Editing Tales of Leo Attiel:Volume1 Chapter6 (section)

===Part 1===


When told that Percy wished to attend the banquet, his father had not looked pleased.

If Percy attended, he would naturally attract attention. This was to be the ceremonial occasion that would symbolise mending their relationship with Allion, so Percy could sympathise with his father’s feelings, and he understood why Nordred did not want to bring a potentially dangerous trigger to it – especially not one from his own House. However, Percy desperately wanted to see the man called Hayden Swift with his own eyes.

He was the man who had been sending orders from behind to the marauders and to Allion’s enlisted soldiers whom Percy had clashed with first-hand. And he was probably the man who had attempted to carry out the scheme to erase Lord Leo; a plan which was incomprehensible, but which was all the more horrifying because of it.

Percy didn’t have any concrete intention of doing anything when he saw the man, nor did he expect anything to change, but he could not bear the thought of waiting and leaving the situation to others. 

Because his son, who did not usually ask for anything of his parents, was being unusually persistent, Percy’s father eventually gave in.

“But no heroics. Try to stand out as little as possible. And don’t even think of speaking to Sir Hayden, the guest of honour,” he warned.

Percy had never had the slightest intention of starting a fight, but, only a few hours before he was to leave for the banquet, Sarah suddenly paid a visit to the mansion. Just one glance at her urgent expression was enough to tell him immediately that something bad had happened. A ‘fight’, exactly what he hadn't been aiming for, was brewing.

Hastily adjusting his outfit, Percy rushed from the mansion. Led by Sarah, he found Kuon waiting at their destination, but this time, the boy was not responsible for the commotion; Sarah’s brother Camus was.

When he heard that the envoy from Allion who was currently staying in Atall was Hayden Swift, Camus had flown into a rage. Hayden was the very person who had gone to the temple to mediate yet who, faced with failure, had immediately claimed that they had “shouted curses at the royal family”, before leading the army to attack.

Camus had already been on the verge of losing all patience with Atall, which still hadn’t taken action. Upon learning that Hayden, who should, by all rights, have been despised in the principality, was going to be the guest of honour at the banquet, he had finally snapped.

“I'll march straight into that banquet. If I strike Hayden down there, Atall won’t be able to go back anymore.”

Yesterday, he had said words to that effect. And today, he had disappeared from the inn. To make matters worse, Sarah’s gun had vanished at the same time as him.

At that point, even Sarah had worried, and she raced outside, forcibly dragging along Kuon, who had been in the next room. They had run all around the downtown area, but there had been no sign of Camus. They realised that  in the worst-case scenario, he might already have gotten into the palace. It was at that point that Sarah had come to find Percy.

Leaving the two of them at the palace gates, Percy went galloping into the castle. He searched the courtyard that would serve as the venue for the banquet, as well as the great hall that gave onto it, but they were filled with crowds of people who were still getting things ready for that evening. Ignoring the group of irascible, elderly nobles who were sitting in a corner of the hall, snitching food as they chatted together, he went over every nook and cranny.

''Honestly, what kind of priest are you!'' He cursed him inwardly. 

His blood ran cold as he imagined Camus shooting Hayden dead. That would spell destruction not only for Camus, but also for the entire country of Atall.

He went around the hall two or three times and searched its vicinity. There were a few people who looked like Camus from behind, so Percy deliberately walked past them to check their faces. He also called his name out loud. The young warrior monk, however, was nowhere to be found. As he left the castle grounds, Percy was making up his mind to either give Camus’s description to the soldiers, or else to consult with his father about whether to organise a guard for Hayden.

“Ah!” Just as Percy was about to join up with them, Kuon let out a cry of surprise.

A different voice echoed the same cry. Camus was by the outer corner of the wall.

He disappeared at once, running back the way he had come. Kuon started sprinting after him in that same moment, with Percy and Sarah chasing a little behind.

Camus ran down the street, either avoiding people or shoving them aside, but Kuon was much faster than him and continued chasing while skilfully weaving through the crowd. 

