God's Soft Drink (1)
Now then—let us take a moment to consider the Empire's structure of power.
At its peak sits a single, overwhelming figure of authority: the Emperor.
Beneath him cluster the nobles, drawn like fish to the bait he scatters. And the ones that drive off the smaller fry to monopolize that bait are the Central Noble Council.
For a very long time the Council gorged itself on whatever the Emperor tossed their way—until, eventually, their heads swelled large enough that they began casting open glances at the bait still tucked in the Emperor's own back pocket.
That brazen greed was not born of strengthened noble power alone. It also rested on a quieter truth: the Imperial family's prestige had already been allowed to slip.
Naturally, the Emperor knew.
And yet he left them alone. Let the plump fish steal bait in secret, divide it among themselves, and live fat on the proceeds.
Not because he had gone senile. Not because he was some soft touch who simply handed out largesse. And not because he was incompetent.
So why, then, did he tolerate nobles so reckless and arrogant that they dared to test the Imperial house?
To that question, I could answer without hesitation.
The Emperor is a fisherman.
The nobles are the fish that swarm to the bait he casts.
When a fish grows a head too big for its body and starts thrashing about as if the fisherman is nothing—does the fisherman bother to react?
The relationship between Emperor and nobility was exactly that.
The Emperor was the master of the Empire, seated above all creation. The nobles were nothing more than chosen hands meant to carry out his will.
So long as the Emperor and the Imperial family remained sound, there was no need to fret over the nobles. Scatter bait at regular intervals, keep them working hard for the Empire, and that was enough.
But what if the fisherman fell ill?
What if, by some misstep, he slipped into the water himself?
A fish that had gorged on so much bait its head was as large as a man's would, without question, begin to tear the fisherman's body apart.
The fisherman knew that.
Which is why, having realized his days were numbered, the Emperor had at last begun to move.
He meant to swing Everhart—the sharpest blade he possessed—and cut down the greedy fish before age left him too frail even to lift a sword.
But even if he cleared out every fish that hunted him, it would not postpone the end that was already closing in.
In the end, the Empire would have to greet a new master.
The Emperor had one son and one daughter, and he had yet to name an heir.
A Prince whose ability fell short, yet who enjoyed the support of his vassals.
A Princess whose ability was not merely sufficient but overflowing—yet whom everyone opposed for the simple crime of having been born a woman.
Before long, a struggle for the crown would begin.
And the Princess would need allies to help her fight it.
"Hmm… Have you failed to understand me? I can help you obtain what you want—by means no one else can offer."
"I am aware."
"Are you truly certain you understand?"
The Princess who might soon inherit the Empire put the question to me, her face still unable to grasp why I had refused.
"I am told you have two brothers. I will help you surpass them and become head of your house."
"I refuse."
The Princess's face tightened. Displeasure stained features that were otherwise beautiful.
"I am not particularly fond of being treated this way for the first time. Sirius. Are you doubting me? Do you think a young Imperial Princess—mere second in the line of succession—could not possibly amount to anything?"
Whether she suffered from an inferiority complex, I could not say for certain. What was clear was that she despised being dismissed for being a woman, and that I now had to dispel the misunderstanding that I was dismissing her.
"I believe Your Highness has misread my meaning."
"Then what is it? Why will you not take my hand?"
She spoke as though, if it turned out I truly had slighted her, she would not forgive it.
"You had better answer carefully. Unless you wish to anger me."
"There is no need for anger. It is not that I do not trust Your Highness."
"Then what? Why refuse my proposal?"
She was one of the most exalted people in the Empire—someone who could regard the nobility as little more than insects. If the second or third son of any other house became her confidant, he would almost certainly seize his family from his brothers.
Even a Princess without the vassals' support still wielded that much power.
Everhart was not so different. Ours was a house that had served the Imperial family for generations; unless my brothers took the Prince's hand, her backing would be a considerable help in claiming the family.
But not for me.
"Because I require no assistance of any kind."
"What did you say?"
She looked at me as if to ask what nonsense I was spouting. I did not trouble myself to add, I already cut off the head of the first son—who was the most likely heir—and I will kill the second soon enough.
It was rather delicate family business, after all, and not the sort of thing one blurts out to a stranger on first meeting.
