What Was Bound to Come
What was bound to come had finally arrived… but wasn't this a little too soon?
The carriage passed through the gates of the imperial capital without the slightest obstruction.
Under normal circumstances, a rigorous inspection would have been mandatory. Even a grand ducal house would have been no exception.
Today was different. It was as if some prior order had already been handed down.
"You may proceed."
Not a single soldier moved to stop the carriage. That unimpeded passage continued all the way to the gate standing directly before the imperial palace.
This has never happened before.
The Minister of Education cast a furtive glance at the man and woman seated across from him.
Until moments ago, Lia and Lea had been racing ahead of the carriage on foot. Only when they reached the very threshold of the capital had the minister finally managed to coax them inside.
They were guests of honor invited by the Emperor himself. To make them run the entire way on their own two feet? The Ministry of the Imperial Household would have every right to unleash a torrent of abuse, and he would have had no defense whatsoever.
Ssshhh…
The slowing of the carriage told him they had drawn near a point beyond which vehicles were forbidden. The Minister of Education ventured that it was time to disembark and continue on foot.
At once, Lia and Lea's faces lit with an unmistakable finally.
In all my years, I have never met nobles who hate riding in a carriage this much.
These were not the madly jouncing wagons of the pre-magic era. Modern carriages were so luxuriously smooth that plenty of nobles could barely travel without one. And yet these two were rejecting that comfort outright.
The Minister of Education stepped down first, with Lia and Lea following close behind. At their appearance, the Imperial Knights standing watch flinched hard enough to shudder.
It was a presence ordinary people could never sense — the aura of true power that only the strong could feel. And these were no ordinary strong. These were the kind who could shake the heavens and split the earth itself.
Even the so-called swords of the Imperial House could not help but recoil. That was only natural.
"This way, honored guests. You as well, Minister."
Guided by the chief steward who had come out to receive them, they entered the palace proper.
This was a place even the head of a ministry could not approach without express permission. Perhaps for that reason, the minister looked far more tense than the John Nassen siblings themselves.
The Ministry of Education was not like Finance, the Interior, or War — departments that routinely required audiences with the Emperor. Of course he was nervous.
"Welcome, guests of John Nassen."
Ahead of them stood a man attended by a throng of retainers, arms spread wide, waiting with a smiling face.
The Minister of Education sucked in a sharp breath.
He had scarcely dared hope — yet the Emperor of the Empire himself had come out to greet them in person.
"Your Majesty."
The minister dropped to his knees at once and buried his face against the ground. Never in his wildest dreams had he imagined the Emperor would come all the way out here, far from the Great Hall.
By contrast, the siblings merely glanced about for a moment before offering a simple bow of the waist.
Anyone watching might have called the John Nassens insolent and scolded them for it. No one opened their mouth. Not the Imperial Knights. Not the chief steward. Not even the Emperor himself.
"I expected you later. I did not think you would arrive so soon."
The Emperor simply smiled with quiet warmth and gestured for them to come inside.
Before leading Lia and Lea in, he turned once more.
"Ah — and Minister."
"Yes, Your Majesty!"
"You brought them remarkably quickly. Well done. Truly, you have worked hard."
The words were delivered lightly, but there was no mistaking them for what they were: praise from the Emperor. Not a written commendation delivered by messenger, but words spoken from the lips of the supreme ruler himself.
That alone was an immense reward. It meant he had been recognized by the Emperor.
Hahaha…
The Minister of Education laughed inwardly.
For all the insane hours he had poured into his work, he had never once heard the Emperor tell him he had done well. And that was only natural. Those at the top did not hand out praise lightly. He had never even felt particularly slighted by the silence.
And yet today, for the simple act of bringing one baronial family's siblings on the same day, he had received direct commendation. Not in private, either — in front of a considerable audience!
Am I supposed to be happy about this? It's almost absurd.
Come to think of it, even the maniacally overworked Minister of Finance had never received praise straight from the Emperor's mouth. And now he, of all people, had gotten there first. The mere thought of having something to needle the man with brought a smile unbidden to his face.
What was the imperial palace? It was the residence of the Empire's supreme ruler — the very heart of the realm. The most important place. The most splendid. The most magnificent. Anyone who stepped inside, even a god, was meant to be left in awe. That grandeur was the symbolic embodiment of the Empire's sovereign authority.
Hmm.
Walking at the front, the Emperor glanced back.
For the ruler of an empire — not some mere provincial lord — to check over his shoulder was a strange thing indeed. Still, he studied the man and woman following him.
Not so much as a flicker of reaction.
