Chapter 204
Phew... I'm tired.
Y-yeah...
Night had fallen.
Leticia and Leo had slipped away from the party and were walking outside the castle.
Leticia walked along happily, but Leo was in no state to enjoy himself.
On the balcony, Leo had told Al that he didn't know how to propose, only to receive the reply, "I don't know either."
"I mean, you might not have any experience either, Brother, but..."
Leo sighed, wondering how Al could say he didn't know in the face of his younger brother's once-in-a-lifetime crisis.
Ever since he was a child, Al had been Leo's confidant. Whenever Leo had a problem, he would consult Al, and Al always gave him a useful answer.
Al viewed things from a perspective unlike that of the adults around them, and always knew what was needed in each situation. That was why Leo had relied on him.
This time, however, Al had not answered him. It wasn't that he couldn't answer. Leo knew that Al had chosen not to. He was telling Leo to think for himself.
Even after thinking it over, Leo still didn't know what to do. Al had offered something resembling advice near the end of their conversation, but it hadn't been very specific. Leo had wanted detailed advice.
Thinking it unfair, Leo followed after Leticia.
They arrived at the griffins' enclosure.
"Hehe... Have you been well, Blanc?"
Leticia stroked the head of the white griffin she had ridden there.
Behind her, a black griffin without a rider poked out its head as if to say, Pet me too.
"Yes, yes. Have you been well too, Noir?"
"Um... Leticia."
"Yes? What is it?"
"The griffin you ride is a white one, right? Why did you bring the black griffin along?"
"I didn't bring this one. It followed me."
As she stroked the head of the black griffin called Noir, Leticia gave a wry smile.
Leo looked puzzled by the words followed me.
Griffins were a species of magical beast that lived in the Kingdom of Pelran. Since they did not attack humans unless humans harmed them, they were treated as valuable animals rather than monsters.
Intelligent, courageous, and proud, griffins rarely acknowledged a human as their master. That was one reason there were so few griffin knights.
What did she mean by saying that it had followed her?
"The griffin I first rode was the mother of these two. She died of an illness, and afterward, I became their surrogate mother. Perhaps because of that, they both grew attached to me... Noir in particular won't accept anyone but me and follows me wherever I go."
"You became their surrogate mother...?"
"Noir has a fierce temperament, so I didn't want to bring Noir to another country. I left Noir behind at first, but it seems Noir escaped when an opportunity arose..."
"I see... So you're connected."
"Yes. Noir can find me wherever I am. It is very well-behaved in my presence, but..."
As she said this, Leticia stroked Noir beneath the chin. Noir purred contentedly.
Noir certainly looked docile enough, but Leo had no desire to touch it. Noir was looking at Leo with unmistakable hostility.
There was no way Leo could propose here. If he did, the griffin would probably bite him to death. Imagining that, Leo suggested that they go somewhere else.
"L-Leticia. Um... Would you like to see a spectacular view?"
"A spectacular view?"
"Yes. There's a place where you can see the entire Imperial Capital..."
Leo realized his mistake halfway through his sentence.
Leticia rode on the backs of griffins as they raced through the sky. She must have grown tired of beautiful scenery.
The view of the Imperial Capital from the castle promised to be magnificent, but Leo wondered whether it would impress Leticia.
Leo ended up clutching his head in his hands.
Leticia chuckled at the sight of him.
"A spectacular view sounds nice, but there's somewhere I'd rather go. Will you take me there?"
"Y-yes! Gladly!"
"Then let's go!"
Leticia took Leo's hand and ran off with him.
■■■
"Wow! It really is a secret room!"
Leticia stood in a secret room hidden inside the castle, looking delighted.
It was an undisclosed secret room beside a room on one of the castle's lower levels.
The entrance appeared when a switch hidden behind a portrait of one of the past emperors was pressed, making it a secret room that no ordinary person would ever find.
"Is this where you wanted to come?"
"Yes. Do you remember? Five years ago, when I was talking with Mitsuba-sama, you and Prince Arnold said you were going to look for a secret room together."
"Come to think of it, that was around then."
About five years ago.
Al and Leo had been obsessed with finding the castle's secret rooms.
The Imperial Sword Castle had been expanded and altered by the emperors of each era, leaving behind countless unknown rooms and passageways.
Finding hidden rooms that even the Emperor did not know existed was the sort of game that stirred a boy's sense of adventure.
"After hearing the two of you talk about it, I wanted to go too, but... Given my position, I couldn't bring myself to say so. I've been curious about it all this time."
Leticia explored the secret room as she spoke.
The fairly spacious room was simple but furnished with expensive furniture. A fairly large bed stood in the center.
"As far as Brother's research showed, this room was built by the emperor from five reigns ago. He probably used it for trysts with his mistress."
"If he was the Emperor, couldn't he have taken her as a concubine?"
"I don't know the details. What Brother found while searching the library was a handwritten letter. Judging from its wording, it was probably addressed to that mistress."
"What did the letter say?"
"It was short. 'To the one I love but cannot have, please wait for me in the secret room.' The emperor from five reigns ago was known for never taking a concubine throughout his life, so I was surprised."
"It isn't exactly something to admire... but I think it's lovely too. He wanted to see her so badly that he even built a room like this."
"If everything could have been forgiven, he probably wanted to marry her. But he chose to live as the Emperor for the sake of the Empire."
As a member of the Imperial royal family, that was something worthy of praise.
By refusing to take a concubine, he would have formed a stronger bond with the family of his principal wife. Leo supposed that must have been important to the Empire at the time.
