The ancient story tells.
It is the story of a solitary king and a single girl.
The story of a king who was alone until he met a girl, and was alone no more.
Everything was ephemeral as a blink — a memory of an instant. Everything was passionate as a flame that burns the world to ash. Everything was vivid enough to be bartered away for anything — a story leading to a future beyond the point of total devotion.
A story that, for a long, long time, remained in people's hearts as a fierce and unyielding flame — the tale of a king and a girl.
An ancient tale that harbored within itself the historical truths that story left untold.
*** The nineteenth prince of the Holy Volakia Empire — Yurgald Elcantia.
The infant who would one day be called the "Thorn Emperor" was born into House Elcantia as the nineteenth son to carry the distinguished blood of Emperor Radokin Volakia.
House Elcantia was one of many noble families that had long served the Volakian throne, yet it was among the rare few granted recognition for something other than martial prowess within the empire, where the iron-blooded creed "Let the people of the empire be mighty" held absolute sway.
In a Volakia that was ruthless toward anyone who could not prove valor on the battlefield, House Elcantia stood alone in being valued for its political acumen and its extensive web of connections — granted the unique rank of Special Senior Count.
Naturally, this special treatment of House Elcantia was no source of amusement for the other families.
Being whispered about for scheming and currying favor with the imperial capital would have been one thing, but this rivalry among the nobility was the sort that would not end until blades were drawn.
In the end, even to this day, it remains unclear whose scheme it was.
What is certain is that someone who wished to eliminate House Elcantia turned the spearhead of their malice upon Yurgald Elcantia, who was still merely a child.
And that malice bent the course of Yurgald Elcantia's life, the history of the Volakia Empire, and even the fate of the world.
*** A nameless, unremarkable little village at the edge of House Elcantia's territory was attacked.
It was a village with no distinguishing features whatsoever — the bandits chose it as their target because of a convergence of misfortune on both sides, victim and perpetrator alike.
Robbing a village that had little wealth was, for bandits, a low-yield and dangerous endeavor.
The fact that they did it anyway was proof of just how desperate they had become, and that the village simply happened to be within reach.
And yet, the fact that House Elcantia's standing army happened to be conducting drills nearby was what sealed the fate of village and bandits alike in starkly different directions.
Banners bearing the Elcantia family crest were raised throughout the village. The corpses of bandits cut down by regular soldiers were burned en masse, and afterward a banquet was held in the village.
It was a reception to honor the garrison troops who had offered to help with the village's reconstruction after the bandits' defeat. To reciprocate the villagers' hospitality, the soldiers were served wine, food, and song.
A commotion of laughter and revelry drifted across the night air.
Standing alone on a hilltop, far from the noise, was Yurgald Elcantia.
Carried on the wind, the songs and laughter reached him as he distanced himself, letting the stars guide his steps. By the time he realized it, Yurgald was standing on a small rise. His solitary figure, unable to merge with the bustle, looked forlorn — and no one would have suspected that this was the young lord of Elcantia territory.
Yet Yurgald, now twenty years of age, was without question the lord of Elcantia territory, and it was he who had been the driving force behind preventing the crisis of a bandit raid on one of his villages.
He had heard rumors of a rabble of ruffians that had been pillaging neighboring territories — a ragtag group assembled from the displaced of various lands — and that they were drifting toward Elcantia territory.
So Yurgald had disguised a training exercise for his standing army, patrolled the villages most likely to be targeted, and arranged the bandits' elimination.
Of course, Yurgald made no effort to flaunt the fact.
All that mattered was that the well-being of his subjects had been protected before it was catastrophically disrupted. There was no need to make the villagers any more conscious of it than that. Of the "King of Thorns."
No one drew near Yurgald without suffering the torment of thorns.
This was an immutable fact that had not changed since the day Yurgald first gained awareness, and it was an inescapable burden that followed his life without explanation.
Family, servants, villagers, criminals — the thorns' bondage made no distinction, wounding all who came close. They called Yurgald the "King of Thorns" and forced him to live alone.
That was why, even now, Yurgald stood apart from the joyful clamor of others, alone on a hilltop.
He could not join the banquet, but there was much Yurgald had to do.
He had insisted on accompanying the training exercise, and from what he could see from a distance, the garrison troops had all been diligently engaged. During the subsequent subjugation of the bandits, their performance had been remarkable.
He could not speak to them, so he had to repay each one of them properly through reward.
Yes — there was so much to do, for every single one of them.
「You must find it rather lonely, standing here all by yourself?」
A voice came from behind him as he was lost in thought.
Yurgald felt as though he had been struck by lightning, and bitterly regretted his carelessness. It had been ages since he had let someone draw this close to him without his noticing.
As a member of the Volakian imperial family, as the "King of Thorns" — it was a disgrace that should never have occurred.
And yet — 「Um, you're the one leading the soldiers, aren't you? Doesn't it get lonely, being out here on your own?」
When Yurgald turned around reflexively, a village girl stood before him — plain-faced, with unadorned fair skin and flaxen hair gathered into a single tie.
And, strangely, unflinchingly, she had a flock of a dozen or so black sheep milling about around her waist.
「How is it…」
「Hm?」
「How is it that you are surrounded by so many sheep?」
The girl, who embodied the word "pastoral" more perfectly than anything he had ever seen, still had the shock of the encounter clinging to her as Yurgald blurted out the question exactly as it came to him.
In truth, Yurgald should have sent her away before the thorns could bind themselves to her heart.
But he didn't, and to his unspoken question, the girl replied, "Well, you see," while stroking one of the sheep that was nuzzling its nose against her waist.
「…Personal charm, perhaps? Animals have always been fond of me.」
「I see. So personal charm extends even to animals.」
「Oh no, you actually took that seriously…! What I mean is, I take care of them on a daily basis. Feeding these children and taking them for walks — that's my assigned job.」
The girl stroked the sheep with one hand while waving the other. Then she turned her gaze toward the village, where bonfire-lit revelry was underway.
「Um, do you not like animals? Is that why you've come all the way out here from the village to brood by yourself?」
「— No. I didn't leave the village because I dislike sheep or cattle. Wool and milk must be indispensable sources of income for your village. You should raise more of them, and larger ones, going forward.」
「You're seriously thinking about our village's finances…」
When he offered his private thoughts on the village's livestock industry, the girl looked genuinely astonished.
He reflected on his response and found nothing amiss. He simply lacked the knowledge and experience to understand what could possibly be strange about it.
「If my words caused offense, I apologize. I had no intention of insulting you, nor was I challenging whatever annual livestock development plans your village may have drawn up.」
「Not at all, not at all! You didn't cause any offense or anything like that… Also, I'm not privy to the results of those discussions about how to market our wool and things going forward!」
「What? But it seems unnatural that such a policy direction would not be shared with someone in your position as a working member of the village community. …Could it be that you are not getting along well with the other villagers?」
「I really don't want to receive that kind of concern from someone who's brooding alone on a hilltop!」
「——」
「Ah.」
The girl covered her mouth with her hand, her expression saying, "Why did I just say that?" But words once spoken could not be taken back. Not for her, and not for Yurgald.
「You make a fair point.」
With that, Yurgald turned his back on the girl, who now looked distinctly displeased.
He should have kept his distance from the start. It had been a rare and unexpected chance to exchange words with another person at such close range, but the "King of Thorns" really should not interact with people — 「Wait!」
— he was just about to conclude, when a hand suddenly shot out and grabbed the hem of his sleeve. This time, Yurgald was truly struck speechless.
「— !」
Merely approaching was enough for Yurgald's thorns to bind others.
What would happen if someone actually touched him? What came to mind was the image of his wet nurse, writhing in agony as she coughed up blood. She had endured the pain of the thorns' bondage in secret, continuing to interact with Yurgald — and that had been her fate. Since then, Yurgald had never touched anyone.
He was likely the only member of the imperial family who changed his own clothes and cleaned his own room.
And this girl had touched him, and held him back.
Unbearable agony would consume her, and a scream that seemed to curse the very world would tear from her slender throat — 「A-Are you alright?」
— was what was supposed to happen.
But the girl, who should have been ravaged by the thorns and writhing in pain, looked at Yurgald with a puzzled expression. Her hand was, without question, pulling at the sleeve of his garment.
「How…」
It was impossible. Something impossible was happening.
Why was this girl not being tormented by the thorns' bondage despite touching Yurgald?
「Oh! Hey, you lot!?」
As if in answer to Yurgald's question, the black sheep that had been milling around the girl all let out cries of alarm and bolted from the hilltop, scrambling over one another to escape.
Yurgald's thorns' bondage made no distinction between humans and animals.
They would mercilessly stop even the heart of a small bird that had come to roost. So the sheep fleeing was hardly surprising.
「Honestly! What got into those children all of a sudden?」
「You are the one who is strange.」
「Wha— That was awfully rude!」
「Hmm, no, that is not what I meant. It isn't, but…」
Yurgald faltered as the girl pointed at her own face, clearly offended.
He wanted to choose his words carefully, but could not find the right ones. When cornered, one could rely on past experience — but Yurgald had accumulated neither successes nor failures.
So he did not understand. He did not understand, but — 「Um… you're not angry, are you?」
「I? Rather, I should be the one you are angry with.」
「Why would I be… Oh, I see. So that's the kind of person you are. Here we were, awkwardly sizing each other up… How silly.」
The girl covered her mouth with one hand and chuckled softly.
At her relaxed, natural smile, devoid of any forced effort, Yurgald felt a wave of relief. It seemed he hadn't angered her after all.
And now, seeing her this close, with his own eyes — 「You are lovely.」
「Wha— Wha— What did you just say?」
「—? I said you are lovely.」
「You said it twice without a shred of embarrassment!」
The girl pulled her hand away from his sleeve and jumped back, clutching her face in both hands. Seeing that her cheeks and ears had turned red, Yurgald thought her an amusing girl whose expressions changed so quickly.
This was the first time he had observed someone's emotions up close like this.
Even when he was driven by necessity to exchange words with others, their faces showed only fear of Yurgald or the grimace of enduring the thorns' bondage.
He had never seen anyone's smile up close — only blurred from a distance.
And then he thought: 「You told me to count the stars, did you not?」
「Ugh… that's not good for my heart… Eh? Ah, yes, I did. I think.」
「What is your name?」
「You switch topics so casually! —It's Iris.」
「Iris.」
With a faint blush still coloring her cheeks, the girl introduced herself — Iris. Yurgald rolled the name over his tongue.
It felt soft, yet possessed of a quiet core.
"It is the name of an orange-petaled flower that blooms in the western reaches of Volakia," he said. "It appears frequently in old poetry and verse, and it suits your hair color well. Your parents must have been people of refined taste in flowers, to have named you so.」
「I'm told it was my great-grandmother's name…」
「Then your great-grandmother's parents must have had a refined taste for flowers…」
「I don't think there's that deep a meaning behind it! Good grief, what is with you!?」
At the girl's exasperated reaction, Yurgald closed his mouth.
