For Peace? (Part 2)
After my conversation with Father, I headed straight back to my room at the orphanage and carefully eased the door open.
Snore. Snore.
Astasia was fast asleep. The door connecting to the adjacent room inside my quarters was firmly shut as well.
'It's about bedtime, after all.'
It was 10:20 p.m. Astasia usually turned in around nine, and while Naria didn't coordinate with her on purpose, she made a point of lying down by ten after chatting with me. A positive development. Unless you forcibly tuned your body like I did to enable mana breathing even during sleep, it was far better for growth to hit the hay early, rack up those deep sleep hours, and greet the morning refreshed.
Whoosh.
I closed the door as quietly as possible, approached the bed, and set down the bag I'd borrowed from Father's study.
Snore. Snore.
Astasia had claimed the dead center of the bed. Naturally, this was my bed to begin with.
'Thank goodness it's king-sized.'
A gentle nudge to roll her sideways would free up plenty of space. Though she was deep in slumber right now—
"......"
Her breathing was terribly irregular. And I knew this pattern all too well.
"Astasia."
I perched lightly on the bed's edge and leaned down.
"Astasia."
I brought my face close to her sleeping form.
"Astasia."
Close enough that my breath would tickle the fine hairs on her face.
"Princess."
I tilted my head toward her ear and whispered directly into it.
"What were you planning to do once I fell asleep, pretending like that?"
"......"
Her body twitched, but her eyes stayed shut.
"Are you really asleep? If so..."
I lightly peeled back the covers.
"...then I can do whatever I want with you, right?"
Astasia still didn't stir, so I gently grasped the edge of her disheveled nightgown.
"No more holding back?"
That did it.
"...Pervert."
She cracked her eyes open, grumbling peevishly.
"Did you really have to go that far?"
"Playing pretend isn't cute. If you'd actually been asleep, I wouldn't have known."
"And what would you have done if I was asleep?"
"Slept quietly beside you without waking you, obviously."
I smoothed her tousled hair and tapped the mana stone on the bedside table.
"I'm turning on the nightlight."
Hiss.
A soft orange glow began to spread from the ceiling. A mild light spell that chased away just enough darkness without disrupting deep sleep.
"You should get some rest early."
"I can't sleep, that's why."
"Why not?"
"Well..."
Astasia scooted over a bit and patted the empty spot beside her.
"I've gone and made it so I can't sleep comfortably without you anymore!"
"Shall I read you a kingdom fairy tale?"
"Yes!"
I often told her old kingdom stories at night to help her relax, so maybe that's what she was missing tonight.
"Very well. One moment."
"What's that?"
The second I tried to discreetly set the box aside, Astasia perked up with curiosity.
"You need to sleep."
"Staying up a little later one night won't stunt my growth. Come on, what is it?"
"...Fair enough."
"It's fine! I'll just peek and then sleep. I'm dying to know what you're hiding—it'll keep me up otherwise!"
"All right, I'll show you."
She was the type to sneak a look out of sheer curiosity if I didn't, so I opened the musket case right there in the room.
"Oh, that!"
Astasia's eyes lit up the instant she spotted the musket.
"Why's that here?!"
"...Not smuggled goods. More like spoils of war."
I drew out the musket and shouldered it properly, aiming at the wall.
"Whoa! Amazing! It's straight out of a manual!"
"Have you ever seen a manual?"
"...Uh, um, in... general education?"
What kind of lessons did they even teach in the imperial palace for a thirteen-year-old to learn musket handling as liberal arts?
'It must be at a basic proficiency level.'
Even so, the musket had become ubiquitous in the Empire.
'They distribute low-output versions to every household to build familiarity.'
Like a blunderbuss in every home.
'For self-defense in peacetime, but mass-produced for wartime use as a weapon.'
A magic missile launcher you could swing or fire at a burglar.
'In peacetime, it's dialed back to bruise level.'
With output restricted, it was like chucking a ball—no frequent fatalities, from what I'd heard.
"Want to hold it once... Princess Naria?"
"......"
Naria stood in the doorway, having opened the connecting door from the next room, staring right at me.
"Not asleep...?"
"I woke up."
Specifically, at the sight of my musket.
"Wha— Naria? Weren't you sleeping?"
"I woke up, I said."
Astasia glanced flustered at the wall clock. It was already 10:30 p.m. Not outrageously late, but bedtime for thirteen-year-olds.
"I heard you come in late at night, Grey, and then some metallic clank, so I got up."
"Th-the door was closed, though..."
"Even half-asleep, I'm sensitive to scraping metal nearby."
Ah.
"It's something I borrowed from Father briefly."
I tapped the empty spot on the bed with the musket's muzzle, and Naria approached slowly before sitting down.
"One of the items the Imperial Army left behind at the gorge—we captured it."
"......"
Naria eyed the musket with keen interest.
"Grey."
"Yes."
"......"
"......"
She looked ready to pounce and grab it if I gave the word. A weapon she'd never seen in the palace, only read about in books. Considering her inclinations—
"Want to try holding it?"
"Yes."
It was like showing a socialite lady the hottest gem trending abroad.
"Here."
"W-wait a second!"
Astasia blocked my path.
"No way!"
In the process, it looked like I was aiming the barrel at her thigh.
"What's not allowed?"
"Guns aren't something you just hand to a beginner!"
I was momentarily taken aback by her perfectly reasonable objection.
"No safety, and it's military gear besides!"
"True, but—"
She'd even spotted the lack of a safety in this dim light.
