Shinwa Densetsu no Eiyuu no Isekaitan - Volume 3 - Chapter 2

Chapter 2: A New Mission

The blue sky stretched endlessly away. Beneath its vivid canopy, a host of horses and riders made their leisurely way along the Schein High Road, one of the arterial roads leading to the capital. Strapping soldiers marched in line, their armor glinting in the sun. The gleam of swords and shields swept across the land with the crunch of marching boots.

Standards of all colors rose above the soldiers’ heads; a sun, a lily, a black dragon, a rose. There were easily a dozen great banners and more than thirty smaller ones. The sun, the lily, and the black dragon stood together above a gaudy four-horse carriage. Three people—and one wolf—sat within.

“Not long now to the capital,” Rosa observed as she stared out of the window. “I ought to have mentioned, I sent the lesser nobles ahead to wait for us.”

She crossed her arms, pushing up her breasts. Her military uniform emphasized her figure enough to draw any man’s eye, but anyone foolish enough to take that as an invitation would meet with swift and merciless retaliation.

“I spared no expense. You will receive the most lavish welcome money can buy.”

Hiro grimaced. “Liz, maybe, but there’s no need to throw any kind of party on my account.”

His position as the War God’s heir made him enough of a celebrity as it was, but whispers of the One-Eyed Dragon were spreading with incredible speed. Stealing the limelight from Liz would defeat the purpose of their entrance. He sighed in exasperation.

Rosa cocked her head. “A strange thing to say, looking as you do.” She gestured at his person—not only to his black hair and eyes, but to his imperial uniform, with its outdated style, and his black overcoat with dragons entwined along its shoulders. “You may as well have ‘Behold the War God’s heir!’ tattooed across your forehead.”

There was nothing Hiro could say to that. She was right. It did look as if he was trying to emphasize his status...or perhaps even like a cosplaying Mars fan.

“You’d draw far fewer stares without the Black Camellia,” Rosa suggested.

Hiro shook his head. The Black Camellia might earn him some funny looks, but it would take more than that to convince him to take her off. She might be willful, but her loyalty was absolute. She had saved his life countless times over the past thousand years and would no doubt save it countless more. There was only one answer he could give:

“That’s nonnegotiable.”

There was no trace of hesitation in his voice, but the Black Camellia’s collar still tightened protectively. Smiling wryly, he gave his lapel a reassuring pat. Don’t worry. I won’t abandon you. Only then did the garment slacken.

Just then, a thought struck him.

“Liz?”

Normally, Liz would have jumped into the conversation by that point, but she was strangely silent. Hiro looked to his side to see...

“...zzz...”

Liz was curled up on the seat beside him, snoring softly. With Cerberus for a pillow, she looked as content as he had ever seen her.

A half-suppressed snort issued from across the carriage. Hiro looked back at Rosa to see her gazing fondly at her sister.

“She must be exhausted. Not that I can blame her.”

A horde of nobles armed with kind regards had descended on Liz on the road from Sieg, and committing their names and faces to memory had taken a heavy toll. By the time she had finally emerged from the throng, she’d looked like she hadn’t slept in a week.

“It’ll only get worse from here,” Hiro remarked. “We’ll have an audience and a banquet waiting once we reach the capital.”

Rosa nodded in agreement. “Indeed we will. All manner of nobles will approach you, hoping to use you for all manner of ends.”

Everybody harbored some kind of ambition, and nobles all the more so. Nobility conferred obligation. Subjects, lands—aristocrats owed responsibilities to many quarters, and they would readily exploit even the royal family to see them honored. Exposure would mean execution, of course, but entertaining notions that it would be death to speak was what it meant to walk in high society. They would not be so easily outfoxed.

“Look out for Liz,” Hiro said.

“And who will look out for you?”

Hiro shrugged. “I got the hang of this last time I was here, more or less.”

“Last time” was one thousand years ago, although Rosa didn’t know it. Still, it was true that he had experience. Manners and courtesies would have evolved since then, but he could navigate that.

“Anyway, she’s the one you’ll have to take care of.”

As a member of the royal family, Liz was surely no stranger to noble society. Still, the coming banquet would be a different beast entirely. Before, she was merely a princess. Tonight, she would be an imperial heir. Her words would be the pronouncements of a contender for the throne now, not a young girl’s idle chatter. She would have to choose them carefully or they would be turned against her in an instant.

Rosa nodded sagely. She seemed to have guessed what Hiro was thinking. “Then so I shall. But what of once the banquet is over?”

Hiro looked at her in confusion, unsure what she meant. Her tongue snaked out to moisten her lips. The motion was so lascivious, it almost seemed obscene.

“Let’s not play coy. What I mean is, how do you intend to explain to Liz that I spent the night in your chambers?”

“I don’t. Because we’re sleeping separately.”

“Really? You have no interest in me?” Rosa’s eyebrows rose in what looked like genuine surprise.

Hiro put a hand to his forehead and heaved a sigh. “I thought you said you needed some time.”

“And time has passed.” Rosa puffed out her chest for emphasis. “Now I am resolved.”

Hiro’s jaw tightened just a little. “Do you really not get embarrassed by...you know, all this? I wonder if you’re where Liz gets it from.”

While Rosa was overly forward about sexual matters, Liz was entirely ignorant, but that was causing its own problems. Hiro would have given anything to know what the Grantzian Empire was teaching its royal family.

“Hm?” Rosa cocked her head at the mention of her sister. For a moment, she seemed confused that Liz was even being brought up, before recognition sparked in her eyes and she looked away guiltily. “Ah. Yes. That may indeed be my fault.”

“What do you mean?”

“I was the one who educated the fourth, fifth, and sixth princesses.”

Hiro nodded in acknowledgment. Liz had mentioned something to that effect on the road from Linkus.

“I found my little sisters more endearing when they were pure, so I substituted the truth for some fabrications of my own. Still, I could not care for them every hour of the day. Imagine my sorrow when they were appointed private tutors to supplement my lessons. It took all of my scheming to have the women removed.” Rosa paused and expelled a regretful sigh. “My, but I miss those days. It’s a shame they could not last. The fourth princess was the first to learn the truth. She told me to my face that she hated me and I haven’t seen her since. And the fifth princess never cared much for my lessons, so at some stage she found her own sources on the subject and discovered for herself what beasts men truly are.”

She turned to gaze wistfully out of the window.

“Liz was the only one who truly seemed to enjoy learning from me. I let myself get carried away and taught her all sorts of fanciful nonsense.”

She seemed to think she was making ordinary conversation, but hearing her story made it hard to take her side. Noticing that Hiro was looking at her oddly, she waved a flustered hand in front of her face.

“But worry not! I made certain to teach her caution. It wouldn’t do to have some man take advantage of her.”

Hiro didn’t do a good job of concealing his incredulity. “Liz? Caution? Are you sure?”

Rosa cocked her head. She looked from him to Liz, to him, to Liz, then clapped her hands in realization. “Ah. I see.”

She opened her mouth to elaborate...and was interrupted by a knock on the window. A soldier’s voice, not too loud, not too quiet, sounded through the interior of the carriage.

“We’re coming up on the capital, Your Highness.”

Rosa put a finger to her lips. Another time, the gesture seemed to say.

“Then we shall change transport,” she called back to the soldier. “Have the parade carriage brought from the rear.”

“At once, my lady.” The soldier retreated from the window, barking orders as he went.

Rosa slid the curtains shut. “I’ll get changed first. You wake Liz.”

Without hesitation, she undid the buttons on her military jacket and began to strip. The pale skin of her slender limbs met the morning air. She bared her breasts, cast the last of her clothing away, and was naked.

Hiro had to wonder why she needed to go so far as removing her underwear—among other things—but she didn’t appear to feel the least bit of shame in doing so. If anything, she seemed proud, as though she had absolute confidence in her body. She leaned over and opened the case that contained her dress.

Hiro sighed, although mostly out of exasperation rather than awe. He could make his excuses and flee outside, but then he would be the one on the receiving end of the soldiers’ disdain. No man in the world would run at the sight of his lover unclothed.

“Look if you like. I welcome it, even.” Rosa’s voice was seductive in its sweetness. “Although, as much as it pains me, you really should wake Liz.”

Hiro did his best to shrug dismissively. It would be a lie to say Rosa held no interest for him, but he had been staring into space rather than staring at her. Still, making that excuse would only be digging himself in deeper. His best move was to give up protesting. He looked to his side, where Liz was sleeping, only to find—

“You’re awake.”

A pair of crimson eyes stared unblinkingly back at him. He froze like a deer caught in the headlights. When did she wake up? How much did she see? He wanted to ask, but his mouth wouldn’t move.

Liz stretched out a hand toward his face. She gently brushed his eyepatch, then pointed a little lower.

“Hiro... You’re drooling.”

Hiro clapped a guilty hand to his chin.

＊

Cladius, the imperial capital, was the most prosperous city in Soleil. Newcomers would first be overwhelmed by the towering walls ringing its confines. Next, they would pass within, to be astounded by the churning crowds thronging the central boulevard or the countless stalls lining the streets. Perhaps they would tremble beneath the gazes of the bronze-cast Twelve Divines who greeted new arrivals. When the sights made their head spin and they looked to the sky for relief, the imperial palace would come naturally into view. A thousand years old but none the weaker for it, the edifice looked out proudly over the city it ruled, instilling residents with solemnity and visitors with awe.

