103 – Tidings of the Banquet

My head is in a whirl,

unreliable with my confusion.

All because of this young woman

thrusting her face right up to mine.

The fresh scent wafting from her pink

hair, swaying just before my eyes.

Those crimson eyes, so intense,

you could never, even in jest, call them blue.

The mask she had been wearing

until just moments ago…

Against the stark backdrop

of those black cloths, her

pale white skin caught my eye.

“What now, what are you staring at? Eeek~”

“….”

Two daggers, fastened neatly

to her thigh,

not for slicing or chopping,

but weapons purely designed for stabbing.

Their slender, elongated blades,

almost like miniature rapiers, testified to this.

“Hm? You know about these too?”

“..I know a little.”

Perhaps sensing where my gaze lingered,

she glanced down at her thigh,

drawing a dagger with a faint *shikk* sound.

The dagger, once revealed,

possessed an unusual form.

Unlike most daggers with a single-edged blade,

this one was double-edged.

It possessed the shape

commonly known as a double-edged dagger.

Moreover, the crossguard was

remarkably short, almost non-existent,

lending it a near awl-like appearance.

“Strange..? These days, nobles

don’t seem to know much about daggers.”

“….”

“Well, their knights are always posing

with one-handed swords and longswords, so where

would they find the time to care about daggers?”

“….”

“Those who wield swords for show, not survival.”

A hint of animosity tainted her tone,

as if she held their behavior in contempt.

Seemingly about to continue the conversation, she plopped

herself down on the bed without a second thought.

“How heavy a sword truly is,

how to grip it correctly,

the feeling of cutting something down –”

“….”

“There were those, you know, who died in actual combat,

flailing around like fools because they knew nothing.”

From then on, every story that tumbled

from her lips was drawn from her own experiences.

Like how those blokes who swaggered about without ever

holding a sword turned pale when faced with one,

barely able to lift the thing, let alone wield it,

their bravado instantly deflated.

Or how utterly comical it was to watch the class show-off

panic when you placed a low-level monster before him,

swinging wildly without a thought for his own strength

or stamina.

Things you wouldn’t expect to hear from the young lady

of a ducal house, one of the Great Four, no less.

Yet she spoke of them without hesitation,

her face alight with amusement.

The expression of a child, lost in fond

memories of the distant past.

I watched her for a moment,

lost in that expression,

before she abruptly snapped her head up,

clapping her hands together with a sharp report.

“Ah! Right, there was something I needed to tell you.”

“..To me…?”

“Yes, the gentleman told me to pass it

on to you directly, but I forgot, just a moment?”

No sooner were the words out than she flung off

the black cloths that still draped her body,

searching herself this way and that.

‘….’

“Hmm… now, where could it be?

Just a moment… bear with me a little longer?”

The garment, barely there to begin with,

offered no coverage for her shoulders,

and clung to her form besides,

a stark black against her skin.

Objectively, it was a rather revealing ensemble,

and her pale skin fairly glowed in the

sunlight spilling onto the terrace.

Seemed even more pronounced bathed in the sunlight.

“..I shall stand turned away,

Please, call if you require me.”

“Eh? Ah, it needn’t be─”

“Is this the chamber?”

“Y-yes… Your Imperial Highness.”

*Creeeak*─

The door of reddish-brown wood swings open.

Before entering this place,

the staunch panels, so beautifully crafted.

“..Woah.”

“Hmm…Father must have been quite

fond of that person? Such a chamber…to…”

And then they entered.

The owners of the voices that, just a moment ago, had trickled

gently from beyond the door.

“….”

“Y-Your Imperial Highness, why suddenly…”

One person,

a woman carrying within her body the noblest blood in this nation.

The Empire’s princess, Kiana Pravel, her red hair fluttering,

and following closely behind her, another person

also a face known to me.

“Eh? Young master, you were…he-“

The one whose silver hair shines even more dazzlingly

beneath the sun’s rays.

Ella.

The one who had separated from me just moments before,

now entering this chamber alongside the Princess.

“..Greetings to Your Imperial Highness.”

“T-that…”

“What business brings you here─”

“You!!”

“…?”

Her face, for some reason, flushed a deep crimson,

as she pointed accusingly behind me,

her red hair and reddened

skin appeared rather congruous,

as if any moment now,

A face like steam about to burst forth,

pure white.

And it wasn’t just her face that was flushed.

“M… Master…”

For some reason, Ella, standing

respectfully beside her,

was also covering her eyes with her palm,

her face a deep red.

‘…Even like that, she can see through her fingers,

so what’s the point of covering?’

“Y…you, so the rumors were true…!”

“…?”

“It was… so it was…”

I didn’t know what she had realized,

but the Princess continued to mutter to herself, and

Ella, still covering her face,

kept glancing at me from behind her fingers.

Completely bewildered by their sudden reactions,

I tilted my head when,

“Found it!”

“…?”

“This, this is it. This!”

Someone grabbed my shoulders from behind

and spun me around.

Naturally, my gaze was drawn

along with the motion, and

“…What is this?”

What met my eyes was

nothing other than a scroll.

A single, yellowish scroll, perhaps a little worn,

its color faded with age.

