Chapter 17 – The Best Dress
Published on 2024.01.17.
As I kept urging him, Karl eventually stood up from his seat.
He said, “It’s dangerous, so don’t go alone,” before joining me.
And so, we began exploring the inside of the ruins together.
Upon inspection, just as I had expected, the interior of the ruins wasn’t that vast.
The large space where I had fainted was called the “central hall,” and it seemed to be the widest area in the ruins.
The structure of the ruins centered around this hall, with small rooms branching out in the four cardinal directions—north, south, east, and west.
The eastern room seemed to be a storage area, filled with jars containing unidentified grains.
The western room had many chairs lined up closely together, suggesting it was a place where people gathered to talk.
The southern room might have been a restroom, as it had something resembling communal toilets.
Lastly, the northern room contained bedding so old it had all rotted away.
Given that the basic facilities necessary for living were all present, it was clear that people had once lived here.
And not just one or two, but quite a few people.
What made me certain that these were humans was the mural drawn like graffiti in the corner of the northern wall.
“Look here. There’s a drawing.”
At my words, Karl came closer and closely examined the spot I pointed to.
“This is… I’m not sure, but it looks like monsters and humans?”
“Yeah, it looks like people fighting monsters. And the battle seems really fierce…”
I gently stroked the clumsy drawing on the wall and continued speaking.
“I’ve always thought this, but maybe… in the past, there were just as many humans in the world beyond this rift as there are in ours. Otherwise, how would there be such human traces left behind?”
The people depicted fighting the monsters in the mural were clearly humans.
Not humanoid monsters, but humans exactly like us.
Karl, quietly watching me stroke the mural, murmured, “Then those humans must have…”
“They probably suffered invasions from monsters, like we do. And they fought hard… did their best to resist, but in the end, they were defeated and wiped out.”
I imagined their final moments and added, “If we let our guard down, our world could meet the same fate. If knights like us are annihilated, the weak who remain will have no choice but to flee to remote places like this. Just like the people who once lived here built a small shelter in the desert and hid to survive.”
“Do you think this place was a refuge, then? If humanity was hiding from monsters here like criminals… that’s a bitter thought.”
“Yeah, maybe even this little drawing was made by a child living in hiding, pouring in their wishes. Hoping that one day, far in the future, humanity would triumph—even while barely surviving in a world already overrun by monsters.”
If my guess was right, the child who drew this mural probably died in the end, overwhelmed by despair.
Because the victory for humanity that they longed for never came true.
I had been to the world beyond the rift countless times, but not once had I encountered another human being.
Not a single human remained in this world.
If this isn’t a defeat for humanity, then what is?
Looking at the mural, I steeled my resolve once more.
“Let’s fight harder. Even more than before.”
“Yes, because we have to protect the people.”
After that, we stopped looking at the mural and left the ruins.
It was bright daylight while we were exploring, so it seemed like a good time to move on.
This time, let’s not let our guard down.
With that determination in my heart, Karl and I walked toward the oasis where Queen would be waiting.
* * *
In a small banquet hall of the luxurious Imperial Palace, filled with extravagant luxuries…
Nobles of all genders and ages gathered, sipping wine and chatting in hushed tones.
They were attendees of a party hosted by Hernant.
Though the gathering usually centered around lofty discussions of philosophy and art, that wasn’t always the case.
Sometimes, idle chatter about dresses, jewels, or someone’s love life would dominate the conversation—just like now.
The young noble ladies, in particular, were entirely focused on the dresses they’d wear to the upcoming Founding Day celebration.
“Your Majesty, have you heard the news?” asked Lady Lippenberg, who was seated right next to Hernant.
Hernant, lost in thought about Yulia, responded a beat late, “News?”
“Yes, the Founding Day celebration is coming up. All the young ladies were getting ready to commission the best dresses possible, so they rushed to the boutique of Dverie, the most renowned designer in the Empire… but you won’t believe it—some wealthy person hired him exclusively!”
“……”
“All the ladies who planned to get their dresses from Dverie were left out in the cold. Who could it be? Hiring someone as expensive as Dverie like that…”
As Lippenberg said, Dverie was widely known as the Empire’s top designer.
Every time there was a major event, noblewomen would fiercely compete to have him design their gowns.
He was so in demand that rumors said the income he made during the event season could buy a small territory.
And someone had hired this Dverie exclusively.
During the busiest and most expensive time of year, no less.
The young ladies of the social scene were buzzing about who this rich person could be—Lippenberg included.
“I wish I could marry someone that rich… I wonder who the lucky girl is who captured the heart of someone like that? She must be incredibly beautiful and charming. I’m so jealous…”
“That rich person is me.”
“…What?”
Lippenberg blinked, dumbfounded, and Hernant repeated clearly.
“I’m the one who hired Dverie.”
Hearing Hernant’s declaration, Lippenberg was stunned.
The same went for the other nobles who overheard their conversation.
Everyone turned to Hernant with confused expressions.
Hernant looked around at them with a cheerful smile.
“I needed a dress made for my partner. For some reason, she was really angry at me.”
He said this while recalling Yulia, who had shown obvious displeasure toward him.
Even now, Hernant still had no idea why Yulia was upset.
His imagination wasn’t vivid enough to picture a scenario where she had died by his hand and returned to the past through regression.
Still, he knew one thing for certain.
If his plans were to go smoothly, he had to continue using Yulia.
And to do that, he had to win her favor.
Lady Lippenberg, unaware of Hernant’s hidden thoughts, spoke again, looking a little downcast.
“So the rumors that you’ve already chosen your partner were true. As someone who hoped to be considered, that’s disappointing… So, who is the lucky woman receiving both Your Majesty’s attention and Dverie’s dress?”
To her cautious question, Hernant slowly opened his mouth and replied,
“That’s a secret. You’ll see her on the day of the celebration.”
That final remark sent another ripple through the party.
The young ladies who had been discussing dresses no longer cared about that topic.
Now, their attention was completely focused on who the lucky woman appearing with the Emperor would be—and just how beautiful she might be.
* * *
On the walk to the oasis, fortunately, we didn’t encounter any more monsters.
I was especially relieved that we didn’t have to deal with the venomous ones I feared most.
So, by the time we neared the oasis, I was relaxed enough to make small talk again.
“Vice Captain, please stop walking outside the parasol. We’ve got an important event coming up soon, and we both need to keep our skin protected.”
Karl said this while pointing toward the blazing sun overhead.
I chuckled lightly and replied, “Skin care? Since when have I ever cared about that?”
“Still, it’s not every day we get to dress up. Wouldn’t it be nice to look sharp for once? Especially you—aren’t you attending in a dress instead of your uniform for a change?”
“…So you heard about that?”
“That’s all anyone’s been talking about. I even heard you were really happy about it. I guess you enjoy being favored like that by His Majesty, don’t you?”
Clearly, the rumor had gotten twisted somewhere along the line.
Me—happy about receiving a dress from Hernant?
I let out a sigh, feeling defeated, and corrected the misunderstanding.
“Not even a little.”
