Under Crystal Palace, Part 1

Autumn rippled through the garden on a soft breeze.

Red and gold leaves danced in the air, and when one brushed my cheek, I plucked the yellow leaf away with two fingers and sent it spinning back into the wind.

All I did now was stare blankly at the clouds drifting across the high, open sky, and if this wasn’t a life of ease, then I didn’t know what was.

“Not bad.”

When I murmured it with a faint smile, Ropena, who had been watching me, gave a snort of laughter and poured tea into my cup.

The Foundation Day Festival was over at last, and all that remained now was the Hunting Festival that would be here before long.

Irene had finished her duties as the young lady of the house, and with no more all-nighters to endure, she and I could sometimes come out to the garden like this and drink tea in peace.

“So, are you preparing for the Hunting Festival?”

“What, you think it’ll only be bears or tigers?”

I was a body that could wield mana. A body that had already leapt far beyond human limits.

An ordinary person wouldn’t stand a chance against beasts like that, but I had reached the realm of an Expert, where a single sword stroke could smash a building; there was no reason for me to be afraid.

I’d already cut down men. So what was a beast or two?

Cutting down men. The thought left a bitter taste in my mouth, and I took a long drink of tea.

Darjeeling’s deep fragrance filled my mouth, and only then did the tightness in my chest ease a little, so I let out a quiet sigh and picked up a cookie.

Ropena said she’d ordered these ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠specially because I didn’t do well with sweets, but honestly, they weren’t half bad.

“What are these made of?”

“I heard they’re made with coconut.”

Coconut cookies existed here too, then.

The dessert culture in this world was surprisingly advanced, and in some ways it even produced things better than what I’d known in modern times.

This cookie was probably one of those things. Well, if I could choose flavor over sacrifice, then that was only a good thing.

“By the way, where’s Chris?”

At Ropena’s question, I gave a small laugh and answered, “He’s with the young lady. If I’m here, then Chris is there.”

After all, I still hadn’t even been formally knighted yet.

If anything, it made more sense for Chris to be guarding her.

But Ropena narrowed her eyes and then pouted at me, almost glowering.

“You should think about Chris’s age. He’s almost sixty now.”

“That’s true, but—”

Honestly, once you reached that level, age didn’t mean much.

He’d probably stay vigorous right up until the day his body finally gave out, wouldn’t he?

He wasn’t a Master either, but he was an Expert, so he’d likely be fine. It wasn’t as though I just wanted a break.

“These cookies are good.”

As I bit into it and pretended not to notice, Ropena frowned at me.

Chris and Ropena really were alike in how much they cared about each other. Anyone watching them might even mistake them for father and daughter.

“Cheer up. I finally found time to rest like this too.”

“...Fine. But did you hear about this?”

“Hear about what?”

When I asked ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠back, Ropena scolded me for not paying enough attention to the young lady, then went on.

“I heard the ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Crown Prince is holding a ball this time. And the young lady was invited too. Didn’t you hear?”

“...I think I vaguely heard something like that.”

I must have caught it in passing somewhere. If it had been important, wouldn’t Irene have told me already?

But the Crown Prince—just thinking of him made my brow furrow.

He was one of the biggest reasons Irene had died in the first place: the Crown Prince who had fallen head over heels for the heroine.

Of course, considering how loudly the rumors had spread that Irene was planning to rebel, leaving her alone would have been strange too.

Still, even setting that aside, he was the sort of man I found hard to stomach.

I didn’t know what love was, exactly, but to raise the empire’s entire military power and wipe out one of the five founding families over nothing more than that single feeling? It was absurd.

Without any proof at all—without even knowing whether it was true—he had acted the moment he heard the heroine’s so-called prophecy.

If he’d had even a shred of reason, the first thing he should have done was verify the truth.

Was Irene really planning a rebellion? And even if a sword was raised, where had its edge truly been aimed?

A cold expression settled over me, and beneath it, a thread of anger stirred.

It wasn’t pity for Irene that made me feel this way. It was simply outrage at his stupidity.

If he was the Crown Prince of a nation, shouldn’t he have been capable of a more rational judgment?

More than love, he should have weighed the weight of the name the five founding families carried.

Irene never said a single word about rebellion to the very end.

She only gave a faint smile when she saw the blade pointed at her throat.

Even when she stood atop the scaffold and the cold blade fell toward her neck.

What had she thought, dying without ever testifying to rebellion?

I supposed I’d never know, and I didn’t want a day to come when I would.

“...Mm.”

I truly didn’t want to know.

I took another sip of the hot tea, but the moment it went down, it seemed to turn cold inside me again.

The cookie I’d found sweet a moment ago now tasted strangely bitter, so I smiled wryly and set the teacup down quietly.

“You don’t seem to like the Crown Prince much.”

“...Well, his personality isn’t exactly great.”

“True. Though if he’s still that popular, I wonder just how handsome he is.”

Noticing my darkening expression, Ropena asked the question, and I stroked my chin, lost in thought.

He was handsome, all right. For a moment, I recalled the Crown Prince’s illustration from the novel, then shook the thought away.

At best, he was just a pretty face; to be honest, he was closer to a foppish pretty boy.

Of course, I’d have to remember that he later became one of the empire’s foremost powerhouses, reaching the realm of a Master.

