Ch#164
"More importantly, about this national request."
"Ah, uh, the Clock Tower Mission?"
"Yes. Should we change the participant list? Add the names of the new members from Trebaga."
Ornel, who had been pondering, raised one hand as if to say wait.
"Hold on, just a moment?"
He rushed to his desk, rummaged through a drawer, and pulled something out.
After staring at it intently for a while, he ran back to Remi.
"Put it on hold for now."
"Why? Wouldn't it be better to do it now? We already have a mountain of backlog..."
Ornel glanced around before leaning toward Remi.
Then he whispered meaningfully, as if sharing a grave secret.
"Well, Oshil seems to want to insert someone into that mission."
Remi's eyes widened.
The usually emotionless woman pulled back the hand holding the documents in surprise.
"Oshil?"
Oshil.
It was slang among civil servants meaning 'the invisible hand.'
And there was only one invisible hand in the empire.
Empress Lavinia, who enjoyed the emperor's favor, and Pides, her son.
The citizens didn't know, but civil servants working for the imperial palace did.
That Ardiana's position had been steadily declining lately.
As the crimson princess was pushed out, Pides was seizing power.
"I don't know who it is yet. But he ordered us to create a spot in the Union Force for one person."
Remi swallowed hard.
If it was an order from Pides or the empress, failing could mean losing her head.
Oshil's influence was that strong these days.
"A-alright."
Remi put the documents back in the envelope.
She shoved it into the deepest drawer with a tense face.
* * *
At the same time, in the imperial palace.
"Thus, I want you to take charge of that mission yourself."
A low, solemn voice descended from the impossibly high throne.
The woman kneeling at the bottom of the stairs stiffened.
It was Ardiana.
Empress Lavinia, standing beside the jade throne, smiled with crinkled eyes.
"What an honor, Ardiana. To personally investigate a new form of mana stone never seen before. It would have been perfect if our Pides could do it."
She drooped her eyebrows regretfully.
"As you know, Pides is so busy these days. State affairs are overwhelming; he can barely sleep. It breaks my heart."
Ardiana raised her head.
She forced a smile to hide her expression.
"It's fine. I know well that my brother is busy."
"How can you have such depth of heart?"
The emperor smiled at the affectionately speaking empress.
He gazed at Ardiana again.
"As you know, the Old Palace ruins hold great significance for our Talochioum imperial family."
"......"
"The Clock Tower there being devoured by a mana stone means this palace I reside in is not free from the threat of mana stones either."
The emperor slowly stroked his beard.
"You seem well aware of that point too. Knowing it's a critical mission, you granted the initiative to the most capable mercenary group lately? And mobilizing the Luminen family I favor."
"Yes."
"Good. With excellent hounds and Holy Knights gathered, it's only right for a member of our imperial family to oversee it."
Ardiana drew a short breath.
She had to manage her expression, but a sneer kept forming at her lips.
"If I had as many children as neighboring kings, that would be ideal. But with only you and Pides, I have to send you alone."
The emperor spoke as if participating directly in the Clock Tower Mission was a grand honor.
But Ardiana knew.
The true meaning hidden behind it.
"One might wonder, though. Valentis and his sons aside, is it truly wise to expose you directly to the hounds...?"
"Your Majesty. The dignity of our noble imperial family will suffer. We should send Ardiana to oversee, but hide that she is the princess, no?"
Lavinia's voice echoed through the hall.
The emperor nodded as if that was the answer he wanted.
"Quite right. Very right."
The emperor rose from his seat.
"Participate as the Association President instead of the princess. Pides recommended escorts, so I'll assign a few."
Finishing his words, the emperor turned without hesitation.
The empress followed behind him.
Their footsteps faded, and soon the door thudded shut.
With no one left in the audience chamber, Ardiana staggered to her feet.
Her attending maid rushed to her side immediately.
"Your Highness...!"
The maid supported her and whispered.
"Are you alright? Your face..."
Ardiana waved her hand as if it was nothing.
Then she replied in a subdued voice.
"I'm fine. It's from the poison I drank this morning."
The maid bit her lip.
Ardiana had been poisoned again this morning.
Attempts to assassinate her by poison were numerous, so it wasn't surprising.
But that didn't make it acceptable.
"Still, shouldn't you take an antidote at least...?"
"You know well. Ordinary poisons don't work on me anymore. I've built resistance. Same with antidotes."
"Even so..."
"Enough. Let's go to the Blue Palace."
The maid stared blankly at Ardiana leaving the audience chamber.
The two exited the labyrinthine main palace into the garden.
The Blue Palace, Ardiana's residence, was visible in the distance.
Sensing people nearby, the maid approached Ardiana.
"Pides seems determined this time."
Ardiana didn't reply.
"Who sends imperial family into such a dangerous mission? If it requires imperial involvement, why hire mercenaries and Holy Knights in the first place? Aren't you angry, Your Highness?"
Ardiana stopped walking.
She turned, gazing at her maid with lonely eyes.
"...What would change if I got angry?"
The maid was at a loss for words.
"Nothing changes. Time in the palace stopped long ago. My brother and the empress will never stop until my last breath."
The maid bit her lip hard.
Ardiana gently patted her shoulder.
"Yet Talochioum needs me. The citizens are suffering. Our debt to the mercenaries grows daily..."
Deep, dark sorrow filled Ardiana's eyes.
"The nation must care for them. As a member of Talochioum's imperial family, I must protect them."
Ardiana started walking again.
The maid wiped tears from her eyes and hurried to her side.
"I'll go with you. We can't trust the escorts Pides assigned. For all we know, they might try to harm you."
But Ardiana shook her head.
"No, stay in the palace."
"Pardon?"
"If I get hurt or die, someone needs to handle the association's aftermath."
"Your Highness...!"
"No one knows the association as well as you, aside from me. If I disappear, His Majesty will surely neglect it. He probably won't disband it entirely. Without the association, hiring mercenary groups efficiently like now would be difficult. Then he'll likely delegate the Association President's authority to you, who knows the work well."
"......"
"So you must preserve yourself for any contingency."
Cardia, the maid and also Sori Association secretary, nodded reluctantly.
"Who could stop Your Highness."
Ardiana looked back at Cardia.
"I told you to run away. I've given you chances many times, yet you stayed by my side."
Cardia smiled bitterly.
"...Adelin and Dailanne wanted to stay too. They just couldn't break your stubbornness."
The two entered the Blue Palace laughing.
The palace, managed by only nine people, was cool and frigid.
