The City of Peach Fire - (22)
Before we knew it, the magnificent carriage procession carrying us had nearly reached the outskirts of Koban City.
“Hoo hoo, those rotten bastards. Seira. When you meet the Archduke, you know what to do, right? Do exactly as Mom says. Never, ever marry that awful man, understand?”
While Puyore and I admired the dazzling scenery of Koban City visible through the carriage window, we also made a solemn vow. We would not allow ourselves to be seduced by its glamorous exterior and fall into the Archduke’s clutches.
“Mhm! I got it—a kiss that means I promise with Mommy~!”
Ufufu. In truth, that kiss carried some selfish motives. After all, although Puyore was my adoptive mother, before my possession in my previous life she had been a stunning beauty around my age—a real Miss Gold.
Of course, she had given birth to a daughter. There had even been a time when she dreamed of building a warm, harmonious family.
But this world holds its coming-of-age ceremonies at a very young age. That was only natural; in most pre-modern societies on Earth, the age of adulthood had been around fourteen.
So even though Puyore had lost a daughter, her current appearance was so youthful and lovely that she could easily pass for a woman in the prime of her beauty, radiating the charm of a true Miss Gold.
When I blushed and offered my cheek, Puyore gently leaned hers closer to make the kiss easier.
Smooch— ♥♡
‘Ufufu, what a good girl Puyore is.’
One of the best parts of possessing Seira was being able to bathe with a beautiful middle-aged woman like Puyore, do skincare routines together, and spend every single day living under the same roof as such a lovely lady.
“Our sweet Seira… To Mom, just having you feels like owning the entire world. And if I ever lost you, it would feel like I’d lost everything.”
Yet this beautiful woman poured every ounce of her heart and soul into caring only for me.
‘Dragonai… He’s probably enjoying himself to the fullest at Naban Palace right about now, isn’t he?! Hmph! But don’t think you’re the only one having fun. Thanks to Puyore, every single day has been wonderful for me too!’
Damn it… In truth, the beautiful girls Dragonai kept at both sides were all world-class beauties. But Puyore…
“What kind of feeling is that?”
“Um… just imagine if Mom weren’t here.”
“Mmm… I’ll try thinking about it.”
I thought about it for a moment. If Puyore weren’t around… For some reason, it felt like those Dragonai-level beauties from Naban Palace would end up nestled one by one at Seira’s sides too. What on earth was this feeling…?!
Seeing my cheeks flush for no reason, Puyore burst into bright laughter.
“Hohoho, don’t worry, darling! Mom will never leave your side for the rest of her life~”
“Yeah… hehe…”
Come to think of it, the Archduke’s palace must be filled with all sorts of beautiful girls he had carefully selected from the north. That was one thing I could actually look forward to.
A short while later, one of the female knights from the Black Star Knight Order, clad in black plate armor, threw open the carriage door and stepped inside.
“You must be exhausted after such a long journey. Are you feeling alright, my lady…?”
She seemed to be a female knight checking on my well-being. When she opened the door, she found Puyore gently patting Seira’s slender back and giggling softly. Looking relieved at the sight, the knight smiled brightly and spoke.
“If you were worried, please don’t be too anxious. His Grace the Archduke is someone who treats those important to him with genuine kindness, at least.”
Puyore made a face of utter disgust and shook her head vigorously. The knight simply smiled and continued without missing a beat.
“As a little change of pace, why don’t you look outside the window from now on? Koban might turn out to be far more wonderful than you expect. All right then! From this moment on, allow me to introduce you to the greatest city of lovers on the continent! Welcome to Koban City~”
The knight pulled back the enormous white curtain that had been covering the carriage window. By now, the splendid and majestic outline of Koban City was fully revealed.
Unlike the Archduke’s vulgar demeanor, Koban City was a place of refined elegance. A city where magnificent architecture blended with fields of vibrant flowers to create a graceful panorama!
The main roads were perfectly paved with gleaming white stones, while even the winding dirt paths leading into the city were beautifully adorned with flower petals that had fallen yesterday, today, and would continue to fall tomorrow.
Seira’s arrival coincided perfectly with late afternoon, just as twilight began to seep across the sky. It was the hour when flower buds that had opened at dawn now smiled fully beneath the sun and prepared to show off their most enchanting dances.
