301. Queen Liselotte (2)
301. Queen Liselotte (2)
- 1 -
Sonia walked, following the lady-in-waiting, slowly surveying her surroundings.
The palace corridor, suffused with the afternoon sunlight, was strangely silent.
'Why is there no sign of anyone?'
She had sensed it from the moment she first arrived—this royal castle had far too few attendants and servants.
At first, she had thought they had cut back on luxuries due to financial issues.
But after seeing the queen's appearance and noticing the empty spots where lavish ornaments ought to have been, she changed her mind.
Heavy objects... The windowsills bore clear marks of having been long pressed by things like flowerpots or ceramics.
It meant the items that had been there were recently removed.
'Frugal. And she's preparing.'
Seeing the chaos approaching the continent, she was the first to cast aside luxury in order to ready herself.
Queen Rizelotte was a figure with qualities worth emulating.
"This is the place."
The lady-in-waiting guided her to the western tower of the royal palace.
Climbing the high staircase, they finally arrived before a small door. When the lady-in-waiting knocked, a gentle voice came from within.
"Come in."
The lady-in-waiting opened the door, and as Sonia entered, the door closed again behind her. The lady-in-waiting remained outside.
The place was the queen's private library.
Shelves full of books, a table spread with a large map, and a small desk placed by the window came into view.
Rizelotte Queen stood beyond the desk, gazing at her.
"Your Highness. Thank you for summoning me."
As Sonia bowed respectfully, Rieselotte smiled at the corners of her lips and opened her hand.
Unlike her dignified appearance at official functions, her expression now was somewhat more relaxed.
"There is no need for ceremony and formality. At least for a while, I simply wish to talk."
Of course, that was absurd. To speak comfortably in the presence of a nation's queen.
But Sonia pleased her by loosening the tension in her shoulders a little more.
It was not a difficult task. There was only one person she truly wished to stand on formality for.
"Yes, Your Highness."
Rieselotte guided her to a table she had prepared beforehand.
Tea was already set there.
"Shall we have tea first and then talk?"
"Yes."
Sonia lifted the teacup and held it to her lips.
The subtle tea fragrance filled her nose and throat. It was a remarkably good tea.
She knew well that while many at Libertas's side could brew tea this fine, such people were not so numerous in the world beyond.
"How is the tea?"
At the queen's question, Sonia looked at her with puzzled eyes.
And seeing the expectation glimmering in those eyes, she thought 'No way,' and opened her mouth.
"The aroma is truly unique. The fruit scent subtly spreads within the floral fragrance, giving it a deep flavor. It seems a tea befitting royalty."
And then, after a brief pause, she spoke to Rieselotte, whose expression grew more pleased upon hearing her assessment.
"Is this tea one that Your Highness personally brewed?"
"... Fufu."
Rieselotte nodded along with a smile in her eyes.
"Yes, that's right. It is one of my few hobbies amidst busy state affairs. I am glad you like it."
Thus, the atmosphere of the place, softened by Sonia's effortless ease and the queen's affability, continued for a while.
"I wish to hear more about the mercenary corps' proposal."
Until Rieselotte brought up the business at hand.
"I am curious why Countess Echidna takes an interest in such a distant place as this."
In Rizelotte's eyes, the dignity and wariness of a queen had returned.
The heroic feats that Sonia and her party had displayed had certainly become a hope for them, but precisely because of that, she now had to verify them.
If that hope took deeper root, from then on it could not be uprooted.
Sonia set down her teacup for a moment and took a deep breath.
"... Your Highness. The world is already changing."
And she answered with conviction, her back held straight.
"All across the continent, they are already forming alliances and preparing for the coming era. Countess Echidna is seeking new relationships within this change. The center of this change is the central region."
"You speak of the Grakheizen Alliance."
The queen furrowed her brows slightly, then spoke in a low voice.
"Is Kakia not wary of them?"
A voice so small it could not be heard outside.
Sonia instantly sensed that she was wary of the lady-in-waiting waiting outside—and also that she too did not like Kakia very much.
Well, it was only natural that a small nation beside a great power had a history of suffering many things at the hands of that great power.
"Kakia and Elieniessi—the two main pillars of the Nodengard Alliance—are both very wary of the Grakheizen Alliance."
"Then why does Arilit's Countess Echidna aid our Ulland? If it were Norn's will, it should be a matter of offering to help Kakia."
At the queen's direct question, Sonia raised the corners of her lips slightly.
"How many benefits does Ulland receive as a member of Nodengard?"
Rieselotte's face stiffened.
For Sonia's question had precisely struck a sore spot.
"... It is on the meager side."
The queen honestly admitted it. There was no way the flinching look had gone unnoticed anyway.
"The promised support is always delayed, and the response to our requests is mostly 'under review.'"
"That is precisely why."
Sonia gazed at the queen with regretful eyes as she spoke.
"The one I serve believes that such a divided state of the continent is encouraging the demon realm's invasion—that if small nations cannot be properly protected by the great alliances, someone must fill that gap."
The queen's eyes sparkled. Her intuition had instantly seen through Sonia's words.
"You mean to expand the duchy's influence."
"That is not wrong. However..."
"However?"
Sonia, having paused briefly, looked straight into the queen's eyes and answered.
"What the one I serve desires is a world where humans and monsters live together. A world where all races cooperate and live in peace."
"That is..."
