Rakuin no Monshou

Winding back time a little to a few days before Esmena Bazgan left Taúlia.

The morning sun was glittering on the surface of the Yunos river. Early that morning, a ship sailing down the river had moored at the pier, and half-naked men were carrying food and goods into Apta Fortress. The soldiers on guard were watching over them, yawning. As the war with Taúlia had just ended in peace, it was inevitable that they should be lacking any feeling of tension.

In the midst of that, Orba had raised himself up on his bed and the sun shone on his gloomy profile. Without moving in the slightest, he stayed rigid in that posture. Perhaps following somebody"s good advice, Dinn, who would always come to wake him up early, was nowhere to be seen. Probably Shique, Orba thought vaguely; in fact, he had knocked on his door about three hours after dawn.

"Orba, are you awake?"

"Yeah."

The door opened as...o...b.. answered. He stared blankly at Shique who was standing before him. Shique hadn"t really thought anything of that rapid response, but unexpectedly, Orba was already getting dressed. He smiled to see that he appeared to have pulled himself together,

"What about breakfast? I can have it prepared at once, but..."

"No", Orba walked by Shique and went out. "Right now, I"m going to have you put together a military troop. Gather these people for me."

Shique was startled but, as he noticed that craftsman working on the fortress" repairs were coming from the opposite direction, he bowed with the att.i.tude of an Imperial Guard before the prince.

Orba had selected various commanding officers for the reinforcements to be sent to Garbera. Said reinforcements were no more than a mere hundred. There were twenty mounted cavalry and dragoons respectively, as well as ten sky ship pilots doubling as regimental soldiers for the airship division, that were members of the Imperial Guard. Other than that, all the other infantry soldiers were battlefield slaves.

Such was the information that reached Gouwen"s ears.

"Aren"t there too few foot soldiers?"

"The rest will be set free," Orba answered in a terse mutter.

After Apta"s defensive battles, the troop of more than fifty former sword slaves turned infantry soldiers led by Pashir expected to be released from their status as slaves. His hand had been detaining them for a while now but, "A promise is a promise."

Gouwen merely said "Right", and no longer argued about the organisation. Pashir was the commander of the infantry, while in addition, Gouwen himself was appointed as adjutant to this military troop and so would go to Garbera. However, this time the one whose eyes went roundest at his own situation was surely Kain.

"I"m going to lead the military troop? It, it"s a joke, right?"

Their acquaintance from the days in the Tarkas gladiatorial group went pale with dismay. As he conveyed the message, Shique smiled wryly, "Not you. The one who will be leading the troop to the bitter end will be Orba. The masked former gladiator who won the position of Clovis. The prince says he has to stay here – you get it, right?"

"I-I"ve never taken command in warfare!"

"It"s fine to leave that to your adjutant, Gouwen. It"s fine if you just stand at the front shouting "Go, Goo!""

"That again?"

At the battle of Zaim Fortress, Kain had been made to do something very similar.

"That Orba, since rising to greatness, he"s gotten into the habit of playing truant. Honestly, he"ll come by his deserts."

"Worse than the gladiator contests, eh?"

The preparations for the Dragonstone cruisers departure also began before noon. Once supplies were loaded, the airships would be brought in. Orba watched the air carriers" landing port without saying a word. His arms folded and his expression dark, he seemed even harder to approach than usual. He looked as though he would kill anyone who approached him, so no one spoke to him.

For a while now, Vileena Owell, who was watching that figure from behind, had wanted several times to call out to him but had given up each time. That Gil Mephius had chosen to send reinforcements to Garbera was a joyful thing, however this time, the prince would be staying at Apta.

As the Imperial Guards and the Independent Infantry unit made up most of the reinforcements, it meant that the military forces remaining in Apta were – starting with Shique – ten or so Imperial Guards as well as the main force from General Oubary"s Black Armoured Division. Certainly, as lord of the castle, Gil should no doubt stay and exercise his authority over it, however she had a feeling that wasn"t the reason why he wasn"t moving.

That being said, Vileena naturally had no clear idea of what that reason actually was. Nor why he had pointed a sword at Oubary the previous evening, nor furthermore why he had been weeping, thus she felt that:

It"s frustrating.

Just when she thought that the conflict with Taúlia had brought her a little closer to his heart, this happened and she found herself understanding Gil less and less. Unintentionally, she let slip those feelings to Theresia.

"Are men so hard to understand, I wonder."

Without thinking of it as the tedious complaints of a fourteen-year-old, or rather, while thinking that it was a problem appropriate for adolescence, Theresia nodded with a complicated expression.

"It is the same thing for gentlemen. Their whole life long, they never seem to be able to understand women."

"Is that so?"

Even while talking to the maid who had served her for many years, Vileena"s heart was agitated for various reasons. It wasn"t just because of Gil, it also seemed that Ende and her home country of Garbera would soon be at war. It was because of this that Gil was preparing to send reinforcements, however this wasn"t a decision coming from his country. There were rumours that the emperor, Guhl Mephius, seemed to be in contact with Ende. It was unclear what kind of effect the prince"s current actions would have on the relationship between Mephius and Garbera - and on Gil and Vileena"s engagement.

Though the prince was wrapped in an unapproachable atmosphere, there was one person who rudely stepped up to him. Gouwen. Orba didn"t spare him a single glance as he approached but,

"Do you think this will be as hard a battle as Zaim Fortress? Because Kain is already shaking in his boots," he asked in a whisper.