It was the twenty-fourth day of the ninth month of Imperial Year 1023.

On ordinary days, a crowd churned along the central boulevard, but today it was nowhere to be seen. Soldiers formed living walls to block their passage. The people ended up forced to either side as a result, but there was not a discontented face among them. All of their eyes were trained on the front gate, their gazes pregnant with excitement and anticipation.

Hiro’s company passed within the city to rousing cheers. A so-called parade carriage led the procession, pulled by two white horses. Roofless and windowless, with only a handrail for safety, its ornamentation was plain for a royal vehicle, and with good reason: the carriage was not the star of the show. Its understated design emphasized the radiance of its riders, making them shine all the brighter.

Three figures sat in the carriage bed, waving to the crowd: Liz, in a red dress; Rosa, in a black dress; and Hiro, sandwiched between them.

This is a good turnout. The crowd might even be larger than last time.

Both sides of the boulevard were crammed with men and women of all ages. There was not a gap in sight. The spectators had to raise their hands above their heads to clap.

“You’re gorgeous, Lady Celia Estrella!” came a shout.

“Thank you!” Liz cried back.

Most astonishing of all was Liz’s popularity; her name was the one that the crowd roared the loudest. Hiro was next. Rosa’s following seemed mostly male, but their fervor more than made up for their smaller number. Her widow’s wiles were inviting some goggle-eyed looks from the men of the city.

“Look at their slack-jawed faces. They can’t tear their eyes away!” Rosa’s smile never faltered, but the words she spoke were fit for a villainess.

“Don’t be so rude.” Liz’s eyes flashed as she rounded on her sister. “They’re here for us, you know!”

Rosa gave a chastened shrug, like a child caught in some mischief. “Point taken. I’ll be more careful.”

Each of the sisters had one arm piled high with presents from the people—vetted, naturally, by the guards. The majority of the gifts were bouquets, but there were a few boxes of various sizes too, most likely containing jewelry. Judging by the letters affixed to the latter, some nobles and merchants had found their way into the crowd.

As for Hiro...

“Another one for your collection.” Rosa grinned as she handed him another bouquet.

Hiro grimaced. There was nowhere left to put it. The space around him was filled with bouquets in a spectrum of colors—yellow, blue, purple, white. All of them, however, were smeared with mud or missing petals, the kind of flowers that were picked from a roadside rather than bought from a stall.

“A gift from the future citizens of the empire.” There might have been a hint of jealousy in Rosa’s voice. “Keep them close.”

Hiro, in defiance of all expectations, had proven incredibly popular among children. The flowers around him had all been given by tiny hands. He scratched his cheek in embarrassment.

Liz turned to him, beaming. “I’m giving you a run for your money!”

On her head was a crown of flowers, presumably a child’s handiwork. Hiro couldn’t help but smile to see her competitive streak rear its head.

As he turned back to the crowd, he spotted a girl within the heaving mass of bodies. She was dressed in grimy garments and carried a red flower in her hands. Her nervous eyes glanced up at him hesitantly. Every so often, she would try to step closer to the parade, but the human wall in front of her pushed her back every time.

“Stop the carriage!” Hiro commanded the coachman. Liz gave him an odd look, but he ignored her. His black garb fluttered in the wind as he grasped the rear handrail and vaulted down to the street.

A hubbub went up from the commonfolk. Some glared with clear disapproval. Hiro thrust his arm out sideways in a commanding gesture, and they fell silent as a millpond. He had hushed their mouths in an instant, not with magic or some power of the spirits, but with sheer charisma.

A cool breeze blew down the boulevard, ruffling his hair and caressing the eyepatch obscuring half of his face. One could have heard a pin drop. As the gust departed, the guards holding back the crowd realized what had happened and fell in around him.

“Your Highness, if you would return to the carriage—”

Hiro held up a hand to silence the man before he could finish. He took a step toward the people.

“Might I ask you to stand aside?”

His voice carried an authority that brooked no disobedience. One person shuffled out of his way, then another, and another. In short order, a gap appeared in the crowd, just wide enough for an adult to pass. At the other end stood the girl in rags, an expression of confusion on her face.

Hiro offered her a reassuring smile before crouching down and waving her closer. She tottered toward him with uncertain steps.

He looked deep into her eyes. “That’s a beautiful flower you have there,” he said. “Would you let me have it?”

For a moment she was silent, and then...

“P-Please!”

She thrust the flower at him, her face breaking into a broad smile. Hiro took the blossom, rose to his feet, and patted her head.

“Thank you.”

The girl spun around, perhaps hiding her embarrassment, and dashed off down an alleyway. Once she was out of sight, he climbed back into the carriage and resettled himself in his seat. For a beat, there was silence, and then the crowd erupted with deafening cheers.

Commonfolk, nobles, royalty—whatever their standing, all people were born equal. That was a simple truth but one that all too often went forgotten. When royals were revered as gods, it was easy to convince oneself that they lived in different worlds. Yet here, the fourth prince had stooped to notice a girl from the slums that even the commonfolk had passed over. More, he had taken her mud-smeared flower, thanked her for her gift, and patted her head in affection. Acts of such intrinsic beauty were the province of stories, not reality. It was no surprise that the people were elated to have seen such a tale unfold in real life.

Hiro raised a hand in acknowledgment. The cheers roared even louder.

As the parade carriage set off once more, Rosa turned to him with a sly smile. “Consider me impressed. You’ve quite the talent for this.”

Her voice oozed affection. She wrapped her hands around herself, as though trying to restrain an urge to throw them around him then and there. Hiro held up a bouquet of flowers in defense. As he did, he noticed Liz’s gaze lingering on the red flower in his hand.

“Hmm... Is that...?”

“Liz? What’s wrong?”

“I know this flower. It’s called an anat. They only bloom in certain places, so they’re really rare.” She cocked her head, muttering in thought. “But... How strange. It’s—”

The roar of the crowd cut off the end of her sentence. Hiro opened his mouth to ask her to repeat herself, but then he shut it again. The palace gate had come into view.

In the corner of his eye, Rosa began readying herself for their arrival. “Your audience with His Majesty will be in the evening, I expect,” she whispered, “followed shortly by a celebratory banquet.”

Hiro nodded in acknowledgment and looked up at the sky. The sun was still high. There would be at least an hour before it set. What to do in the meantime?

“Nnn...”

A pained groan issued from Liz. He glanced sideways to see apprehension spreading across her sculpted features. Perhaps the sight of the palace was bringing back unpleasant memories of her demotion to the Gurinda Mark. This time, she had her sister with her, so there should have been nothing to fear, but it was only human to worry.

Hiro laid a hand on her shoulder. “I know what you’re thinking, but that won’t happen. If anything, try not to be too surprised when things go the other way.”

Liz frowned. She didn’t seem to understand what he meant.

He grinned. “Don’t worry. You’ll see.”

As the whisper left his mouth, the austere palace gate swung open. A crowd waited to greet them on the other side: palace officials, judging by their uniform. The elderly man at their head stepped forward. Hiro recognized him as Byzan Graeci von Scharm, chancellor of the empire. Between his stern visage and the silver-rimmed glasses perched on his nose, he gave off a frosty air.

“Lord Hiro Schwartz,” he pronounced. “I have awaited your return with the greatest anticipation.”

“Thank you for taking the time to welcome us,” Hiro replied. “I have no doubt that you’re busy.” He disembarked the carriage and offered a hand to the chancellor.

“My work is of little consequence, I assure you. The palace is sustained by the work of far more exceptional individuals than myself.” Graeci accepted the handshake, then he turned to Liz with a broad smile. “Lady Celia Estrella. I have heard rumors of your exploits. You have grown a little taller, if my eyes do not deceive me?”

“Only a little,” Liz remarked. “I see you still have your beard.”

“The one that you told me I ought to cut ‘because it looks silly’? Having cultivated it thus far, I thought it would be a shame not to go a little further. Alas, it seems I was not made for growing beards.” Graeci stroked his chin mournfully.

Hiro hadn’t realized that so much effort had gone into the sparse beard—he had assumed the man had simply been too busy to shave. At least two or three months must have passed since Liz had made her comment. If that was all Graeci had to show for himself after such a length of time, he would do better to shave the whole thing off.

Hiro wondered whether or not to say something. After wavering back and forth on the matter, the words that came out were: “So, is the audience still going ahead as planned?” Sometimes, he decided, people were better left to their own devices.

“It is,” Graeci replied. “It will be held once night falls, perhaps an hour from now. Until then, you may do as you wish.”

“I may just take you up on that.”

“I will dispatch a messenger to alert you once the time comes.” With a polite bow, the chancellor turned and escorted his flock of officials back within the palace confines.

As soon as they were out of sight, Liz grabbed hold of Hiro’s arm. “Come on, let’s go into town!”

“Sure. I was just thinking the same...”

Hiro trailed off as something behind him caught his attention. He turned around to see a group of soldiers working to unload a succession of large crates from the carriage.

