“The alcohol content of Tildyen wine is quite strong. Oh my, contrary to how I look, I’m rather weak with alcohol….”
Mibar savored the wine while clicking his tongue briefly. At the same time, he gazed sweetly at the two seas divided beneath the platform. On the right side below the platform sat Tildyen’s black knights, and on the left sat the golden knights, as if separated by an invisible line, each not daring to encroach upon the other’s territory. One side was like the deep sea where no light entered, and the other was like the surface of the water rippling with sunlight.
When the smell of food that stimulated hunger and the smoke from grilling meat flowed from the kitchen into the great banquet hall, Anya could see Sisou, seated below the platform, swallowing his saliva. The servants began to carry out food in order. But somehow the atmosphere in the great banquet hall was only heavy and quiet. As if a curtain of enormous silence was covering them, even the servants placed the dishes on the tables with tension-filled hands. The lower-ranking knights who usually played pranks on them were crushed by the heavy atmosphere and didn’t make a peep.
Even during Anya’s wedding, it hadn’t been like this. Back then too he’d been out of his mind with nervousness, but at least he remembered it being extremely noisy with the sounds of knights clinking glasses and the murmuring of drunken voices all mixed together.
“How boring.”
Mibar raised his plump hand that didn’t have a single callus. The several singers who had been singing on one side of the banquet hall immediately shut their mouths.
“Singers always sing the same songs. The era grows darker and darker, yet songs praising peace…. It makes me uncomfortable and I can’t swallow my food. Isn’t that right?”
Evernight let out a short snort. Without giving Mibar even a glance, he answered.
“They sing because they can’t have it. If it were something easily obtained, who would make it into song lyrics?”
“Refrain from your disrespectful tone toward the Master!”
When Raniel shouted from the side, Anya felt his heart sink with a thud. When Sisou and Karen kicked back their tables and stood up from below the platform, Lorea and Riario each grabbed one and sat them back down.
“Sir Raniel. Stop it. I have no intention whatsoever of coming all the way here to fight with these people.”
Mibar gently stopped him. Raniel looked down at Tildyen’s knights below the platform while drinking, not hiding his contemptuous gaze.
“That bastard…!”
Riario hastily covered Sisou’s mouth. Fortunately, his curse didn’t reach Raniel.
“This is the first time I’ve seen such a solemn feast.”
Mibar laughed as if amused.
The Emperor’s guards called the Golden Ravens occupied their seats expressionlessly like marble sculptures of the imperial palace, but each one had an underlying gaze of boredom and contempt for Tildyen. The sentiment was equally bad for Tildyen’s knights sitting opposite them. They sat with anger toward the imperial family accumulated over many years, as if about to explode at any moment.
“But in an era this utterly dark, we shouldn’t waste sacred food.”
When Mibar raised his glass high, the Golden Ravens all lifted their glasses in unison. And when he began cutting the deer meat roasted golden over the fire with his knife, the sound of cutlery began to ring out from the ‘golden sea’ side.
“Especially in the North where the land is barren, I understand that wasting food receives punishment more severe than blasphemy against the gods.”
Mibar put the unusually small-cut meat into his likewise unusually small mouth compared to others, speaking in a peculiar tone. Anya could hear Squad Commander Raniel muttering quietly, ‘How barbaric.’ Anya felt anger rise toward Raniel who was making insulting remarks toward his husband and Tildyen. But somehow Evernight was calm. In fact, he was inwardly dismissing Raniel as not even worth responding to. However, it looked completely different from Anya’s perspective. Anya felt hurt.
No matter that Evernight was of common birth, he was now clearly one of the Empire’s seven dukes who had been granted a title. No matter how great the Golden Ravens’ reputation, it couldn’t compare to a duke. Anya thought their arrogant attitude originated from himself during his worthless princeling days.
‘I’m no longer a member of the imperial family. I’m now a person of Tildyen.’
Anya opened his mouth with his finely trembling hands clasped together tightly beneath the table. Though his eyes still wandered without finding their place, his voice was clear.
“Barbaric… Yes, I think it’s Sir Raniel who lacks manners.”
Anya could feel Evernight looking this way. He caught in his peripheral vision one of his eyebrows rising sharply, but Anya ignored it. Mibar made a humming, nasal sound and began watching this way with an interested expression.
“…What did you just say?”
Raniel looked as if he would rise from his seat with that huge body and rush at Anya at any moment. His face, half distorted by burns, turned violent. Anya tried to straighten his back and brought his hand to the crystal glass placed before him. Evernight’s blue wall-eyes persistently watched the faintly trembling hand. Anya quickly covered the back of his hand with his long sleeve.