First, he had wanted to compliment her name, and he had done so — but his praise had apparently missed the mark. Though that might have been a blessing in disguise.
Because what Yurgald truly wanted to say was — 「— You are the star, Iris.」
「…Wha?」
「I told you to count the stars, did I not? You are my star.」
Telling someone that they were the star and that they had a name derived from a flower was bound to be confusing.
Stars and flowers — neither beauty knew the difference between noble and common. He did not want to compare them. And to place Iris's own smile alongside them as well — even less so.
Stars, flowers, and smiles — there was no ranking them.
「——」
At Yurgald's words, Iris's round eyes grew rounder still.
Meeting that gaze head-on, Yurgald let the corners of his eyes soften slightly.
He did not know why Iris was not suffering from his thorns' bondage.
He didn't know, and he was afraid to dig deeper — afraid that the situation might change. If this was merely the thorns' whim, then the moment Yurgald allowed himself to hope, that hope might be snatched away.
In this instant, there existed a fragility like glass that had only just been blown.
「— You're a strange person.」
After a brief silence, Iris murmured softly and smiled.
Her unexpected smile had been lovely, but this smile, born within the quiet, carried a warmth like dappled sunlight.
So — 「My star.」
「Th-that's not exactly a term of address one gets used to hearing…! What is it?」
「I ask for nothing extravagant. I merely wonder if you would indulge me, and allow me to speak with you again sometime?」
「— There's no need to formally ask permission for something like that.」
Iris took a step back, and the shade of her smile shifted once more.
This time it carried a touch of bemusement. Pleased by this further change in expression, Yurgald gave a short, 「I see」 and nodded.
*** The ancient story tells.
It is the story of a solitary king and a single girl.
The story of a king who was alone until he met a girl, and was alone no more.
And so the solitary king and the single girl came to know each other beneath a canopy of stars.
The solitary king saw another's smile for the very first time. The single girl witnessed the king's first moment of joy.
The "King of Thorns," who was supposed to be incapable of not strangling everyone with his thorns, met the one person — Iris — whom his thorns did not torment, and they shared a night together that could never be forgotten.
That was where the story began, and from there the story began to race forward like a shooting star.
*** 「…She's not coming, not at all.」
Crouching in the meadow, both hands propping up her chin on her knees, Iris sighed.
Under the warm sunlight, the breeze-blown road stretching through the countryside was as empty as ever. The world was quiet and uneventful, and Iris was savoring a perfectly peaceful day in her hometown — just as she always had.
This was, to Iris, a source of great dissatisfaction.
「Even though he said he wanted to talk to me again…」
Propping her chin in her hands, Iris grumbled. The furrow between her brows was caused by one young man.
It had been roughly twenty days since the bandits that attacked the village were subdued and she encountered that young man on the hilltop during the feast. Since that night, the young man had not visited her village even once.
「Well, I suppose the lord must be terribly busy.」
She learned his true identity afterward. Even after the village chief and her parents told her with grave faces, Iris still could not quite bring herself to believe it.
After all, Iris knew the rumors of the "King of Thorns."
The lord of Elcantia territory, where Iris lived — a terrifying prince who showed no mercy, hurting friend and foe alike without remorse. That was the reputation of the "King of Thorns."
「But if he's really that lord, then the person who was too shy to even come to the feast — where's the scary part?」
Between the real person and the rumors, there was no question which to believe.
After all, Iris was nothing more than an uneducated village girl from the middle of nowhere. When it came to deciding or believing anything, she had no tool sharper than her own eyes.
And Iris's eyes told her that the idea of the "King of Thorns" being frightening was preposterous.
In a sense, her钝感 regarding her own statements could be considered a kind of boldness.
「…'My star,' he said.」
To have herself described in such beautiful words, with such beautiful phrasing — it was the first time anyone had ever done so.
The memory made her cheeks flush, and Iris's face turned as red as a tomato. If her family saw her like this, they might panic, thinking she'd developed a fever again.
Fortunately, the only ones around were the sheep, so she could blush as much as she pleased.
「I-It's not like I'm expecting anything or anything! He's the lord, and I'm just a village girl. There's nothing strange going on, nothing at all…」
Without anyone even asking, Iris launched into a rapid-fire string of excuses. One of the black sheep, which she had bumped into while grazing, let out a disgruntled 「Baa.」
At the sheep's dismissive attitude, Iris let out a deep sigh.
「I really don't have any expectations. It's just… he really did look lonely, and I really do believe he wanted to talk to me again.」
She remembered his lonely blue eyes when he said he wanted to speak with her again.
She didn't think those words were a lie or a joke. And even if this was just a lord's technique for misleading a naive village girl — then so be it.
As long as he, that surely gentle-hearted person, was not feeling lonely — then Iris could endure her days of staring down an empty road without complaint.
But if his loneliness was real, and if there was some reason he could not cross that road and come to exchange words with her — 「…I'll be waiting here, you know!」
She was just a village girl with nothing to do and plenty of boredom to spare. Adding a habit of gazing down the road during the sheep's daily walk wouldn't make a difference.
So today as well, Iris waited — alone, or rather, with the sheep, bathing in the wind.
She could not delude herself into thinking she was a star, but still, if there was a glimmer visible even in broad daylight, then this place would serve as a landmark so that he would not lose his way.
「…Hm, I'm not tired yet, you know?」
Pushed and shoved by the flocking sheep against her shoulders and back, Iris pursed her lips in protest.
The cheeky sheep, her long-time companions, knew all too well that Iris's stamina was practically nonexistent. Rather than kindness, their behavior likely stemmed from a desire not to be left stranded halfway. But still, Iris protested that the sheep were being overprotective.
However — 「— ? What's wrong?」
Sensing something odd about the sheep's behavior, Iris frowned.
The dozen or so black sheep pressed their wool-wrapped bodies against Iris, turned their gaze away from the meadow they had been grazing, and fixed their eyes in unison upon a distant point.
It was the road — the same road where Iris had been longing to see the face of the one she awaited. But the figure approaching was not a fine-looking young man mounted on a swift horse, wearing a frown.
「…No.」
It was a group of ruffians, savage and brutish in their bearing, bearing half-healed wounds, closing in on the village with their feral violence in full display.
*** Yurgald Elcantia was burdened by a serious worry.
Twenty-two and a half days ago, on the night he defeated the bandits who had attacked a village in his territory, he had exchanged words with a girl on that hilltop — Iris. He could not forget that time.
In all his twenty years of life, this was the first time Yurgald had ever spoken so extensively with anyone outside his family and servants. And the first time the other person's face had never twisted in pain.
That first experience had, unexpectedly, set his heart racing.
「How utterly feeble.」
Pressing a hand to his forehead, Yurgald lamented the frailty of his own heart.
When he closed his eyes, Iris's smile floated behind his lids. In the silence, he could hear Iris's voice. In the depths of his chest, he could feel the pulse he had shared with her during that time.
He scolded himself for being so feeble, yet found that he did not mind — and that was in itself beyond saving.
In the first place, Yurgald had already decided how he intended to end his life.
Though he held the right of succession to the throne, Yurgald intended to abstain from the Selection Rite — the competition to determine the next emperor — and decline the imperial seat. He understood full well what that meant.
「Someone born with my… deficiency should not aspire to the throne.」
Feared as the "King of Thorns," Yurgald served as head of House Elcantia only thanks to the support of those around him. But the Volakia emperor could not afford such weakness.
A subject's strength was merely a buttress. The emperor himself had to be an unshakable force.
Yurgald possessed neither the talent nor the qualifications for such a role.
As the "King of Thorns" — an emperor who bound others with his thorns without reason — such a thing should not exist.
「——」
A person bearing such an unwanted fate had a way of living that was fitting for them.
The reason Yurgald had survived despite carrying such a tremendous flaw was that he had been born into the imperial family, in a privileged position where he could borrow the aid of those around him.
That privileged soil was sustained by the many subjects who lived in his territory.
Yurgald Elcantia could not become the next emperor.
If that was the case, then at the very least, while he still lived, he had to repay the debt of being kept alive.
「Iris.」
Once more, Yurgald spoke aloud the name of the girl he had met only once, and closed his eyes.
A surprised face, a smiling face, an angry face, and then a smiling face again — in that brief encounter, Iris had shown him more expressions than even his own mother. Meeting her had truly been wonderful.
It was not merely because she was someone with whom he could speak without inflicting the pain of his thorns. Beyond that, she had been the first to make Yurgald truly conscious of the faces of the people he was meant to protect.
Had he not met Iris, the rest of his predetermined life would have been spent continuing his work without ever knowing the faces of those he served.
Moreover, the broad-hearted Iris had graciously accepted even his presumptuous request.
「To think she would allow me the indulgence of simply wanting to speak with her again.」
Since there was no reason to visit the village, he could not actually speak with Iris. But in his estate, whenever the fancy struck him, he was permitted to think of her — to want to talk with her again. That was enough. He desired nothing beyond that, and Yurgald let the corners of his eyes soften.
And then it struck him — what did "nothing beyond that" even mean?
If he were to desire something more, what would it be that Yurgald wanted from Iris — 「— Hmm.」
At the sudden sound — a whistle like wind through a blade — Yurgald raised his head.
Ringing through the high sky was the sound of a whistling arrow launched from the main residence to Yurgald's estate.
Since Yurgald could not meet people face to face, House Elcantia used arrow letters for communication, distinguishing urgency by the tone of the whistling arrow.
Hurrying outside, he found the arrow letter planted in a wooden board that had been prepared for him.
The urgency conveyed by the sound was of the highest degree. A strange sense of foreboding stirring within him, Yurgald pulled the letter from the arrow and read the contents — and drew a sharp breath.
「— Iris.」
The murmur that escaped him carried none of the softness of before, only fierce urgency and self-reproach.
The thorns had not corroded Iris's heart.
Yet the abhorrent curse of the "King of Thorns" had, in another form, brought calamity upon Iris.
At this moment, Yurgald could not think otherwise.
*** "Let the people of the empire be mighty."
For Volcas, a wolfman, the pack was the community above all else.
A wolfman who lived by the pack and was given life by the pack — for Volcas, the iron-blooded creed that sanctioned the casting aside of the weak, and the empire that upheld it, were enemies to be spurned.
That was nothing more than what the clever ones chattered about, those who never once considered that they themselves might be the weak. It was merely exploited by those in power — rulers and the wealthy — for their own cunning benefit.
He was different. They would not be like that.
They would never, ever mock the defeated and the slain as losers and the weak, never drive their own kind out as well.
And so — 「What they took from us! What they killed of ours! What they stole! We pay it all back — kill it all back, take it all back, or we'll never be done!」
With that valiant roar, Volcas — a towering wolfman clad head to toe in black fur — bellowed ferociously.
