Chapter 28: Crimson Rabidaemons I

“You don’t have my flowers!? What do you mean!?”

Sa’salia’s half-crazed shouts echoed throughout the reception room.

Beneath the princess’s daunting glare, Amue Adulelia – head of this manor – responded without the slightest hint of timidity. “I should start with this, I suppose: It’s nice to make your acquaintance. We’ve been in each other’s presence many times, but so far as I can remember, this is our first time having a proper conversation.”

“I don’t… I’m asking about my flowers! The supply delivered from the capital should have arrived here ages ago! And yet there’s not a single one here!?”

“Exchanging greetings is the bare minimum required for etiquette, but very well… I have already disposed of these flowers you desire, Your Highness.”

“Disposed of them…?”

“Those detestable flowers mislead the hearts of those who use them. Within my territory, I won’t allow substances that invite depravity.”

Sa’salia’s expression grew more and more grim. That was only natural, as Amue had – in a roundabout manner – criticized the princess’s habits.

“I don’t care,” said the princess. “Just have additional flowers delivered from the capital immediately.”

As Sa’salia continued her futile resistance, Amue rained even more merciless words upon her. “It won’t make any difference. As soon as those flowers enter my domain, they’ll be incinerated.”

“…Do you understand who you’re dealing with, little girl?”

“I could ask you the same question, Lady Sa’salia.” Standing, Amue puffed out her chest, glaring at the princess. “I am the head of Adulelia and inheritor of a Radiantore. I won’t be called “little girl” by someone who just happened to be born into the royal family. Additionally, Lord Gwen entrusted me with your treatment in both writing and spoken testimony. While staying in my house, you will obey my instructions… If you want to order around a Duchess, take better care of your health and inherit the throne alongside Celestine.”

In response to Amue’s domineering attitude, Sa’salia’s anger subsided. Shrinking like a frightened cat, she averted her gaze. Wordlessly, the princess fled to the exit. Confirming her withdrawal, Amue flung herself into her chair. 

“I apologize for her rudeness, Your Excellency.”

Canaria Faith – captain of the royal guard – appeared before Amue, bowing deeply. Until now, she’d been waiting in the corner, a silent spectator.

“You needn’t apologize,” said Amue. “Her attitude set me off, and I may have gone too far.”

“I’ve never seen anyone lecture Lady Sa’salia so brazenly. Forgive my insolence, but I would have expected nothing less from Lady Orthoclase.”

Canaria’s earnest look of respect wasn’t altogether unpleasant.

“Is that so?” asked Amue. “But the princess does have Lord Gwen.”

On a daily basis, Gwen had struggled with how to best manage the princess. Upon hearing his name, Canaria’s expression darkened. “Lord Gwen… does use harsh language with the princess, but when it comes to essential matters, he’s rather soft on her.”

As the conversation began to veer off track, Amue informed Canaria of something she should have relayed to the princess. “You’ve already heard, I’m sure, but during your stay, Adulelia will provide all necessities for Princess Sa’salia and the royal guard. The lodging house next to the main residence is open. Use it to your heart’s content.”

Canaria bowed her head once more. “Thank you for making these arrangements.”

“Of course. However, at a glance, your squadron has more members than I anticipated. I’m worried about whether or not I can provide enough sleeping quarters for everyone.”

“That won’t be a problem. We went a little overboard and formed a large-scale squadron for the princess’s escort. But from here on out, we’ll only deploy the number of personnel needed for her daily protection. Also, most of the soldiers who accompanied me here performed this mission with little time for rest. I’d like to send them back to the capital in order, replacing them with other members on standby. During that time, I’d appreciate support from the Solid Left Army, as our guard will be shorthanded.”

“Very well. I’ll select an adequate number of personnel and entrust them to you temporarily.”

Once again, Canaria offered her polite thanks. She had become captain of the royal guard at a young age. As one might expect of such a person, her conduct and bearing did her credit.

Following this businesslike exchange, Amue brought up a more personal topic. “Is your father – the Marquis Faith – in good health?”

