Chapter 22
Beneath the warm May sunshine,
the estate of Baron Valmont in southern Gallia was filled with the fragrant scents of strawberries and cherries. The baron’s mansion, too, was steeped in the rich aromas of flowers and fruit.
A handsome blond young man sat in the garden of that fragrant estate. He was a guest visiting the domain.
He was none other than Lydia’s twin brother, Leonard.
“….”
Leonard de Gallia read the letter in his hand.
A letter from Lydia.
It had been barely three months since she enrolled at Arien Academy, yet her letter was already filled with all sorts of incidents and mishaps. She calmly recounted hardships that made him wince just hearing about them.
“You’ve been keeping busy.”
How surprised he’d been when Lydia first said she wanted to go to Arien Academy of her own accord.
Even if she wanted to protect herself in a neutral zone, the thought of a royal woman attending the academy had troubled him. Wouldn’t it have been better for her to work in the more flexible Foreign Ministry, like Leonard?
‘…It’s not as if she’s aiming to inherit the family estate or join a knightly order.’
At least on this southern continent, the recognition one earned after enduring the hardships of academy life was considerable. It was an old custom born of the legends and traditions of the Hero.
-Any noble worth their title must protect their domain from the monsters that constantly swarm it, or take up a sword and demonstrate their loyalty to the king beneath the Sun God.
-That is the path the Sun God desires.
Ever since the age of Arien, the Hero of the Sacred Sword,
it had been a deeply rooted custom in the Kingdom of Gallia.
“….”
Leonard looked at his hands, not a callus on them, and gave a bitter smile. How many times had he been told he was ‘not manly’ because of these hands?
‘The Republic criticized the Kingdom of Gallia for being in the grip of collective madness.’
At least,
Leonard couldn’t argue with that very much.
Was Lydia’s decision motivated by this custom unique to the Kingdom of Gallia?
“Who knows? She’s not the sort to care about things like that.”
But.
Lydia had gone to the academy after all.
And even now, she was working hard.
A princess’s enrollment,
the discovery of the Sacred Sword,
a busy academy life,
and the Theocracy seeking to test whether the Hero was real….
She’d matter-of-factly written about all those things in her letter.
「…Those are the events that have taken place. And through it all, I’m enjoying academy life with several friends I get along with. Fortunately, Senior Lucian de Montrant, the ‘Golden Knight’ who leads the orthodox noble faction, has graciously ‘acknowledged’ the humble social gatherings of this frail young lady.」
“A frail young lady? Graciously acknowledged…?”
Leonard read that part and chuckled.
‘She didn’t ask him to acknowledge it. She must have made him do so. Even if he is the Golden Knight, your eloquence and charisma would be enough to persuade him.’
His lofty sister would never have fawned over Lucian like some ordinary noble girl. More than the words in her letter, Leonard could easily picture her facing him with dignity and claiming her place.
‘Even if there are still people who mock you as the Abandoned Gold… they’ll all be drawn in by your lofty gaze.’
The reformist faction and the noble faction.
Choosing to walk a delicate line between them within the academy and make ‘friends’ of them all wasn’t a bad idea.
It was an extremely difficult and dangerous strategy, but Leonard felt Lydia could pull it off. She had been born with that kind of boldness and charisma.
Leonard, who had watched her since childhood, knew it.
“….”
In truth,
to be perfectly honest,
at least in Leonard’s judgment,
the one among the current Gallian royals most suited to the throne was…
‘Probably Lydia….’
“….”
Leonard stopped there.
It was far too dangerous a thought. It was also an ambition that served no purpose in his plans for the future. He hurriedly shook his head and cast it aside.
‘What matters is that you’re someone who can shine wherever you are.’
“And with Mirian by your side, I can rest easy.”
The maid, Mirian.
She had been the twins’ nanny, caring for them after their mother, Lady Eleonora, passed away. She was far too capable to be living in the residence of the forsaken royals, but she was also an incredibly strong and dependable woman.
‘Mirian was an elite soldier who survived that hellish northern front. Having her by our side was a great stroke of luck.’
“We’ve been lucky.”
Lucky to have been safe all this time.
Lucky to have someone so good by our side.
“….”
‘If we keep being this lucky, there’ll be nothing more I could ask for.’
Leonard carefully folded the letter and slipped it into his inner pocket. Just as he rose from his seat, a huge old man approached from a distance, bowing politely.
“Your Highness Leonard.”
“!”
It was Max, the gardener and servant at the twins’ residence.
“Max! You must still be tired from the journey. Shouldn’t you rest a little longer?”
“How could I rest comfortably while leaving Your Highness alone?”
He was a towering man, nearly two meters tall.