The cave the pack had claimed as their base was fairly large, but Volcas was so tall he nearly scraped the ceiling. His massive, sinewy frame was covered with a mane of long hair that obscured one of his golden eyes.
From a mouth wide enough to match his bulk, blade-like fangs jutted in profusion, and the beast claws at the ends of his thick, log-like arms completed a picture of nothing but weaponry. Every inch of him was a weapon.
This was the way of Volcas, the pack leader, as recognized by all.
「——」
At Volcas's roar, the captured women in the cages huddled together.
They were the surviving women of the villages that had suffered the pack's vengeance. The other villagers, those who had bravely stood their ground or tried to let their families escape, had met their end torn apart by Volcas and his kind.
The blood and flesh of those lives still clung thickly to Volcas's claws and fangs.
So the surviving women and children feared Volcas, unable to even look at him.
But — 「…Is that why you attacked our village?」
Among the women trembling and clinging to one another in the cages, one girl alone held a different attitude.
Behind the iron bars, gazing steadily at Volcas, was the girl with flaxen hair gathered into a single tie. She alone stood on her own two feet, leaving the weeping women of similar circumstance behind her.
Her voice and her gaze stung Volcas with irritation, and he opened his massive jaws.
「That's right! That's what you did to us, so that's what we did back!」
「…And that's why you killed my father and mother?」
「That's what I'm telling you, ain't it! You dumb broad!」
His bellow echoed through the cave, and the weeping of the huddled women intensified. But the girl, who faced Volcas's wrath head-on, would not break.
It was a strange thing. For her, Volcas should have been an overwhelming beast against which she could do nothing.
In strength or weaponry, she was no match for Volcas. And as she herself knew, Volcas was the one who had killed her father and mother.
When one's hated enemy possessed power beyond resistance, was that not the point of despair?
「Tch.」
Volcas clicked his long tongue and turned his face away from the girl in the cage.
Originally, Volcas and his pack had attacked the village for revenge. Weeks before, a portion of their pack had been wiped out by the lord's soldiers when they attacked this girl's village.
Of course, the villagers and the lord had every right to defend themselves. That was natural. But Volcas and his pack had also lost their companions, and they could not simply swallow their grief.
So they took their revenge.
After this, the lord's soldiers who had killed their companions would surely come. To avenge the slain villagers, they would try to annihilate Volcas and his pack.
「We'll beat 'em. Beat 'em, wipe 'em out, and then we're done…!」
Rubbing his sharpened, blade-like beast claws together, Volcas burned with fighting spirit.
No matter how tough the lord's soldiers might be, his pack — Volcas — would surpass them.
If with that power he could even take the head of the enemy's leader — 「…If you left here right now, there wouldn't have to be a fight at all, would there?」
「You! Still running your mouth…」
「You may be strong. But what about everyone else? Do you really think… that no one will die, that you can beat the soldiers — that person?」
The girl behind the bars, who refused to hold her tongue, made Volcas grind his teeth.
He did not know who the "person" she referred to was, but fleeing rather than meeting the lord's soldiers here was not an option. Even if they tried, they could never escape.
「They'll chase us no matter where we go! Over and over and over… If it turns into a chase, we'll never shake 'em. The best thing is to use you lot as bait here. We kill every last one of them that comes after us. That's the only way to end this!」
The pack's companions who had struck first had been killed. Volcas and his pack took revenge for that. The lord's soldiers came to kill Volcas's pack in retaliation for the revenge. — That was what fighting was: a cycle of repetition.
If he wanted to end it, one side had to perish completely.
「…Really?」
「Huh?」
「Is it really true that the only way to end the fighting is what you said?」
The girl's question was cast at him like a splash of cold water.
As if there could be another way to end it all — what a thing to say, from a girl trapped in a cage who could not even save herself.
「Like hell it is! There's no such thing! If there were, then nobody would —」
Would sink their teeth into each other until they had destroyed one another.
To protect their own pack, they had to defeat those who opposed them, had to prove it — that they could not be beaten. To prove their strength.
— Even though, in the end, it amounted to the same thing as following Volakia's iron-blooded creed.
「— !」
Clenching his teeth at that thought, Volcas suddenly raised his head.
His nostrils flared. He turned around. The girl in the cage frowned at his reaction.
「What is it—」
「— They're here.」
「——」
A wolfman's keen sense of smell caught the heavy scent of "rage" carried on the wind.
Volcas knew from many hunts that this was the war-paint of those who marched into battle. The men of the villages they had attacked gave off the same scent when fighting to protect their wives and children.
If there was one strange thing about it, it was this — 「— Why the hell did he come alone?」
*** 「It would produce fewer unnecessary sacrifices among my soldiers if I went alone.」
After commanding the troops who had searched the area around the attacked village and found the bandits' cave to hold their positions, Yurgald stepped alone into the cavern, its air taut with cold.
Naturally, some of the garrison troops had opposed Yurgald's decision, but when the "King of Thorns" stated it as he did at the outset, not a single one of them dared to press further.
「——」
The holy sword Yurgald held in one hand was a legitimate heirloom that House Elcantia had received from an emperor of generations past — one that had been treated as little more than an ornament up through Yurgald's generation.
Because of the "King of Thorns" constitution, Yurgald could not have bodyguards, so he had trained in swordsmanship to protect himself. There was no need for this holy sword to remain a wallflower.
Though whether fortune or misfortune it might be, his polished swordsmanship had never once been put to practical use.
Because — 「— Agh, guh, ugh—」
「G-g-ghh…—!」
「K-k-kuh—」
Without Yurgald even raising his sword, most of the enemy had their hearts seized by the thorns' thorns, and collapsed without even managing to stand, let alone fight.
The first time Yurgald killed a person, it was at the age of eight, when assassins sent to his detached residence fell to the thorns' bondage and he was asked to deliver the finishing blow.
Since then, he had performed that role many times, wielding his sword to grant mercy.
It was never a battle. Against anyone, before Yurgald — 「— You're not kidding.」
At the farthest end, past the cave's narrow passage, there was a space far larger than the rest.
The dimly lit expanse, illuminated by the flicker of torches, was filled with iron cages and the figures imprisoned within them. Behind them waited an immense hostility.
— Yes, waited.
Not writhing in pain, not screaming in anguish. He was waiting for Yurgald.
「I… We came here to fight…! A guy like this — with a trick like this — there's no way I'm losing to the likes of you…!」
The one who clawed at his own chest fur and roared was a black-furred wolfman.
Similar to the dogmen, wolfmen were generally larger in build than the average, diminutive dogman. But even among wolfmen, this one was extraordinarily massive.
Thick arms tipped with sharp beast claws, a gaping maw dripping with saliva and bristling with crooked fangs — his enormous frame would still have towered over Yurgald even if Yurgald were carrying the girl from the cage on his shoulder.
The absurd thought flickered through Yurgald's mind perhaps because, beyond the wolfman, he had found in the depths of the cage the face he had been looking for.
「M-my lord…」
It was Iris, calling to him through trembling lips from within the cage.
She stood frozen, gripping the iron bars, staring at Yurgald. What shone in her eyes was not a plea for help, nor surprise at his appearance.
Rather, it was acceptance — and an almost unbearable resignation.
「Where are you looking!? I'm over here!!」
The color of Iris's eyes — Yurgald was still contemplating how to describe it when the wolfman's thunderous roar snapped him back to reality.
Looking, he saw that the wolfman's chest was drenched in blood. He had torn open his own chest — claws gouged into flesh bound by thorns.
「Even if you do something like that, you cannot escape the thorns' bondage.」
「Looks that way…! But pain cancels pain! My pain's bigger than yours! What do you say to that, you human bastard!?」
「I see — canceling pain with pain. …I could not manage such a thing, but I shall remember it.」
「Don't you get all high and mighty on me…!」
Golden eyes blazing, disregarding the copious blood flowing from his chest, the wolfman kicked off the cold ground.
In an instant, that enormous frame vanished from sight, and a massive black wind tore through the cave. Despite a body that should have been unable to exert full power under the thorns' bondage, his movements were incomprehensible. Yurgald raised his holy sword to guard — 「Nothing could be further from arrogance. With you as my opponent, I could not afford such luxury.」
He deflected the incoming beast claws and correctly assessed the wolfman's strength.
At the same time, the swordsmanship he had never before had the opportunity to compare against another's was displayed without reserve. The sword flashed relentlessly through the air, targeting the ferociously bounding enemy.
「G-gooooohh!」
Arms like tree trunks. Beast claws as sharp as blades. Speed that could be mistaken for a black wind.
The wolfman displayed a level of prowess beyond the reach of any ordinary man, launching a savage assault from every direction to tear Yurgald's life apart. A single hit from any of those attacks would reduce him to a lump of blood.
The disparity in raw physical strength was overwhelming. The gap in physical ability could not be bridged by technique alone.
「— Tch.」
Standing with legs braced wide, Yurgald weathered the ceaseless whirlwind of beast claws, relying on the durability of his holy sword to receive, deflect, parry, and endure.
Every time the holy sword and the beast claws clashed, steel rang with a resonant note and sparks scattered. In the dim cave, the faces of Yurgald and the wolfman alternately surfaced and vanished in the flickering light.
For Yurgald, these were his first十几秒 — his first few seconds of testing his martial skill against another person.
But even that came to an end.
「Wh-why…」
「What is it? Speak.」
「Why… aren't you hitting back…?」
The wolfman had swung a devastating overhead blow, poured every ounce of strength into it, and now found it stopped — blade locked against claw. He spoke in a voice ragged as a death rattle.
Literally bleeding from every wound, having exhausted himself completely, the wolfman wore an expression of humiliation — as if the fight itself had been an insult, given that not a single blow had been returned.
But — 「I was not insulting you. Quite the opposite.」
「The opposite…?」
「You are strong. If I resorted to reckless measures, there might be a mishap. And I cannot afford a mishap. My life is not mine alone, and there are those here who must be saved.」
As he answered, Yurgald gestured with his chin toward the cage behind the wolfman.
Inside was Iris, and other girls in similar circumstances — unlike Iris, who was not under the influence of the thorns' bondage, these girls were bound by thorns, gasping in pain.
He did not want to prolong their suffering. But neither could he rush to victory and make a mistake.
「Therefore, I chose the certain method. If you wish to condemn the actions of the 'King of Thorns' as ruthless, go ahead. I will not deny it. But —」
「Nngg—」
「The blood loss and the thorns' bondage — the wound runs deep. You should no longer be able to stand.」
As he spoke, Yurgald shifted his weight and tilted his sword, pulling the wolfman down to the ground.
Toppled without resistance, the wolfman tried reflexively to rise, but even a wolfman's resilience could not overcome blood loss at a life-threatening rate and exhaustion. He could not get up.
「You are the leader.」
Lying on his back, the wolfman glared at Yurgald with loathing.
Along the way here, Yurgald had glimpsed other members of the gang, but none had possessed the strength or the force of will of this wolfman. That the strongest should lead was simplistic, but in Volakia it was hardly unusual.