"It could cause a real accident! It's made to kill people...!"
Astasia spread her arms wide, scowling fiercely.
"Astasia."
Naria approached from behind, slowly.
"Are you saying it's a problem for Nostrum's bloodline to learn how to handle an Imperial weapon?"
She tilted her head quizzically.
"As expected of an Imperial...?"
"Huh? N-no, that's not it!"
Astasia hadn't officially revealed her identity yet. Not to Naria. To me, well, she acted like I already knew as a given.
"Especially not for the royal bloodline. I understand."
"N-no, it's not...!"
But when Naria stepped out as Naria, she didn't hide her status. Positionally, the real princess held the edge.
"So there's some other motive?"
"It's dangerous, that's all!!"
To defend her—not quite a defense, but—Astatia was pure-hearted but no fool or dimwit.
"Kids shouldn't handle it recklessly! It's a weapon, a weapon!"
"Grey seems to handle it perfectly fine."
"That's because it's Grey...!"
"Has Grey used one before?"
"...Huh?"
One more not-quite-defense for her sake.
"Come to think of it, yeah?"
Astasia wasn't one for overthinking and fixated hard once her mind latched on.
"Grey. Have you been practicing with this for a while? W-wait, don't tell me...!"
"Father kept it in his study, and I'd handle it now and then with his permission."
I threw Father under the bus for the excuse. It was just a couple touches, but not untrue.
"And I brought it here to practice a bit myself."
"Practice...?"
"Yes."
Not for shooting people. No need for zeroing—I could land nine out of ten shots with my current feel.
"Royal guard drill. Meant for spears originally, but this works similarly, no?"
I gripped the musket like a spear and flowed through the ceremonial forms in the room's center.
Swish. Swish.
A kingdom etiquette I'd never properly learned in my past life.
"What do you think?"
"Hm..."
"......"
Not great reactions from either. Practice needed, apparently.
"Princess?"
"Uh, no idea?!"
"...That wasn't for you."
Astasia raised her hand to chime in, but Naria cut her off curtly and stood.
"Ah, r-right! You were looking at me, so."
"Grey."
Naria extended her hand from the bed.
"Lend it to me?"
"For this?"
"Think of it as an odd long staff and swing away. Don't worry—I don't know how to fire it."
Meaning she'd never actually tried, probably.
"Astasia. What do you say? All right to hand it to Naria?"
"Umm... s-seems okay...?"
Astasia looked uneasy but flashed a grin, pumping her fists at me.
"It's fine! If Grey gets in danger, I'll throw myself in the way to save you."
"Don't say that to me, Astasia."
"Huh...?"
Whoops. Slipped out.
"Ahem. Here, take it."
I cleared my throat and passed the musket to Naria, who immediately fiddled with it, twirling it like a flag spear for ceremony.
"Grey. Why not? See?"
"...Because in the kingdom, men consider it shameful to be helped by a woman?"
"Eek, classic kingdom guy talk!"
"You hate it?"
"Well, it sounds kinda off, but flip it around and... it makes me a little happy? Hehe."
Astasia scratched her cheek with a shy smile.
"The opposite would be you throwing yourself to protect me, right?"
Clunk!
The musket hit the floor. Wooden barrel, but metal stock—loud thud.
"Sorry. My mistake."
Even Naria flubbed it.
"Naria! Dangerous! Don't drop a gun like that!"
"What happens?"
"If it had mana loaded, it'd explode and fire a magic missile!"
"I see."
Naria calmly picked it up and reset her stance.
"Got the feel now. Watch."
She scanned the room, hooked the tablecloth over the muzzle, and swung wide.
Whoosh. Whoosh.
Precision, formality, grace. The cloth, makeshift flag, draped loosely yet fluttered grandly without slipping off.
Flutter.
"Wowww."
Final stamp on the floor, flag rippling sideways. Perfection.
"So cool!"
Astasia clapped in pure delight.
"Naria, have you practiced guard drills with a musket before?!"
"Second time with one."
"When was the first...?"
"Just now, when I dropped it."
"Eh...?"
One not-quite-defense for Naria's sake.
"First try failed from the weight, but second nailed it. Odd."
She looked fine on the surface, but Naria was no ordinary girl.
"Uh, umm..."
"Grey. Let me keep practicing with this. I really want to get hands-on. Starting tomorrow."
"Hmm."
Uncharacteristic near-obsession from Naria over the musket. Not surprising. This girl had a gift for it.
'Who could've guessed.'
A kingdom princess most adept with the Empire's staple weapon—a musket.
'Traitors got offed left and right after she loaded unconventional ammo and sprayed.'
The fallen kingdom's princess specialized in muskets. Right to the bitter end.
"Afraid not."
"......Tch."
"No need to scowl. Not tomorrow."
"......?"
Naria tilted her head.
"Reason it can't be tomorrow? What? If it's the no-safety thing..."
"No. Planning to catch a spy here with it."
"...Spy?"
"Yes."
Astasia's face stiffened at the word.
"Astasia. Naria. I need your cooperation."
"Cooperation?"
"Yes."
I tapped the empty magazine on the musket Naria handed back.
"No matter what happens, I'll protect you."
I leveled the muzzle under my chin.
"So, I need to ask one favor."
To snare an assassin.
You had to set the stage for them to act.
"I'll use your safety to flush out the shadow hiding among the Whites."
Click.
"It's empty now."
I pulled the trigger.
"But load it up, and it's lethal."
Nothing happened.
"For your safety going forward."
For now.
"You must die."