While the escort unit was being harried all night by the assassin raiding party, dawn finally
broke.
Ta-ra-ra-ta!
As morning came, the city of Felzentin plunged into a sea of festivity. At long last, the long-awaited
selection ceremony for the Crown Prince’s consort was about to be held. Princesses who had gathered from all across the
continent, beautifully adorned, assembled in the central plaza. They had already arrived and spent a day in their luxurious
lodgings. Since Theodore’s assassin raiding parties were targeting only the
escort unit, the other princesses had been able to arrive in Felzentin as scheduled.
The central plaza. This vast
plaza, built in the heart of Felzentin to honor the achievements of Great Emperor Crosen,
was now packed with people. All of them were young nobles and royals of high standing
who had gathered from every corner of the continent. Each of them waited, filled with anticipation,
for the moment the selection ceremony would begin. In a little while, the star of the day—the Crown Prince—would emerge from the tower
and exchange greetings with them.
“I’m truly looking forward to this. They say he is exceedingly handsome……”
“How happy he must be, to inherit such an enormous empire.”
Contrary to their assumptions, however, the Crown Prince was not in very good spirits.
“A mere ornament with only a decent appearance……”
The ill-fated Crown Prince De Beers frowned as he looked down at the splendid clothes he wore. Because the finest
craftsmen had made them from the highest-quality fabrics, the garments possessed both elegance and dignity.
With a jeweled sword hanging at his waist and a velvet cloak draped behind him, he looked
no different from a noble prince of the heavens. Yet his face was deeply shadowed with melancholy……
Once the knights finished their security preparations, he would leave the tower. He would
make a circuit among the assembled princesses, exchange greetings, then choose one woman, and together with her
enter the palace, at which point the ball would finally begin. Naturally, the gathered princesses
would do everything they could to make even the slightest impression on the Crown Prince. Only by standing out, even a little,
would they be remembered by Crown Prince De Beers…… As the Crown Prince recalled the complicated procedure,
he gave a cold laugh.
“A futile affair. Like a rigged gamble, one might say. Since the one to be chosen has already been
decided anyway……”
He shook his head as if he found it absurd. Meanwhile, a heavy
voice came from beyond the curtain.
“Your Highness. All security preparations are complete.”
At those words, the Crown Prince slowly turned. To be honest, the very fact that he had to receive
such grandiose protection was not much to his liking either.
But for the knight in charge of security, this task was one that wrung him dry. Among the retinues
of the gathered princesses, there might be someone harboring ill intentions, and should the Crown Prince
be injured in even the slightest way, every knight assigned to his protection would have to be prepared to lose his head.
For that reason, the knights providing close protection to the Crown Prince were all Sword Masters. Of course,
every one of them had been selected from the Crosen Knights.
“Please make haste, Your Highness. Many people are waiting for you.”
“I know.”
The Crown Prince replied as if unwilling, then slowly moved his feet.
When the Crown Prince showed his face through the window of the not particularly tall tower, the assembled princesses
burst into cheers all at once.
Waaaaaaaah!
The Crown Prince waved with a forced smile. He hated putting on such a false smile more than death,
but the prestige of the nation was at stake, so there was nothing he could do. A moment later, the Crown Prince
began descending the tower stairs. It was the moment when, having cast aside all the veils that had shrouded him for so long,
he would reveal himself directly before the princesses from every land. The imperial guard knights in charge of the outer perimeter
stood tense to a man, guarding every direction like an iron wall.
Clank.
When the tower door opened and the Crown Prince appeared, the princesses’ cheers grew even louder.
“It is an honor to meet you, Your Highness.”
“Please look this way just once.”
With a false smile on his face, the Crown Prince began walking among the princesses. The princesses,
wearing the most beautiful smiles they could manage, were making desperate efforts to stand out.
“What a very amusing scene. Though it will end before long.”
A short distance away, Duke Pershtein was smiling broadly
at the corners of his mouth. He had come out with his adjutants. Since this was an auspicious event
in which the Crown Prince would take a spouse, all the civil and military officials of the court had come out to preside over the ceremony.
A little apart from where he stood, Theodore, the regent, had taken his place.