Indeed, the wolfman did not deny it.
「My lord…」
「Wait, My Star. I must first take this one's head swiftly.」
Despite understanding his defeat, the wolfman's eyes still burned with undiminished fighting spirit. As the leader of the gang, and with his hostility undiminished, immediate execution was necessary.
「— I understand. I understand, so please, I want you to wait.」
The voice of Iris, from inside the cage, stopped Yurgald as he reached that conclusion.
At the urgency in her voice, Yurgald furrowed his brow. Iris pointed to the iron bars of the cage.
「Please open this. The jailer has the key…」
「Understood.」
With a nod, the holy sword swept twice, slicing through the iron bars as if through silk, answering her request.
At having her wish granted so immediately, Iris blinked in surprise and said, 「Ah, thank you,」 then stepped over the fallen bars and out of the cage.
And straightaway, she walked to where the fallen wolfman lay.
「He may no longer have the strength to move, but he is not someone to approach carelessly.」
「I'm sorry. But I need to speak to him while looking at his face.」
Responding to Yurgald's warning, Iris stood beside the wolfman and crouched down.
Their eyes met at close range, and the wolfman twisted his mouth in bitter frustration.
「Come to gloat, have you…? In the end, you lot won.」
「——」
「But hey, aren't you being careless? Even like this, I could still tear you apart easy… Or maybe I should just bite your head off? That much, even now, I could—」
It was a foul-mouthed taunt that no one — least of all the wolfman himself — could mistake for anything other than desperate bluster. The act of tearing apart his own dignity more savagely than Iris's presence was almost painful to watch, and Yurgald was about to speak up when — 「— I forgive you.」
「…Huh?」
Iris's lips moved, and the words spun from those petal-pink lips made the wolfman's eyes go wide. — No, not only the wolfman. Yurgald, standing nearby, was equally stunned.
Neither of them could grasp what those words meant.
But regardless of their bewilderment, Iris continued.
「I forgive you. You attacked my village. You killed my father, my mother, my friends. I forgive you. I will try to forgive you.」
「What… what the hell are you saying!? What are you — what's the meaning of—」
「Because I—」
「— !」
「Because I feel like I'm going to cough up blood saying it. …I regret what I just said the moment it left my mouth. But even so, even so—」
The wolfman's bewildered shouts were drowned out by Iris's anguished voice. Tears welled in her large eyes, and she clenched her fists tightly as she went on.
The reason she had spoken of granting forgiveness to the very person who had killed her family and friends.
It was — 「— Even so, this is the way to end the fighting.」
「— Ah.」
「You pay back what was done to you, and then they pay you back, and then you pay them back again… and you hate the repetition, so you eliminate the other side so there's nothing to pay back. You said there was no other way. But there is. There is a way.」
「——」
Tears in her eyes, cheeks flushed with effort, Iris spoke those words to the wolfman.
How much anguish had been wrung out before those words could be spoken — Yurgald, who could only inflict pain on others and never understand it himself, could not begin to imagine.
But he understood that this was the answer to a question that had been exchanged between Iris and the wolfman before he arrived.
「…Lord, or whatever.」
「— Are you referring to me?」
After a silence following Iris's words, the wolfman spoke. Yurgald frowned.
The address was not one he was accustomed to hearing, but there was no one else it could possibly apply to. Through process of elimination, Yurgald concluded it referred to him. The wolfman let out a long, heavy breath, and — 「…I surrender. Nobody else dies — not on my count.」
This answer, born of a tremendous internal struggle, condensed into words by cooking down every emotion — it startled Yurgald.
In the wolfman's eyes, there was undimmed hostility and rage. But the fighting spirit that had burned ceaselessly was now being pushed down by reason, held in check.
「Um, if possible… I'd like you not to kill this person either… please.」
Looking up at the silent Yurgald, Iris made her plea from beside the wolfman.
Of course, it was not an easy thing to grant. As a means of settling what had happened, taking the leader's head was the most justifiable resolution.
But — 「A-And it's a request from your star…!」
Seeking a means of persuasion, Iris spoke those words.
Immediately after saying them, she looked down in embarrassment, as if ashamed of what had come out of her mouth. But there was no need for shame, and Yurgald admired her willingness to do so.
「I believe that exhausting every means at one's disposal is the wisest course. On that point, My Star's judgment is correct. …So this is what it feels like to be swayed by sentiment. Until now, I have never been troubled by uncertain variables in my judgment, but it is surprisingly difficult, isn't it.」
「That means…!」
「It means your words carry great weight for me. — But, are you certain?」
Iris looked up at Yurgald's question with a small gasp.
「He is the one who killed your parents and your fellow villagers. You have the right to seek vengeance. Will you not regret relinquishing that justification to spare his life?」
「…I don't know what tomorrow will bring. I'm an uneducated, dim-witted girl. But I believe this is the method that will leave me with no regrets going forward.」
「— Very well, then.」
If it was a matter of his own heart, he could do whatever he pleased.
Rather than offering empty reassurances, Iris's honest answer moved Yurgald to nod.
In exchange, Yurgald extended his hand to Iris. She looked back and forth between his outstretched hand and his face, then tentatively took it.
「…Does it not hurt?」
「Hm? Ah, no, I'm fine. He didn't injure me, I think.」
「— I see. That is good then.」
Blinking in surprise at Yurgald's response, Iris looked puzzled. Yurgald then turned to the still-fallen wolfman.
「You have My Star — Iris — to thank for this. Had it been up to me alone, I would not have spared either you or your comrades.」
「…You wanna change your mind now? That'd be the natural thing in the Empire.」
「Indeed. It would be the imperial thing to do. But I am of Elcantia.」
A house that had made its name through something other than imperial martial exploits was often viewed with suspicion.
That very fact sometimes worked against them in daily life, so if at times the nature of their house was upheld for the sake of a non-imperial resolution, no one had grounds to complain.
Perhaps Yurgald's answer surprised the wolfman, because he wore a look as if he had been caught off guard. Seeing that deflated expression, one could almost detect a certain charm in him.
「Gugh! I-it hurts! The pain's getting worse! What are you doing…!?」
「My apologies. I do not understand the principle. Since I cannot stop it, we should part quickly. I shall leave the rest to my soldiers… Ah, that's right.」
「Wh-what…?」
「What is your name?」
At the question, the wolfman — his face contorted in pain — clenched his fangs hard. On the momentum of that, showing teeth so ground they creaked, he snarled: 「Volcas. Remember that, Lord, or whatever…!」
Fierce and untamed, he barked the words with not a shred of weakness showing.
*** 「When I was little, I once had a terrible illness. I had a raging fever and lay in bed for days and days. The whole village was saying I probably wouldn't make it.」
Iris held Yurgald's hand as she spoke, gazing at the smoke rising into the sky.
At the base of the smoke column, the bodies of villagers who had lost their lives in this latest attack were being cremated. Left untreated, the dead would breed disease; buried, they would be dug up by wild dogs or cursed beasts.
Cremation and scattering the ashes upon the earth — that was the common way of the dead in the Volakia Empire.
Among the bodies being turned to smoke were Iris's parents.
「After I woke up, the healer told me it was a miracle. She said my will to live was strong, that there must have been something I needed to do with my life, things like that.」
「Something you needed to do with your life.」
「Yes. …Is it the same this time, too?」
「…My Star.」
Iris's grip on Yurgald's hand tightened.
Yurgald felt no pain. Having a village girl squeeze his hand a bit harder meant nothing. And yet, a sensation of constriction welled up in his chest.
A breathlessness he rarely felt — it had formed like a knot in his chest.
「Father, Mother, the village chief, Aunt Tigre, Jimna — they all died, and yet I'm still alive like this. Is it because I have a reason I need to live? If so, does that mean it was fine for everyone else to die because they didn't?」
「——」
「I'm sorry. I know that makes no sense, and I'm fully aware I'm saying something outrageous. Saying something like this to you will only put you in a difficult position.」
Iris lowered her eyes, truly contrite for her words.
But it was Yurgald who should have felt the deepest remorse. He cursed himself for being unable to offer Iris the words she sought — the words she needed to hear.
He knew, logically, that he should speak words of empathy, words that would rest gently against her heart.
But sadly, Yurgald was not good at considering other people's feelings. Moreover, Yurgald had never experienced the tragedy of losing his family, as Iris had.
His father, the emperor, was alive. His mother lived apart but was also alive. The ministers he knew by sight had not suffered any notable tragedies, and his lack of life experience was a liability.
So if there was anything the inadequate Yurgald could say — 「— I was relieved that you were alive.」
「— My lord?」
「I will confess to my own shame. When I learned that your village had been attacked, despite being in a position where I should treat all my subjects equally, my foremost wish was for your survival.」
「——」
「That was why, when I found you in the cave, I was overwhelmingly relieved. Perhaps that is why I was careless and lost to Volcas. He was a formidable opponent.」
The words surfaced in his mind, and Yurgald — unpracticed at organizing his thoughts before speaking — said them anyway.
He was driven by a sense of urgency that demanded he speak honestly. And afterward, he would regret how inconsiderate he had been toward Iris, who had lost her parents.
But he did not know any other way.
「…Why?」
He understood that this guilt was why Iris asked the question back. He had expected to be scolded for saying the wrong thing, for responding incorrectly.
Bracing himself, he looked to the side — and was confused once more by the emotion that flickered in Iris's eyes.
What dwelled in Iris's gaze was not a reproachful light.
「Why? Why me, my lord?」
The repeated question struck a different chord within Yurgald.
There was no accusing tone in Iris's words. Nor did it seem like a random, aimless inquiry from someone who truly understood nothing.
There was, most likely, a correct answer to this question.
Iris knew it, and Yurgald needed to find it.
「— I am thinking about it now.」
「…You don't know, even though it's about yourself?」
Fearing the silent gaze would dismiss him, Yurgald admitted as much. Iris pressed him further.
But Yurgald shook his head.
It was not that he did not understand his own feelings. What he did not understand was how to convey them.
「I am trying to think of how to convey my thoughts to you completely and without remainder.」
「My lord's… thoughts?」
「Yes.」
He wanted to convey to Iris every fragment of what he felt, without a single piece left over.
Anything less would be insufficient, and even if he succeeded, it would still feel insufficient. Whether he could not see Iris, or whether he had seen her — wishes kept surging within him, like spring water.
「I want you to be at ease. I want to prevent you from being exposed to danger. I want you to taste delicious food and rest upon a soft bed. I want you to spend your days wrapped in something warm, like dappled sunlight. — I want you to be happy.」
Counting on his fingers the happiness he wished to shower upon Iris, Yurgald at last arrived at what he wanted her to be.
He wanted Iris to be happy.
He wanted to build an umbrella that could sweep away all the sorrow that might rain down upon her.
And in order to protect Iris's happiness for all eternity — 「— I see.」
Wishing for Iris's true peace and happiness, Yurgald realized.
