Chapter 121
“Your Grace, His Majesty the Emperor has arrived.”
“...I see.”
The servant's face was deathly pale. Small wonder. The Black Lion Emperor had arrived at the House of Achenvar without warning, accompanied by only a handful of guards.
This could hardly be called a visit. It was more like a raid.
Duke Achenvar instructed the servants to treat the Emperor with the utmost courtesy, then leaned back in his chair.
(...Has he discovered that I sent an assassin after Tsetsilia?)
Duke Achenvar sighed and closed his eyes.
For nearly ten generations, the throne of the Shubalgart Empire had alternated between rulers who loved war and rulers who abhorred it.
Roughly fifty years ago, the previous emperor had waged war against the Kingdom of Ridill. He was unmistakably fond of war, and it would be no exaggeration to say the Empire made its greatest strides under his rule.
The emperor who succeeded him loved art and despised wars that destroyed cultural treasures. Even when those around him called him a coward, he avoided conflict and devoted himself to protecting cultural heritage.
But an emperor who cherished art and avoided war was not necessarily a good emperor.
That emperor was a pleasure-seeker with no interest in politics. To avoid war, he readily sold off the Empire's lands.
And so a long period followed in which the Empire enjoyed a tepid peace, all while the benefits gained through the previous emperor's wars dwindled away.
It was clear to everyone that this peace was nearing its end. The central nobility had already grown corrupt, and the provincial lords had turned their hearts away from the nation.
The Empire was rotting from within, while invasions by foreign tribes and eastern nations gradually brought it closer to collapse.
Even so, the cowardly emperor avoided war, turned a blind eye to inconvenient truths, and remained cooped up in the palace, leading a life of indulgence and debauchery.
When that previous emperor died suddenly, the throne passed to the young Leonhardt, known as the Black Lion of the South.
The previous emperor's death was officially attributed to a sudden illness, but Duke Achenvar regarded the rumor that the Black Lion had killed him as half-true.
That Black Lion wouldn't hesitate to strike down even his own family.
The Black Lion Emperor had galloped across the southern plains, driving back the foreign tribes with his fierce warfare. As soon as he took the throne, he began purging the central nobility one after another.
Some had their fortunes confiscated, others were stripped of their titles, and some were beheaded by the Black Lion Emperor himself.
Amid the Empire's turbulent history, the House of Achenvar had prospered to this day.
That was due entirely to its possession of the ancient magical artifact 〈Mirror of Bern〉, and its role as the key to victory in the war fifty years ago.
In other words, if the House of Achenvar lost the 〈Mirror of Bern〉, Duke Achenvar would lose his advantage in an instant.
(I thought His Majesty, being a pragmatist, would agree to dispose of Tsetsilia and install a new saint. I never imagined the Black Lion had any affection for his sister.)
A loud bang rang out as the door flew open. The servants' flustered voices followed.
Duke Achenvar slowly raised his eyelids.
The Black Lion Emperor stood in the open doorway, a cloth-wrapped bundle tucked under one arm.
With an amused smile on his rugged, sharply defined face, the Black Lion Emperor strode toward Duke Achenvar's desk, his boots clacking against the floor.
Duke Achenvar rose and bowed in the formal manner of a vassal.
“Your Majesty, what brings you here today—”
“I came to cut down a traitor who defied my wishes.”
In a surprisingly casual tone, the Black Lion Emperor drew the sword at his waist.
Duke Achenvar had expected him to come and warn him over the attempt on Tsetsilia's life, but it seemed he had badly underestimated the situation.
Duke Achenvar bowed his head deeply.
“Please reconsider, Your Majesty. This was a painful decision, made with the future of our Empire in mind.”
He wasn't lying. He was more patriotic than most, and sending an assassin after his granddaughter had been a painful decision.
...But the Emperor had seen through the self-preservation in him, equal in measure to his patriotism.
“You did this out of selfish desire not to lose your advantage with the 〈Mirror of Bern〉, did you not? Don't make me laugh by claiming it was for the good of the Empire.”
