Chapter 96 - Power and Love (2)
Power and Love (2)
Translator: XZY
Chapter 96: Power and Love (2)
***
— ‘Ah! If there is a God, I wish to ask! Why have you bestowed such a cruel fate upon me! Why do you make me love the princess of an enemy nation, forcing me to live embracing this burning heart! All the glory of the empire is mine, and all people kneel beneath me, yet she alone does not look at me..!’
— ‘Rather than live embracing this cruel fate, I shall lay down this glory and go to her. A life without her has no value, so I shall lay down even the power that commands this world!’
The opera at the Kalimpod Theater was a famous attraction.
In her childhood, Elente, who had toddled after the Countess of Belmeade holding her hand into the theater, was endlessly immersed as she quietly watched the actors performing passionately.
How much could that young child, not even ten years old yet, understand about the artistic value of this stage? But still, the Countess wanted her to experience the high-class stage culture early on.
And, contrary to the adults’ worries, she was captivated by the actors’ vocalization and lines, completely immersed in the stage The Love of Prince Rodian.
Watching the heartbreaking love story of Prince Rodian, who ended up loving the princess of an enemy nation, she felt the playwright’s message about human anguish and the sublimity of love in every word.
The final setting of that stage was a cliff where the sunset was casting its shadow.
With his decision to finally lay down all his authority as a prince and embrace Princess Iriana, singing of the value of beautiful love, the curtain fell on the stage.
As the stage concluded with the sorrowful music played by the orchestra, the high-class audience sitting in the seats all applauded with tears in their eyes.
The Countess also stood up, applauding that beautiful and sublime story, and Elente followed her, clapping with her tiny hands.
Like that, the Countess and Elente left the Kalimpod Theater side by side. The sun was already setting.
‘It was a good performance. How was it in your eyes, Elente?’
‘The actors’ acting was really impressive. The orchestra’s performance was also high-level, so I think the melody was much more colorful than what I heard during my instrument lessons.’
Since Elente already possessed an extraordinary artistic sense from her childhood, she could speak her impressions of the stage she saw without difficulty.
‘But… I didn’t really empathize with the characters’ thoughts.’
‘Oh my, really? I thought Prince Rodian’s poignant love story was quite beautiful…’
‘If he’s a prince… all the power under the heavens belongs to him.’
Since she was still young, she didn’t know well about the power a prince held, but she could still feel how lofty that authority was.
Therefore, Elente spoke to the Countess with an unimpressed expression.
‘To have such great power, yet be swayed by such fleeting emotions…’
The prince’s choice to finally lay down his power and choose Princess Iriana was something Elente, watching it, could not empathize with at all.
Having lived entangled in the noble world since childhood, Elente knew better than anyone how sublime and beautiful the value of power was.
The girl loved power from that young age.
Occasionally, she harbored something like a romantic notion about the sublimity of love seen in fairy tales or literature, but in the end, what she kept by her side was the strong will to grasp power.
She had never loved a person in her entire life.
So, the fact that the direction of that emotion turned toward power was not such a strange thing.
<> <> <>
‘If it’s Leonard of the Belmeade family, is he the youngest son Elente mentioned?’
He had left the family for quite a long time claiming to go on a pilgrimage, and it seemed he had recently returned to the Belmeade family.
For some reason, the youngest son of the Belmeade family, who was said to have returned recently, sent a separate letter to Derek.
Derek opened the letter he received, but there was actually not much content to speak of.
It was a request asking if he could spare some time at the Belmeade County residence, as he wanted to meet and talk with Derek.
“…”
Derek was lost in thought for a moment.
Leonard, the third son of the Belmeade family, looked like a benevolent religious person at a glance, but in reality, he heard he was a snake-like figure skilled in intrigue and politics.
Since there must be a reason why Elente was so openly wary of him, Derek also had no particular desire to get involved with this man.
Even if he was the third son of the Belmeade family, there was no need to go out of his way to meet him, was there?
