Ever since she came of age, she had lived as a tool of the House of Castrain, with no self-identity of her own. She had willingly chosen it and worked toward that goal.
Her statement about loving beautiful things was sincere. Debby loved nothing more than admiring the luster of something brilliant. However, if there was an order, she would not hesitate to destroy even the most beautiful thing in the world.
But the most beautiful girl Debby had ever seen in her life was…
“If I order you to assassinate Empress Cleo and Prince Briam tonight, can you do it?”
“I am not capable of that.”
“If I ordered you to kill the Emperor?”
“…”
“That is forbidden, I see. It seems you are also prohibited from directly harming a direct descendant of the House of Castrain.”
With cold and detached eyes, she simply assessed the limits of the tool she had borrowed.
Suddenly, Debby became curious. Titania seemed to know how ruthless the House of Castrain could be toward its enemies. And she also knew the limits of the weapon she held in her hand.
How? How could a princess who had been raised so delicately, who had never killed a person with her own hands, have grasped the mindset of a family that was accustomed to the stench of monster blood and the screams of people?
“You don’t need to protect me absolutely.” The princess said calmly. “Unless it’s a lethal blow… unless I’m about to suffer a permanent, irreparable injury or disability, you don’t have to overreact to every threat or crisis. I don’t want to let the enemy know that I’m prepared for something like that.”
“…Are you telling me to neglect threats?”
“Of course, you have to let me know what’s going on in a timely manner. But you are not to act first without saying a word to me.”
Debby blinked. That meant, if it wasn’t a serious threat, she shouldn’t react immediately, and should only inform the princess afterward…
Why? Weren’t the guard and the maid requested to prepare for threats and to make things more convenient for her?
“The House of Castrain isn’t going to protect me forever, are they?”
The princess seemed to have noticed Debby’s confusion and smiled lightly. It was a smile like a candle flickering inside an empty glass lantern.
“You just need to move in truly dangerous situations. Anyway, I’ll be asking you to do small favors for me often.”
Didn’t this tactic seem like giving up the flesh to get the bone? Why would she be so desperate?
“So, let’s not lie to each other.”
Suddenly, Debby realized. The princess probably wanted to say this from the very beginning.
“The most important thing for you is the House of Castrain, and I’ve just borrowed you for a fair price. So, do not lie to me ‘for the sake of the House of Castrain.’ Specifically, things like, ‘My only master is Your Highness the Princess, and I will never return,’ or, ‘I will protect you no matter what!’”
Looking into the princess’s glassy green eyes, Debby realized once again. She didn’t trust the feelings of those who belonged to the House of Castrain. She knew that they would never choose her.
So don’t deceive me.
It was a cold and firm wall. It was almost desperate.
“If you just abide by that, it’ll be easy to work together from now on. Right?”
Debby just nodded silently.
With the Emperor’s permission, the preparations for the Votive Offering were quickly completed. In the first place, there was no one to tell me, a minor member of the imperial family, to do this or that for the preparations.
Even though it had become a mere formality in recent years, the Votive Offering was still an annual event. Since members of the imperial family traveled all the way to the southern and northern ends of the kingdom, there was, of course, a pre-determined route. If there were no issues, they usually followed that route. Since no member of the imperial family would ride a horse for such a long journey, all they had to do was follow the well-paved road that was suitable for carriages.
Of course, there was a small problem. The coachman for the carriage I was riding in was someone planted by the House of Castrain. However, the knight who was appointed as the head of the traveling party heading to the temple was from the Empress’s faction.
Gregory Temper. He seemed like a serious and kind middle-aged knight on the outside, but he subtly interfered with the schedule.
The locations where warp tunnels connecting major cities were installed were very limited. Of course, the routes to use those warp tunnels were simple. But he went in circles, making us even camp in the forest. The Empress’s petty spite was truly something else.
When I acted like I had no complaints at all and shouted, “Wow, this is my first time sleeping outside! I can hear the sounds of bugs!” Gregory’s forced smile stiffened a little. Was he hoping I would loudly complain, “How dare this precious body of mine camp out in the forest!” Of course, that was probably what he was trying to provoke.
I just smiled brightly and endured it the whole time.
And of course, there were other difficulties. For example, Lysianthuses, who was supposed to be my guard, couldn’t ride in the same carriage as me. And that wasn’t all. Gregory placed Lysianthuses at the very back. He said that since Lysianthuses was so skilled, he should be in the most dangerous spot, where he could keep an eye on the enemies.
Lysianthuses acted pissed and said, “What nonsense, the princess’s carriage is in the middle, why would I be at the very back?”
Gregory, with a smile on his face, got on Lysianthuses’s nerves.
‘Haha, Sir Lysianthuses’s graceful character is as well-known as his skills. A little lack of experience can be solved with the Sir’s skills, but guarding a noble is not as simple as one might think, is it?’
And on that day, Lysianthuses finally managed to singe the tip of Gregory’s beard.
After that pointless fight, I, who had received disapproving looks from the soldiers, sighed heavily and sent Lysianthuses to the rear.
After all that trouble, we finally entered the big city where the warp tunnel was installed. After waving and smiling at the crowds of people who had gathered to see the rare sight of the imperial family traveling, we were able to travel through the warp tunnel.
Warp tunnels were very rare. First, the mana core, which was the core of the warp tunnel, was special. It required a mana core the size of a grown man’s head. Furthermore, the land and the mana core had to have a good resonance. And it cost an unimaginable amount of money and manpower to design, draw the magic formula, and construct a warp tunnel.
Most of the existing warp tunnels were installed during the time of the first Emperor, and no one had dared to install a new one since. Even though it took an immense amount of money and manpower to operate a warp tunnel once, it was still worth it. Once a warp tunnel existed, that place was, without a doubt, a major city.
I was amazed by the sight that greeted me as soon as we passed through the special gate after exiting the tunnel.
“We’re almost at the southern tip, but it’s as good as the capital…”
Titania rarely left the imperial palace, but it wasn’t unheard of. Every year on the Emperor’s birthday, all the members of the imperial family would ride in a carriage and circle the capital, waving to the people and throwing gold coins or flowers.
Even though it was a very limited experience, the image of the capital was still in my mind. But compared to the capital I remembered, this place was just as impressive. The lively people and the various goods loaded on carriages. The well-kept streets.
However, our destination was the southernmost point of the Empire. I glanced sideways at Gregory, who was talking with people from the temple who seemed to have come to greet us, and busily observed the surroundings.
Barbara, who was fixing my rumpled clothes from the long carriage ride, said, “That’s because there’s a warp tunnel here, so it’s the center of the South. People even joke that you can’t get anything in the capital or at the Arthura auction house that you can’t get here. I heard there’s a place called the Habilios territory nearby, but they say it’s a bit rustic, even though it’s a nice place to live.”
“If you’re interested, should we look around a bit?” Debby asked me. I shook my head.
“No, that’s fine.”
“But Your Highness, I heard that you’ve barely been outside the palace?”
Debby was observing my reaction. Barbara also looked at me with a hint of pity.
“After being stuck in a carriage for over a week, do you think I’d want to go sightseeing? Let’s just go to the temple quickly.”
“Your Highness is really not like a child…” Debby’s voice was strange. I shrugged.
The truth is…
In the novel, the southernmost part of the Empire is tragically destroyed in the middle of the story. The northern barrier, which the House of Castrain was in charge of, held up until the very end, but the South did not.