But he must also have had a love he could not give up. That was why he had built this room.
Even an Emperor was only human.
"It's rather sad, isn't it...?"
"Yes... It is."
Leo had felt the same way when he heard the story.
But Al had felt differently.
He had laughed at the emperor from five reigns ago, calling him a fool.
"Brother said that the fact the letter had been tucked into a book was the mistress making a move."
"Making a move?"
"It was a secret letter from the Emperor. Ordinarily, it should have been destroyed at once, but the mistress who received it didn't dispose of it. She tucked it into a book instead. Brother thought she wanted their relationship to be discovered."
"That suddenly makes it sound rather sordid..."
Leticia wore a troubled expression.
Leo had worn much the same expression back then.
According to Al, after their relationship was exposed, the mistress had been counting on the sort of Emperor who would take responsibility and make her his concubine.
But the relationship had never come to light. Whatever had happened, Al had declared the emperor from five reigns ago to be a complete fool.
"If he couldn't protect the woman he loved, how could he protect the Empire?"
"Those were Prince Arnold's words?"
"Yes. Brother thoroughly berated the Emperor of that time for not even making the woman he loved his concubine. Back then, I thought he was going too far, but now I understand. That Emperor was a complete fool."
An Emperor devoted everything to the Empire and put it first. That was only natural.
But an Emperor was also only human. No matter how hard he tried, there would be times when it became too much for him.
At times like that, he needed someone to support him.
Protecting the person who supported him was also an Emperor's duty. It was a chance to show his mettle.
Leo didn't know what circumstances the mistress had been in. Perhaps she had been from another country. Perhaps she had been in a complicated situation.
But an Emperor was capable of overcoming such obstacles.
If an Emperor loved someone, he should have had enough backbone to take her as his concubine. Sneaking around to meet her was pathetic.
How much value could there be in love whispered only in a secret room?
Leo raised his head and looked straight at Leticia.
"Leticia. There's something I want to tell you. Will you hear me out?"
"Yes? What is it? Why are you being so serious?"
Leo took a small, deep breath.
If the emperor from five reigns ago had been a complete fool, Leo thought, then he was even worse.
Even if it had been only in a secret room, that emperor had confessed his love. Leo, however, was still keeping his feelings locked inside his heart.
How much value could there be in love whispered only within one's own heart?
There were surely loves that shone brighter by remaining unspoken. But Leo's was not one of them.
If he didn't put it into words, it would never reach her.
Leo remembered his conversation with Al.
"Y-you don't know...? Brother, that's so mean..."
"It's about you. Don't ask me."
"B-but... she might reject me... Then everything will have been for nothing... I won't be able to save her, and the relationship between our countries and between us will all be ruined... I'm scared... If I stake everything and she rejects me..."
His position made the burden on his shoulders even heavier.
It was nothing like one commoner asking another to marry him.
Yet Al had spoken in his usual calm tone.
"Enough. Bet everything and say it, then think about it afterward. If you crash and burn, I'll pick up the pieces."
"Y-you say that because it's someone else's problem..."
"We're twins, but as far as this is concerned, it's someone else's business. Obviously. You're talking about the person who'll stand beside you for the rest of your life."
"Brother..."
"Still, if you crash and burn, it'll be a hassle for me too. So I'll give you one piece of advice."
With that, Al had left him with one final piece of advice.
With that advice in mind, Leo drew a slow breath and—spoke.
"Leticia. Will you become my wife?"
It took more courage than anything he had ever done to say those few words.
Leo clenched his trembling hand, thinking that challenging a demon would have been far easier.
He was terrified. If she rejected him, he would lose so much.
Even so, staying silent would make him lose even more.
Moving a relationship between two people forward also meant giving up the relationship they had now. The farther they tried to move forward, the more they would have to give up. That was why it took courage. People were afraid of letting go.
But... Leo murmured inwardly.
Al had told him to think after saying it. Once he moved forward, he could think about what came next.
If he had time, there might have been a way to advance little by little. But Leo had no time.
Whether to remain where he was or move forward. With only those two choices, his decision had already been made.
However.
"You're proposing this to save me, aren't you? If I married an Imperial prince, the Empire and the Kingdom certainly wouldn't go to war. Although there would still be many problems, with me—the Kingdom's powerful symbol—gone, the Kingdom's will to go to war would weaken. Surely that would be a good choice... but—"
"No. That's not it."
"It's not...?"
Leticia's eyes widened in surprise.
Al had given Leo one final piece of advice.
It had been a question.
Were you proposing to save her, or because you loved her? Be clear about that.
That was what Al had told him.
Leo had a clear answer to that question—he had been able to find one.
"I've loved you since I met you five years ago. Not a single day has passed when I didn't think of you. And... today has made me realize it all the more clearly. I love you. For the next ten years, the next twenty, and forever after that. I want you to be the person by my side. It has to be you. I can't imagine losing you. If someone tries to take you from me—I'll take you for myself. I won't hand you over to anyone, no matter who they are."
The Golden Eagle Clan.
The Imperial royal family, the Adler family, was sometimes called that.
The golden eagle that serves as the Empire's crest was originally the Adler family's coat of arms, which is why they came to be called that.
That family sometimes danced gracefully through the skies and sometimes hid its talons while building a vast empire in the center of the continent.
Their nature was that of hunters. The Adler family never let its chosen prey escape. As natural-born royalty, they displayed incredible forcefulness whenever prey stood before them.
Even in the chaotic age when the Demon King appeared, they remained a great power and continued strengthening their own nation. Their enemies mockingly called them this:
Plunderers.