Ignoring a letter sent directly by a noble was against etiquette, but luckily, Derek had a good excuse to politely refuse Leonard’s request.
“Please fill the central part of the second-floor pillars with thick ones! I don’t think we need to apply insulation yet… so please start with the brickwork first!”
Sitting quietly on a tree stump watching the construction site, a strange figure was mixed among the rugged and sturdy construction workers, raising her voice.
Her name was Aiseline Eleanor Duplein, the precious jewel of the Duplein ducal house and a noble lady of the Rosea Salon.
That girl, who was like a fairy descended to earth… was directing the site while wearing a luxurious frill dress and loaded with safety equipment.
It was a strange sight, like an elephant riding a bicycle.
The members of the Ravencrow Barony already knew well enough how this spectacle had come to be.
“Team 2, take a break, and Team 3, please proceed to the foundation work immediately after finishing your break! Oh right! I’ve put out cold water, so those who feel dizzy must hydrate right away!”
It was still late spring, but the heat was already rising in the middle of the day.
However, Aiseline roughly rolled up the sleeves of her pretty dress as if asking what such heat mattered, and was controlling the rugged workers.
Her authority, practically that of a construction foreman, was so commanding that even the workers being directed by the frail girl felt no incongruity.
“Derek-ssi, if you’re a bit tired, please go into the office! The dormitory construction is roughly on track, so I don’t think there will be any more major decisions requiring your confirmation!”
“No, it’s fine. I was sitting for a moment to read a letter.”
“A letter? Oh? Is it from the Belmeade County residence?”
“Yes. But it’s nothing special.”
Since Derek had absolutely no desire to be close with Leonard, he just crumpled the letter and roughly stuffed it into his pocket.
It was enough to give the excuse that although he was grateful for the invitation, the Ravencrow Barony was currently too distracted by the construction of a lifetime to possibly go meet him.
In fact, the construction at the Ravencrow Barony was so large in scale that the classroom building and dormitory building were becoming larger than the main mansion itself.
Derek thought as he looked at the facility growing little by little.
“…Surely… this was my baronial mansion, I think… it’s strange…”
“Pardon…?”
“It’s nothing… let’s go check the construction status of the classroom building.”
“Yes!”
Aiseline’s energetic answer. She looked more full of energy than ever.
It was a busy time.
<> <> <>
Caw, caw—
The setting sun was dyeing the sky red.
The era was also setting like the sunset.
The authority of the Duplein family, which seemed like it would command Ebelstein’s noble world forever, had been broken as much as it could be, and now it seemed only destined to disappear into the back alleys of history.
“In this meeting of the territorial nobles, we completely lost control over the outer trade routes of the Duplein territory, the southeastern breadbasket, and the northern villages. With this, not even a third remains compared to the territory in its prime.”
Reigh, the last son remaining in the declining Duplein family, spoke while quietly watching the setting sun.
The place was the cemetery arranged on the hill southeast of the Duplein mansion.
There stood a tombstone with the name of the head of the house, Grand Duke Raymond Oswald Duplein, and below it, a tombstone with Valerian’s name.
Seeing that it was still neat compared to the other tombstones, one could tell that the owner of this grave had not been buried long ago.
In front of that tombstone, Diella was sitting with her eyes quietly closed.
The light of the setting sun looked just like red watercolor paint.
Looking down at the long shadow wrapping around the tips of her feet, Diella quietly stood up from her seat.
Reigh, who was standing far behind, cast down a gloomy gaze.
Before long, a tear was about to fall from the sturdy man’s eye.
“I couldn’t do anything. Diella.”
“…”
“While this foolish brother was lying in a sickbed without lifting a finger, unable to even regain his senses… my treasure-like sisters must have been fighting the world.”
Aiseline and Diella were enduring all sorts of insults to somehow set the declining Duplein family straight.
Since Reigh was not unaware of that, he was in deep shame.
Nevertheless, the helplessness and fear rising in his chest swallowed him.
