by Ryota Hori
“It’s a matter I can’t decide upon this very moment... Surely you understand why?” Lupis’ probing gaze was fixed on Ryoma’s face.
Lupis was essentially asking Ryoma whether he realized that, while she personally didn’t mind joining forces with him, the act would cause unrest in her court, and she couldn’t afford to have the knights’ faction collapse in on itself with the looming conflict against the nobles’ faction.
“Of course, I’m well aware of your position, Your Highness.” Ryoma’s eyes lit up with pure will, focused squarely on Lupis’s own eyes. “But with all due respect, if you choose to maintain the status quo, you will almost certainly never sit upon the throne.”
He wasn’t allowed to show even a trace of self-doubt. Ryoma was now setting out to fight.
“‘“Insolent fool! You dare speak above your station, lout?!”””
And as expected, the audience chamber erupted with angry shouts.
Those reactions were obvious, given he’d made the provocation intentionally, but the princess and the woman standing beside her didn’t change their expressions. The one who raised his voice was a man standing one step below the throne.
“Your Highness! This disrespectful ruffian ought to be executed at once!”
A well-built man who had earlier scowled at the princess’s sparing of Mikhail directed a pleading gaze at the princess, with those around him raising unanimous voices of agreement. Their pride probably couldn’t bear to be wounded by some arrogant commoner of unknown origin.
“Please wait, General Albrecht. Should we not hear what Her Highness has to say here first?”
“What are you saying, Meltina?! Do you intend to simply take this insult and say nothing? What happened to your honor as a Rhoadserian knight?!”
I see, so that’s Meltina. The princess’s closest aide.
Ryoma tilted his ears cautiously, paying heed to the argument between Meltina and the man called General Albrecht.
“Wait just a moment. This man did not insult us specifically! He simply detailed his personal take on the matter! His tone may have been too sharp to be respectful, indeed, but to execute him for it would be far too overbearing. It would tarnish Her Majesty’s good name.”
“Are you a fool? The man clearly said that we would lose! What would you call his words if not an insult to Rhoadseria’s knights?! If anything would tarnish Her Majesty’s name, it would be letting this man walk away with his life!”
Meltina’s words were reasonable, but were not serving to placate others’ emotions. It was especially in places like these that emotions tended to run strong and cloud one’s better judgment as people obstinately clung to their honor. General Albrecht was a fine example of that.
In the end, the one who cut the pointless quarrel down was Princess Lupis, who had remained silent since Ryoma said his piece.
“Stop it this instant. We are in the presence of guests!”
Princess Lupis’s calm but clear tone brought everyone to silence. Said guests were without doubt Ryoma and his comrades. Regardless of whether she actually saw them as guests, Lupis’s words had enough power to them to quiet everyone down.
Perhaps realizing how laughable they looked squabbling in front of a man who had just been deemed lowly and uncouth, Meltina and General Albrecht hung their heads in silence.
“Pardon this shameful display... I too wish to triumph over the nobles’ faction while losing as few of our men as possible. That is the only way to defend our country’s people... Can you do this?”
Lupis finally asked Ryoma the question he’d been longing to hear.
“Of course. I promise to live up to your expectations, no matter what.” As he said this, Ryoma bowed his head respectfully before the princess.
His audience with Princess Lupis behind him, Ryoma was led to a room deep in the castle alone. With a chamberlain walking ahead of him, Ryoma recalled the look of loathing in the general’s eyes as he left.
Yikes, looks like he hates me. Makes sense, I guess. I’m just some commoner who popped up out of nowhere, after all...
There were certainly a few points to regret, looking back on the audience. He’d have wished to join the knights’ faction in a way that didn’t spark that much conflict. That said, regretting it now wouldn’t turn back the clock.
I guess just piquing the princess’s interest should be my biggest accomplishment here...
In actuality, Ryoma hadn’t said a word about officially joining the knights’ faction yet. Which was obvious, given he didn’t have any achievements to show for it. He’d have to make his merits clear in his upcoming dialogue with the princess.
Ryoma’s battle wasn’t over yet. If anything, the crucial moment was just ahead of him.
The chamberlain led him to what was apparently one of the personal rooms used by the princess. Crimson rays of dusk light painted the room red through the white lace curtains.
“Thank you for waiting.”
Shortly after he’d sat on the sofa, Princess Lupis entered the room, accompanied by Meltina.
“No, I’m just grateful you were willing to listen to my unreasonable request, Your Highness.” Ryoma said, and then rose to his feet and bowed his head deeply.
They decided to discuss the rest in private, because it would be inconvenient in the audience chamber. That held true for both Ryoma and the princess, and so the two moved their conversation into this room where prying eyes wouldn’t reach them. Ryoma was the only one called over, for the sake of security.
“Well, you don’t need to be so stiff. Only Meltina and myself are here, so you may make yourself comfortable.” Lupis’s personality wasn’t very strict, it seemed.
“Yes. Excuse me, then.”
