✦ Chapter 22 – The Second Princess, Hedera (5) ✦
Drunken Confessions.
Words that spill from the heart when intoxicated.
Strong intoxication makes people act out of character, weakening their inhibitions. Thanks to this unique effect, hidden truths are often revealed across the continent, slipping from lips unbidden.
The letter I wrote must surely be the same.
While I couldn’t recall every single word I wrote, I’m certain I didn’t write anything unpleasant. Nor did I string together any outrageous lies.
…So, at least, it was written sincerely.
I didn’t utter falsehoods to Hedera.
‘For now, holding on like this is the best option.’
I couldn’t possibly tell the real reason — that I wrote it while drunk. Besides, my intuition strongly insisted that if I let Hedera go now, I’d never have another chance to meet her.
If things go wrong, it could become extremely troublesome.
First off, I’d fail to meet the Emperor’s conditions, right?
The Emperor would end the marriage talks due to unfulfilled conditions, and in the worst case, might even resort to measures to eliminate me.
Then, who knows what the Princess, who had shown a positive response to the proposal, might do in the continent. As for me, I wouldn’t be able to obtain the imperial artifact, leaving me unable to cure my terminal condition. And if I die young, it would be difficult to avenge my fallen comrades…
“…………”
…I suddenly realized how tangled my life had become, like a ball of yarn.
The butterfly effect. It had already turned into a hurricane.
Meanwhile, that’s when Hedera made a sound.
“…Ah.”
Only then did I break free from my thoughts.
I realized I was still holding her wrist.
In the quiet corridor.
We were still looking at each other, frozen in place. Only Hedera’s eyes, now back to their original form, trembled slightly.
“…………..”
Just as her lips were about to utter something.
— Aaargh!
A strange cry came from inside the Imperial Magic Tower.
— I’m going to freeze to death at this rate!
— Inspector! Where has the inspector gone?
— Waaah!
Come to think of it, I shouldn’t be away any longer. Regardless of my reunion with Hedera, I am the magic tower’s inspector, with a duty to supervise the mages here.
I released her slender wrist, “I need to go, being the inspector and all.”
I’d encounter her again inside the Tower anyway.
I walked away, leaving her still standing there. As I walked down the corridor, feeling her gaze on the back of my head, a thought struck me.
…Alcohol is the culprit. Alcohol.
~~••~~••~~
The now-empty corridor.
The Second Imperial Princess, Hedera, remained in place long after Ezekiel had left. The turbulent currents of confusion in her heart showed no signs of subsiding.
As she tried to calmly retrace recent events and organize her thoughts, an unexpected figure appeared in the corridor.
It was the Third Imperial Princess, Solana.
“Oh? Fancy meeting you here. You arrived early?”
The radiance of the Empire that doesn’t lose its light even in darkness.
The face of the Empire, the Angel of the Empire…. Hedera wondered why she had appeared, but soon understood. It was Solana who had arbitrarily placed Ezekiel in the Inspector’s position.
Solana approached her with her usual vivaciousness, “Second Princess, have you met the Inspector? Oh, should I call you the Tower Master here? Your agony continues, I see.”
“Not agony, anguish.”
“Anguish. Ah, that’s what I said. I must have spoken too softly…” Solana chuckled softly.
Hedera, thinking Solana too bright to understand the complex situation, just sighed, not bothering to explain.
“He’s already giving his all to various tasks. I couldn’t help but think, as expected of our master. Don’t you think the Magic Tower will stand tall again? Tower Master, perhaps you should reconsider the sale more carefully.”
“The sale isn’t the issue right now—”
Though Hedera tried to brush her off, Solana’s eyes sparkled.
“You’re not selling? That’s a good decision.”
“…………..”
At this point, Hedera ran her hand through her hair in frustration; no, beyond frustration, she was starting to feel unpleasant.
The five imperial princesses, raised in different environments with vastly different personalities and values, never got along well to begin with. But what Hedera particularly disliked was Solana’s affected brightness that never revealed her true intentions.
This constantly cheerful attitude, seemingly oblivious, irritated her. Sometimes it felt deliberately so.
“…Solana.”
Hedera spoke with a slightly sharp voice.
“Don’t you feel anything, seeing him after so long?”
Hedera’s separation from Ezekiel had been excruciatingly painful; the sudden accident left no time to cope, and she was too young to know how to deal with such severe pain.
The girl at that time had confidence.
