Blink, and There Are the Eyes of Nirvana (2)
"It's my turn to ask next, isn't it? Hmm... Sir Evan, is there someone you love right now? Not as family or a friend — someone you love as a man loves a woman."
"Someone I love... is that what you mean?"
Aside from my own family, the only women around me were Her Highness, Violet, and a few female knights I knew from the order.
Her Highness... it wasn't that I felt no fondness for her, but that fondness stayed firmly in the realm of a workplace colleague. Calling it love would have been far too light a word for the weight that term carried.
The person who came closest to romantic love was Violet, but love or not, I had only met her yesterday. However strong my liking for her might be, it was still too vague to call it love.
"I don't think there's anyone I love in that sense. I've never really built long-term relationships with women to begin with."
"...What about me?"
"Pardon? Come on... how could I possibly love Your Highness? One wrong step and I'd end up executed."
"I-Isn't that fine, though? If you look through history, there are cases of royal guards marrying—"
"Haha. You know as well as I do that isn't the real issue."
A royal guard marrying a princess.
On the surface it sounded romantic — two people protecting and being protected, hearts blossoming in the midst of it all. In reality, that kind of relationship was pure fantasy.
First of all, the Empire controlled most of the continent. Short of a full-scale coup, the capital — the Empire's very heart — was almost never under attack.
Of course the territory was so vast that, here and there, attempts still sprang up to ignore imperial orders and build independent economic systems. Every time those attempts appeared, the Empire simply crushed them by force.
Because of that, the so-called royal guards of the princes and princesses were guards in name only; in practice they were closer to personal attendants.
So when did these nominal guards ever perform the true duty of "protection"?
Ironically, it was the moment the next emperor was chosen.
The noble bloodline designated as heir would never tolerate imperial blood flowing in anyone but themselves — not even in their own siblings.
It was only natural. A prince or princess passed over for the throne would never quietly step aside. They would try to kill the sibling who had been chosen.
Coup, conspiracy, poison... the methods were endless. The reason they refrained from those dirty tricks during the current succession struggle was simple: if someone seized the throne by such means, the gods would rain down divine punishment, declaring that a nation ruled by a man who took the crown through foul play had no right to exist — and they would erase that nation from the continent entirely.
How could I be so sure when the Empire was still under its first emperor and no heir had yet been named?
Well, if you look at the history of every powerful kingdom that ever existed, my words usually turn out correct.
In short, royal guards were the people who either helped raise the bloody storm that followed an imperial succession — or helped their master flee from it.
That was why princes and princesses never harbored romantic feelings for their guards. The thoughts they held toward them came down to one of two things: become my sword, or become my shield.
Well... once their master ascended the throne and the purges were finished, such a thing might become possible. But honestly, could anyone who had ridden that bloody storm remain whole afterward?
Mentally or physically.
"...Because I am going to become emperor. Without fail."
"Haha. I'll be looking forward to it. Then it's my turn, right? Hmm... haha... I don't really have a question ready... In that case — does Your Highness have someone you love?"
I was fairly certain the answer was no. How many men had Her Highness even met, for her to have someone she loved?
"...I'll use my right of refusal."
"Pardon? Your Highness... do you actually have a lover?"
"...It's my turn, so I'll ask the questions."
A flicker of anger mixed into the blue eyes looking straight at me.
Why? Did asking about someone she loved make her uncomfortable...?
"What's your type in a woman, Sir Evan?"
"...I don't understand why you keep asking these kinds of questions, but I'll use my right of refusal as well."
"What? You could at least tell me that much."
"Haha... no thank you."
It wasn't as if I couldn't say it at all... but it was still a little awkward.
How many people would cheerfully tell their direct superior their romantic preferences if asked on the spot?
And if that superior was of the opposite sex? The sheer discomfort alone would keep most mouths shut.
"Looks like the last turn is mine again... Then..."
Her Highness had used all three of her questions. I had asked two and already spent my refusal.
Which meant my next question was one she would have to answer with the truth.
"Your Highness... do you remember what happened at the Battle of Relion?"
