The Eight-Sided Beauty

Three days later, I boarded a carriage bound for the Asis Duchy.

I would be lying if I said the journey didn't wear on me.

After roughly sixteen days of travel, we arrived at the Asis Duchy — one day before Lapis's birthday.

Duke Asis and his wife welcomed me as lavishly as they always had, treating me like the savior of their daughter's life. It was only natural from a parent's perspective, seeing as their daughter's life had transformed — a girl who had once been locked away in a small room, unable to ever step outside again.

Still, this was no act of pure charity; it was, unmistakably, a transaction that benefited both sides. An excessively grand reception would only have been a burden on my end.

「 You haven't made the announcement yet?

"No, I have not."

At Duke Asis's words — that his daughter's complete recovery had still never been publicly declared — I blinked. In a place where transportation and means of communication were underdeveloped, hiding it would not be difficult if one were determined enough, but why on earth would he have kept it secret until now?

Duke Asis answered in a tone deliberately tinged with displeasure.

"Back when my daughter lay in her bed, the other nobles never once mentioned their own children in my presence."

「 That was... surely out of consideration for you...

"Do you take me for a fool? I can hardly fail to distinguish consideration from the fear that I might quietly bring up the subject of a political marriage."

「 ...」

Well, of course. No matter that she was the daughter of House Asis, no family would have taken a completely paralyzed girl as a bride for their heir.

"Now that my daughter's body has been fully healed, the situation has changed... but when I think of those who would flip their allegiance at the drop of a hat, the prospect so disgusted me that I have withheld the announcement until now."

I could more or less picture the rest.

"To be blunt, I understand the sentiment, but human emotion does not always follow reason."

「 Then tomorrow will be the official announcement, I take it.

"It would be best to put a firm period on the matter, so that no worthless flies come buzzing about."

「 From my standpoint, I couldn't be more grateful.

"Besides, we will also be proclaiming Your Highness's gift of healing to the world. Two birds with one stone, wouldn't you say?"

I nodded at Duke Asis's words, then led my travel-weary body to a bath. And afterward, I set aside a short stretch of time to go see Lapis.

The gaunt, skeletal figure she had once been was gone; flesh had settled onto her frame, and she had become quite lovely to look at.

"I missed you."

Lapis, gazing at me with a shy smile, came toward me with small, halting steps.

「 Have you been well?

"Yes. Thanks to the healing you gave me, Your Highness, life feels like a joy these days."

「 Then you'll be able to dance a song with me tomorrow, won't you?

At my words, Lapis wore a troubled expression.

"I have been practicing my dancing all this while... but my stamina is still so lacking that I couldn't manage much of it."

She had spent years lying in nothing but a bed. Even with her body healed, returning to an ordinary daily life at once would have been impossible. The road to this point alone must have swallowed most of her time in rehabilitation.

「 It's fine. I'll lead you. Don't let it weigh on you — just let your body follow.

"I-I might step on your feet."

「 So what if you step on them a little.

This was a body being honed with the benefits of rapid, near-miraculous growth. Even if Lapis stepped on my feet, it wouldn't hurt badly enough to make me cry out on the spot. If anything, this moment was the one she ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠had longed for more than anyone — I wanted to show her at least that much consideration.

And so Lapis hesitated... and in the end, she agreed.

Come to think of it, Lapis still seemed entirely unaware of the betrothal announcement. What would she do when she found out? Surely she wouldn't faint from shock.

The next day, after Lapis and I had settled into a rhythm with one another — the nobles who had received advance invitations had already arrived at the duchy, and the moment night fell, the banquet hall was ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠thronged with people. It would be no exaggeration to say that every noble of the Neutral Faction was gathered there.

'More than that, though...'

Duke Asis had not been lying, it seemed — hardly anyone present had brought their children along.

"D-Doesn't something seem... strange to you?"

We waited quietly behind the stage alongside Lapis, the star of the evening. Dressed in a specially commissioned gown, she stood beside me with her fingers clasped tightly around my hand, her face flushed crimson. Her mind was no child's, and yet — or perhaps precisely because of that — these innocent, unguarded reactions of hers were a genuine delight to watch.

"Nothing is strange. You can afford to be a little more confident in how you look tonight."

"Y-Yes...!"

"Come. Let's go."

Duke Asis's voice reached us from beyond the curtain, calling us out. With that, I gently escorted Lapis and strode toward the center of the banquet hall, where brilliant light poured down from above.

"Is that... is that not the Duke of Asis's daughter?"

"I heard she was an invalid who could never rise from her sickbed?"

The assembled guests stirred, their eyes darting between Lapis and me, sending countless gazes our way. And Lapis, unable to bear the weight of so many eyes, shifted half a step behind me, pressing close — the particular warmth of a child seeping through.

How was she planning to dance later, acting like this?

"I will hide nothing from you: my daughter Lapis was once entirely unable to move. But His Highness Prince Rohen healed her with the power of the spoken word, and so she now stands upon two feet before you in this very hall. Tonight's banquet, therefore, is both an expression of gratitude toward His Highness and a celebration of my daughter — who has shattered the cage of her sickbed and walked out of it."

"Oooh... congratulations, Duke!"

Amid the roar of applause and cheering, Duke Asis raised a hand and quieted the hall.

"And furthermore — this occasion also serves to announce the betrothal of His Highness Prince Rohen to my daughter, Lapis."

At this second, staggering piece of news, the gathered nobles drew in their breath all over again. Among them were some who made no effort to hide their disappointment. Of course, a betrothal was not beyond being broken — but the likelihood of that being slim was something even they could read. There was no one present who did not know that a clear transaction had passed between Duke Asis and me back when we had met in the capital.

