A Woman with No Eye for Men (4)
Not much had changed about the campus. Some students sprawled out anywhere for a nap, while others engaged in heated discussions with serious expressions. The guards were different, though. Unlike on the streets, they didn't shout at anyone to show respect to imperial personnel. Far from it—they even slowed their pace to avoid hindering the students' movement. The campus was solely the domain of professors and students, and that was the unbreakable rule. Even if the emperor himself appeared, the principle held. It was the empire's tribute to intellect and youth.
The carriage halted at the main entrance to the central building. A waiting guardsman opened the door. Lily, seated by the door, alighted first, followed by Cain, who grabbed his staff, and finally Anna. It was their small courtesy, giving Anna time to straighten her attire.
"It's been ages for both of you, hasn't it?"
"Yes."
"Indeed."
Cain slipped into old memories for a moment. Everything looked just as he remembered. The professors were aged but vigorous; the students appeared young but brimmed with energy. An inexplicable sense of injustice welled up in Cain's chest. He'd never thought of himself as old. For a fleeting instant, he deluded himself that the students were just young, not that he had aged. But no. The Cain from those youthful days was gone forever. The man here now was a jaded Imperial Security Bureau agent, worn down by life. Nothing more.
"Oh, right. Lily?"
"Yes."
"I almost forgot to mention... the White Blood Knight Order commander is here. Across the linden tree grove, in the large conference room."
Lily's face hardened coldly.
"...My father, you mean? I had no idea."
"Why not pay him a visit after so long?"
Anna unfurled her fan. Purple silk fluttered.
"Seeing his daughter's face will delight the commander."
"I think so too."
No one would have bought that. Lily was visibly shaken. She clearly hadn't expected to encounter her father here. It was like a lover caught sneaking around on a date.
"You have time now, so go see him. Wait in the lobby afterward if it's over, or... a stroll around the campus after so long might be nice."
Anna showed no mercy for her situation. Lily bowed deeply and withdrew. Because of that, Cain couldn't stop her from taking his document bag—or snatch it back.
"Ah... brings back memories, doesn't it, Cain?"
"Yes."
"I want to indulge in that old feeling just a bit longer. What do you say?"
Anna's hair fluttered in the wind. She looked utterly serene, at peace with the world. It was strange. Cain felt indignant about his own aging, yet Anna, who was even older, seemed more carefree and free.
"Sounds good."
Like the other professors, Anna had a private lab and study. The lab was modestly sized, but the study was vast enough to call a library. It wasn't a single room but a grand hall, shelves crammed with books. Students pursuing degrees bustled about, sorting volumes, dusting ancient parchments and copying texts onto fresh ones. Others repaired bindings or replaced leather covers. Assistant work. Cain had done it too.
Once you passed the entrance exam, tuition and fees were no worry. The Imperial Academy ran entirely on the empire's dime. The issues were living expenses, supplies, and textbooks you'd barely crack. The capital's prices were steep, jobs competitive. Full days of labor barely covered a meal. For runaways like Cain, hiding from family, hunger was routine.
Anna never let such students fend for themselves.
"Drop the odd jobs at once. They do nothing for the empire's future. If you have that energy, manage my library instead. Books aplenty, hands too few."
Ding-a-ling. Ding-a-ling.
Anna rang the bell. The one from his memories. When it sounded, everyone gathered in the professor's lab without exception. Fresh-faced students streamed in.
"Lunchtime, right? Go home early today. Your daily wages are in the baskets—don't forget them."
"Thank you!"
They scattered like sparrows from a clothesline. Only then did Anna lean back in her leather chair. Cain sat in the stiff one opposite the desk, setting his staff on the floor.
"Chaotic, isn't it?"
"Still, the energy's refreshing."
"You were like that too."
Anna gazed softly at her former student.
"That's why it's so hard to believe. Why quit now?"
It was a disconcerting question. Cain paused, looking at his respected mentor. She hadn't called him just to reminisce. Yet she spoke of "old memories." During student consultations, Anna had emphasized repeatedly: What happens in the classroom stays there. Conversations in the professor's lab stay there. Handle internal matters internally.
So this was a secret talk.
Anna was a strategist. She'd caught him off-guard.
Cain bought time. "Did you know?"
"Of course. I had to. I've been getting ongoing reports on you from Bureau Chief Verneis. Good evaluations, but he worried about your lack of drive. When the sudden retirement proceedings came up, I couldn't believe my eyes."
Hard to imagine that grumbling old man writing such things.
"I had business at the bureau anyway. Seeing you there was my fortune. With Lily too—no less. Heaven hasn't abandoned the empire; I can't tell you my relief."
Odd. Anna didn't praise without reason. Such florid phrasing felt alien. Was a chance street encounter truly that momentous?
"I want to know why."
"Verneis is your superior, Lily your subordinate. From what I know, Lily's upright. Too much so—worrisome—but she'll break before she bends. About you..."
Anna turned away briefly. Only after a long laugh did she face Cain again.
"Not entirely objective. But what I wanted was your view from the bureau. Some show different faces to superiors, subordinates, peers."
As expected. His idle chatter with Lily hadn't been meaningless. How far had Anna planned? What had she seen, what did she know? Cain couldn't tell.
"Some trees warp as they grow. Others die without reason, or twist. But you... you seemed unchanged. The Kairos I remembered from your student days."
Kairos. Cain's real name. One even he had forgotten. A name he'd thought abandoned.
"Professor."
All Kairos could say was that.
"Kairos, I won't demand explanations for your decision. You've heard the retirement questions plenty, and your stubbornness means it's set. I respect that."
"Professor."
