93 – Burdensome

The people around Duke Reinhardt began to slowly drift away from him.

The aura emanating from him was unsettling, to say the least.

“…Reinhardt, are you alright?”

“…”

Even Rnuel, who at any other time would be tearing into him, was studying his face.

That alone was proof of how grave his expression had become.

It was a far cry from his usual wooden, impassive demeanor.

His face was contorted, showing no sign of relaxing,

and crimson droplets were steadily falling from his trembling fist.

“Ahem…ahem, it’s rather…drafty in here…”

“…Ha ha, there’s certainly…an odd feeling in the air─”

The various nobles around him cleared their throats nervously and made their excuses to leave.

They didn’t want to risk upsetting him further, not when he already looked ready to explode.

“Ha ha, isn’t that child quite something?

Who would dare call them a blemish now?”

“Y…yes, Your Majesty…”

“Ind…indeed…”

But the Emperor had no reason to concern himself with such things.

Regardless of how weak the Imperial power may have been,

he was still the master of this nation,

and no one would raise their voice or argue with him.

Only those who agreed with him existed in his world.

“Don’t you think it’s just so wonderful that such a child

has emerged from within the Empire?”

“Y…yes, Your Majesty.”

“Ha ha ha, it makes me wonder how best

to reward them, you see…”

Watching the Emperor ramble on as if oblivious to everyone’s true feelings,

Duke Reinhardt felt as though his insides

were twisting into knots.

“…By what means, exactly?”

It was one of the first thoughts that surfaced in his mind,

when he first heard the Emperor’s words.

There was no possibility his eyes had deceived him.

That wretch, Jennison, was undeniably weak.

Not only did his talent offer not a shred of help

in combat, but

the lad hadn’t even tried.

He couldn’t have cared less about swordsmanship training.

It wasn’t as if he was naturally gifted with a single-handed

or two-handed sword either.

However you looked at it, there wasn’t a single facet

of that deficient boy that could possibly grow.

It wasn’t like his son, Allen, who was innately

adept at handling a sword, blessed with talent to boot,

nor was it like his daughter, Aria, who was making

a name for herself in the field of magic.

Compared to those two, the boy was no genius; a dullard, rather.

That was why he had chosen him.

As a sacrifice for the family.

It was regrettable, yes, but he felt it couldn’t be helped.

The family’s future outweighed his own feelings.

To bear the title of Duke, the head of the family,

meant precisely that.

“…But, why has it turned out like this?”

News of the child he had discarded

was being spoken of by the Emperor himself.

As a heroic tale that no one could dare ignore, no less.

Had he misjudged?

Should he not have cast the boy out?

He had cast him out for the sake of the family, yet

should he not have cast him out, also for the sake of the family?

“…Father.”

Amidst the swirling chaos of thoughts in the Duke’s mind,

a woman’s voice resonated.

His daughter, whom he had cherished and raised like a precious jewel,

overflowing with talent, unlike Jennison.

Aria’s voice.

*

“…Father.”

“Hm, Aria? Come in, then.”

A voice carried to the Duke, as he wrestled with stacks of documents in his study.

It was Aria, his daughter.

For reasons unknown,

her voice held a note of grave solemnity.

“…Aria, have you been crying?”

“…Papa. No, Duke…

Answer me just one thing.”

“…Yes, I will answer whatever you ask.”

Her voice sounded as though she might burst into tears at any moment,

and her eyes were already red as if she had been weeping.

And the fact she’d addressed him as Duke, not Papa.

Clearly, she had come bearing serious matters;

a fact which caused his own voice to drop almost involuntarily.

“Papa, what have you done to my brother?”

And the subject she’d chosen was

entirely unexpected.

“What are you talking about, Aria?”

“…Are you going to pretend you don’t know?”

“Has something happened to your brother, Allen—”

“Father.”

The tremulous voice from moments before was gone,

replaced by Aria’s own, distinctly lower, tone.

Was it his imagination, or did her red eyes

seem even redder than usual tonight?

“You know…that’s not what I’m referring to…don’t you?”

“…I’m afraid I don’t.”

“I…I overheard everything.”

“….”

“Now I understand, that day I went to brother’s room

why you reacted that way.”

“….”

“And why Ella, who was always so close to brother,

was so hostile to you.”

Unable to bear the sight of the tears

finally streaming down her face, he buried his head in the documents.

His eyes clenched shut, and his lips

Folded inward, yes, like that.

“…Seems it’s true, then.

Judging by your silence.”

“…Aria.”

“How could you… to your own daughter?”

From Aria’s bright, earnest eyes,

tears finally begin to fall.

Hot and clear, a dissonance,

yet somehow fitting, against those crimson irises.

“…It was necessary, for the sake of the family.”

“Is the family that important?

Enough to abandon your own child?!”

“….”

“I… I respected Father so much…

Truly, a person I admired beyond measure…!”