The best method — one that could not be left to others or to fate — that he could pursue on her behalf.
「I understand, My Star. I shall… I shall become the next emperor of Volakia.」
「— Wha!?」
At Yurgald's momentous declaration, Iris — who had been waiting with glistening eyes for his words — went wide-eyed and her voice cracked.
Hearing her reaction and that overturned voice, Yurgald nodded.
「You have a lovely surprised expression as well.」
「Hwa— Without a moment's hesitation… Wait, no! W-why did you come to that conclusion!?」
「It is the logical conclusion. Everything I wish for your future cannot depend on the favor or whim of someone other than me. I must pursue it myself.」
「Y-you're already thinking like the imperial heir! The first-person pronoun has already settled in…!」
As Iris's eyes swam, Yurgald gently returned the pressure of her clasped hand. Then, calling her 「My Star,」 he gazed at her intently.
Instantly, Iris grew flustered and looked down, her face flushed red.
「Do not look away. Let me see your face.」
「Wha—…」
Touching a finger to her chin, he raised her face and looked straight into her reddened cheeks and glistening eyes.
「I-I just lost my parents and so many people from my hometown…」
「I know. I want to console you. That is why I will become the emperor.」
「Why!?」
「Because it is the way I can stay by your side for the longest.」
Iris's voice rose, shaken by Yurgald's unwavering response.
As if the moments of agonizing over what to say had been a lie, all hesitation had cleared from Yurgald, and what he needed to do lay plain before him.
He had always told himself that his position as the "King of Thorns" meant that even if he desired the throne, it would not benefit the Volakia Empire as a whole — and that was true. But this was no different from an arrow letter.
He would find some way. He would pursue that position.
And so — 「For now, cry as much as you need. As I am not yet emperor, the most I can do is remain at your side and never leave.」
「…Isn't that the right answer, though?」
Iris did not refuse what might have seemed a presumptuous offer.
Drawn in by his clasped hand, she nestled into Yurgald's chest. Never had she imagined there would come a day when she could hold someone's warmth like this.
But now was not the time to savor that happiness.
「Ugh…」
Her throat trembled, and a sob escaped Iris's lips.
From her glistening eyes, tears spilled like jewels, and through her blurred vision, the smoke continued to rise — the smoke of so much that had made up her everyday life, vanishing.
「Father… Mother…」
Having accepted that her loved ones were gone, having stopped the hand that would have sought revenge against those responsible, and struggling to uphold her own convictions — Iris clung to her beliefs.
Yurgald held her slender shoulders, patting her back with clumsy hands, and thought: That Yurgald Elcantia must obtain everything necessary to claim the throne.
*** 「Oh ho, so the 'King of Thorns' has found his motivation? Then I suppose the next emperor is decided?」
In a lavishly furnished room, a man lounging in a chair, a goblet in hand, raised his eyebrows at the unexpected report.
The "King of Thorns" — the nineteenth prince — had reversed his position. If he too would aim for the imperial seat, the battle for the next emperor would be thrown into massive upheaval, heralding the curtain rise of a turbulent era.
Years of dissipation had taken their toll. The reign of the current emperor, Radokin Volakia, was drawing to a close.
True to his appetites, Radokin had exercised the imperial prerogative freely with food, wine, and women. The number of his children who qualified to participate in the Selection Rite exceeded two hundred — a "scattering of seeds" on a scale unparalleled in imperial history.
That said, nearly half of the qualifiers were children under the age of ten, and sadly, not one of them would be mentioned as a viable candidate.
The extent to which seniority held persuasive power was debatable, but those who had been able to prepare for a longer time still had the better odds of claiming the throne.
That had been the way of Volakian imperial succession for the past six decades.
And the ones who had worked behind the scenes of these imperial power struggles between family members — 「— That would be us, the Goldario family, the 'hired winners' of the Selection Rite, at your service~」
Setting the goblet aside on a nearby table, the man rubbed his palms together in front of his face.
The opulent furnishings around him and the fine wine were both proof that the family business was thriving. These were the spoils of success — earned through results. If the family failed to deliver, it would have no recourse but to vanish into obscurity.
That was precisely why, despite all the frantic preparations they had undertaken for the Selection Rite, the unexpected entry of a particular figure into the race was enough to upend everything.
「No idea who or where this person is, but they went and cast the 'Thorn's Curse' — an unnecessary move. And since the user was incompetent, it's turned into some incomprehensible monster.」
While there was jockeying for territorial advantage and comparing military strength, the Selection Rite ultimately came down to a killing contest among the imperial heirs who possessed the "Solar Sword."
The princes who understood this learned swordsmanship, attached capable guards to their retinue, and made preparations that did not neglect the prospect of a fight to the death.
All of that preparation would be rendered meaningless by the "King of Thorns" entering the race.
— Yurgald Elcantia, the "King of Thorns."
That prince's ingenuity and capability, combined with the devastating effect of the "Thorn's Curse" — it was formidable.
Unlike the other princes, Yurgald had never pursued any private ambition, acting only to fulfill his role as territorial lord. His purity as a ruler was fundamentally different, and from the start he had shown signs of renouncing the throne on account of his condition as the "King of Thorns."
Who would have thought he would reverse that decision?
「It'd be a laughing matter, like scattering seeds in sand and losing the biggest rock.」
「— Witecaer, big brother?」
The man, slumped lazily in his chair with one palm covering his face, was addressed.
A woman with beautiful, long red hair appeared at the door of the room. The hem of her elegant dress swished as she entered. She glanced at the goblet on the table — less than half full — and — 「My. Drinking again at this hour… You mustn't, you know.」
「Don't be like that, Teriola, dear sister. I have to drink during daylight hours just to keep going. After all, it looks like our Goldario family's business for my generation is about to end in anticlimax!」
「— You mean you've identified who should become the next emperor? That's wonderful news. What could you possibly find objectionable?」
「Obviously! There's no fun for me in stirring things up!」
He clasped his hands above his head and groaned. At his childlike display, Teriola Goldario let out an exasperated sigh.
She wanted to tell him it was a disrespectful attitude, but knowing that one retort would bring ten times the counter-logic, Witecaer contented himself with puffing out his cheeks in protest.
「If things are truly that settled, then this is hardly the time to be drinking, is it? You should be making contact with your chosen prince immediately — before the other self-appointed advisors beat you to it. Don't you see?」
「Even staying silent gets me bludgeoned with good sense! Fine, fine, fine — good sense, good sense. Everything the wise and beautiful Teriola Goldario says is absolutely correct.」
「Then —」
「— But I'm not moving yet. Not yet.」
Putting a hand on his hip and facing Teriola squarely, Witecaer answered in a quiet voice. The shift in his tone made Teriola catch her breath.
For all her complaints, Teriola trusted her brother's thinking and his strategies. Not out of familial respect — but purely out of evaluation of his ability.
「I'll admit I'm a wastrel who's inherited a family fortune and lived without a care since the day I was born… But even making good use of a family inheritance takes a certain talent, you know.」
「——」
「Well then, Yurgald Elcantia. Judging by ability alone, you are without question the front-runner in the Selection Rite. — The question is whether you can find a way to win this ritual without letting that ability go to waste.」
With that, Witecaer rubbed his palms together and grinned with high spirits.
Watching his expression from the side, Teriola sighed once more — as if to say that his sweet, delicious anticipation was a far more intoxicating wine than anything in that goblet.
*** The ancient story tells.
It is the story of a solitary king and a single girl.
The story of a king who was alone until he met a girl, and was alone no more.
The solitary king met the girl and decided, in his heart, to walk once more down the path he had renounced.
The single girl was saved by the king, and found solace for the hollow that loss had carved in her heart.
The wolf received mercy from the girl and his life, and together with the earth rat, served the king.
The king who chose the path of dominion reached out toward the band of light that illuminated his way forward.
The story gathered its players beneath the king and the girl, and moved onward, ever onward.
*** Since the incident that cost her home village, Iris's life had changed drastically.
She had lost the parents who had been with her since the day she was born, and neighbors and friends who had been like family. She had even lost the means to live on the land where she had grown up.
For Iris, who had been born and raised in that village and never once questioned the idea of growing old and dying there, simply leaving home was an adventure of the greatest magnitude.
And the change was not merely in her living environment.
「— The Volakian style of etiquette carries a rather distinguished history, you see. Lady Iris, did you understand, you see?」
「…I… I think so, maybe, Professor.」
「Good, you see. Then starting tomorrow, we shall move on to the practical stage of etiquette, building upon that history. I highly recommend wrapping cloth around your knees in advance, you see.」
「Cloth around my knees? Why is that?」
「Because without question, you will be falling to your knees repeatedly, you see.」
So saying, the earth rat Rineck stroked his large nose — nearly half the size of his face — and spoke in a way that did nothing to ease the pressure of all the knowledge crammed into Iris's already-overloaded mind.
「Ugh~」 Iris groaned involuntarily.
「I am not threatening you, you see. I merely predicted, with certainty, what will happen given Lady Iris's athletic ability. I am offended by that attitude, you see.」
「S-sorry, Professor. My personal grudge slipped out… I'll reflect on it.」
「Well, you see, I do not wish to make Lady Iris feel dejected, either. …Being resented so strongly is only natural, I suppose, you see.」
Saying that, Rineck let his shoulders droop apologetically. At that, Iris quickly waved her hands, realizing her words had been too harsh.
What Iris resented was the studying — not Rineck himself.
「Not at all, not at all! I've been doing my best to think of you as someone who happened to be part of the gang that attacked my village!」
「W-well, you see—」
「Oh.」
She had meant to defend him, but that last sentence had been a finishing blow. Iris covered her mouth with her hand.
But she truly had not meant to hurt Rineck. The history between Iris and Rineck was not something that could be easily forgotten, but it could be left unmentioned.
At the very least, Rineck's sincere effort to treat Iris well was genuine.
「Haa, I'm hopeless, aren't I…」
Clenching the hem of her dress in frustration at her own inadequacy, Iris felt the fabric — so fine it might slip through her fingers — and hastily tucked it away.
What Iris wore now was a dress — not a hand-me-down from her mother or grandmother, but a high-quality garment meant for someone of the imperial nobility.
「It's not just the clothes… The food, the bed, the fact that I'm learning all of this from you — it's all like this.」
Stroking the deep blue fabric of her dress, Iris reconfirmed her circumstances.
Now, Iris lived in the heart of Elcantia territory — to put it less delicately, in the Elcantia family estate.
On the day Yurgald declared his intention to become the next Volakia emperor, he had moved with remarkable speed, arranging for Iris to live in the estate. She was brought there, and before she knew what was happening, this drastically altered environment became her new home.