Kairos couldn't hold back. He couldn't read Anna's thoughts or intentions. Yet he was being stripped bare, one-sidedly. Even his remaining identity as a bureau agent. She was peeling away Cain to unearth Kairos. Not proud of it, but it was his last rag hiding his shame. He didn't want to show that.
"You could if you wanted, Professor. Order me, and you could. If you'd commanded, I'd have obeyed."
"Kairos."
Anna's voice was calm, cooling his agitation slightly.
"Kairos, that's the emperor's role."
Anna rose, turning her back to him, facing the window. Even after all these years, talking of the emperor was hard for her.
"The emperor doesn't find answers—he decides them. The path taken is the answer; the decision is right because it's made. I knew that answer from childhood but hesitated at the last moment. When I reached for my beloved husband's hand, I no longer had the emperor's qualifications. If I'd chosen independence, I should have walked alone to the end, even if falling."
A genius, they called her. The woman to shape the empire's future. And here she was, confiding her heart to Kairos. He dared not speak. What could he say to one who'd sought to become the sun herself?
"Yes, that's the emperor's path. Become the answer, the purpose. When all pose life's questions, be the one who answers. Thus, the emperor is always right. No room for error. Those serving the emperor live to turn even wrongs to rights. If you can't live believing you're right, ignorant of possible faults, the emperor's laurel becomes the professors' noose. I thought I knew what an emperor was, but..."
Anna, gazing at the sky, turned back to Kairos. She sat, catching her breath, like the brilliant sun breathing behind clouds.
"The academy became my new dream, the new empire's future. A place where anyone with ability, regardless of birth, could realize their will. But results fell short. Before you enrolled, I considered studying abroad again. Kairos, you changed me."
"...Why me?"
"The first commoner enrollee. I saw hope there. You can't imagine my relief, my joy. Greater than when I bore a child. Finally, the empire answered my struggles. Accepted my will... Your enrollment alone, your graduation and bureau post—they made me happy."
"I... Professor. Professor, I..."
Kairos couldn't continue. He didn't know what to say. Yes, he didn't know.
"I had no idea."
"Pebbles..."
Anna sighed softly.
"A pebble tossed in a lake doesn't know the ripples it makes. It just sinks to the bottom as is its nature. All it wants is quiet rest at the depths. Kairos, you were my first pebble. More students followed; your example let me help many. Without you pioneering, unknown to yourself, I couldn't have. Those twenty-two bright students who just left? All commoners, like you. Without your trial and error, they'd have struggled adapting to academy and capital life. Thanks to your path, I learned to care for them. So of course your future interests me."
"It felt empty."
Kairos bowed his head. With Cain stripped away, only the student visiting his old mentor remained.
"I thought I devoted myself to the empire, but it only worsens day by day. I truly believed I'd given everything... everything. Yet the empire seems to backslide. Like running in place. All my efforts meaningless... That's what broke me."
"Like Goetz von Bearinggen?"
Hide-and-seek was over. Anna knew everything. Kairos nodded silently.
"Why didn't you tell me?"
Kairos looked up. Anna was crying soundlessly.
"If it hurt so much, why keep it inside? Why suffer alone? At least to me... I was happy watching you. Unaware you were festering... I've done something monstrous to you..."
Sorry wouldn't come.
Anna wiped her tears with a finger.
"Still, I'm glad you could tell me this. Goetz won't see the world again. If that's small comfort..."
"...What?"
Kairos gripped his knees. Anna offered a faint smile.
"Handed to the Grail Knight Order. He'll face heresy investigation. No later than a month, the pope will issue a decree. Duel trials or enabling them means excommunication. Whatever Goetz says, he'll burn at the stake. As the pope decrees, it will be."
Grail Knight Order. The Cain he'd briefly shed returned. The pope's guard visiting the bureau was for Goetz. The puzzle pieces fit.
Bandit knights wouldn't hold duel trials anymore. Those tormenting the people would starve and fade. But it was strange too. The pope gifting such to the empire? Dueling law was secular, not church. Permitting papal interference in imperial law was tantamount to the emperor allowing it.
"Professor."
Cain steadied his breath. His voice grew urgent unwittingly.
"The Minister of Justice requested Goetz's release."
"Yes. They knew our moves. Verneis stalled well. The minister will step down soon. Finance Ministry's acting."
A jolt ran down Cain's spine. Lily's troubled report surfaced.
New soldier hires and arms purchases cost a fortune, yet unit maintenance cut... Patrol guards increased, but Taranto has few hill bandits...
Bandit knights, right?
Yes. Goetz and ilk pulling bandits under them... Bandits joining standing armies or knights...
Minister says release without proof. Immediately... Nobles' petition... No grounds to hold Goetz...
Minister will step down. Finance Ministry's moving.
"Boehm I amassed slush funds to bribe the justice minister. Bandit Goetz was his dog."
"Not just Taranto Kingdom, Cain."
Professor and student vanished. There stood the emperor's sister and a retiring bureau section chief.
"Happening everywhere. In every elector count's territory. Bandit knights maintaining order soldiers should; counts hire them as mercenaries. Building mini-fiefs within fiefs."
Now Cain grasped dueling trials' true meaning. Pope deeming participants and enablers heretics dismantles the bandit knight system. These honorless thieves would turn on counts' lands. Nobles hobbled, power waning sharply.
But no boon for the empire. Needing papal aid meant heavy costs. Tolerating church meddling in secular law declared the empire couldn't handle this alone.
Yet the empire would pay. So why bring him and Lily here? Why was Lily's father, White Blood Knight commander, on campus? Why reveal all so freely?
Cain recalled Lily's analyzed report. On territories seized by Goetz's ilk. No mere coincidence.
"Then..."