Constantly looking back, Camus tried two or three times to lose his pursuers by ducking into alleyways, but Kuon nimbly climbed up the walls that lined the road and got ahead of him. He jumped. Camus had hurriedly turned on his heels but stumbled forward when Kuon flew onto his back. It looked like the boy was pony-riding on Camus’s back.

“Let go,” Camus shouted behind him. “What do you think you’re doing, kicking your teacher! Even speaking of it will bring down divine retribution!”

“Shut up, Camus. Our positions are reversed compared to that time,” Kuon pinned down the struggling monk.

Having come rushing after them, Percy and Sarah grabbed the panting Camus by the arms and made him stand once Kuon had gotten off. Camus did not have the gun. When asked about it,

“I already sold that thing off,” he answered angrily.

“Whaat!” Sarah shrieked. “Why? That was ''my'' gun.”

“You don’t need it any more. And besides, there was that event at the mountain. Your brother was worried that you’d cause some needless commotion in town. What, why are even Percy and Kuon getting so worked up over just a single gun.”

“The one who’s been going around kicking up ‘needless commotions’ is you, Big Brother!”

Camus assumed an air of complete innocence. He insisted that the only reason he had left the room taking the gun with him was so that he could sell it for his sister’s sake.

Percy stared searchingly into the monk’s face.

“Apparently, you were threatening to shoot the envoy from Allion.”

“Don’t be stupid! That was just a joke. Sarah foolishly took it seriously and then you two took a woman’s babbling at face value. Honestly, it’s ridiculous.”

“Then why did you run away?”

“If someone suddenly shouted at you and started chasing after you like a hunting dog, you’d run away too.”

Although he was putting on a show of anger, Camus turned his eyes slightly away from Percy’s. And this was a man who, when he was angry, displayed it much more openly.

When he left the inn at least, Camus might have really intended to shoot Allion’s envoy dead. But what was certain was that, now, he did not have the gun but had the money from its sale instead. Although he could somewhat guess the reasons, Percy avoided probing too deeply at this point in time.

“Whatever the case, that was definitely ''my'' gun. How could you just go and do whatever you wanted with it!”

“Didn’t I already tell you that you don’t need it anymore? Did you think that I, your older brother, would wholeheartedly approve of you acting like a man and fighting? You should stay in this city and look for happiness like a woman. I’ll find a partner for you.”

“''Piece of shit''.”

“Sarah, what did you just say to your brother!”

Glancing at the siblings who were snarling at each other, Percy gave a small sigh.
[[Image: Leo_Attiel_Den_v01_283.png|thumb]]
''To shoot Hayden…?'' The chills he had been feeling as he searched the castle had vanished but for some reason, now the matter was settled, his heart seemed to be burning with emotion. Emotions that were in agreement with Camus.

Percy shook his head, a little afraid of himself. Honestly, those guys – it looked like it wasn’t only at Coscon Temple: even here in Tiwana, the city he knew so well, they still had their own way of doing things. While deploring something a little ridiculous, he discretely called Kuon over.

“I still haven't gotten my money,” Kuon said abruptly.

Percy wondered for a second what he was talking about, but Kuon had previously announced that, “with the money I receive, I’ll buy weapons and armour, hire soldiers, and return to the temple.” This was probably him forestalling the question of ''how come you’re still in Tiwana?'' Percy gave a small laugh.

“I’ll ask the people at the castle about the money later. More importantly, you’re a good friend to have. Just because Sarah asked you to, you went running around looking for Camus until you were drenched in sweat from it.”

“It’s not like I had anything else to do, anyway.”

“Hmm? But if Camus had shot the envoy, Atall and Allion would definitely have gone to war. It would have been a good opportunity for you to gain as much glory as you wanted.”

“Maybe.” Percy was half-teasing but Kuon frankly acknowledged what he was saying, even as he turned his eyes away. “But that… would have been a betrayal.”

