The Emperor's Childish Wager
“Hmm…. So I have lost, have I?”
“...To be precise, Your Majesty, it is only I who have lost. There is nothing beyond that for you.”
After sending out even Isis, who had opposed the matter with fierce intensity, only the Emperor and Celian remained in the audience chamber.
“Let us speak no more of that. Hearing any further would only spoil my enjoyment. I detest spoilers above all else.”
The Emperor casually discarded the topic they had been discussing moments before and instead brought up a subject that truly piqued his interest.
“So then, Celian. Is your goal still the subjugation of the Demon King?”
“...That is the role of the Hero, is it not?”
It was the role she had heard of since childhood—from her father the family head, from her gentle mother, from her older brother five years her senior, from every person around her.
“To be precise, you are still only a Hero candidate. It would be best to keep that distinction clear. Bear it in mind.”
“...Yes.”
“Then I shall ask once more. Is your goal the subjugation of the Demon King?”
“......”
It was the same question as before, yet this time she could not answer.
“Yes. That is not your goal. You merely wish to protect that child.”
And that silence was as good as an answer to the question.
“But you see……. The child you so desperately wish to protect will surely go to subjugate the Demon King. Together with you, no less.”
Celian’s delicate brows furrowed sharply, and she glared at the Emperor with a terrifying look in her eyes. Under ordinary circumstances it would have been an act of insolence for which she could offer no excuse even if dragged straight to prison, yet the Emperor paid it little mind.
“Oh my, what a look—ready to devour someone whole.”
Whatever the Emperor himself might think, Celian opened her mouth while reflecting that she and he were simply not compatible.
“…That will never happen. I will not take her with me.”
“Celian, Hero candidate. You know a great many things. Among them, you must know of my eyes as well. And yet you do not ask how I can declare this so confidently?”
As the Emperor said, Celian already knew about those eyes. She knew that the Emperor’s Insight was so exceptional it bordered on seeing the future—yet that it could not truly see the future.
Going to subjugate the Demon King was more dangerous than anything else in this world. There was no way she would take Elicia along on such a path.
Thus the Emperor’s prophecy that was not a prophecy was a statement that would never come to pass.
“The composition of the Hero’s party is entirely at the Hero’s discretion. My resolve will not change, so Your Majesty’s words can never be fulfilled.”
“Hmm…. You seem quite certain. Then how about this? I am certain in my own way, and you in yours, so when opinions clash like this, a wager can make for rather enjoyable entertainment.”
The Emperor continued with a delighted smile, as though he had found a fascinating new toy.
“What do you say? Will you accept the wager?”
“...How childish.”
“Heh heh. And what of it if it is childish? Just as you pay no heed to the gazes of those around you, I care not the slightest for such things either. Ah! Or is it that you lack confidence? After all that talk of taking her or not taking her, it seems your will was only that strong. Well, I suppose that means your feelings toward that child amount to no more than this.”
With a voice utterly devoid of imperial dignity—more like a gambler opening a betting table against street thugs in some back alley—the Emperor provoked Celian.
And that childish provocation proved remarkably effective on her.
“Very well. If Your Majesty insists on speaking that way, I shall take you up on it. My resolve will never break.”
“Excellent. Then the wager is struck. But the most important part of any wager is missing. Namely, the stakes.”
The Emperor made a few thoughtful noises as though pondering, then clapped his hands and spoke.
At the sight of the Emperor putting on such unnecessary theatrics, Celian’s brow furrowed once more, yet again the Emperor paid it no mind.
On the contrary, he simply found her shifting expressions amusing.
“Since the wager concerns that child, how about staking the child herself? If you win, I shall place her in your hands. By any means necessary—even if it means turning the Empire upside down.”
“...Elicia is not an object. Even the Emperor himself has no right to insult her.”
“Spare me the goody-two-shoes talk. There are only the two of us here, after all.”
His voice was like that of someone coaxing a small child.
“Yes. To be honest, Your Majesty’s proposal is certainly tempting. But just as my will will not break, I will not be seized by desire. What I want, I will claim with my own hands.”
“Hmm…. A dull answer. Frentz, that child was far more entertaining.”
Once again she realized that she and the Emperor were simply not compatible in temperament.
“Well, we can decide on the stakes later. That will be all for now. You may leave. Next time we meet, I look forward to a more amusing expression from you.”
Just as he had when dismissing Elicia, the Emperor waved his hand dismissively and sent Celian out.
I rose from my seat after confirming that Freysia had fallen asleep, having kept watch at her bedside.
Yet even when I tried to return to my room I was still thoroughly lost, so after a brief request for help from Freysia’s personal maid I finally managed to make my way back.
And so I returned to my room.
My own personal maid’s gaze seemed to say she had expected as much, which was embarrassing, but since I had no excuse I simply sat quietly and began reading a book.
Knock knock
“Who is it……. Ah, Celi.”
I had barely turned a few pages when the sound of someone knocking on the door reached me.
Instead of letting the maid open it, I took hold of the doorknob myself and pulled. There in the corridor stood Celian.
“Come in, come in.”
When I gestured toward the inside of the room she gave a light nod and entered.
We sat facing each other at the small round table, and though neither of us said a word the waiting maid set teacups before us and poured the tea.
“Come to think of it, Celi, you spoke with His Majesty as well, didn’t you?”
A fair amount of time had already passed since my own conversation with the Emperor, so even if Celian had been granted an audience after me, her talk should have finished by now.
“Yes. We finished just a little while ago. Did His Majesty say anything strange to you?”
There was something interrogative in Celian’s tone. Yet because I could hear the worry for me in her voice, it did not feel unpleasant.
At her question I thought back over the conversation I had shared with the Emperor, but there had been nothing particularly strange. Awkward, perhaps, rather than strange.
“Ah, right. For some reason His Majesty granted me a countship. In name only, of course.”
Fine wrinkles formed at the corners of her lovely eyes.
“Was there nothing else? For example, something about the Demon King…….”
Her sharp question made me flinch inwardly, yet instead of answering honestly I chose to lie.
If I told the truth she might misunderstand and think I intended to use her—Celian herself—for the Demon King subjugation simply to satisfy my own greed.
Of course I was still only considering whether to go after the Demon King at all, but even if I did end up on that path, my desire to help Celian would far outweigh any selfish wish of my own.
“I’m not sure. Why? Did His Majesty say something about me?”
“No. It’s nothing. We simply spoke about the Demon King, that’s all.”
Well, Celian was currently the only Hero candidate, so it was a topic that would naturally come up.
“Anyway, now that we’ve met His Majesty, I suppose the purpose of the imperial invitation is finished?”
“…I suppose so.”
“Then shall we go out?”
Seeing Celian’s expression a little darker than usual made a corner of my heart feel heavy. A smiling face suited her far better.
“It’s my first time in the capital. If it’s your first time too we can look around together, and if not, would you show me the sights?”
“Well……. I’ve been to the capital often enough. I don’t know if the shops I remember from before are still there, but it should be more than enough.”
At my suggestion the furrow in her brow smoothed out again, and the corners of her lips began to lift little by little.
“Then let’s stay in the capital and play to our hearts’ content for as many days as we left the Celian estate early. Sound good?”
Well, the only thing that had changed was the location—from Celian’s estate to the imperial palace. Since the biggest reason I had stayed at her estate in the first place was Celian herself, the place hardly mattered.
By going out like this I could lift Celian’s spirits, and while I was at it I could buy some snacks to bring back for Freysia.
“…You weren’t thinking of someone else just now, were you?”
Flinch!