Episode 54. No, That’s Not It
Binaeril couldn’t quite tell whether her words were true or not.
Whether she simply wanted to tease him, or truly possessed a strange fetish for vagabonds, he did not know, but….
In any case, Vivian Dukes introduced people here and there, breaking the ice for conversation.
While Binaeril was frantically exchanging greetings, a middle-aged noble approached and offered his hand.
“Pleased to meet you.”
Binaeril, in a daze, took the man’s hand and shook it.
“My name is Viktor von Siller.”
Siller.
It was a family name familiar to Binaeril.
Count Siller, the one who had hired Dominic Siller, was standing before his very eyes.
“I am Binaeril Dalheim.”
Binaeril feigned composure as he introduced himself.
“I know. Baronet Dalheim.”
“How do you know me?”
“Didn’t the Regent just introduce you?”
“Ah, so she did.”
Binaeril looked around at the people surrounding Count Siller.
One person who should have been there was nowhere to be seen.
“You came alone?”
“Indeed. Who are you looking for?”
Who he was looking for was, naturally, Dominic Siller.
Vivian, standing nearby, interjected.
“Why, Lord Dominic, of course. He’s so famous among people my age.”
“Ah, our commander. Commander Dominic couldn’t accompany me. He suffered some injuries, you see.”
Count Siller answered, staring at Binaeril with peculiar eyes.
“It seems he suffered grievous injuries on a recent mage subjugation.”
Vivian asked back in light surprise.
“Yes? Lord Dominic, the Witch Slayer? What manner of mage could possibly…?”
“Don’t be surprised. It was a very young mage. A young, boyish mage. Perhaps… around Lord Binaeril’s age here?”
There was a barb hidden in his words.
“Oh, surely not. Where would you find a mage capable of matching Lord Dominic at such an age? Perhaps if he were a professor at Elfenbein.”
“Who can say?”
Count Siller looked at Binaeril and smiled meaningfully with his eyes.
“…Indeed. Who can say?”
He was clearly dropping a hint to Binaeril.
He obviously knew the truth—that the one who had injured Dominic was Binaeril.
However, it was a mystery why he did not expose the fact that Binaeril was a mage in front of all these people.
So this was a kind of preemptive strike.
“Your Lordship seems to cherish the Platinum Knight quite dearly.”
“Of course. He is the commander of our Siller Order of Knights.”
“Then you must be eager to catch the culprit who injured Lord Dominic?”
“That is so. What of it?”
“But can a mage who defeated Lord Dominic—whose skills are praised throughout the realm—be caught so easily?”
Vivian sensed the strange current flowing between the two and held her tongue.
“…Do you think I cannot?”
“No, no. I was merely asking. Just that.”
“I will most certainly capture that mage and make him kneel before me.”
“Without even hearing his circumstances?”
“What circumstances could a mage have? Surely you aren’t defending a mage on Imperial soil, are you?”
“I might be. I am not of Imperial birth, after all.”
Binaeril smiled faintly, savoring the slow hardening of Count Siller’s expression.
“I believe I have left the Princess’s side for too long. The conversation was delightful. As my assigned duty is that of an escort. Farewell.”
Binaeril exchanged a brief glance with Vivian and returned to Rike’s side.
“How was it, Binaeril?”
Rike asked Binaeril in a small voice as he returned to his seat.
“Dizzying. This is my first time exchanging greetings with so many people.”
“Hehe. Banquets are always boisterous and tiresome.”
Most of those who had come to greet the two Imperial Princesses had already returned.
The slow sound of stringed instruments filled the banquet hall.
After one round of commotion passed, the atmosphere settled calmly.
The banquet was ripening, reaching the point where those who had downed wine like water were beginning to feel the effects.
Count Viktor Siller approached Rike and offered a glass filled with wine.
“Your Highness, congratulations on your return to the Royal Palace.”
“Thank you, Lord Siller.”
“In that spirit, may I offer a toast?”
“I will accept the sentiment. I am not accustomed to alcohol.”
Count Siller lightly brought his own glass to clink against the one Rike held.
“Everyone, please lend me your ears for a moment.”
The crowd’s attention focused on Count Siller.
“The Regent said that today’s gathering is to celebrate the Second Imperial Princess’s return to the Royal Palace.”
The people nodded and raised their glasses high.
“The Second Princess was frail in her youth and did not easily show herself at palace banquets and other such gatherings. Seeing her so healthy now brings me great joy.”
A few impatient people nodded vigorously and clapped.
But Count Siller’s main point was just beginning.
“It is said that those who return always bring stories with them. If it is not too rude, may I ask where the Second Princess has been dwelling all this time before returning?”
“Tch.”
Binaeril clicked his tongue where others could not hear.
Count Siller knew that Binaeril was a mage.
He probably also knew that Rike had been staying at the Magic Tower all this time.
So this was a provocation by the Count to put her in a difficult position.
“Lord…!”
As Charlotte stepped forward to stop him, the Count raised his hand and drew attention once more.
His ability to lead the conversation like a seasoned noble was truly remarkable.
“Everyone gathered here does not even properly know the illness of His Majesty the Emperor, who is confined to his sickbed.
As a vassal, I am aggrieved that I cannot examine my lord’s condition, but if I cannot even hear the circumstances of the Princesses, how secretive must the Imperial Family be?
