowed ceaselessly. Within it all, countless pairs of eyes watched only the spot where the two emperors and I sat.
It was pleasant to drink the sweet wine without a care, but as my skin gradually began to prickle from those damned eyes, Rentakios, who had been invisible for a while, appeared from who knows where with a rather flustered expression and whispered something urgently into the ear of the blissfully drunk Michael.
After a brief silence.
Michael, his smile frozen at the corners of his mouth, slowly set down his golden cup and stopped the eunuch who was about to pour wine into the empty cup again.
As Michael furrowed his brow and concentrated, his head not working well due to the alcohol's influence, Rentakios also delivered a whisper into the ear of co-emperor Basil.
"... What did you say?"
Unlike Michael, whose mind had ground to a halt, Basil, who had come to a swift judgment, first inclined his head slightly toward me and spoke in a low voice.
"Helgi Konungr, this banquet prepared for the Konungr must be abruptly ended—"
Though this co-emperor had drunk, his reason remained, but lamentably he could not finish his sentence. For Michael, who had been furrowing his brows, suddenly shot to his feet and bellowed at the top of his lungs, dashing the innocent golden cup to the floor.
[Crash—! Clingclingclingcling...!]
"Symbatios! This accursed wretch dares... dares to raise rebellion against me?!"
Rentakios, who had only just delivered the whisper, of course closed his eyes tight, and even Basil, who had been addressing me with a grave expression, shut his eyes firmly. The hall, along with the shouting of the enraged, drunken emperor, soon fell into utter chaos amidst the people plunged into confusion.