Chapter 147
“Did you have a good talk with Her Majesty the Empress?”
Leon, who had been playing with a cat outside, came back in after the Empress left.
“Yeah…….”
Leon had no way of knowing what had passed between the two of them.
But it was clear that Aurora's mood had noticeably sunk during the Empress's brief visit.
“Did you get scolded?”
“No, it wasn't like that. It was just…… something personal.”
“Is it something I'm allowed to know about?”
Aurora looked at Leon for a moment.
Could she tell him?
That they had talked about him.
That she had been found out liking him.
That if he were no longer a slave, there might perhaps be a chance.
Countless words rose to her throat, but she couldn't bring herself to utter them, and they quietly sank away.
Not yet.
Because the moment she brought these feelings out into the open, they might become a burden to Leon rather than a confession.
Aurora shook her head.
“I don't think I can.”
“I see.”
Since she said she couldn't, Leon didn't ask any further.
He simply assumed it was probably some family matter difficult to discuss with another person.
Aurora appreciated his consideration, but it also annoyed her a little.
How could someone so perceptive be clueless about only things like this?
She even began to suspect that he knew and was pretending not to.
“Is something bothering you?”
“……No.”
It was not at all the expression of someone who had no complaints, but since Leon had just been scolded, he took it at face value.
“Leon.”
“Yes.”
“What did you say you were going to do once you were emancipated?”
“I plan to decide depending on the circumstances at the time. Why do you ask?”
“Um……weren't you thinking of staying by my side?”
Aurora tentatively sounded out Leon's thoughts.
She wondered if this might let her glimpse, if only a little, his feelings toward her.
“What would I do by your side?”
“You could serve as my guard, or keep helping me write as you do now. If you really have nothing else to do, you could just stay with me…….”
“Hmm.”
It was a question he had received several times, and Leon had thought about his future more than once.
What would he do once he was free?
Travel through a fantasy world and build a harem, something indispensable in any otherworldly adventure.
For now, those were the only vague plans he had made.
But one clear goal had appeared among those plans.
‘I need to find Renoa.’
His former master, who had lost her magic and family and become penniless in an instant.
All she had possessed was her slave, himself—and she had lost even that.
The only thing she had left was Bibi, her maid.
Bibi was strange, but highly capable. Renoa could get by with just her.
But would Renoa, who had such a strong desire to rise in the world, be satisfied with an ordinary life?
‘Absolutely not.’
She might even turn to black magic.
After he had risked his life to save her, she was going to dabble in black magic?
If that happened, he would track her down and at least flick her on the forehead. That was Leon's immediate goal.
Other than that, he had no clear goals.
But to find Renoa, without even knowing where she was, he would have to make inquiries.
He would have to travel from place to place, and along the way, he would surely have all sorts of encounters.
Perhaps he could do everything he had wanted to do while searching for Renoa.
And once he had finished all of that…… well.
“Staying by your side doesn't sound too bad.”
They say that even if you set off on a distant journey, you need somewhere to return to.
From that perspective, if it was by Aurora's side as an imperial princess, he would at least never starve to death, even if he went completely broke.
“Really? You're really going to stay by my side?”
“Yes.”
Aurora had no way of seeing inside Leon's head, so she had no idea about the part he had left unsaid.
All she knew was that Leon intended to stay by her side.
The worried expression on her face blossomed into a bright smile.
“Good thinking! Yes, leaving home is nothing but hardship! You can stay forever—forever, if you want!”
“Ah, yes…….”
Leon was no different; he couldn't know what was in the other person's heart.
Seeing Aurora so happy that he had said he would stay by her side left him feeling less than pleased.
‘Is she going to work me to death even after I gain my freedom?’
Do you think I'm going to keep working for free like this once that time comes?
I'll receive fair compensation.
If she doesn't pay me, I'll make a run for it.
***
I headed to the knight order for the first time in a while.
The leave granted to the knights who had worked hard during the festival ended today as well.
Everyone looked bright, so it seemed they had gotten plenty of rest.
‘While some of us kept working to help Aurora write.’
At this point, am I not the hardest-working person in the country?
I joined the knight order and protect the country on the outside.
On the inside, I create novels and even take responsibility for the people's cultural life.
Where in the world is there a slave like me?
Come to think of it, the emperor only told me to accomplish a feat that everyone could acknowledge; he never said I had to earn merit through battle.
If I revealed even now, “I wrote those novels!” perhaps the readers would stage a protest demanding my release?
‘…….’
On second thought, probably not.
It would be lucky if they didn't protest to lock up the slave bastard and make him write nonstop, withholding even water if he stopped.
The status quo is best.
Let's just keep things as they are!
“Oh, Leon. You're here?”
Rosanna greeted me when I entered the headquarters of the Second Division.
She was the knight I had grown closest to after joining the order.
‘Strictly speaking, though, our relationship is based on Rosanna's one-sided ulterior motives.’
Still, it was far better than being hated for being a slave.
“It's been a while, Lady Rosanna. Did you enjoy your leave?”
“Yeah. Thanks to you.”
“Thanks to me?”