"No", Orba"s response was immediate but his att.i.tude remained grim even as he spoke. "Ende probably thinks that Mephius won"t get involved. There should be ongoing talks about just that. So to start with, they won"t be prepared for this. If we make a flashy appearance, Ende will realise that they are at a disadvantage and probably won"t make a move."

"Which means that the timing is crucial, huh."

"Whenever possible, it"s best to act before the hostilities start. When it comes to the point that you"re already crossing swords, for the enemy too it"s too late to withdraw."

However, to repeat once more, these reinforcements were few in number. If they joined the battle, Ende would surely also realise that they hadn"t been sent by Mephius itself.

"Noue said so too. This time, the greatest victory would be to not fight at all. Ende has its own circ.u.mstances. There is a risk it will cause considerable damage, but I don"t think it"ll progress like Zaim."

Having said that much, Orba glared at Gouwen.

"What is it?"

"...... Nothing."

Orba kept his mouth shut and wouldn"t say another word. Gouwen understood that much. Despite this, he deliberately questioned him. And had gotten little from this...o...b.. whose real intentions were impossible to read. Gouwen stared at him for a while, then, when he was about to open his mouth,

"Your Highness."

A soldier galloped up with so much vigour he seemed about to land at Orba"s feet. The watch tower to the east of the landing port was in something of an uproar.

"What is it?"

Gouwen asked in Orba"s place. However, his eyes almost immediately caught sight of the cause. In the now sunny sky, he thought that he could make out the shape of an air carrier which, accompanied by an escort of several airships, was coming down in alt.i.tude as it approached the landing port. On its flank, it bore the Mephian coat of arms.

When he saw the figure of the girl who was the first to alight from the ship, Gouwen muttered,

"So it"s the imperial princess. They"ve sent no messenger either by post-horse nor by airship."

Followed by a group of maids, Ineli Mephius walked towards them. Her beautifully fair complexion and pale red lips were so completely out of place in this border fortress that the surrounding soldiers instinctively seemed to want to flee.

When Ineli noticed Orba – no, to her he was her step-brother, Crown Prince Gil – she waved her hand, smiling. With evident satisfaction at the surprised gazes she was gathering, she walked up to Orba and curtsied.

"It"s been a long time, Your Highness, Crown Prince Gil. I am glad to find you so healthy."

"Ah", said Orba, without adding anything else. Ineli puffed her cheeks in a pout.

"Even though your cute little sister has travelled a great distance to come and surprise you, you act so coldly."

"Really?"

As far as...o...b.. was concerned, still having to play the crown prince was nothing but a troublesome pain. A strange sense of weariness had enveloped his body and mind. Because of this, his manner was more brusque than usual. Patiently waiting, Ineli observed him from the side.

"Well now, really. It appears that Ax going as far as to personally attack the fortress wasn"t just a rumour. Brother, how wonderful it is that you are safe and without a single injury. But did you not think what you did was very scary?"

"Yeah, true", as Gouwen gave his back a small shove, Orba grudgingly threw in some appropriate words. "......And, what’s your business?"

"What’s my business?"

Ineli"s arrogant smile slipped for a moment and, with a casual sidelong glance, she looked towards the airship that was being prepared to be sent as reinforcement. The dragons were currently being loaded into the warship. At the front of the ship, a scattering of armed soldiers could be seen for the first time. Ineli"s lips once more curled into a smile.

"But I thought that my brother would be lonely in this border land, so I came to visit in order to console him. Would those be the reinforcements being prepared for Garbera, I wonder?"

"Yeah."

Gil nodded and for some reason, Ineli"s eyes laughingly lit up like those of a small child who had just thought of a mischievous prank. "I see. Surely, the people of Garbera will be delighted."

"We are deeply touched that you took the trouble of travelling all the way here." Gouwen bowed. "It was truly kind of you to come to this distant place. I"m afraid that I don"t know of any place that would be pleasing to Your Highness, but perhaps you would like to visit the citadel. Some of the soldiers can..."

"No. I want to have a look around by myself. By no means should you go to any trouble for me."

Ineli refused with a slight lifting of the hem of her skirt, then she and her group of attendant maids went to inspect the departure preparations. She looked all around the landing port. And her eyes met Vileena’s, who was also there.

She gave an acknowledgment in the direction of Garbera"s princess. Ineli didn"t halt her steps, so it was no more than a single nod. Immediately after and as though she couldn’t control herself anymore, the edge of her lips twitched and she lifted her shoes more quickly.

As Ineli"s back receded in the distance, Theresia said bitterly,

"Well, what kind of manners are those? Princess, please do not lose your temper over it."

"Theresia is certainly uncompromising."

Even as she spoke, Vileena had a bad premonition. Since being taken hostage by Zaat Quark, princess Ineli was supposed to have remained secluded in her own room. Although Vileena had been worried about her health, upon seeing the imperial princess who had now suddenly come to Apta, rather than feeling relieved, Vileena remembered her strange coldness.

At about that time, the various commanding officers that Orba had personally selected had gathered the soldiers that they themselves had then chosen and had brought them to the Air Carrier landing port where, following Gouwen"s instructions, they stood in orderly rows.