After watching Princess Lupis and Meltina sit down themselves, Ryoma sat back down on the sofa.
“Let us begin our discussion, then.”
Meltina looked at Princess Lupis’s eyes for confirmation, and began speaking. “I suspect you’ve already noticed, but our military inferiority is so dire that no matter how many soldiers we would be given, it likely won’t be enough.”
Meltina cut right to the heart of the matter, and this meant that they didn’t mind Ryoma joining the knights’ faction. But she then directed a gaze at Ryoma that made it clear she was going to cut things off here.
“However...”
“You can’t ignore the complaints of the family and friends of the people we killed?”
Meltina nodded at Ryoma’s words.
“Yeah, that makes sense... So, what are your conditions?”
“That you bring us enough merit to offset that.” Meltina answered Ryoma’s question succinctly.
However, there were many implications to what she said. Meltina’s goal was to ascertain that Ryoma was a person with enough power to make good on his promise.
“I see... so you want me to show that I have more value than just pure military might.”
Lupis nodded deeply.
“I’m sure you realize this, but if all we wanted was pure war potential, we would just hire unrelated mercenaries to fight for our cause.”
True enough, hiring unrelated mercenaries with no stakes in the conflict from the guild would be simpler than trying to offset an already soured relationship. However, Ryoma replied without a hint of hesitance.
“In that case, I think you’ll find I’m a much better bargain, Your Highness.”
“And why is that?” Meltina regarded Ryoma’s confident words with a dubious glance.
“Because I’ll bring you victory.”
Hearing Ryoma’s words, a giggle escaped from Princess Lupis’s lips.
“You’re quite the confident one, aren’t you?”
“You humble me, Your Majesty.” Ryoma bowed his head respectfully. “But I speak no lies.”
His attitude reeked of hypocritical courtesy, but somehow it made Ryoma seem awfully convincing.
“We can’t believe you based on words alone, though.”
That much was obvious. If the candidate to the throne was the type to believe him based just on what he’d said, Ryoma would consider himself to be in deep trouble.
“Can you prove it, then?” Princess Lupis’s tone was jestful, but her eyes burned with the murderous intent of a wild animal.
Ryoma heard that the nobles often gossiped over her tendency to be too kind to the commoners, but it seemed there was more than just naive kindness to this woman.
“Of course... That is, I’d very much like to prove it to you, but first I need to confirm a few things, if you don’t mind?”
Up until now, everything had gone as predicted, but it was a whole different ballpark starting from now. He’d felt something wasn’t right in the audience chamber, and figuring out what that was now stood as the main objective for Ryoma.
“What is the meaning of this? Did you lie to Her Majesty?” With cold enmity in her eyes, Meltina reached for the swords at her waist.
She would likely try to cut him down where he stood if he gave the wrong answer here.
“You can’t expect me to come up with a measure to solve the situation when I don’t have a full grasp of what’s going on, can you? Or rather... There were a few points I found suspicious back in the audience chamber. The situation seemed rather different from what Mikhail told me earlier. I hoped you could explain the circumstances to me directly, Your Majesty.”
Ryoma’s explanation caused Meltina to turn a questioning gaze at Princess Lupis.
“Could you explain what exactly it was you found suspicious?” Lupis asked Ryoma, trying to maintain her composure.
She wouldn’t let it show that she was flustered at a time like this. But judging by the restless movement of her eyes, Ryoma realized that his feelings of suspicion weren’t just in his head.
“Hmm, well, to begin with, from what Mikhail told me, you’re the one in charge of the knights’ faction, but it’s not actually that simple, is it?”
A shiver ran through the two of them at Ryoma’s statement.
“Why makes you say that?” Lupis asked back, trying her hardest to feign calmness.
“The thing that bothered me the most is that when you pardoned Mikhail’s life, the people right below you made some rather bitter expressions. It was just for a moment, though, but I became sure of it just now. When I saw your face.”
A heavy silence hung in the room.
“I see... And what do you think is the truth here?” Princess Lupis finally broke the silence.
“There’s no doubting the knights’ faction is united under your banner, but not all of them are directly under your command. If I had to hazard a guess, that general who was arguing with Meltina is the center of another faction... Or maybe it’s the other way around. That is to say, the knights’ faction is centered around him, and you’re just a symbolic figurehead? Of course, there’s also the chance they all just really hate Mikhail.”
Another long silence fell over the room. The expressions on the pair’s faces made it clear that their hearts were surging with tension at Ryoma’s words.
Looks like I was spot on... Which means I need to change my attitude. No, I should listen to what the princess’s objective here is first...
“You realized that during the audience earlier?”
“Yes.”
“I see...” Lupis said after yet another long silence, with Ryoma nodding at her words which followed it. “I suppose you truly are a good bargain...”
“Your Majesty...” Meltina’s voice was full of regret and sadness.
