Chapter 64

Chapter 64

The next day, we attended the banquet again. Then we made a beeline for the library and started investigating the imperial princess named Roshion. That’s when we found something a little unexpected.

〈Roshion. In retrospect, she was not a strong-willed child from a young age, but the gentlest one. She married into a foreign country at the age of seventeen, and after that, lived a life without any great ups and downs. Those who remembered her later all said she was a quiet, kind person.〉

Shion was kind, but ‘quiet’ was far from the truth. She’d often make a racket in the corridors at night, giving me and the Duke a hard time. So that calm assessment definitely didn’t belong to her. It felt like I was listening to a completely different person’s story.

“Isn’t this strange? That imperial princess named Roshion isn’t Shion?” I asked.

“Indeed. I’ve never seen a child as rowdy as that one, so I’d say not.”

The Duke and I put our heads together, puzzling over it hard. If she wasn’t Shion, we’d have to start all over from square one. I’d been almost certain they were the same person, so it felt a bit deflating.

“So the recorded personality is different from that little girl Shion’s?” asked the young marquis.

The young marquis asked.

“Yes. That kid’s a total tomboy.”

“Could her personality have changed after she died?” he inquired.

“Hmm…… I don’t think so. A ghost’s time is frozen at the moment of their death, so their personality wouldn’t change in the middle of it. What about the possibility that the records themselves are wrong?” I suggested.

“No, Laura. Imperial records go through a process where they compile writings from many officials. The chance that they’re incorrect is very slim.”

So that meant her personality hadn’t changed, and the records weren’t wrong either. Which made it highly probable that Roshion wasn’t Shion. Which also meant we had to go back to square one.

“…Maybe there was a child from the Emperor’s concubine among the imperial offspring. In that case, she wouldn’t be listed on the imperial genealogy, so we might have missed her.”

This time the Duke offered a different perspective.

“Ah. That could be possible.”

I nodded as if convinced. It was a plausible hypothesis. In truth, wives other than the primary one were, to put it nicely, just concubines—hardly better than mistresses.

The law in this country didn’t forbid having a second wife. But that didn’t mean polygamy had a good reputation either. Nobles in loveless marriages often took secret lovers, and those lovers were rarely elevated to the status of a proper wife. The same held true in the Imperial Family.

“Of course, in such cases, being given a name that includes ‘Shion’ is extremely rare. But it’s not impossible, so I think it’s worth considering that possibility.”

Either way, without records, sifting through materials here was pointless. In the end, we filed out of the library empty-handed and turned our steps toward the banquet hall, following the long corridor.

Only three sets of footsteps echoed down the deserted palace corridor. I walked through the silence and let out a small sigh. Now I was worried about how to make Shion ascend—or rather, whether I could make her ascend at all.

“Laura. I’ll bring this up with Prince Jeyshion.”

As I narrowed my brow in gloomy mood, the young marquis stepped close and murmured. I blinked and turned to look at him.

“Huh? What?”

“Even a concubine’s daughter probably wasn’t treated as a complete non-entity. Maybe traces of her still remain inside the Imperial Palace. Someone who remembers her might still be alive, or if not, the imperial princess might have left behind something like a diary.”

“Do you think so?”

“It’s good if we can find out anything at all.”

After all, there was no place an imperial couldn’t go in the palace. So seeking the prince’s help to search every corner for traces of her was one method. Of course, the odds of revealing Shion’s true identity were slim, but as the young marquis said, it would be good if we could learn anything.

“By the way, young marquis, you seem quite close with the Second Prince.”

Then, on a whim, I tossed out a question that had popped into my head.

“Well, I suppose so. As I said before, Prince Jeyshion really likes me. Probably because I was a good master, I suppose.”

The young marquis gave an exaggerated shrug, as if to make a point.

“He wasn’t such a great master.”

But the pride threading through his tone was cut short as the duke interjected flatly. He made a small gesture of shaking his head, then turned to me and, seeing the confusion plain on my face, spoke again.

“……This one. He never seriously taught the imperial prince swordsmanship. He was far too busy dragging him out to play instead.”

“Hey. Hey. Illiaje. That’s because you don’t get it. Playing well is just as important. And at that age, you can’t focus only on swords—do it wrong and the kid might not grow tall enough.”

“Even so, you went too far. Still, I suppose you did play the role of a good older brother well enough for the prince.”

“……Huh. Yeah? You think so……?”