「I understand the feeling of confusion. I feel the same way, you see.」
「Really? You understand how it feels to be an ignorant girl who doesn't know what to make of a prince who declares he'll become emperor, the kind of person who doesn't even know what he thinks about me, and who swings me around by the whim of his grand ambitions?」
「That puts me in a difficult position when you put it that way, you see! A position unparalleled in history, you see!」
「Right? …I'm just a village girl, after all.」
Rineck tapped his nose with his finger and looked flustered. Iris gave a wry smile.
As mentioned earlier, this scholarly earth rat was one of the bandits who had attacked Iris's village. He was a knowledgeable and talented teacher, and in the gang, he had apparently been responsible for distributing loot and managing supplies — he had not directly harmed any villagers.
「Even so, I am one of Lady Iris's enemies, you see.」
Appointed as Iris's tutor, seeing her nearly every day, Rineck frequently referenced his place in her life.
It was more than mere self-punishment — it was gratitude for Iris's petition to spare the bandits' lives, her decision to seek clemency for Rineck and the others, and a desire not to forget his deep remorse.
At least, that was what he wanted to believe lay behind the look in Rineck's eyes — not just a sense of duty.
「Alright, let's call it a day here, you see. Overworking is not good for the mind either, you see.」
「Huh, no, not at all — I'm still totally, completely fine!」
「I cannot agree, you see. Every day is hectic, and Lady Iris has accumulated more fatigue than she herself realizes. On top of that, Lady Iris's stamina is on par with that of an infant, you see.」
「Don't treat me the same as a tiny child!」
Rineck shook his large nose side to side with his head. Iris protested, but her constitution was genuinely weaker than average, and fatigue had indeed set in.
It was because of this frailty that Iris had been unable to help with heavy labor or physically demanding work even in the village, instead specializing in exercising the sheep and cattle and tending the pasture.
「For my lord's sake, I can't afford to be like this…」
It was meaningless to be given a place to learn if she could not make full use of it.
Yurgald, Rineck, and the estate staff all looked out for Iris, making sure she did not push herself too hard. But Iris did not want to be too dependent on their kindness.
The one person who did not look after Iris in such a way — 「— What's with you? Making that same bored face again.」
「…And you, did you climb up the wall again? You'll get in trouble.」
A sudden voice caught Iris's attention. She turned toward the window of the large room, and there — gripping the windowsill of the second-floor room with one long hand and peering inside — was the black wolfman, Volcas.
Like Rineck, Volcas had survived. He would frequently appear during the times Iris received instruction from Rineck, throwing in sarcastic remarks.
There was no malice in it, and Iris was able to take it in stride, mostly.
「Shouldn't you be at training? That's your job too, isn't it?」
「Ha! Everyone else is taking a nap. It was obvious, wasn't it… Whoa, careful!」
Snorting dismissively, Volcas answered nonchalantly. Iris marched up to him and shoved him without mercy, trying to push him off the windowsill.
Of course, Iris could not hope to win a contest of strength against Volcas.
「It's not 'ha'! When are you going to get it? You're the one who needs to learn restraint and teach the others how to fight!」
「Rather than bother with all that slow stuff, it'd be faster for me to just beat every enemy myself!」
「But you got thrashed by my lord, didn't you!?」
「Guh…!」
Volcas flinched, the words striking home. Whether out of a reflexive urge to push back or simply settling in, the wolfman sat heavily on the windowsill and stuck his long legs into the room. Wrinkling his snout, he glared at Iris.
「Don't get cocky just 'cause I owe you one…!」
「Don't declare so loudly that you owe someone a debt. I don't intend to hold it over you. I didn't save you with that intention.」
「You! Are you making light of debts between us!?」
「Don't get all huffy about it!」
Iris shouted down the wolfman, whose golden eyes burned with defiance, and let out a sigh.
It was troublesome when the other party was ungrateful, but it was equally troublesome to be reminded of the debt too forcefully. Still, to everyone else, Iris's attitude toward Volcas and his companions was the strange one.
She understood that, but there was nothing she could do. When Yurgald had asked, Iris had answered exactly as she felt.
「It's what I decided for myself. And also…」
「— What?」
Volcas wrinkled his snout. Iris's gaze settled on his thick neck.
There sat a crude, ungainly collar. The same kind of collar was around Rineck's neck, and around the necks of those who were currently being "put to sleep" at the training grounds.
「The 'Collar of Obedience' and assignment to the penal battalion… Considering what we did, this is a remarkably lenient arrangement, you see.」
Sensing the meaning of Iris's gaze, Rineck stated matter-of-factly.
The Collar of Obedience was a special enchanted item — a tool of sorts that inflicted punishment through the collar each time the wearer defied the one who held authority.
Having been fitted with these collars and rendered incapable of resistance, Volcas and the other captured bandits were enrolled in the penal battalion — a military unit composed of criminals.
Thus, their sentence was to fight on the front lines in defense of the Elcantia territory they had pillaged.
「——」
Was this really the right way? The existence of those crude collars tormented Iris.
If this amounted to forcibly bending their will and compelling obedience, then was not the chain of violence that Iris had sought to stop merely being perpetuated in a different form?
But — 「Don't you go overthinking things that ain't your problem.」
「Volcas…」
「This ain't about right or wrong. You chose this so you wouldn't regret it. What happens after that depends on how me and the Professor turn out.」
「…It's really a strange feeling, hearing that from you.」
Taking Volcas's words in his own way as encouragement, Iris softened slightly.
At her response, Volcas let out a dissatisfied growl and turned his face away. Iris noticed, peripherally, that Rineck was watching the exchange with a gentle expression.
「Professor?」
「I was just thinking what a strange fate this is, you see. But it is Lady Iris's unconventional way of thinking that made it possible… Going from an ordinary village girl to aspiring to become empress — that is something else, you see.」
「Ughk!」
「Wha— What's wrong, what happened!?」
Rineck's careless words made Iris clutch her chest and groan. Volcas hurried to check on her.
Propped up by a hand larger than her own head, Iris felt her heart pounding and shook her head, 「Not at all, not at all…」
「Empress or anything like that — I'm not even remotely thinking about something so grand…」
「That is inconsistent, you see. If Prince Yurgald ascends to the throne, then regardless of whether you are officially the empress, Lady Iris's position will inevitably become that of empress, you see.」
「No! Really! I'm not — not at all!」
As Rineck continued to be accidentally provocative without malice, Iris shook her head vigorously.
At Iris's stubborn refusal, Volcas and Rineck exchanged glances and tilted their heads.
Yes, that was the situation. Their misunderstanding was understandable — even natural.
But the truth was, the relationship between Iris and Yurgald was not the passionate or romantic entanglement that the two of them imagined.
Then what was it? If asked, she would not know how to answer.
「That's what I'd like to know, too.」
Having lost her family and her hometown, and been brought to the estate, Iris's position was a mystery. The only difference between her and the others was that she did not wear a collar — there was even a possibility she had been brought here to join the penal battalion.
That was surely a joke, but it was the kind of situation where one might be forgiven for thinking so, because nothing had been explained.
「…The lord himself has been terribly busy, you see.」
Of course, having decided to aim for the imperial throne, the preparations required would be far beyond what Iris could imagine.
That was why he had virtually no time to see Iris. He was in the distant wing of the estate, writing letters to various parties, firing off arrow letters — and she could understand that.
「But I'm worried, you know.」
Yurgald had declared so unashamedly that he would become emperor for Iris's sake.
That declaration was so terrifyingly grand that, taken at face value, it seemed like nothing other than a kind of courtship or proposal directed at Iris.
But Yurgald was not a straightforward person.
「I never imagined that when he asked if it would be alright to talk to me again, he actually thought he was asking permission to think about me.」
No wonder, then, that despite watching the road every day, he never appeared.
When she pressed him on this, Yurgald answered that he had "no appropriate reason to visit the village." But the thing was, "wanting to see someone" or "wanting to talk" was an appropriate reason — at least, it should have been.
Yurgald had a pronounced tendency toward extreme awkwardness when it came to expressing his own desires.
「So I can't shake the terror that I'm the only one who's getting excited over nothing. Is that just me being weird?」
「How pitiful, you see…」
Rineck looked at his own hands and pitied Iris with unvarnished words, as if walking across an invisible bridge.
「——」
But Volcas, whom Iris had expected would mock her mercilessly for this, surprised her by saying nothing, merely resting his chin in his hand and sitting in silence.
Finding that unexpected, Iris looked at him questioningly. He spoke up: 「I get it — you don't understand what the lord's thinking. But the question is, what about you?」
「Huh?」
「It doesn't matter what that lord is thinking — if you ain't looking his way, it means nothing. So I'm asking: what about you?」
At Volcas's direct question, Iris blinked.
It was too straightforward to dismiss as mere surprise. In truth, Iris felt the words pierce her chest, and found herself at a loss for words.
「I…」
What did she think of Yurgald?
Asked this again so directly, Iris searched her own heart and the few — hardly abundant — encounters she had shared with Yurgald, and — 「— Lady Iris, might I come in?」
Before the answer could form, there was a knock at the door, and a voice called out.
It was a voice Iris had grown accustomed to hearing recently — the chamberlain of House Elcantia, one of the senior staff.
「Come in,」 Iris said, and the chamberlain opened the door. He took one look at Volcas perched on the windowsill, let out a small sigh, and — 「A message from Lord Yurgald. He asks that you return to the detached wing.」
「M-man, the timing is terrible…!」
「Lady Iris?」
「N-no, not at all — nothing at all! The detached wing, understood. …The detached wing!?」
「Ah, yes, that is correct…」
The chamberlain was startled by Iris's reaction, as if the meaning had only just caught up with her. Behind him, Volcas and Rineck whispered: 「Sending Lady Iris there now would be cruel, you see.」
「If she goes all tongue-tied and the lord loses interest, that'd be trouble. I haven't paid back my debt yet, after all.」
「Don't say ominous things like that! I'm going, of course I'm going — I should go, shouldn't I!」
「Y-yes.」
The chamberlain was taken aback by Iris's sudden burst of enthusiasm, fired up by the two beast-folk's private conversation. She was sorry to have left him confused.
Iris gave a small cough, then straightened her back with a jerk.
And — 「I'm off. Professor, see you tomorrow. Volcas, you're not allowed to slack off anymore.」
「Take care… No, rather, have a good time, you see.」
「I'm not slacking — the other guys are just useless!」
「You need to try harder, too! Listen to what you're told! I'm the one lending, here! You killed my family!」
「Doesn't that kinda thing hurt you to say, too!?」
*** 「Even when you put on a stern face, you are lovely.」
Having finally reunited with Iris after several days, Yurgald spoke frankly.
In truth, Iris — cheeks set firm, brows sharp, dressed in her gown — presented a strikingly different impression from her pastoral village attire. She looked radiant in an entirely new way.
But at Yurgald's words, Iris turned her face away sharply.
「…Don't you say sweet things like that to everyone? You called me a star, and there are expressions like 'as numerous as the stars' and all that.」
「—? I do not deny that formal courtesies sometimes call for elegant phrasing. But calling someone lovely, from the heart — that is reserved for you alone. And among all the stars, only the one that shines brightest catches my eye.」
「Guh, uuuu~」
Turning her face away, Iris's cheeks and ears turned scarlet.
