The Emperor's Gaze
The circular colosseum contained five arenas of varying sizes, with the largest one positioned at the center. Originally, different matches had taken place simultaneously across all five arenas, but by this late stage of the tournament, only the central arena was in use.
With the tournament format in full swing, few contestants remained. Our academy students had all been eliminated early on, leaving me as the sole representative in the quarterfinals. Perhaps that was why the cheers directed at me had grown even more fervent.
I'm only aiming for the win because the champion gets to make a direct wish to the Emperor...
Of course, if I received the championship certificate, presenting it to the headmaster would probably help my future prospects. The headmaster was weak to that sort of thing.
I felt a twinge of regret. I should have said something like, "It's a beautiful night. This glory belongs to the headmaster," when the commentator asked for my thoughts earlier. The headmaster might have been so moved that they'd grant me my own private training ground.
"Teacher Irito."
"What is it, Jeanie?"
I tugged urgently at the collar of Teacher Irito, who had been watching the start of the youth division semifinals. A woman I had never seen before had appeared in the Emperor's viewing box, seated right beside him. From the atmosphere, she didn't seem like an ordinary concubine.
"Is that the First Empress over there?"
"That's right. It is."
As expected of an economics professor, she was quite knowledgeable in this area.
"The one who almost became the Second Empress... what was her name again?"
"There was a concubine the Emperor favored and tried to elevate to Second Empress. Estia Spodro. But her lowly origins kept the plan from ever succeeding."
"Right. Estia Spodro."
She was Ash's mother. A tragic figure who had died, but who might have become the Second Empress had she lived. Teacher Irito seemed quietly pleased by my sudden burst of curiosity, so unlike my usual self.
"What was her background like? She has a family name, so she must have been a noble, right?"
"She was the daughter of a noble, yes. But only a viscount's daughter—far too lowborn even to become a concubine. Usually, a viscount's daughter would be lucky to serve as a palace maid. The rumor is that she caught the Emperor's eye because she was the only female knight in the Royal Knights Order."
If a viscount's daughter was considered barely adequate, then what did that make me, the daughter of a baron? Hmm.
"Estia Spodro received the Emperor's passionate courtship, but one day she vanished without a trace. Everyone assumed she had been poisoned. They kept it quiet, though, because..."
"I know. Somehow."
I had heard the rumors about the First Empress's fierce jealousy. Teacher Irito's voice grew quieter from that point on.
"Then, thirteen years later—last year, to be exact—she reappeared alive, together with a twelve-year-old boy."
"That was Ash."
"It was such a massive scandal that there wasn't a soul on the continent who didn't know about it. She claimed the boy was the Emperor's son, and the uproar was enormous."
In the end, Ash was recognized as a prince. His hair and eye color were far too distinctive to be ordinary. The Second Prince, Eron de Pon Ephiros. I couldn't begin to imagine how much Ash and his mother had endured before he was called by that name. As someone far removed from politics, I couldn't even guess.
"Despite the First Empress's fiery opposition, the Emperor formally appointed Estia as a concubine and officially recognized her son as the Second Prince. It was unprecedented for the hierarchy among the princes to be overturned like that."
I recalled Ash's tearful voice saying his brothers hated him.
"It seems there was more than one prince older than Ash."
"Oh, you know that too? Yes. The Emperor has many sons. But until Estia appeared, only the two born to the Empress had been formally recognized as princes."
"I see. So that changed because of Ash. An absolute power that had never been threatened before."
What must it feel like to suddenly become the Third Prince after being the Second? To gain a half-brother overnight. It was understandable that they wouldn't want to get along.
"Everyone said it was incomprehensible. But the Emperor went so far as to make Estia a concubine to achieve it."
"Why do you think he did that?"
"Perhaps because he loved her deeply. Given her background, there could be no other reason."
"Hmm. I heard the Emperor has over ten children..."
"Eleven, to be precise, as far as we know. Not an unusually large number, considering the length of his reign."
Mm. I still couldn't get used to the polygamy in this world. I sat with my arms crossed, glaring toward the Emperor with a dissatisfied expression.
"Estia's death was recent, wasn't it?"
"She died less than half a year after returning to the palace. It hasn't even been long enough for the soil on her grave to harden. If I recall correctly, it was only a few weeks after she was appointed as a concubine."
"Ugh, so that means it happened right after Ash was recognized as a prince."
"Doesn't it make you think motherhood is an incredible thing? They say she already had little time left when she returned to the palace."
