Chapter 005
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Emma headed to the main palace as soon as I handed over the letter. She said that since she was acquainted with the main palace administrator, the letter would reach the Emperor quickly.
‘I was worried because her reaction was strange, but I guess she listened well.’
As I was talking to Emma, I remembered how my emotions had suddenly welled up without me realizing it.
For a moment, I wondered if I had scared her, but she readily granted my request without even asking for a specific reason.
‘Should I say it’s a relief…….’
Anyway, perhaps thanks to Emma’s efforts, the Emperor’s reply arrived in two days.
The problem was that the person who brought the reply was someone entirely unexpected.
“Pleasure to meet you, Your Imperial Highness. I am Loreil Delchis.”
I was appalled to see the man standing at the front gate of the detached palace, offering a polite greeting.
‘Delchis—that’s the Chancellor!’
The Chancellor of the Empire, the head of the Council of Nobles, who is known to hold power second only to the Emperor.
I never imagined that the House of Marquis Delchis would send someone.
Seeing that he used the family name as it is, it was clear that Loreil was the Marquis’s son.
I didn’t know if he was the successor or the second son or lower, but at any rate, he was not of a status to be mobilized for this kind of work.
‘Why? There’s no way the Emperor would have asked the House of Marquis Delchis.’
“Your Imperial Highness?”
“……Pleasure to meet you, Sir Loreil. I am Dana Lipeon.”
After a moment of bewilderment, I received the greeting politely.
‘Let’s find out the reason later. Right now, it’s important not to arouse unnecessary suspicion.’
Loreil slightly raised his eyes as if surprised, but he soon composed his expression and spoke.
“Contrary to the rumors, you look very healthy.”
“Rumors tend to be exaggerated, don’t they?”
“You are right.”
Loreil smiled briefly. It was a mask-like smile with no sincerity behind it.
‘By the way, he doesn’t look like a typical Imperial.’
Only then did his face catch my eye. His dark red eyes were impressive, but his black hair, which seemed to absorb light, strongly reminded me of a demon.
His straight eyebrows, which suggested stubbornness, his sharp gaze, and the solid body felt through his clothes gave off the air of a veteran warrior.
I felt a sense of nostalgia, as if I were looking at a soldier from the Demon Realm.
‘I should stop staring.’
It was very rude to measure someone’s combat ability as soon as you meet them. I put aside Asmo-Dina’s habits for now and guided Loreil.
“Let’s go to the garden. It happens to be tea time, and I’ve prepared some refreshments.”
“Then, if you’ll excuse me.”
We headed to the garden of the detached palace.
It was called a detached palace, but since its size was that of a small mansion, we arrived at the garden quickly.
Loreil, seeing the garden, spoke hesitantly.
“The garden is very…… cozy.”
It seemed he felt he had to offer a compliment as a formality but had nothing to say, so he forced it out.
“Thank you for the compliment.”
There was no need for him to go that far, but his sincerity was touching, so I smiled back.
Actually, the garden of the detached palace was not beautiful. Weeds were quite overgrown, and the fountain was unmaintained with vines growing over it. Furthermore, the identity of the garden was held by the dense wildflowers growing in the center.
‘I think this much is quite alright, though.’
Of course, it couldn’t compare to the flower gardens of the main palace, but this had its own charm.
We sat across from each other at a small table next to the fountain. Emma approached just in time and poured the tea.
“Well then, I shall relay the words of His Majesty the Emperor.”
“Yes.”
“His Majesty wishes for you to take charge of an event, partly to announce Your Highness Dana’s recovery of health.”
“If it’s an event……”
“It is the congratulatory speech for the year-end event.”
An Imperial’s duties are diverse. One had to frequently show their face not only for the Empire’s diplomacy or finance but also for events to strengthen internal stability. The Harvest Festival or the Year-End Festival were representative examples, and it seemed the Emperor intended to entrust me with one of the year-end events.
He probably wants me to successfully finish that event to prove that I am healthy enough to be active.
If I succeed in that task, it will also be easier to find a fiancé.
‘Since there are so many year-end events held in the capital, maybe he’ll entrust me with something that doesn’t matter even if I fail.’
However, the answer that returned was different from my expectation.
“The event is the Arena held in the capital. Are you familiar with it?”
“……I am aware of it.”
The Arena. A martial arts tournament for warriors, also called a colosseum.
I had never watched it directly, but it was a tournament considered the best event by the young citizens of the Empire.
‘This old man…….’
I drank my tea with a faint smile, but inside, anger toward the Emperor boiled over.
‘Making a princess preside over the Arena?’
It was common for a royal to preside over a traditional event, but I had never heard of a princess being entrusted with a blood-splattered event.
I was a fool to think he would entrust me with an event like an exhibition or a concert.
‘This old man clearly intends to make me a laughingstock.’
For me, rumored to be the cursed princess, to host the Arena. I could already see the cold gazes of the audience before my eyes.
‘Is he telling me never to come out of the detached palace again?’
