Chapter 39
"The Empire’s Seventh Prince, Arnold Lakes Adler, requests an audience with His Highness, the Grand Duke of Rondine."
"Oh, Prince Arnold. Welcome. I hear your younger brother’s ship encountered a storm. I pray he is safe."
"Thank you."
With that, Leonart greeted the Grand Duke of Rondine in Arnold’s guise.
The Grand Duke of Rondine was a slightly overweight man in his late forties, with an impressive mustache and beard.
His name was Carlo di Rondine.
He had inherited the long-running war with Albatross from his father and continued to wage it. After seeing that Albatross had secured the aid of other countries, he sent a goodwill ambassador to the Empire to seek its assistance as well, creating the opportunity for Al and the others to come.
"Now then, Prince Arnold, with your brother absent, may I assume that you are the head of the delegation?"
"Yes, that is correct."
Leo answered only the questions, saying as little else as possible.
Elna, kneeling behind Leonart, had repeatedly reminded him of that.
But the world was not kind enough to let him get by on that alone.
"Then I would like to hear the Emperor’s reply."
With that, the Grand Duke of Rondine leaned forward.
The Principality of Rondine had already requested the Empire’s aid against the Principality of Albatross.
The Emperor’s answer to that had been no. However, several weapons and blueprints had been mixed in with the treasure. Though the official answer was no, the Emperor had no intention of severing ties with Rondine. That had been the intent, but most of those weapons had been loaded onto the ship Al was aboard, and they had all sunk to the bottom of the sea.
Leo hesitated over how he should respond, then gave the response they had decided on beforehand for just such a situation.
"I would like one of our Imperial Guard knights to explain that matter. Elna."
"Yes. It is a pleasure to meet you, Your Highness. I am Elna von Amsberg, captain of the Third Knight Squad of the Imperial Guard."
"A-Amsberg... The prodigy of that famed Heroic Duke family... I-I’m surprised. I had heard an Imperial Guard knight would accompany you, but I never imagined that..."
"Did you not expect a Holy Sword wielder to come?"
The Grand Duke of Rondine nodded repeatedly at Elna’s words.
In response, Elna chuckled softly, easing the tension in the room.
To look at her, Elna was a delicate, beautiful girl, and her smile slightly softened the atmosphere.
"Rest assured. I cannot use the Holy Sword outside the Empire."
"N-no, I did not mean to doubt you... If I offended you, I apologize."
"No, I fully understand that the Amsberg Heroic Duke family is regarded as such. And this is the answer, Your Highness."
"W-what does that mean? Explain it clearly so I can understand."
Elna began explaining to the Grand Duke of Rondine, who looked completely bewildered.
"The Empire is a military power. If the Empire takes action, it means that Imperial Guard knights like me and elite generals will be deployed. To put it bluntly, it would be easy for the Empire to destroy either your country or the Principality of Albatross."
"Y-yes, I suppose so. I believe I understand that."
"As expected of Your Highness. You are indeed a wise ruler. However, the Empire has rivals of its own. Suppose I formally came here as reinforcements for your country. If that happened, our rivals would be delighted to lend their aid to the Principality of Albatross. What would await us then would be the exhaustion of both countries and the devastation of the south."
"W-what?"
"Unfortunately, this is the answer, Your Highness. The Empire is simply too powerful. Whenever we move, other nations move as well. That is why His Majesty the Emperor cannot grant your request for aid—especially while your country has the advantage."
"Y-yes... As expected of His Majesty the Emperor. He has carefully considered the situation across the continent. However, our country alone cannot defeat the Principality of Albatross. There are nations lending that country their aid."
Elna nodded at that.
Of course she knew that already. That was why they had brought weapons and blueprints for Rondine to make do with. Now that they were gone, Elna could only silence him with words.
"We are, of course, aware of that. That is why His Majesty the Emperor hopes to continue our friendship and provide you with assistance little by little. As the first step, His Majesty sent me here—to show you the Empire’s military might. What do you think, Your Highness? Are you interested in the power held by a hero’s lineage?"