For a moment, Canaria looked surprised by this change in subject to a personal matter. Nevertheless, she soon donned a beautiful smile. “He is. Lately, he’s been focusing on cultivating a large swath of land to grow a new variety of grape. From the looks of things, it’ll be a long time before I become the head of our house.”

Canaria’s family – the Faith Marquisate – was one of the wealthiest houses in Murakumo. Due to their large swaths of land suitable for growing fruit, they received a steady income through the production of high quality jams and alcoholic beverages.

“How splendid,” said Amue. “Faith wines pair well with Adulelia’s famous abalone. Tell the Marquis that I would like to try this drink created from his new variety of grape.”

“Of course. Father will be most pleased.”

“By the way, you were a classmate of Kazahina’s, were you not?”

“Yes, I was… How did you know, Your Excellency?”

“I remember her mentioning your name a few times. The princess’s visit should provide an excellent opportunity to rekindle an old friendship, don’t you think?”

“To be honest, I was looking forward to that. It’s been a long time since I’ve seen Kazahina.”

Seeing Canaria’s gentle smile, Amue couldn’t help but smile in return. Members of the royal guard drew the envy of young Brights. As the captain, Canaria shouldered a burden heavier than most.

“Let’s work out the future details one step at a time,” said Amue. “Right now, you should get some rest.”

“I’ll do just that, Your Excellency. Well then―”

“Hold on.”

Though Canaria tried to leave, Amue’s words detained her. “Yes, Your Excellency?”

As Canaria observed her with a puzzled expression, Amue lowered her voice, adopting a meek tone. “A little while ago, the princess hit someone with her scepter.”

Canaria raised an eyebrow. “Yes, she did…”

“He is someone I’ve personally taken under my care. No matter the offender, I find the impolite treatment of my guests unpleasant.”

Amue could have foreseen Canaria’s surprised, off-kilter expression. Even from royalty, I won’t allow disrespect towards this young commoner, Amue had warned her.

“…Understood,” said Canaria. “I will endeavor to prevent such incidents from occurring in the future.”

Her bearing dignified, the captain bowed deeply, exiting the room. Watching her go, Amue felt secret admiration for the girl. She was a model Bright. The ideal soldier refrained from asking unnecessary questions, carrying out their orders with detachment.

How unfortunate.

In Amue’s estimation, Canaria’s skills were wasted working for the princess.

***

“Ouch!”

Kazahina rubbed a disinfectant cloth against the cut on Shuou’s nose. Unable to bear the pain, he cried out.

While enthusiastically treating his wound, Kazahina spoke in a somewhat exasperated tone. “Did it not occur to you to dodge the scepter?” 

“I didn’t have time to think,” said Shuou.

During Princess Sa’salia’s arrival, he’d tried picking up her dropped handkerchief. This had resulted in a strike to the face with a hard scepter, his unconscious kindness resulting in injury. Once the princess had entered the manor, Kazahina had hurried over to him, leading Shuou back to his room and applying treatment.

“Lady Sa’salia’s behavior was incredibly unreasonable,” said Kazahina. “Still, you do share responsibility for stepping out of line during a royal procession. Depending on the situation, you could have ended up with her guard holding you at sword point.”

Despite feeling sullen, Shuou pretended to agree. “…I’ll try to be more careful.”

Kazahina’s words might have been correct, but his murky anger, which had accumulated in a place outside of reason or common sense, still hadn’t cleared.

Why?

He couldn’t stop himself from asking that question.

Seeing through his poorly concealed emotions, Kazahina smiled at him. “Don’t think you’re the only one who’s angry. I felt the same way, and Lady Amue looked furious.”

“The duchess? She didn’t look angry at all.”

“If she’d made a fuss on the spot, it would have drawn more attention to you. Ignoring the situation before it grew more complicated would be to everyone’s benefit, she must have thought.”

Hearing this, Shuou wondered if he’d caused the duchess needless concern. That thought felt like cold water being poured over his head.

“…I’ll go cool off for a bit,” he said.

“Good idea. Today, the Brights of the royal guard are gathering for a briefing of the grounds and other matters. Since it’s going to be so raucous today, let’s postpone our training until tomorrow.”