Directly before them, Orba had called over Gouwen and the mask-wearing Kain and, under the pretence of giving them encouragements, he was speaking to them in a low voice.

"Kain, just do whatever Gouwen tells you too. If upon seeing this ship Ende doesn"t retreat, join up with the garrison at Zaim. Do not use the ship to attack. There are a few escort ships, you can send those out."

"U-understood."

Noticing that the departure was imminent, Vileena ran towards them with quick, light steps. The one she approached wasn"t Orba but "Kain pretending to be Orba".

"Orba, may the fortunes of war be with you. I earnestly entrust Garbera to you."

"Ha, ha haaa..."

Of course, since it was Kain, who had never met the princess, he was strangely over-formal. At his response, Vileena"s eyebrows gathered in a slight frown.

"That reminds me, has the prince had the chance to return the medal to you?"

"D-do I have the medal? I-I wonder...."

Kain fumbled about in confusion. He had never heard about any of this and felt like cursing Orba. Since the person in question didn"t appear to feel like sending out a life-boat for him, he could only stare fixedly at the real ship.

At this, Shique came to his rescue.

"But of course, princess. It is a treasured lucky charm that saved his life on the occasion of the gladiatorial games. Isn"t that right, Orba?"

"Ah, aah, right. That"s right."

"So I was able to meet him again."

A new calamity stepped up. As if to ignore Vileena, Mephius" Imperial Princess Ineli smiled at the swordsman in the iron mask. On the receiving end of a sweet smile that in no way befitted her age, Kain was at a loss what to do.

But it seemed that Ineli would not detain "Orba" for long.

"Mephius" new Clovis, I have great expectations for your military achievements." After giving a ladylike curtsy, she fleetingly raised her eyes towards the tiger mask in an imploring glance. "Someday, let us meet to talk in a more leisurely manner."

Having said that, and as though to indicate that she had nothing further to do there, she and her maids left the air carrier"s landing port. Vileena, Shique and the others left behind involuntarily exchanged glances.

Chills he couldn"t understand shook Kain"s shoulders and made him shiver.

"Right, time to go!" Gouwen shouted.

A few moments later, they had boarded the cruiser and soon after that, as the eight ether-filled engines solemnly hummed, it rose from the landing port.

Unlike yesterday, today there was not a single cloud in the sky.

It was so blue that it felt like looking up at it stung Orba"s eyes a little.

After overseeing the departure of the reinforcements, Gil Mephius secluded himself in his room. It was the same as during his first campaign. In order to defeat Ryucown in Zaim, he had for a while refused to see anyone.

It seems he has a strange const.i.tution: even though he is strong in battle, after it is over, his fever dies down and he is left prostrate, people gossiped.

Since of course the way the drunken prince had stubbornly pointed a sword at general Oubary was also gossiped about, it was likely that his fiancée Vileena, or even Oubary himself, had given him a severe scolding, so he was probably sulking too. Speculation flew around both inside and out of the fortress.

"He is quick-witted but it looks like there is also a part of him which is very fragile."

"That person is still a child."

There were also other points of view. It was probably normal that people thought up all sorts of reasons to explain the difference between the prince who was called a fool and the prince as he was now.

Be that as it may, and even if he was just a child, Gil was above all else the lord of Apta castle and his secluding himself in his room caused trouble for a great many people.

Before long, Esmena Bazgan would arrive as an envoy for peace. But when Shique once asked what to do about the reception for her, all he said – and through the closed door at that – was: "I"ll leave it to you."

Of course, he didn"t meet with Ineli, who had travelled all the way from Solon, either. Since he didn"t even come out at mealtimes, Ineli had only once seen the prince and that was when she had first arrived at Apta.

Ineli"s personality was such that she could never be satisfied if she wasn"t constantly the centre of attention. Naturally, she was angry. Her company of maids, who knew her temperament well, talked as though they might soon be returning, yet Ineli was displaying an unusual amount of fort.i.tude and had already spent approximately two days in this boring Apta.

Above all, seeing that princess Vileena - who would normally have been the first to criticise such behaviour on the prince"s part - seemed instead to be perplexed, far from being bored, Ineli felt her mood brighten.

Naturally, Ineli hadn"t only come to Apta to give her brother a surprise. She had a reason for wanting to come here at all cost.

It was also related to her face-to-face meeting with Fedom Aulin in which she had rattled him. However, it wasn"t simply to cause a scandal that she had said that the prince might be an impostor. It was a matter that stimulated her curiosity in its own right. However, it certainly wouldn"t have been enough by itself for her to go out of her way to visit Apta.

Rather than prince Gil, Ileni"s objective was,

Vileena Owell.

Whenever that name crossed to her mind, her usually rose-like smile turned as dangerous as the tip of a thorn. While it could be said that she had disliked her from the start, the reason why her hatred had grown so much was the drama of Zaat Quark"s rebellion.

Ineli was taken hostage by Zaat and almost carried out of Solon by ship. And then, Vileena, piloting an airship, and Ineli"s brother Gil, who was riding that ship, had quickly come after them.

Ineli couldn"t forgive. Not Zaat, who had betrayed his country and who had, moreover, used her as a shield when he was cornered. No. The one thing above all others that Ineli could never forgive was that she had been seen by Princess Vileena to be bawling her eyes out with a gun shoved into her mouth, and that she had been saved by Vileena – and Gil"s – intervention.

