1.
Late at night, after the banquet had ended.
In the place where the princess and Lionel had been chatting just hours earlier,
two men stood.
The Emperor and Richard.
A night breeze quietly swept across the deserted terrace.
Beside the table sat one of the potted plants from the banquet hall, shriveled completely dry.
"...I see."
The Emperor, who had been staring at it for quite some time, finally spoke.
Whatever the princess might wish, this was a separate matter. Before he was the princess’s hands and feet, her guardian knight was a knight who had sworn a knight’s oath.
Reporting what he had seen and heard to His Majesty was a duty entrusted to him, and that duty took precedence even over the princess’s orders.
Thus, in a situation like this, the princess’s request was effectively meaningless.
"The necklaces I gave them were actually stealing the children’s vitality."
They were items he had obtained with great difficulty from within the Tower for his two children, both born frail by nature.
The appraisal had been perfect, and the Origin Script had been perfect. Even the deity connected to those accessories had been entirely appropriate.
There were not many pieces of equipment that restored vitality. One could count them on one hand.
He had never considered that the two necklaces might be the problem.
The Emperor’s expression stiffened. His eyes narrowed faintly, and a crease formed between his brows.
Richard could not offer an answer.
There was nothing he could say.
After all, His Majesty was naturally the one who would feel worst about this.
Tap.
The Emperor touched the withered plant, lightly pressing one of its leaves with his fingertip.
"When he wrapped the necklaces around it, it ended up like that before he could even count to ten."
Since Richard had to keep his eyes fixed on the princess and prince at all times, he had witnessed the entire process—including the plant’s vitality being drained away.
Rustle...
A dry leaf crumbled helplessly apart.
Then, if they had kept wearing those necklaces...
Did that not mean his children, too, would someday crumble away like that dry leaf?
The Emperor’s gaze remained fixed upon the leaf.
His thoughts deepened.
"I owe the duke a debt."
The Emperor murmured quietly.
"Who was it?"
"...Lionel, the child taken in by Duke Dolores’s household."
"...A child?"
"He is thirteen this year."
The fact that a thirteen-year-old child had accomplished such a thing did surprise him.
But the Emperor had seen countless prodigies throughout his life.
Of course, talent as both a blacksmith and an appraiser was unusual and astonishing, but...
That was all.
A noble house—especially a ducal house—gathering talented children was hardly uncommon.
"...He called it compatibility, did he not?"
"Yes."
Ordinarily, theories of compatibility were the sort of thing only wandering con artists spoke of.
"...Has the duke, even this late, taken an interest in superstition?"
And yet...
"...She is far too wise for that."
She did not make choices that would cost her.
And besides... their condition had improved?
It was surely all part of the same story.
Step.
The Emperor slowly turned around.
"They took back the two necklaces, I hear."
"He said he would make separate accessories for Their Highnesses."
An interesting story.
The Emperor repeated the thought to himself.
The child had discovered the problem and said he would resolve it.
Furthermore.
The instant his status had been called into question, the duke’s guarantee had followed.
And furthermore...
The moment the duke had warned them to return that child "without fail,"
his value had practically been proven.
It was not common for a noble as powerful as a duke of the Empire to step forward to protect something.
"Richard."
"Yes."
"Tell them not to spare any support for the accessories that child will make."
"I will do so."
And...
For saving his children.
Rustle.
The potted plant’s dry leaves scattered in the wind and crumbled completely away.
He ought to offer a proper reward separately.
"Grant him a Three-Lion Emblem."
"...!"
"He saved members of the imperial family. Would this not be fitting?"
There was no one in the Empire who did not know the value of a golden emblem bearing three lions.
Especially when...
the recipient was a mere thirteen-year-old child.
But if the Emperor declared it fitting, then it was fitting.
"...Your words are entirely correct."
Richard lowered his head.
2.
"Let’s get home quickly."
After finishing my conversation with the princess, I swiped the two necklaces, left the banquet hall, and climbed into the carriage.
I figured openly carrying the necklaces out would draw everyone’s attention, so I tucked them into my clothes for now. Their incessant humming was noisy, too.
I had wondered where the carriage was, only to find it had been taken over to something like a parking lot.
It took me a while to find it.
Dolores and Ruby seemed busy, and the banquet appeared to be over, so I came to the carriage first.
I told them I would wait in the carriage, and they said all right.
They had to come here eventually if they wanted to head home, anyway.
I was really sorry, but right now, no banquet or anything else mattered.
I needed to get back immediately, hammer at things, and try every possible trick.
I sat in the carriage and slowly studied the two necklaces.
"...Should I try one on?"
You know, the spirit of experimentation.
I felt like I might get a better sense of it if I tried wearing one.
A paradise of curiosity.
I grasped the pendant in my hand.
Honestly, I was a little nervous about putting on the Moonlight Essence Necklace myself, so I tried wearing only the Sun Rising Pendant around my neck.
Click.
"..."
I closed my eyes and savored the feeling. Was it a placebo effect? It did feel as though my eyes were getting a little droopy.
[Take it off, brother.]
"Yes, ma’am."
Clink.
