Chapter 17
Chapter 17
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 17
Chapter Title: The Emperor's Expectations
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The world seemed to spin around her, leaving her dizzy.
"Kyaa!"
"...Be careful."
Was this what it felt like to pass through a dimensional gate?
If General Paul hadn't caught her, she might have fallen flat.
"Thank you, Gener—"
"Lady Erika Bauman. Her Majesty summons you."
"Ah."
Before she could properly thank General Paul, a maid wearing the golden dragon badge signifying she served the emperor directly approached and whispered to her.
"Yes. I'll go right away."
She had expected this.
Her father's letter had mentioned the order to use Phegethon, along with some updates on Her Majesty's recent activities.
They were still gathering information on Victor, and the light in Her Majesty's bedroom hadn't gone out for days.
She seemed to have high hopes for him.
She had guessed as much when Her Majesty had specifically mentioned it during the kingdom's truce proposal, but staying up nights to this extent was unusual, even for Her Majesty, who often pulled all-nighters.
Her father knew that habit well, so if he bothered to mention it, things must be particularly bad.
She bowed once each to General Paul and Victor before leaving the room.
"How is Her Majesty?"
"Oh, well... She seems very expectant."
"...? Understood."
The maid's somewhat cowed response felt odd, but she wasn't too worried.
The fact that Her Majesty had called for her alone meant Victor was already on the shortlist for employment.
As she walked down the corridor, she mentally organized what she would say to Her Majesty.
If possible, she wanted to work with Victor, so she planned to speak as positively as she could without distorting the facts.
It wasn't just that he was a prisoner from the kingdom—she was curious what kind of figure Victor, now a member of the empire, would cut.
Could he become a hero in the empire too, just like he had in the Ruth Kingdom?
She occasionally checked her notebook of prepared notes and rehearsed her words as she walked, arriving quickly at Her Majesty's location.
Usually, Her Majesty received her reports in one of the many audience chambers, but today it was Her Majesty's private lounge.
She had never entered it before, not even attempted to, so her tension was greater than usual.
-Knock, knock.
"Your Majesty. Lady Erika Bau—"
"She may enter."
Her Majesty's voice came from inside before the maid could finish.
It was her usual dignified tone, but it felt a bit excited.
The maid opened the door, and she took a deep breath before entering the lounge.
The lounge was incredibly lavish.
The furniture was adorned with rubies that sparkled red, and the carpets on the floor and the wallpaper were far more luxurious than those in the audience chambers.
Emperor Luise Zeinburg sat in a chair with her legs crossed comfortably, a tea service laid out on the table before her.
"I greet Your Majesty."
As soon as she entered and closed the door, she tried to kneel in respect, but
"Rise, and look up."
"Yes."
Her Majesty commanded her to stand before her knees even touched the floor.
"Keep your answers short and to the point. Will this take long?"
"Yes."
Her Majesty's lips curved noticeably upward at her response.
Then, unlike usual,
"Come and sit."
she said.
Come and sit?
The only other chair in the room was directly across from Her Majesty.
"...Yes."
It was highly intimidating, but she couldn't refuse.
Following her gesture, she pulled out the chair with slightly trembling hands and sat across from Her Majesty.
Up close, Her Majesty's beauty was even more devastating.
She had steeled herself, but meeting those half-lidded red eyes made words catch in her throat.
"So, what was he like?"
As she froze in her chair, Her Majesty naturally extended her right hand toward her.
Her usual reports were submitted in written form via notebook.
Standing before Her Majesty made her too nervous for verbal reports.
She wasn't the only one; others preferred written reports too.
Here, she mustered her courage.
"May I... report directly?"
"Oh ho."
"...Hic."
The moment she said it, along with an exclamation of admiration, Her Majesty's eyes seemed to open fully for a split second.
Meeting that unusual gaze filled her with an inexplicable fear, and she hurriedly averted her eyes.
"Haha. I won't eat you, so look up."
"...I'm sorry."
"No need to apologize."
As she cautiously raised her head, Her Majesty had a faint smile on her lips and her eyes half-closed again.
Had she imagined it?
Her eyes had seemed strange somehow.
"Saying you'll speak directly means writing wasn't enough?"
With no time to dwell on what she'd seen, she racked her brain for an answer.
"Y-yes."
This was only the second time she'd made a request of Emperor Luise—first after asking to be sent to the negotiations.
It was frightening, but she wanted to convey Victor's impression verbally.
Her Majesty tapped the table with her fingers, seemingly deep in thought.
A moment later.
"Very well. Speak. Take your time—leave nothing out."
"...Yes!"
She had secured the chance for a direct report.
"First, regarding the negotiation progress..."
