Chapter 45
Meanwhile, the Empress’s Palace.
“The maid from the Ivory Palace took one of the maids with her.”
“Sounds like she has something she’s curious about.”
“What shall we do?”
Adele, who had been moving her pen without pause, stopped her hand at the question and lifted her gaze. Mrs. Giggs, who had been helping her draft the orders beside her, met her calmly with a face as cold as a snowfield.
“Shall we select new maids?”
“Are there people you know?”
“I’ll look for those who can be trusted.”
If told to do so, Mrs. Giggs would change the personnel faster than anyone. But Adele couldn’t easily give her consent. Her mouth felt rough, as if she’d eaten gravel. Whomever she brought in now, could she trust them completely? It was better to keep those whose affiliations she already knew.
“No, it’s fine.”
“?”
“If this gets blown open, it’ll be rather noisy for a while. So let’s wait and see on that matter. After all, it’s you who attends me—so whatever the maids might say to Dian Poitiers isn’t really important, is it?”
“Yes. Understood.”
“Let’s continue with what we were doing.”
Adele was drafting a single, concise document. While the Empress recorded in detail the grounds for the order in accordance with the Palace Code, Mrs. Giggs was absorbed in calculations. Adele wrote the final figures—values Mrs. Giggs had double- and triple-checked—into the order.
When Adele set down her quill gracefully, Mrs. Giggs respectfully offered the inked seal. For the first time since arriving in Ehmont, the Empress pressed her own seal firmly onto the page.
After carefully reading the document bearing the red seal from start to finish, Adele leaned back in her chair with a self-mocking sigh.
“For my first order as Empress to be something like this…”
Despite the self-deprecating murmur, her eyes shone with fighting spirit.
That afternoon, the Council Chamber.
“…Thus, the residents of the County of Calvain are currently evacuating to the neighboring County of Barutolt, and Count Barutolt and Viscount Orléans are holding back the monsters in the intermediate zone. The tower in Calvain has confirmed the appearance of a gargoyle—estimated scale Class 3, flying-type Class 3 monster.”
Theseus fixed a cold stare on Lenox Poitiers and Duke Despone, seated across from him. Lenox listened to the report with a bored expression throughout.
Sure enough, the moment the report ended, the count began to sneer.
“Estimated scale Class 3. And who, exactly, made that estimate? Are you sure they didn’t see a Ganière instead of a gargoyle? Gargoyles aren’t caught that easily. Without mages—what can a bunch of mere knights do?”
The Deputy Commander of the Imperial Guard, Henri Jacal, sprang to his feet in anger.
“Are you finished talking?! If you can distinguish and judge so well, why are you sitting here?!!”
At Henri Jacal’s roar, flames flared in Lenox’s eyes. As Lenox slammed the desk and tried to leap up, Duke Despone grabbed him.
“That’s enough, Lenox. This is a place where His Majesty is present.”
At the duke’s restraint, Lenox snorted harshly and sat back down.
“My apologies, Your Majesty.”
Whether he heard the apology or not, the Emperor showed no reaction. Since the meeting began, he had kept his rigid gaze fixed on Lionel—almost a glare. He had never liked him much, but today he was especially irritating.
“What do you think, Minister of Defense?”
At the icy question, Lionel turned to face the Emperor. Karl leaned forward with both elbows on the table.
“Answer carefully.”
Countless eyes in the chamber turned to Lionel at once. Yet he showed not the slightest agitation.
“Before I answer, may I ask the two heads of the Mage Corps a question?”
Karl indicated Duke Despone and Lenox in assent, and Lionel spoke as if he had been waiting for this.
“Count Poitiers, I have one question. What is the most important criterion for classifying a tower as Class 3 or 4?”
“…Whether a flying-type monster appears.”
“Isn’t the Ganière a flying-type monster?”
At that question, Lenox shook his head irritably.
“Don’t nitpick. Just because the Ganière is flying-type, you’d say the tower is Class 3? People who don’t know better might say that, but the Ganière does, albeit rarely, appear even in upper Class 4 towers—that’s what I’m saying.”