His appearance of revealing his aspirations toward the world with sky-high confidence could no longer be found.
“After rising from the sickbed, I also tried to voice my opinion in various meetings, but I… couldn’t do anything.”
“…”
“Aiseline is taking the initiative and suffering, working day and night to earn even a little more funds, but the one called brother goes somewhere only to be beaten, robbed, and insulted. Such a me… is pathetic… and shameful…”
Reigh lifted his head again and looked at the sky dyeing red.
His eyes were also dyed like that red sky.
“I don’t have the confidence to take responsibility for this family. My vessel… was only this much at best.”
There is no one who can resist a setting era.
Duplein had already lost its support base as well as trust in the noble world. There was bound to be a limit to what Reigh could do as an individual.
Therefore, Diella had no intention of blaming Reigh.
Diella, who stood up with a demure movement, only spoke with determined eyes.
“Right. I was also preparing my heart. Perhaps the Duplein family… really has nothing left but to collapse now. Maybe a single individual can’t do anything about this general trend and flow.”
Reigh’s appearance, fallen into helplessness, was heartbreaking, but Diella had no intention of sympathizing with that helplessness.
Still, protecting that strong heart was not an easy task.
‘The power structure of the noble world is something that no one knows when or how it will change, but does a way exist for a family that has fallen so greatly to raise itself up again?’
Even Aiseline, who rolled up her sleeves and was diligent in everything, wouldn't she be thinking such things inwardly?
That Duplein was already finished, and they were just struggling to collapse even a little later…
Thinking like that, it became difficult for Diella to endure this helplessness and emptiness rising in her chest.
The setting sun felt quite wistful.
The era sets.
Even so, she had to resist. Because Aiseline was resisting.
As long as she was holding on, Diella also had to keep her two feet planted.
That was the minimum courtesy toward Aiseline, who bore all this misfortune.
The captain directing a sinking ship is fated to bear so much misfortune.
So, even for the sake of Aiseline struggling in this misfortune, Diella harbored the thought that she had to endure.
──However, regrettably, Aiseline was not thinking about the reconstruction of the family at all.
“I held an investment briefing at the seminar for lower-ranking nobles of the Rosea Salon and borrowed some funds. I think we can even expand by building a large auditorium facility?”
“…Pardon?”
“Many nobles sympathized with the business potential of the Ravencrow Training Center. When I guaranteed a decent rate of return, everyone lined up saying they wanted to sponsor gold coins, so I had a bit of trouble.”
Aiseline had eventually even hosted an investment briefing using her connections in the noble world and succeeded in bringing in more funds.
“We’ll need a social dance class and a magic sparring ground, so let’s build an auditorium too?!”
“…”
“We’ll need management personnel, and Derek-ssi won’t be able to teach everything alone, so I’m planning to hire some assistant teachers too.”
“No, are the funds of that scale?”
“To tell you the truth, I think we can decorate the garden a bit more grandly and build a proper school gate. I think we can also prepare some good teaching materials.”
Aiseline moved her quill pen and wrote down numbers on the ledger.
Derek, after confirming the scale of the funds, opened his eyes wide and sat at his office desk for a moment.
“…”
“If we do this, we can receive a bit more money under the pretext of facility fees and teaching material costs. As you know, since the noble young ladies open their wallets easily, they won’t feel much burden. If we do this, the expected revenue increases by about 25 percent, and we can borrow funds through this again to decorate the interior a bit more.”
“Wouldn’t the timeframe itself be a bit tight?”
“That’s why I’ve hired people in advance. However, as for hiring assistant teachers, I thought it would be better for Derek-ssi to select them personally, so I just organized the related documents. Mr. Delbritten helped me. He’s skilled in paperwork!”
At this point, things were not just progressing smoothly, they were sprinting.
Even Derek had not expected Aiseline’s drive to be this outstanding.
The words Aiseline said next with twinkling eyes were truly a spectacle.
“Business is… more fun than I thought…!!!”