Rosa stood in the resulting cloud of dust, issuing directions. “Do be careful,” she chastised the men as he watched. “Those are gifts for His Majesty you’re handling.”

Liz leaned in curiously. “Oh, I meant to ask. What’s that?”

She pointed to a small crate that stood on its own, a short distance from the rest: an item brought by Hiro.

He smiled mischievously. “You’ll see once we get to town.”

“Can’t you just tell me?”

“That would spoil the surprise.”

Liz pouted. “Does that really matter?”

Uncertainty flooded Hiro’s chest. What if she didn’t like it? “Maybe,” he said hesitantly.

Liz released his arm and peered into his eyes. “Really. Then I expect to be impressed, on pain of Lævateinn!”

Before he could ask what that meant, she was flouncing toward Rosa. Halfway there, she looked back over her shoulder. “My sister can’t do all this on her own! Come and help before you earn yourself a telling-off!”

With a shrug, Hiro tore his eyes away and gazed out over the capital. Below the palace hill sprawled the buildings of the town, vibrant and colorful.

＊

After emptying the carriage, Hiro and Liz left Rosa in charge of the unloaded cargo and set out for the spirit temple in the eastern quarter. Much like the last time Hiro had visited that side of the city, the streets were filled with adventurers and sellswords. They stepped into an alley mouth between a guard post and an inn and proceeded along a gloomy passage. At last, they emerged into the wooded clearing. The spirit temple lay there as if to greet them, its white stone shining in the sun’s rays. Children chased each other around the garden, engrossed in a game.

“Oh, it’s lovely!” Liz gasped. “And so green!”

“Have you never been here?” Hiro asked.

A guilty look came over her face. “I tried to sneak out of the palace every chance I got, but Rosa had a watchful eye. And this part of the city wasn’t always so peaceful. I never could have made it here on my own.” She flung herself down on the grass and rolled onto her back. “I didn’t have Lævateinn back then, you see.”

“Well, I’m glad you can enjoy it now. I’m sure the children will love meeting you.”

With that, Hiro turned his attention to the two figures behind him.

“Please tell me this is the place, chief. My legs can’t take much more...”

Muninn slumped to the ground, his arms piled high. A dark-skinned man with a face full of scars, his burly physique concealed a laid-back personality and a tendency not to take anything too seriously. Still, his carefree manner hadn’t stopped him from serving as Garda’s lieutenant in the Liberation Army, and serving well; the man was a dab hand with a blade.

“Stop whining, you big oaf! You’re embarrassing me in front of His Lordship!”

Fuming beside Muninn was his fiery younger sister, Huginn. She had been Mille’s bodyguard and handmaiden in Lichtein. Skilled with a bow, she favored light armor for its freedom of movement, and her distinctive attire had been customized for maximum mobility. The result showed a lot of skin, which often made it hard not to stare, but with her toned musculature, her beauty was less the seductive kind and more a celebration of the physical form.

“You think it’s only you who’s tired?! I’m exhausted! I’m working hard! But you don’t catch me complaining, ’cause I’ve got manners! And then you bumble in! And ruin! Everything!”

“Hey, easy on the kicking! Where’s the sweet little sister I raised?”

“Die!”

Hiro couldn’t help but grin to see the siblings argue. It wasn’t their first spat and it certainly wouldn’t be their last.

The sacks that they had brought contained presents for the war orphans under the temple’s care. Toys and treats for several dozen children were not light in weight, and the temple was a long way from the palace. Even two muscled warriors would have a hard time making the trip. Indeed, Hiro had intended to transport the load by carriage, but the siblings wouldn’t stand for it.

“You think we can’t hack it, chief? Luggin’ heavy stuff’s what we’re good for! C’mon, leave it to us and save yourself the coin!”

“It’ll be nothing, Your Lordship! I’d be honored to help!”

Unwilling to refuse such an earnest offer, he had allowed them to assist, but now he wondered if they regretted asking. Both of their faces were pale with exhaustion.

“Let me do the rest,” he said. “You’ve worked hard enough.”

Huginn dumped the sack she was carrying and hurried to him, flustered. “N-Not at all, Your Lordship! I never— I mean, you mustn’t— I mean, I could do this for days! I’m so fighting fit, I could fly!”

She was mostly talking nonsense, but he got the gist.

Muninn snorted at his sister’s alarm. “Can’t burden your precious lordship’s hands, eh? She’s got a thing for you, chief.”

“I WHAT?! How dare you! His Lordship means a lot to me, ’course he does, but not like that! Well, maybe a little bit like that... Agh, now look what you’ve made me say!”

“Easy on the kicking, I said! My poor rear end can’t take much more!”

The pair clearly weren’t as tired as they’d seemed. Relieved, Hiro turned his attention away from their bickering and back to the courtyard.

“Think you can get away, do you? Think again!”

“You’re too fast, miss! That’s cheating!”

Liz was playing some kind of game with the children.

“She sure can make friends...”

As Hiro marveled at how quickly Liz had blended in, he felt a tug on the hem of his jacket.

“Hey, mister?”

He looked down to see a little girl looking back. Her face was muddy from playing, but he recognized her from his last visit. Aura had patted her head. He smiled.

“Can I help you?”

“Where’s Miss Aura?”

“I’m afraid she couldn’t be here. She’s busy today.”

“Aww.” The girl’s face fell. “That’s a shame.”

Feeling a twinge of guilt, he laid a hand on her head before pointing a thumb over his shoulder. “But the nice man and woman over there have toys and candy for you.”

“Really?!” The girl’s eyes positively gleamed. She raised her arms and bounced up and down.

“Ask them nicely and they’ll... Well, there she goes.”

The girl dashed away before he could even finish his sentence.

“Booby lady! Gimme candy!”

“Gah! Get off of me, you muddy little—” Huginn fought to peel the girl off her midriff.

“Gandy! Pwetty pwease!”

“I’m getting it, I’m getting it! Oy, that’s my armor! Don’t— How did you even take that off?!”

Muninn looked on, grinning. “Well, well. Look who’s popular!”

“And what are you smirking at?!”

“Agh! Mercy! My poor buttocks!”

As Huginn delivered a vicious kick to her brother’s rump, a mob of children swarmed her, drawn by cries of “candy.”

“What are you shrimps starin’ at?”

“You better stay back! One of you was bad enough!”

The siblings talked a rough game, but Hiro knew they would be gentle. They came from similar backgrounds themselves.

“I want one too!”

For a moment, he thought he saw a crimson-haired girl tackle Huginn, but he must have imagined it. Deciding to put the sight from his mind, he stepped through the temple doors.

In contrast to the chaos outside, the interior was quiet and serene. Clean air flowed into Hiro’s lungs as he breathed in, filling him with a pleasant sensation of being purified from within.

He looked around. Here and there around the hall, worshippers stood with their hands clasped, offering prayers to the Spirit King’s throne. In the shadow of the wall, a priestess watched over them. She saw him and approached, gliding silently across the floor.

“Greetings, Lord Hiro,” she said. “I am honored by your presence.”

“Sorry for intruding, but I’ve come to give you this.” He rooted through his pockets and produced a small pouch.

“I cannot thank you enough. Rest assured, this will do much good.” She took the pouch, cradling it carefully in both hands. It clinked as it settled into her fingers, the jangling of silver and gold.

Most of the spirit temple’s income came from offerings from its worshippers, with the rest comprising stipends from the empire and Baum. That only covered the temple’s upkeep, however, and not the needs of the orphans in its care. The priestess paid for their food out of her own wages, but they were barely scraping by. After learning of their plight, Hiro had decided to make regular contributions to their offertory box.

“You are every bit as noble as Her Grace the Archpriestess claimed.” Her eyes glistened with emotion as she gripped his hand. “May the blessings of the Spirit King be—”

Hiro interrupted her prayer with a diplomatic smile. There was another reason he had come to the temple. Before departing Berg Fortress, he had written to Frieden with the understanding that he would collect her reply here in the capital.

“Have you received any letters from the archpriestess?”

The priestess fell silent and cocked her head in thought. A few seconds passed, then she gave a small clap of recognition.

“Indeed I have!” she said, nodding. “Now I recall. A Knight of the Spirits came by just yesterday evening!”

She released his hand and vanished into some interior room, returning in short order with a gilded envelope.

“Here you are. I swear to you, I haven’t read a word!”

“Don’t worry about it. It’s not a big secret anyway.”

Many questions hung over Garda’s arrival in Soleil. Ambition was surrounded by raging seas that impeded entry or exit. Any ordinary man would have drowned trying to make the crossing, but Garda had survived to wash up in Lichtein and, what was more, seemed to have no idea how. Hiro had hoped that the archpriestess’s powers might provide some insight.

“Here’s hoping I’m wrong...”

A transcendent being which existed outside the reach of perception would surely defy even her capabilities.

Hiro broke the seal on the letter and read it through. Unfortunately, it was as he had feared. The contents were brief: I sense nothing.

“As I thought. And if her eyes aren’t enough...that could be trouble.”

The archpriestess possessed one of the Three Great Arcane Eyes: the eye known as the Far Sight. Successive generations of archpriestesses passed the power down to their successors in a ritual so secret that even Hiro didn’t know what it entailed.