Old Max still wore rough clothes and a straw hat. Along with Mirian, he was like a parent to the twins, having cared for them since the day they were born.
‘Having old Max by my side was lucky, too.’
Leonard smiled warmly at him.
“I’ve spent months here on my own, feeling rather adrift in the mansion while Baron Valmont was away in the Republic. For Lydia’s letter and you to arrive at the same time… It’s a tremendous comfort.”
Old Max bowed his head.
“Fortunately, those who will take over management of the estate after me arrived before long. So I came straight here to attend to Your Highness. Though the rough journey has taken a toll on this old man’s knees, it was a price I was glad to pay.”
“Oh, are you all right?”
“Heh heh. This old, sickly body of mine can hardly get any worse. One more ailment won’t make a difference.”
Old Max’s lips curved into a playful smile, deepening the wrinkles at their corners. He brought to mind an ancient tree standing beneath the evening sun.
“Your Highness, please don’t cast aside this sickly, unsightly old servant. I’m quite frightened of the journey back.”
“!”
Leonard laughed heartily at this familiar teasing. Many people offered him insincere flattery, but only one person ever did it with such warm playfulness.
“Hahaha!”
Good heavens,
old Max, sickly and unsightly?
It was a joke that would make even a passing goblin laugh.
Leonard still remembered how old Max had protected him by beating the lesser monsters in the woods to death with the handle of an axe. He’d been more gallant and dependable than any knight.
“Max! Weren’t you the warrior who drove off goblins by setting an axe handle on fire to protect me when I was only five? It’s a great comfort to have you all the way here at Baron Valmont’s estate. I’d never cast you aside, so don’t worry.”
“It is an honor, Your Highness.”
“It feels as if my personal guard has finally come to my side.”
“….”
“You may think of yourself as a gardener, but to me, you’re more dependable than any knight.”
“….”
Old Max gazed quietly at Leonard.
His eyes were as warm as if he were looking at his own grandson.
“…It is an honor.”
“By the way, the strawberries here are delicious.”
“This is where the best strawberries in the Kingdom of Gallia are grown.”
“If Lydia were here, she’d probably eat three baskets in one sitting.”
“Her Highness Lydia wouldn’t do that.”
“Heh heh, you think so? Well, she is a proper young lady now.”
“…Her Highness Lydia could easily eat five baskets.”
“What? Hahaha! You’re right about that.”
For a while, the two of them strolled through the warm garden, exchanging jokes. It was as comforting as the time they’d spent together at the twins’ residence.
Just then,
the estate’s butler came to see them.
The butler bowed respectfully to Leonard and spoke.
“Baron Valmont is passing through the estate and heading to the mansion. He said he would come to pay his respects to Your Highness shortly.”
“!”
Leonard clenched his fist.
‘Now it’s my turn to start gathering people of my own.’
Isn’t that right?
Lydia.
“….”
But Lydia wasn’t by his side.
She was at the academy.
If she had been here, though, she would have clasped her hands elegantly and nodded slowly, with a burning passion in her eyes.
Somehow, he could picture it.
“….”
Please,
let Baron Valmont accept my proposal.
‘…There is no hope for us in this kingdom anymore. We must pry open the diplomatic doors of this closed kingdom and establish a base of support in the Republic, our former ally, before the beasts coveting the throne turn their eyes toward us.’
For Leonard to knock on the Republic’s door, which was only partly open to them, this was his one chance—while the Gallian king’s attention was diverted by the question of succession to the throne.
And.
Before the royals who coveted Lydia’s beauty made their move… there wasn’t much time left.
While the Vow of Chastity protected her, Leonard had to make his own way. And the first step was to throw in his lot with the reformist faction.
Leonard met Baron Valmont in the mansion’s study. Old Max the gardener waited in the outer room.
An old and distinguished family of the Kingdom of Gallia,
the head of the Valmont family, which handled all diplomatic affairs.
Baron Cedric Valmont offered his courtesies with more elegance than any other gentleman in the kingdom. He exuded the authority of a senior member of the reformist faction, which had rapidly expanded after the ‘Northern Invasion’ twenty years ago.
“It is an honor to meet Your Highness Leonard de Gallia, the Golden of Gallia.”
“….”
Leonard didn’t return his greeting.
Instead, he adopted the bearing of an up-and-coming noble facing someone who had come to negotiate. He straightened his back and placed one hand behind him, palm held out gracefully.
Baron Valmont fell silent at the gesture.
“….”
Leonard spoke in that same posture.
“Leonard de Gallia, of the Kingdom of Gallia’s Foreign Ministry, has come to ask the minister for his assistance.”
“…What kind of assistance have you come to ask for?”
Not as a royal,
but as an employee of the Foreign Ministry,
Leonard had received Baron Valmont.
Now,
it begins.