The Imperial Banquet (1)
The second and third daughters had both set off for the Hohenberg Marquisate. They must have followed that scoundrel. Barbarossa was in a foul mood over his daughters’ abrupt departure, without so much as a word to their beloved father. It felt like being abandoned by his own blood.
“Hohenberg! Hohenberg! Hohenberg…!! Just hearing the name sets my insides on fire!!”
The middle-aged man with the impressive mustache ground his teeth and slammed his fist on the table. Crash! Ink and pens scattered everywhere. The emperor’s iron-hard punch had been too much for the furniture. Had Otto, head of the Hohenberg family, witnessed the scene, he would have gone deathly pale and thrown himself to the floor. Barbarossa’s rage burned with a demonic aura straight out of nightmares.
“Father, please calm yourself.”
“Ahem!”
A beautiful noblewoman with flowing reddish-brown hair smiled gently and intervened. Barbarossa looked displeased but visibly reined in his fury.
“Milla and Liza are adults now. Well, Milla has been one for quite some time… In any case, Father, you really must stop being so overprotective.”
“Overprotective?! The Valtaria Imperial Family is being toyed with by that womanizing bastard from Hohenberg…!”
“You’re jumping to conclusions. Nothing has happened yet, has it?”
“……”
Her soft, soothing voice quenched the lava-like rage. The ferocious emperor stood frozen. Any of his long-suffering ministers who saw this would have been speechless. It was a miracle only the eldest princess could perform.
Isabel von Valtaria. First Princess of the Valtaria Empire. Countess of Mobia and wife of Count Divner. Perhaps it was because she looked exactly like the late Empress Carolina. Even in the midst of his indignation, Barbarossa showed unusual leniency toward Isabel alone.
“Didn’t your eldest daughter hurry here because she worried you might be lonely, Father? Please let go of your anger.”
“Ahem! If you put it that way, I suppose I must…”
His eldest daughter, who had married and left the palace years ago, had come to visit and was now doting on her father. The shock of being abandoned by his girls melted away; Barbarossa’s fierce expression softened. As expected, he was no match for her. He let out a heavy sigh and muttered to himself.
If the third daughter Elizabetta was the emperor’s “cherished finger,” then the eldest, Isabel, was his “particularly painful finger.” This was because Isabel had been born with the defect of infertility. Though Barbarossa always carried himself with majestic dignity, he harbored deep guilt toward her. He believed the terrible karma he had accumulated while purging countless political enemies had reached the child still in the womb.
“The second son of the Hohenberg family was revealed to be a Holy Sword user, wasn’t he? I heard he saved Liza from that cruel demon.”
“Benefactor? Nonsense… He’s a scoundrel!”
Barbarossa exploded again. Isabel smiled and gently calmed her father. It was like watching Beauty and the Beast. The maids observing the long-awaited father-daughter teatime whispered among themselves.
“Her Highness Isabel truly resembles Her Late Majesty the Empress.”
“Does she?”
The lustrous reddish-brown hair like early autumn leaves and the warm brown eyes filled with benevolence. The resemblance was unmistakable. It seemed to grow stronger with age. Now that the First Princess was thirty, she resembled the empress even more. The maids who had served for over a decade looked at Isabel and remembered the person they still missed.
“It will be lovely to have a cozy family meal together after so long.”
“When they hear you’ve come, Milla and Liza will be overjoyed.”
The benevolent noblewoman clapped her hands in delight. A pleased smile finally appeared on the emperor’s habitually frowning face.
“Alex is returning from the Holy Kingdom today, isn’t he?”
“He boarded the train yesterday… so he’ll probably arrive late tonight.”
The younger brother who had gone to study in the Gael Holy Kingdom was due back today. Alexius Imperator Valtaria. The news that the Crown Prince of the Valtaria Empire was returning had the entire palace buzzing. The Royal Guard had been assigned to escort him, and they had sealed off the arrival platform. He was, after all, the only prince who would one day inherit the vast empire. Word must have already spread; citizens of the imperial capital were busy preparing to welcome him.
“Milla’s lover is arriving today as well… the palace is going to be incredibly crowded.”
“Lover?! I never gave permission for that!”
Barbarossa reacted violently to Isabel’s teasing remark. Absolutely not. He would never allow it, even if dirt filled his eyes. To accept as a son-in-law the notorious playboy who had seduced both Milla and Liza… Barbarossa flew into a rage, declaring he would never form ties with the Hohenberg family.
At that moment, Ludmilla was so excited she felt like humming a tune. The reason was simple: the First Saintess, that thorn in her side and constant nuisance, had remained behind in the Hohenberg Marquisate for a while. She didn’t know why, but just the absence of that sly face was immensely satisfying.
Elizabetta felt the same. She had stayed to help the Louinons who had begun coexisting with humans. Whether from a strong sense of responsibility or simple kindness, the platinum princess could not abandon them and had decided to remain in the marquisate.