Kaisel Freia di Evangelium. The Empire’s only son, the one the five families were meant to protect, and a man born with extraordinary talent for the sword.

That was enough for now. Irene didn’t yet have the strength to do anything, and there was still plenty of time.

The black hair I’d seen in the illustration kept flickering in my mind, so I lifted my gaze toward the sky.

“Evan, can you come here for a second?”

My rest in the garden lasted only a moment before a maid called me over on my way back to Irene for guard duty.

The maid with the mole under her eye—her name was Lise, if I remembered right.

When I nodded, she shyly held out a letter to me with a smile.

It was wrapped rather lavishly; the paper itself looked expensive.

When I tilted my head at it, Lise covered her mouth with one hand and answered.

“A young lady asked me to pass it on last time, but I forgot to give it to you. I think she was the daughter of the Freitel viscount’s family.”

“...Where is that, exactly?”

“Up north in the empire, probably not far from here.”

Then she must have been one of the people gathered at that tea party. I let out a quiet sigh as I took the letter.

I didn’t know whether I should be pleased or troubled.

It was probably another love letter sent to me. At first I might have found it nice, but after receiving dozens already, I could only feel numb now.

Anyone looking at me might accuse me of showing off and call it shameless.

“You don’t look very happy. Are you bored of it already?”

“...Honestly, yes. It’s not like I’m interested in any of them.”

When I frowned, Lise chuckled as if she found that terribly amusing, then gave my shoulder a light pat.

“Hang in there. It’s the best kind of problem to have.”

At that, I just gave a slight shrug.

Even counting the letters piled in my drawer, this one might make the fiftieth.

At this point, I felt like I could guess the contents without even opening them.

Something flowery and overflowing, like: If there were a jewel carved from the forests of the world gathered into one, it would be like your eyes—

It was my first time ever being showered with such sticky, cloying courtship, and I had been startled at first. But now I was simply numb to it.

Every one of them praised my looks, or if not that, then they marveled at my reaching the Expert realm at such a young age.

In the end, it was nothing more than a love letter written on a sudden whim.

I had no interest in people like that, and in the first place, I didn’t have time to care about them now.

I was a bodyguard knight. If I were going to devote my attention to anyone, it would be Irene alone.

Besides, weren’t the people at that tea party all shallow in one way or another?

They were interested only in the incidents and gossip happening around them,

and not one of them had said a single thing of any real value, so there was no chance I’d ever end up liking them.

And as for appearances—hm.

Was there really anyone who could compare to Irene?

Even if she was called the villainess in the novel, her beauty was just as famous as that title.

Her hair was so pure white it seemed woven from feathers.

Her blue eyes were like jewels carved from the clear sky, and her skin was as pale as her hair, fine and smooth as silk.

Every description ever used for her beauty was nothing but praise.

I didn’t think any differently.

If the heroine ever showed up, I might think about it again, but for now, there was no chance I’d fall for anyone just because I was dazzled by their looks while standing constantly at Irene’s side.

Crack—

I tore open the letter, and for a brief moment I let out a dry laugh at finding it exactly as expected.

Then I sensed someone behind me and turned my head. At the far end of the corridor, I could see Irene.

She had her gaze fixed on me as if she were on her way over, and when I stared back, she soon approached, looking at the letter in my hand.

“You’re holding another letter. Was it a confession?”

“...I’m not especially interested.”

“They must have gone on and on praising you. What did they compliment this time—your eyes? Your nose?”

“My eyes.”

When I answered flatly, she glanced at the letter, gave a faint smirk, and looked away again.

“You really do have it easy. To receive this much attention from so many young ladies... If the other heirs saw you, they might even grow jealous.”

“I have no intention of paying attention to anyone else. Keeping up with you alone is already more than enough for me.”

At my words, Irene stared at me with a strangely blank expression, then narrowed her eyes and spoke.

“...Don’t confuse people.”

What exactly was I confusing her about?

I looked at her for a moment, then brought up what had just occurred to me.

That letter said it too, and wasn’t the Crown Prince supposed to be holding a ball soon?

If she was going, then naturally I would follow, so there was no harm in asking ahead of time.

“Um, are you planning to attend the ball the Crown Prince is hosting?”

“A ball? I heard something about one being held.”

So she didn’t seem very interested.

Still, it was impossible for her to skip a ball thrown by the Crown Prince, so she’d probably have to attend even if she didn’t want to.

Perhaps she had reached the same conclusion, because she let out a sigh and then looked at me.

“If I’m going to a ball, I’ll need someone to go with me.”

“...You can’t go alone. Dancing is an activity that requires a partner.”

“Then go with me.”

What had I just heard?

For a moment I doubted my own ears and looked at Irene, and she met me with the same impassive gaze before speaking again.

“I’m asking you to go with me as my partner.”

My face stiffened at once.

As if time itself had stopped, the only thing in my stunned stare as I looked at Irene’s emotionless face was bewilderment.

There wasn’t a trace of falsehood in those wavering blue eyes.

It felt as if her clear, unwavering gaze was piercing straight through my chest, and her words had to be true.

Which only made it all the more shocking.

A ball partner? She was asking me to be that?

At first I thought I must have misheard. I figured she’d misspoken, that was all.

But the meaning of the words she had just repeated did not change at all, and I could only stare at Irene in dazed disbelief.

If anyone could explain this situation to me, I’d be grateful.