''A betrayal'', murmured Percy. Did he mean that letting Camus run loose while knowing that it would lead to war would have been a betrayal towards Atall? It was difficult to understand in that moment. Since it seemed like there was some tangled circumstances behind those words, Percy deliberately decided to return to the problem at hand.

“Sorry, but could you keep watch on Camus tonight? Just in case.”

“Don’t worry,” Kuon looked towards the still-squabbling siblings. “Sarah won’t be leaving him alone, anyway.”



After parting with the three of them, Percy immediately went home to the mansion and got himself ready in a mad hurry. 

The banquet began as the stars started to twinkle in the sky.

It was a huge affair. Flames burned brilliantly from the chandeliers ornamenting the hall’s ceiling and from the iron braziers in the courtyard, casting a light that was as bright as day. The feast was spread out over the rows of table tops. Percy’s eyes were drawn to the food that would not normally be seen even at the Leegan House’s dining table: the freshest of fruit, fish baked straight from the water rather than having been salted and preserved, a whole roast of pork… normally, Percy's young stomach would almost have been growling, but tonight, perhaps because of his feeling of tension, or perhaps because of the earlier crisis, he had no desire to wolf down food.

There were a few people he knew, here and there, as well as dignitaries from the city and the vassal-lords who had come hurrying from the south. So far, Sovereign-Prince Magrid and the guest of honour, Hayden Swift, had not yet appeared.

''Whoops'' – as he was surveying the hall, the people from the Laumarl House came into his sight, and Percy quickly put some distance between them before they noticed him. As mentioned earlier, the Houses of Leegan and Laumarl were antagonistic towards one another. On top of which, there was the issue of the process through which he had left Nauma behind and returned on his own; he did not want too much inquiry into those details.

That was how Percy came across a corner of the hall which was like a gaping hole, empty of people. 

Leo Attiel was standing alone near the wall. 

It was the first time that the prince had shown himself in public since returning to the country. Although there was no end of people who came to give him their greetings, there was no one who stopped and talked with him for long. After exchanging a word or two, everyone moved away from him as if they were fleeing then, once they were at a sufficiently safe distance, they would steal furtive glances towards him.

Having been told not to attract attention, Percy simply stopped and observed him for a while.

Compared to the mud-covered figure he had met in the mountains, he was of course currently dressed much more neatly, but there didn’t seem to be any spirit in him as remained gazing downwards throughout. Even his long hair, which had previously been carefully braided, was now simply tied in a single bunch behind his head.

When the hall herald announced the sovereign-prince’s arrival at the same time as Magrid appeared, almost everyone there turned to welcome him, so Percy took advantage of the opportunity to approach the prince. When he called out to him, he was met with a hesitant gaze. The next moment, however, Leo Attiel gave him the same relieved smile he might give an old friend.

“Oh, the Leegan House’s… I was feeling bothered by the fact that I still haven’t thanked you sufficiently.”

Percy found it heart-rending. Even though he had saved the prince’s life, the fact that Leo would show so much affection when greeting someone that he had only met once indicated how isolated he had been since returning to their country.

“I was hoping you would come. The others aren’t with you?”

“They all said that they don’t can’t really handle formal ceremonies. I am to give you their greetings in their stead, Prince,” Percy picked suitable words for glossing over the situation. Just like he himself, Camus and Kuon had never been invited.

“I’m not good with them either,” Leo’s tone became casual as he shrugged. “Anyway, I spent more than six years in a backwater in Allion. I don’t have connection to sumptuous feasts.”

“I-Is that so?”

“The castle lord and his family were often invited to banquets at other castles or mansions, but I didn’t go even when I was included in the invitation. I hate being the centre of attention. But it was a bit of problem: Florrie used to insist that if I didn’t go, she wouldn’t go either. That girl has always worried about others, even way back when. To be honest, I’m not sure which would be worse: being shamed as a criminal in front of a crowd or trying to soothe and coax Florrie,” Leo gave the slightest of laughs.

Immediately after, he seemed to regret having shown happiness, and his expression tightened. He was probably aware that being publicly shamed as a criminal was, in a way, a good description of his current situation. Percy felt his heart wrench again.