Watching the countless blossoms drift down, I couldn’t help but let out a gasp of pure wonder.
“Wooooow……”
Throughout the time I had spent translating the novel, I had always been curious about the scenery of Koban City—the largest tourist destination in the Lusa Kingdom, renowned for embroidering the north’s most beautiful landscapes.
Since the story had even been made into a game, I had of course caught glimpses of the background artwork depicting Koban City.
But the majesty and vivid colors of the sight before me now possessed a dreamlike beauty that no camera could ever hope to capture.
Flutter. Flutter— Thousands upon thousands of paired blossoms danced with the wind right before they fell, freely displaying their colorful, seductive, and sensual movements.
Among them, the bravest to take the first step through the air was the cherry blossom. Believing its skill to be the finest, it fluttered across the sky and dominated an entire era.
Yet soon, amid the rushing waves of falling petals competing to descend, the cherry blossoms were the first to sink to the cold, bare ground.
At last, the peach blossom trees that had endured until the very end stood in endless rows, preparing for the final stage of their bloom. That final stage was, of course, the fall.
Just as death is the final stage of human life, so it was for the flowers.
This place was a city blessed by the goddess. It was the city where Tricia, goddess of the earth and night, had once taken a nap.
That was why the flowers and trees of Koban City grew at speeds dozens of times faster than in ordinary regions. Even so, the flowers that bloomed here could not escape the bitter final stage of death.
Still, the last peach blossoms must have fallen happily. After all, they were the ones who decorated the flowers’ grand finale and were always remembered by people as the final, lingering color.
Even as they fell, they left behind a lasting afterimage.
Our carriage finally marched across the cobalt-green earth—slowly, like a deflating blue balloon, yet with undeniable beauty. We trod gently upon the last hues of the falling peach blossoms as we advanced vigorously toward the city upon the blossoms.
At that moment, I gazed at the sharply rising peaks of Yugna Mountain and murmured under my breath.
‘Dragonai… Please, don’t be late.’
Noble titles are divided into five ranks, while knight grades are divided into eight classes. Even the lowest rank—8th-Class Knight, the minimum required to be recognized as an official Imperial Knight—was a level so difficult that ordinary commoners considered it nearly impossible to reach before the age of thirty.
For average knights, the highest grade they could hope to attain after devoting their entire lives was 5th-Class Knight. Most saw their careers end at 6th-Class or below.
Even for those who had displayed genius talent from childhood, reaching the upper ranks of 3rd-Class Knight or higher was said to be a realm reserved only for true prodigies.
Therefore, the treatment a 4th-Class Knight received was nothing short of a dream for ordinary commoners. Knights who reached 4th-Class were generally over Level 500. Most were granted the rank of Baron and awarded large villages, or at least received the title of Baronet.
In most cases, they would take on the honorary role of village chief for a small town and could receive a modest pension from the local lord.
Since Puyore’s adoptive parents had also come from such low-ranking knight backgrounds, she had been able to live as an influential figure in Puran Village despite being a woman.
However, unlike regular nobility, the Baronet title was a conditional hereditary position granted only as long as the lords who remembered the original recipient remained for two or three generations.
Therefore, even if one’s ancestors had been Baronets like Puyore’s, if no child with knightly talent appeared for a long time, or if the children failed to earn additional merits worthy of the title, the village chief position could be taken by a new Baronet, or the family risked fading back into commoner status.
“Fufufufu. To think that something as insignificant as a mere village chief position has been elevated all the way to the rank of Count.”
Niberia believed he had offered his mother-in-law an exceptionally generous wedding gift, and he waited with burning impatience for Seira’s carriage to arrive. He had cast aside state affairs, ignored the temptations of the six concubines who wished to attend him, and spent the entire night staring at the Puran Plains where the carriage would soon appear.
“Oh! There it is! It’s coming!!!!!!”
At that same moment, while Bakers was handling the cleanup in Puran Village and the collection of the bodies, the Crown Prince had split the knight order into two groups and was racing toward Seira.
“I must not be late, my little sister!”
The Crown Prince, in the prime of his twenties, had risen to the rank of 1st-Class Knight through sheer ability alone. That was yet another variable Niberia had never anticipated.