“Certainly not! The House of Achenvar has always served the prosperity of the Empire! Have you forgotten how I served our country during the war fifty years ago?”
Duke Achenvar pleaded in a sorrowful voice, and the Black Lion Emperor scoffed.
He looked bored, as if he'd just been told a tedious joke.
“What have you done? It was the saint who risked her life to protect the country. What is there for a man who merely sent his sister to her death to boast about?”
“...What did you say?”
“The 〈Mirror of Bern〉 didn't reject Tsetsilia. It rejected you, Duke Achenvar.”
Until now, Duke Achenvar had maintained some semblance of composure. His face now flushed red with shame and humiliation.
The Black Lion Emperor was a young man who knew nothing of the horrors of the war fifty years ago.
For that reason, the nobles who had lived through that war feared the young emperor, but also looked down on him. Duke Achenvar was no exception.
But the Black Lion mocked the arrogance of those elders with an even greater arrogance of his own.
“You look as though you want to say, ‘You're a young pup who never knew that era, yet you speak as if you did.’ Then do you know what happened in the south while you lot lived in comfort? The horrors of the lands that were continually invaded. The fate of my compatriots who were violated by the foreign tribes. If you like, I can recreate it here and now.”
The Empire's losses on the southern front, and the fate of the foreign tribes, were both said to have been horrific.
As Duke Achenvar turned pale and broke into a cold sweat, the Black Lion Emperor spoke as if a thought had just occurred to him.
“That's right. Let me repeat here the words I once said to the leader of a foreign tribe.”
The naked blade pressed against Duke Achenvar's neck.
“Stay away from Tsetsilia.”
The young emperor stared mercilessly at the old duke, who caught his breath at the chill of the blade.
“If you refuse, I won't let you live. Surrender or die. Choose.”
There was only one choice, really.
For Duke Achenvar, his own life had always come first.
“...What do you want from me, Your Majesty?”
“Send troops to suppress the unrest in the east. Also, the temple officials are making a fuss over land development, so use your influence to silence them. If you invoke the name of Duke Achenvar, a descendant of the High Priest, that'll shut them up. Then there's a move toward independence near the western frontier. I want you to investigate that as well. Oh, right—and a signature on raising the minimum wheat import quota, and engineers for the mine excavation work...”
As one difficult task after another was listed, a croak like a frog's escaped Duke Achenvar's throat.
“S-surely you can't be serious?”
“Then I'll put that joke in writing and send it to you officially later. Well, it's a small price to pay to keep your head attached, isn't it?”
The Emperor laughed heartily, but Duke Achenvar was already gasping for breath.
Couldn't this tyrant leave as soon as possible? As Duke Achenvar desperately wondered how he might make that happen, the tyrant stared at him with searching eyes and spoke.
“For nearly ten generations, the throne has alternated between those who love war and those who hate it. Since the previous emperor hated war, it seems many assume the Black Lion must love it...”
The Black Lion Emperor snorted and sheathed his sword.
“I fight when necessary, and not otherwise. That's all. I lay the groundwork in case war comes, while avoiding it as much as possible. Tsetsilia's marriage is one move in that plan.”
As he spoke, the Black Lion Emperor placed the cloth bundle he'd been carrying on the table and pulled away the wrapping.
Inside was a beautifully decorated mirror. A round surface, framed in gold—it looked exactly like the 〈Mirror of Bern〉.
But Duke Achenvar knew the truth. The genuine 〈Mirror of Bern〉 was hidden in the basement of this mansion, its surface blackened and unable to reflect anything.
“I had an artisan I favor make this. You may put it in place of the original. It should at least preserve a semblance of the House of Achenvar's dignity, don't you think?”
“...It's magnificent. Indistinguishable from the original.”
That wasn't flattery. The mirror really was a fine piece of work.
Even with Duke Achenvar's practiced eye, after handling the 〈Mirror of Bern〉 for so many years, he couldn't tell it apart from the real one.
