Kingdom of Lies

by Yuri Kitayama

  Apparently, the two beautiful girls had been having tea next to Rio while he slept.

  “You have to rest some more. Your wounds have been healed by magic, but that doesn’t restore weakened stamina. And because the magic pushes your body to heal the wounds forcibly, the restored areas will be very sensitive afterwards,” the white-haired girl explained as she stood up and approached Rio.

  “Umm... Who are you?” Rio asked with caution from where he lay in bed.

  “I’m Celia, Celia Claire. We talked a little in the slums, remember? I was wearing a hood at that time, though.”

  “Oh, you’re the one...”

  It was a familiar voice, now that he thought about it. Soft on the ears in a warm and kind way. Rio immediately recognized Celia as the small figure from before.

  “Hehe. Pleased to meet you. As for this girl over here—”

  Celia turned back and the maid girl behind her began to introduce herself.

  “Greetings. My name is Aria Governess. My position in the royal castle is that of the head servant, but in lieu of what has happened, I have been assigned to tend to you. I do hope we can get along amicably.”

  The girl who introduced herself as Aria bowed politely. Her tone had been all business and completely monotone, but her words were respectful and caused no discomfort to the listener. “My name is Rio... nice to meet you too.”

  Rio returned her greeting politely, awkwardly trying to mimic her speaking style. When someone spoke to him with politeness, he would respond politely in turn. That was Rio’s — no, Amakawa Haruto’s — way of life.

  “Umm, where am I?” Rio asked hesitantly.

  “The guest room of the castle. You were unconscious, so we healed you with magic and carried you here,” Celia explained with a soft smile.

  “Is that so... Thank you very much,” Rio said with a conflicted expression. He couldn’t let his guard down as long as the two people before him were affiliated with the same kingdom that hurt him. The memory of the nightmare in the dungeon stung painfully, but that didn’t change the fact these people helped him.

  “It’s fine. I heard about what happened. If anything, we’re the ones who should apologize to you. I’m sorry you were treated so horribly,” Celia apologized sorrowfully, lowering her head.

  Rio couldn’t feel any sense of discrimination towards his orphan status when interacting with her... He remembered how Celia had been the only one that treated him kindly back when they first met in the slums.

  To be honest, Rio had a deep-set hatred towards royalty and nobility. Most of the royals and nobles he had met until now were arrogant and overbearing, making it hard to change his biased view of those in privileged positions.

  However, people like Celia existed among them. That thought alone made Rio reconsider his unconditional hatred towards the upper class.

  “It wasn’t your fault,” Rio said as he looked down, holding back his emotions.

  “But still...” Celia trailed off, unable to express herself. Like Rio had said, it wasn’t Celia’s fault that Rio had been treated badly. But as someone on the same side as the kingdom that was responsible for what had happened to him, she couldn’t help but feel guilty about Rio’s unjust treatment.

  “More importantly... what’s going to happen to me from here?” Rio asked.

  “You’ll have an audience with His Majesty tomorrow, but I don’t know what will happen after that. You saved Princess Flora — Her Highness, the Second Princess — so as her savior, I doubt anything bad will happen...”

  “I have to meet the king?”

  “Yes. His Majesty wants to thank you officially for what happened.”

  Rio’s brow furrowed slightly at Celia’s explanation. Frankly speaking, Rio wanted to put the castle behind him already. An audience with the king was the last thing he wanted to do. But since he was already here in the castle, and the other party was the ruler of the kingdom... There was no way he could refuse.

  Understanding and accepting his fate in that moment, Rio sighed heavily.

  “I didn’t really do anything impressive...”

  “That’s not true. Princess Flora asked a lot of you, didn’t she? I’m sure you will be rewarded for it. I understand it might feel like a burden, but it’d be better to accept whatever you’re offered. Don’t you agree, Aria?”

  Celia prompted a response from the silent Aria behind her.

  “...Yes, that is correct. Your sentiment is to be expected, but it would be difficult to cast a refusal in this situation. Considering the predicament you are in, you should approach this as optimistically as possible,” she stated flatly.