But the cord binding the scroll

didn’t look worn at all.

In fact, it was so soft, you could believe

it was made from the finest fabric.

“I recommend reading it alone,

absolutely when you’re alone.”

“….”

“Well, the contents inside

might be confidential, you see!”

“..I will keep that in mind.

Then, I’ll be taking my leave now─”

“W-wait, Sh… Shino-yang?”

“Your Highness…? What brings you here, of all places…”

She seemed visibly taken aback by the sudden

intrusion of the Princess into their conversation.

The Princess’s station was one thing, but

she was also the daughter of the Charlotte Ducal House.

And the Charlotte Ducal House was one of the families that had

served the Imperial Family alone since ancient times.

Her current situation was akin to her own master suddenly

appearing before her very eyes.

“Th-that…”

However, the Princess’s condition was rather odd.

She kept alternating her gaze between Shino Charlotte, her, and

me, blushing fiercely on her own,

burying her face in her hands,

and emitting strange noises,

like “Uuh…” incessantly.

“Your Highness, is something amiss…?”

“Ah… N-no… It’s just…”

“Shall I summon a priest immediately─”

“Sh… Shino-yang… and you!”

“”…?””

“Th… Th-that…”

She kept chewing on her lip,

her face growing ever redder.

Just about when the color of her face

matched the color of her hair perfectly,

her lips slowly

began to part.

“A… Aren’t we still too young to

be doing something like that…!”

“”…?””

“S… Shameful!”

Along with a scream, but not really a scream,

that was utterly unexpected.

*

“My lady, how about this gown?”

“Nay, for our young mistress, something more—”

“Or perhaps this one would suit her well—”

The Luenuel Ducal house,

known throughout society as a lineage of mages,

and where, generally, little

ever truly disturbed the peace.

“Everyone, please…”

“Ah, young mistress!”

“Which catches your fancy, my lady?”

That very Luenuel Ducal house

is, today, unusually abustle.

A household that, save for matters of magic,

cared for little else.

*What in the world was in that letter…?*

This is how the matter began.

A servant of the Ducal household discovered

a letter, the arrival of which none could recall, in the mailbox,

‘Uhm.. Your Lordship, a strange letter…’

‘Hm?’

The letter travelled, step by step, until it

reached the Lord of the house himself.

Ordinarily, lacking even a sender’s mark,

it would have been immediately returned,

but the unusually opulent seal and envelope

caught the servant’s eye, leading him to present it to the Lord,

‘..Ah, there is so much to do.. why now..!’

The effect was immediate.

‘L..Lordship?’

‘..I am quite alright. Go now, and prepare

our daughter for her adornment.’

‘Y..yes?’

To Isabella, peacefully ensconced in her chambers,

absorbed in her magical research,

this was news akin to a bolt from the blue.

‘M..Mother, why suddenly me…?’

‘..Believe me, I would rather not go myself,

but an invitation has arrived from the Imperial Palace.’

“The… Imperial Palace…?”

“Aye, seems like a grand ball

is about to bloom.”

But what else could be done?

It was an invitation from the Imperial Palace, of all places.

Besides, the Renuiel Dukedom in its current state

had no real cause to refuse,

‘…If only it had come a little later, we could have used “that incident”

as an excuse… Tch.”

And so, Isabella found herself inexorably summoned

to the Royal Citadel.

Contrary to her crestfallen demeanor,

the maids and servants were, each in their own way, quite delighted.

“Milady, this one suits you splendidly…!”

“No, this one is even better on Milady…”

But it couldn’t be helped, really.

Her only true passion lay with magic,

so even with such a beautiful face, she never bothered to adorn herself.

‘Ah… Milady, please, at least this gown…”

‘Milady, allow me to do your makeup… Milady?’

Naturally, this prompted the viewers’

own frustration,

and for the maids and servants at her side,

this was an opportunity unlike any other.

A chance for the Milady they served

to outshine all others.

A chance for them to personally

bestow her with finery.

“…Even if I do deck myself out, there’s no one I want to impress─”

““You never know?!”

Since she wasn’t particularly

passionate about anything except magic,

she attempted a meek rebellion,

but it was swiftly quelled.

“You just never know, Milady, if

you might meet your fated partner at the ball.”

“No, that’s, too…”

“And just look at how beautiful you are, Milady.

There’s every chance of it happening, you know?”

She had more than enough to refute them but.

It was Isabella, who hadn’t bothered to speak the words aloud.

She didn’t particularly want to ruin their

rarely-seen, excited demeanour upon entering this house.

‘..Someone she wants to impress, eh…’

She ruminated on it in her heart.

Did she, as she was now, have someone she favoured?

If it were before, she would have quickly answered

Allen of the Reinhardt family, but

‘…’

Now, for some reason, she couldn’t readily

form the words.

Because of one man’s phantom, constantly piercing

through her thoughts.

That man’s phantom, currently causing an uproar

throughout the empire.

The memory of that man’s voice, so nonchalantly forgiving her, flickered,

and those hollow eyes kept surfacing in her mind.

‘..How is he spending his days lately—’

“My lady, how about this one?”

“Huh? Oh… oh…”