Chapter 47
“Incognito?”
“Palace Law, Article 14, Clause 2. The Empress may leave the imperial palace and conduct an incognito inspection without the Emperor’s permission, and she has the right to keep the location and purpose confidential.”
“Sounds like you’ve memorized that damned palace law inside and out.”
“What else could I do? I couldn’t even get a budget approved equal to the price of a single fine horse. Now, please let go.”
Adel shook off the Emperor’s hand from her shoulder and straightened her clothes.
“I want to know how the ordinary commoners of Ehmont live. Seeing everything won’t make me understand everything, but it’s better than seeing nothing.”
Then she took a step back and spoke in a firm tone.
“It will take about three or four days.”
It was a notice. The Empress had the right to do so, and therefore Karl could not force Adel—who was turning around and walking away—by any means.
Her black hair swayed as if dancing. And along with that motion, it felt as though something inside Karl was swaying as well.
He wanted to force her. He wanted to put a collar around that woman’s neck and grasp the leash in his hand. He wanted to threaten her with something, anything, asking how she dared to go anywhere without his permission.
He could probably seize upon what she would regret losing and use it to coerce and threaten her. Saying something like, “If you walk out like this, what will you do then?”
“……”
But he could not say anything. Because he had never granted the Empress anything. She possessed nothing except his name, and therefore, she had nothing to lose.
The coachman of the House of Baldr was a man with immense pride in being a member of the ducal household. To have served, over several generations, a prestigious family of founding meritorious retainers was for him a tremendous honor and source of pride—even if he was merely a coachman. Perhaps that was thanks to the successive heads of the ducal house, who treated every member of the household with human respect and dignity.
In any case, returning to the main point. Wearing his finely pressed uniform and driving the carriage into the imperial palace with a solemn expression, he stood guard over the ducal carriage without exchanging a word with the other families’ coachmen, who were chattering noisily. So when someone tapped him on the back, he wondered what on earth was going on.
As he listened to that person—no, that lady—explain the circumstances, the coachman struggled desperately to maintain his composure. She wished to board the carriage first, and the coachman, careful not to let his hands tremble, personally opened the door.
“Indeed, you seem worthy of a venerable noble house. I am honored to ride in your carriage.”
When a voice like a cool wind fell over him from above, the coachman unconsciously bowed his head. Soon after, the door shut with a thud, and the coachman clutched his trembling chest, gasping for breath.
Fortunately, the master of the ducal house whom the coachman had been waiting for soon appeared. The coachman ran to the two of them at once. Theseus, noticing the coachman’s unusually flushed expression, spoke first.
“Is the honored guest inside the carriage?”
“Ah, yes. That’s correct.”
Theseus nodded and strode forward.
“Act as though nothing is out of the ordinary.”
As his tall brother passed by and quietly cautioned him, the coachman hastily touched his face and steadied his breathing. Once he had returned to his usual demeanor, he quickly went back to his post.
Lionel stepped onto the carriage stairs ahead of his brother. Then, after knocking softly enough that no one else would notice, he casually turned the handle and opened the door.
When the two brothers boarded, the person sitting inside, wrapped in a robe, slowly turned her head. From beneath the shadow of the hood, golden eyes gleamed. Adel curved her lips into a smile and alternated her gaze between the brothers seated across from her.
“Please forgive the rudeness of boarding an unattended carriage first.”
Then she removed the hood that had been covering her face and greeted them first.
“Greetings, Duke of Baldr.”
The Empress’s demeanor was relaxed and composed, yet the presence she gave off was like a finely honed sword. Theseus responded with courtesy.
“It is an honor to meet you, Your Majesty.”
Though Theseus described her as relaxed and composed, Adel was in truth extremely troubled. Of course, none of it showed on the surface, but her feelings were clearly so.
For the favor Adel had asked of Lionel, she needed the permission of Theseus, the head of the ducal house. So she had already packed her belongings and was waiting for Lionel’s message that Duke Baldr had granted permission. But after getting into a heated argument with the Emperor who had stormed into the Empress’s palace, she had impulsively left without even grabbing her bag.
“In truth, I was waiting for your permission. It’s hardly my place to say this after already occupying your carriage, but that was the situation.”
Adel smiled kindly and looked between the brothers.
“Would it be acceptable if I imposed upon you for about three or four days?”
Theseus answered immediately, without hesitation.
“It would be an honor.”
How refreshingly straightforward these brothers are. The Empress smiled with satisfaction.
Lionel looked at the Empress sitting across from him. No matter how hard he tried not to be conscious of it, it was not easy to ignore the Empress’s presence in the narrow carriage. It seemed Theseus felt the same way, as the brothers both found themselves unconsciously observing her.
Where had she gotten those light black training clothes? Even the perfectly fitted boots completed the ideal incognito attire. The Empress sat close to the carriage wall, wholly absorbed in watching the outside. Her golden eyes moved without rest.
After staring out the window for a while, she suddenly asked,
“Is this about the living standard of the average commoner in the capital?”
Well-maintained roads, clean shops lined up in rows, people buying and selling goods, children running between them. Clothing neatly worn and properly matched. The houses were not as massive or splendid as whales’ backs, but they were well maintained without any signs of decay, their exteriors decorated with flowers and such. There was no filth along the streets, and no beggars. Adel was carefully observing all of this.
“How does it look to you?” Theseus asked.
Adel, who had been looking outside, turned her head toward him. Theseus removed his glasses and asked again,
“May I ask what you are observing?”
Adel stared at him for a moment, then looked back out the window. The world was rushing past.
“The clothing is neat and properly matched. I cannot see the inside of the houses, but at least the exterior is clean and well kept. It appears that they are able to maintain at least a minimally human life. If so, I would say this is not merely ‘average’ for commoners, but closer to the middle class.”
“……”
“What about it? In Gottrop, this would be considered well-off. How is it in Ehmont?”
“Have you often gone on incognito inspections?”
“I spent more time outside the palace than within it. Now, answer my question.”
“Yes. That is correct. This area is a residential district for the middle class. If we go about ten more minutes north, there is a large slum on the other side of a small river.”
Adel and Theseus’s gazes met.
“Countless refugees who lost their homes due to the Towers have no choice but to go to places like that, so slums are currently forming and expanding across most territories. The capital’s slum is also growing.”
“……”
“May I ask why you summoned Count Calvin?”
The carriage was quickly entering a forested area. The autumn sunlight that had been pouring down was cut off by the tall trees, and the inside of the carriage grew dim, as though night had fallen. And in that darkness, the Empress gave off a completely different atmosphere than she had under the sunlight.
“It was the minimum that one human could do for another. It probably didn’t help him much.”
That answer had made the Emperor angry.
“……When you were in Gottrop, did you engage in rescue operations?”
Lionel was certain of it.
The Empress must have been the most actively involved in destroying the Towers. The movements used to destroy them were something only a seasoned expert could even attempt to imitate.
As if his assumption was correct, the Empress slowly nodded. But what she said next was something neither of the Baldr brothers could have anticipated.
“I was the founder and chief director of the Gottrop Anti-Tower Headquarters.”
As soon as she said it, it felt as though something struck her solar plexus with force.
“That was the case until six months ago.”
She had run with all her might across the harsh mountains and plains of Gottrop, toward wherever a Tower was descending. Before the Tower touched the ground, before the beasts that would trample the people of this land poured out of it, it had to be destroyed. With that thought in mind, she had run with everything she had. Her comrades would still be running there even now.
The Empress’s gaze changed in an instant. A sharp resentment mixed into the golden eyes that had been calm and composed.