And so the nobles in attendance, most of them nursing the hope that they too might one day step into the heart of the imperial court, began to murmur among themselves.

Duke Asis then took a step back, naturally ceding the floor to me.

"A pleasure to meet you all. I am Rohen, First Prince of the Empire. This is the first time I have stood as the central figure of a grand banquet, you see. Having never before appeared at gatherings such as this, I know hardly a single face here — forgive me if this feels unfamiliar."

At my words, a subtle glimmer of interest settled into the eyes of the Neutral Faction nobles. I had not said it outright, but what I was dangling before them was perfectly obvious.

"The road I intend to walk from this day forward will require a great deal of your aid. So when I ask for your help — I trust none of you will refuse."

The instant those words left my mouth, I cast a wide-area healing spell. A cool freshness washed over everyone present as the accumulated fatigue of their bodies melted away, and they gasped in wonder; those who suffered from minor ailments or lingering aftereffects of old wounds wore dazed expressions for a moment — then clenched their fists and applauded with everything they had.

And with that, the banquet began in earnest. Amid the swelling music, countless nobles huddled close and debated what was to come.

"The factions friendly to the current royal house fell silent and went along with that incident."

"...A considerable opportunity has come to us, then."

"It wouldn't hurt to introduce my daughter to him — even as a concubine."

"It's far too early for that. We must mind Duke Asis's watchful eye."

"I never much cared for the way they lumped us frontier nobles together and sneered at us as a whole. But now we can plan our advance into the capital — especially with the royal house holding so vast a territory at present."

They lowered their voices, hiding beneath the swell of the music — and yet their conversation drifted to my ears, fragment by fragment. Was this proof that my body, growing daily with the effects of my rapid advancement, had begun to absorb an extraordinary caliber that set it apart from an ordinary man's?

For my part, I wore the mask of a purely childlike smile, went about building rapport with the assembled nobles — and then slowly made my way toward Lapis and held out my left hand.

"Oh..."

Even after all the time that had passed, she had not fully adapted to the atmosphere, it seemed. Lapis, taking my hand and stepping forward, was stiff as a porcelain doll.

「 Look only at me.

When we reached the central stage, the nobles naturally parting to clear a path before us, I traced words onto her palm with my index finger to convey my meaning. The Conversation had served its purpose and worn off, so there was no helping it — but fortunately, that tickling sensation seemed to loosen some of the tension in her.

And so the music of the banquet hall changed — a piece meant for a stage where only the two of us existed.

Attuning myself to its rhythm, I gently led Lapis through the dance, just as I had learned in my lessons on court etiquette.

Thump!

It turned out she had not been lying to me last night — Lapis trod on my feet with remarkable frequency. And every time she did, she flinched harder than I felt any pain, nearly bolting backward, and I barely managed to keep my grip steady and carry the dance onward.

Frankly, in these formal shoes the pain was beyond anything I had imagined — but I had no desire to plant a needless trauma in her heart.

A glance.

Had Duke Asis felt the same way, I wondered. Watching me, he bowed his head with an earnest, pleading look in his eyes. Please, no matter how much it hurts — bear it. He wanted this single day to become a beautiful memory for Lapis, that much was clear.

Truly, there was no fool of a father quite like a fool for his daughter.

Yet for all my consideration, Lapis grew only more restless at her own embarrassingly poor dancing.

"I-I'm so sorry...!"

Just as expected — the moment the dance ended, Lapis apologized to me and fled the banquet hall. Duke Asis immediately shot me a glance, silently begging me to follow her.

"How wonderful."

"My wife, too — back when she used to dance with me, she'd step on my feet at least once every time."

Though the situation had gone slightly off course, the mood of the banquet never sank. Perhaps because it was a memory every one of them had lived through once themselves.

Passing the nobles as they reminisced about days gone by, I stepped out into the garden — and there, in the distance, I found Lapis sitting slumped and sulky on the ground.

"A-Are your feet all right?"

Lapis startled badly when I appeared behind her, but she quickly realized what she had done and buried her head deep.

「 They're fine. I'm not hurt at all — why else would I have followed you?

"C-Can it really be all right... for someone like me, who can't even dance properly... to be betrothed to you, Your Highness...?"

「 Don't demean yourself like that. If you'd truly hated the idea, you wouldn't have danced with me at all.

At my words, Lapis seemed to draw a little comfort from them, and began to pour out what lay on her heart.

"I spent so long lying in bed that I learned everything far later than I should have... and most of the time I was given went to rehabilitation. Dancing was what I practiced in the scraps of time left over. And now that I'm this hopeless at it... I worry more and more whether someone like me could ever actually be of help to you, Your Highness."

Her thoughts ran deep for her young age. Scratching my cheek, I wrote the rest onto the paper.

「 Then I'll cast a spell for you.

"A... spell?"

Perhaps it was only natural for her to find the word strange, coming from me — someone with no talent whatsoever for magic. Watching Lapis tilt her head as she read the words on the paper, I set about ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠combining my word.

The advice was appreciated — but even so, I'd rather take this chance than watch my future empress convince herself she was a good-for-nothing with no talents at all and see her self-esteem shattered.

"Eightfold Prodigy."

'Let's start by granting her a talent for dance.'

'I beg your pardon?'

I blinked. Given the dancing she had shown tonight, and the way she had been tearing herself down just now, nothing about that seemed possible. Had the season for her talent to bloom simply come too early?

'What am I supposed to do with this?!'

Without even using Eightfold Prodigy, Lapis was already a perfect prodigy in all things.

She simply had not yet come into full bloom.