‘Heh heh heh.’
Duke Pershtein, smiling, glared at Regent Theodore. However, Theodore
did not turn his head in his direction even once. The duke gave a cold laugh.
‘Well, of course a wretch like you wouldn’t have the courage to look at me.’
The situation was flowing exactly as expected. Although Krovitz’s arrival had been delayed a little,
the black mage would appear here before long. The duke had already sent an adjutant with troops
the size of one division to go out and meet them. Therefore, they would be able
to arrive here within the hour.
“I truly look forward to it. The meeting of two people who will change the history of Arcadia.”
His daughter, Shannon, was already among the princesses. After making one circuit among
the princesses, the Crown Prince would select Shannon according to the predetermined order, and the two would link arms on the spot
and head toward the court. Then, together with the princesses who had not been chosen, they would hold
a grand ball.
‘Most likely, many of the princesses have already guessed this fact. Theodore leaked it secretly to the intelligence bureaus of each
nation, after all. In any case, I wonder when the dragon will keep its promise.’
Duke Pershtein gazed at the plaza with expectant eyes. The Crown Prince, having circled among the princesses,
was finally approaching the place where his daughter Shannon stood.
But among the princesses who had gathered and were ceaselessly cheering,
there was a pair of sorrowful eyes. From those eyes, where a mournful light lingered,
a single tear suddenly rolled down. Yet no one saw it. For the owner of those eyes
had her face completely hidden by a helmet. Through the gap in the visor, a woman’s low
voice slipped out faintly.
“Your Highness……”
The woman, trembling slightly as if overcome with emotion, was astonishingly not of royal blood.
A guard knight clad in silver armor, gripping the hilt of her sword tightly. The very duty
of the owner of that voice was to serve as a guard knight tasked with preventing any princesses from rushing at
the Crown Prince.
While the other guard knights kept flashing wary gazes all around, she had her eyes
fixed in only one direction. On the face of the Crown Prince, who was walking this way
while exchanging greetings with the princesses, a smile on his face.
‘Forgive me, Your Highness. Though I knew I should not do this, I wished
to see you one last time, and so I broke the rules.’
The name of the female knight silently swallowing her sobs was Mina. She was the granddaughter of Marquis Williams,
commander of the Guard Knights, and a classmate from the knight faculty who had begun a forbidden love with the Crown Prince.
She was now standing at the selection ceremony in the guise of a guard knight.
In truth, she had deserted her post without permission. While she had been devoted to dispatched duty in a remote region
alongside the Guard Knight she served, she had ridden for two full nights without sleep
just to see the Crown Prince’s face even once. Upon arriving in Felzentin, Mina immediately
went to find her classmate Angela. She had known in advance that Angela
had been assigned as one of the escort knights at the selection ceremony. Most of the security knights assigned to work among the princesses
were female knights.
When Mina met Angela, she began pleading in an earnest tone.
“Please, Angela. I want to see him one last time. So please,
could you let me take your place on duty?”
Angela was startled when she heard Mina’s request.
“If this is discovered, I’ll be expelled from the knights immediately……”
“I beg you. I only intend to see His Highness one last time. So please.”
Because she had received much help from Mina during their academy days, Angela ultimately
could not refuse her request.
“All right. But be careful in everything. Understood?”
In the end, Angela accepted Mina’s plea. Thus Mina came to stand duty at the selection ceremony
in Angela’s stead. Wearing Angela’s armor, Mina pulled the visor of the helmet deep down
to avoid revealing her identity, and began her guard duty.
Mina had ridden here to see the Crown Prince’s face, fully prepared to be punished for deserting
her post. The existence of the Crown Prince was already deeply engraved in her heart. Mina
quietly began to recall her memories with the Crown Prince.
‘If only it hadn’t been for Grandfather’s order back then, my heart would not ache like this……’
When she first met the Crown Prince in the knight faculty, he had been nothing more than a boy
who seemed endlessly timid and sickly.
“Bear this in mind. Your duty is to assist His Highness the Crown Prince with all your might. Do you understand?”
