4. Imperial Capital Lumentium - 02
4. Imperial Capital Lumentium - 02
After that, our conversation with the Emperor proceeded remarkably smoothly. As if confirming what the Imperial Princess had said, the Emperor asked no further questions about why the engagement was broken. The rest of the discussion touched only on trivial matters—the friction between House Sernad and the Estel Duchy, or how to handle the aftermath of the annulment.
In other words, it was all beyond my ability to interfere with, and nothing I needed to concern myself with anyway. To put it bluntly, my presence in that room amounted to nothing more than killing time.
As I was stifling a yawn and half-listening to the Emperor's conversation with my father, I noticed the Imperial Princess, seated to the Emperor's right, making odd movements toward me. The best way I can describe it is that she looked like someone trying to communicate something—not with words, but with something else entirely.
"....?"
I couldn't understand what she was trying to convey. The Imperial Princess and I aren't lovers who can read each other's thoughts with a single glance. If she thought she could communicate her intentions by blinking, she was sorely mistaken.
"....."
The moment I gave her a look of utter incomprehension, the Imperial Princess's eyes sharpened. I may not know much, but I knew that expression perfectly well. Whenever I failed to grasp her lessons, the Imperial Princess would always give me that exact look—right before using "training" as an excuse to beat me black and blue.
I nodded, and the Imperial Princess gave a slight nod in return. I had no idea what the details were, but she seemed to conclude that I had given a positive answer to her question.
"Your Majesty."
"...and that is what happened, Duke. In my opinion— ...hm, what is it, Iris?"
Cutting off the Emperor mid-discussion with my father, the Imperial Princess bowed her head slightly toward him and spoke.
"May I take my leave? I have yet to finish the preparations for tomorrow's Founding Day Memorial Banquet. I believe I must complete them before the night is over to ensure the banquet proceeds without a hitch."
As she spoke, the Imperial Princess glanced meaningfully toward the window, where the sun was slowly sinking below the horizon.
"...Hm. If you have duties to attend to, I cannot force you to stay. Very well. Permission to withdraw is granted."
As the Emperor nodded, the Imperial Princess turned her head smoothly to look at me.
"Your Majesty, I apologize for the interruption, but may I borrow the Young Duke Estel for a moment?"
"...The Young Duke Estel?"
The Emperor looked at the Imperial Princess with an expression of utter confusion.
"Why?"
"To be honest, I need someone to objectively assess whether the banquet preparations are proceeding properly. The Young Duke Estel here has never attended a Founding Day Banquet, so I believe he can evaluate things from a neutral, unbiased standpoint."
"...Hmph."
The Emperor's expression turned subtly uncomfortable. And that was understandable. I may be unfamiliar with imperial etiquette, but I know well enough that leaving before the Emperor's business concludes is an act of extreme rudeness.
But only for a moment—the Emperor readily nodded at the Imperial Princess's request.
"It is rare for you to ask something of me, so I can hardly refuse. So be it. You may borrow the Young Duke Estel. Our discussion was nearing its end anyway. Ah, and Young Duke."
"Yes, Your Majesty."
"Please escort Iris properly. I trust that you will, as a gentleman, refrain from doing anything untoward with her. Heh heh."
"....."
That was clearly absurd. If anything, the opposite was far more likely. There was no way I would dare do anything to her.
****
"...Thank you, Your Highness."
"Think nothing of it. I was growing rather weary of the conversation myself, and a convenient excuse presented itself. His Majesty is fundamentally a good man, but he sometimes keeps young people seated for terribly tedious discussions. It is his only flaw."
The Imperial Princess murmured this with a wry smile on her lips. Seeing her smile softly like that, her face somewhat more youthful than the one I remembered, felt remarkably fresh to me.
"....."
"...Why do you stare at me so, Young Duke Estel?"
"It's nothing. I was just..."
".....?"
I found it strange. The Imperial Princess in my memories was stubborn, inflexible, and spoke with a rigid bluntness. She worshipped martial prowess with a fervor that made it impossible to call her a normal person.
Setting everything else aside, beating a person every single day for a year under the pretense of "strengthening them" is burdensome even for a normal person to endure. Yet the Imperial Princess committed that atrocity without batting an eye. That is exactly why I am so extremely reluctant to face the current Imperial Princess.
However, the Imperial Princess of this timeline differed from the one ten years in the future. No, the difference was so stark it would be no exaggeration to say she was a completely different person who merely shared the same face. The flexibility to call the Emperor's words "tedious," the attentiveness to look out for me even in front of the Emperor—these traits were at the polar opposite end of the spectrum from the Imperial Princess of ten years later. It came as a considerable surprise to me, but the Imperial Princess of this era seemed to be a sensible person with a normal way of thinking.
It seemed my worries had been nothing but groundless fears. Relieved by the thought that this normal woman meant me no harm, my heart felt lighter.
"...That aside, Young Duke Estel, I have something I wish to ask you."
Just as I was finding peace of mind while looking at the Imperial Princess, she posed a question with a distinctly hesitant air. Seeing her display such hesitation was also a first for me, so I found it nothing short of fascinating.
"I-I am not sure if it is proper for me to ask this so casually... but I cannot help my curiosity. Is that all right?"
"....? It's fine. You may ask me anything."
As I answered her question with a somewhat puzzled look, she suddenly stopped walking and looked me directly in the face.
"You see, I find you terribly familiar. As if you are someone I have known for a long time. Isn't that strange? To feel such a sentiment toward a person I am meeting for the first time in my life. I have met countless people, but I have never once felt this way before."
She let out a soft chuckle as she said this.
"In that sense, allow me to ask you a question. Do not take it too strangely. This is merely a question born of simple curiosity."
The next moment, I did not miss the sharp glint that flickered in the Imperial Princess's eyes.
"Sir Kain, have you ever had a personal encounter with me in the past?"
"....."
For an instant, I was so startled that I felt my breath stop. So shocked, in fact, that my whole body stiffened on the spot, rendering me unable to utter any kind of answer. And that very reaction saved me. Had I been in my right mind, I might have stumbled backward like a fool or, in the worst case, collapsed onto the floor.
"...I doubt it. I have no memory of a personal encounter with Your Highness in the past. To begin with, I have never once left the Estel Duchy to visit anywhere else since the day I was born."
At my answer, which even I felt sounded rather stiff, the Imperial Princess wore an unsatisfied expression, like someone who had heard a reply they did not wish for—as if insisting that was not the answer she had wanted.
"Is that so. So you have no record of a personal encounter with me in the past..."
Staring at me with a look of lingering doubt, the Imperial Princess clicked her tongue once and averted her gaze.
"I shall believe your excuse this time. But keep this in mind, Young Duke Estel."
"...What do you mean, Your Highness?"
"There is a limit to how long you can feign ignorance like that. I shall withdraw for now, as I lack evidence—"
"But once your true colors are revealed, I will not let it slide as easily as I did today."
"....."
At the Imperial Princess's words, I unconsciously clenched both my fists. I do not know the reason, but I could be certain of one thing.
The Imperial Princess is also a regressor.
A kind of future person who, like me, regressed from ten years later.
And there is no doubt about it. The Iris El Debhart of now knows something.
...Perhaps, even something about myself that I do not know.