“You’ll still train me?”

In response to Shuou’s question, Kazahina tilted her head curiously. “You thought I wouldn’t?”

“Oh, well. I thought you’d be busy with the princess’s arrival.”

“I’ve said this many times: Amue has tasked me with serving you. While you’re here, you needn’t show any restraint.”

“Thank you.”

Hearing his words of gratitude, Kazahina smiled, put away her tools, and headed towards the entrance. “Since today will be so hectic, I’ll have your food brought here. Tomorrow, we’ll have early morning sword drills, so please be up early.”

Smiling and nodding, Shuou watched Kazahina leave.

***

After his morning training, Shuou headed to the kitchens for breakfast. Usually, if he sat in the dining hall and waited, someone would bring food to him. However, due to the arrival of the princess and her royal guards, Duchess Adulelia had become pressed for time, various routine tasks cropping up. As a result, it had become nearly impossible for them to have their meals at the same hour. At the same time, Shuou had refused to let anyone bring breakfast to his room. Amidst this busy atmosphere, he would feel guilty having someone labor on his useless behalf.

Kazahina had insisted on bringing his breakfast herself. Ostensibly, she’d been assigned as Shuou’s caretaker, but from all around the manor, people still sought after her for inquiries and confirmations, proving how important of a position she held within Adulelia. Unable to monopolize such a valuable person under these circumstances, Shuou had distanced himself from Kazahina, asserting that she needn’t mind him.

Shuou didn’t know if he’d made the correct decision or not, but he’d grown tired of so many people serving him. As he walked towards the kitchens, he felt light, as if a burden had been lifted from his shoulders.

The kitchens of Duchess Adulelia’s manor had transformed into a battlefield. Cooking utensils and ingredients had been crammed into a room large enough to contain a sizable restaurant. The sound of supervisors shouting orders and cooks fervently working their kitchen knives blended into a cacophony. Beautiful, showy food rested atop the plates lining the kitchen counters. In all likelihood, these dishes would be served to the visiting Brights of the royal guard.

Standing before these hard workers wearing serious expressions, Shuou considered leaving, but his growling stomach pushed him onward.

I’m starving.

In any case, he’d exercised a good amount during early morning training.

“Hello!”

He called out to someone setting the tables, trying to draw their attention. However, the worker didn’t even look at him, let alone respond. Acting oblivious, the employee continued laboring without pause. Feeling an indescribable sense of discomfort, Shuou scratched the back of his head.

“Hey, what are you doing?”

Turning in the direction of the voice, Shuou found Hario and Saburi holding a large colander piled high with potatoes, sniffling through their red noses.

“I came to get breakfast, but everyone seems busy,” said Shuou.

“You’ve got to be shitting me,” replied Hario, his mouth twisting in displeasure. “We’ve been working all morning, but you get to have a leisurely meal fit for nobility? Must be nice being the duchess’s favorite.”

When a sulking Hario averted his gaze, Saburi imitated him from behind. It was strange, but despite his spiteful words, Shuou felt no ill-will from Hario. 

Without considering the matter too deeply, Shuou reached towards the heavy-looking colander in Hario’s hands. “I’ll help.”

***

“So I turned towards that pigheaded, supervising waiter and shouted, ‘Fuck no!’ Didn’t I, Saburi?”

Including Shuou, the three of them stood inside a small, gloomy room somewhat removed from the kitchen, diligently peeling potatoes. Over the sound of peeled tubers being thrown into a box, Hario talked about their experiences since arriving in Adulelia. With a practiced hand, Shuou amassed a pile of skins in front of him.

It was so cold in the room that their breaths turned white. Having washed the potatoes in well water, Hario and Saburi’s swollen, red hands were painful to look at.

“Is this the kind of thing you do every day?” asked Shuou.

“W-We’re not really underlings to the kitchen staff,” answered Saburi, nervously peeling the skins with an unpracticed hand.

