Editing Rakuin no Monshou:Volume7 Chapter6 (section)

=== Part 1 ===

At around the time when the sun was starting to descend from its zenith, the Garberan princess was once more standing where she could look out over Apta. She could see a sprinkling of townspeople in the streets. During the day, when Vileena had seen them as she walked along the covered gallery facing the streets, their expressions had been truly heart-breaking.

Prince Gil had been the lord protecting Apta for only a very short time.

Nonetheless, Gil had first driven back a sudden surprise attack by Taúlia, and then, thanks to the clever ploy of evacuating the people and bombing his own position, he had captured Ax Bazgan and had immediately concluded peace. On top of that, he had left from Apta to help their ally Garbera during a crisis, then had once more returned to this fortress in triumph. The people had all welcomed him with loud acclamations.

Not surprisingly, they saw Prince Gil as a hero. They probably mourned his death far more than did the people living in Solon or the nobles at court.

''What should I do?''

The previous night, she had lain in bed but, just like the night before, had been largely unable to sleep. According to General Rogue, Nabarl was steadily advancing in his military preparations and might be departing for the front as early as tomorrow or even today.

''If they invade Taúlia despite being bound by a peace agreement and without any declaration of war…''

Would Mephius retain even the minimum amount of dignity that a country should have?

Besides which, as he had been the one to offer peace to the west, she also believed that Gil Mephius’ name would be smeared in mud. Furthermore, if the lie took hold in Mephius that the west had assassinated Gil and if it came to be seen as the truth, the former Imperial Guards who were now being confined would be in danger. If lies about them having conspired with the west were to circulate, there was a good chance that they would be executed.

''Flying by airship, would it be possible to give Taúlia warning of Mephius’ invasion?'' She even wondered.

If Taúlia were aware of the planned attack and made proper preparations against it, Nabarl might be more cautious about moving his troops.

But if she were to do something like that, Vileena would not be able to avoid being branded a traitor. She feared that she would be banished, or otherwise punished for her crime, not only by Mephius, but also by its ally, Garbera.

''Grandfather…''

Vileena quickly drove away thoughts of her grandfather whose face had suddenly appeared in her mind. It was a bad habit of hers to go running to her grandfather, Jeorg, every time something worried her too much.

Just when the princess was once again asking herself what she should do, a voice called out from behind her.

“May I bother you, Princess?”

When she turned around, she saw a man with characteristically dishevelled hair. He was a master blacksmith by the name of Sodan.

“I don’t know if it’s alright for someone like me to talk directly to a princess like this so, I’m sorry if it’s rude.”

Perhaps it was part of his nature to not be very good at speaking, since his somewhat cloudy eyes were darting around all over the place. Vileena tilted her head to one side.

“It doesn’t matter. What can I do for you?”

“The fact is…”

As Sodan continued talking, Vileena doubted her own ears.

“The fact is... I have something that I’m keeping for the Prince.”

“T-That,” Vileena almost spluttered unconsciously, “what is it? Is it a letter for me? When was it given to you? How did you receive it?” She fired off her questions in rapid succession.

So this ''was'' all part of one of the Prince’s strategies and he had left something behind to tell her about it when the time came – for one short second, Vileena was able to convince herself of that.

“Ah, no, it’s not a letter… It’s this.”

Sodan held out a package in his chapped and scalded palm. Something glittering peeped through from inside. Vileena almost snatched it from his hands but when she saw the parcel’s unexpected contents, she was left speechless.

“I got a request to fix it but… now, there’s no way for me to give it back anymore. I don’t really know myself if giving it to you, Princess, is the proper thing to do.”

Sodan had experienced this before. Handing something over to someone who then stood stock still, for some reason, staring at it fixedly without saying a word. Gil Mephius had done so and, just like Gil, Vileena did not seem to notice when Sodan left but remained there for a while longer, her head bowed.

In Vileena’s hand was a medallion on a chain that the princess, herself, had once given to the imperial guard, Orba. She had sent it as a proof of friendship for him, who would be taking part in the gladiatorial tournament.

It had also protected the Prince from a bullet shot by the rebel Zaat Quark. Although it should have been handed to Orba, it seemed that the Prince taken it “as a lucky charm”. It seemed probable that he had asked a master blacksmith here in Apta to repair it before returning it to his imperial guard.

A horse and sword, the crest of Garbera, were engraved on the medallion’s surface. A single transparent teardrop fell onto it.

The Princess’ platinum blond hair swept forward and hung down, concealing her expression. But it could not conceal the sound of her weeping as the teardrops continued to rain down on the medallion.

After all this time – right, even after all this time, a heavy sense of loss welled up within her heart.

''Is this what I came to Apta for?'' She wondered.

Not to look for Prince Gil’s trail, but to experience with certainty the reality of Gil Mephius’ death.