Ineli Mephius had locked herself away within Solon palace. After closing the door to her room, she hadn"t let anyone in and had spent her days seeing almost no one. The people around her talked about how scary it must have been and how pitiable she was, however for Ineli, rather than fear, it was her injured pride and the thought that she had broken down that made her tremble.

Furthermore, if she took a step out of her room, she didn"t know if she wouldn"t run into the princess somewhere. And in that case, what kind of expression should she wear in front of the princess, what kind of things should she talk about with the princess?

Thank you for back then.

But did she want to thank her?

To be able to pilot that airship through enemy fire must have taken a lot of courage.

Would praising her in that way sound alright?

As she remained locked away, Ineli"s heart sank into gloom. She was seized with the illusion that even the air that couldn"t speak was sneering at her. Pride was Ineli"s source of life. As long as someone praised her, as long as someone yearned for her, as long as someone offered her a love that asked for nothing in return, Ineli"s path would continue to be bathed in light.

No matter what it takes.

At some point, the darkness that couldn"t speak stopped mocking her, and the voice of Ineli"s own heart whispered in its place.

No matter what it takes, I won"t let Vileena stay above me.

Any kind of stage would do. She would prove that she surpa.s.sed Vileena – prove it to other people, but more importantly to satisfy herself – and as long as there was one stage on which she could prove it, it would do. Otherwise, she would no longer be able to conduct herself like Ineli Mephius. She would no longer be able to maintain the mask of the imperial princess that girls of her age admired.

And so, Ineli had applied to go to Apta. However, if it had just been a question of her complex, she might not have behaved so actively. It was strange to say but she had wondered for some time now if her brother Gil might not be an imposter. In other words, it was when her complex and her suspicions first came together that Ineli decided that it would be good to go to Apta.

Brother has changed too completely.

Her brother Gil had held in check the rebellion in Solon. If it had only been that one fact, one could have thought that just like his first campaign at Zaim Fortress and in order to promote the crown prince, the va.s.sals had somehow done the work and then announced that Gil"s feats had surpa.s.sed all expectations. However, Ineli had been watching carefully.

The Gil who had fearlessly confronted Zaat as the latter held a gun in hand was definitely a different person from the step-brother she knew. Even though their features were exactly the same. And then, when he had moreover been shot, her step-brother had faced Zaat and crushed his ambitions with his own hands.

That is not Gil Mephius.

As the days followed one after another, doubts turned into conviction. Who was he, where was the real Gil Mephius, and other such questions, she didn"t know. But if Gil had truly been replaced, then absolutely no one other than her should reveal the secret.

Indeed, to say nothing of Gil"s fiancée Vileena, she would accomplish what not even the chief va.s.sals in Solon had been able to do. And when that day came, Ineli Mephius would surely be praised as a heroine.

"What seems to be the matter, Princess?"

Elsewhere, Vileena Owell was standing at a window looking out when her shoulders shivered a little.

"I thought I felt a chill."

"Oh dear. If you catch an illness from a place you are not used to, it could linger. Resting at once is..."

"No, don"t worry." As she shook her head, she crossed the room. "I"m going out for a bit."

No sooner had she spoken than she vigorously flew out. Theresia"s cry of "Please wait!" didn"t reach her in time.

By hiding behind every pillar in the corridor, Vileena outmanoeuvred Theresia. From time to time, the princess tended to want to go out alone without any attendants or bodyguards. Even at Garbera"s royal court, dramatic chases involving Theresia and a group of maids were a common occurrence. Since arriving at Apta and in case of an "emergency", Vileena had crammed into her head the map of the inside of the fortress.

About ten minutes later, she turned her steps towards a place that was entirely unbecoming for a princess.

Thump, thump, thump; each time the dragons" galloping sounded, dust was tossed up and fluttered in the wind. In the open s.p.a.ce beyond the fence, the dragoons" training was being carried out. From the dragon pen adjacent to that open s.p.a.ce wafted the creatures" fishy stench. Let alone royalty, it was the kind of place that commoners would not willingly approach.

However on the other side of the fence was the figure of a slender woman. She was straddling a Tengo, a small-sized dragon suitable for riding, and was galloping at the front of a group of soldiers all riding the same breed of dragon. It looked like she was being chased by the uncouth men but in fact, she – Hou Ran – was instructing them.

That being said, she barely said a word. She went in silence as much as to say that she was only concerned with letting the dragons fly.

Oh, Vileena was unintentionally fascinated. So as to reduce the wind resistance even by a little, and also to avoid being shaken off by the dragons, the men riding the Tengo lay flat against their backs, whereas Hou Ran sat easily and comfortably, her posture leaning slightly forward. However, she was faster than anyone. The Tengo"s feet kicked the ground as it raced forward, slicing through the wind. The circular motion when it turned was also light and sleek. As for the soldiers desperately trying to follow, whenever Ran"s dragon drew a curve, they were almost shaken off left and right.

"Utter s.h.i.t!"

A voice rang out, rebuking the men. It wasn"t Ran"s. Looking towards it, a woman was leaning against the fence, watching the practice. That fat shape belonged to Krau. Originally, she had been a female slave serving Zaj Haman, a wealthy merchant in Birac. Currently she was employed by prince Gil, who had purchased her skill at piloting air carriers.