“My… husband is a du-, duke. Show proper respect to the duke. A kn-, knight is one who knows how to uphold honor.”
He needed to warn them that to these people, he was no longer a member of the imperial family, so they shouldn’t disrespect Tildyen because of the worthless prince. Anya, who had always lived holding his breath while watching others’ moods, didn’t even know how to use his title of prince, much less had he ever thought to flaunt it. As a result, what the boy obtained was only the mocking title of “worthless prince.”
But now that wouldn’t do. Things had to be different from the past. Anya had lived watching people’s moods, but he wasn’t oblivious. Raniel was merely the captain of the guards. The position of guard captain was a seat all knights dreamed of, but it was only a position, not bloodline. What designated the hierarchy of human relationships was bloodline inherited over many years.
“Fa-, Father is… stricter about status order than anyone. If you dare to humiliate the Claist imperial family, he’s someone who would cut off your head without me-, mercy.”
There was no need to even go to the Emperor. Royster Claist. If that man had misspoken in front of Royster Claist, his older brother would have struck off Raniel’s head for treason in front of everyone.
“You, you must have seen that sight many times, so you know wh-, what I mean, don’t you?”
His violently pounding heart momentarily slowed quietly, as if sinking into an icy lake like that time. Anya looked at Raniel while moistening his throat with wine. Anya’s wavering eyes looked directly at Raniel without trembling.
“Tildyen’s duke is a bl-, bloodline that Father has newly appointed in place of he-, heaven. Ca-, calculate clearly what consequences all your actions will bring.”
Here in Tildyen, Raniel was a toothless lion. There was no need to be afraid. Father wasn’t here, nor was Royster Claist.
Although Master Mibar, the Emperor’s ear and eye, was present, if they later dredged this up in the imperial palace to make it a matter of controversy, the Emperor would be completely denying his own authority as God’s representative… so it was fine.
“You… you…!”
Raniel, who resembled a lion, had murky gray eyes rippling with rage.
How dare…! A lowly worthless thing dares! It seemed like he would kick back his seat and point his sword at him at any moment.
“Your Highness the Prince, or should I call you the mistress of Tildyen now?”
Just then, Mibar raised his glass high toward Anya. He wrinkled his nose and chided Raniel.
“The Prince’s words are correct. Isn’t the Delphium Empire a country built on His Majesty the Emperor’s power and the loyalty of the seven dukes? The more firmly we maintain discipline, the less trouble there will be.”
Raniel trembled with rage, but without any particular retort, he backed down at this point. Of course, he did turn his head with an audible whoosh, displaying his uncomfortable mood without filter, but fortunately he wasn’t a fool.
“Mm, this… at first I didn’t recognize Your Highness the Prince.”
When a young attendant handed him a handkerchief from behind, Mibar wiped around his mouth and rubbed his greasy fingers one by one. His eyes gleamed as much as the deer meat grease on the handkerchief. Mibar looked Anya up and down secretly and persistently, as if one of his confidants had brought very secret news.
“You’ve grown quite a bit. The atmosphere seems somewhat different too….”
Anya unconsciously grimaced at the old memories that automatically surfaced. Even though he felt he shouldn’t, it seemed like Mibar Veil’s snake-like eyes would immediately stand him on this spot and strip him naked.
“If His Majesty the Emperor saw this, he would be very proud.”
Anya could clearly hear Evernight scoffing from beside him. Even though he clearly heard that scorn, Mibar didn’t care at all.
“I heard Tildyen has been busy since it was elevated to a duchy not long ago, but His Majesty the Emperor’s birthday is in six weeks. You must hurry your steps, Sir Evernight. It will take at least two or three weeks to get from here to Maneregia. Moreover, the ghoul packs have increased rapidly. It would be wise to hurry more. Isn’t that right?”
Whenever Mibar Veil grinned, his gold tooth showed. Anya turned his eyes away from him to avoid seeing that gold tooth as much as possible, but each time, Mibar made it so Anya had no choice but to look at him again.
“What does Your Highness the Prince think? Since we two will be traveling by carriage anyway, wouldn’t that be more considerate?”
He brought up Anya. Anya had been planning to leave in a few days for a short journey to the forest with Sabelli. Even Sabelli couldn’t guarantee how many days the contract with the Dragcals would take.
But to suddenly have to leave for the imperial palace… Anya wanted to remain in the cold, quiet forest rather than that hellish palace. But he couldn’t throw a tantrum like a child.
“Three weeks.”
Then Evernight spoke toward Mibar.
“I’ll leave in three weeks.”
At the number three weeks, Mibar’s gleaming brow twitched momentarily.