That was the sort of composure one might expect from grand dukes who had visited the palace many times before. Anyone else, upon entering these halls, would have made a show of astonishment and continuous admiration — whether genuine or performed for the sake of appearances.
The John Nassen siblings, Lia and Lea, were different. They passed pillars of solid gold. They looked upon ornaments wrought from every manner of precious gem. They took in every carved testament to the Empire's proud history. And they showed nothing. They did not even spare those wonders a proper glance.
This was no act of indifference. A single glance was enough for the Emperor to understand them completely. The John Nassen siblings simply did not care. Displays of authority, exhibitions of power — they regarded such things as one might regard an insect.
Watching them, the Emperor let out a quiet breath of relief.
Everything changes eventually. Had John Nassen changed as well, things would have become extremely inconvenient. If these children held different ambitions from their parents — if they were no longer content with the mere process of growing strong, and instead desired the conclusion of that strength —
A nightmare. I cannot even begin to estimate how many would die.
Fortunately, the children seemed no different from their parents. It would appear that the god the Holy Order searched for so relentlessly truly did exist. Beings of such overwhelming power who nevertheless preferred not to wield it — strange, contradictory, and yet profoundly reassuring.
In an exceptional gesture, the Emperor led the siblings to a reception chamber. Protocol would have placed him on his throne while the two of them knelt below. They were merely the son and daughter of a baronial house — and the Empire had no shortage of those. At the very least, one needed the rank of a margrave or marquis to receive this kind of treatment.
But this was John Nassen. The warrior race of the north that had stood its ground against the Empire itself. They remained barons only because they chose to. Strictly speaking, they deserved treatment on par with the Grand Ducal House of Schurelitz.
"Sit."
The Emperor seated himself first and gestured. Lia and Lea settled onto their chairs. The chief steward was wound tight with tension, terrified they might say or do something improper. This was the imperial palace. Before the Emperor himself. No one could predict what might follow if lines were crossed.
But even the John Nassens were not people who lacked manners entirely.
"We are sincerely grateful for Your Majesty's invitation."
Lia bowed his head and opened in a solemn voice. Lea, for her part, offered a radiant smile and expressed her thanks for the Emperor's grace. Her smile was so beautiful that the Emperor found himself momentarily wondering whether this woman could truly have been the one who demolished the Academy.
…Well. My own daughter is the same. Why would another household be any different?
Thinking of Yulika, the Emperor gave a small shake of his head. Same father, same mother — and yet she was so utterly unlike her siblings. He had even entertained the thought that somewhere among his ancestors there might be a John Nassen.
"I heard you visited the Academy. Were you there to see your younger sibling?"
"Yes, Your Majesty. We wished to see how our youngest was faring, and to bring news from home."
"Having reunited after so long, you might have stayed longer. I did say you were free to come whenever you wished."
"We bow our heads once more in gratitude for Your Majesty's mercy. However, an urgent matter required our attention, and so we had no choice but to end the visit and come before Your Majesty."
At Lia's words, the Emperor narrowed his eyes slightly and regarded him.
In truth, he had invited the John Nassens precisely to discern their true intentions. These were people who almost never left the north. Why had they suddenly ventured deep into imperial territory — not merely the northern regions they occasionally passed through, but all the way into the heartland? That they harbored no hostility was certain, and yet unease lingered all the same. Why had they come to the deepest core of the Empire? Truly, was it only to see their younger sibling? Or was there something more?
He had been fretting over how to draw out their purpose if they chose to conceal it. That they were volunteering the reason themselves put him somewhat at ease.
"Your Majesty. We have heard that an unsavory incident occurred at the Academy."
"…Yes. There was."
From the Empire's perspective, the greatest outrage was being stabbed in the back by the western kingdom alliance. But for John Nassen, it seemed a different aspect grated far more deeply.
"Our youngest told us that the invaders did something that must never be done."
"You mean the ambush?"
"No, Your Majesty. The things they did to their own bodies."
At Lea's words, the Emperor nodded. Ah.
They had sacrificed their own flesh to seize a fleeting surge of greater power, had they not? Destroying people for a stretch of time that was never even long — truly the work of fools.
"The Ministry of War has already reached its conclusion, and my own will is set. Before long, the Empire's legions will march west. And they will hold them accountable for what was done."
The justification was complete. Their enemies had forfeited theirs. What remained was a dialogue of blood and iron — a question of who would be left standing.
"That is precisely the 'matter' I spoke of."
"Hm?"
At the Emperor's questioning sound, Lia — who had maintained an impassive face throughout — allowed a faint smile to touch his lips.
"We of John Nassen intend to head west."