“Since we don’t have any special skills, we’re not assigned to any specific place,” said Hario. “But we’re still worked to the goddamn bone. Look at this! We had to wash these potatoes in the freezing cold, tearing the skin off our fucking hands.” 

Hario stuck out his palms, wearing an expression that invited sympathy.

“That sounds difficult,” said Shuou, expressing his heartfelt compassion.

“It’s difficult as shit! And whose fault is it!?”

Hario and Saburi had landed themselves in this situation by stealing the duchess’s alcohol. Even so, they’d originally visited her capital villa while helping Shuou.

“Thank you,” he said, expressing something he’d needed to say.

The pair looked up, openmouthed. “…Huh?”

“I’m truly grateful. If you two hadn’t helped me back then, who knows how things might have turned out? Thank you.”

Hearing Shuou’s words of gratitude, Hario had difficulty meeting his gaze, eyes darting about. “H-Hmph. I suppose so. We didn’t hear the details, but since we delivered you to the Ice Princess, Squire Sergeant Hinokaji and Miyahi were saved, right?”

“They were.”

“…Then everything’s fine and dandy. Right, Saburi?”

Saburi answered with several empathic nods.

The air remained freezing, but as Shuou listened to the pair’s complaints and bragging, he felt a little warmer. Sometime later, his stomach growled once more, drawing the pair’s attention.

“Oh yeah, you came here for food, didn’t you?” asked Hario.

Shuou nodded. “I haven’t eaten anything since my early morning training. But when I tried speaking to the people in front of me, no one responded.”

“Yeah, about that…” Hario trailed off, his words seeming to imply something.

“Did something happen?” Shuou pressed.

“Well, to tell you the truth, your reputation among the people who work here isn’t so great.”

“I don’t remember doing anything to earn their animosity…”

“A young man with a pure, white Miracrystal shows up and starts eating alongside the duchess. Isn’t it obvious why you give everyone here the willies? You’re probably not aware of this, but ever since you arrived, you’ve been the talk of the manor amongst everyone who works here.”

“…Is that so?”

Saburi nodded along with everything Hario had said. “And people are jealous,” he added. “Everyone wonders why you get special treatment when no one else does. They probably ignored you on purpose. Even if they were reprimanded later, everyone would just insist that they hadn’t heard you.”

Lowing his gaze slightly, Shuou fell silent. Despite knowing that he’d drawn attention as a peculiarity, he hadn’t considered that people held ill feelings towards him. Had he unknowingly done something to rub the manor’s workers the wrong way? That worried him.

“Don’t make that face,” said Hario, hiding his embarrassment. “If you’re ever lonely, we’re always here to talk to you.”

Though his words were somewhat off target, Shuou still felt grateful for them. “I’ll take you up on that.”

Noticing Shuou’s faint smile, Saburi nudged him with his elbow. “Hario might act like a good guy, but his real goal is to make you help us with work like this.”

“Hey, that was a few words too many, asshole!”

Watching Hario and Saburi begin to grapple with each other, Shuou donned a wry smile. As he did so, his stomach emitted a low rumble, as if to say, “Hey, don’t forget me!” Though he placed a hand on his stomach, the escaped sound would never return. Hearing his stomach growl, the pair stopped fighting, turning surprised expressions towards him. 

“Oh yeah, you still haven’t eaten, have you?” asked Hario. “In that case―” 

From out of nowhere, Hario and Saburi produced some food, showing it to Shuou.

“I have freshly baked bread and pickled roe from high quality fish,” Hario continued. “Even if we worked our entire lives, we wouldn’t be able to afford the pickled roe.”

Not to be outdone by Hario, Saburi revealed rice and meat dishes.

“How did you guys come by all of this?” asked Shuou.

In response to his question, the pair traded glances, wearing satisfied smiles. “We nabbed all of it!”

Shuou laughed harder than he could ever remember doing. He then took enough food to satiate his hunger from the entirely unrepentant duo. As soon as he took a bite, he would become an accomplice. Yet seeing how proud Hario and Saburi were of their stolen prizes, he didn’t mind.

