The Royal Banquet #1
They say leaving home is pure misery, and they were absolutely right.
The journey away from the duchy, touring the territories of fellow faction nobles, had been every bit as exhausting as the saying promised. Helena’s wish to see every last corner of the land doubled our travel time, and more than once we found ourselves picking wild herbs on mountainsides at the strangest hours. Being a fantasy world, everything seemed jumbled together in a chaotic mix. Still, it had been fun. Hard, yes—but I could say with complete honesty that it had also been enjoyable. Maybe that was simply the nature of travel.
“Lady Helena. You have truly worked hard for such a long time.”
The moment the carriage rolled into the mansion’s courtyard, a man stepped forward with a bow. It was Andy, the Krauser family’s butler.
“Hehe. Thank you. You’re the one who really had it rough, Andy. I wouldn’t call any of it hardship—this was my first time wandering around outside for so long, so it was actually fun.”
“I am greatly relieved to hear it.”
“Aren’t you making a little too much of a fuss? Oh, right. More importantly—nothing happened while we were gone, did it?”
“No, my lady. Nothing of particular note. Rather, it is you, Lady Helena, who…”
Stepping into the Krauser mansion, which already felt like home, I felt the tension drain from my shoulders on its own. Helena seemed to feel the same; she relaxed a little as she traded updates with Andy. I stood behind her and offered a light nod of greeting. They were in the middle of a cheerful conversation, and I didn’t want to interrupt. Andy noticed and returned a small smile and a nod of his own. To another noble’s eyes we might have looked like an eyesore, but for Andy and me this was far more natural. Besides, the person he was speaking with was Helena—he could hardly afford to let his attention wander.
“My deepest apologies. I was so glad to see you that I committed a grave discourtesy, keeping Lady Helena here when she has not even recovered from her journey…”
“Please don’t. I enjoyed talking freely with you after so long as well.”
Helena offered a wry smile as she comforted Andy, who still couldn’t lift his head for guilt. The atmosphere had been genuinely pleasant—she hadn’t been forcing herself to match his pace—yet he hung his head as though he had committed high treason.
“Ah. His Grace instructed that you come straight to the study upon your return. It seems he has something rather important to discuss…”
“Important? All right. I’ll go now.”
She pressed her lips together firmly, nodded, and headed for the study where the Duke waited. Her hurried steps made it clear she was rushing for one reason or another; I had no choice but to match her quick pace all the way there.
“I’ll go sort the luggage. You’ll be all right… on your own?”
“Yeah. I’m fine.”
At the door to the study I told Helena we would part for a little while. Since we had become intimate, the intensity of her possessiveness had lessened considerably, so moments like this—being apart—were manageable now. She no longer wore that bottomless look in her eyes. The promise that I would always return to her had probably played a large part as well. From my perspective it was nothing short of a blessing. With that thought I walked unhurriedly toward Helena’s room. I was curious what the Duke would say, but I could hear it from her later.
“Spotless.”
I marveled at the immaculately clean room, set down the bag in my hand, and began taking out the clothes to hang neatly in the wardrobe. We had packed dresses just in case, but for better or worse we never needed them. No noble had hosted a social gathering, and there had been no event large enough to require formal wear. From my standpoint it meant I had avoided a great deal of hassle, so I counted myself lucky.
“Done…”
After a final check of Helena’s room I crossed straight into my own and unpacked. With far less luggage than hers, the work was finished quickly, leaving me a short stretch of free time. I would have loved to sprawl across the bed, but the sun was still high, so I had to settle for leaning against something like a headboard. Still, it was better than nothing.
“Stretch this out as long as you can.”
Hoping my alone time would last even a little longer, I let my body go slack. It felt almost too indulgent, but after more than a month on the road I figured I was entitled to be tired.
The sweet, honeyed moment did not last.
Loud footsteps echoed down the corridor; the moment they stopped, the door to my room burst open.
“Zion! So this is where you were?!”
The one who had come to ambush me—Helena—locked the door behind her and scurried straight to my side where I sat on the bed. The way she settled in next to me was so perfectly puppy-like that I found it adorable. Her expression, however, carried a distinctly serious weight, so I reined in my loose thoughts and asked,
“What’s wrong?”
“Father… he transferred the ducal title to me. Starting today, I’m the Duke.”
“…Huh. For real?”
It wasn’t entirely unexpected, yet hearing it directly still packed a punch. Having the heir tour the duchy and the territories of allied nobles was standard Krauser education; I knew that completing the circuit meant the title would be handed over. But I never imagined he would pass it the very moment we returned. The decision was fast—almost too fast.
“Then the Duke… no, Lord Eis?”
“Well…”
“…Forgive me for summoning you the moment you arrived. But matters of this sort are best handled quickly. Sit.”
“Yes, Father.”
In the Duke’s study, Helena took the chair opposite him at his invitation. Between the objects laid out on the desk and the look on Eis’s face, it was plain he intended to broach something weighty. Helena swallowed dryly and clenched both fists. She no longer fell into extreme panic even when Zion was absent, yet the anxiety itself never fully disappeared. The oppressive atmosphere pressed down on her shoulders, steadily heightening her tension.
