Chapter 5
The founding myth of the Empire—the story of the First Emperor and the four heroes who protected him—was famous.
The First Emperor had successfully repelled the demon beasts that had overrun the continent and established a barrier to isolate them.
In response, a god descended in person and bestowed power upon the five heroes who had brought peace to the continent.
To the four heroes, the powers of fire, wind, earth, and water respectively. And to the Emperor, the Power of Light, which could encompass and control them all.
The Empire flourished after the First Emperor. The Imperial Family also made good use of the Power of Light. However, several hundred years had passed since then.
Before anyone knew it, the stories were dismissed as mere myths, and the Imperial Family could no longer wield the Power of Light.
The families of the heroes declined until even their names were lost; the only one that remained intact was the Duchy of Castline.
The Castline family, which had taken sole responsibility for the Northern Barrier, had reached its limit.
The barrier had begun to weaken.
So, as a method to strengthen that barrier, they sought the weapons imbued with the divine power used by the heroes.
One of those was the <Insignia of Gloriana>.
Of course, the most important point was that the Duchy of Castline had been gathering ancient weapons in secret, hidden even from the Imperial Family—and Titania, standing before him, was speaking of that very matter.
Something that, under normal circumstances, no one in the Imperial Family should have known.
Raymon did not think twice.
Without a single sound, the blade slid from its scabbard and stopped right in front of Titania’s Adam’s apple.
“…What is your objective, Imperial Princess Titania?”
The Young Duke’s golden eyes flashed chillingly. Like a predator encountering an enemy threatening its nest.
If you ask what my objective is, it is only natural to provide an answer.
What I want is!
An immediate breakup of the engagement.
A building with at least three floors in a prime downtown area of the Capital.
50 million gold in cash.
A safe means of escape from the Imperial Family.
A suitable lower-noble identity whose name I can borrow without anyone knowing!
“…….”
…Is what I cannot say. Dammit.
I had to struggle with all my might not to cry and beg while looking at the bright blue blade stopped right in front of my throat.
Wow, so this is what bloodlust feels like.
My skin prickled. No wonder he remained so composed even when his fiancée was throwing a total fit and tap-dancing on the strings of his patience.
He just dismissed it as, ‘She’s basically a hamster who’d collapse if I just got angry,’ and let it go in one ear and out the other!
My hands and feet went cold rapidly, and my ears began to ring. Nevertheless, I desperately curled the corners of my mouth into a smile.
Toward the opponent who was watching my every move with eyes so sharp they seemed ready to devour me.
“Shall we call it an ‘engagement gift’ that I am giving you secretly, without my father or mother knowing?”
Considering it a miracle that my lips weren’t trembling, I smiled, crinkling my eyes. Like a nonchalant and fickle Imperial Princess.
“You see, to Young Duke Raymon…. I haven’t really been able to give you a decent gift all this time.”
“…….”
I did worry about what I’d do if he just refused to listen and tried to check what color the blood flowing in my body was, but he is indeed the cool-headed Young Duke.
In the original work, he was the one who would put the brakes on a situation when Bibi’s second brother or the head of the house lost their reason the moment ‘Bibi’ was involved, so it makes sense.
“As it happens, while I was listening to reports of Young Duke Raymon’s every move….”
I picked up the teacup, which still held steaming tea, and poured it out.
The snow-white tablecloth spread over the table was stained orange.
“Something felt strange.”
“…….”
I felt the opponent flinch, his fingertips trembling. If I were truly an ignorant Imperial Princess raised with nothing but pampering within the palace, I would have whined, cried, and run away in terror, asking ‘Are you really trying to kill me?’ or ‘What is this?’ but….
My opponent is a sword specialist. He’s someone who could carve an exquisite statue while holding a sword in one hand.
He seems a bit flustered because I’m not even flinching before his blade and am instead doing things like spilling tea, but he won’t leave a wound on me ‘by mistake.’
Though I’m covered in bandages everywhere, so there’s hardly any bare skin to begin with.
Now, the real problem remained.