Since I had only worn it for a moment, though,
it did not seem to have any immediate effect on a human.
Wearing it for only a few seconds had not produced any noticeable changes.
Then the Moonlight Essence Necklace vibrated.
Hummmmm!
Hum all you want.
Once we get home, you’re finished. After I do plenty of research on you, of course.
"Please do not worry. I will treat you with the utmost respect."
Outwardly, naturally, I treated it politely.
For some reason, it seemed to understand what I said from earlier.
...Hmm.
See? It quieted down again when I was polite.
I did kind of enjoy bringing trouble upon myself, but...
there was no need to earn the grudge of a god, too.
What a ridiculous necklace.
Bang!
"Whoa!"
The carriage door suddenly flew open, and I nearly dropped the necklace.
"...Lionel."
Something about Dolores’s expression was unusual.
Tension faintly touched her always gentle face.
"Lady Dolores? What is it? What’s wrong?"
Rather than answer immediately, Dolores climbed into the carriage.
Swoosh.
She shut the door, then pulled me into a soft embrace.
Plop.
It was sudden, but it was not unpleasant, so I quietly stayed in her arms.
"...His Majesty has summoned you."
"..."
His Majesty meant...
the Emperor.
I had thought he might summon me, but I had not expected him to do so right away.
"...Then I..."
I spoke cautiously.
"Shouldn’t I go?"
"...Just a moment."
Swoosh.
The arms around me tightened ever so slightly.
"...Stay like this just a little longer."
"..."
I quietly waited in her embrace.
[She must be worried.]
Worried about what?
Had I done something wrong?
I thought I had minded my manners as much as I could.
Besides, if I was the one being summoned, it could not be bad news, could it?
[...Hmm.]
[If you are too capable...]
[In the end, the Emperor is of higher standing than Lady Dolores, right?]
...Ah.
That was what she meant.
Only then did I understand.
My wishes might not be respected. The Emperor might take me away from her.
That was it.
I held the arm wrapped around me.
"Don’t worry."
Flinch.
"I am a child of Duke Dolores’s household."
Because I was in her arms, I could not see her face.
But I felt her shoulders stiffen slightly.
For a while, she stroked my hair.
Stroke... stroke...
"I had prepared myself for it... but I suppose it startled me in the moment."
Only then did she loosen her arms and pull her upper body away.
Kiss.
She lightly kissed my forehead and smiled gently.
She recovered quickly. That was a relief.
"Let’s go, Lionel."
Swoosh.
Dolores held out her hand to me.
I took it tightly and stepped down from the carriage.
Normally, to meet the Emperor, one would go to the throne room in the imperial palace.
‘...But today, we are to have an audience in the banquet hall.’
That was what Dolores told me.
Ruby had been left in the care of members of a nearby count’s household for the time being.
Click.
Step.
The banquet hall we returned to was completely different from how it had been just hours ago.
All the bustling noise, the orchestra’s music, and people’s laughter were gone.
Several lamps illuminated the far end of the tidied hall.
And at that end...
upon the throne at the seat of honor,
the Emperor sat alone.
At his side stood an armored woman with yellow hair,
as well as Richard, the princess’s guardian knight, who had been with us the entire time earlier.
The atmosphere was entirely different.
Feeling tense, I gripped Dolores’s hand tightly.
Dolores stopped before the throne.
Swoosh.
She placed one hand over her chest and offered her respects.
"...I greet Your Majesty."
At her side, I lowered myself as I had been taught.
I bent one knee and bowed my head.
Having done this once or twice, I had grown somewhat used to it.
"...It is late, Duke."
His low voice echoed through the hall.
"Thank you for answering my sudden summons."
"It is an honor."
Dolores replied calmly.
"This is the child of the duke’s household whom Your Majesty sought."
"..."
A brief silence followed.
Just as the back of my bowed head began to prickle slightly,
"Raise your head."
I slowly raised my head.
"This is an occasion to reward merit. There is no need for either of us to speak at length."
"...It is an honor."
"What you saw, how you knew it, and what you intend to do next—those are yours, so keep them to yourself."
The Emperor continued in an even tone.
"Richard."
"Yes."
Richard, who had been standing behind the throne, quietly stepped forward.
"Bring it forth."
He held a small golden case in his hands.
Click.
When Richard opened the lid and held it out to us,
I felt Dolores’s body tremble beside me.
I looked inside.
A platinum-colored emblem rested there.
Three lions roared magnificently upon it.
The craftsmanship was no joke. The texture of their manes, their eyes—it was no crudely made object.
It looked as though it would be difficult even to reproduce exactly.
"...Your Majesty. It is still far too soon for a child to receive this..."
"Hahaha!"
The Emperor burst into loud laughter.
His laughter rang through the hall.
"...Too soon? This is no different from saving the lives of the imperial family."
"..."
"I likely would never have suspected those necklaces until the day my children entered their graves."
Sigh.
The Emperor’s laughter faded, and he leaned back against the throne.
"...Duke, do you know when I last bestowed this emblem?"
"...I do."
"Indeed. The last household to receive this emblem was Duke Dolores’s household as well."
Huh?
I looked up at Dolores.