“I’d better visit Frieden sooner rather than later,” he murmured to himself. He needed to speak with her directly, not least to ask her to investigate in greater detail.

He stowed the letter in his pocket and bowed his head to the temple priestess. “I should be going. I have business back at the palace.”

“Are you certain? Can I not offer you a cup of tea?”

“I’m afraid not. I have people waiting on me outside.”

“I see. Another time, then, perhaps.” The woman sighed in disappointment.

Hiro bid her farewell and stepped back outside the temple. All around the courtyard, children were playing with their new toys. Liz, Huginn, and Muninn sat slumped to the side, tired out from their games. He walked closer and waved.

“Have you handed out everything?”

“Every last sack,” Liz said. “The children were so happy, you wouldn’t believe it!”

“We should be getting back to the palace. Huginn, Muninn, can you manage that?”

“If you say so, chief...”

“Always, Your Lordship! I could sprint right there this second!”

“That...won’t be necessary. We’ve got time.”

Seeing Huginn perk up while her brother lay sprawled on the ground, Hiro couldn’t help but smile.

The name of Venezyne meant different things to different people. To the Knights of the Golden Lion, elite warriors of the First Legion, it meant the east of the palace grounds, where they kept their barracks and training field. Rare was the moment they were not drilling, and fierce cries shook the air from dawn until dusk. They served under the personal command of the emperor himself, and unless he was on campaign, their duty was to guard the capital.

It had been two centuries since the capital had last seen war.

Two hundred years was a long time; too long for any force, no matter how elite, to remain idle without stagnating. The court smirked that the knights weren’t even battle-tested, and who could blame them? What enemy would fear a lion that had never known the hunt? And so the emperor had made use of the war in the west to let the beast loose, that it might recall its instincts.

As a certain individual once said: “There is naught so fearsome as a lion freed from its cage, for royalty brooks no defiance.” Nothing less than excellence was expected from them on the battlefield. And today, as every day, they trained for battle with foes yet uncertain.

A figure looked on as the knights drilled. His hair was as golden as a lion’s pelt, with its fringe thrust upward like a mane. The noble finery he wore hid his muscular physique, but there was no concealing the authority he radiated. The man’s name was First Prince Rein Hardt Stovell von Grantz, and he was currently under house arrest.

“Naught better to do, I take it?” It was not Stovell who spoke, but the man approaching him from behind: Trye Hlín von Loeing, one of the empire’s five high generals. He gestured to an empty chair. “Is this seat taken?”

Stovell didn’t reply, which von Loeing took as permission to sit. The man was fifty-seven years of age, but he moved like a warrior half as old.

“Your granddaughter has come of age, has she not?” Stovell asked. “Should you not be with her?”

The younger daughter of von Loeing’s only son had celebrated her twentieth year the previous day.

“A man under house arrest is not what one might call a welcome guest at the table.”

Stovell snorted. “As though anyone would dare say a word to the greatest general in the land.”

“My wife...requested that I not be present.” Von Loeing tugged absently at his beard. “Out of concern for the girl’s future.”

“She seeks a position in the south?”

Von Loeing nodded. No further explanation was necessary. Although he had lost command of the Fourth Legion when placed under house arrest, his family were still southern nobles with lands in the southern territories, where the fourth prince’s and sixth princess’s influence was waxing by the day. As the head of the house, his connections to First Prince Stovell put the rest of his family in an awkward position—one that was perhaps only hypothetical for now but would very quickly become reality if House Muzuk were to declare support for Fourth Prince Hiro or Sixth Princess Elizabeth.

“With some words in the right ears,” Stovell said, “I could find her a place in the central territories.”

It was a generous offer, but von Loeing shook his head. For a while, he seemed to struggle for the right words. At last, he admitted, “My granddaughter idolizes Lady Celia Estrella.”

Stovell understood immediately what “concerns” the old general had meant. The girl was hoping to be assigned to the sixth princess’s service in Berg Fortress.

“Then she shares your contempt for the easy road. That, or she possesses a surfeit of confidence.”

“She takes after me in temperament, it’s true. Although not in looks, I hear.”

Von Loeing flashed a self-effacing grin. Stovell could guess what the man was thinking, and he had to agree. What the stern old general might look like as a woman was a terror best not entertained.

The old general raised his arms in a martial stance, held still for a breath, and slashed at empty air. “And not in this way either. She barely knows which end of the blade to hold. I hear that she hopes to be taken on as a civil tribune.”

“I see. I understand her position.” Stovell paused, signifying an end to the exchange of pleasantries. “Go ahead. State your business. Surely you are not here to bandy words.” Not once had the old general ever visited him solely to discuss personal matters.

“I confess, I had hoped you might not catch on so quickly.”

“The distraction was welcome but a distraction nonetheless.”

“Indeed.”

Von Loeing’s affable expression slipped from his face as he assumed a high general’s authority. The air around him grew tangibly more tense, carefree joviality smothered by burning intensity. He radiated a might that seemed to scorch Stovell’s skin.

“There are unusual movements in Lebering.”

“On whose part?”

“It appears that Crown Prince Flaus is plotting something.”

Stovell scoffed. “That imbecile?”

Stovell had only spoken to Flaus on one occasion, perhaps two years prior, but that had been enough to tell the boy was rotten. He kept up a noble facade, but his mind was as wicked as they came. Perhaps the royal line of Lebering could not match the Grantzian royal family for dark secrets, but they had their own share of skeletons in their closet.

“The fool isn’t powerful enough to orchestrate anything on his own. Someone else must be pulling his strings. But now I am curious. Where did you come by this information?”

“The Nameless Man visited my private residence yesterday.”

“Him.” Stovell scowled. “Of course.”

The so-called Nameless Man was the álf Stovell had reputedly recruited to his service. He told no one his name, and his place of residence was a mystery. Occasionally, he swept into strategy meetings to offer advice before leaving as quickly as he had arrived. In no time at all, talk had spread that he was a member of Stovell’s retinue—a rumor the first prince had decided would be too bothersome to quash.

“I would be a fool to trust the man, but I suppose I must trust his abilities.” There was no mistaking the irritation in Stovell’s voice.

Von Loeing nodded gravely. “His information has never once steered us wrong.”

“Unfortunately, I can do little trapped in the palace. This act I must watch from the gallery.”

“True enough. Although it sits ill with me to possess this knowledge and do nothing with it.”

“The emperor, that sly old fox... He knows of this.”

Deceiving the emperor’s all-seeing gale was no easy matter. If it were, Stovell would not have been sitting blithely under house arrest. He snorted in contempt.

“Well, I suppose house arrest is not so bad. I have finally managed to attend to matters that I have been neglecting.”

“Is it not reckless to do such things beneath His Majesty’s nose?”

“It matters not if he finds out. He cannot stop me now. No one can.” Stovell stood to face the palace proper, which was abustle at that very moment with the fourth prince and sixth princess’s arrival. “But I will suffer no interference. The time has come to shake up the board.”

He turned to stare past the palace walls. Beyond his gaze lay the western sky.

“If my competitors seek glory, perhaps I should speed them on their way.”

Hiro and Liz were winning steady recognition in the field. Third Prince Brutahl, desperate to avoid falling behind, was pushing his troops ever harder in Faerzen.

“One must take care not to win too many victories. To never know defeat is a fine thing, but such heroes tend to meet unpleasant ends.”

The Grantzian Empire’s course was already set in stone. It could not be changed, any more than could the rising of the sun or the setting of the moon.

＊

The sky had bled dusk-red as Hiro and his party returned to the palace. Now he was in Liz’s chambers, waiting for Liz and Rosa to attend to their preparations.

“Are you done yet?” he asked.

The women blinked in surprise.

“We should be asking you that,” Rosa said crossly.

Hiro’s gift twinkled on her slender finger as she folded her arms. The ring was set with a crystal that had cost considerably less than a true gemstone, but set against Rosa in her red dress, it shone with a brilliance worth far more.

“Um...” Liz smiled glassily as she brushed a strand of hair behind her ear. “I think you’d better get started.”

She was not dressed in her usual military uniform but in a black dress with red accents. A necklace—another gift from Hiro—sat at her throat.

“I’m fine as I am. Come on, let’s go,” Hiro replied.

The female contingent’s gazes turned chilly. He unconsciously took a step back.

“You mean to go looking like that?”

“Shouldn’t you at least comb your hair?”

The women sighed in exasperation, stood from their chairs, and stepped closer. A waft of sweet perfume tickled his nostrils as they set about fussing over him.

“The Black Camellia will do for an outfit, but we must find you a fragrance. You’ll be interacting with noblewomen at the banquet, remember. You’ll want to make the best impression you can.”

Speaking half to herself, Rosa drew away and rifled through a small box beside her mirror. She returned cradling an armful of glass bottles.

“This one is most in vogue...but no, they’ll take you for a dandy.” She parsed through her perfumes, muttering.

By her side, Liz reached out to stroke the lock of hair at Hiro’s temple. She made a noise of discontent. “I wonder if this will comb out? It looks stubborn...”

Rosa stared at her incredulously, her chosen bottle in hand. “If you’re thinking of washing it, forget it. It won’t have time to dry.”

