NOVEL NEXT Chapter 71
The morning of the day we received the invitation to the Imperial Palace was bustling to the point of giving me chills.
“Miss Ellie, you need to wear makeup on a day like today!”
Sara, who came with the Knight Order, was fussing over me.
“W-what should I do…! I’m so… so scared!! Ha, ha, ha! Whew… Ha, ha… Whew…”
The thought of meeting the Emperor at the palace had Yurasia clinging to my arm, pale as a ghost.
“Our Ellie is the prettiest in the world!! Hahaha!”
My father, abandoning all duties, was beside me, laughing boisterously.
Swish– Swish–
The Nameless Captain, wearing a white mask and a black robe, was pretending not to look at me while sneakily glancing over with a relentless stare.
Of course… It wasn’t that I minded the ruckus around me. It wasn’t that I disliked it, but…
It really bugged me that they kept trying to force some ridiculous dress on me.
And makeup? What the hell for?
Why on earth would I put on makeup just to impress some royal folks?
No way! Even if I’m not in front of royalty, I’m not wearing makeup for anyone.
And honestly…
I don’t need makeup to look pretty.
It’s not that I’m just saying this to boost my self-esteem.
Even objectively, my face is quite beautiful.
Just tying my hair back like usual and wearing the Academy uniform is enough, if not overly pretty.
So there’s no need for makeup or dresses.
Because I’m already pretty.
Thus, I left the Academy wearing my Academy uniform, which was no different from usual.
The journey to the palace was a bit of a hassle, but it wasn’t uncomfortable.
In a way, it could even be called convenient.
Since the news about the vault and the Forbidden Library opening was not publicized, we had to move quietly without any extravagant hospitality or procession.
My father seemed a bit dissatisfied, but I actually preferred it.
There was no point in drawing attention on the streets, not knowing where the Demon Race might be.
Also, Yurasia seemed relieved instead.
She even said she would faint if eyes were on her.
The schedule for receiving the reward was simpler than expected.
We would meet the Emperor in the audience chamber, each bringing one observer from the palace and Eustetia, and then enter the vault located underground in the palace.
There’s no time limit on choosing weapons.
We could touch and hold each weapon only once, but obviously swinging them around was a no-go.
Next, similarly, after bringing along our respective observers, I would enter the Forbidden Library alone without Yurasia.
The time allowed in the Forbidden Library was four hours.
During those four hours, I could peruse all the books inside. If I damaged any books or information, it wouldn’t matter if I was Eustetia; I would face punishment.
There were a few other conditions attached, but they were as obvious as “don’t kill passersby,” so I didn’t bother to remember them.
“Ugh… I guess a sword would be nice, right?”
“Seems like it.”
And Yurasia still hadn’t decided what to take from the vault since last night.
No one but the Emperor knows what treasures lie in the vault, yet Yurasia was deep in thought.
“I heard there’s an incredible shield!”
“You use a two-handed sword. What do you need a shield for? Just pick a sword!”
“Ugh… But swords are my main weapon, so maybe I should seek out a backup dagger or something?”
“Because it’s your main weapon, you should pick a sword. For a swordsman, a sword is their extra life. The better the sword is, the longer the swordsman’s life will be.”
“But it feels wasteful… It’s the Emperor’s treasure after all…”
Yurasia mumbled gloomily as she fidgeted with her empty belt.
It felt similar to when I gifted her the black iron sword. She thought it too precious to use and just left it untouched for three months.
Despite that, she maintained it meticulously, dusting it off at every meal, oiling it, and polishing it with a dry cloth to the point of making my hands tremble as she cleaned the inside of the sheath.
I watched that for three months.
Eventually, unable to hold back, I told her to hand it over because she’d eventually break it anyway, and only then did Yurasia start using that sword.
It seemed like it would happen again this time.
So, narrowing my eyes, I gave her a quiet warning.
“If you do it like last time, I’ll break it.”
“…Gasp.”
“There’s no treasure or anything. You know how well I can break weapons, right?”
“You’re so mean!”
“Mean? You know how long it takes to train a sword. Swinging a sword that isn’t familiar or trained means you won’t achieve anything.”
“But… But…”
“So, when we return home, we’re going to have training sessions with real swords every weekend. Now that I’m at the 5th Rank, I need to train accordingly.”
Yurasia pouted.
“…Nyeh.”
“Put that mouth away.”
“…Nyeh…”
“Huh? Looks like your head finally got a bit bigger?”
“I dunno. I hate you, Miss.”
Sigh— Yurasia exhaled and turned her head away cutely.
“…What’s up with her?”
I looked at Yurasia with slightly shocked eyes.