She had apparently bought apple jam at the morning market and was shovelling a hard biscuit lavishly smeared with it into her mouth. As Vileena approached her, with admirable speed she quickly hid the bag of food behind her back.

"M-Madam. This definitely isn"t me being idle. The good people of Apta are taking care of maintenance on the air carriers, and of cleaning them inside too, er, everyone is doing it with good will, er, yes."

Of course, what Vileena didn"t know was that every night, Krau would catch hold of soldiers and craftsmen and gamble at cards. When they had been fleeced from top to bottom, she would exempt them from paying a part of the money they had lost, but in exchange they would be made to check and clean the ships under Klau"s instructions.

"I am not yet the Madam. You don"t have to be so panicked."

"Then you won"t tell the prince?"

Jam smeared around her mouth as she implored with upturned eyes, Krau"s face was enough to induce unintentional laughter. However, Vileena deliberately kept a straight face and nodded.

"Of course not. More importantly, Krau, have you thought about our earlier conversation?"

"That earlier conversation, you mean..."

"The one about air carriers. I asked you if you would teach me how to manoeuvre those ships."

"Hmm", Krau crooked her thick neck. "Ah, no, of course I personally don"t mind at all but what does your husband say about it? You never know when something might happen, and if it did, the ships need to be able to fly at any time, so we have to use ether sparingly."

While her reason for quibbling was plausible, "This is annoying" was written clearly on her face. Vileena felt that she should be offended but it was hard to hate someone whose face expressed things so clearly.

"Right. At ease!"

They heard Hou Ran"s sharp voice. Ignoring the soldiers who had been shaken about by dragons that were several times harder to handle than horses and who were completely exhausted by their merciless teacher"s strict coaching, Hou Ran"s expression changed completely as she started looking after the dragons.

For some reason, Vileena"s expression became tense. She hadn"t originally come here to once again entreat Krau to teach how to steer a sky ship. Vileena wasn"t shy around strangers but this would be the first time that she had a face-to-face talk with Hou Ran. She was someone who was hard to grasp. Even more so than that prince.

Ha! Spurring on her heart that had become timid, Vileena went over to where Hou Ran was.

"Hou-san."

""Ran" is fine."

Ran spoke without turning around. She gave the dragons their feed, gently stroking the Tengos" necks.

Having had the wind taken out of her sails, with an "Hum, er..." and her head inclined, Vileena hesitated a little.

"What?"

She demanded. As she approached, Vileena couldn"t help but get the impression of a different kind of beauty from the elegance and refined demeanour that was so highly praised at Court. More than anything, her eyes that were reminiscent of a clear lake were what spontaneously captured Vileena"s attention.

"W-well. I have something I want to talk about with you."

"With me."

Her voice was monotone, making it impossible to guess at her innermost thoughts. Somehow still undeterred, Vileena continued,

"Yes. The prince and you are close - or rather, it looks like you share a trusting relationship."

"The prince", Ran repeated in a mutter then nodded with conviction. "Ah, well, it wouldn"t be strange if that"s what it looks like."

"Wa, Wait, wait!" Krau, who had been listening – half curious, half nervous – to the exchange between the two, couldn"t take it anymore and b.u.t.ted in, "Ran, watch how you talk. This is the princess of Garbera! The one who will become the prince"s bride. Be a little...."

"It doesn"t matter, Krau." Vileena stopped her. "... That prince is currently staying in his room. Does he often do this kind of thing? That is, after all, I always get irritated at the prince"s behaviour, I get angry, or I scold him immediately, but every time, the prince brings about an outcome that leaves me astounded. Even if other people can"t see it, he is always thinking about something. At the same time, I have come to believe that he is always suffering and worrying alone."

"......"

"But this time... I have the feeling that it"s different from usual. And while it is embarra.s.sing, I do not understand. So I thought that you who are close to the prince might be able to understand what is going on this time."

For a short while, Ran wordlessly continued to tend to the dragons. Krau, who was looking on, felt nervous as the silence dragged on.

"He isn"t a child anymore." Ran said with her back still turned. "If there are things he thinks he needs to do, he will do them. Maybe at the moment, he doesn"t think there is anything."

"But..."

The war with Taúlia was settled for the time being, reinforcements had been sent to Garbera; this time it was with Ende and perhaps even his own country of Mephius that there might be strife. In such a situation as the current one, it was impossible that there was nothing that needed to be done.

Perhaps realising Vileena"s implied meaning, Ran turned her head – and only her head – towards her.

"If you think it"s so strange, you should barge in uninvited and ask him directly."

"... If I do that, then I"ll be the one who has failed. There are many ways to understand another person."

"If you can"t ask the person himself then you had best leave well alone."

Even Vileena felt a little angry at her blunt way of speaking.

"Do you seriously think that way?"

"I don"t know what she means by "seriously"."

"This she, to whom do you refer?"

Vileena grimly narrowed her eyes, finally pushed too far. She had shown calm and tolerance in her way of speaking, but it went without saying that the t.i.tle of Third Princess of Garbera wasn"t something cheap to be looked down upon to that extent. Because it wasn"t a problem that only concerned her.

Ran on the other hand was smiling faintly, and as for the dragon that she was stroking with her hand, one could only wonder what it was feeling as it had been ducking its head as though terrified for some time now.

Just as Krau, who could feel the explosive atmosphere, once again held her breath in nervous suspense, a dignified shadow approached.

