218. On the Masquerade (1)
218. On the Masquerade (1)
- 1 -
The morning sunlight seeped through the fortress windows.
Into the office where the scent of lavender lingered faintly, the sound of a harp playing a melody of fate drifted in quietly from afar.
While the shadow of the vase on the windowsill slowly shifted, Adelaide was organizing the documents she had approved since morning.
Correspondence from the Holy Kingdom, administrative orders from the kingdom, and petitions from the residents of her territory.
Her long white fingers, gnarled from years of paperwork, were flipping through the documents.
"Sister."
When she looked up at the familiar voice, Elena's figure standing in the doorway came into view.
"You're up early, Elena."
"It is still late compared to you, sister."
She was dressed in a formal knight's suit despite the early hour.
The moment she saw Elena, starting her day just as early as she was, Adelaide felt the corners of her mouth loosen involuntarily.
'No.'
As soon as she sensed it, she forcibly tightened her facial muscles.
And right after, she realized that this had made it seem as if she had hardened her expression the moment she saw Elena.
'Ah, then this...'
Just as Adelaide found herself at a loss for how to feel.
Seeing her like that, Elena approached with an even more affectionate smile.
Adelaide's face stiffened further.
It was because she didn't quite know how to react to Elena acting that way.
"...What is it?"
"I've brought a meal. I wanted to eat together."
Elena held a tray in her hands.
Apparently, she was worried that Adelaide might skip breakfast since she had been absorbed in work since morning.
Adelaide pushed the documents aside and bowed her head once with an expressionless face.
"Thank you."
What Elena had brought was rose-scented black tea and sandwiches with grape jam.
The sweet aroma rising from the food seemed to awaken the morning silence.
For a while, only the sounds of the two sisters eating, rather than the rustle of paperwork, could be heard in Adelaide's office.
'...Will she be alright?'
During that time, Adelaide kept an eye on Elena.
Because the order that had recently come down from Haisen could bring Elena great disappointment.
"Are you alright, sister?"
"What do you mean?"
But whether she knew Adelaide's inner thoughts or not, Elena instead brought up words of concern for her.
Adelaide blinked, unsure of the reason.
"I mean the broken engagement."
"Ah."
At Elena's words, she finally nodded.
She had originally been scheduled for an engagement with a son of Duke Astermark's family.
A kind of political alliance to solidify each other's standing within their families. However, that engagement had recently been nullified.
"Isn't it unavoidable? They outright pressured us to break it off first."
It was because the ducal house had repeatedly made unreasonable demands to the margrave's family, creating a pretext for the break-off.
The decisive blow was a demand to hand over an entire county as the price for this marriage.
'There was a slight blow to my reputation for marriage, but...'
Still, it wasn't too severe.
In the end, although the Ironfield Margrave had flown into a rage and demanded the annulment,
everyone in Haisen's noble circles knew the actual cause had been provided by the ducal house.
Therefore, Adelaide was genuinely fine.
She hadn't loved the son or been particularly close to him.
"You could afford to be a little angrier about such things. Haven't you lost support within the family because of this?"
But at Adelaide's composed voice, Elena frowned as if she were the one who was angry.
Seeing that face, Adelaide felt her heart flutter.
She was glad that Elena was angry on her behalf.
'It must be because she's my younger sister.'
She admonished herself that way.
That she was simply happy at the sight of her younger sister who understood her feelings.
"That is true."
Adelaide nodded, still maintaining a calm demeanor.
'Where should I send a matchmaker?'
Yet, it was not as if her mind was uncomplicated.
Because the prospective engagement with Duke Astermark's family had been one of the supports that had more firmly underpinned her diplomatic standing.
An in-law family with high honor but little actual power, difficult to use to greatly influence her own family.
Finding better terms than that ducal house was not easy.
'She really doesn't look that shocked after all.'
Elena murmured inwardly as she watched Adelaide.
This broken engagement was something she had instigated from behind the scenes.
She wanted to prevent the major flaw discovered in the ducal house from affecting Adelaide, but it was also something she had done to clear away Adelaide's marriage prospects.
'With this...'
It meant one more obstacle to Elena taking Adelaide had been removed.
She let drop a remark for the next step.
"There is a family I am negotiating with under good terms. How about discussing it with them once?"
"You?"
At the unexpected words, Adelaide found herself stroking her cheek.
She couldn't identify this uncomfortable feeling.
The fact that Elena was discussing Adelaide's own marriage with another noble family caused an unknown discomfort to burrow into a corner of her heart.
But Elena, as she answered, even wore a pleased-looking smile.
"Yes. I am certain you will be pleased as well, sister."
Elena's smile spread sweetly.
Normally, that smile would have brought her comfort, but now it stirred even greater anxiety.
Adelaide turned her gaze out the window. As if trying to grasp something that was slipping away.
"Mm..."
She took a sip of tea, trying to calm this unfamiliar emotion.
But neither the scent of the tea, permeated with lavender, nor the sweet taste of the grape jam could steady her heart.
The fact that Elena was finding a spouse for someone—just the thought of it made a part of her chest feel like it was crumbling.
It was a fear as if she was about to lose something precious.
'Why?'
She examined her own heart, but she could not understand the cause.
In the end, the answer was fixed on one thing.
"...I will think about it."
She tried to keep her voice as calm as possible, but her fingertips were trembling faintly.
She bowed her head, failing to notice Elena's eyes deepening as she sensed the tremor.
"Please do."
Adelaide tried to shake off the displeasure by shaking her head, but for some reason, the feeling did not easily disappear.
'Why am I...?'
It was truly unexpected for her, who had thought controlling her heart was her specialty.
In the end, she changed the subject to another matter to shake off this unpleasant feeling.
