Requiem for a Beast (2)
People are always comparing, always envying what they lack. The poor envy the rich. The weak envy the strong. And the people of a nation cursed with an incompetent king envy those blessed with a capable one.
They can't overthrow their king or flee to another land—such drastic measures are beyond them—so their sense of deprivation only deepens.
"I wouldn't call it a warm welcome, but at least for this moment, will you join me in a moment of silence for one man's sake?"
The crown prince is the empire's future.
"Lady Ariana. I offer my deepest condolences for Admiral Hailredin."
The crown prince approached the widow in her black mourning garb.
"The empire failed to protect him. I express my profound regret." And before a mere woman from an enemy nation, he bowed his head in apology.
There was no murmur of shock. The sheer audacity left everyone too stunned to even whisper.
"Hah..." Even Carmen let out a hollow laugh at the sight.
The show hasn't even begun. This is just the prelude.
"...That man saved my life."
Ariana spoke, her voice trembling with sobs.
"He was from the empire, but when the sea teemed with sea beasts, he dove in to rescue me. Thanks to him, I'm alive today."
The crown prince knew how to wield human emotion.
"But he's gone now, and I can't even mourn him properly. What should I do?"
"My lady." But he didn't just spout empty words or toss out worthless promises.
"At Casablanca, the empire's frontier visible from Seirene, we plan to erect a statue in Admiral Hailredin's honor."
"A statue...?"
"Yes. Though he has passed, his will and spirit will endure across our borders."
He turned one man's death into a tool for his schemes.
"Every year, we will hold a memorial. Even without formal rites, many will visit to pay their respects and lay flowers."
"Ah, ahh..."
"On the day the statue is unveiled, we would like to formally invite Lady Ariana."
"Hic...!" Ariana collapsed to the floor.
"Sob, hic, huu...!" No matter that this was a peace summit, a viscount's daughter couldn't casually address an enemy crown prince. She couldn't even thank him for the invitation.
"Lady Ariana. If I may ask one thing."
And then—
"The admiral lived frugally and left no great fortune, but we cannot simply discard the lifetime of service one man devoted to his nation."
The crown prince mastered the human desire to fill one's voids better than anyone.
"The empire will oversee the funeral, but as for his estate, we entrust it entirely to you, Lady Ariana."
"W-what?!"
Someone cried out in shock.
"What does that mean?!"
"...Are you the Viscount of Seirene?"
The crown prince instantly identified the stunned middle-aged man and stepped in front of the still-prostrate Ariana, hands clasped behind his back.
"Public matters are important, of course, but the admiral's estate is a private affair solely for Lady Ariana."
"Kh-hum...!"
"We'll discuss details inside. This is a banquet, not a funeral—please, everyone, enjoy yourselves."
The crown prince approached the frozen butler himself, lifting an empty glass and pouring wine with his own hand.
"Might we speak of peace between our nations...?"
"A pleasure to meet you, Your Imperial Highness Hapsburg von Tersian."
Carmen Queen stepped forward, raising her own glass of wine.
"You..."
"First, a moment of silence for Admiral Hailredin." A bit late on the timing, but failing to do even this would cede the conversation's flow.
"And for the changing relations between our two nations."
She said nothing of what those changes might be, simply lifting her glass slowly.
"Come inside. We've prepared a separate banquet hall."
* * *
A reception room in the viscount's castle, a short distance from the main banquet hall.
"Allow me a formal introduction. Carmen Morgania Nostrum, Queen of Nostrum."
"An honor to meet Her Majesty the Queen."
The crown prince sat on the sofa without a trace of tension.
"Bold of you, Your Highness."
"High praise from Grand Duke Morgania leaves me at a loss."
Winchester Morgania, seated beside Carmen—he hadn't even worn a mask to the banquet—spoke curtly, but the crown prince merely smiled and lifted the white cup before him.
"It's trust."
He took a sip.
"Trust in a noble, dignified kingdom."
Without hesitation, he drank the black tea inside.
"One that wouldn't stoop to the petty, base tricks of street rats."
"......."
"Frankly, I didn't come here trusting myself."
A lie.
"I came because I trust Admiral Hailredin, who trusted your kingdom."
By tonight—or before the crown prince departed—the admiral would likely be stripped bare, from hair to organs, and sold off.
"And if that trust proves wrong?"
"There's no wrong answer in trust toward peace, Grand Duke."
"I never knew Your Highness viewed the world so brightly."
"With so much darkness out there, wouldn't it be better to live with hope and dreams than to dwell on it?"
It almost sounded like those flower-brained fools giggling about peace.
"The empire desires no war. We seek exchange with the kingdom. We can't keep staining our hands with blood and passing hatred to our children forever."
"......."
"That's why I've come myself. As the next emperor, the empire's future. For harmony and peace between our nations."
The crown prince possessed it.
"First, we request full cooperation for the memorial site in the empire and the invitation to Lady Seirene."
The power and wealth to turn his flower fields into real memorials.
"As a message of harmony, the empire has disbanded its First Fleet."
"!!!"
And the madness and drive to back it.
"Not 'will disband'—already has?"
Carmen frowned, asking anxiously.
"Already done? Not just planned?"
"Yes, precisely. If there's anyone here who speaks imperial tongue, could you relay it?"
The crown prince scanned the room, then looked up at me standing behind Carmen.
"The empire, for harmony between our nations, has disbanded its First Fleet."