She would never see those mysterious eyes of his again; she would never see his smile, with its trace of boyishness, again.

She would never drive him into a corner, or conversely, have her nose put out of joint by him again. She would have no other chance to try to get closer to his heart, or to be infuriated by his secretive way of doing things.

Images of Prince Gil, the masked swordsman Orba, and Shique swirled around and around in her mind.

Vileena finally collapsed to her knees and seemed about to abandon herself to her emotions and cry out loud.

And that was when –

Something strange suddenly struck her tear-filled vision. A glittering line seemed to be weaving its way through the streets of Apta.

A group of armed soldiers. They looked like they were going to depart from the town’s north gate. A military troop automatically suggested some kind of emergency, but there were no townspeople in sight to see them off.

''The surprise attack?'' Vileena guessed.

In that moment, the bottomless sense of loss within her heart felt as though it were being filled by another strong emotion.

It was Prince Gil Mephius who had chosen friendship with the west. He had bombed his own fortress and then personally gone to Taúlia; all because it had been necessary to remove the threat from the rear when going to help Vileena’s own native country, Garbera.

A tear ran down her cheek. With a sudden jerk, she wiped it away with the back of her fist and raised her head.

''I did not come to Apta simply to wallow in grief''.

If by some chance she had been led there by fate, then there was something that she needed to do here in Apta. Vileena Owell placed the medallion around her neck and before she realised it, she had started to run.

Countless doubts and conflicts still filled her heart. As though to crush them underfoot, she took a firm step forward and continued to run.



The River Yunos separated Mephius and Taúlia east from west. Vegetation growing along them, the cliffs on either side of the river rose ever higher as one went west and about a hundred Taúlian border guards were permanently stationed at the top of them. Following the ridge even further west were the Gajira Plains where Mephius’ Prince Gil and Taúlia’s Lord Ax had once met in conference.

Since the reconciliation between Mephius and Taúlia, the area around the River Yunos had become very quiet, but that day, for the first time in a long time, the guards all grew tense. There was a report that armed soldiers had been sighted on the opposite bank. Naturally, they were Mephian troops. It had been confirmed that a large number of boats had been launched across the river.

There was also a report that a ship had flown down towards Apta from the north. Since it carried no weapons though, it was probably not a warship. Nobody knew what to make of it.

Just as the captain of the guards was preparing to get in touch with Taúlia, the soldiers were thrown into complete confusion. An airship had been sighted crossing the River Yunos and headed towards them.

“At the ready!”

Following the captain's orders, soldiers armed with guns formed an orderly row at the top of the hill.

Having apparently anticipated this, the Mephian airship, which was shaped like a wyvern, rapidly lost altitude and landed right in front of the riflemen. The reason why they did not immediately open threatening fire was because the pilot was clearly a woman. As proof that she was in no way hostile, that woman spread her arms wide on either side of her.

Five or six soldiers, their guns still at the ready, surrounded her. Then one of them rushed to the captain.

“What?”

Not surprisingly, the captain’s expression was the very picture of bewilderment. The pilot had identified herself as the Garberan princess Vileena Owell and her errand –

“Mephius is going to invade?”

– Was to bring advance information.

The only reason he did not write it off as complete nonsense was because of the Mephian troops on the opposite shore. He had certainly been anxious about whether they were preparing to ford the river.

But neither did he know whether this person was really the Garberan princess. There was a risk that the woman’s information was itself a trap.

Still, either way, it did not change the fact that the situation was urgent. The captain of the border guards went to meet directly with the Princess and talked with her for a moment. As the result, he reached a decision.

“This is beyond my authority. Dohrai! Choose three of your men and guide the Princess to Taúlia.”

As per these orders, Dohrai and the three other men were to take the woman who called herself Vileena – who was of course the real Vileena Owell – to Taúlia by airship.

“Please be careful,” the swarthy-skinned Dohrai called out to her just before the airships were about to take off together.

“I have some confidence in my piloting. Please do not worry,” the girl answered, but Dohrai, his expression serious, pointed to the handgun that hung from his waist.

The girl’s cheeks tensed. Although he was young, Dohrai had grown a truly splendid beard. The mouth that was surrounded by that beard did not speak the words, but the warning was there. ''If you act suspiciously, I have orders to shoot you''. That “be careful” included the meaning of “be careful what you do.”

Vileena’s airship took off, with Dohrai and his men surrounding it on all sides. Stopping to replenish their ether at a relay base on the way, they hurried towards Taúlia.

They arrived at the city just as the sun was about to set. Things being what they were, and so that the Princess would attract as little attention as possible, just before they entered Taúlia, she was asked to change from her flightsuit to the simple clothes of a Taúlian girl and was covered in the veil that unmarried women sometimes wore.