‘I never found Liza annoying just because she’s a romantic rival, unlike the First Saintess… but I will enjoy this train journey alone with Edanant.’
It wasn’t strictly “alone.” Edanant’s partner Rue was with them. Still, the little one could be set aside for now. In the princess’s eyes, only Edanant existed.
Thus Ludmilla had cheerfully declared the situation to be just the two of them.
‘His appearance is truly outstanding. Is it because he is the younger brother of the hero known as the unparalleled nobleman? I have seen countless young lords from prestigious families, yet none could even reach the tip of Edanant’s toes.’
She murmured while staring openly at him. At present Edanant was stroking the sleeping Rue and gazing out the window, allowing her to admire his handsome features to her heart’s content.
Perhaps it was the effect of love goggles. She even ranked Edanant above Maximilian, who possessed the highest probability. If he had heard her, he would have found it absurd. But Ludmilla regarded Edanant with near-single-minded devotion.
“His Majesty definitely enjoys hunting, doesn’t he?”
“Y-yes… He enjoys it to a rather fanatical degree.”
Edanant turned to ask her. Ludmilla, who had been distracted, lifted her head while stuttering. Had he noticed her staring? She hadn’t thought she had been that obvious… She looked like a child caught trying to steal sweets, unable to hide her anxiety.
“Ah! You said you have a natural talent for hunting!”
“You flatter me.”
“Then this is the perfect chance to earn points with Father! Don’t worry, I know him well!”
“……”
Ludmilla’s red eyes sparkled as she cried out. She even placed a hand over her heart and boasted again. Receiving the emperor’s favor wouldn’t be so bad. Edanant nodded, bewildered by the strangely energetic princess.
“Once we reach the capital, I should greet His Majesty first…”
“……!”
Edanant and Ludmilla, who had been facing each other across the seats, simultaneously turned with aghast expressions. It happened in an instant. Edanant scooped up the sleeping Rue. Ludmilla twisted her shoulders and stared straight ahead.
Screeeeech──!!!
The sound of wheels being forcibly halted tore through the air, followed by the metallic screech of the monorail grinding against itself. A violent shockwave swept through the locomotive. The sudden suppression of kinetic energy had erupted outward.
Edanant, holding Rue with one arm, was thrown forward. In that unintended lurch, his body overlapped with Ludmilla’s.
“Ugh…!”
Their faces were close enough to touch. Had Edanant not grabbed the seat, their lips would have met. It had nearly become an irreversible moment.
Ludmilla’s face flushed crimson. Scorching heat flooded her cheeks as though they might explode. The impact that had rocked the train subsided quickly. The engineer must have spotted the emergency and yanked the brake.
In the sudden chaos, Edanant and Ludmilla froze in their entangled position. Only their ragged, irregular breathing filled the silence.
If he lowered his head now, their lips would meet…
The golden-haired princess swallowed hard while quietly gazing at Edanant. He was doing the same. In the strangely intimate atmosphere, only silence flowed.
“Hieek…! Ow! What happened?!”
Rue woke with a shriek. Rubbing the bump on her head with both hands, she sniffled back tears.
“Your Highness, are you all right?”
“I-I’m fine…! Ahem! It seems some sort of commotion occurred!”
Edanant spoke. Ludmilla answered with an awkward cough.
The locomotive racing along the monorail had stopped abruptly. Something had clearly gone wrong on the journey to the imperial capital. Edanant and Ludmilla staggered forward with weakened steps, as though they had rehearsed the movement together. Ludmilla, who had nearly lost her first kiss, even collapsed onto the floor.
“Y-Your Highness…! Please forgive me!”
A middle-aged man in a black uniform appeared with the rest of the staff. He was the engineer responsible for the train.
“What happened?”
Ludmilla asked after brushing the dust from her clothes. She kept her head bowed to hide her burning face. But the engineer and staff interpreted her lowered gaze as suppressed fury; they trembled violently, looking ready to drop to their knees in apology at any second.
“W-we don’t know the reason… but we received word that the monorail was severed by an unexplained explosion.”
“Don’t tell me this is the cultists’ doing again?”
The monorail had been cut. The engineer’s urgent braking had been the correct decision. Had he hesitated, the locomotive would have derailed in a catastrophic accident.
“It may not… be the work of the cultists.”
“What do you mean?”
Edanant asked in a rigid voice. Ludmilla pressed him.
“A plot that only destroys the monorail? It’s too sloppy and timid to be the cultists’ style. Real cultists would have blown up the entire locomotive.”
“……”
It was ridiculously petty and cowardly. Had someone truly targeted the empire’s red dragon with such passive methods? Or perhaps they had not been the target at all. Maybe they had simply been caught in a plan meant for someone else…
With a heavy sigh, Edanant lifted Rue into his arms.