"As planned?"
"Yes."
"Then skip to when you first saw Victor."
Clearly, Her Majesty cared more about Victor than the negotiations.
She gained a bit of confidence.
"Yes. I first saw him in the kingdom's main palace hall, the negotiation site. He entered wearing his uniform, opening the massive doors with his own hands."
"Hm, hm."
She began slowly from the start.
To make Her Majesty feel like she was seeing the scenes herself, she tried to recount everything without omission.
No need for exaggeration.
Even the plain truth made Victor impressive enough.
And Her Majesty was sensitive to embellishments anyway.
"...As a result, some of the kingdom's nobles even wet themselves right there..."
"Hahaha! That's amusing!"
She'd worried her lengthy account might bore Her Majesty, but fortunately, she listened with occasional interjections and reactions, clearly enjoying it.
Her Majesty laughed loudly at the palace incidents,
"...When I mentioned the Battle of Angelgorod, he quietly recited their names. The names of the 13 out of his 100-man unit who died in that battle."
"Is that so?"
She showed interest even in the carriage conversation.
She told her everything after that—how Paul had backed him up, and even their slightly personal nighttime talk.
"...That's all."
"Hmm... Erika."
"Yes, Your Majesty."
"What do you think of him?"
After hearing everything, Her Majesty questioned her.
"In my eyes, he's... a rare talent, one you won't see again."
"A talent."
"It was regrettable to meet him as a prisoner."
"You seem quite taken with him. Even if I asked him to praise himself, he probably wouldn't say that much."
"...Yes."
...From the way she said that, she had been careful, but her personal bias had slipped in.
"That was entertaining. You may go rest now."
"Yes."
"Will you hand over the notebook too? Your explanation was thorough, but I'm curious about its contents."
"Here it is."
She placed the negotiation contract copy and notebook—tucked tightly in her bosom—on the table and left the audience chamber.
-Thud.
"Haa..."
She slid down to the floor after closing the door.
It had been such a nerve-wracking ordeal.
She barely remembered what she'd said from midway on.
Still, she hoped Victor would work in the empire.
She'd spoken earnestly enough that Her Majesty might consider it positively.
Many had questioned sending Erika Bauman to such an important negotiation.
Claiming she was still inexperienced and young.
By my standards, all humans felt young anyway, so age or experience didn't matter much.
National prestige or whatever—I didn't care.
There was her request too, but among many, I chose Erika specifically because her reports were the most concise and free of fluff.
Especially, she never missed even the slightest personality flaw.
Her past reports showed no personal bias, so I'd valued her objectivity.
"Hmm..."
But this latest report was missing something crucial.
Wondering if it was in the notebook, I picked it up from the desk and flipped it open.
"...Nothing."
I read it several times, but it wasn't there.
The content wasn't extensive to begin with, as they hadn't talked much.
That wasn't the point.
"No flaws at all."
Everything was written from a neutral or favorable viewpoint.
Like records of so-called heroes that hid their blemishes.
There wasn't a single flaw that any human should have.
After major disappointments from expected humans several times,
I'd emphasized multiple times to include every flaw in reports on new ones.
That's why I'd trusted Erika on that front.
If this report was entirely true, Victor was a perfect human without a single flaw.
Proven ability, integrity, loyalty, even humanity rare in soldiers.
"A perfect talent with both skill and character..."
It was supposed to be a report, but reading it felt like enjoying a well-crafted story.
"No way."
I cross-checked it against separately gathered info on him and inspected the notebook for revisions, but found nothing.
Suspicious.
Even a dragon who toys with the world wouldn't dare claim perfection.
...Could he not be human?
"Unlikely, but..."
A human like this suddenly appearing was odd, and a nation tossing him to an enemy state made no sense.
It was more believable that sending Victor to the empire was the kingdom's strategy.
Adults always said it:
If something looks good to me, it looks good to others, and if it's given without cost, it's a scam.
"...I'll know when I see him."
Or maybe he'd just fooled Erika well.
They'd only been together a few days, and if he'd set the mood from the first meeting, fooling her would've been easy enough.
In my experience, such types often disappointed upon meeting.
Usually just good at wearing masks or friends with the reporter—none fooled my eyes and all revealed their shallow tricks.
Meeting him directly would tell.
Whether a near-perfect talent had luckily fallen into our lap, or if Erika had just been duped by a hollow fraud.
I hoped for the former.
That's what I'd been searching for all this time.
If he could even fool me, I'd be willing to play along then.
Acting or bravado that deceives my 'eyes' has plenty of uses.
If he's nothing special?
-Grind.
He'd pay for crushing my expectations.
The nobles seem to hate him plenty, so tossing him to them might not be bad.