She said nothing, merely gazing at the Emperor.
So Mama had received this emblem, too.
It felt a little strange.
"I am simply pleased to grant it once more to the duke’s household. You do not think age is relevant, do you?"
"...That is correct."
"Take it."
This time, he was speaking to me.
I accepted the golden case.
"...Thank you."
"There is no need to consider age when paying a debt."
I carefully accepted it and held it against my chest.
"You said you would craft accessories?"
"Yes."
"I shall spare no support you require, so tell Richard before you leave."
"...Thank you."
The Emperor looked down at me for a moment, then smiled faintly.
"A human blacksmith."
"..."
"I thought their line had died out after the Tower opened."
He nodded and leaned back against the throne again.
"That one has appeared again is unexpected even to me."
"I am doing my best."
I answered briefly.
There was no need to discuss how or where I had learned anything right now, anyway.
"...I see."
The Emperor gave a short nod.
Then...
Swoosh.
"But tell me."
"...Yes?"
"Is there truly any reason to return all the way to the duke’s territory?"
For a moment, I did not understand what he meant.
"...You will be coming here again once the item is complete anyway."
The Emperor continued evenly.
"Rather than waste days traveling back and forth and resting, would it not be enough to send only the duke back first?"
"..."
Ah.
So that was it.
The Emperor was telling me to remain here.
"There happens to be space, too."
The Emperor’s voice grew considerably gentler.
"This palace has several forges left behind by our predecessors. They are the largest and finest facilities humanity built in that age."
"..."
"It has been a long time since those who used them died out, but their upkeep has not been neglected."
Swoosh.
He fully lifted himself from the throne’s backrest and leaned his upper body toward me.
"For making something... there would be no place better."
The largest and finest forge humanity had ever built.
Saying something like that to a blacksmith...
‘...That’s cheating.’
It was the sort of offer that would make anyone’s heart race.
I looked back at Dolores.
She did not say anything.
What had Mama staked in the message from a few hours ago?
‘That the child returns to his own home.’
She was someone who had requested only two things.
Perhaps sensing that one of those two could now be overturned, she clenched her hand tightly.
I looked at that hand.
"...!"
Just as Dolores, who had been holding it in, opened her mouth to say something,
"Tozar’s Lightning Mallet—"
I quickly spoke first.
Because I hated conflict.
"It is the finest forging hammer personally crafted by Tozar of Lightning. There is no item more ideally suited for use in a forge."
Was that right?
Well, thinking about it, I guessed it probably was.
A hammer was a hammer, really.
The amusement in the Emperor’s voice faded a little.
"The hammer I love and cherish most—"
Swoosh.
"—and without which I can never work, as it is such a precious hammer..."
A precious hammer—that part was true, at least.
I added with a faint smile.
"If I do not return, there will be no way around it."
There was no need to discuss politics.
I could not leave someone’s side. I was someone’s child.
There was no need to say things like that.
When a craftsman said he needed his own hammer, what could anyone possibly add to that?
The Emperor listened to my words and gave a cold smile.
"...Then do as you wish."
Then he gestured with his hand.
"Go back."
I bowed deeply.
If he had wanted to force the issue, there were any number of ways he could have done it.
‘Bring your hammer here and work.’
One sentence would have settled it.
But he did not do that.
Perhaps he had respected me, a brat. Or perhaps he understood my wishes.
Click.
We offered our respects and walked through the empty hall.
But something felt strange.
Even after we turned the corner and left the Emperor’s sight,
Click, click.
Dolores walked beside me without saying anything,
but her face was expressionless.
She was not holding my hand. She had held it while we came here.
I looked up at her face. Was she angry?
Was it because I had said no? Should I have accepted?
Thinking that, I passed through the end of the corridor and went through a door.
Creak.
Thud.
The door shut behind us.
Just as I cautiously opened my mouth,
"Um, Mama, I..."
Whoosh!
"...Huh?!"
Before I could finish speaking,
Scoop.
Dolores lifted me up and hugged me with her entire body.
She pressed my face firmly into her chest.
Thump, thump.
Her heart was beating rapidly. Despite her calm expression, I could feel just how tense she had been.
And then...
Dolores whispered softly.
"...Tozar’s Lightning Mallet."
"Yes."
"Didn’t you say it was not a forging hammer?"
"Hmm..."
I snickered and answered.
"Who knows? It might be useful if you use it well."
Thump, thump, thump.
Dolores’s heartbeat still showed no sign of slowing.
She met my eyes.
The eyes I faced from so close were a little different from usual.
They were as gentle as ever, but...
"..."
A subtle heat flickered within them.
Kiss.
Then...
she gently kissed my forehead.
"...I almost—"
The arms around me tightened again.
Squeeze...
"...I thought you were being taken away from me."
Having said that, Dolores descended the banquet hall stairs.
"Duke...?"
"Who is that in her arms...?"
The pillar that had concealed us was gone, and the surrounding gazes focused on us, but...
"Let’s go home."
Dolores paid them no attention whatsoever.
"Okay."
When I answered,
Thump, thump, thump, thump.
her heartbeat quickened even more.
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