"Oh! So that is what you mean! Excellent!"
The Grand Duke of Rondine finally understood her intentions, and his downcast expression brightened.
If the Empire refused him, he would have had to make a major change in policy.
The Principality of Rondine could no longer defeat the Principality of Albatross on its own. It might be possible if they took their time, but the Grand Duke of Rondine believed that would not do.
He wanted to unite the south during his own reign. Otherwise, they would eventually be swallowed up by the central nations, which grew larger by the day.
In his mind, the plan was to become the king who united the south. It was certainly an ambitious idea, but it was also born from a genuine concern for the south.
For the Grand Duke of Rondine, the power of a descendant of the hero—the strongest human in existence—was something he very much wanted to see.
"Hmm, however, no one in my country can go one-on-one against you. So, Prince Arnold, would it be acceptable for you to fight several opponents at once?"
"If Elna is willing, I have no objection."
"I have no objection."
"Very well, very well. Then how about ten? Surely..."
"Understood. Ten it is."
With that, Elna accepted without hesitation.
The Grand Duke of Rondine had not expected her to agree so readily, but he could not change the terms now. He summoned ten of the most skilled knights in the castle.
Then a one-against-ten battle began in the space cleared before the throne.
"Oooooohhh!"
The first to charge was a large knight.
He charged with a practice sword, but from Elna’s perspective, it was an attack full of openings.
If one of her subordinates made an attack like that, she would make them start over from the basics, Elna thought as she casually swung her sword.
With just that, the practice sword in the large knight’s hands snapped in two with a dry crack.
"Huh...?"
"I recommend attacking me all at once."
The large knight’s face went pale at the perfectly clean cut, as though a razor-sharp blade had cut him.
Without paying him any mind, Elna looked at the remaining nine.
The knights flinched for an instant beneath Elna’s gaze, but then remembered that they stood before their Grand Duke, summoned their courage, and charged at her.
First, three of them attacked simultaneously from three directions.
To Elna, the attacks were slow enough to make her yawn. With a motion that seemed merely to brush them aside, she severed every sword halfway down.
Having been forced to watch the feat of a practice sword repeatedly cutting practice swords in half, the remaining knights unconsciously began to back away. Elna barked at them.
"If you call yourselves knights, stop backing away in front of your lord! People will slander Rondine, saying it has no knights!"
"Y-yes! We’re coming!"
It was like watching an instructor and her students.
That was what Leo thought as he watched the scene before him.
The rebuked knights charged at Elna without fear. For the first time, Elna blocked one of their swords.
A cheer went up from Rondine’s side.
But it was all part of Elna’s performance. Her subordinates and Leo were probably the only ones who had noticed it.
She deliberately displayed overwhelming strength, then eased up just enough afterward to save her opponent’s face. It was a technique the Imperial Guard often used when dealing with nobles and the like.
Fortunately, no one on Rondine’s side noticed.
Relieved by that, Leo let out a small sigh, wondering how much longer this would continue.
"I wonder if Big Brother’s having a hard time too..."
He murmured so softly that no one could hear.
To Leo, Al had always been an amazing older brother who could do things Leo himself couldn’t.
When they were children, there had been a tree no one could climb. All the children had been obsessed with who would be the first to climb it. Leo practiced as hard as he could, but in the end, neither he nor anyone else managed it, and the tree-climbing craze passed.
However, a little while later, Leo found a small bird injured in that tree.
But since Leo could not climb it, there was nothing he could do.
Just then, Al happened to pass by. After hearing what had happened, he told Leo to wait and disappeared.
After a while, Al returned and easily put the small bird back in its nest, saving it.
Al had borrowed, without permission, a rare magical device from the Emperor’s room that let him float in midair, using it to resolve the situation.
That was the sort of brother Al was: he solved problems in ways Leo could never have imagined. A brother like that would surely be able to take Leo’s place with ease.
With that thought, Leo focused on his own situation.
And so he resolved to devote himself to becoming a layabout.