"Oh my. Am I interrupting, I wonder?"

The one who come into view was another girl - Ineli Mephius.

"Your Imperial Highness."

Vileena was unable to conceal her surprise. In this kind of place, to meet this kind of opponent was something she had surely not expected. As for Ineli, though she herself had expressly gone there, she openly displayed her discomfort at being near the dust and the dragons" stench. Covering her nose with her hand:

"Older Sister, may I speak with you a while?"

She took princess Vileena away from the dragon pen to somewhere more private. Probably because she had already lost interest, Hou Ran allowed the training to resume in the open grounds.

Once the two of them were alone, Vileena felt a little tense for different reasons than just before. Be it that time of the party for Mephius" Founding Festival, or at the time of Zaat"s rebellion, or of course now that the two of them were alone, there was something similar.

She seems to be doing surprisingly well.

Vileena naturally did not have any illusions about the day Ineli descended upon Apta or on the meaning of the smile she was turning her way. She had had unconcealed hostility directed towards herself. The Ineli who now confronted her was thoroughly the same as before, but when it came down to it, she didn"t know what kind of fight she would start this time.

Vileena mentally braced herself, however, Ineli said something unexpected.

"It would seem that Taúlia"s princess, Lady Esmena Bazgan, will be arriving the day after tomorrow. With Brother in that state, he won"t have the heart to receive her properly. Are you not also worried about it, Princess?"

"Y-yes."

"Of course, one cannot say His Imperial Highness the Crown Prince will be barricade himself against Lady Esmena the whole time. In addition, you, Older Sister, do not have any false pride, so..."

"So?"

"Would you entrust the reception to Ineli?"

Not for one moment could Vileena guess the real intentions behind this smilingly made request.

After that, Ineli put on such a vigorous display of work that it seemed hard to believe that she had secluded herself in Solon.

As the bombed-out Great Hall couldn"t be used, she was quick to decide to that the party would be held in the barracks" ground floor hall and briskly gave the craftsmen instructions about the elegant decorations they were to start working on. From the castle, she had them bring the furnishings that had remained unscathed: ottomans, tables and such, as well as paintings and twilled cloth; then with an impeccable sense of balance, she rearranged them.

She chose the menu for the meals. Furthermore, she personally went to the wine cellars and, after carefully listening to the opinion of a person who was knowledgeable about the preferences of those from the Western regions, she selected several varieties of wine. As though suddenly thinking about it, she summoned the second-in-command of the Imperial Guards, Shique.

"I would like to have a sword dance performed in front of our guests from Taúlia. Would you be so kind as to select a number of skilled swordsmen", she ordered him.

In response to the sudden summons, Shique had merely adopted a respectful posture, but at this he abruptly scrutinised her face.

"You will also take part in the sword dance. It will be good if you put on a show as it will please our guests. I leave it to you."

It was an order that left no room for agreeing or disagreeing. The swordfight-loving Ineli had originally come to know of Shique during his time as a gladiator.

After that, Ineli gave orders to the civil servants and also to the townspeople to prepare for the reception.

Vileena could only watch as the preparations steadily advanced. Even though she was skilful at handling guns and airships, she was extremely poor in matters such as these. Above all else, Vileena was bad with things such as feasts or parties, and she was inexperienced at performing the host"s duty of warmly welcoming everyone.

And so, since being the only one with nothing to do in the midst of busy surroundings was unbearable to her nature, she asked Ineli if there was anything she could do to help.

"Didn"t you promise that you would entrust this to me?" Ineli asked in a loud voice to which she added a smile too alluring to fit her age.

"Older sister, it is alright for you to simply to be present when Lady Esmena is here. All the same, as the betrothed to the lord of this castle, it might also cause the other party to feel suspicious if the two of you don"t appear together. It seems that Esmena Bazgan has never set a single out of Taúlia before. I am sure she would enjoy it if you were to tell her amusing stories about Garbera."

"A-amusing stories?"

After which, in her room, Vileena found herself in a bind, her head filled with worries about this and that. The princess had never considered something like whether or not she herself had a sense of humour. Theresia was unable to just watch and remain indifferent.

"Princess. An "amusing story" does not have to be a story at which you hold your sides with laughter. It"s quite alright if you talk about perfectly normal things. After all, they should be able to find enjoyment in a conversation that is simply about foreign cultures and manners."

However even with this advice, Vileena was incapable of doing things negligently and once she had convinced herself of that something had to be done in a certain way, she wasn"t readily going to change that belief. With so many unfamiliar things around her, Theresia was worried that at any moment, she might have a spurt of mental growth so intense that she might develop a fever and collapse.

And like that, time pa.s.sed in the blink of an eye until very little remained before Esmena"s arrival.

During this time, prince Gil Mephius never once left his own room, and while Shique and the other Imperial Guards were worried about it, they could only practice the sword dance as they had been ordered to by Ineli.

Amidst all this turmoil, Oubary Bilan was the only one whose att.i.tude was unconcerned. When an enemy wasn"t threatening to break through the border but was instead warmly welcomed, there was another little that a man who, like him, relied on military arts could do. From morning onwards, he devoted himself to just drinking.

Whenever Oubary got drunk, those of his subordinates who were in attendance thought it was strange how he would stroke the wound on his cheek, saying "It hurts".