Before Hiro could protest, she stripped off his shirt—putting his wiry musculature on full display—and splashed perfume around his waist. A gentle fragrance tickled his nostrils, while a refreshing scent mingled with the surrounding air.

Rosa brought her nose up to his chest and sniffed. “Good. Not too overpowering. Subtle, even. Ibelin does fine work.” She nodded in satisfaction. “If anybody asks you what you’re wearing, tell them it’s Stille by Ibelin Ishtark of the east.”

A calculating grin spread across her delicate features. Even now, she was trying to advance her own interests.

Hiro shrugged, his smile just a little forced. “I’ll bear it in mind.”

“Right!” Liz exclaimed from beside his ear. “Your braid’s done!”

Hiro raised a hand to his temple to feel a coarse-woven pattern. The braid on his right-hand side offset the forbidding eyepatch on his left, creating a striking aesthetic.

Rosa put a hand to her cheek and gazed at him admiringly. “That’s a good look. Very good, actually. You should wear your hair like that more often.”

“Right? I always knew it would suit him!” Liz latched onto her sister’s arm, giggling. “It looks great!”

“Indeed. I look forward to this evening.”

It was heartwarming to see the sisters enjoying each other’s company, but Hiro knew that this was only a temporary reprieve. The night could not be all laughing and joking. Soon, they would face the emperor.

I’d love to relax and enjoy the banquet...but work comes first.

＊

The ceiling of the throne room was as high as Hiro remembered, and the carpet that ran the length of the flagstone floor was just as red. Along the wings of the cavernous space, white stone columns stood in stately rows with the nobility packed between them. Only by advancing beneath their searching gazes could one reach the far end to stand before the emperor.

Hiro fell to one knee in front of the throne and lowered his head. Beside him, Liz adopted the same vassal’s bow. The emperor said nothing, but raised a lazy hand.

Chancellor Graeci stepped forward. “His Majesty the Emperor hereby confers honors due.”

The elderly man’s voice carried confidently in the silence of the chamber. The nobles straightened. Every gaze in the room converged on him.

“Fourth Prince Hiro Schwartz and Sixth Princess Celia Estrella, you may raise your heads.”

Hiro and Liz looked up as one. In front of them rose the figure of the chancellor, his noble’s finery woven through with silver and gold. In his hand he held a scroll, which he raised before his chest as he read in sonorous tones.

“First, Major General Celia Estrella. His Majesty commends your capable leadership of the Fourth Legion during the Lichtein offensive, particularly in light of the errors made by the late General von Kilo. To you, he awards formal command of the Fourth Legion, as well as the leadership of the Knights of the Rose.”

“I humbly accept His Majesty’s reward.” Liz bowed her head once more. A ripple of whispers spread through the chamber, as though a rock had been cast into a still pool.

“His Majesty would give a unit of knights? To her?”

“Never mind that; what of General von Loeing? Was the Fourth Legion not under his command?”

“Never mind that, you fool! Do you realize how much this strengthens her position in the south?!”

The sound of noble panic was music to Hiro’s ears, although he was a little taken aback himself. The Knights of the Rose were some of the finest warriors in the empire. They were a cavalry unit renowned for their mobility, wearing only light armor in contrast to the heavily armored shock troops that were the Second Legion’s Knights of the Royal Black. The emperor had not seen fit to entrust General von Kilo with their command, so they had not been present for the march into Lichtein. For a mere major general to receive that honor was almost unheard of. Still, it was no bad thing. The knights would be an invaluable asset to Liz in the weeks and months to come.

“Next, Third Tribune Hiro Schwartz. Word has reached His Majesty of your part in steering the Fourth Legion to victory against Lichtein. He acknowledges the enormity of your accomplishment and regrets that the covenant signed between His Majesty the First Emperor and the archpriestess of Baum forbids him from awarding you land, as he would wish. Instead, he promotes you by two ranks to the position of first class military tribune and awards you the sum of one hundred golden grantzes.”

“I thank His Majesty for his generosity.”

Somewhere in the crowd, someone began to clap for them. The applause swelled, first sparse, then louder. Gradually, it grew to a roaring crescendo that filled the throne room. Chancellor Graeci stood quietly, eyes closed, judging it imprudent to interrupt. The emperor, too, sat in silence for a while, watching events unfold, but eventually he grew impatient and raised his hand to quell the noise.

Solemnity, authority, majesty—all lay in that gesture. A wave of unassailable power swept through the chamber. A cold wind blew, though all of the windows were closed. The chamber fell silent, its fervor snuffed out in an instant. Tension hung in the air like a taut thread.

The emperor glanced at Chancellor Graeci, who started and hurriedly produced a new scroll of parchment.

“Moving on to the next item on the agenda...I now pronounce council in session. The matter at hand is the occupation of Faerzen.”

The command signaled Hiro and Liz to rise. Now that their deeds had been recognized, decorum decreed they retreat to the wings to stand with the rest of the nobles.

“Nervous?” Hiro whispered.

Liz pulled a conflicted face. “Not exactly, but I’ve never liked it here. I always find it hard to breathe.”

The throne room swirled with jealousy, hatred, and other dark emotions. Liz had been chosen by Lævateinn and now handpicked to command the Fourth Legion, all in a world where women were considered weak—her success had no doubt set many people fuming. The thunderous applause of earlier might have been the greatest surprise of the night so far.

“The two of you looked quite the part.”

As Hiro and Liz pushed through the crowd, it parted to reveal a woman seated in a chair. Eastern nobles surrounded her protectively.

“It was you, wasn’t it?” Liz pouted. “You were the first one to clap.”

Rosa shut one eye and set a mischievous finger to her lips. “If a few applauded, the rest would have to join in. Nobles are calculating creatures. They may oppose you, but they won’t risk standing out from the crowd to do it. All I did was make supporting you the socially acceptable choice.” She gave a deep-throated chuckle. “Exhilarating, is it not, to see them squirm after all they put you through? And this will not be the end. I have plenty more in store for the boors who dared to mock my little sister.”

“You won’t be helping much if you go around making me enemies.”

Liz was plenty good at doing that herself, Hiro thought, but he stopped short of saying it out loud—it would only blow up in his face.

“Worry not; I am making you allies too. And if you are ever truly in trouble”—Rosa shot Hiro a smoldering gaze—“your prince will come to your rescue, will he not?”

Hiro duly nodded. There was no telling how Rosa might take it if he showed reluctance here. She was being strangely insistent; perhaps the clotted air of the throne room was getting to her. It was better not to tug this particular tiger’s tail.

In any case, there were more important matters at hand. He turned his attention back to the throne.

“These upstart rebels only dare defy us because we waste our time making overtures of peace!” one noble cried. “I say we put them in their place!”

“Rank idiocy,” scoffed another. “In bringing more war to Faerzen, you would provoke its neighbors. We must make peace with the Resistance by any means necessary, even if that means returning some portion of their land.”

Some voices clamored for war, while others urged caution. Naturally, yet others weighed the balance of both.

“The royal line of Faerzen is dead. With no masters to fight for, this Faerzen Resistance is no better than a band of brigands, and the empire does not strike deals with brigands.”

“And the land they squat on is the empire’s by right! That they snatched it away during the dark ages does not make it theirs!”

A bevy of opinions flew about the room, but they lacked a decisive voice.

This is what happens when you crush instead of conquer. You need to give your enemy a way out, or things get messy.

If any of the royal family had survived, the situation would have been salvageable, but they had all been slaughtered during the invasion. Now there were only three paths left to the empire: crush the resistance with overwhelming force, withdraw temporarily to concentrate them before sweeping back in to slaughter them, or withdraw altogether and focus on undermining them via sabotage and inflaming the citizenry.

There’s not much hope for a peace treaty...not least because the emperor won’t want to give up his prize.

Relinquishing Faerzen would destabilize the west, threatening the integrity of the entire empire. If that happened, the emperor’s hopes of unifying Soleil within his lifetime would vanish like smoke in a breeze.

He’s already sixty-seven. He doesn’t have much time left.

Even an emperor couldn’t cheat death. That very urgency was probably why the man had personally led the offensive into Faerzen, which would form his foothold in the west.

As the thought passed through Hiro’s head, the doors to the chamber swung open and an official entered. He scurried down the hall beneath the nobles’ scornful glares to whisper something into Chancellor Graeci’s ear.

The chancellor’s face turned grave. “Understood. You are dismissed.”

With a bow, the official retreated. Graeci turned in a flutter of silks and held a brief exchange with the emperor. The latter’s expression turned sour, his brow creasing in what might have been anger. He issued some command. Graeci nodded and turned back to address the hall, consternation written plain on his face.

“Word has arrived that the Grand Duchy of Draal is amassing its forces,” he announced.

“Impossible!” someone exclaimed.

With that, the floodgates opened, and an uproar filled the room.

“But have they not only just signed an armistice with Steissen?!”

“They still haven’t the numbers to pose a threat. If they wish to attack the west, let them come. We should welcome the excuse to lay them to waste.”

“With what men? All of our troops in the west are preoccupied dealing with Faerzen.”

“Then we need only procure more from other territories.”

“And who do you propose will field these men?”

“You central nobles, of course. Surely you have the men to spare for an emergency? With your reluctance to lend anybody your aid, the Divines know you don’t use them.”