They passed through the gate and entered the town.

“Keep your face lowered,” Dohrai advised her.

It was the first time Vileena came to this land, but of course, there was no leeway for her to view her surroundings. So she walked forward, watching only her own feet.

There must be a banquet going on somewhere since she could hear the sound of laughter, singing and the beating of a drum carried on the wind.

They continued along the town’s streets and this time, her ears caught the rough whinnying of a horse. The horse stopped just next to their party, its front legs suspended in the air.

“What?” Dohrai glared agitatedly at the rider.

That other person’s laughter was like a clap of thunder.

“I’m on my way to buy wine. But everywhere I go, they’ve run out.”

“It’s right after a war. People can’t be too extravagant.”

“My unit rendered the most distinguished service, you know? We got warmer welcomes in the other places. It’s complete bullshit that Taúlia is overflowing with hospitality.”

He spoke with insolence but he seemed to be the kind of man that no one could hate. Dohrai gave a crooked smile –

“Go visit old Hamdi’s shop on Third Street. That old man’s a boozer himself. He should have some left over that isn’t meant for customers. He loves war stories, so if you tell him a few, he’ll let you have some.”

“Thanks.”

“Is it an order from your captain?”

“Our captain doesn’t know how to have fun. He found a woman he liked in Eimen, so I thought he might’ve loosened up a bit, but, yeah.”

The man’s laughter boomed like a gong as he galloped off again.

“Isn’t that…?” Asked one of Dohrai’s men.

“Yeah, it is,” Dohrai answered while he urged the Princess to continue on. “That kind of giant isn’t seen in Taúlia. I bet the quantities he drinks are impressive. His name’s Gilliam, isn’t it?”

''Gilliam?''

Something brushed against Vileena’s mind. That name rang a bell. She also felt that she remembered having heard the voice from earlier before.

With that being said, she was on an important errand. Her increasing nervousness as they approached Taúlia castle drove any speculation about Gilliam right out of her head.
 


It was Bouwen Tedos who received her.

As previously mentioned, despite his youth, he was currently the one in charge in Taúlia.

''Princess Vileena is here with information about an invasion from Mephius''. Even when he heard it from the soldier, it was too sudden for Bouwen to believe it. On top of that, only moments earlier, he had been thinking about how they would be strengthening their ties with Mephius from here on.

Still, he was from the war-torn land of Tauran. It was not rare to suddenly be at war with yesterday’s ally.

By the time he left his seat at the banquet, Bouwen’s feelings had completely changed.

During the war against Mephius, for a while, Bouwen had been held captive in Apta, but he had had no opportunity to meet Princess Vileena in person. Which was why he sent for Natokk, who had arrived in Taúlia not long after Orba’s unit. The commander of the Sixth Army Corps had in the past gone to Apta as Princess Esmena’s guard, and so had met Princess Vileena.

“That is, without a doubt, Garbera’s princess, Vileena Owell, in person,” that self-same Natokk assured him.

Bouwen entered one of the rooms in the castle to meet with her.

''Oh, she…'' Upon seeing her, he felt his eyes go wide.

A girl with regular features who was beautiful to behold. Although her countenance had a childlike innocence, he could sense the graceful dignity behind it. In a few years’ time, she would certainly grow into a beauty on par with Esmena Bazgan.

And yet, this princess who should have been at court being admired, had come with information that Mephius’ army was marching towards them. This was not a normal situation. According to what she said, hundreds of soldiers had already left Apta.

However, there had yet to be a report of a beacon being lit at the border. Even so, he did not believe that the princess who had crossed the border was lying.

“Princess,” after listening intently to her words, Bouwen pressed his fingers together on top of the table, “I am deeply grateful for you coming all the way here with this report. However, you are a princess of Garbera, Mephius’ ally. Won’t your actions risk compromising both your position and Garbera’s?”

The Princess lowered her head for a moment but then immediately lifted her eyes again.

“But leaving things as they were would have gone against all sense of justice. I sincerely wish for peace between both countries… just as my husband-to-be Prince Gil did.”

''Her husband''.
[[Image:Rakuin no Monshou v07 227.jpg|thumb]]

The way she gave that justification was very girlish. And in a way, that made Bouwen trust her more than anything else had.

“I understand. What will you do now?”

“I will return to Mephius,” answered Vileena, unfaltering and unhesitating. “Of course, if you prefer that I stay here until you have verified my words, I will do so.”

That was almost like saying that she would remain as a hostage. Bouwen closed his eyes. And then said –

“Prince Gil pledged his friendship to my liege, Ax Bazgan. Imprisoning his fiancée would be inconceivable. Dohrai will escort you.”

''But'' – Bouwen could not help but think – ''returning to Mephius will be far more dangerous than staying here in Taúlia''.

That was of course something that Vileena knew as well.