He had noticed through careful observation that when Iris blushed like this, it did not seem to be out of anger at Yurgald's words.
Rather, it seemed like the reaction of someone who wanted to say something but could not, and if possible, he would like to remove the reason she was holding back.
「B-but, you left me all alone despite saying that! Of course, I'm grateful for the big rooms and the beautiful dress, and for making sure I'm comfortable. And when I said I couldn't just sit around, you arranged for me to learn things through the professor and the chamberlain and… ugh.」
「Hmm? What's wrong? Feeling dizzy?」
「I'm getting dizzy… from the realization of how absurdly well-off I am and wondering what on earth I've been complaining about…」
Pressing the back of her hand to her forehead, Iris confessed as much. Yurgald looked troubled, but was relieved to see that at least her complaint was not about the treatment she had received.
He had issued the directives, but the finer arrangements had to be left to the servants. He had been worried — what if she collapsed from exhaustion?
But Yurgald's relief lasted only until Iris spoke again.
「You've been very good to me. …But you weren't there.」
「— My Star.」
「I'm anxious. You've been so kind, done so much for me… and I can't find any reason why I should deserve that.」
Turning her face back toward him, Iris voiced her anxiety directly. Hearing it, Yurgald felt the sharp sting of his own thoughtlessness.
He was the one who had put that pained look on her face, and he had not even noticed.
「Forgive me, My Star.」
With that self-reproach, Yurgald knelt before Iris. She stared in wide-eyed surprise, but before her rose-colored lips could part, he continued.
「Even I have lost count of how many times I wished to speak with you. But having declared so boldly that I would become emperor, to indulge in time with you without producing any results — it is a shameful act.」
「That's too serious! You're calling it shameful!?」
「A deplorable act.」
「That's even worse!」
Kneeling before her, Yurgald looked up at Iris, who trembled with indignation. Then, as if suddenly remembering something, she hesitated for a moment before gently extending her hand.
White, slender fingers. Yurgald reverently took the offered right hand and pressed his lips to the back of it.
「It is only you, My Star, who makes me do this, and who makes me wish to.」
「—! O-okay, I get it… I get it! Fine, enough!」
Iris's face turned even redder. Yurgald took her hand and rose to his feet. Leading her by the hand, he guided her to a settee in the back of the room, and they sat down side by side.
「Why next to me…」
「It is closer than sitting across from you. If it makes you uncomfortable, I can move—」
「That's shamelessly underhanded! Fine. …Stay here.」
The last part was barely a murmur, but Yurgald did not miss it. He felt a warmth spread through his chest, moved by her magnanimity.
Beside him, she looked toward the desk at the back of the study.
「…You were writing letters again without taking a break, weren't you.」
On the desk lay a quill worn to a limp and an empty inkwell, discarded drafts, reference books filled with necessary information, and a few plates pushed to the side.
Because of Yurgald's constitution, he had to handle everything around him himself — cleaning the room, clearing the dishes, it was all part of his daily routine. Or rather, it had been.
「I'll take care of it later. No one else can do it.」
Iris was the sole exception who was allowed in and out of the "King of Thorns"'s residence.
It had not even been two months since Iris began visiting the detached wing, but it was no exaggeration to say that Yurgald's solitary twenty years of life had been completely transformed.
How to convey his gratitude for that was, in itself, an extraordinarily difficult problem.
「I told you that you need not trouble yourself with tidying up — I can do it myself.」
「Stop being so considerate it amounts to meddling. This is the one and only job I can confidently say only I can do, so please let me do it.」
「Very well. It is difficult to please you.」
「…I don't think I'm that difficult, honestly.」
When his concern was brushed aside, Iris continued. Yurgald found himself at a loss.
It seemed Iris was genuinely unaware that she was an impregnable fortress of a girl. Whether she was blind to her own footing or simply possessed of ironclad fortitude and height, it was the real thing.
Otherwise, there was no explaining why — despite his endless efforts to make her happy — nothing seemed to go right for Yurgald.
In any case — 「Earlier, you said there had to be a reason for you to call me here…」
「Having you around makes even my formal manner of speaking seem more approachable.」
「That sort of thing is fine. — The fact that you called me here means you've found something within yourself that tells you it's alright to do so, right?」
「Indeed. Well said.」
With a small trace of red still lingering on her cheeks, Yurgald nodded emphatically.
The reason Yurgald could finally appear before Iris after several days was, as she had guessed, that progress had been made in the preparations for the Selection Rite.
「To ascend to the imperial throne, there was someone whose help I needed above all else. It took considerable effort to verify this person's name, whereabouts, and even their existence…」
「D-does this person's very existence seem questionable?」
「I believed they existed. But even in the annals of the imperial history, their existence was never definitively confirmed. In a sense, it might be called the most closely guarded secret of the Selection Rite.」
「Is this… something I should be hearing?」
Iris pointed at her own face and asked cautiously. Yurgald took her hand, raised a finger, and gently pressed it to her soft cheek.
Iris tilted her head in puzzlement. Yurgald himself had no answer for her question. He had done it on reflex.
「There is no need to worry. You will be one of my inner circle. Once the Selection Rite begins, I intend to share all pertinent information with you — barring extraordinary circumstances.」
「Um, could you explain the part where you just poked my cheek?」
「I do not understand it myself. …Shall I reveal the closely guarded secret?」
「…Go ahead?」
Still looking unconvinced, Iris nodded with her finger still pressed to her cheek. Accepting that, Yurgald drew a small hand mirror from inside his garment.
At the sight of it, Iris blinked: 「A mirror?」
「And that mirror holds the secret to the imperial contest?」
「Something akin to that. Had I not been the 'King of Thorns,' I might have been able to meet my contact face to face and exchange words directly.」
Saying that, Yurgald handed the mirror to Iris. She examined it carefully, peering at her own lovely reflection in the surface with wonder.
「That mirror is a type of magical artifact called a 'Dialogue Mirror.' It comes in pairs — two mirrors that form one set. Through the mirror, you can exchange words with the person who holds the other.」
「Huh — is this the first time you've cracked a joke, my lord?」
「It is no joke or jest. It is fact. …Though, I have never personally handled one before, so I suppose I could be deceived?」
「Sorry for the confusion. Not at all, not at all — I believe you, I believe you.」
Iris returned the mirror while Yurgald reflected inwardly. He had summoned Iris here without even being certain of what was happening — his desire to see her had overridden his judgment. That required serious self-reflection.
And then — the Dialogue Mirror in Yurgald's hand emitted light.
「Kyah, my lord!?」
「The designated time has arrived. I believe we are receiving a call for dialogue from the other party.」
He glanced at the glowing mirror in his hand, then at Iris. She was startled by the light on the mirror's surface, but when she noticed Yurgald's gaze, she composed herself and nodded.
Reading the situation, Yurgald tapped the mirror's surface with his finger, and — 『— A pleasure to make your acquaintance, Lord Yurgald Elcantia.』
In the next instant, what appeared on the now-settled mirror surface was not Yurgald's own face, but the smile of a refined young man he had never seen before.
With deep red hair and eyes so thin they seemed like threads, his expression was gentle. — He was in his early twenties, roughly the same age as Yurgald, and his youth was surprising.
In Yurgald's imagination, the other party would have been far older and more seasoned.
『Oh? Are you perhaps surprised that I'm younger than you expected?』
The young man on the other side of the mirror read Yurgald's thoughts with perfect accuracy. At Yurgald's renewed surprise — 『Just a guess, a guess. I simply put my imagination to work. Someone who went to the trouble of finding me with a clear purpose in mind — I figured they'd be surprised when they first saw my face. …Am I right?』
「Remarkable. Your imagination has, indeed, hit upon the truth.」
『Ohh~ I got it right! What a pleasure to hear.』
「Accept praise with confidence. Now then — allow me to introduce myself properly. — I am Yurgald Elcantia, Special Senior Count of the Volakia Empire.」
The formality of a mirror-mediated introduction was somewhat unusual, but Yurgald delivered it with the dignity befitting his station.
The young man on the other end did not neglect courtesy even through the mirror, inclining his head in a bow of perfect propriety — visible within the confines of the mirror's frame.
Every movement, down to the tips of his fingers, was precisely controlled. At this, Yurgald felt a surge of conviction.
「Your etiquette is exemplary indeed, Advisor to the Selection Rite.」
「Advisor…!? The imperial contest has people like that?」
『Oh my.』
At the mention of the other party's identity, Iris's eyes went wide beside him. Naturally, her voice carried through the Dialogue Mirror as well, and the young man on the other end rubbed his palms together before his face.
『Might that be the rumored Lady Iris, by your side?』
「Eh — Eh — Eh? Rumored?」
「You are well-informed. So you know of My Star as well.」
『Hardly surprising, given my family's line of work. It would be natural for us to keep track of the movements of all those who hold imperial succession rights. From daily trifles to significant events, we maintain thorough details on everything, you see.』
「That is terrifying.」
In a sense, this was a confession of surveillance activities targeting the imperial family. But Yurgald did not point it out. His assessment of it as terrifying was entirely genuine.
That terror, however, pivoted — 「If you would lend me your strength, then that is reassuring.」
『— I have not yet decided whether I will do that.』
「Oh? You have not?」
He had spoken as though the young man's allegiance was already secured, and now felt appropriately abashed.
Even more so for having shown this side of himself to Iris beside him.
「…That wasn't a lie, was it?」
「My Star?」
Leaning in from Yurgald's side, Iris peered into the mirror with the question.
It was not the uncertain, slightly fearful tone she sometimes showed in Yurgald's presence — this carried the weight of conviction.
The young man on the other end looked faintly caught off guard.
『Lady Iris, I am currently in the middle of an important discussion with Lord Yurgald. No matter how much you may be his favored consort, there are boundaries, wouldn't you say?』
「P-please don't call me a favored consort! Not at all, not at all — it's nothing like that. …If you tell me to stop interrupting from the side, then I suppose that's fair enough.」
「It does not bother me. Indulging My Star in whatever she wishes is my foremost desire.」
『Uwah, smitten.』
Yurgald nodded generously, granting permission. The young man shrugged, and Iris bristled. Her goal was to win the young man over, but standing together against a common adversary like this raised her spirits.
In any case, Iris prefaced with, 「Well then,」 and — 「You're quite right that I know absolutely nothing about the imperial contest. I'm just a village girl who's been allowed to stay here out of my lord's generosity. I'm in the middle of learning various things, hoping to become at least somewhat conversant…」
『Hellooo~ Is this a lovers' quarrel? Shall I pour myself a glass of wine?』
「But! I may be from the countryside, but I'm still a citizen of the empire! I may not understand complicated things, but I understand simple ones! — You addressed my lord as 'Your Lordship,' didn't you?」
『——』
「Isn't that proof that you've already accepted that my lord is going to be emperor?」
At Iris's pointed observation, the young man on the other end of the mirror fell silent.