“As if you Easterners weren’t just as stingy!”

“You dare liken us?! Yes, we are too far from the battlefront to send men, but we keep the armies fed, and we shoulder the costs of war! I have yet to see a central noble offer a single dratz—”

Snap. A sudden sound, like a bursting bubble, cut through the commotion. Every voice fell silent at the noise. A peculiar tension settled over the hall—a sensation that invisible blades had been sculpted from thin air by raw malice to point at every throat; a disconcerting pressure like a hundred painless needles driving steadily deeper into the flesh.

Hiro looked around as he soothed an alarmed Black Camellia. Every noble in the room was rooted in place, their faces taut with fear. He returned his gaze to the throne to see that the emperor had risen from his seat.

The man doesn’t wear the crown for nothing...although he’s still just a shadow of the emperor Artheus was.

“If any among you has an opinion to raise, let them step forward.” The man’s voice carried through the throne room with uncanny clarity. All present could do naught but listen.

There it is, Hiro thought. Just one last push...

Just one person confident enough to raise their voice would give the emperor the nudge he needed. The heavens seemed to hear his prayers, as First Prince Stovell advanced from the crowd.

“Allow me.”

Stovell was enormous, and muscular to boot. His loose-fitting noble attire might have covered his physique, but it could not conceal his dark presence. The air groaned with the weight of every step he took. His gaze bored into the throne, although the emperor did not so much as twitch an eyebrow in response.

“Speak.”

“At the same time as the Faerzen insurgency rears its head, the Grand Duchy of Draal and the Republic of Steissen sign an armistice. Now Draal is massing for war. This cannot be a coincidence. No, they are working in concert, and who is to say which other nations may find common cause with them? We must crush the Faerzen Resistance quickly and utterly, not least to show their neighbors the consequences of defiance.” Stovell sank to one knee. “You need only give the order, Your Majesty.”

The emperor leaned back in his throne, closing his eyes in thought.

“Does anybody else desire to speak?”

“Allow me to make another proposition, Your Majesty,” Hiro said.

For the slightest of instants, far too quickly for anyone to detect, the emperor’s lips curled in amusement. “You may speak.”

“I believe it would be hasty to conclude that just because the Grand Duchy is marshaling its forces, they mean to invade the empire.”

The emperor nodded, which Hiro took to mean that he was allowed to continue.

“That is not to say we should ignore the threat they pose, but a show of force, even a small one, ought to deter them from making any sudden moves.”

The emperor’s brow furrowed. “And what of the Faerzen Resistance?”

Hiro smiled. “I say we dispatch a new force to work in concert with the Second Legion and trap the enemy between two armies. If the resistance goes to ground, we can still go after their collaborators, even if the process will be more involved.”

For a time, the emperor fell into a pensive silence. Eventually, he spoke again. “Your opinions have both been noted. We shall do as Fourth Prince Hiro Schwartz suggests.”

Like that, the course was set. There was no more room for debate. Only someone extremely confident in their position would dare to question the emperor’s judgment. Even then, failing to persuade him would bring disgrace down on their family for generations to come.

Now all that’s left is to put Liz forward to command.

As Hiro pondered his next move, Chancellor Graeci’s gaze swept over the room.

“As for who ought to lead this prospective force...” the man began.

Hiro opened his mouth to speak, but somebody else beat him to it.

“I propose Sixth Princess Celia Estrella.”

The words came from, of all people, Stovell. Hiro frowned. What was the man planning? Stovell seemed to sense him staring and turned to look him straight in the eyes. His smile deepened before he returned his gaze to the emperor.

“She has become something of a rising star in recent weeks, but I suspect that some here still lack confidence in her. Let her take this chance to prove her worth.”

More muttering rose from the crowd.

“The first prince speaks wisely. Lady Celia Estrella is a fine choice.”

“The girl’s not been long in command. Would she not jeopardize the mission?”

“Not if she fights as she fought in Lichtein. She has a bright future ahead of her, that one.”

Stovell’s voice rang out to quash the whispers. “And if you would but annul my house arrest, I shall set out for Draal myself. I swear, I will not let you down.”

That marked time for Hiro to intervene. There was no telling what Stovell was plotting, but he could cause a great deal of chaos from a position of command.

“Annul your punishment? With all due respect, I do not believe that someone who thinks so lightly of His Majesty’s judgment is fit for command.” Hiro smirked at the first prince. “We would not want a repeat of Faerzen.”

“Watch your words, boy.”

Stovell’s glare was as sharp as a blade, but Hiro didn’t so much as blink. “Or what?” he said in his most cutting voice. “Will you stab me in the back again?”

For an instant, they seemed ready to kill each other on the spot. Their clashing wills endowed the air around them with an oppressive weight. Stovell’s body crackled with coils of lightning, which snaked across the floor, gouging, scouring, crushing, lashing.

In contrast, Hiro did not so much as take up a combat stance. He only stood in his typical careless manner, seemingly defenseless, but rents appeared in empty space around him with a succession of unpleasant pops. The darkness of the Black Camellia began to flutter and swell, despite the lack of wind in the chamber.

Most of the onlookers shied away in fear, overawed by the gravity of their presence, but a small few gazed in wonder at the phenomenon developing around Hiro. The air around him swelled with radiance, until—

“Enough.”

The austere voice of the emperor cut between them. The murder that had weighed so heavily in the air dissipated in an instant.

“I will not permit this barbarity in my presence. Restrain yourselves.”

“I apologize, Your Majesty. My temper seems to have gotten the better of me.” Hiro touched a hand to his eyepatch as he sank to one knee. Beside him, Stovell also bowed.

“Impropriety notwithstanding,” the emperor declared, “I find myself in agreement with Fourth Prince Hiro Schwartz. The secondary army will travel to Faerzen under the command of Celia Estrella. I will entrust the matter of Draal to High General Vakish, who is charged with keeping the peace on the western border. For him to cow the Grand Duchy will be no great effort.”

A welcome turn of events. Hidden by his downturned face, Hiro’s smile deepened. Another step closer to where we need to be.

The emperor surely had his pick of capable commanders, and the empire had no shortage of talent. In this case, however, the most convenient choice was somebody like Liz, with no support from any quarter—or officially declared support, at any rate—to defend her interests or strengthen her position. Moreover, now that she had driven back the forces of Lichtein at Gurinda and then fought them to surrender on their own soil, few could protest her appointment.

The stage was more or less set. All that remained was to seize victory and move on to greater heights.

“I have a mission for you too, Hiro Schwartz.”

“Your Majesty.”

“Princess Claudia of Lebering is soon to hold her coming-of-age ceremony. I wish you to represent the empire in the capacity of special envoy.”

Hiro looked up in surprise.

“Does this displease you?”

“N-No, Your Majesty. I gratefully accept.”

Hiro quietly ground his teeth. He had expected to be assigned as Liz’s advisor, but apparently, he had misread the situation.

I might have been a little too successful...

His list of achievements had been growing ever since he had first arrived in Aletia. His victory in Lichtein was only the most recent example. Now that he had the support of the eastern nobles, the factions who opposed them would be starting to see him as a serious threat. With so many fires smoldering outside the empire’s borders, it would be wise to avoid encouraging destabilizing influences within the nation—otherwise, the empire might fall apart. It was no surprise that the emperor wanted to keep him and Liz separated.

Well, it’s no great inconvenience. It won’t take long, and I can regroup with Liz once I’m done.

With his thoughts at last in order, Hiro looked back up at the emperor.

“Lebering was founded by a member of Mars’s Black Hand, I believe,” the man continued. “Such a bond, not even time can sever. I can think of none more suitable for what must be done.”

Something about the emperor’s words struck Hiro as ominous, but he took care not to let his doubts show as he bowed his head obediently. “As you command.”

The emperor nodded in acknowledgment, pleased with Hiro’s reply. “And as for the city of Sieg,” he announced to the hall at large, “I will take it under my personal jurisdiction for the time being. If anybody objects, they may speak now.”

Nobody would. If Viscount von Wirst’s criminal deeds became public, many of the central nobles would be disgraced, and that would have its own repercussions. All parties had no choice but to maintain silence on the matter, the emperor included. This struggle would be a bitter one, but it would continue in the shadows, not in the light.

“Nobody? Good. Then I hereby declare the floor closed.”

As the emperor fell silent, Chancellor Graeci stepped forward to take his place. “Fourth Prince Hiro Schwartz and Sixth Princess Celia Estrella, you will receive your formal orders at a later time. Until then, I invite you to enjoy tonight’s festivities.”

With that, the council ended. The last event of the night would be a banquet to celebrate the empire’s victory over Lichtein.

The emperor and chancellor both retreated from the throne room. When the door at last closed behind them, a hubbub spread among the nobles as they remembered how to breathe.

Banquets are held to delight their attendants, irrespective of the world outside their walls. Warfare might consume the west and calamity loom over the north, but what did the nobles of the central territories care about that? They might sense that something was amiss, but whatever it was felt distant and unimportant—a testament to the scale and security of the Grantzian Empire.

Concerns were not wholly absent from the hall, of course. The recent flood of ill tidings bred its fair share of uncertainty. Still, nobles could not expect to brood in public and maintain their dignity, and so most hid their fears beneath unworried smiles and went about their usual business of advancing their interests.