“That genius who made it is probably hard at work even now.”
“...?”
“Did you think I was simply going to marry Tsetsilia off? I told you, didn't I? I've also laid the groundwork in case war comes.”
＊ ＊ ＊
“Wow! Amazing, amazing, amaaazing!”
The one excitedly exclaiming in the Kingdom of Ridill's treasury was a girl who looked to be in her mid-teens. Her black hair was tied into a large bun at the back of her head, and her slightly upturned eyes gave her the air of a friendly cat.
The elderly man in charge of the Kingdom of Ridill's treasury looked at the girl, who had come as an envoy from the Empire—Karina Bahl—as fondly as he might look at his own granddaughter.
They were about to store an item presented by the Empire as a gift.
The Empire had prepared a veil made of the finest Korvitz lace.
With intricate magical formulae woven into the lace, it was both a top-grade magical artifact and a work of art to be worn.
After being shown over several days to the king, queen, prime minister, and other high-ranking nobles, the Korvitz lace would be stored here in the treasury. But magical artifacts with such high artistic value were particularly difficult to manage.
It seemed that the girl named Karina was a technician who had accompanied the delegation to care for the Korvitz lace and oversee its storage.
“But why are you dressed as a maid if you're a technician?”
“Umm, some important person told me to. They said it'd make me less conspicuous or something.”
“Hah, it's hard to understand what important people are thinking.”
“Right?”
Holding the box containing the Korvitz lace, Karina tilted her head innocently.
The treasury keeper glanced at a cardboard box carried by one of the soldiers accompanying them. It was large and flat, and it contained a glass case.
Whenever a technician from another country entered the treasury, they had to be accompanied by several soldiers. Even now, three soldiers were standing close to Karina.
The soldiers were there to ensure that visitors from other countries didn't tamper with the treasury's precious items. But their visitor was such an innocent-looking girl that they were helping carry in her equipment with the warmth one might show a child.
“Come to think of it, I heard this glass case was custom-made, too?”
“That one? I made it! I built in a spell to keep the lace from yellowing and block magic. And it's super sturdy!”
“That's impressive.”
Even the glass case used to store the Korvitz lace was a magical artifact.
The keeper's “That's impressive” was meant as praise for the girl who had made the magical artifact, but she seemed to have taken it as praise for how carefully the lace was managed.
“The man who made this lace, Mr. Korvitz, is just so, so stubborn, selfish, and quick to anger! He said, ‘If you stain the lace I made or distort its weave, I'll braid your hair so intricately that you'll never be able to undo it!’”
“That sounds frightening.”
“Right? So I really went all out making a magical artifact for storing it.”
The two chatted casually as they walked deeper into the treasury.
Ahead was a room in the treasury reserved exclusively for magical artifacts.
Since the Korvitz lace was also classified as a magical artifact, it would be stored in that room.
Walking at Karina's pace, the treasury keeper spoke in a relaxed tone.
“Still, what a commotion that must have caused. I heard Princess Tsetsilia's stay was extended. The servants are in an uproar, apparently.”
“Yeah, I was surprised too! I wonder what happened?”
The sudden decision to extend her stay had thrown the entire castle into a frenzy. That was why storing the lace had been delayed as well.
“Oh, but I'm actually a little happy her stay's been extended. I made friends in this country, and I want to see the sights in the Kingdom of Ridill. I'd love to visit the magical tool workshop in Anbard, too. I wonder if I can!”
“Is that so? I hope you get to go sightseeing.”
“Yeah!”
The keeper smiled at Karina's cheerful nod, then came to a stop.
Before them stood a door sealed tightly by Louis Miller, the 〈Barrier Mage〉. Opening it required a special magical tool key.
The treasury keeper took out the key and unlocked the door, then slowly opened it.
“Now, this is the room where magical artifacts are stored.”
Karina's catlike eyes widened, and she let out an admiring, “Wow!”