Rieselotte stroked her chin.
"... Exceedingly idealistic."
"But it is not impossible. Your Highness has already seen that possibility."
The queen recalled the report from Tremilite.
The harrowing battle situation report—that all the monsters belonging to the mercenary corps had fought without retreating, risking their own sacrifice.
Of course, the queen did not know the truth hidden within that battle.
That in the darkness of Tremilite, mages had breathed new life into the fallen warriors, and that beings who had already experienced death guarded the very front lines.
The 'self-sacrificing loyalty' that she so admired—its true nature was something far more complex.
The queen drew a long breath and spoke.
"Ulland... has been isolated for a very long time."
A deep undulation existed within her eyes.
"We have existed as Kakia's brother nation... but for long ages they have only taken from us. And from the east, Astaroth, and from the north, the barbarians of Whiscliffe, are ever aiming at us."
That undulation gradually grew fiercer.
It was the fury of the suppressed, the sense of responsibility of one who governs.
"I know our choices are not many. Therefore..."
The queen's eyes shone with a firm light.
"For my people, I am prepared to seek a new direction."
Sonia did not miss the opportunity.
"I wish to present this to Your Highness."
Sonia's hand went into her bosom.
Puzzlement rose on the queen's face, but Sonia, unconcerned, took out a small jewelry box.
Dalkak
As the lid of the jewelry box opened, inside was a pendant shaped like a black petal.
Though it was merely a simple ornament, there was something about it that strangely drew the eye.
"This is...?"
The queen looked at Sonia with a puzzled expression.
It was too modest an object to be a bribe, and the timing was too abrupt for it to have no meaning at all.
"It is a gift sent directly to Your Highness by the one I serve. It is a dedicated communication device imbued with magic. Through it, she wishes to converse with Your Highness."
Rieselotte lifted the pendant.
It looked like an ornament with nothing special about it, but sensitive to mana as she was, she detected a subtle energy flowing within it.
The power was far too slight.
'If this were meant for poisoning or assassination, they would have made it less detectable and given it greater power. Enough to kill someone.'
Rieselotte was not a naive person.
Much less was she one to easily trust someone who had come to be called a hero in a short period.
"... Very well."
But at the same time, she had until then believed that the one to emerge from it would be Arilit's white Lamia.
"I shall speak with her."
And so, without hesitation, she clasped the pendant in her hand and raised her mana.
- 2 -
Hwaak
The moment Rieselotte's mana touched the pendant, space distorted.
The fireplace's glow turned cold and violet, and the sunlight coming through the window turned bluish like moonlight.
The shadows deepened, and even the movement of dust drifting in the air dulled.
As if time within the room had stopped.
And then, Rieselotte felt a gaze from behind her.
'When did...?'
Before she could even turn, a gentle touch rested upon her shoulder.
To dare lay a hand on the body of a queen of a nation.
Startled, she turned, and a woman entered her field of vision.
- It is a pleasure to meet you. Rieselotte of Ulland.
She was a woman clad in pitch-black.
Her black hair, long enough to nearly reach her knees, flowed beautifully, and the fringe lightly covering the corners of her eyes made her aura even more mysterious.
Violet eyes shone through her hair, gazing at her, and a black dress enveloped her entire body.
An ordinary person would have called it gloomy.
But the queen could feel nothing from her but 'nobility' and 'depth.'
"You are..."
- The world calls me Philia en Elskopf.
"Philia..."
After briefly pondering the owner of that name, she soon recalled the correct answer and looked at the woman with astonished eyes.
"The Countess Philia of Hysen. The one said to be the real power and authority there..."
And soon, she also guessed the reason she had made contact in this manner.
"Are you trying to break the Nodengard Alliance?"
Though, of course, there was a slight misunderstanding.
At her words, which were conventional and power-centric, the woman shook her head.
Along with a gentle smile.
- That is incorrect.
Rieselotte turned to look at Sonia, who had at some point stepped back.
She naturally pulled out the chair she herself had been sitting in and welcomed the woman.
- Thank you. Sonia.
"It was nothing. Master."
Seeing Philia Elskopf, who ought to have been nothing more than a projection, naturally sit in that spot, Rieselotte finally realized who the 'one she served' that Sonia had been speaking of just moments ago was.
"... I cannot help but ask why you are emerging from a pendant given by Countess Echidna's mercenary vice-captain."
- That is a simple tale.
The woman spoke in a graceful posture, her hand resting upon her own chest.
- Because she and I are very close friends.
Rieselotte furrowed her brows.
The Norn Empire and Hysen were long-standing enemies. Therefore, Arilit and Hysen ought to be so as well.
Though all sorts of dealings went on under the table—with Arilit, a trade nation, sharing prestige with Hysen—their official stance remained that of hostile nations.
The notion that a power of Arilit and a power of Hysen were friends...
It meant one thing.
"Arilit's monster naval forces are also under your influence. And your machinations have also entered that duchy."
- Machinations. What a terribly harsh word.
At the calm voice of 'Philia' answering, the queen felt a shudder run through her body.
The one who was the real power of the Central Alliance had already placed her own hands and feet inside the Eastern Alliance.
And yet, the world knew nothing of it.
Apart from them, she alone knew.
"... What in the world are you?"
The queen could not help but ask that, and...
- A being who desires peace and prosperity.
'Philia's' words were even simpler.