The Trusted One (2)
The Trusted One (2)
No,
the Empire did have a chancellor, so why was it sending me? No matter how many books I'd read, at best I'd only sat for a few mock exams. How was sending me supposed to produce a good outcome?
No,
more than that, why hadn't the chancellor talked back after hearing such lunacy? He was the chancellor. When the emperor said something insane, wasn't it his job to ask, 'Have you lost your mind?' Was he not working? The highest-paid civil servant in the country?
No,
What did it mean to brazenly send someone who wasn't even a blood relative and who, according to rampant and fact-based speculation, might be a member of the emperor's personal assassination squad, to a trilateral summit of all things? Was it some kind of threat, like 'If you don't listen, you'll end up like them'? But how was the emperor supposed to assassinate people by sending someone to the Holy State or Belbur Kingdom? Surely he wasn't planning to order me to do it?
No!
I'd screamed 'No' dozens of times in my head, but I hadn't managed to reach a proper conclusion.
"......."
I stared into the mirror.
The summit was to be held in Lutetia, the royal capital of Belbur Kingdom. Roughly a little over four hundred kilometers from the imperial capital of Rondarium. That distance existed because the Empire's capital was situated somewhat to the east within its vast territory. In terms of actual size, the Empire was about four times larger than the Kingdom. The population gap was even wider, and the military gap was wider still.
The Empire possessed several colonies, but the Kingdom didn't have a single one worth mentioning. They seemed to have made various attempts, but none had produced satisfactory results.
The Holy State was nestled right next to the Kingdom, and it was even smaller. Strictly speaking, its size was almost equivalent to a single city. Of course, every word spoken by the Holy State's pontiff carried enormous influence across this world, but in truth, the Empire paid it little mind.
Even if the Kingdom, the Holy State, and every other nation combined their strength, the Empire possessed the overwhelming technological and military might to confront them with confidence.
That meant the emperor's arrogant ambitions weren't entirely far-fetched after all.
...... Thinking about it, if sending me to such an important trilateral summit was a 'strategy to show contempt for the other parties,' then it did make a certain kind of sense.
The me in the mirror was still a child. The issue couldn't be dismissed as simply 'looking young.' It was a 'kid.' No matter how I looked at it, I seemed no older than a middle schooler, or at the absolute most, about to enter high school. I'd probably grow taller for another year or two.
The moment the emperor dispatched a little kid like that as the summit representative, it could be seen as plainly revealing his intention that 'we have no intention of having a normal conversation with you.' So, well. Sending me wasn't entirely nonsensical after all.
The problem was that I would have to personally endure the stares of the foreign ministers who would be thinking exactly that.
I glanced at the clock hanging above the bathroom window. One o'clock in the afternoon. About two hours remained until arrival.
The steam locomotive I was riding traveled at 100 kilometers per hour. They said its top speed was 130 kilometers per hour, but within a range that allowed stable operation, this was considered adequate.
As a side note, for a setting set in an era primarily using steam engines, and true to a world view teeming with all sorts of overtechnology, high-speed railways were already undergoing trial runs in the Empire. It was a steam locomotive that supposedly maintained 200 kilometers per hour without difficulty, and in the game, it became available midway through the main story.
Even on a high-speed railway running at 200 kilometers per hour, crossing the Empire would still take several hours, and of course, it couldn't constantly maintain its maximum speed. But with game-like allowances, the protagonist's party could shuttle between regions at opposite ends of the Empire several times in a single day. Naturally, such a thing was impossible here in 'reality.'
Incidentally, according to the Setting Guide, all events in every region were documented as having occurred 'in a single day.'
Which meant...... that if the protagonist wanted to clear every optional sub-quest in each region, no matter how trivial, he would have to diligently poke around every corner of that area with extraordinary persistence.
Well, obviously that wouldn't be possible in reality.
"...... Hoo......."
In any case, there was no need to worry about the main story now, when it hadn't even begun yet.
Or rather, the protagonist's party's business would surely resolve itself well even if I didn't interfere. As long as I discreetly steered the heroines who faced the risk of death along the way onto their survival routes, no major problems would arise.
So, how about I focus on my own worries for now.
"......."
I looked into the mirror, seeking out each trace of worry on my face and erasing them one by one. I smoothed out the frown I'd been unconsciously making and eased the tension around my mouth a little. After kneading my face with my hands a few times to help it relax, I looked in the mirror once more.