“…”
“I… think I’m going to get addicted…”
An expression of ecstasy, as if she had awakened to something.
She was a noble girl who had lived like a flower in a greenhouse, discussing metaphysical studies like art and philosophy. It was her first time experiencing this practical study of the outside world.
How much did awakening to a new world drive a person into a state of extreme excitement?
Those who have experienced it even once know. No narcotic substance can present its business card in front of that sense of accomplishment.
Derek thought as he watched Aiseline.
If profits start coming in… let’s make sure to distribute a lot to the Duplein family side….
“About the class start date. Before entering into full-scale classes, how about having a time where those who received magic instruction from Derek-ssi come lightly for a Q&A session?”
As if ideas kept springing up, Aiseline continued.
“Derek-ssi’s disciples all have renowned names, don’t they? I’ll ask Diella separately too. If famous people just by name like Lady Denise or Lady Elente come and show their faces there, we can appeal the reliability of the education more. Rumors will spread more widely too, right?”
“No… the young ladies of the Beltus or Belmeade families wouldn’t make the journey so easily… probably…”
Considering Lady Denise, who had made the journey here just to save Derek’s face once, or Lady Elente, who visited once in a while asking him to look at her magic, it didn’t seem like they would particularly refuse such a request.
Therefore, Derek had no choice but to close his mouth quietly.
“It’s not unrealistic.”
“Right?! Of course, to make such an official request, we’ll have to observe etiquette, but I think if Derek-ssi shows his face in person, both of them will readily accept! We just need to buy some gifts, visit their mansions, and show the minimum courtesy!”
Aiseline clenched both fists and began to think of a gift list.
It seemed hard for even a decent imperial official to keep up with that drive.
Aiseline had lived her whole life treated as a precious jewel, but was she actually a person more capable as a staff officer… Derek found it hard to describe that subtle feeling.
A person’s talent was bound to wither without ever blossoming if they met the wrong environment at birth.
In that sense, considering Aiseline’s situation, it was ambiguous whether to call this a misfortune or a fortune.
<> <> <>
“There won’t be any big problems while you’re away. I’ve checked everything I need to check. Here, I’ve also prepared the gifts for the Belmeade family through Head Butler Delbritten. They’ll be loaded onto the carriage soon.”
The next day, Derek’s business trip was decided.
Moving her quill pen briskly over the ledger, Aiseline came out to see Derek off as he was about to board the carriage.
No matter what, to personally invite the young lady of a count’s house to the training center’s affairs, it was proper etiquette to follow official procedures, visit, and make a formal request.
Therefore, Derek, the master of the Ravencrow Barony, had no choice but to head to the Belmeade family himself.
“The schedule for visiting the Beltus family hasn’t been confirmed yet, so let’s quickly handle the parts we need to handle first. Since the Margrave of Belmeade thinks highly of Derek-ssi, he’ll probably welcome you.”
“Yes. I just need to visit, share some pleasantries, and make the request, so there shouldn’t be any big problems. Please take good care of supervising the construction while I’m away.”
“Don’t worry about a thing, Derek-ssi!”
He had replied to Leonard’s letter saying he was too busy, but looking at the situation, Derek ended up going to the Belmeade family first.
The situation had become a bit subtle, but in any case, he had to take responsibility for the work he had started.
The journey to the Belmeade family.
He had visited Elente’s private mansion in the Ebelstein noble district a few times, but it was his first time visiting the count’s residence in the Belmeade territory in person.
Hoping that this journey would be peaceful, Derek boarded the carriage and quietly looked back at the baronial mansion.
Clang! Clang—!
Creeeeak—!
Amidst the workers busy with construction, a tiny mansion came into view.
Due to Aiseline’s expansion of the plan, the scale of the construction had swollen to more than double.
Inevitably, it had become a situation where Derek’s private mansion seemed buried in the construction site.
‘This… is my private mansion… right…?’
Derek monologued quietly. It was words he had muttered once before.
In any case, now was the time to head to the Belmeade Count’s residence.