"What about you, Elena?"
"What do you mean?"
This time, it was Elena looking at Adelaide who blinked.
"I'm talking about the command from the royal family."
At Adelaide's words, Elena was silent for a moment.
What Adelaide was referring to was the 'Administrative order regarding the transfer of ownership of the Cheoks Margraviate'.
In other words, it was something implying the Haisen royal family's intent to check the growth of the Ironfield family, the new power.
'It was just as Master predicted.'
Libertas had foreseen this early on and had once given her a warning:
that if Elena showed herself occupying and stably governing Zenota's lands, the Haisen royal family would never leave it alone.
And afterwards, she had even given her detailed instructions on a course of action.
Elena shook her head with a bitter smile.
"It's not that I'm not disappointed... but I must follow it. Isn't it an opportunity for my homeland to grow even larger?"
Her voice was calm, but what created that calmness was not a knight's loyalty, but a schemer's mask.
In exchange for returning the hard-occupied Cheoks Margraviate, Elena was to gain unparalleled prestige across the entire Ironfield territory and the Cheoks Margraviate.
And that prestige would, eventually, become a sword to stab the Haisen royal family with.
In the end, it would become a stepping stone to prepare a vast land for her true lord.
"Elena..."
Adelaide carefully caressed Elena's hand.
Their eyes met.
She had watched from the side how much effort her younger sister had put into stabilizing the newly acquired territory all this time.
'This was something that proved this child's administrative ability.'
Currently, the Cheoks Margraviate was so well absorbed into Ironfield that it was doubtful whether it had originally been part of the Zenota United Kingdom.
The resentment among the people, and class conflicts between the citizens of the occupied territory and the original land, had mostly disappeared.
From her perspective, she could not begin to guess the heartbreak Elena must have felt after devoting herself so wholly to stabilizing the territory.
She couldn't even imagine that this matter had been carried out on the orders of Elena's 'true lord'.
'Oh dear.'
Because of that, Adelaide's action was entirely a gesture of comfort.
However, it was also an unintended gesture that 'provoked' Elena.
'It's seductive.'
Elena felt her heart pounding fiercely along with the warmth rising from Adelaide's hand.
Thanks to that, it was fortunate that maintaining a bitter smile wasn't difficult.
"Sister, you really needn't worry."
Elena turned her hand over, interlaced her fingers with Adelaide's, and pressed them against her own cheek.
Deep affection was contained in her touch—an emotion dangerously hot, beyond sisterly love.
What filled Elena's mind at this moment was a cold calculation to win Adelaide's heart.
But Adelaide didn't detect it.
'Why am I like this...?'
For she, too, was in no state to read anyone else's feelings, as she was experiencing subtle emotions toward Elena herself.
"Do not worry. I am truly alright."
"...Alright."
In the end, all Adelaide could do was nod.
Looking at her sister like that, Elena smiled.
'I wish I could spend the whole day like this.'
While suppressing her inner desires as much as possible.
- 2 -
When I began my journey to the Demon Realm, there was a large entourage, but on the way back, I was alone.
Still, it wasn't that lonely, because I had gained many people in the Demon Realm, and many abilities as well.
"Master!"
The moment I returned to the dungeon through the gate opened by the Mammon Company, I sensed a presence throwing itself at me and stopped walking.
"Sonia."
Sonia, half-kneeling, buried her face in my shoulder. Her gray hair brushed my vision.
I was flustered by her display of emotion, which had suddenly become so much closer, but I soothed her by stroking her hair.
"I missed you. Master..."
"I missed you too. I'm glad you welcome me like this."
Looking at her, Sonia's magical power had advanced another step further in the meantime.
It meant she hadn't stopped training even while I was gone.
It was commendable.
"You've developed even further, Sonia. Your progress doesn't stop even without your teacher, so maybe you don't need me anymore."
"No!"
Sonia's voice burst out almost as a shout.
When I fell silent, she only then seemed to realize what she had said and looked embarrassed.
Her face, tinged with shyness, was adorable.
I didn't want to tease her any longer, because I felt I already knew what her sincerity was.
"It seems my disciple has gotten quite a bit more spoiled while I was away."
"Th-that's... ah..."
I let the words slip out with an unconscious smile.
Sonia, who couldn't hide her embarrassment, now seemed to be consumed by bashfulness.
"I understand your feelings well. Don't worry, I won't misunderstand."
"Yes... I'm sorry. For shouting."
"It's fine."
A woman who, even in the midst of that, was mindful of her actions toward me and reflected on them herself.
A moment later, Sonia, who had barely calmed down, held out a bundle of documents.
"Here. It's a report sent by Sister Evangeline. She said to show it to you first thing when you arrived, Master."
"I see. ... Wait, you call her sister?"
At my question, her face flushed red once more, in a softer shade than before.
"Yes. That's... all three of them kindly allowed it."
"That's wonderful. That you've all gotten close to each other."
Considering Seth's identity, the fact that she allowed Sonia to use such a title was evidence that there was something in Sonia's future as well.
I took another close look at Sonia.
"Master? Is there something you wish to say..."
"No, it's nothing."
A woman who had treated me with hatred mixed with understanding, and now with a deeper, positive feeling mixed with respect and something else.
Yet, the fact that the bond between us, so deeply entangled even without my title, might be fated—it made me feel newly and more intimately connected to her.
「Current Status of the Foundation Established within Hylash Royal Castle」
The report Evangeline sent was about what she and my subordinates were doing in Hylash.
I smiled at the positive news written there.
'Marvelous.'
The royal castle of humans.
A place where, normally, not only a Dungeon Lord but any monster should absolutely be unable to enter—my subordinates had already paved the way there.
The invitation they had prepared was already spread out before me.