“But I must take my leave, Lord Hiro. I look forward to a long and fruitful relationship.”

“As do I. Until next time.”

As the minor noble shuffled away through the crowd, Hiro sank into a sofa by the wall.

It looks like I’m through the worst of it...

He looked down in chagrin at the bundle of envelopes in his hands. Passing on love letters from besotted daughters had been a popular excuse for nobles to make conversation. Most of those vying for his attention had been from the eastern territories, followed by their central counterparts, although a smattering of merchants hoping to expand into the south had also approached him to offer their financial backing.

If nothing else, this shows that House Krone’s control is slipping.

He looked around the banquet hall. Lords and ladies thronged the chamber, engaged in merry conversation. They swarmed thickest of all around Liz who, in her inexperience, had initially been flustered by their attentions before Rosa came to her rescue. With her older sister’s guidance, things were now going more smoothly.

The introductions should level off soon enough. Then we can start looking into who we’ve been talking to.

They had choices to make—difficult decisions about which houses’ heads to replace and which to cut loose once the central territories fell into their grasp. Still, haste would make waste. The matter of Faerzen needed to come first.

Then there’s the question of how Stovell will respond...

After the way Hiro had frustrated him in the throne room, it would be optimistic to expect the man to take any reckless risks. He would be more cautious from now on in the way that he moved against them.

Besides, this second prince makes me uneasy. What’s he doing up there in the north?

And that was to say nothing of the northern nobles who backed him. What were they planning?

It’s just like the last banquet. There’s not a single one here.

The factions of the north kept an ominous silence, as though they had no interest at all in the imperial succession. Hiro simply knew too little about them to act. If he moved first, they would outmaneuver him; if he showed any weakness, they would exploit it. With no good options, all he could do was sit and wait for the second prince to make contact.

Things aren’t all going to plan anymore. This is only going to get tougher from here on out. Hiro’s fingers brushed his eyepatch. His smile grew wider. But I wouldn’t have it any other way. The more formidable my enemies, the stronger they will make me.

With his head whirling with unfinished plans, Hiro rose to his feet and made his way over to Liz. The princess looked utterly exhausted as she sipped a glass of water.

Rosa saw him and looked up with a wry grin. “Her Highness has had her fill of introductions.”

“So I see. It’s only going to get worse, though.”

Liz’s head whipped up in horror at that, to which Hiro could only respond with a look of sympathy. The banquet and its greetings had only just begun. She might have worked her way through the powerful houses and their associates, but a host of lesser nobles still waited in the wings.

“Best foot forward, Liz. There’s no telling who might grow into a powerful ally. Besides, some of them might make useful subordinates. You have a duty to lend them an ear. That’s the burden of all who aspire to the throne.”

Or at least, that’s what Artheus always used to say, he silently added.

Borrowed wisdom or not, his words seemed to strike a chord with Liz. She gave a resolute little nod and smiled. “All right. I’ll try.”

Rosa’s hand clamped down on Hiro’s shoulder. “You say that as though it does not apply to you. You have a horde of lesser nobles scrambling for your attention.”

He looked around. Sure enough, half of the hall was casting him expectant glances. As soon as one person stepped forward, they would all fall on him like an avalanche.

“They can wait. I said my greetings last time.”

He turned to make a rapid exit, but Rosa’s nails dug into his shoulder.

“Many more are here today than last time. Most will not have met you. So? What happened to the burden of the throne or whatever it was you called it?”

She had a point. Hiro was fourth in the line of succession, close enough to reach out and touch the crown.

“Well,” Rosa continued, “at the very least, I can keep these floozies from bothering you.” She snatched one of the love letters from his hands, her lips curling into a wicked grin as she read the sender’s name. “Oh? This girl’s from the east. Interesting.”

Hiro took an involuntary step back. Perhaps he should have kept those to himself. “It’s getting hot in here. I should go and get some air.”

“Oh?” Rosa’s eyebrows rose. “Do I detect another conquest for the Black Prince? They do say heroes are voracious in all appetites. I suppose it must be true.” She expelled a deep sigh and leaned suggestively over the table. “First you seduce the Valditte, then you coerce a vulnerable widow into satisfying your lust, now you break the hearts of half the noble maids in the empire, and you still haven’t had your fill?”

Did she really have to list those things? And did she really have to phrase them like that? More to the point, Hiro had no recollection of “seducing” Liz or of “coercing” Rosa into anything. He opened his mouth to argue, but Rosa’s finger on his lips stopped him short.

“Let me guess. After the second emperor was such a rake that they called him Julius—Maidensbane—it’s simply your birthright?”

“They called him what?”

“Oh? Weren’t you aware? There are plays about it.”

Hiro had very much not been aware. If anything, Artheus had always been the womanizer of the two. History had seen the truth twist with a remarkable irony...and Hiro suspected that a certain hand had done the twisting.

“I’d heard that the first emperor was a ladies’ man,” he ventured, “but not the second.”

“Emperor Artheus had a well-documented weakness for the queens and princesses of the nations he conquered, it’s true. Still, the man’s own memoirs testify that he was nothing compared to his brother.”

Artheus, you son of a bitch.

It was time to drop the subject. This was one sleeping dog best left alone. Trying not to let his distress show, Hiro settled into a prudent silence. Unfortunately, that only seemed to encourage Rosa all the more.

“It should only be expected that you take after your ancestor, I suppose. It’s just a shame that you inherited his character as well as his face. To look at you, one wouldn’t think you would hurt a fly. To think such a scoundrel was hidden within... It’s enough to make a big sister cry!”

She flung her arms around Liz and wept theatrically. Hiro could only summon an awkward laugh.

Liz wrapped an arm around her sister’s head. “I think you’ve had too much to drink,” she said. She looked at Hiro and thrust her chin toward the exit—go while you still can.

Silently thanking her, Hiro headed for the door.

“A question for you, sister dearest,” came Rosa’s voice as he left.

“What?” Liz’s voice was cold.

“Is it just my imagination or are you trying to crush my skull?”

“It must be a headache from all that wine you drank.”

“But I only had two gla—”

Hiro could have sworn that he heard a grisly crunch somewhere behind him, but the doors shut before he could turn around to see.

Reap what you sow, I suppose.

The courtyard was quiet and still, a welcome reprieve from the heaving crowd of the banquet. A single fountain lay in the center, but it was otherwise unadorned. The night wind brushed Hiro’s skin as he took a seat on the fountain’s rim.

“I felt it, you know,” he said to the empty air. “Faintly.”

He reached into his pocket and pulled out a small, rectangular card; the same one he had received from his blood-brother so long ago. Its surface was an ominous swirl of white and black. He looked up at the stars.

“What is it you want, Artheus?”

His words vanished into the night sky. The only answer was the brush of the wind on his ears, caressing his eardrums. He closed his eyes—and a sudden voice called out to him.

“My, my. You don’t see one of those every day.”

Immediately, Hiro was on guard, all his senses honed to a razor’s edge.

“Dear me. Did I startle you?”

“How long have you been there?”

“What are you saying, my lord? I was here long before you.”

A cowled robe covered the figure from head to toe, making it impossible to tell if they were male or female. Even their voice was androgynous. They were so out-of-place, they seemed almost insubstantial, as though they might dissipate at a touch.

“You can’t have been. I never sensed a thing.” Hiro drew a deep breath, shifting his stance to make himself ready for battle. “Tell me who you are.”

“I suppose I must, if I am to ease your suspicion.” The figure nodded to themselves, then swept into a graceful bow. “I fear I cannot divulge my face, but I am a servant of First Prince Stovell—and an álf, if that should interest you.” They set their fingers to either side of their head, mimicking long ears.

Now that Hiro thought about it, he had heard of such an individual from Drix. “So what do you want with me?” he asked.

“Nothing much, my lord. You have a curious item there. It simply happened to catch my eye.” The álf pointed to the card with a giggle before turning away. “But we will have other chances to speak at greater length.”

Hiro’s brow furrowed at that comment, but as he opened his mouth to ask what it meant—

“Hiro! Where are you?”

A girl’s voice—Liz’s—distracted him for a brief second, and when he turned his attention back, the álf had vanished.

“Well,” he noted drily, “that was certainly no servant.”

He had still not let down his guard by the time Liz found him.

“There you are! What was taking you so long? I was worried!”

“Sorry. Is the banquet over already?”

“It is. Although someone spent most of it outside.”

Hiro paused. “So what’s the matter with Rosa? Too much to drink?”

Liz, with her unnatural strength, was carrying Rosa over one shoulder.

“I don’t know. She’s been passed out ever since you left.” Liz grinned. “Well, she’s always a drama queen, so I’m sure she’s fine.”

“If you say so...” Hiro winced just a little. “I guess we should head back to her home.”

He took Rosa’s limp body from Liz, and together they set out. House Kelheit’s estate was notably more extravagant than even those of other great houses, reflecting Rosa’s status as the former third princess. With strict security and private soldiers standing guard twenty-four hours a day, it was one of the safest locations on the already secure palace grounds. The trio opened the ornate front door and passed inside. The house servants greeted them within.

“Oh, of course,” Liz exclaimed. “I should go and get changed.” She vanished down a corridor, waving over her shoulder as she went.