The flush of excitement had turned Iris's cheeks red, and her breathing had quickened slightly. She had struck at the heart of the other's pretense, and the sense of triumph was evident.
However — 「My Star, the honorific 'Your Lordship' is used relatively frequently when showing respect to imperial heirs in general — not exclusively to emperors.」
「Huh… Is that so?」
「It is. But the conviction with which you pressed your point was lovely nonetheless.」
「Sounds like I was wrong, though!?」
Having her certainty overturned, Iris covered her face with both hands, groaning, 「Ahh~」. With her face hidden like that, Yurgald could not see it, and he wanted her to lower her hands — 『Fufu, how amusing.』
Yurgald's wish went unfulfilled, cut short by laughter from the other end of the mirror.
At the young man's reaction — head bowed, shoulders shaking — Iris lowered her hands and gave an awkward look.
「Um, that spirited thing I just said—」
『As Lord Yurgald says, it wasn't quite enough for a knockout blow. However —』
「However?」
『The fact that the honorific was used by none other than Witecaer Goldario — factoring that in, Lady Iris's reasoning is not incorrect.』
The young man raised his bowed head — Witecaer Goldario — and placed a hand over his heart as he answered. At his response, Iris blinked, and Yurgald narrowed his eyes.
Witecaer's statement just now had been a clear declaration of his own intent.
「A statement difficult to interpret any other way, Witecaer Goldario. I can only conclude that you intend to regard me as the emperor — the next emperor.」
『You are free to think so. As I said, my family's livelihood is inextricably tied to the Selection Rite — and for the next emperor, we have scrutinized and scrutinized again which of the imperial heirs is worthy of our support.』
「To weigh imperial heirs on a scale — how thoroughly disrespectful. But I shall overlook it, given your professional dedication.」
『I am deeply grateful for your generous judgment.』
「But is this truly wise? — I am the 'King of Thorns.'」
Yurgald asked this directly of Witecaer, who had declared his allegiance.
He could feel Iris tense beside him, glancing at him with concern, but this was a premise that had to be verified.
If the reason Yurgald had renounced the throne before meeting Iris lay in his identity as the "King of Thorns," then it would be only natural for others to harbor the same objection.
Witecaer had conducted a thorough investigation of the imperial heirs. He must know a great deal about Yurgald's constitution.
「And yet you would put me on the throne — that is no easy decision. I am in a position where I need your help, and I would like to hear a convincing argument.」
『You are fearless, aren't you? You are fully aware that my family's assistance is essential, and yet you do not hesitate to press the very person who holds the decision-making power.』
「I would not say that the fearless are fit to be emperor, but even if someone is necessary to me, I will not choose my words based on their countenance. If I choose my words, it is not out of fear but out of respect. — That is how I treat My Star.」
『Hwa—』
Iris let out a strangled squeak as Yurgald pulled her close. Accepting Yurgald's answer and declaration of intent, Witecaer narrowed his thread-like eyes even further and rubbed his palms together.
A moment of tense silence flowed — 『— That very way of thinking, Your Lordship. That is why I have set my sights on you.』
「My way of thinking? Other than thoughts of My Star?」
「Th-that sounds terrifyingly like it takes up most of the picture…!」
『I humbly submit that your circumstances — the constitution you bear as the 'King of Thorns' — are known to my family as well. You have suffered because of that constitution. Am I wrong?』
「Continue.」
To touch upon Yurgald's constitution was to risk touching upon his wrath. Most people avoided digging too deeply into the thorns for this reason.
Even through a mirror, the willingness to do so deserved acknowledgment.
『For some, it would be a life to be pitied — a fate for which cursing the world would not be unreasonable. But you, Your Lordship, did not do so. You even accepted it as your fate. And then, it was not out of anger at the world or despair over your life, but for a different reason that you chose to aim for the throne. — In our family, we call this, in the old way, "dramatic."』
「…I do not know that word.」
『It's fine, it's fine. All I'm saying is that in my family — at least for me — what I desire is someone "dramatic." Your actions and your thoughts have that quality! And besides —』
「And besides?」
『Supporting you offers the best odds of winning. At the end of the day, I can't very well let my family fall, so I have to back the strongest contender, you know?』
Smiling, Witecaer concluded. Yurgald examined the statement, trying to determine how much of it could be trusted.
Naturally, it was not a confession that bared every last secret. But neither was it plausible that everything was a lie.
The notion of "dramatic" that served as his criterion — was it worth serious consideration — 『Then, how about this. — Let Lady Iris render her judgment.』
「— Witecaer Goldario.」
『I understand your desire to protect what you hold dear. But as long as you keep Lady Iris by your side, simply pampering her as a favored consort will not be sustainable. Above all —』
「——」
『Lady Iris herself does not desire that. Am I wrong?』
Witecaer deftly maneuvered to place Iris at center stage.
Whether he understood Witecaer's ulterior motives or not, Yurgald was opposed to this. He had already imposed far too much on Iris — forced her to bear far too much of his own will.
To burden Iris further — 「My lord… no, Your Lordship.」
Yurgald's anxiety was extinguished by the gaze of Iris, who was looking up at him from nearby.
Iris met Yurgald's eyes with a serious, earnest expression and nodded firmly.
「What he says is… embarrassing to admit, but it's true. Just being kept by your side like this — it's not enough, and I don't want it.」
「But—」
「Not at all, not at all — it's not a burden. If anything, I'd be grateful to have more to do. And if what I do can be of use to you — to Your Lordship!」
「——」
In the depths of her eyes, where steely resolve and determination burned, Yurgald felt a blow strike his chest.
And at the same time, from the place that had been struck, a heat surged upward, searing through him, until he felt as if his body had been lifted off the ground by the force of it.
Every sensation was something Yurgald had never experienced before.
「I want you to become emperor, Your Lordship. If that means your help is truly necessary, then I want you to let me assist you.」
『Assistance. Haha, assistance — how delightful. If Lady Iris says so, then my family too will do its utmost to assist —』
「In return, I will be watching you all carefully. Your Lordship is… surprisingly reckless in certain ways!」
『——』
In place of the silent Yurgald, Iris declared firmly into the mirror. At her words, Witecaer's thread-like eyes opened ever so slightly.
After a moment, he recovered those amber eyes and bowed with exquisite grace.
『Understood, Lady Iris. That was, quite precisely, the kind of answer I was hoping for.』
With that, the first meeting between an imperial heir and an advisor to the Selection Rite drew to a close.
*** The conversation via Dialogue Mirror ended, and Witecaer set the mirror face-down and stretched.
The first meeting with Yurgald Elcantia had concluded with excellent results.
Some of it could have been divined from his character and his approach to governance, but speaking directly always yielded far more.
「Although, I suppose 'speaking directly' doesn't quite apply through a mirror.」
「Brother, is your meeting concluded? If so, there is something I would like you to review —」
His sister Teriola entered the room with impeccable timing.
She opened the door, met Witecaer's gaze — he had just finished speaking with Yurgald — and a single crease appeared between her brows.
As if to demonstrate, Witecaer pointed to the spot between his own brows.
「You'll get wrinkles if you frown like that, Teriola.」
「Whose fault do you suppose that is? Goodness… What manner of dress is this, brother?」
「It was a conversation through a Dialogue Mirror. As long as everything in frame is proper, that's all that matters.」
So saying, Witecaer straightened the collar of his formal jacket, raised one bare-legged foot, and smiled at Teriola.
Of course, this kind of behavior would not fly at any other negotiation, but this was an exception.
「I'm not making light of Lord Yurgald, you know. I'm simply eliminating unnecessary effort wherever possible. Even this Dialogue Mirror — far more efficient than arrow letters.」
「…And it's not as if such a thing is easy to obtain. You must think quite highly of Lord Yurgald.」
「I do want the 'dramatic.' But I don't want destruction. I want to partner with the one who offers the greatest return among those with a viable path to victory. Lord Yurgald confirmed my family's existence and went to the trouble of tracking us down — he's met the criteria.」
Witecaer grinned lopsidedly. Teriola looked exasperated but could say nothing.
Her sister was brilliant and capable, but her approach was too conventional — lacking in flair. Born into one of the wealthiest families in the empire, she nonetheless carried herself with the intensity of someone who always felt a blade at her back.
「You should loosen up a little… or at least, I think it's good to take a risk now and then.」
「And what is there to gain from such reckless behavior?」
「Hmm. — The position of favored consort to the next emperor, perhaps.」
「——」
Witecaer rubbed his palms together and deepened his smile. Teriola's face flushed with indignation. She had instantly grasped the intent behind his words.
「Lady Iris was an intriguing young woman. No matter how you look at it, Lord Yurgald has her running in circles, yet she has remarkably deep roots.」
「I saw the portrait in the report, but I did not receive any particular impression of exceptional beauty. She seems plain and cute, I suppose.」
「Think she's less pretty than you?」
「I hate to say it, but yes.」
Being made to say what she did not wish to admit only deepened Teriola's displeasure. Witecaer nodded.
Teriola's assessment was correct. Even setting aside any family bias, Witecaer believed that nine out of ten people would judge Teriola to be the more beautiful of the two.
That said, what Yurgald sought might not be beauty at all — yet investigation had uncovered no special talent that Iris alone possessed. At best, she was good at getting along with people and had animals drawn to her.
If that was the case, then what truly set Iris apart was — 「The reason she can remain at the side of Yurgald Elcantia, the 'King of Thorns,' and be unharmed.」
「— You do understand Lord Yurgald's situation, don't you, brother?」
「Hm? Oh, yes. His constitution is caused by a sorcery called the 'Thorn's Curse.' But there are almost no records, and the way it functions differs from the literature, making it difficult to assess. Who cast it is unknown, and getting answers is nearly impossible… So if you want to dig deeper, Lady Iris's secret is the way to go.」
He stopped the habitual motion of rubbing his palms together and committed the necessary course of action to memory. Teriola, whom he observed through those thread-like eyes, frowned.
Despite always striving to remain composed, his sister could not hide her inner thoughts.
「Don't worry — it's insurance, just insurance. If Lady Iris is the reason Yurgald Elcantia decided to enter the Selection Rite, then we need to make sure he doesn't have a change of heart.」
「The logic is sound, but…」
「Oh, and as a brother, I can't say I don't have some desire to support my sister's romantic prospects.」
「Wha—!?」
Teriola's eyes flew open, and she stared at him. But Witecaer just shook his head slowly, held up a finger, and — 「Your guard is down. The report with the portrait wasn't only about Lady Iris. The penal battalion recently added to the Elcantia household is in there too, but naturally, there's one of Lord Yurgald himself. And my, he does seem to be gazing at it most tenderly — Miss Teriola Goldario.」
「S-stop it! That's — how tasteless!」
「See, that's the problem. Trust me, sister. — Now