Chapter 22

Chapter 22

‘What was that?’

Leonard blinked in surprise.

But seeing that no one around him reacted at all, he supposed he must have misseen something.

Telling himself he had probably imagined it, Leonard continued in a calm voice.

“Of course, someone as exalted as Your Highness would never have occasion to employ lowly mercenaries, so it makes no difference.”

“Ha!”

The Second Prince wore a look of utter disbelief.

“What an amusing thing to say. Lowly or not, whoever I wish to use, I use, and whoever I wish to discard, I discard. And yet, what? I will not be able to use them? Who are wretches like you to refuse my command?”

“Mercenaries hold the freedom to decline any contract they do not wish to make. This was guaranteed by His Majesty the Founding Emperor, and not even the Emperor may dare infringe upon it.”

“What? You dare make light of my imperial mother’s authority with that filthy mouth! Guards, seize this fellow at once-!”

“I-It is true, Your Highness.”

It was his attendant who caught the arm that was jabbing a finger at Leonard and held him back.

Praying that this uproar would not grow any worse, he whispered into the Second Prince’s ear.

“Though his tone and manner toward Your Highness are insolent, Count Elpiers has said nothing that is wrong. More importantly, Your Highness, we are right in front of the Sun Palace……”

“Nothing wrong, you say? Are you telling me they can refuse to obey when the Emperor commands?”

“That was the condition under which Khan, the Mercenary King, aided the Founding Emperor. It is also the background against which the first mercenary guild came to be established in the imperial capital.”

Back then, nobles had often pressed mercenaries down with their rank and forced absurdly unjust contracts upon them.

Mercenaries in name, they were treated little better than slaves. Even when contracts had been drawn up, it was common for them to be driven off without being paid their fees.

In the end, near the close of the Hundred Years’ War, the age of upheaval said to have been the most chaotic the continent had ever known, the Mercenary King, whom every mercenary revered, gathered the mercenaries’ forces together.

Had the Founding Emperor not moved swiftly to absorb them, there might well have been one more country on this continent today, founded by mercenaries……. so the historians judged.

‘They helped me found this empire, so now it is my turn to fulfill their wish. As long as this empire prospers in the name of Chrysetia, my descendants will forever be wrapped in their grace, so do not forget the Seven Commandments I have carved upon this stone, and repay the debt.’

It was the Great Sage who carved the Seven Commandments into the pure white rock that would later become the Founding Emperor’s tombstone.

Archmage was the title given only to a truly exceptional mage, one in several hundred.

The title of Great Sage, bestowed in reverence, was given to one whose vast magical power not even such archmages could rival.

He poured all the magic he possessed into that white tombstone, so that anyone who failed to keep the Seven Commandments would pay the price.

That was why an invisible magic circle had been engraved upon the Second Prince’s lips.

“Because of those Seven Commandments, a mercenary who has evidence may denounce his client on the spot.”

Yet the part about the Great Sage’s magic had been neatly dropped from the attendant’s explanation. It was because magical power had dwindled, the number of mages had declined, and the restriction bound up with the Seven Commandments had been all but forgotten.

Thus, all the attendant explained was that the Founding Emperor had guaranteed mercenaries the right to contract freely and the right to denounce. At that, the Second Prince made a face that said, ‘Is that all?’

“Do you think there are only one or two knights who would feign death at a single word from me? What loss is it to me if I cannot contract with some mere mercenaries? But……”

Sneering so, the Second Prince looked Leonard, who stood there with an impassive face, up and down.

“Once a contract is broken, one can never contract with mercenaries again? How strange. I have never made a contract with any mercenary. And there is no evidence, is there?”

At those words, what Leonard recalled was last night’s dream.

‘What is that supposed to mean? A contract? You say I made a contract with you? Then bring me the contract. Surely you do not mean to claim that I contracted with you without even that?’

No wonder the dream had been so vivid. It seemed he had dreamed it just so he could hear this from the Second Prince today.

Barely swallowing a sigh, Leonard went on.

“Do you know why mercenaries stake their lives on contracts and trust?”

“What?”

“It is so that, when they suffer an injustice such as this one, with no evidence, they can assert their grievance with their words alone.”

The Second Prince had used a mercenary’s contract merely for mockery.

Comrades who trusted Leonard’s word would believe him, and the mercenaries who trusted those comrades would believe theirs in turn.

It did not matter if they knew neither name nor face. Mercenary society was bound together in just such a way, by trust. Everyone would take a wrong suffered by someone, somewhere, as their own, and none would forget it.

“Do not act rashly just because no evidence remains. The earth sees and the heavens hear. I say this out of true loyalty to Your Highness, so please take it to heart.”

Leonard bowed his head deeply to the Second Prince.