‘I woke up after nearly dying and remembered the contents of a book I read in my past life…. well, more like a previous life, and it’s like a book of prophecy. It says I’ll get obsessed with you, cling to you, and ruin my life by poisoning my future sister-in-law. Now I don’t care about the Imperial Family, my parents, or the engagement, and I just want to live my own life, so will you help me?’
How could I possibly say that!
I kept my mouth moving busily.
“A while ago—now, how many years was it…. was it three years ago? Lord Lisianthus, who hates me so very much, obtained a new sword. I heard it was a masterpiece, with decorations that look like flowing flames and impressive red jewels.”
“…….”
“Quite coincidentally, it was right after you, Young Duke, performed the first dance at the birthday banquet of the eldest daughter of the County of Orland. The specialty of the County of Orland was… specifically garnets that can store fire-attribute mana, wasn’t it?”
The opponent’s gaze wavered slightly.
It was clear agitation. It was only natural.
The ‘Imperial Princess Titania’ he knew was the type who, without even a moment to spare for things like swords, would make a scene as if the sky were falling just because her fiancé danced with some random woman.
“Since they have to be mined one by one by hand, the actual quantity produced each year isn’t even twenty. And since the highest quality goods are supposed to be offered to the Imperial Family, people whispered that the County of Orland put a lot of effort into their daughter’s social debut to send such precious items to the Duchy.”
Yes, stupid Titania.
Would Raymon, who finds social circles truly bothersome, really set aside even the existence of his clear—albeit titular—fiancée to uphold the prestige of a mere vassal’s daughter? There was obviously another reason.
What Raymon’s younger brother Lisianthus obtained was the <Wrath of Flamberge>.
A sword imbued with divine power, specifically the power of flames.
It wasn’t a sword the County of Orland had made by scraping together their own garnets.
The Duchy of Castline cannot openly collect weapons containing divine power.
If they even tried to collect them, they would be kept in check by the Imperial Family.
The weapons used by the three brothers of the Duchy are also a matter of public interest.
So, the Duchy, having finally found a divine weapon, put on a performance to deceive everyone and pass the sword to the second son relatively naturally.
The Young Duke danced with the eldest daughter of the County of Orland to make it the biggest gossip of the social season that year, and immediately afterward, the second son showed everyone he was using a new sword.
They set up a smokescreen to make others mistakenly think the sword was a bribe offered by the County in exchange for the dance.
If the Titania of that time—who had collapsed in shock and thrown a fit because her fiancé ignored her to play the part of a partner for the first dance at a complete stranger’s party—had known this, it was a truth so pathetic it would have taken the wind out of her sails.
If the Titania of that time had known this fact, she would have run straight to the Emperor to cry and appeal.
That the Duchy and her fiancé were daring to look down on and deceive her and the Imperial Family, using her as a tool for insult.
Well….
Strictly speaking, it wasn’t wrong….
“So I thought. Ah, Young Duke Raymon is someone who only moves when there is a price paid.”
I smiled with innocent nonchalance.
“…….”
Raymon’s frost-like gaze turned toward me. Even if I didn’t explicitly state the name of <Wrath of Flamberge>, since I had openly brought up the <Insignia of Gloriana>, he must have expected that I’d guessed the circumstances.
“So I prepared a gift, but to think you would suddenly draw your sword. My heart… it truly, truly aches.”
“…….”
As I pretended to wipe away tears that weren’t even there, Raymon slowly bit his lip and lowered his sword.
Right, it wasn’t a problem he could handle by cutting my throat right this second.
In fact, he probably only pulled the sword to intimidate me and had no serious intention of wounding my body.
He likely never imagined that an Imperial Princess raised in luxury her whole life would have the nerve to endure the bloodlust of a warrior who had survived several brushes with death.
“…I have committed an impoliteness toward the Imperial Princess.”
Young Duke Raymon, having slowly retracted his bloodlust, offered a smile. It was a picture-perfect smile, like a well-painted mask.
“Because I never imagined Your Imperial Highness would have an interest in my family’s affairs.”
“I wasn’t interested.”
At my immediate reply, Young Duke Raymon’s eyes widened slightly. He seemed a bit taken aback. Regardless, for a moment, I let a distant look enter my eyes.
It would have been nice… if I’d had at least some interest back then…….