***

As he walked through the city, Jada Serpentia drew attention. At a single glance, one could recognize him as a Bright, but this wasn’t the sole reason for the attention. His innate beauty also invited onlookers. When he brushed back his chartreuse hair, reminiscent of a springtime meadow, sighs escaped from the surrounding women.

Walking through the stronghold of Adulelia, whose relationship with Serpentia resembled cats and dogs, he observed the townscape.

Even so, what liveliness.

The people going to and fro wore cheerful expressions, and he could hear the enthusiastic calls of merchants from all around. While children laughed, women spoke in animated voices, engrossed in their idle gossip. No matter where Jada looked, the city of Adulelia overflowed with hope.

After a general walk around the city, Jada decided to stop by the marketplace before heading to Adulelia Manor. The unfamiliar smell of seafood enveloped the area, dried fish and shellfish hanging from storefronts. Walking around, Jada admired these novel sights. While examining souvenirs, a small stand selling unusual items caught his attention. Stopping to observe them, he found that the store dealt in medicine.

“My, my,” said the white-haired shopkeeper, smoothing his long, similarly colored beard. “It’s rare to see a Bright Lord in such a squalid place.”

“I like to buy souvenirs when I travel.”

“Ah, I see. Speaking of which, I’ve noticed a fair number of nobles from other territories around town as of late. We commoners weren’t informed of anything, but I wonder: Is something taking place at the duchess’s residence?”

With the astuteness of his old age, the shopkeeper tried to sound out information from Jada  – a Bright  – through small talk.

“You’ve seen that many of us?” asked Jada, answering the question with another question.

“Yes, of course. Various feudal lords and their retainers have come in droves, crowding the inns. In the spirit of travel, the attendants and servants of nobles have come here to shop. Everyone is rejoicing over the rare wave of prosperity washing over the marketplace.”

“Fascinating. Well then, I’ll take this opportunity to look over your merchandise as well, if you don’t mind.”

“No, not at all. Even so, I have nothing that will appeal to an esteemed nobleman such as yourself.”

As the shopkeeper had said, there were only items promising dubious effects, poorly made medicines, and a number of drinks containing lizards or insects. Nevertheless, Jada did find one unusual item that even he recognized.

“What’s this?” he asked, taking hold of a dried, slightly browned flower.

At that moment, the shopkeeper’s face paled. “Um… well…”

Jada eyed at shopkeeper, his gaze the sharpened edge of a knife. “Despite its discoloration, this is a Flower of Lucaine, if my memory serves correctly. These were designated as contraband in Adulelia, I believe.”

“Please overlook this, I beg of you! Yes, the handling of this flower is prohibited here, but that’s due to its deceptive influence on the mind. If crushed and eaten, these dried flowers are a wonderful remedy for joint pain. As a side effect, they do cause severe nausea and headaches, though.”

Hearing that last part, Jada started to doubt their efficacy as medicine. Regardless, he decided to ask a question that interested him more. “Did you have trouble acquiring these flowers? The checking stations in Adulelia run strict investigations. Procuring them from the outside would be difficult.”

“Not at all, not at all,” the shopkeeper replied with an exaggerated wave of his hand. “I gathered these in the mountains of Adulelia.”

“Really? I wasn’t aware that Lucaine flowers grew here.”

“Even here, few people know of it. Still, those descended from apothecaries have their respective locations for gathering them.”

“I see.”

This could turn into something interesting.

Jada stared intently at the flower in his hand. “I’ll take this one.”

“Y-Yes, very well. But it’s a powerful medicine. If you’re unfamiliar with this flower, I wouldn’t advise taking it…”

“That won’t be a problem. I won’t be using this as medicine, anyway.”

“Ah, well then. In that case, I’ll give it to you. Please, please keep this matter a secret.”

Lowering his head, the shopkeeper bent his already arched back.

“Of course. Still, I do intend to pay you. In exchange…” When Jada handed over a much larger sum of money than the original price, the shopkeeper’s eyes widened. “Tell me where you gather these flowers.” 

He spoke in a threatening voice, offering no room for refusal.

Original text: https://ncode.syosetu.com/n4006r/15/