Though she had received her grandfather’s strict order, Mina could not find the task at all
appealing. Mina, who had grown up from childhood training in swordsmanship among rough Guard Knights,
had no reason to like a weak-hearted and indecisive Crown Prince. Even apart from
the difference in status between them.
However, her first impression of the Crown Prince soon changed. As if proving the saying
that a kitten is not born beneath a tiger, the Crown Prince surprised her many times
with his broad-minded heart and abundant learning.
“Though I must ascend the throne because I have no choice, I dearly love music and poetry. I will probably
never forget this hobby for the rest of my life, even after I become emperor.”
To Mina, the Crown Prince was a fine scholar and minstrel. At night, when Mina came
to loosen his knotted muscles, the Crown Prince would recite poems he had composed himself
and sing sweet songs for her more than once. At first, poetry and music
felt uncomfortable to Mina, as if she had been forced into clothes that did not fit. For her,
who dreamed of becoming a knight, there had never been any opportunity to encounter poetry and music in the first place.
But as time went by, she became more and more captivated by the Crown Prince’s poetry and music.
Having dealt only with rough swordsmen, the Crown Prince she had met by chance was, in a word, an exceedingly
romantic man.
“Your eyes are so beautiful. As if the Milky Way in the heavens
had been taken down and set within them. If only you would remain by my side,
I would have no further wish in life……”
“That is an utterly improper thing to say.”
Remembering her grandfather’s order, Mina coldly refused his plea each time. Between the two of them
stood a wall of status that was difficult to overcome. Yet the more often the Crown Prince confessed his feelings,
the more her heart gradually weakened. His confessions, repeated day after day,
contained the Crown Prince’s desperate sincerity.
In that way, over the five years or so they spent in the knight faculty,
the two came to hold each other deep within their hearts. Though after graduation, their paths diverged,
the Crown Prince had been firmly etched into Mina’s heart as one man. Even if it was
a love that could never be fulfilled……
Even when she was sent to a far-off remote region by her grandfather’s order, Mina did not
forget the Crown Prince. Of course, because she judged that there was almost no possibility their love would come true,
she merely kept him buried deep within her heart.
But as the moment approached when the Crown Prince would choose his consort, Mina could not endure it
and resolved to desert her post. Her only wish was to see her beloved’s final departure.
Thus, though she had fulfilled her wish, the sight of the Crown Prince’s happy, smiling face made
her heart ache as if it would be torn apart.
‘Though I love him, he is not someone fated for me.
Mina forced herself to swallow her tears. She already knew well that the Crown Prince
would choose Shannon, the daughter of Duke Pershtein.
‘Still, I have seen His Highness one last time, so I have no regrets.’
Mina intended to disappear quietly after Shannon was chosen as planned. After returning
the armor and weapons to Angela, if she rode through the night, she would be able to return to her post
within two days. Of course, by now, it was certain that her desertion of her post had been discovered.
The Crosen Knight Order was renowned throughout the ages for its discipline, so the punishment for leaving one’s post was rather severe. A pay cut was a given, and one might have to serve as a soldier for about five years, or attaining full knighthood might become impossible forever. However, Mina was already firmly prepared to face the punishment.
“Farewell, my love.”
Mina bit her lip slightly and immediately assumed an immovable stance. It was because the Crown Prince had already drawn close to Shenon’s side.
Having made a circuit among the princesses, the Crown Prince was finally able to approach the woman he had to choose. Countless princesses watched him with smiles blooming fully upon their beautiful faces, but no one entered the Crown Prince’s eyes. The choice was already decided. The Crown Prince looked at Shenon with a rigid expression.
“Now, need I only select that woman?”
Shenon was an exceedingly beautiful woman. Eyebrows that seemed drawn, clear eyes, and skin as white as white jade would undoubtedly stir the hearts of innumerable men. When her eyes met the Crown Prince’s, she showed a gentle smile. It was a smile so beautiful it could make one’s vision spin.
But crucially, her beauty failed to appeal to the Crown Prince in the slightest. To him, Shenon was merely a woman he had no choice but to choose for the safety of the Imperial family. That fact only agitated the Crown Prince further.
“O ancestors, forgive this shameful descendant.”