Ever since we came out of the labyrinth – no, ever since we kissed in my room yesterday – Yurasia’s expressions became really diverse.
Was it a complaint? Or did she just want more? Whatever it was, it was a nice change, but it’s a bit shocking to see such a drastic shift overnight.
Still… I guess it means I’ve become more comfortable around her?
After a while, Yurasia avoided my gaze.
Clank.
Once the wagon stopped, she glanced at me with a mischievous smile.
“By the way, you’ll still have dinner with me after training this weekend, right?”
And so, we arrived at the Imperial Palace.
*
The Emperor’s praises were boring, boring, boring, and terribly boring, endless as the tides.
Though they called it praise, it was merely a speech of what he wanted to say. It was so tedious that even Yurasia, who’s usually cheerful, wore a stiff expression.
Of course, only those who had spent a long time with Yurasia could decipher that expression, so no discord arose because of it.
And the Emperor…
This was the first time I had seen the Emperor’s face, but…
I don’t know how to put it… Unlike Fabiana and Silina…
He seemed a bit petty.
Of course, one cannot judge everything by a person’s looks, but you can still get a rough image.
If you scrutinize it, this Emperor, Anskar de Herman, seemed somewhat petty, a bit pathetic, and slightly gloomy, yet…
He had a faint hint of charisma.
But one thing was for sure.
He looked like a hundred times better than Emperor Malphramis from 400 years ago.
Well… I’ll only know more after having a conversation with him, but I didn’t really want to do that.
I just wanted to get into the vault and the Forbidden Library as soon as possible.
As if sensing my thoughts, my father winked cutely at me before stepping forward.
That walk was incredibly bold and straightforward.
His dignified expression had an overwhelming charisma, something that even the Emperor lacked, and his back looked like a mountain.
…Was my father always like this?
“Have you been well, Your Majesty?”
The formal greeting that followed, delivered with a heavy voice, drew everyone’s attention in the audience chamber.
“Turius Eustetia, thanks to you, this Empire is always healthy and at peace.”
“I’m deeply moved by your words.”
A quiet smile.
The kind of clumsy smile he showed me was completely different from the one he wore now, prompting a gasp of admiration from my lips.
“How is it? Our lord is amazing, isn’t he?”
Hearing my admiration, Kerian chuckled softly, patting my back.
“You can relax now. If our lord speaks, he’ll wrap up any substantive discussion in under five minutes.”
“…Really?”
He didn’t seem to be ending it at all.
“Yeah. You’ll see. He doesn’t bring up anything special but somehow manages to wrap things up amusingly. It often feels like he guides the conversation according to his own taste.”
Kerian’s playful tone piqued my curiosity.
Could my father really silence that petty Emperor in an instant?
So, I quietly listened.
Just as Kerian said, my father didn’t bring up anything special. Just simple greetings, a discussion about the political situation lately, and Eustetia’s peaches and specialties, etc.
He only brought up mundane topics that the townsfolk would gossip about.
That was certainly the case until…
“See? Just as Uncle said, it’s happened.”
The conversation ended.
Losing the desire to keep talking, the now-brighter Emperor stood up.
“Since it’s about time, I think we should proceed.”
With that, the palace knights and the Eustetia Knight Order who were gathered in the audience chamber all stepped forward in unison.
Clank – Clank –
With the sound of clinking armor in sync, the Emperor made his way forward.
“Let’s go.”
“I shall follow.”
I caught eyes with my father, who was walking just behind the Emperor.
He wore an expression akin to a lord, and upon noticing me, he flashed that clumsy smile again and winked.
I momentarily looked away from that smile… then quietly gave him a thumbs-up.
My father’s grin grew even brighter.
*
The vault was located beneath the Imperial Palace.
The path downward was incredibly complicated.
Rather than complicated, it felt more like there was some magical treatment that made it impossible to properly sense the direction.
Even while walking with my mind focused, I couldn’t tell where I was headed at all.
But the Emperor continued to walk confidently, unlike anyone else.
Was it responding only to royal blood?
Or solely to the Emperor’s presence?
These questions lingered for ten minutes.
Finally, I reached the end of the staircase.
At the end of the long corridor, a massive door appeared.
It was unadorned, and quietly sturdy.
But the overwhelming aura felt from beyond it made my entire body shudder.
Soon everyone stopped in the corridor as the Emperor’s steps proceeded.
Thud– Thud – Even the Emperor seemed to have trained for a long time, as his refined footfalls echoed over the underground silence.
And when those steps halted…
Boom!
A great pulse rang out like a colossal heartbeat.
The door to the vault opened.