"......."
A chill ran down my spine for a moment.
He'd seemed fine from afar, even sharing the same space—but hearing imperial speech made it click.
The crown prince overlaps with Emperor Hapsburg. Goosebumps for real.
In the future, the emperor always spoke to me in imperial.
"Ah, do you perhaps—"
"I understood perfectly, Your Highness."
The crown prince's eyes sparkled as he regarded me.
"Hah, flawless imperial—proper capital dialect at that. Where did you study?"
"From books. First, I'll relay to Her Majesty."
This wasn't a one-on-one. An interpreter butting in might seem insolent, but my role was to convey precisely to Carmen.
"It's already disbanded, Your Majesty."
"......How could you negotiate without knowing the outcome."
"Admiral Hailredin's dying wish demands it. The navy becomes a maritime patrol, warships dismantled for firewood for the poor."
At such an obvious statement, no one in the room could keep a straight face. Not Queen Carmen, not Grand Duke Winchester, not even Viscount Seirene in the corner.
"Now, proposals for the kingdom."
"We've already reviewed them."
"Oh? The verdict?"
"...Solely for Seirene territory, we permit temporary visits by imperial citizens."
"Permit" gave the illusion of kingdom control.
"No extraterritoriality. Imperials committing crimes in the kingdom will face kingdom law."
"Accepted."
"...Kingdom justice means summary judgment by local nobles. You know it's worlds apart from the empire?"
"Yes, well aware. Thus, we'll specially train merchants visiting the territory."
They probably would.
That the kingdom's system has nobles as judge, jury, no lawyers, no three-trial rule—summary executions possible.
"But we hope no innocents face false accusations from kingdom folk."
"That won't..."
It couldn't be promised.
Even the academy proved that.
Back at the academy, the student council dealt with endless "crimes" by imperial exchange students: theft, vandalism, violence.
Nine times out of ten, kingdom students framing imperials for payback.
Kingdomers' vile frame-ups of imperials in their land fueled those students' vanguard role in the kingdom's conquest.
"In such cases, we request minimal self-defense means."
"Specifically?"
"Kingdom-style trials, but allow imperial professional lawyers to defend."
"Lawyers..." A profession unknown in the kingdom.
"Your Majesty, like duel proxies," I whispered to Carmen. "Instead of rapier duels, they persuade judge and accuser with words and logic. Reduce sentences for the guilty, prove innocence."
"...I see."
Carmen nodded gravely.
"Thanks, my interpreter."
"My pleasure."
"Then, on the port opening..."
Someone might call her ignorant, but it was unavoidable.
Tell nobles tossing white handkerchiefs in duels about magitech engineers—what good would it do?
Post-fall, Governor Carmen mastered imperial culture in a year. But now, Queen Carmen wasn't ready.
With kingdom internals dire enough, no bandwidth for empire studies.
Even magitech alone showed a 30-year gap everywhere.
Study the empire? She'd never sleep. For real.
Already sleep-deprived from governance—less sleep?
Won't stunt growth, but ages her faster.
At her age.
Empire gaps? I'll fill them beside her.
Pressed on how? "Studied imperial while learning the language." Deeper "how"? Silence.
Plenty crossed from kingdom to empire.
Zero the other way.
Plausible dodge, easy.
"...We'll settle it so."
"Delighted."
While lost in thought, Seirene port talks wrapped.
"Since the kingdom strives so eagerly for peace, we must show sincerity. If agreeable, may we invest funds in Seirene territory?"
"In, invest?"
The slumped Viscount Seirene bolted upright.
"The funds... under estate pretext?"
"No, pure investment."
"Ah..."
Glad yet disappointed.
"Heh."
The crown prince smiled amiably, but I saw it.
Scraping his thumb again.
An unconscious habit when deeming someone subhuman trash or beast in man's tongue.
Habit unchanged.
Wonder what disillusioned him.
Taking enemy coin blindly?
Half from the viscount's glee at unthinking investment.
Drooling over inheritance meant privately for his daughter?
The rest contempt for not claiming the admiral's estate.
No.
Plus superiority from none grasping his intent.
That all investments strengthened his grip on Seirene—within empire borders—unseen by inferiors.
Emperor in waiting, naturally.
Crown prince in name only; he thought himself emperor already.
"Ideally, not this format—I sought a meeting at Gibraltar Canyon."
Sudden words froze all faces.
"G-Gibraltar...?!"
Especially Viscount Seirene.
"Yes, Viscount Seirene."
"I even considered appearing before the margrave in a single shirt. Ha ha."
His face mirrored one savoring a meal, dish snatched away at the last second.
"Queen Carmen. I dare propose."
The crown prince straightened seriously.
"For harmony, the empire disbanded its navy. The kingdom should respond in kind."
"How...?"
"First."
The policy the emperor enacted right after conquering the kingdom.
"Adopting the empire's currency unit—what think you?"
Changing the kingdom's unit.
"The empire's common coin... 'Tersian Taler'. Or, for kingdom ease..."
The crown prince smiled, drawing a paper from his breast.
"Paper currency: 'Taler'."
Continental unifier, Great Emperor Hapsburg once told me:
—Grey. Every kingdom coin fills me with rage.
I'll dismantle this wretched nation's wretchedest part first.
—What nation values gold so pathetically? An insult to gold coin.
On this, I fully agreed.
The Great Emperor was right.
This kingdom needs revolution.