“You seem to want to insist the tower is still Class 4. Do you agree that there is also a sufficient possibility that it is Class 3?”
After posing the question, Lionel looked around the chamber and continued in a clear tone.
“On the day the tower descended upon the Imperial Palace. I led the knights and waited for the Mage Corps to arrive. The tower was drawing closer by the moment. But then, the one who appeared was someone we never expected.”
Karl’s eyebrow twitched. Unconsciously, he bit down on his lower lip and glared at Lionel. The nameless discomfort wrapped in a transparent membrane began to burst forth.
Ignoring the Emperor’s intense gaze, Lionel went on.
“It was Her Majesty the Empress. Appearing out of nowhere, she said this: that even a Class 4 could be handled alone.”
What she had actually said was, “It’s a Class 4 close to Class 5, so I should be able to handle it alone,” but Lionel deliberately omitted the first part. Members of House Valdur and the knightly families nodded repeatedly as they listened.
“And as you all know, she destroyed the tower single-handedly. By a method none of us had ever seen. She rode an updraft and ascended before the tower could touch the ground. Thanks to that, not a single monster escaped the tower, and there were no casualties at all.”
Meeting Duke Despone’s gaze and then Lenox’s in turn, Lionel drove his point home, word by word.
“Isn’t that a method you had never even considered in Ehmont?”
That day—the helplessness of having led the mages to the tower, only to watch the Empress destroy it alone and stroll out of the garden unhurriedly. Recalling that humiliation, malice surged up Lenox’s throat.
“Indeed, Sir Lionel Valdur. It seems you enjoy Her Majesty the Empress’s favor. You certainly know a lot.”
As Lenox growled his mockery, Theseus scowled deeply at him, and several others snapped at him to mind his words—but Lionel alone remained utterly composed.
The one truly shaken by Lenox Poitiers’s remark was not Lionel, but Karl.
Adele’s face flashed through his mind—the way she had shoved him aside with an arrogant expression. The Emperor rubbed his brow roughly. That Lionel Valdur spoke of the Empress as if he knew her well was unbearably irritating. With a sharp voice, the Emperor demanded,
“Is that your answer to the question I asked?”
Despite the hostility in the Emperor’s tone, Lionel replied calmly.
“Her Majesty the Empress said that if a flying-type monster appears, measures corresponding to Class 3 should be taken. She said that was why she advised Count Calvain to evacuate to another territory and provided him with funds.”
At that, the chamber erupted in murmurs.
“The Empress provided funds to Count Calvain?”
“I heard she gave him gold bars.”
“Ah, so that’s why…”
“I didn’t know.”
Watching the entire situation unfold, Duke Despone leaned back, setting his jaw. Lionel let the murmurs run their course, then met Duke Despone’s gaze.
“I return to you the question Her Majesty the Empress asked me. Why is the Mage Corps of Ehmont merely standing by in the face of the current crisis? Is it because you have no intention of rescuing them, or because you lack the capability?”
The instant the words fell, flames leapt into Duke Despone’s eyes. But Lionel was faster than any protest from the mages. Rising from his seat, he looked straight at the Emperor and spoke firmly.
“In response to Your Majesty’s question, I answer as Minister of Defense. Rescue them. If it is not a matter of lacking capability, then mages must be dispatched immediately and the rescue carried out without fail.”
As Lionel stood, Henri Jacal rose behind him, followed by several members of noble houses in agreement. In the heavy silence that settled, Theseus—who had been seated beside Lionel—also stood and spoke.
“I find myself wanting to hear Her Majesty the Empress’s opinion directly.”
“For the same reason, I believe the lawful Empress should rightfully be granted authority. On what grounds was the supplementary budget rejected?”
Following Theseus’s words, Lionel even touched upon the issue of the Empress’s palace supplementary budget.
“Now that you’re the government, you certainly like invoking Her Majesty the Empress.”
Lenox’s low sneer cut sharply into people’s ears, and Theseus, unusually enraged, snapped at him.
“Watch your mouth, Lenox Poitiers!”
