Chapter 60

Chapter 60

“I see. I’ll need to see His Majesty soon myself. Does Miss Highen know what kind of person the Emperor of Luision is?”

“No, not really. I’ve just… heard he’s a bit of a mischievous sort.”

“Haha. I’ve heard that too. They say he’s politically adept but has an unusual streak.”

He said it with a rounded smile, then stroked his chin as if thinking.

“Come to think of it, I saw the Imperial garden beautifully arranged on my way here. But why are there so many roses planted? I was under the impression that roses aren’t the emblem flower of the Luision Imperial House.”

“Ah, I heard it’s because the Empress loves roses. They say the Emperor prepared the garden as a gift for Her Majesty when they married.”

“Is that so? A wonderful story.”

He met my gaze immediately, his composed expression settling squarely in my field of view. For a moment I half-expected to see that familiar hero reflected in his blue eyes.

“Laura.”

Just then, someone called my name. I turned to find the young marquis had already stepped up close behind me.

“If it isn’t Marquis Krentarion. It’s been a while.”

He stepped past me and addressed Sir Dylan, whose gaze shifted to him in turn.

“Yes, it has. Good to see you again, Lord Karsen.”

“I believe the last time was when I went to Krentis the year before last… But do you know Lady Highen?”

“Yes, we exchanged greetings just now. There was even a little impromptu scene before that.”

Sir Dylan added with a faint smile. The young marquis looked at him in puzzlement at the mention of an “impromptu scene” with no context. His expression seemed to invite an explanation, but Sir Dylan only deepened his smile with a slight bow of his head.

“Now that your company’s arrived, I’ll take my leave. Until we meet again.”

With that, he stepped away. Sir Dylan’s back vanished into the crowd in an instant.

“How do you know him?”

The young marquis threw a glance toward where he’d disappeared and asked me.

“When I went to Krentis with the Duke, we met for the first time at a banquet.”

“And what was that about an impromptu scene?”

“Actually, a few young ladies were picking a quarrel with me just a moment ago. Marquis Krentarion sort of… helped me out with something like an impromptu scene.”

“That happened? Are you all right, Laura?”

“Yes, it was nothing. Really.”

“…Well, that’s a relief.”

He looked back at me, his voice low. Then, with a small sigh, he spoke again.

“…But he’s sharp, as expected. Lord Krentarion. A bit cunning too…”

“Huh?”

I uttered a short question and stared at him, wondering what he meant. The young marquis met my gaze.

“He’s the type who likes to create a debt, big or small, with the other party.”

“…”

“So it seems he made sure to mention that he helped Laura. He must have realized I’d be grateful for anything involving her.”

A hint of laughter laced the young marquis’s voice like a light joke. But I couldn’t bring myself to laugh along. As I just stood there with my mouth half-open, he quickly changed the subject as if it were nothing.

“Oh, and Illiaje might be a bit late. His Majesty has him cornered. Guess they have a lot to talk about.”

“…I see. Will he be very late, then?”

“Probably. Once His Majesty grabs hold of you, things definitely drag on.”

“Looks like we’ll have quite a wait.”

“Hmm… no. Laura. Actually, how about we go find the imperial family’s genealogy before the banquet really gets underway? Just the two of us. The Imperial Library has restricted hours for anyone outside the imperial house itself, so I think we should hurry.”

“Ah… I see.”

Restricted hours. That was a problem. Coming all this way, I wanted to take something back, at least.

“Alright. Let’s do that, then.”

We left the banquet hall and walked along the corridor. As vast as the Imperial Castle was, the corridor stretched long and wide in kind. At one corner of it, I spotted something made of gold. Looking closer, it was a dragon — a sculpted ornament of the golden dragon that symbolized Luision.

Impressive…

I glanced at it, then turned my gaze forward. There, a step ahead, the young marquis caught my eye.

Suddenly, the Duke’s words from the carriage surfaced in my mind. That the founding myth of Luision might be a lie…

Does the young marquis know about that, too?

“Young marquis. Do you believe in our nation’s founding myth?”

I stepped up and walked close beside him, asking.

“Well… a myth is a myth. It can’t be without falsehood or exaggeration.”

He replied.

“Then what about the dragon’s bloodline continuing in the imperial house? Is that a lie?”