“Enough about me; won’t you tell me tales of heroism?” Leo asked, looking like he was trying to change the mood.

“Tales of heroism? But you know, if you wish to hear some, there are several minstrels in the courtyard…”

“I don’t want to hear boring old legends and mouldy old myths. I want to hear new epics from one of the people themselves about the brave men who rescued Attal’s second-born prince,” while maintaining a straight face, Leo showed a glimpse of playfulness.

Percy was somewhat modest about his own “tales of heroism” but, as Percy Leegan of the Leegan House, he did not have many stories or topics of conversation that could help dispel the prince’s boredom. The only thing they had in common to talk about were the events in the mountains in Allion, so he chose to talk, in the hopes that it would help raise the prince’s spirits, if only by a little. He had only intended to sketch the briefest of outlines, but seeing Leo’s eyes sparkle and the way that he leaned forward, occasionally letting slip a wondering sound, Percy began talking with enthusiasm.

“What? That girl, Sarah, she looked like a young saint from a legend, but she actually shot a bandit leader through the head?”

Percy did not only talk about himself, but also spoke at length about Kuon, Camus and Sarah.

At that point, since most people had finished giving their greetings to the sovereign-prince, their attention was drawn back to Lord Leo.

''Never mind.''

Percy deliberately pretended not to notice, and continued his tale, enhanced with hand gestures – sometimes pretending to stab at something with a spear, sometimes pretending to be harshly scolding Nauma, his superior officer. He finally reached the climax of the story. Percy and the others had arrived at the end of their forced march and the enemy headquarters was right in front of them.

“The stronghold seemed to be almost empty, right? That’s right… If only I hadn’t escaped into the mountains at that time, the soldiers would not have been sent out and that means that you wouldn’t have been found, and instead, you would definitely easily have taken the enemy headquarters. If you had, you really would have been extolled as patriotic heroes in Atall. And then, your tale wouldn’t have been wasted by telling it only to me in a corner of the hall; you would have crowds of people at banquets like this begging to hear it, it would become a new ballad for the minstrels, and it would become known throughout the country. It’s my fault; I’m truly sorry.”

“What are you saying?” Percy smiled. “In the first place, it was thanks to Hayden sending his soldiers out to look for you, Prince, that the camp was empty. So your assumption doesn’t hold.”

“Oh, right,” the prince laughed.

Percy laughed with him as if to encourage Leo to continue smiling, but, perhaps because they were once again attracting attention from their surroundings, the prince pulled back his happy expression.

''Camus might have been right'', thought Percy. Even though the prince was seventeen-years-old, there was a trace of childishness in every one of his actions. At the same time, perhaps because he had spent so many years as a hostage, he seemed to hate catching people’s attention any more than necessary. Just as Camus had said, you could not hope to find in Leo the dignity and boldness of “a commander capable of rallying people at a single one of his commands.” However –

“You truly are braves. I would dearly like to listen to Camus, Kuon and Sarah as well.” 

Percy felt an overwhelming feeling of affection for Leo when he spoke that innocent wish, like a child longing for a toy that they could never have. He wanted to talk more with the prince about his friends and himself.

“Being too brave can also cause unnecessary trouble. Take today for example: because of that, I felt as though my blood had frozen in my veins.”

“What do you mean?”

“That damn Camus was raging about how if Atall wasn’t going to move anymore but was going to sit down to peace talks with Allion, then he would shoot the messenger from Allion dead.”

Despite knowing that he was treading on dangerous ground, Percy talked about the day’s events. Although naturally, he did not mention that they had only been able to stop him through sheer use of force, but kept the story at a level where everyone had to desperately talk Camus down after he had drunk too much.

He had expected Leo to be astounded before maybe breaking out into laughter, but Leo did not say a word about the story.

The princess-consort of Atall had entered the hall right at that moment. While everyone present clapped their hands to greet her, Leo quickly hurried out of his mother’s line of sight.