The young marquis’s voice, which had been edging toward irritation, softened again. He crossed his arms and seemed to ponder something for a moment, then nodded slowly.

“Well…… that’s not so bad, I guess. Not a bad role to play~”

He gave a short laugh and tacked the last word on with a lilting tone. Then he strode ahead to the entrance of the banquet hall. As he pushed the door open and stepped inside, the sight of dancers swirling under brilliant chandeliers came into view.

I followed the edge of the hall, watching them. Women in full dresses spun like blossoms, round and round. It was a splendid scene.

“We’ve come all the way to the banquet, and it would be a shame to leave without dancing, wouldn’t it?”

As if he’d caught where my gaze lingered, the young marquis turned to ask. But I hadn’t been watching them out of any wish to dance, so I gave a quick, short answer that I was fine.

“What a pity.”

He murmured it almost to himself.

“Benat. Don’t ask my partner to dance. You…… look, your partner’s coming. Go play with your partner.”

The duke stepped forward, planting a foot between us to cut in. Then with a jerk of his chin, he pointed behind me. I turned my head to follow his gaze. A boy with beige curls was bouncing toward us.

“Master!”

The child strode up to the young marquis and looked up at him with wide eyes.

“Good evening? Your Highness, the imperial prince.”

The young marquis looked down at him and offered a cheerful greeting.

Judging by the situation, that boy must be the second imperial prince. He looked far younger than I’d imagined—barely ten or so. Just about that age, I thought.

“It’s been a while, Prince Jeyshion.”

“Yes, Duke. It has been a while.”

After exchanging greetings with the Duke, the prince turned his gaze toward me—a quick, sidelong glance. His face still held traces of baby fat, curiosity flickering across it as if he wondered who I was.

“Your Highness. You haven’t met this one yet, have you? She’s the Duke’s new secretary. She came as his partner.”

The young marquis pointed at me at once and made the introduction.

“I greet Your Highness the Prince. My name is Laura Highen.”

I bowed my head in a deep nod. But the prince didn’t acknowledge my greeting. He simply let his eyes sweep over me in a fleeting glance, then, without adding a single word, clung back to the young marquis.

“Master, my brother gave me a sword as a gift. It was originally his sword, but he just handed it over to me. It looks cool—can we go see it together?”

The child was fussing noisily only in front of him. Thanks to that, my greeting was utterly ignored. He really did look adorable, but there was no denying he was a thoroughly ill-mannered little brat.

“Your Highness. Won’t you receive Miss Highen’s greeting?”

The young marquis pressed the boy in a firm tone.

“……”

“What’s wrong again? You must observe basic courtesy.”

“Yes… I understand…”

Only then did the prince pout his lips and step forward to stand before me.

“You’re Miss Highen? Pleased to meet you.”

“Yes, Your Highness. It’s an honor to meet you as well.”

It was more like receiving a bow while prostrated, but at least we managed to exchange greetings in that way. The prince gave a vague nod of his head at my words. Then he quickly returned to the young marquis’s side, sticking close to him again.

“Master. I put the sword in my room. Let’s go together.”

“Yes. Very well.”

With that brief farewell to us, the young marquis left the spot alongside the prince. The prince, who’d reminded me of my sulky second younger brother, cheerfully trailed after the young marquis.

“Prince Jeyshion grows prickly if he can’t be sure the person is truly on his side. Even more so if he sees them close to Benat.”

The Duke gestured with his eyes toward the two receding figures. From the look of it, it seemed the second prince’s behavior wasn’t a one-time thing.

“I don’t mind. It’s, how should I say? He’s just like a kid that age who adores his big brother.”

“You’re quite magnanimous.”

“I have many younger siblings. I can generally understand children’s psychology well. By the way, Your Grace. Do you have other plans today?”

“I’ll need to meet with some envoys from abroad. His Majesty the Emperor said to see them together today.”

“Ah. You must be busy.”

“It won’t take long. Enjoy the banquet. And let’s head back before the sun sets.”

“Yes.”

I nodded in reply. Then I happened to glance deeper into the banquet hall. The figures of the dancers swam back into my view—men in crisp formal suits taking slow, measured steps to the music.

“Laura.”

But just then, the Duke stepped abruptly into my path and called my name. In the same motion, his body blocked my line of sight.

“……… …………….”

He tried to say something to me. But a swell of boisterous music rose just then, swallowing his voice completely.