4. Imperial Capital Lumentium - 01
4. Imperial Capital Lumentium - 01
The Imperial Capital, Lumentium.
A colossal city that stood as the thousand-year capital of the empire claiming a third of the continent — a monument to imperial majesty. A city vast enough to comfortably sustain over a million souls, counting its transient population, and a city of wealth said to be the final stop for every coin circulating on the continent. Raised upon ground blessed by dragons in legend, with dwarves lending their hands to its construction, I now trod once more upon that city against my every wish.
"Ha... damn it all..."
The sigh slipped from me unbidden as I stared up at the sky. As if to mock me, that sky remained a damnably brilliant blue. The sight seemed to declare it couldn't care less about my mood, and I found I didn't even have a sigh left to answer it. It wasn't as though this was the first time the heavens had treated me this way.
I had hoped, prayed even, for some disgraceful incident to erupt during the journey — anything that might force us to return to the Estel Duchy in ignominy. Disastrously, nothing I wished for came to pass. No, the journey here had felt only comfortable, almost pleasant. The way the weather turns crisp and refreshing just before a storm.
Coming face to face with Iris El Debhart was exactly that sort of event.
"It doesn't seem too late even now. Might I not simply return to House Estel as things stand?"
I recited the line I'd already uttered a hundred times during the trip, and my father fixed me with a thoroughly weary look.
"You're at it again. What in the world makes you so loath to visit the capital? Considering you've never once set foot here."
"I was born and raised in the Estel Duchy; I see little need to come here to begin with. And the deciding factor..."
"The deciding factor?"
"...No. It's nothing."
I'd been about to explain something to my father, then quietly shut my mouth. My desire to avoid Iris El Debhart wasn't only because the woman unsettled me — it was also because of the danger that she might discern something about me.
I could only pray that no calamity requiring me to draw my sword befell us within the capital. Particularly and most emphatically not in the presence of the Imperial Princess.
My father, who naturally knew nothing of the true nature of my fears, stared at me as if I genuinely baffled him, then clicked his tongue.
"You're my son, but truly a ridiculous one. Other men would abandon their own territories for the chance to stay in the capital, and here you are, fidgeting like a cow dragged to the slaughterhouse. Honestly."
That was when it happened.
Deng— deng— deng—
From the great clock tower erected before the Imperial Palace, the chimes announcing the hour resonated softly across the capital, marking three in the afternoon.
"Hm, it seems the hour has come. Time to prepare to enter the palace. Our appointed audience with His Majesty draws near."
"Already? We've only been in the capital for a few hours, and you mean to say we can already meet His Majesty?"
"Well, the schedule was already cleared for an audience on other business. So let us be off at once. Won't it be exactly what you wanted — to settle the business quickly and leave the Imperial Palace?"
"...If this is business between you and His Majesty, shouldn't I be able to excuse myself?"
At my earnest words, my father shook his head with an expression of absolute finality.
"Don't talk nonsense. If the man who is, one might say, the very party to the betrothal is absent from the reporting of it, who exactly ought to be there? I've already submitted word that you would attend the audience with me, so don't even dream of trying to slip away now."
"....."
At this point, retreat seemed nearly impossible.
"Still, there's no need to wear an expression like the sky is falling. There is, in fact, one rather decent piece of news for you."
"Decent news?"
Hope flickered across my face. Decent news — what could that possibly be? Could it be the sort of news that I might leave the Imperial Palace the very moment I'd seen the Emperor's face—
"Word has it that Her Highness the Imperial Princess will also be in attendance for your audience with His Majesty. You truly are a fortunate young man. To be granted the opportunity to meet alone with Her Highness, who is counted among the foremost beauties of the empire. Heh heh."
"....."
****
"I behold the Sun of the Empire."
"I behold the Sun of the Empire."
"Enter. Northern Sword who shields the empire, We welcome you."
The ritual formalities of an imperial audience, and the ritual greeting in return, passed between us. Seated upon the distant throne and gazing down at me, the Emperor looked hardly any different from the man I remembered ten years hence.
But what the Emperor thought of me was of no interest whatsoever, nor did I have the spare attention to devote to it. Every shred of my consciousness was fixed on analyzing the movements of a certain woman who sat beside the Emperor, staring this way with a completely expressionless face.
Dazzling golden hair that symbolized the imperial bloodline, sapphire-embedded eyes the color of the sea, features so delicately crafted they seemed the meticulous work of an artist. There was no mistaking her. That woman was none other than my swordsmanship instructor, the very one who had carved violence into my body — Imperial Princess Iris El Debhart.
'...Damn it.'