The moment the words left my mouth, the air between us froze solid.
Even the princess seemed startled that I would ask such a thing; her brows rose as she looked at me.
The Battle of Relion. In a way, it was the battle that had completely changed the course of my life. And I wondered whether Her Highness truly remembered it.
"...Why would you ask about something like that? It's already over, isn't it?"
"Who knows. Pure curiosity."
They say curiosity killed the cat... but the curiosity I carried was less curiosity than confirmation. I wondered whether she would actually tell me.
In the drawn-out silence and the icy atmosphere, the princess glared at me with resentful eyes. Just as her lips began to part—
Bang—!
"I'm heeere...!"
"“??”"
The goddess who had come bursting out of the doorway with enough force to spare abruptly shrank the instant she stepped outside and registered the heavy mood between us.
"...You've returned."
"Yeah... no, I mean yes..."
"...Can we go in now as well?"
"Ah... no, not yet... Evan and Yekaterina probably came because they have business with me, right...?"
The goddess's manner was a little strange, but since what she asked wasn't something that needed hiding, I answered straightforwardly.
"Well... yes. Your Highness."
Until now I had been the one leading the conversation, but this was no longer my stage. This was the moment for the child of the king who had unified the continent and the goddess who both watched over and monitored that bloodline.
"...Livia, Goddess of Astrologers. The Emperor of the Empire requests an audience with the goddess."
Even though we were only a princess and her guard, we were still essentially an imperial delegation. Her Highness placed her clasped hands near her chest in the imperial salute and bowed her head slightly.
Normally the imperial bloodline bowed to no one — but a god was different.
Who in this world would call it blasphemy to lower one's head toward the heavens?
"All right... now that I've come to the Empire, it's not something I can avoid anyway..."
"Yes. Then shall we go at once?"
"Yeees..."
I, who had received no answer to my question, and Her Highness, who had given none, both carefully hid our mutual discomfort as we set off toward the imperial palace.
"Hngh...! Nngh...! Haaah...!!"
"Haah...! Heuk...!"
A darkened room. Soft violet light gently illuminated two figures whose bodies were intertwined.
On the thoroughly disordered floor and bed, toys meant for mutual pleasure lay scattered wherever they had fallen.
The two silhouettes cast by the light seized whatever tool came to hand and teased each other's most sensitive places until, almost at the same moment, they both reached climax. Sweet, lingering cries spilled from their throats as they collapsed onto the bed.
"Haa... haa... That was the best..."
"Hngh... nngh... heeek..."
Of the two figures, the blonde woman handled everything with the ease of someone who had done this more than once or twice. The black-haired woman beneath her, however, still hadn't fully returned from the peak of pleasure.
"Darling... what am I supposed to do with you if you can't even keep your head clear after something like that?"
"Nooo... nngh...! It's not that..."
"So cute... Shall we start round two right away?"
"No...! Just a little... let me rest a little... I brought information...!"
"Hmm... what a shame. So? How was it?"
The blonde woman pulled the slightly smaller black-haired woman into her arms as she asked. The black-haired woman seemed not to dislike the contact at all; she nestled deeper into the blonde's embrace and began slowly recounting the information she had gathered.
Even though the intelligence was the sort that was hard to obtain — the kind you couldn't buy for any sum of money — the details poured freely into the room that held only the two of them.
"Mmm... so... aha..."
"...That's how it is. Well? I'm pretty useful, aren't I?"
"Yeah... not bad. The quality of the information is better than what the other brokers bring."
Rustle—
The blonde woman's hand lightly traced the body she held, slowly descending. Over the shoulder, the collarbone, the breast, the abdomen, then the waist — and next she squeezed the peach-like bottom that suited the other's petite frame so well.
"Nngh... Yes... of course... What do you take me for?"
"Who knows? All I see is a cute little cat."
"Kyaah! A-Ah, we shouldn't..."
"I'll give you the best night of your life."
"Uuuu... Y-Yes..."
After that, the room glowing with soft violet light was filled only with cries of ecstasy.