If it is nothing shameful, I hope you will share the tales of your exploits, Your Highness.”
They were flowery words, but in the end, if she had nothing to hide, she should simply reveal what she had been doing all this time.
“Count Siller. Are you doubting the Imperial Family’s credibility? My sister the Princess has no obligation to report to you where she was or what she did.”
Regent Charlotte interjected to avoid the difficult answer.
Then Rike raised her hand to stop the Regent.
She nodded. It was a sign that she would reveal it with her own mouth.
Rike trembled slightly and took a deep breath.
Only Binaeril and Sylvia, who stood close by, could detect her nervousness.
Soon, having opened her eyes, Rike faced Count Siller straight on.
“I met people.”
“…People?”
“Yes. I met and spent time with various people throughout the Empire and beyond.”
“For instance…?”
“The people of a small village on the eastern border. Street urchins. Other races and students gathered from all corners of the world.”
“Are you saying you traveled to broaden your horizons? While His Majesty the Emperor is in such critical condition?”
“Because if Father passes, this is the land that I and my sister the Regent must one day rule together.”
This time, Rike struck first.
It meant that the throne belonged to them, the sisters, and that he had no business coveting it.
“And actually, my travels were brief. For most of that time, I stayed at Elfenbein and studied magic.”
A quiet ripple of surprise spread among the people.
Neither Binaeril, Sylvia, nor Regent Charlotte had expected her to suddenly drop such a bombshell.
Count Siller also showed a slightly surprised expression and repeated her words.
“Did I… mishear? Elfenbein, you say?”
“No. You heard correctly. Fate brought me there, and I stayed under Elfenbein’s care.”
The middle-aged nobles who remembered Friederike’s childhood swallowed their groans.
The Second Princess was not originally like this.
She had struggled to speak in front of people, and due to her frailty, she was a child raised in her nursemaid’s skirts.
Now that child had grown and was displaying the dignity of a full-fledged Imperial Princess.
While openly declaring herself a mage—one whom the people of the Empire so despised.
“…Was that answer sufficient? Lord Siller. If you are satisfied, will you return to your place now?”
Regent Charlotte drove the nail in so that Count Siller could not continue.
Count Siller had the expression of one with much left to say, but he retreated for now.
He could not press the Imperial Princess at such an occasion.
He was not such a fool that he could not read the room.
But just because the Count had retreated did not mean everyone was satisfied.
A hot-blooded young man sprang out, crossing paths with the Count as if receiving a relay baton.
“Second Princess. If you learned magic, then surely Lady Sylvia, who serves as your escort, is the same?”
The arrow suddenly turned toward Sylvia as well.
“Then may I have a duel with Lady Sylvia? It is absolutely not because I doubt Your Highness’s abilities….”
“Haah….”
Rike let out a sigh loud enough for everyone to hear.
*Not doubting, my foot. Their faces are full of disbelief.*
Unable to ask the Imperial Princess for a duel, their intention to latch onto the easier target, Sylvia, was obvious.
Sylvia sent Rike a look asking for permission.
Having taken on the role of the Princess’s escort with a woman’s body, Sylvia was someone who had endured envious gazes directed at her more than enough.
This was rather an opportunity. An opportunity to put these arrogant noble youths in their place.
“Ah well, if you’re too frightened to face me—a woman, no less—who received her knighthood early on, it can’t be helped.”
Cheap provocation.
But Binaeril knew.
The Sylvia he knew was extremely weak to provocation.
Snap!
Sylvia was always honest with her emotions.
If Rike was incapable of hiding her emotions due to her unique innocence, then Sylvia gave the impression of having no intention of hiding them whatsoever.
In any case, she was trembling her fist, waiting only for Rike’s permission to fall.
“Very well! Then let’s do it.”
But the answer came from an unexpected place.
“Sister?”
Regent Charlotte suddenly jumped into the fray.
“The three people here, including my younger sister, are all official mages who graduated from Elfenbein.”
“Sylvia and Rike are one thing, but even that whelp of a baronet?”
“Well, well. The dignified Royal Palace of Essen has become a complete den of mages.”
With Binaeril’s identity also exposed, people directed displeased gazes at the three mages.
“So let’s do this. Binaeril and Lady Sylvia, and your name is…?”
“Paulo Amgue, Your Highness.”
“Yes. Lord So-and-so.”
“It’s Amgue.”
“…Yes. Lord So-and-so.”
“No, it’s Amgue… forget it.”
“Let us pick Lord So-and-so and one more person for a two-on-two duel. After all, most of you here have likely never seen magic before.”
The people’s eyes lit up with interest at the Regent’s proposal.
The truth was, though they had done nothing but curse mages, very few had ever met a proper one.
There were few who would refuse an opportunity to watch magic without stepping forward themselves.
“May I take it that both sides agree?”
“Agreed.”
So-and-so, Binaeril, and Sylvia agreed in unison.
“Will it be alright, Sister? You don’t even know Binaeril and Sylvia’s abilities.”
Ironically, Rike was the most worried.
“Oh my. Look at you. Do you doubt your own escorts’ skills that much?”
“No, that’s not it….”
“Then just watch quietly. I’ll enjoy the spectacle too.”
“No, I’m worried the opponents might get hurt too badly….”