Teacher Irito's explanation continued a while longer. The public had two main theories about why Estia had suddenly disappeared. One was that she had realized she was carrying the Emperor's child and gone into hiding to avoid the Empress's notice. The other was that she had become pregnant with the child of Lorcan, the Emperor's nephew and captain of the Imperial Guard—a black-haired knight she had been close to—and had hidden to keep the Emperor from finding out.
Normally, someone pregnant with a royal child would boast about it rather than hide. The First Empress had opposed Ash's recognition as a prince largely for the latter reason, but the matter was supposedly settled when Lorcan proved he had become impotent due to injuries sustained in battle. Still, there had apparently been further uproar over when exactly that impotence had begun.
"Ugh."
Disgusting. My teeth ground together on their own. Rumors really did get filthier the longer they went on. If it sounded this horrible even to me, an outsider, how must Ash feel as the person directly involved? I could almost understand why he had run away from home.
One thing seemed certain, though: Estia had returned to the palace for Ash's sake, sensing her own impending death, and the Emperor had loved her more than the Empress.
Many thoughts swirled in my mind. The truth was, I still hadn't clearly defined my own feelings. Why did I want to see Ash so badly? What was this compulsion to meet him? What did I want to do once I saw him? What was it that I wanted?
Ash. Why do you keep coming to mind? Why do you make me feel so unsettled? What is it about you that makes me do things that aren't like me at all?
As I gazed at the Emperor's profile, staring off into the distance, I thought about how much he resembled Ash. Strictly speaking, it was Ash who resembled the Emperor.
"...!"
Had I been staring too intently? At some point, the Emperor turned his head and looked straight down at me. His eyes were the same as Ash's—golden, like the sun. While he looked at me, it felt as though I were seeing Ash.
Only then did I realize what I wanted to do when I met Ash.
***
—First, the two contestants will exchange greetings.
The pre-match greeting was essentially a formality for establishing dominance. The red-haired boy standing across from me had a physique so sturdy it was hard to believe he was in the youth division. He looked at least fifteen.
Was this kid supposed to be in the youth division? Maybe he had come to the wrong place.
"My name is Lasshamu Pedri. I look forward to our match. You cowardly little brat from some backwater country."
Hmm? What an arrogant kid. That red hair was supposedly one of the Pedri family's symbols. Prestigious families often had signature hair or eye colors. Though I thought it was a bit distasteful how they kept marrying relatives to preserve those genes.
"My name is Jeanie Crowell."
"...You're speaking informally?"
"I don't particularly want to look forward to it, but let's do our best, kid."
"How dare you! I'm bigger than you! And I'm the son of a duke! Speak more respectfully!"
"Aren't we equals as long as we're wearing academy uniforms?"
"That's..."
All are equal before learning. It was one of the few sayings in this world that I actually liked. As long as you wore the academy uniform, you were somewhat free from class distinctions.
"And I'm a lady, so you should speak politely too."
"I've never seen a lady like you before."
"I've never seen a youth division student like you before either."
Tch. How did that pass for thirteen? No matter how much sword training he did, his build was way too developed. Ash, who was the same age as him, looked about my age, and I was ten.
Anyway, I didn't like Lasshamu Pedri very much. Because he kept picking fights with me in the most unpleasant way for no reason! Why was he doing that?
"You insolent little girl. You even dared to ignore me earlier!"
"Huh? When did I?"
"I heard your entire interview! It echoed throughout the entire arena!"
"Ah, I guess it did."
So that was the reason.
"You even boasted that you'd throw this body of mine!"
He had a strong sense of pride, apparently. He used the word "dare" an awful lot. Well, as the son of a duke, he probably wasn't used to being ignored.
"Sorry. I'll apologize a little for publicly ignoring you."
"A little?!"
"It's not like I said anything wrong. It was true."
"Don't make me laugh!"
"Do you swim much?"
Personally, I liked kids with strong pride. Because it was fun to tease them! Lasshamu's face, now as red as his hair, was quite a sight to behold.
—The duel will now begin. Prepare yourselves.
"Undine."
Before a duel, swordsmen drew their blades, martial artists put on their gauntlets, and mages prepared their staves with memorized spells. In that sense, summoning Undine in advance as a Spirit Master was perfectly natural.
Three, two...
I had heard the commentator count down so many times by now that...
—One!
"Un Bri... t."
Whoosh!
Before I could even use my signature technique, Un Breathing, Pedri came charging at me.