"Good."
Let's try to put my mind at ease.
If the emperor truly was sending me with the intention of slighting the other parties, then I simply had to act in accordance with his will.
I could just keep my mouth tightly shut the whole time, say nothing, and come back. That would be that.
"Good."
Having steadied myself, I stepped out of the bathroom.
"Hey there, little sister!"
And the moment I stepped out, I heard a voice that made my blood pressure spike.
Since I was acting as the emperor's proxy, this train was operating solely for me. All unnecessary freight had been detached, leaving only the train cars moving, which made it possible to flee at maximum speed in an emergency.
On top of that, they'd even assigned the two greatest swordsmen in the Empire to protect me—
"Come sit over here. We've got plenty of time, let's play some poker."
—and those two were Jaden and Lucas.
Lucas, who called out to me in that light-hearted tone, acted as if he was on a picnic, to the point I wondered if he even remembered what our purpose was and where we were headed.
Well, there really was no reason for his heart to be heavy. The imperial family's private train carried none other than Jaden and Lucas, and even I, the person they were escorting, was hardly an easy opponent. Furthermore, Imperial Guard Knights were riding in train cars other than this one.
Before the train departed, the personnel and luggage had been meticulously checked several times, and every station on the railway line had been ordered to give this train priority passage. So I could understand why they were so relaxed.
"What are you trying to teach a child?"
Jaden scolded Lucas. Though, of course, he himself was holding a hand of cards.
"Aw, come on, don't be like that, yeah? Come sit with us and kill some time. There's nothing else to do, right?"
I glanced at the table where the two of them sat. Lucas had an overwhelmingly large pile of chips. Jaden was looking at me with slightly uneasy eyes. It was a look that suggested he feared if I sat down there, all his own chips might be wiped out.
...... Had they seriously bet real money?
Then again, if they'd been meticulous enough to bring chips along, it was possible. Or perhaps this train even had a casino car.
"I'm not interested."
At my words, Jaden made a relieved expression.
"Why not?"
Lucas asked as if genuinely curious. No, he'd been watching me for nearly ten years and he could still say something like that? How many times had I ever willingly joined them when they were playing around?
...... There had been a few times when I'd been caught up in it and joined in, but it was never by my own choice.
"......."
Instead of answering, I looked toward one corner of the train car.
Truthfully, from my perspective, the only thing visible there was the back of a chair.
But Lucas saw my gaze and gave a shrug, as if he knew perfectly well who was sitting there.
"You're too soft, you know that. They aren't even particularly grateful, so why do you always hover around protecting them like that?"
"......."
I walked past him as if his words weren't worth answering. Lucas just shrugged again, as if he hadn't expected a reply from me in the first place.
"Don't be too harsh. Isn't she the only one among your siblings who's the same age as you?"
"No, even if we're the same age...... let's just drop it."
I could hear Jaden and Lucas talking, but I paid it little mind and walked over to the chair.
On one side of a seating arrangement that would be perfect for a family of four to face each other, Alice sat with a prim expression.
"Why not go play with your older brothers?"
At those words, which sounded almost like a complaint, I took my seat without bothering to answer.
...... Of course, part of the reason I hadn't joined the two for poker was that hanging out with them was awkward. But another part was that the game they were playing was 'poker' in the first place.
Even someone with the ability to turn back time was extremely weak against acts of randomness like rolling dice or drawing cards. The more minute the variables, the more easily even the smallest factor could completely flip the outcome. A single word spoken while shuffling the cards, picking up a card a little late for some reason...... in short, every single action I took became a variable and would cause me to get hopelessly entangled.
Of course, if I didn't aim for a crushing victory, perhaps I could avoid losing. If I subdivided the criteria for turning back time very finely, rewinding every single time a card was drawn to see what hand the opponent had before deciding whether to fold or bet, I might even be able to win.
But my opponent was Lucas.
If he started using his superhuman skills to deal from the bottom of the deck, there was no answer. To prove he'd done it, I'd need sleight of hand at Lucas's level, and I didn't possess that degree of skill.
And that was the most dangerous part.
The reason the emperor had trusted me up to now was because of that image of mine: someone who 'never made mistakes and always succeeded in whatever they did.'
So what would happen if that image crumbled over a mere 'single round of a card game'?
Maybe, if I'd learned the skill of palming cards and could act as the dealer, it might be different.