“That’s the story Illiaje used to tell when we were kids, about the imperial family and the dragon. But I don’t think it’s entirely false.”

“Why?”

“Because of the historical records. Luision made enormous progress in its early founding years — in a very short time. That wouldn’t make sense without some massive intervention. Whether it was a dragon, or something symbolized by a dragon, I think there was definitely something.”

“Something symbolized by a dragon… That could be.”

“Yes. I believe so, for now. But of course, I didn’t live back then, so I can’t know for sure. It’s not like I can peek into the past… Ah. We’re here. Right here.”

He stopped and pointed at a door set into the corridor wall. We’d finally arrived at the library, it seemed.

Following the young marquis inside, I found a spacious area unfolding before me. I’d expected it, but the scale of the Imperial Library was breathtaking — as if it had gathered every book in the world.

We went straight to the bookshelf where the imperial genealogy should be. Then we pulled out a heavy tome stamped with a dragon emblem.

“This is way thicker than I thought.”

“It’s practically the imperial house’s history. Still, it’s well-organized, so we should be able to find what we need quickly.”

As he’d said, it didn’t take long to narrow down the candidates for the imperial princess. There weren’t that many princesses recorded with Shion’s combination of golden hair and golden eyes.

About twenty in total—but after excluding those who’d died too young and those whose names didn’t contain ‘Shion,’ only five remained.

“The rest we can filter out through the imperial portraits. The room where they’re kept is in the innermost part of the Imperial Palace. Only members of the imperial house are allowed access, aside from the servant who manages it—but as I mentioned before, if we ask the Second Imperial Prince, he’ll probably let us in.”

“Wow. We’ll be able to find it faster than I thought. Honestly, I expected we’d have to be moving frantically through the entire banquet.”

“Indeed. Luckily, there aren’t many imperial princesses who have both golden hair and golden eyes.”

The young marquis answered as he wrote down the names of the five princesses on a piece of paper. Then he folded it a couple of times and tucked it into the pocket of his uniform.

“Shall we head out, then? The banquet must be in full swing by now.”

And so we returned to the banquet hall, threading along the edge of the floor, pushing deeper into the crowd of revelers. Then, at a distance, I spotted him standing alone — the duke. Tall as he was, he cut an unmistakable figure even among the throng.

“Your Grace.”

I called out to him and scurried over—but pulled up short just two steps away. Standing beside him was someone rather unusual. Despite this not being a masquerade ball, he was wearing a mask. And not just any mask—it was ornate and even rather pretty.

“You must be the Duke’s secretary!”

He turned to look at me, then spoke. And with that, he tore off his mask.

Whoa. He’s incredibly handsome!

The face that emerged from beneath the mask was striking, with sharp, defined features—so beautiful it outshone even the ornate mask itself.

Wait, who is he?

Looking back, he hadn’t been addressing the duke with any honorific. Come to think of it, there weren’t many people in this country who could get away with that.

Which meant…

“Laura, that’s His Majesty the Emperor.”

Just then, the young marquis stepped up behind me and whispered low.

Right. That left only the imperial family!

“Y-Your Majesty, I greet the Emperor.”

I whipped around and bowed hastily.

“That’s enough. Enough. I’m wearing this mask to keep my identity hidden, you know.”

He waved one hand dismissively while pressing the mask back into place with the other.

For a moment, I caught myself thinking, ‘Isn’t that far too conspicuous for someone trying to stay incognito?’ But I held my tongue. In any case, His Majesty was known as an eccentric. And now that I’d seen him in person, I had to admit the reputation fit.

“Your Majesty, do you know where Prince Jeyshion is? I’d like to pay my respects, but I can’t seem to find him.”

The young marquis cut in abruptly, asking him.

“Well. That child is quite lively, isn’t she? She’s probably trotting around here and there with her friends.”

The Emperor answered.

“But you—how did you end up in the ducal house?”

Then he turned to look at me.

“I heard around last winter that the ducal house was hiring, so I applied.”

“Is that so? Is the Duke a good employer? And how many hours a day does that friend of yours actually work?”

“Ah. Well….”

Questions were spilling out at me without warning. But I couldn’t answer easily. And why would I be able to? He was His Majesty the Emperor, after all. Every single word I chose, every nuance of my tone, felt like it had to be weighed—and so my mouth wouldn’t open properly.