While anger surged at the Emperor’s inscrutable intentions, Loreil spoke.
“The match is scheduled to be hosted next month. Since it is a match spanning a total of three days, I recommend clearing your schedule in advance.”
I suppressed a sigh and nodded.
Anyway, as long as the Emperor himself had issued the command, there was no justification to refuse.
“First, to check the site, it seems we should tour the venue together tomorrow. Is that alright?”
“It’s fine, but…… wait a moment, is Sir Loreil coming along as well?”
“Yes. Since Your Highness would not know the geography outside the Imperial Palace, wouldn’t you need a guide?”
A guide was needed, but I had no intention of designating the son of the Chancellor’s family as that guide.
I asked while hiding my bewilderment.
“Did His Majesty the Emperor tell Sir Loreil to help me?”
“Yes.”
“To volunteer as a guide like a secretary?”
“……Yes.”
He answered, but for a split second, I felt hesitation. It meant it wasn’t something he wanted himself.
‘Is it the Chancellor’s intention? Or the Emperor’s check on the Chancellor?’
There was nothing I could be sure of yet. Loreil, as if he didn’t want to give any more clues than this, spoke in a firm voice.
“Of course, if Your Highness is uncomfortable, I shall call for a proxy.”
His tone was a plea to please call for a proxy, but I refused.
“No, it’s fine. Having someone as reliable as Sir Loreil by my side will be a great help to me.”
“……I see.”
It was a brief moment, but I felt disappointment in Loreil’s gaze. Whether he thought he was hiding it well or not, his reluctance to participate in this task was evident.
It was unfortunate for Loreil, but as someone without a single lady-in-waiting, I needed someone to help with outside schedules.
‘If he’s a child of the Chancellor’s family, his status alone makes him well worth exploiting.’
I hid my inner thoughts and sent him a look of trust. In response, he returned a mask-like smile.
“Then I shall inform you of the detailed schedule again tomorrow.”
Since our business was finished, we stood up from our seats to part ways. While seeing him off after exchanging formal greetings, a question suddenly occurred to me.
‘Come to think of it, I thought the successor of the Chancellor’s family was older than me.’
When I was young, I had heard news that the successor of the Chancellor’s family was active. Since ten years had passed, his age would be around thirty.
If so, are the successor and Loreil in a sibling relationship?
I instinctively asked him a question.
“Sir Loreil, you had a sibling, didn’t you? How are they doing?”
“……Ah.”
In that moment, Loreil’s expression froze.
“Did you…… not know?”
“Pardon? Know what?”
“My brother is dead.”
‘……Oops.’
In that moment, I instinctively felt that I had touched a landmine.
After a moment of panic, I tried to apologize to Loreil somehow. However, I lost my words because of the change unfolding on his body.
‘What is that? Smoke?’
It was because a strange smoke suddenly billowed from his shoulder. The smoke, which looked as sticky as mud, stepped on Loreil’s shoulder and climbed up, forming a grotesque shape.
[Kieee—]
The smoke soon turned into the form of a spider with dozens of legs.
Loreil continued his explanation in a stiff voice, unaware of my state of mind as I stood lost for words facing the sudden monster.
“My brother lost his life in an unfortunate accident. Now, I am the successor.”
Loreil seemed unable to see the monster. As he continued to speak, the body of the monster perched on his shoulder also grew larger.
“……so you didn’t know. I under…… stand.”
The monster, having grown huge, eventually even covered Loreil’s face, making it impossible to hear his voice properly.
A crystallization of malice invisible to humans. I knew the identity of that thing.
‘A curse.’
Loreil was definitely being cursed by someone.
‘What is the activation trigger? Is it the talk about siblings? The successor? Anyway, I don’t think I should let him speak further!’
A curse of that form drains the life force of the possessed person as its body grows larger. Just as I was observing to somehow figure out the identity of the curse.
“Therefore…… to me.”
[Grrr…….]
Whether it noticed I was targeting it, the monster bared its teeth toward me. And it tried to thrust that horrific face forward,
‘I, I hate spiders, though!’
It was a fact I had just recalled, but I absolutely loathed spiders.
That was the same even now that Asmo-Dina’s memories had returned.
Just seeing that creature with many legs made a surge of revulsion rise within me.
“High……?”
[Kyaaaa!]
Loreil called me in a worried voice, perhaps sensing my reaction was strange. Simultaneously, the spider’s legs approached.
“D-Don’t come close!”
In the end, I squeezed my eyes shut and toward the spider……
“Ah.”
I ended up thrusting my fist with great force.
The fist imbued with mana struck the spider’s face very hard.
[Kieeeeeeeek—!]
Pang—!
With a tremendous explosive sound, I ended up bursting the spider.
“…….”
When I opened my eyes, I saw Loreil staring at me blankly. No, what he was looking at, to be precise, was not me.
It was my fist, which had stopped just barely in front of the bridge of his nose.
Drip—
At the same time, because of the shockwave created by the thrusting fist, blood trickled down from his nose.
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