Other than the imperial prince, there was one other thing that Oubary couldn"t stomach. The reinforcements for Garbera.

When Oubary first heard that the prince was organising them, he was in two minds about it. He still had a lingering affection for Garbera. As Noue Salzantes valued him more highly than his homeland of Mephius did, he had originally requested his help in making use of Zaat"s plan. But now that the plan for Solon had failed and that he himself had also been sent as reinforcement, he felt like this time he would like to be the one to offer Noue a favour and put him in his debt.

However, he was well aware that his own country had no intention of sending reinforcements to Garbera. Because he had incurred the emperor"s displeasure by disappearing at the time of Zaat"s rebellion, the fact was that he wanted to avoid provoking Guhl Mephius" temper any further.

Thus...o...b..ry, conflicted because of this dilemma, was irritated by his current circ.u.mstances of having spare time on his hands.

"I"m not the kind of man made to finish as a mere general!"

As...o...b..ry repeated that as he stroked the wound on his cheek, the soldiers from the Black Armoured Division who kept him company felt deeply uncomfortable.

While the preparations in Apta were busily underway, Esmena Bazgan had crossed the border as soon as everything had finally been ready. As it was the first time she rode an air carrier, she admired every single part of the scenery below and her eyes shone like a little girl"s.

"Air carriers are made from dragon fossils, aren"t they?"

"Yes. The frame is made using metal refined from fossils. The backbone of maritime vessels are called "keels", which is written with the characters for "dragon" and "skeleton", but these here are literally dragon bones."

"Then, the fact that it can fly, is it because the dragons" power still dwells in their bones that have been turned into fossils?"

"Ah, no", the ship"s captain, who had been a.s.signed the role of giving explanations, waved his hand for emphasis. "That it can fly in the sky is because it repulses the earth"s magnetic field thanks to ether. The metal obtained from refining dragon bones is called dragonstone and is very light, which makes it extremely convenient to use for ships or airships."

On board the ship, Esmena looked around here, there and everywhere, latching on to anyone without a care, and asked them every detail about each new thing one by one. Not a single one of the people who dealt with her wore a troubled expression. It was the princess who was rumoured to be plagued with strange nightmares. It was touching to see that in Esmena"s emaciated face that always wore an air of affliction, her eyes now sparkled with curiosity and liveliness.

The distance between Taúlia and Apta when travelling on a mid-sized air cruiser was no more than half a day"s travel however. Before Esmena"s curiosity about the sky could be satisfied, the airships welcoming them to Apta appeared to guide the ship.

When Esmena Bazgan alighted from the landing port, a large number of people were gathered in the open s.p.a.ce beneath her. Hangings were raised in welcome and as the people of Apta waved their hands, Esmena shyly waved back.

The women of Taúlia exposed their skin as little as possible. From her head, she was covered with a scarf and the long train of the cloth wrapped around her entire body dragged as she walked. Many of the Mephians thought her figure exotic and here and there, sighs of admiration were heard from the crowd. Although for many years they had been bitter enemies – historically, Apta in particular had sustained many a.s.saults from Taúlia – that on this occasion the guest was a young woman helped calm national sentiment.

While feeling nervous at being stared at as though about to be devoured, Esmena didn"t forget to fleetingly observe the streets of the castle town. Everything her eyes now alighted on was new and dazzling. Even though it wasn"t separated from Taúlia by any great distance, when she thought of a foreign country, she felt like even the indigo blue sky at dusk looked different from the one in her native land.

"Oh. Although I"d heard that the people of Mephius, all of them, were forced to live like slaves to the emperor, everyone here seems to be happy."

"P-Princess", next to her Natokk, the officer serving as escort, was shaken by a violent fit of coughing. "Please don"t say something like that in front of the Mephian n.o.bles."

"I am not wrong. n.o.body taught me the truth."

Because the nineteen-year old Esmena was in some respects sophisticated, her smile was unclouded. The Taúlian soldiers attributed her flushed cheeks and misty eyes to her excitement at being in a foreign country for the first time, but that wasn"t the whole reason.

Naturally, the imperial prince Gil Mephius was in Apta. From some reason, when she thought about that youth, Esmena was unable to calm down. Her heartbeat quickened, and once he appeared in her mind, his figure did not readily disappear from it. Even though she had only met him once in person, that figure had come to mind so many times after she went to bed and prevented her from sleeping.

Esmena"s steps were light as she went along the way and her heart was exhilarated.

"You must be tired after your long journey, Lady Esmena. We, the subjects of Emperor Guhl Mephius, welcome you all."

It was not the crown prince who bowed to them in greeting at the entrance of the hall but a girl whom Esmena saw for the first time. She was introduced as Mephius" princess, Ineli Mephius, and Esmena hurriedly returned her greetings. As Ineli guided the guests into the hall, she said: "We are grateful to you for the pains you took in coming here but my brother and the lord of Apta, Gil Mephius, is not well and is currently bedridden."

"Oh dear," Esmena"s complexion was observed to cloud over with regret. "Is it quite bad?"

"The illness itself is no great thing. He is merely worried about transmitting it to our guests. Gil Mephius" message to you is that even though he isn"t present, Princess, please enjoy yourself at your leisure." Ineli"s tone never faltered. "If by good luck he should be feeling better tomorrow, he will pay you a visit to greet you properly, princess."