His manner was courteous and his words were upright. But the trouble was that they were too upright. Hearing words that were good for him but bitter to the ear, the Second Prince’s face flushed red and blue by turns.

“How dare a wretch like you insult me-!”

“Oh my, I greet His Highness the Second Prince. To think we would meet in a place like this.”

A voice from behind Leonard cut off the Second Prince’s seething rage as though it were nothing.

Meeting head-on the glare he turned on her, Irenea bent her knees.

Having paid her respects only just enough to give him nothing to find fault with, she went straight to Leonard’s side and laid a hand on his arm.

“I caused you a great deal of trouble last night, Your Highness. Allow me to apologize once more.”

“You apologize? Ha, how smoothly you talk. Do you even know what you did wrong when you say that?”

“Of course. In fact, I am just now returning from a long scolding from His Majesty. As a sign of repentance, I have been ordered into a month of confinement, so I intend to return home at once.”

“What did you say……?”

It was the Emperor’s rest period, one of only two each day, and it came not long after the advisory council had ended.

The Emperor never gave that rest period of a mere thirty minutes to just anyone. To begin with, being able to see the Emperor during it was in itself a sign of imperial favor.

And a mere month of confinement?

Ordinarily, confinement ordered by the Emperor meant ‘until my anger subsides,’ and that anger almost never subsided. Considering that, this could hardly be called a punishment.

“His Majesty said that if I reflect deeply for a month, he will attend our wedding. So, Ray, let us return home now.”

“Wh-What? Do you think my imperial mother is so idle that she would attend some trifling event like that?”

“I know better than anyone that she is not. That is why I intend to reflect deeply, sincerely, with all my heart, so that I may receive such vast honor. So please forgive me for taking my leave.”

With a hand pressed to her chest, Irenea bowed her head deeply and tugged at Leonard’s arm, saying they should go.

Leonard bowed his head to the Second Prince, then escorted Irenea away from the spot without a backward glance.

The Emperor’s maid left with them to see Leonard off, and she did not forget to glare at the Second Prince’s attendants.

At her icy gaze, they sensed that today’s events would reach His Majesty’s ears.

But the Second Prince, who had no way of knowing that, jabbed a finger at the backs of those walking away.

“Th-Those insolent wretches! How dare they leave without my permission? Hans! Go at once and……”

“Pardon us, Your Highness.”

“And who are you?”

The Second Prince, who had been shouting in a fit of temper, faltered when he recognized the two men standing before him as the Emperor’s royal guard knights.

“What is this? Why are you two……”

“His Majesty is asking for you. Please come.”

Their eyes were cold and their voices stiff. The Second Prince instinctively realized that the Emperor was not summoning him for any good reason.

“W-What reason does my imperial mother have?”

“You will find out when you see His Majesty.”

The Radiant Knights, who were loyal solely to the Emperor, observed the necessary formalities before the Second Prince but did not honor him. The Second Prince was irritated by that, yet also a little afraid.

‘Surely mother has not found out about that matter……. No, surely not.’

It was a mere ten minutes before he would come to feel the truth of the saying that ‘surely not’ is what gets a man killed.

He had no inkling at all that he would be berated for daring to threaten a subject over the sword the Founding Emperor had bestowed upon his savior, and that he would be sentenced to confinement until the Emperor’s anger subsided.

With a pounding heart, the Second Prince followed behind the royal guard knight.

* * *

“Look carefully! I am telling you, I have a pass right here!”

“How many times must I say it? Lloyd Matthias, as of today you are barred from entering the imperial palace.”

As though he were weary of saying anything more, the palace guard tore the pass he was holding clean in half.

Watching his own pass scatter into dust in an instant, Lloyd was horrified beyond words.

With a face gone pale, he shouted at the guard.

“What do you think you are doing! How dare you, a pass bestowed by His Highness the Second Prince……!”

“His Majesty the Emperor gave the order himself. Confiscate the pass held by Lloyd Matthias and forbid him entry to the imperial palace.”

“H-His Majesty the Emperor……. This cannot be……”

His mind went blank for an instant.

But he could not simply turn back like this. After he had boasted so loudly in front of his father, how could he return empty-handed?

Lloyd seized the guard’s hand and spoke as if pleading.

“Please, just help me this once. There must be some misunderstanding. If you would only let me see His Highness the Second Prince……”

“Hey, stop blocking the way and step aside! Can’t you see that carriage?”

The captain of the guard, who had stayed well out of the way after pushing all the tiresome work onto his subordinate, waved at Lloyd to step back.

Sure enough, with the sound of clip-clopping hooves, a carriage was racing out from inside the palace.

It stopped briefly before the main gate for inspection, and the Blair family crest was engraved on its side. Noticing it belatedly, Lloyd’s body gave a start.