The Crown Prince let out a long sigh and walked straight toward Shenon. Watching this, the smile on Count Pershutain’s face grew deeper.
“The moment I’ve been waiting for has finally come.”
Walking straight toward Shenon as if there was nothing to think about, the Crown Prince suddenly stopped. His gaze was firmly fixed on the Royal Guard standing beside him. When their eyes met, the guard seemed flustered and immediately lowered his head. But the Crown Prince could sense something in the gaze that had passed in an instant.
“Th-this can’t be…….”
A smile soon settled on his bewildered face. He had finally realized who the Royal Guard was. They say that a loved one’s eyes can always be discerned even if hidden among thousands. Though their glances had crossed but for an instant, the Crown Prince had somehow managed to see through the knight’s true identity.
There was no way he could fail to recognize the eyes of the woman he loved, imprinted upon him through countless nights gazing at each other. Upon meeting Mina, the Crown Prince felt his heart grow much lighter.
“Yes. It makes no sense that I should suffer such humiliation merely for a family’s safety. Even if I lose my life and throne because of this, I shall accept it willingly.”
His resolve firm, the Crown Prince walked straight to the Royal Guard, who stood with head deeply bowed, at a loss.
“Raise your head.”
At the Crown Prince’s command, the Royal Guard reflexively raised their head. The helmet was fastened tightly, so nothing was revealed except two eyes.
“Remove your helmet.”
As expected, the Royal Guard was flustered and at a loss.
“Y-Your Highness. I am currently on duty, so…….”
A deliberately disguised, hoarse voice filtered out from beneath the face guard. Yet upon hearing that voice, the smile on the Crown Prince’s face deepened. He issued the command once more in an overbearing tone.
“It is an order. You shall remove your helmet immediately.”
With the Crown Prince having pushed matters so far, there was no longer any way to refuse. Mina had no choice but to begin untying the straps holding her helmet.
“I’m sorry, Angela. Because of me, you’ll end up being interrogated too……”
As she removed the helmet, Mina’s plain, makeup-less face was revealed. Seeing her face, the Royal Guard standing beside her was startled.
“H-huh? You’re not Angela?”
When the fact that the knight on duty was a different person came to light, the bodyguard knights standing beside the Crown Prince immediately drew their swords. They attempted to rush at Mina without a second thought.
“Arrest her.”
However, their movements were cut short by the Crown Prince’s immediate action.
“My love. You have finally come. Thank you for coming. Truly, thank you.”
The Crown Prince knelt on one knee, then took Mina’s hand, encased in a gauntlet, and kissed it. The helmet fell from Mina’s bewildered hand and rolled away.
Clunk, roll-roll.
Then followed the Crown Prince’s earnest confession.
“If you had not come, I would have been in dreadful agony. Do you know why? It is because the woman I truly love in this world is none other than you, Mina.”
“Y-Your Highness…….”
For a moment, Mina could not answer and merely floundered. It was because she had never dreamed the Crown Prince would act this way. The Crown Prince immediately straightened his waist and rose. Then, looking around in all directions, he shouted loudly.
“Now I have finally chosen the one who will become my wife. I swear before you all that I shall love and cherish her with all my heart for the rest of my life. So, everyone! Will you not bless me?”
At those words, all color drained from Shenon’s face. She had believed with absolute certainty that she would be chosen; never in her dreams had she imagined that the Crown Prince would choose another woman—moreover, a female Royal Guard.
But the other princesses reacted quite differently. Having not expected to be chosen from the beginning, and upon hearing the Crown Prince’s fervent confession of true feelings, applause burst from them unbidden.
Clap, clap, clap.
“Congratulations.”
“Your Highness the Crown Prince has finally found love.”
As soon as the Crown Prince chose his partner, the central square was swept into a cauldron of frenzy. With an expression as if he had gained the entire world, the Crown Prince wrapped his arms around Mina, who looked bewildered, and began to walk.
Waaaaah!
Wherever the two walked, applause and cheers from the princesses followed. The sound echoed so fiercely that it seemed it would sweep the central square away. The bodyguard knights who had tried to arrest Mina had no choice but to follow behind, awkwardly maintaining their posture with swords drawn.