“It is fine... If he saw through everything that easily, there’s no point in trying to gloss things over, is there?” Princess Lupis said, and turned her gaze to Ryoma. “It’s like you’ve said... I’m nothing more than a nominal figurehead to them. Control over this country at the moment is divided between Duke Gelhart, who leads the nobles’ faction, and General Hodram Albrecht, who has the knights’ faction under his thumb.”
Royalty that held no real power. Lupis’s expression turned somber, as if she was being tormented by the humiliation of it all.
“I see, so General Albrecht was the man who argued with Meltina back there?”
“Correct.”
Even if he was admonishing, his attitude was one that clearly didn’t care much for how others saw him. He was evidently an arrogant person.
“I think I understand... Could you explain the situation for now? I can’t really think of a way to change things without a clear view of the political map.”
“Yes, of course...” Lupis seemed to have become pensive at Ryoma’s words, and then began speaking. “I’ll begin by explaining what the knights’ faction is.”
Lupis’s explanation took some thirty minutes, with Meltina appending a few facts here and there.
“I can see why you’re pessimistic. The situation’s pretty bad.” Those were Ryoma’s words upon hearing Lupis’s explanation in its entirety. “Even if the knights’ faction wins this conflict, there’s nothing but the worst possible future ahead of you.”
So long as General Albrecht held all the real power, Lupis would be rendered superfluous as soon as the conflict with the nobles’ faction concluded. Having her freedom taken from her and being forced into confinement was, ironically enough, one of the less terrible ways things could end for her. If Albrecht was the kind of person to not mind having the stigma of treason appended to him, he could just claim the throne after the nobles’ faction was done with. No, he wouldn’t even have to usurp the throne, since he could just keep Lupis under his control as a puppet ruler.
In other words, there were two necessary conditions for Princess Lupis to survive this struggle. Firstly, they had to win victory over the nobles’ faction. The other condition was to increase the influence of her own side, the princess’s faction, mustering their strength to the point where they’d be able to stand up to Albrecht’s tyranny.
Achieving either one of those would be a challenge, but if they didn’t achieve both, Lupis’s fate would be sealed. And Lupis and Meltina were well aware of that.
And here I thought this was going a little too smoothly. To think only a third of the knights’ faction have sworn loyalty to the princess...
The princess’s faction were like cornered rats, hence why they were interested in hearing what Ryoma, who flew in out of nowhere, had to say. They were grasping at straws, all in order to survive.
“I wish to make the princess this country’s true ruler! Can you make that happen?”
“Meltina... Thank you...” Lupis thanked Meltina for her ardent, faithful words.
This stood as proof that they shared a relationship of trust that went beyond simply a master and her servant.
“All right... So, let me go over the conditions again. First, we need to make sure the princess becomes the ruler of Rhoadseria. And we also need to make sure she’d no longer be a puppet in the hands of the knights’ faction. Did I get everything right?”
The two nodded vigorously.
“In that case, I think I can work it out. Whether you actually hold the throne for long after you gain it depends on your capabilities, but if it’s just helping you regain your true power, I can manage that.”
He did, in fact, have confidence that he could make Lupis win.
“Is that true?”
“Yes.”
The pair’s eyes filled with happiness and doubt at Ryoma’s proclamation.
“How do you intend to do it?” Meltina leaned her body forward, as if bracing herself.
“By bringing the neutral faction over to our side.” Ryoma replied.
However, as soon as they heard his answer, both their expressions filled with disappointment.
“Hmph... I was a fool to believe a man like you,” Meltina whispered, as if he’d just tried to pull the wool over her eyes.
“Oh? You don’t like my idea?”
“Of course not! I’ve been leading the ini
tiative to do that for a long time now!”
“Oh, you have?” Ryoma asked with a smile on his lips.
“That’s right! Just about anyone would come up with the idea of having the neutral faction turn to our side as a way of improving our position!”
Or rather, there was basically no other way, save for asking the neighboring countries for help in exchange for Rhoadseria’s lands. And it went without saying that doing so would spell Rhoadseria’s eventual destruction. If they were to have Princess Lupis take charge of the country while retaining its independence, they would have to incorporate the country’s own internal forces into their faction.
And additionally, taking in the neutral faction, which was merely watching by the sidelines, was far more realistic than expecting to divide the nobles’ faction that opposed them or the powerful knights’ faction.
“I see, so you tried it... And no one took you seriously.”
“Wh-Why, you...!” She likely thought he was mocking her, because she unsheathed one of her swords and held it to Ryoma’s throat. “Do not look down on me!”
Yeah, makes sense... If she acts like this at every little taunt...
He’d assumed Meltina had a fairly quick-tempered personality from how she argued in the audience chamber, and as it turned out, he was right. She may have had a handsome face, but her temperament was spirited; not unlike Mikhail’s in that regard.
Her loyalty to the princess is strong, but... I’d kind of wish Lupis would have gotten some brighter people to act as her aides...
That thought surfaced in Ryoma’s mind, even as the sword remained pointed at his throat. It was clear as day to him why the neutral faction had rejected her invitation.
“Stop it!”
“But, Your Highness!”
“Meltina! Calm yourself!”