“This way, please.”

A servant escorted Hiro through into the same bedchamber as his previous visit. He laid Rosa down on the bed and sank into a nearby chair.

“Phew...”

As the sigh left his mouth, a murderous aura emanated from the bed.

“Exhausted, are we? Was I a heavy weight to carry?” The drunkard was awake—and glaring at him with naked animosity.

“You could have walked back yourself.”

“And miss the chance to have the Black Prince carry me home? I wouldn’t give that up for the world.”

“Well, aren’t you lucky. Maybe I should have had a sip of that wine myself.”

A terse voice came from the entrance. Hiro glanced over to see Liz standing in the doorway, now dressed in her nightwear. She closed the door behind her as she stepped inside.

Rosa laughed. “Maybe when you’re older. Wine is for adults, not sweet little ladies.”

“I am an adult. I’m sixteen.”

“In years, perhaps, but you lack an adult’s charm.”

“Just because I’m a little on the small side...” Liz’s face fell a little as she glanced between her sister’s chest and her own.

Rosa clapped her hands in sudden inspiration. “Do you know, I hear that they’ll grow if you have a man fondle them.”

“Really?!”

Liz took the bait hook, line, and sinker. Hiro could only stare in incredulity. Apparently, she really was that naive.

“Hiro! Fondle me!”

He sighed. Just as he’d feared... With a glare at Rosa, who was stifling her laughter behind her hand, he leveled an exasperated gaze at Liz. “Stop being silly. Besides, girls shouldn’t go around talking about fondling.”

His attempt to be serious only earned him two disdainful looks. So this was what happened when sobriety met drunkenness. Things got awkward.

“Hmph. Be like that, then.”

Liz tumbled into bed, pouting. With one final glare, Rosa lay down too.

“What was I supposed to say?”

The night crept on, with Hiro none the wiser about the mysteries of the female heart.

＊

The next morning

The sun seemed particularly brilliant as it shone proudly in the eastern sky, and the gentle breeze that ran over the land did little to assuage its heat. Beneath its gaze sprawled the imperial capital of Cladius, the pinnacle of splendor.

At the city’s north gate, a host of warhorses stood in ranks. Two thousand cavalry clad in pitch-black armor lined up in the center. On their west side were five thousand riders from the First Legion’s reserves, marked by golden sashes over their shoulders, and three thousand from the Fourth Legion, marked by similar sashes in red. To their east stood over five thousand soldiers from the eastern nobility.

Standard bearers dashed up and down the files, plowing up columns of dust. The standards served a variety of purposes—raising morale, reminding the rank and file who commanded them—and their actual effects were just as varied; the air swirled with a mixture of elation and tension. It made for a sight to overawe the commonfolk, who looked on from atop the city walls with lumps of astonishment in their throats.

“Don’t do anything reckless, okay? Even a scratch can be serious if it gets infected!”

Liz brushed Hiro’s cheek with a worried hand. He gave her a long-suffering smile and nodded, well used to her motherly tendencies.

“I know. That’s what our physician is for.”

“You don’t know. That’s why I’m telling you. What if you get ambushed by bandits? I know you’re an incredible fighter, but there’s always a chance...”

“Yeah. Right. Got it.” Taken aback by Liz’s intensity, Hiro could only mumble something vague.

“Hey! You aren’t even listening, mister!” Liz puffed out her cheeks in an endearing pout.

Rosa finally took pity on her sister and intervened. “She’s right to warn you, you know. I won’t be made a widow a second time. Not before we’re even wed.”

“That’s right! You can’t die before you’ve wed— Wait, what?!” Liz looked at her sister, aghast.

Rosa laid a hand on her shoulder and smiled. “Is something the matter?”

“What do you mean, ‘wed’?”

“Oh, you must have misheard me. All this noise, you see. These horses are so terribly loud.”

“I guess...”

Perhaps this was Rosa’s revenge for being knocked out the previous evening. She watched her younger sister with amusement. “I jest, of course. I am content to remain a mistress.”

“A what?”

“And I’ve instilled my darling with such a soft spot for the east. I can’t have him dying on me now.”

“Ugh, do you ever think about anything but coin?”

Hiro let out a deep sigh. This wasn’t the first time Rosa had tormented Liz, and it was unlikely to be the last, but he had a strange feeling that if he didn’t head off whatever track she was on, he would be the one in danger. He tactfully changed the subject.

“Take care, Liz. You too, Rosa.”

Liz turned back to him, her crimson eyes shadowed with nervousness. “Don’t worry. I’ll do a job you’d be proud of.”

“And Rosa, you should make an effort to recruit some capable help.”

“I thought you might say that, and I have already reached out to some likely candidates.” Rosa patted his shoulder with a reassuring hand. “Rest assured, the world will not fall apart in your absence.”

Hiro smiled, assuaged. “Then I suppose I should be goi— Agh!”

All of a sudden, Liz’s sculpted face was only inches away. “I’ll send our fastest horse, so you’d better write back. And you’ve got a long journey ahead of you, so remember to eat.” She laid an admonishing finger on his nose. “And I know I said it already, but don’t be reckless! There’s no shame in running if things get dangerous!”

It was like being lectured by his mother. His jaw set just a little. He opened his mouth to complain that she was being overprotective, but Rosa chose that moment to interrupt.

“I shall return to the east. If you have need of food or coin, tell me and I’ll have the local nobles deliver it to you. Even troops, if you require, in confidence from His Majesty. It would be a simple matter to write it off as defending the security of the eastern territories.”

“That won’t be necessary. You two worry too much.”

Hiro had already received funds enough for the road, as well as a bodyguard of one hundred men. His train was well stocked with provisions. A safe journey was all but assured.

“We are ready to depart, Lord Hiro,” a gravelly voice intoned as Garda appeared at Hiro’s shoulder. His black iron armor hid his warrior’s appearance, but it couldn’t conceal the sheer might he exuded. He leaned close enough to whisper, “Are you quite certain about this?”

Hiro nodded firmly. “It’s Rosa you should be worried about, not me. I need you to escort her back to the east.”

It was unlikely that rival factions would take any drastic action, but with Orcus on the prowl, there was no such thing as too much caution.

“Aye, fear not. I’ll see the lady safely home.”

“Once that’s done, could you head back to Berg Fortress and continue training the men?”

“I could. But on one condition.”

“Oh?” Hiro cocked his head. Garda wasn’t usually so coy.

“You’re taking Drix to Lebering, I assume? Then bring Huginn and Muninn too.”

Hiro was about to ask why, but Garda beat him to the punch.

“Take it from someone who fought by their side in the Liberation Army—they’re good. They’d give any imperial soldier a run for his money, and they can take care of themselves. I’m sure a man such as you could use them.”

“I can’t. If anything did happen, I might have to leave them to die.”

“Then do it. They know what they’re signing up for. But you’re a fool if you think those two would roll over and die. Give them an order, they’ll see it through.”

Hiro peered through Garda’s eyeslit to find the zlosta’s gaze steely. A will burned within that would not back down. Finally, he relented. “All right. I’ll take them.”

“Good. I’ll let them know. Fair travels.”

As Garda’s figure receded, Hiro turned back to Liz and Rosa. “Remember, Liz, Faerzen is still unstable. Don’t do anything without consulting Aura first.”

“I know. I’ll do exactly as she says. I’d like to think I’m good at commanding, but even I know I’m hopeless at strategy.”

“You’ll learn soon enough. Just remember, don’t get careless.”

“I know. Good luck to you too.”

They embraced, patted each other on the back, then drew apart. Liz broke into a bashful grin at which Hiro couldn’t help but smile. Still, there was no distracting himself from the unease bubbling in his chest.

“I’ll be back from Lebering as soon as I can. In the meantime, don’t do anything irresponsible.”

Liz met his attempt at seriousness with her hands on her hips and a proud sniff. “I’ll be fine. Take a good look while you can, okay? Next time you see me, you won’t even recognize me!”

Hiro chuckled. “I look forward to it.”

As he turned to Rosa, a soft impact struck him in the face. Her arms wrapped around the back of his head. “If you’re ever feeling lonely, send a messenger,” she crooned in motherly tones. “I’ll come for you anytime.”

“I don’t think the emperor would be happy with me.”

“Perhaps you’d lose your titles, but then I could adopt you into House Kelheit. You’d like that, I’m certain.”

“Never once in my life have I thought that.” Forcing a smile, Hiro pulled away from Rosa. “All right, I should be going.” He turned away and retreated to his carriage.

“We’ve been waitin’, chief!” Muninn opened the door. Hiro thanked the man and stepped through.

Huginn was inside as well. She greeted him with an excited dip of her head.

“It’s an honor to be your bodyguard, Your Lordship!”

The siblings seemed a little overeager, but Hiro said nothing of it as he settled into his seat. He glanced toward the window of the carriage door. Outside, Liz and Rosa waved goodbye.

“They need to stop worrying. I’ll be back in no time.”

He felt no particular elation. His heart was calm. His mind was clear and his thoughts were free. No matter what awaited him in the north, it would not stop him. He would let no one stand in his way.

“Let’s go.”

With a command to the coachman, the carriage creaked into motion.