After which, Esmena was treated to a banquet held in the hall until she was quite worn out. The hurriedly prepared food and drink were ideal, and the military men from Taúlia, starting with Natokk, were amazed at the sword dance performed by Shique and his companions. After all, even if they were called Imperial Guards, they were former gladiators. Because they had a great deal of experience with taking part in performances within the arena, they crossed sword with such splendid timing that it seemed unbelievable that they had trained for it only for a day or two.

As Esmena watched half in fear, half in curiosity while the company of men wielded swords to the rhythm of a drum, Ineli smiled at her,

"As this is the best we can do in this border fortress, you must think more than ever that we of Mephius are unrefined. That this all the hospitality we can offer to a princess from Taúlia makes me feel quite ashamed."

"Not at all. I cannot thank you enough for the amazement you have given us, there isn"t a single thing to be ashamed of. As for myself, it is my first time being on Mephian soil and it is so enjoyable that I feel like I will be carried away with all this merrymaking, so if in my ignorance I should do something to cause offence, please do not hold it against me."

Although Esmena had at first regretted the prince"s absence, she soon started to have fun chatting with Ineli. The Mephian princess truly had a wealth of topics of conversation and knew of the ancient customs and history of Taúlia. When they talked about what they both liked, she gave the names of all the famous poets from the various Tauran provinces then she and Esmena recited verses they had memorised. Sitting with them was Vileena Owell, who after giving her greetings had remained almost entirely silent.

"Elder sister, which do you know?"

Even though Ineli suddenly asked her that, the princess hardly even knew the poets of her own native country of Garbera. "Er." She could only lower her eyes, feeling extremely bitter about her own lack of culture.

Wanting to take Vileena into consideration, Esmena smiled and brought up a new topic of conversation,

"I would very much like to hear about Garbera also."

Of course, she had mixed feelings towards the girl who would become Gil"s lawful wife. However as Esmena was naturally not so foolish as to let those emotions show, not even her rival Vileena had any margin to grasp them.

With nervous look on her face, Vileena brought out the "interesting stories" she had prepared for the occasion. As the fourteen-year-old princess was unused to entertaining, she was also unused to the art of storytelling, and although it could have been charming, as she was extremely ill at ease, it was painful for the onlookers. Above all else, as she told her stories exactly as she had prepared them, her nervousness was transmitted to those around her, which was a bigger problem than the question of having a sense of humour.

From the moment she sensed the atmosphere around her, she snapped her mouth shut and barely opened it again.

On Ineli and Esmena"s side of things, the more time they pa.s.sed together, the closer they became.

"Tomorrow if the weather is fine, how about going down the river Yunos. Of course, I would go with you too."

"Yes, I look forward to it."

Even though there was no clear delineation, the river Yunos had always served as the border between Mephius and Taúlia. That the two princesses should have fun together by riding on the same boat was certainly significant - which is to say that Esmena cheerfully agreed to Ineli"s implicit offer. For Esmena, who had few friends of her own age, this would also be a new experience.

Eventually the hour grew late and Esmena was guided to the guest drawing room. Seeing them off with a small bow, Ineli was conscious of Vileena"s gaze at her back. As for her, this was her greatest victory. There was no doubt that she had accomplished what the Garberan princess could not. Not only that, but it was hugely significant that a princess from Mephius, which was often denigrated as boorish and rustic, had triumphed in this sphere over a princess from Garbera, the country of knights that happened to be known for its refined culture.

Vileena would certainly be distraught at her own powerlessness, Ineli thought as she smugly turned around.

And was surprised to find Vileena closer than she had expected.

"I was impressed."

"Eh?"

"There are many kinds of hardships. For me it would have been impossible to entertain lady Esmena without having her doubt me. I was saved thanks to lady Ineli being here."

"Is, is that so..."

While Ineli was strangely overawed, Garbera"s princess nodded to herself a few times. She caught hold of her hand,

"By joining forces, we can overcome this difficulty."

In truth, Vileena was impressed from the bottom of her heart. Ineli felt somewhat embarra.s.sed at having picked a quarrel and put herself on her guard this time.

"Eh? Er, indeed."

Facing her, Ineli could barely maintain a smile.

What is this?

In her heart, she was of course astonished, and also disgusted. Vilena should have long since understood that she had tried to humiliate her at the time of the dance at the Founding Festival. They had exchanged hostile gazes. That they had been exactly like military commanders taking note of each other as they crossed swords had fired her determination.

Hmph,

Ineli inwardly felt contempt anew. This was because mentally she once more carried concealed a sense of superiority towards Vileena.

It"s because you believe that the reinforcements will reach Garbera that you can look so carefree.

In other words, neither Gil nor the princess knew yet that sending reinforcements to the princess" native country was tantamount to defying the emperor. In all likelihood, those especially sent reinforcements would be prevented from travelling. Once they found out that Ineli had deliberately failed to disclose the emperor"s message to her brother, she would watch as, in front of her very eyes, they tasted despair and the knowledge that their efforts had been vain.

Honestly, how ridiculously naive. Even if you"re good at handling an airship, you know nothing about something like a battle between women.

Her feeling of satisfaction at her victory had had a little cold water poured over it, however for now at least she had regained her sense of self-importance. After this was...,

"Brother, isn"t it?"

Ineli stealthily muttered in a low voice.