  “I see. That might be true.” Rio gave a small smile in resignation.

  Celia and Aria widened their eyes at his mature smile; it didn’t match his apparent age.

  “Sorry to have to ask this, but could you teach me the etiquette of a royal audience? Like... the proper actions to do and speech to use. I should probably avoid meeting the king with no knowledge at all,” Rio requested, bowing his head.

  “Yes, of course.”

  “Your wish is my command.”

  Celia and Aria readily agreed with Rio’s request.

  ◇◇◇

  Meanwhile, in the Beltrum castle, somewhere in the throne room...

  His Majesty, King Philip Beltrum — also known as Philip III — sat on his throne before a gathering of nobles. They were all influential figures involved with the kingdom’s affairs; those present were split into three factions, each grouped together on their own side of the room. In front of the throne and to the right was Duke Arbor’s faction, the largest faction of the three. To the left was Duke Huguenot’s faction, the second biggest, and lastly, Duke Fontaine’s faction, the smallest of the three.

  There are some basic points to take note of the current political scenery and power balance in the kingdom of Beltrum:

  First, the king of Beltrum was a young and newly crowned king still in his late twenties. Unfortunately, this had allowed Duke Arbor to use his authority and make calculated maneuvers to benefit himself when the previous king passed away from an illness. He had trusted Duke Arbor, conferring upon him the right to appoint knights into the Royal Guard. However, once the king was on his deathbed, Duke Arbor abused this right and sold favors to powerful nobles with sons that were not in line to inherit a position into the knighthood. As a result, Duke Arbor attained an enormous amount of influence over the king’s court from his position as commander of the Royal Guard. In contrast, Duke Huguenot and Duke Fontaine had gained their ranks around the same time that Philip III assumed the throne, putting them one step behind and constantly suffering the consequences for it. With his influential power over both the military and the court’s administration, Duke Arbor was a thorn in the side of not only Philip III, but the factions of Duke Huguenot and Duke Fontaine as well. As time passed, Duke Arbor’s elevated status made his arrogance grow into near insolence — though that may have been his true self coming to light — which caused his rise in power to be viewed as problematic in recent years.

  This was the political climate at the time of Flora’s kidnapping case.

  It was the duty of the Royal Guard to protect the royal family, and they had allowed the Second Princess to be abducted. As the commander of the Royal Guard, and because the man in charge of security at the time was Charles — his son — Duke Arbor could not overlook such catastrophic failure. Ultimately, the responsibility fell on Duke Arbor as his supervisor.

  In other words, it was the perfect opportunity to pin the blame on Duke Arbor.

  “Perhaps this incident is a sign that the quality of the Royal Guard has decayed,” Duke Huguenot suggested coldly. In agreement with him was Marquess Rodan, a member of his faction.

  “Exactly. I can only imagine how lenient they must have been to allow such lowlifes to get through.”

  “The security... was flawless,” Duke Arbor tried to justify with a wince, but there was nothing to be said
that could excuse such a failure.

  “Flawless security is meaningless without the desired results. Fortunately, Princess Flora was unharmed this time, but how do you intend on taking responsibility for this situation?” Duke Huguenot continued pressing with a cool expression.

  “...Neither the mastermind behind the kidnapping nor their headquarters have been discovered yet. I believe responsibility can be discussed after that happens,” Duke Arbor answered through gritted teeth. But Duke Huguenot pounced on him like the cat that ate the canary, clearly in his element. “What are you saying? Why not discuss it here and now instead?” Duke Huguenot objected.

  “I agree,” concurred Marquess Rodan. “The investigation can be done without the Royal Guard, especially when the current Royal Guard allowed the kidnapping to occur in the first place.” Duke Arbor watched the two nobles, who were nearly half his age, with a weary grimace on his face.

  These youngsters... He cursed in his mind.

  “They have a valid point, Helmut,” Philip III said after watching the discussion take place, silently — until now. Helmut was Duke Arbor’s first name.