But I had no intention of going that far. Considering the effort involved, it was simply more advantageous to avoid card games altogether.
"I find it more comfortable to sit here."
As I said that, I unfolded the newspaper I had folded up before leaving my seat earlier.
Because what I needed was information.
This was a world without smartphones or the internet. Important news did reach the imperial palace via telegraph, but it didn't contain fine details.
So I had to absorb information somehow and reduce the variables for whatever was going to happen next. Otherwise, something would occur that would force me to rewind time on a scale of years.
Guessing poker cards was already an ordeal. If I rewound time in such a large chunk, the likelihood of my intentions playing out exactly as I hoped would decrease even further. Because a span of years was more than enough time for a person's thoughts and values to change.
"......."
"......."
For a while, the only sound was the rustle of me turning the newspaper pages.
"Hey, you know."
"Yes."
Alice spoke to me, and I answered while keeping my eyes fixed on the newspaper.
"Am I being a nuisance?"
"......."
I lowered the newspaper I was holding open slightly and looked at Alice. She kept glancing back and forth between the window and my face. Her expression seemed unsure of where to direct her eyes.
Strictly speaking, I was the one heading into the summit chamber. Even if Alice was the imperial princess, she couldn't enter the chamber and follow me in without the emperor's express order.
But...... Alice, who felt a complex kind of jealousy toward me in many ways, had insisted on coming along the moment she found out I was going to the summit. She'd stubbornly insisted that she would ride the train too.
Perhaps anticipating something like this, the emperor had kept the fact hidden from Alice until the very end, which ironically backfired and made Alice's rebellion to get on the train even fiercer.
If the emperor had appeared in person on the spot and spoken harshly to Alice, she would have deflated and slumped down...... but unfortunately, the emperor was on the complete opposite side of the Empire at the time.
On top of that, because Alice had thrown her fit right before departure, the situation nearly resulted in us not reaching the summit on time. In the end, the matter was resolved by taking the imperial princess onto the same train under my authority.
So, I understood why Alice was speaking that way.
"I have not once thought that."
"...... Really?"
"Yes, I have not."
I meant it.
Yes, well, honestly, this was favoritism.
Princess Alice was the one who, in the original story, moved across the Empire in all directions as a member of the protagonist's party, lending her strength to the emperor's opposition. Right now she still showed a somewhat childish and immature side, but the bold figure she would become in the main story was gradually beginning to show itself.
And I held affection for all of those party members, including the protagonist.
So, well.
What could I do? If I were being strictly honest, I was the uninvited guest here.
"Your Highness is one who will one day stand at the apex of this Empire. I believe there is no harm in you having at least some sense of the atmosphere at the summit's location."
"......I-is that so?"
Upon hearing what I'd said, whether you'd call it a compliment or at least an attempt to build her up, Alice's expression brightened right away.
Even in the original story's early stages, steering the conversation like this was the correct approach for her character.
High pride but low self-esteem. She was outmatched in talent by her step-siblings who didn't share a drop of the emperor's blood, and in the original story, the existence of Claire had made her self-esteem even lower. Compared to that, the way she was now was a much more mature version of herself than the original.
"However, even if you were to say you will enter the summit chamber in my place or alongside me, I cannot permit it. It is His Imperial Majesty's order."
"Ah, I know."
At my words, Alice answered with a reddened face.
Well, Alice wouldn't be a problem. The truth was, her throwing a tantrum this time probably wasn't an act done with the expectation that she'd actually be able to board the train.
It was simply coincidence layered upon coincidence that Alice had ended up riding here.
Besides...... well, even without entering the summit chamber, there were quite a few people Alice could meet here.
The emperor's legitimate heir couldn't possibly avoid showing her face to anyone at this event, so Alice would be able to spend a reasonably worthwhile time in her own way. If I assigned Jaden or Lucas to accompany her, her safety would be assured too.
Hmm...... as for someone to meet there, the princess of Belbur Kingdom, perhaps.
The original story mentioned that the Belbur princess had once met the emperor. Perhaps that was originally supposed to happen around now.
...... Come to think of it, what great deeds had the original story's protagonist accomplished in his past life to end up entangled with his own country's imperial princess and a foreign kingdom's princess, all while being a mere baron?
Then again, well. Separate from the main story, the romance lines played out somewhat like an academy harem story.
Not that I wasn't jealous.