Awkward silence lingered for a moment. Then Eis spoke, calm and unbothered.
“Helena. You know of our founder, Lord Bluemoon, yes?”
“Yes. I do. At the tender age of ten he achieved great feats on the battlefield, rendered distinguished service in the founding of the kingdom, and thereby laid the cornerstone of House Krauser.”
Bluemoon Krauser. The man called the origin of the ducal house had fought from the age of ten and later become a founding hero who helped establish the Soter Kingdom. Every member of House Krauser knew the legend.
“Exactly. Ever since Lord Bluemoon raised our house, he established one principle for succession in order to preserve the family’s brilliance. That principle is meritocracy.”
Spouses were chosen for ability and character rather than pedigree; the heir to the dukedom was selected solely by capability. Sex, legitimacy, even birth order among many siblings—none of it mattered. Because they had held fast to that rule, the house had stood unshaken. Young ladies who in ordinary noble houses would have been mere tools for alliances had risen to the ducal seat more than once. Helena herself was one of them.
“Yes. I am well aware.”
“I expected as much. Then you also know that age has never been a factor in the succession?”
“I know that as well.”
After all, Duke Bluemoon himself had begun his exploits around the age of ten. Claiming that youth disqualified one from inheriting the title was an empty cry—at least within House Krauser. Helena nodded calmly, yet her eyes flew wide the moment Eis held out the object in his hand. He casually offered the specially crafted ducal seal made to prevent forgery and told her it was hers from this day forward.
“Father… surely you don’t mean…”
“Did you not already half-suspect it when you set out on your journey? That you might formally become Duke?”
Of course she had. Without exception, those destined to inherit the title were sent to tour the duchy or the territories of their faction, precisely to broaden their horizons. Still, she had never imagined it would come this soon. Her gaze wavered badly.
“Even so… isn’t it far too early? You yourself are still in excellent health…”
“I have no intention of completely withdrawing from my duties. Thanks to the way you have assisted me and learned the work, I could hand everything over without worry—but that would be too cruel for a daughter who has only just returned from her travels. So even after you inherit the title, the system of work will not change for the time being.”
“I am grateful for that… but you still seem to be hurrying. Is there a particular reason?”
Helena knew well that the timing of succession within House Krauser varied widely. Even if the title were thrust upon her tomorrow morning she would have accepted it as a matter of course—yet a faint urgency leaked through Eis’s rigid expression. She had noticed it and asked; Eis, seeing no reason to hide the truth, answered readily.
“Soon the King’s birthday banquet will be held. Nobles scattered across the realm will gather in one place.”
“Ah… has that season already arrived?”
This year King Albert Sotern’s birthday fell in July, a time of mild, lingering heat. Thin clothing was preferable to heavy garments, and the night air was pleasantly cool—ideal weather for social gatherings. Consequently the royal birthday celebration stretched across several days and was, in practice, little more than a series of social parties held under the pretext of the King’s birthday.
“Yes. That is why I intend for you to attend that banquet as Duke. It will serve as your first formal debut, so to speak.”
Unlike other noble young ladies, Helena had almost never attended social gatherings. One could safely say she had never attended at all. As the ducal heir—and using the excuse of honing her swordsmanship—she had simply declined every invitation she disliked. The title of the nation’s representative sword prodigy had made it possible. Once she became Duke, however, such excuses would no longer serve. There were responsibilities and duties that came with nobility. Skipping most gatherings might still be feasible, but escaping events that demanded her presence would be far harder—events such as the King’s birthday banquet.
“In other words, I can no longer run from that sort of gathering.”
“You understand perfectly. Personally I wonder whether it might be all right to leave things as they are a little longer, yet entering society at too advanced an age would also feel awkward, would it not? Considering that most young ladies become the flowers of the ball from the age of sixteen, you are already rather late…”
Twenty-three was late enough; any further delay might make recovery impossible. Eis worried about that, and so he was closing off Helena’s avenues of escape. As a father he had wondered whether the move was somewhat cruel, yet if the ordeal was inevitable, forcing her to adapt from now on was the kinder path. Helena seemed to understand his feelings; she nodded calmly. She fully grasped his reasoning, and considering what lay ahead, becoming Duke sooner rather than later did not seem like a bad idea.
“Yes. If you go so far as to say that, then I will become Duke starting today. Will that do?”
“Yes. Thank you.”
Normally a succession ceremony would be conducted with considerable pomp, yet they treated the formalities as pure bother and closed the matter simply by handing over the seal. For the inheritance of a dukedom, it was almost pitifully plain.
“The King’s birthday is five days from now… so arriving two days early should be fine?”
“Mm. Showing up on the very day would leave far too little margin, so that should be about right. Rooms will be prepared in the royal palace; you can stay there for a short while. And…”
What about Zion Altram?
Eis barely managed to swallow the question that rose all the way to his throat and instead let out a low, noncommittal hum. He was reluctant to touch the subject for fear of learning something he would rather not know.
“No… never mind. That is all I had to say. Go and rest. You have worked hard.”
Cutting himself off and dismissing her was the best Eis could manage.