  “Y-Your Majesty...” Duke Arbor faltered. His face had gone pale.

  “There have been concerns that the Royal Guard has declined in quality as of late. With this current incident in mind, it may be time for a rehabilitation of the Royal Guard.” The members of Duke Huguenot’s faction nodded approvingly at the king’s words; Duke Fontaine’s faction wore similar expressions of agreement.

  “Your right to appoint knights into the Royal Guard is hereby revoked, Helmut. You shall resign from your position as commander. Charles shall be demoted for his involvement as the on-site supervisor. This will leave the position of commander and deputy commander open; thus, Alfred Emerle shall assume the position of commander.”

  Philip III declared the details of the punishment. While it was difficult to revoke privileges bestowed by a previous king without justification, it was a different story in the face of such failure. The kidnapping of his daughter was unforgivable, of course... but the case itself had turned out rather fortuitous.

  “Tch...” Duke Arbor couldn’t help from scowling. He had toiled away, building his family’s reputation, only to see it crumble away in an instant. It wouldn’t have been unusual for him to throw a fit, but as a great lord with a long militaristic history, Duke Arbor concealed his emotions behind a smile and immediately thanked the king.

  “As you wish, Your Majesty.” He noticed Duke Huguenot’s smiling smugly to the side and felt a dark emotion swell up within him. Even then, Duke Arbor’s own smile did not wane.

  They wouldn’t be laughing for long. He’d surely recover from this... And when he did, he’d pay them back twofold the humiliation he had to suffer — and he’d never forgive the culprit behind this incident.

  Duke Arbor vowed this to himself, deep within his heart.

  He suspected the mastermind behind this case was from either one of the opposing factions, but it was hard to imagine that the devoutly loyal Duke Fontaine would kidnap the princess. The more likely answer was Duke Huguenot.

  But even if that were true, Huguenot wouldn’t show his true colors easily, and there was no decisive evidence. Their only source of useful information — the assassin man — was dead. He also had his suspicions about the boy named Rio, who just happened to be at the scene of the crime, but Duke Huguenot hadn’t shown any signs of concern over him. Arbor’s conclusion was that the boy might actually be unrelated to the case.

  It wouldn’t hurt to take some cautionary steps, though.

  “Your Majesty, what do you intend on doing with the orphan named Rio?” Duke Arbor asked, focusing on Duke Huguenot’s reaction.

  “Hmm. He may be a valuable primary witness to the incident, but Flora owes her life to him. No matter his status as an orphan, he deserves to be shown gratitude. I am thinking of giving him some reward.”

  “Couldn’t that be a dangerous move? There’s no guarantee he isn’t associated with an outside power.”

  “Oh? I heard your son was more than thorough with his investigation. Don’t tell me you intend on torturing him further for a confession when you don’t even have clear evidence?” Philip III asked, narrowing his eyes.

  “I am not suggesting to enact torture on Her Highness’ savior, of course. But the fact is — there is no proof of his innocence, either.” The king frowned at Duke Arbor’s roundabout way of conversing.

  “What do you suggest, then?”

  “Your Majesty, I humbly believe it would be best to keep him under surveillance for a while.”

  “Hmm. The same thought crossed my mind. Indebted as I am to him over Flora’s incident, I suppose it is necessary, though reluctant as I am... Garcia.”

  The king looked over at Duke Fontaine’s faction.

  “Yes, Your Majesty?” An elderly man said, stepping forward from the back of the group. He stood straight-backed and had a gentle face at first glance, but the other members cleared a path for him in an almost nervous manner.

  His name was Garcia Fontaine. Although he was the head of the Fontaine dukedom two generations ago, he still held a fair amount of influential power as the king’s advisor.

  “I am thinking of enrolling the aforementioned orphan into the Royal Academy. I’d like to leave the procedures to you.” The throne room stirred at Philip III’s words.