Confidence, no, certainty that she could have waited 10 years or 100 years if he had just explained the circumstances.
She would have understood anything, truly. Perhaps she would have followed him even if the world had crumbled. Because that would have hurt less.
But.
That past separation remained unresolved.
Today was no different.
No, their recent encounter had only made things more confusing.
She had even asked the Emperor to postpone matters and came here personally, but this was the result.
…Yet, why was this naive girl so cheerful?
“Him? Are you referring to the master?”
“Yes.”
“You’ve changed. You used to call him your future husband when we were young.”
Hedera gritted her teeth at Solana’s harmful brightness.
Indeed, there was such a time in the distant past.
But Ezekiel, once again, had not explained himself.
He had simply repeated his actions from that day when he left suddenly without any explanation to Hedera. Wasn’t he just asking her to believe that he was sincere, even though he couldn’t explain?
“Um, are you upset? It was just a joke. After all, there’s no way you two would ever actually get married.” Solana continued in her usual tone, “Anyway, yes. I don’t feel much about it. Master must have had his reasons. I’m just glad we can reunite now. It’s better than never seeing him again, isn’t it?”
“How nice to be so simple-minded. You can easily move on.”
“Easy? That’s not true.”
Hedera was growing increasingly irritated with this conversation.
As she was about to leave the corridor,
“Second Princess.”
Solana called out to Hedera for the first time; their gazes met in mid-air. Solana’s lips curved into the gentle smile typical of clergy, but Hedera could clearly see that her eyes told a different story.
“There are such things in this world. Things that become sinful just by trying to know them, things that cause great pain just by asking about them… This is just my opinion, of course.”
“…What are you trying to say?”
“The master, he didn’t smoke sunweed in the past.”
“…………..”
A moment of silence.
“……..?”
Hedera’s brow furrowed slightly, a beat later.
Come to think of it, that was true.
In the distant past, Ezekiel wasn’t someone who even touched tobacco, let alone sunweed. But now, the distinctive burning scent of sunweed clung heavily to him.
“Without imperial permission, possessing sunweed is illegal. Even then, it’s mostly for medical purposes. I’ve never seen anyone chewing entire stalks before.”
“Stop beating around the bush. Tell me everything you know.”
“I know nothing. I told you earlier, didn’t I? I just believe. It’s the only thing I can do, knowing nothing.”
With those words, Solana turned abruptly, “I’ll go ahead. There’s training today, and it’s my role to care for any injuries. I’ll see you inside.”
“………..”
Left alone, Hedera remained rooted to the spot.
Her already complex emotions became even more tangled with Solana’s words. They seemed to rise like waves, threatening to engulf her.
Why was she so displeased right now?
— It’s sincere.
Because those few words had shaken her slightly.
Because she found herself utterly disgusting and pathetic for being swayed again, despite being deceived for years.
Then, why did she feel so frustrated now?
…Though she hated to admit it, it was because she was a little curious.
She became even more curious about what truth she might not know. She absently fingered the crumpled letter in her pocket.
To burn it, or not.
“………..”
In the end, Hedera moved on without burning the letter.
A postponement.
She wasn’t kind enough to believe him immediately. Nor was she that stupid, young, or naive. But watching and observing wasn’t too difficult, was it?
Hedera possessed dragon blood now. She was strong.
If she didn’t give her heart in the first place, she couldn’t be betrayed. Even if something seemed off, she could protect herself.
Having made her decision, she nodded a couple of times.
For now, she would set aside her role as the Second Princess. She still had the issue of selling the Imperial Magic Tower to deal with.
…It was time to work as the Tower Master for a while.
~~••~~••~~
The Magic Tower’s corridor.
Even after Hedera had left, someone still remained.
Valken, the Second Princess’s knight. It was him.
Despite his face being completely hidden by his helmet, his eyes seemed to gleam. With that intense gaze, the knight continued to stare at the spot where Ezekiel had disappeared.
Valken thought.
A dragon blood user means perfection.
At the same time, a perfect being does not harbor emotions.
Thus, in his mind, Hedera was a perfect being.
However.
Just now, when she faced Ezekiel, Valken clearly felt Hedera waver in a way uncharacteristic of her. It was the first time he had seen such a sight since beginning his duties as a knight in the mortal realm.
Therefore, what he must do was clear.
For Hedera’s perfection.
For Hedera’s nobility.
No, for Hedera herself.
…He must eliminate that man.