“If it weren't for you, there would've been a major accident, and I'd be writing a report instead of enjoying leave.”
I suppose that's true.
I suppose it is.
“I read the new release, too. Wow, how does a slave write so well?”
“Her Highness the Princess wrote most of this one. I only offered some simple advice.”
“Really? Her Highness has improved a lot. Though I know it's late to say this, her earlier works were terrible.”
“Well…….”
I had read the novels Aurora wrote in the past, too.
If I had to sum up my impressions, it would be: ‘Thank goodness she was born a princess.’
Otherwise, she would have had to haul cargo for a living. If not that, she might have been beaten to death by a mob.
No, even if she had been born a princess, if imperial authority had been weak, her head might have ended up on the block.
“What are you two chatting about so happily?”
“Ah, Commander.”
Richard approached us.
“We were just talking about novels.”
“I see.”
“More importantly, Commander, what happened to those intruders? Have you learned anything?”
“No. There has still been no progress.”
The intruder Rosanna was referring to was Yernst, whom I had subdued during the opening ceremony.
Because of the magical contract bound to his soul, they couldn't learn anything, so torture probably wouldn't have helped either.
“Hmm…….”
“Mmm.”
The two men could only groan, unable to find a suitable course of action.
Then they looked at me and gave me meaningful looks.
You caught him, didn't you?
Don't you have some way to deal with this?
They were looking at me the same way.
‘Well, I do know something.’
Yernst was the commander of a special unit dispatched from the Kingdom of Kaldra, which bordered the Empire.
But knowing that was all; after capturing them, I hadn't paid them much attention.
My job was simply to capture them and earn merit. The political circumstances between nations were none of my concern.
But it was different for the two of them.
As knights of the Empire, post-incident handling was extremely important to them as well.
What was their objective, and who was behind them?
They needed to prevent anything similar from happening again.
“Leon, is there no way to make them talk?”
In the end, Richard asked me for help.
“I'm sorry, but I'm ignorant when it comes to magic, so I don't know how to break a magical contract.”
“I thought as much……. Even you can't do everything, I suppose. I'm sorry. I've placed an unnecessary burden on you after all the effort you've already put in.”
Richard apologized, trying to hide his disappointment.
That left me feeling oddly uneasy.
I had already stepped in more than enough.
I had already attracted plenty of suspicion.
I had been trying to hold back because getting involved any further seemed likely to attract even more suspicion, but…….
“I can't do it myself, but I know someone capable. I think she might be able to.”
“Is that true?”
“Yes.”
Right. We were already in the same boat.
Since I had already stirred things up this far, I decided to help see it through to the end.
And, while I was at it, I ought to help our daughter walk around with her shoulders held high.
***
Having decided to help the knight order a little longer, I set out with Richard to find someone.
No, there was no need to look.
She was already in the Imperial Palace.
“Miss Elodie.”
“Oh, Lord Leon!”
It was none other than Elodie.
I had come to see her, as she was staying in the imperial palace as Crown Prince Aether's guest.
“Did you enjoy the festival?”
“Yes! I had so much fun with Lady Helena! There was an unbelievable amount to do, you know? I wish Lord Leon could have gone around with us, too.”
“There will be more festivals in the future, so if we get the chance next time, let's enjoy it together.”
“Yes!”
Mm-hmm. As expected, just talking with Elodie fills me with energy.
Is this how fathers who raise daughters feel? Just looking at her is healing.
Should I work as Elodie's guard after I gain my freedom?
That might not be a bad idea either.
I should seriously consider it.
“Leon, who is this girl?”
Richard asked in the middle of our cheerful conversation.
“She's Miss Elodie, a guest invited to the Imperial Palace by His Highness the Crown Prince. She's also a friend of mine from the academy. She's a capable mage.”
“Hehe, I wouldn't say I'm that capable.”
Elodie twisted her body shyly.
“She should be able to dispel the magic placed on the intruders.”
Richard's eyes narrowed suspiciously.
“If she's your academy friend, then at most she's a student. Are you saying this girl can do what even the court mages couldn't?”
“Yes.”
“Hmm…….”
Even though I had arranged this meeting, Richard couldn't easily bring himself to believe it.
Mages tended to rely on status more than people in other professions.
No matter how great one's talent, it was difficult for it to fully blossom without the proper foundation.
‘But our Elodie is different.’
What? You think you didn't become a great mage because of your environment?
No, that's not because of your environment; it's because your talent is mediocre.
In the face of overwhelming talent, status and money are meaningless.
Elodie proves that.
“Why not believe her just this once, as if you had nothing to lose? You won't lose anything either way.”
“That is true…….”
Richard stared intently at Elodie, lost in thought.
He seemed caught between common sense and the absurd.
Naturally.
Entrusting something the court mages couldn't handle to an academy student made no sense.
A proper knight commander would of course have to refuse.
But the problem was that Richard had already seen it.
He had seen me, a slave, shatter common sense.
“……All right.”
Just as I expected, Richard eventually accepted my proposal.
“Let's request Miss Elodie's cooperation.”
“A wise decision.”
Come on, our daughter.
Let's show the world how capable you are.