I'd never dreamed I'd be forced to face that woman so soon. As things stood now, she and I were nothing but strangers with no ties between us. And yet I couldn't tear my eyes from her. Not for any absurd reason like having suddenly fallen for her. Simply because the mere fact of being in the same room as her was enough to drive me mad with discomfort.
"....."
The Imperial Princess merely sat quietly at the Emperor's right hand, saying nothing. And with a composed expression, she was staring directly at my face. Her bearing seemed to declare that her purpose in appearing here had been to face me from the very start. An attitude that was making me increasingly uneasy. She was staring straight at me, and I was stealing glances at her — didn't that look exactly as if there was something between the two of us?
"Hmm, so you're the Young Duke Estel who's been the talk of so many rumors. Looking closely, you don't resemble Franz very much at all. Do you take after Emily, then?"
"That is correct. The colors of his hair and eyes both came from Emily. As a result, I've been subject to no small number of suspicions that he isn't truly my son."
At my father's explanation, the Emperor scrutinized my face even more intently. His gaze, as if he meant to dissect me piece by piece, felt deeply oppressive.
"Hmm, yes. Now I can see Emily's face in him. For a man, his features are quite fair — he looks the sort who would make a great many women weep. Wouldn't you agree, Iris?"
At the Emperor's words, the Imperial Princess, who had been sitting silently beside him, answered quietly without the slightest change of expression.
"I wouldn't know, Your Majesty. However, it does seem certain that the Young Duke Estel is a scholar who hasn't trained much with the sword."
As she spoke, the Imperial Princess's two eyes were fixed upon my delicate hands. She was correct. Ten years ago, I was exactly the sort of scholar who'd learned the sword only within the bounds of a liberal education. Had our family's swordsmanship not been a thousand-year tradition requiring its study, I likely would never have picked up a blade to begin with.
"Well, there's no law decreeing every young duke of the Four Great Ducal Houses must wield a sword. I hear the young duke of the Crussel Ducal House is also called a scholar by nature."
As the Emperor answered with a hearty laugh, the Imperial Princess nodded as if accepting the point. Yet her gaze still refused to leave me.
...Yes. Exactly like someone trying to discern something from me.
"Now then, let us come to the matter at hand. Duke Estel. This concerns the annulment of the betrothal between the Young Duke Estel present here and the daughter of House Sernad, is that correct?"
"It is, Your Majesty."
In that instant, I did not miss the faintest glimmer that flashed in the eyes of the Imperial Princess seated beside the Emperor.
"We believe it is only natural for young people to break off an engagement when their hearts do not align. An annulment is a thing We can grant freely enough. However, even if it is mere formality, there ought to be one or two legitimate reasons, so that We might have some word to offer House Sernad Ourselves."
At the Emperor's words, my father nodded calmly, as though conceding the point.
"Indeed. There are many reasons, but if I must name only one, it is this: they openly insulted House Estel to its face."
"...Insulted?"
The Emperor's brow furrowed slightly at my father's statement. He was plainly expressing that the matter was becoming a greater nuisance than he'd anticipated.
"Precisely. The matter unfolded as follows. There was a very small misunderstanding between Kain and the daughter of House Sernad, something that, in my humble opinion, could have been resolved perfectly well through dialogue. As Your Majesty says, it is a thoroughly common thing for young people to find their hearts temporarily misaligned."
"House Sernad, however, did not act in that manner. Rather, as if seizing a golden opportunity to break the engagement, they went so far as to deliver a document that amounted to little less than an outright threat. Setting aside all else, to presume to use a betrothal as leverage to threaten a ducal house — no matter how one looks at it, I cannot help but consider such conduct an affront, whether born of underestimating our house or seeking to oppress us in some other fashion."
"....."
At my father's words, the Emperor assumed a manner of deep contemplation. Then he posed a question to the Imperial Princess seated to his right.
"Iris. What are your thoughts? On this matter, what do you believe Our decision ought to be?"
At those words, the Imperial Princess stared straight at my face. And in that moment, a jolt struck me as if my heart had plummeted into my stomach. Just now, the look she'd worn was far too similar to the expression of someone I came to know ten years later—
"I am unsure whether this is a matter upon which I may presume to intrude, but if you ask my opinion, my answer is but one."
Quietly, but in a tone of utter certainty, the Imperial Princess declared to us:
"I believe it is right that the betrothal between the Young Duke Estel and the daughter of House Sernad be decisively annulled. And furthermore..."
"I believe it would be best to seek out another woman. One who possesses the fidelity not to betray the young duke, this time."
"....."
In that moment, I did not miss the expression the Imperial Princess wore as she looked at me.
She was unmistakably looking at me.
And she was smiling.