“….”

“As of today, I don’t think I can anymore.

I’m sorry, Fath… Your Grace.”

As if making some great vow,

she corrected the title she used for me,

and no further words were exchanged.

Because Aria stormed out the door.

I felt no regret, it was for the sake of the family.

And I wouldn’t, not ever.

That, I believed with certainty.

*

‘Hah, that’s a face I’ve never seen before, Duke?’

The Emperor, Siegfried Pravel.

He was greatly amused by the trembling, speechless

Duke Reinhardt before him.

In the current Empire, where Imperial authority

was constantly threatened by the four great houses,

this meant his influence *wouldn’t* increase.

A potentially disastrous development, averted.

‘Quite the stroke of luck, this is.’

His face, never before marred by such disarray,

his body, which had never betrayed so much as a twitch.

Seeing him so broken was a thoroughly pleasing sight.

‘Jennison… was it Jennison?’

At the very same moment, curiosity bloomed within me.

How could this barely adult child,

who until recently wore the mantle of rogue, a singular blemish,

have accomplished such a feat?

“Your Majesty, is something amiss?”

“Ah, Ruindel, is that you?”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

“..Hmm.”

Before me stood Ruindel, the Golden Knight.

The Royal Knight Commander,

and a powerhouse whose reputation preceded him.

“Ruindel.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

“Could you accomplish it, yourself?”

“I do not understand what you mean.”

“I mean, when you were barely academy age,

could you have slain a monster

that laid waste to the Great Forest all alone?”

“….”

His contemplation did not linger.

His eyes, briefly closed as if wrestling with the thought,

snapped open almost immediately.

“Yes.”

“….”

“I believe I could.”

“Hahaha!! That’s the spirit, that’s a knight of the Imperial Family!”

Having heard his answer, the Emperor roared with laughter,

then shifted his steps elsewhere.

Towards Azahr, the Minister of Foreign Affairs.

“Azahr.”

“..Yes, Your Majesty. You called?”

“You possess the authority, do you not?

The authority to venture into the Great Forest.”

“..But Your Majesty, to go to the Great Forest now

could incite unwanted suspicion…”

“No need to fret,

so long as you carry no weapons.”

“….”

“You have but two tasks

to perform there.”

“Give your command.”

The Foreign Minister bowed low before the Emperor.

A detail more than sufficient to draw the gaze and attention

of everyone present.

All ears strained, awaiting the words that would fall

from the Emperor’s lips.

In a silence, stiflingly still.

“First, inquire as to the intentions of the Great Forest.

Determine whether they still desire to maintain friendly relations with us.”

“..But, from their perspective, surely,

to prevent any potential invasion…”

“Of course, that is but the superficial reason.”

The Emperor interjected, cutting off Azach, who seemed ready to declare the anticipated outcome,

his crimson cloak swirling.

“The key is to offer the Great Forest the sharing of information,

to ask if they will forge an alliance.”

“..Sire?!”

“Y-Your Majesty… how…!”

“An alliance with those arrogant wretches…!”

Several nobles, eagerly eavesdropping on the exchange, erupted in protest.

An alliance with those arrogant b*stards was out of the question, they insisted.

The Empire’s might was sufficient on its own.

The losses incurred by an alliance would outweigh any gains.

They strived to defy the sun, but it was in vain.

“They will, I daresay, accept the alliance.

For these vermin are as enemies to them, no different than ours.”

“….”

“And considering what has befallen the Order and the Great Forest,

how can we possibly assure ourselves that the Empire will remain untouched?”

“….”

“To prevent the suffering of civilians, the loss of innocent lives,

we must eradicate these fiends, root and stem, as swiftly as we can.”

The voice of a mere human could never hope

to reach the sun.

All that remained was obedience.

“Your command… shall be obeyed.”

“Excellent. And secondly…”

“Yes.”

“That child, wouldn’t you say?”

“…To whom are you referring, Your Majesty?”

“The one who is no longer merely of Reinhardt’s castle,

But the hero now, of the Great Forest, I speak of.”

The Duke of Reinhardt, from his distant position,

Turned his head ever so slightly, but

The Emperor’s smile remained fixed,

Unwavering.

“I would like to see this child,

Could you arrange that, perhaps?”

“…!”

Surely it was a mere fancy that

That smile was, for a fleeting moment, turned towards the Duke.

*

“..And that’s how it came to be.”

“..Ha ha.”

“It has been an age, wouldn’t you say, since the Emperor has shown such personal interest in someone?”

“….”

“So, how does it feel now?

The feeling of bearing the attention of the entire Empire?”

The corners of the Pope’s mouth show no sign of dropping as

He asks, seemingly genuinely curious.

I feel the urge to punch him, so intensely

Does his loathsome smile target me.

How do I feel, he asks.

Isn’t it obvious?

“..Burdened, I would say.”

“Ha ha ha!!”