  The Royal Academy of Beltrum — as both a research institution and education institution — was the pinnacle of academia within the kingdom of Beltrum. While there were several schools and tutors for the wealthy in provincial cities, the Royal Academy of Beltrum was the only government-owned academic organization. Located just next to the royal castle, its grounds covered an immense area that included both elementary and middle school educations. From middle school and upwards, it focused more on specialized areas of research rather than academic education. Each year, the Academy turned out impressive numbers of experts in areas such as martial arts, magical arts, and the sciences. For nobility, graduating from the Royal Academy of Beltrum was a sign of great status, leading to success in both name and practice. Although there was an entrance examination, social standing and wealth played a big role in admission, making most of the students children of high-ranking nobles. Its doors never opened to commoners.

  In other words, enrollment was limited to only a small fraction of nobles.

  The thought of an orphan of an unknown background attending such an an influential and prestigious academy would naturally shock the nobles in the room, but Garcia simply stroked his beard in understanding.

  “I see. You wish for the Academy to keep an eye on the boy?”

  “Indeed. Admit him within the next few days. I’m leaving it all to you.”

  “As you wish. Claire’s daughter just started teaching the first years in elementary school — I’ll admit him into her class.” Garcia placed a hand against his chest and bowed deeply.

  ◇◇◇

  The time for Rio’s audience with King Philip III had arrived.

  The throne room doubled as an audience hall; it held all official audiences of the king. It was a rectangular room with a tall ceiling, filling the room with a sense of grandeur. Ornate decorations were placed at every corner, overwhelming those that entered the room with its powerful display. The royal family — King Philip III; his wife, Queen Consort Beatrix; First Princess Christina; and Second Princess Flora — sat in formal dress, overlooking the room from their podium at the very rear, directly across from the entrance. Christina, the eldest sister, had her young face drawn tightly in resolution, whereas little sister Flora seemed a bit nervous and uncomfortable.

  Meanwhile, the nobles of the inner court lined both sides of the aisle, all dressed in formal-wear as well. They were all in attendance to witness the audience about to unfold.

  “The boy who saved Her Highness Princess Flora will now enter,” the voice of an official echoed through the silent room. The doors to the audi
ence hall slowly opened, and every person in the room directed their gazes toward it.

  A single black-haired boy stood there.

  It was Rio.

  He had cut his hair in a style that fully exposed his shapely and androgynous facial features, leaving behind a hint of innocence. The royalty and nobility in the room stared at him openly, drawn to the exotic aura brought about by his rarely-seen black hair and eye-catching visage.

  “So that’s the child who saved Her Highness.”

  “What an unusual hair color. Must be an immigrant child.”

  Rio braced himself against the noisily stirring audience hall. He calmly walked down the red carpet, which stretched down the hall to the throne. The stylish children’s formal-wear he wore didn’t quite suit him; under normal circumstances, it would have given off a distinctly statuesque and respectable impression. But unlike his outward appearance, Rio’s expression was exceedingly mature. If this had been a noble child of the same age, it would have been natural for them to be trembling or frozen with frayed nerves. Yet, Rio’s movements were completely calm.

  Some of the eyes on him seemed impressed by his bold attitude.

  “Hmph, some indigent...”

  “Well, he cleaned up surprisingly well... He even moves according to the proper etiquette.”

  “What a bizarre sight.”

  And so on. Many of their gazes were filled with intolerance as the nobles’ whispers spread like wildfire, but Rio showed no concern at all. He walked forward, step by step, with a composed expression. Eventually, he reached the stairs leading up to the podium, and stopped there, lowering his head. All that was left was to wait until he was spoken to, just as he was taught.

  “Raise your head, Rio,” King Philip III stated grandly.

  “As you wish, Your Majesty. I am very much obliged,” Rio replied respectfully. He slowly lifted his face and saw the royal family sitting on the podium. On the highest step was Philip III settled onto the throne. Seated one step lower was his wife Beatrix, First Princess Christina, and Second Princess Flora; the latter looked at Rio with restless embarrassment. On Flora’s other side, Christina sat straight in her seat while she eyed Rio suspiciously. She was most likely surprised by how much Rio’s appearance changed when his scruffy hair was cleanly chopped off.