So I answered simply—simply enough that she would not feel slighted.
"I will become head of the house. That is a fact that will not change."
Perhaps the explanation was still insufficient. The Princess looked as though she still did not understand.
"And what do you intend to do about your brothers? As far as I know, there are no vassals who would support you."
That much was true. The retainers who had backed Azehar and Evancal would not want me as head of the house.
But there was no need to concern myself with that.
"Everhart is not like other houses."
I looked at her. When our eyes met, the displeasure in her expression eased. Not entirely—but she understood a little, at least.
"No matter how the vassals bark, they cannot stand in the way of a legitimate heir of the blood ascending above them."
A softened version of If I decide to be head of the house, what exactly can those bastards do about it? Even after filtering, it was still not the most appropriate thing to say in front of an Imperial Princess.
"Hmm. Those are confident eyes. You truly believe you can become head of the house."
Fortunately, she heard me out and laughed.
"Does Your Highness believe I will fail?"
"No. I think you will succeed. Which only makes me want you more."
In that instant I saw the shift in her manner—or rather, I felt it. She had not so much as moved a fingertip, yet the atmosphere changed, and I recognized that her interest in me had deepened.
"I will make you a different offer this time. Sirius. Cooperate with me."
She laid out the terms of cooperation. It was better than simply becoming her subordinate. Serving as her underling would mean making an enemy of the Prince and spending the rest of my life in her service. Temporary cooperation, by contrast, had value precisely because I could always cut and run.
Even so, to that improved offer I could only give the same answer.
"I refuse."
"…And what is your reason this time?"
Having gone so far as to treat me as an equal and shoulder a disadvantageous proposal—only to be rejected again—she asked in a voice thick with anger.
"I am busy."
What I could offer was, on the surface, a rather perfunctory reply. There were two principal reasons for that. The first was that I could not explain my plans—plans built on knowledge of the future—to her. The second was that I really was busy…
Even now, Olivia, Aris, and Elena were racing toward bad endings without the faintest awareness of it. Steering those three—trains hurtling toward a cliff they could not see—onto the proper track meant there was a great deal I had to do.
I had no time left over to help an Imperial Princess.
Of course, she had no way of knowing any of that, and she looked as though she could scarcely believe her ears.
"Ha. Honestly."
"Please maintain your dignity, Your Highness."
"And that is something you should be saying to me?"
For all the sharpness of her words, she did not seem genuinely offended.
Her escort knights, on the other hand, appeared to feel rather differently—until I quietly bled a little killing intent their way, at which point they yelped and shrank back like frightened puppies of their own accord.
"I have never been treated this way in my life. A truly precious experience."
She sneered as if to ask whether anyone was allowed to treat an Imperial Princess like this.
That she kept clinging even after confirming my refusal suggested her situation might be rather more desperate than it looked.
To a woman like that, I decided to leave one piece of advice.
"There is no need to overthink it so painfully."
"What is this all of a sudden?"
"From where I stand, Your Highness will win."
For a moment she flinched, then fixed me with widened eyes.
"……What do you mean by that?"
I had no intention of explaining in detail, so I chose to take my leave.
"I am busy. That will be all."
"Wait! Stop right there!"
She tried to catch me, but there was no chance of holding someone who had already decided to walk away.
"I know you are not busy! You finished the entrance exam first, didn't you!"
I kept walking, ignoring the voice at my back.
"Hey! Listen to me!!"
"You there!!"
"Escort! What are you doing? That man is not obeying my orders!"
The Princess spun around in haste to face those who followed her. She meant to seize Sirius and demand the meaning of what he had said.
But when she checked the state of her guards, she faltered.
They are afraid?
They trembled like frogs that had locked eyes with a snake. Like helpless creatures frozen even after the predator before them had already gone. A clear emotion stood out in their eyes.
Sharp-minded as she was, the Princess understood at once where it had come from.
"…Sirius. Just what are you?"
She turned back and stared blankly in the direction he had vanished.
"Now I am curious."
Strength so vast she could not even gauge it—strength that had made her finest knights shake.
And the source of that confidence which, even before the most exalted person in the Empire, never once flinched as it declared its own convictions.
"I will not give up here……."
Without quite realizing it, the Princess felt herself being drawn to that strength.