Editing Rakuin no Monshou:Volume11 Chapter3 (section)

=== Part 2 ===

Upon receiving Ende’s request for help, the discussions within Garbera were heated.

Although the news that a strong country like Allion was stretching its hand towards ‘over here’ caused a fair amount of nervousness, there were some voices which doubted that it would develop into a large-scale war.

“For now, we need to confirm that Prince Kaseria is leading a first wave of troops.”

“Ende and Allion have long had a deep connection. Since Ende’s Prince Jeremie had the flag of the Magic Dynasty with him when he appealed to Allion for help, they couldn’t simply ignore him; but perhaps they will do no more than send troops for now?”

Besides which there were also arguments based on emotion.

“Prince Eric was the one chosen to the next Grand Duke of Ende.”

“Wasn’t Eric the one behind that recent violation of Garbera’s borders? Even though there still hasn’t been any clear apology from Ende, that man is trying to put pressure on the king; he’s showing nothing but contempt for the friendship between Garbera and Ende.”

The one who had squarely opposed all of them was Zenon Owell, the commander of the Knights of the Order of the Tiger. In other words, the second prince of Garbera and the very person who had crossed swords in person with Prince Eric when he had raided their borders.

“It’s crucial to crush Allion from the outset,” Zenon had declared. Which he had followed up by requesting to go to Ende at the head of a troop of reinforcements. “Since we met each other on the battlefield, there will be added significance if I go to lend our strength to His Highness, the next Grand Duke.”

As far as Zenon Owell was concerned, after the matter with Salamand, he wanted to quickly bring an end to any discussions that could further divide the country. He hoped to turn away the anti-Mephian feelings that were held by part of the Court, and give them a new target.

Therefore, he believed that, as a member of the royal family, he should take the initiative of setting an example.

He brought it up more than once in discussions with the king. During those times, he also offered the idea that the Order of the Badger should be part of the relief party. This was the Order in which Salamand, who had forced his way into Mephian territory in defiance of the king’s wishes, had served as vice-commander. It had naturally come under a lot of criticism recently. The commander of the knightly order had come forward to take responsibility by offering to put himself under arrest, with the intention of stepping down from his duties as commander in the near future, but Zenon had forcefully dragged him away from the meeting.

Other than Zenon, there was no one there who expressed any other clear intentions on the matter, so most of the discussions continued at the pace he set. Besides which, he was previously the one who had regarded Salamand’s movements as dangerous, who had brought them to the king’s attention, and it was to the prince’s credit alone that he had fought at Zaim Fortress to obstruct Salamand’s ambitions.

Zenon briskly drew up a schedule for everything from the troops’ formation to their departure. Within the country, the speed of his decision-making and his energy in taking action were widely praised.

However, his actions unexpectedly earned him bitter resentment from a certain person – none other than the first prince, Razetta Owell.

“To start with, what exactly is this achievement of a battle at Zaim Fortress that my younger brother is making so much of? If Salamand is a criminal guilty of having defied the king’s orders, then Zenon should be reprimanded for the same offence. My brother deceived the king and acted on his own judgement in using military force.”

In the end, he instilled his father, King Ainn Owell, with the idea that Zenon’s offence could not be overlooked.

“It’s not that I want to see my brother thrown in jail. If the king censures Zenon, as a retainer, for his arbitrary conduct but does not punish him, would it not mean a loss of authority before the other retainers? If someone other than the king seizes the power to initiate military action, it will invite unrest into the country. Even if it is only for form’s sake, should you not hand down some kind of punishment to Zenon?”

By nature, Razetta was not a man of outstanding resourcefulness, but neither did he have any particularly objectionable flaws. ''That’s why he is deserving of being king'' – said some rather cynical voices, but nonetheless, he was by nature extremely calm, and it was rare for him to take the initiative of appealing to the king about something.

Moreover, because Razetta had spread the matter around, the king could not afford to ignore it, and so summoned Zenon directly before him.

“The Order of the Tiger will stay in Mavant for a while,” he commanded.

Mavant was in the west of Garbera and contained a vast lake, which formed the border with Mephius now that Apta had been returned. Since it was where Zenon and his Order of the Tiger were usually stationed, this was essentially a case of sending back the soldiers who were now massed in the royal capital, Phozon.

“Why, Your Majesty?”

“The situation in Mephius uncertain. It is more important than ever to ensure Mavant’s defence.”
It had been the same during the incident with Salamand: King Ainn Owell loathed the idea of unrest within the country. If possible, he wanted to avoid having the confrontation between his sons, Zenon and Razetta, come out into the open.

''Just back down from this'' – the king’s gaze pleaded with his son. It was true that having taken military action of his own accord left Zenon vulnerable on that point.

Then what do you intend to do about the reinforcements to Ende?”

“We will bide our time wisely,” was all that the king said.

However, as mentioned earlier, there was no one other than Zenon who was going to take the initiative of getting things moving on this matter. For the commander of the Order of the Badger, it was a certainly a precious chance to regain his honour, but it was easy to imagine that if he put himself forward without Zenon to shield his back, the criticism against him would only grow stronger. He could only remain silent.

Zenon’s hands were tied. If he again took military action without permission, he would inevitably be vilified as “disloyal and quick to ignore the king’s commands”. Moreover, since the very thing that Zenon was trying to avoid was a situation in which the country was divided, he was afraid that pushing things any further than this would defeat the purpose.

And so, this once, he had no choice but to dutifully comply with the king’s orders. Although the prince himself remained in Phozon, he was kept away from the Order of the Tiger and could not move a single soldier, so there was naturally little chance of reinforcements being sent to Ende.

''That something like that…'' Vileena nodded attentively.

Her grandfather’s complexion did not look good. He looked as though he was dispassionately describing facts, but Vileena, who knew her grandfather well, could see the distress that occasionally flitted across his face.

''Grandfather is worried as well''.

Given Jeorg’s personality, it was easy to guess that he was irritated by his son, Ainn’s, weak attitude. He was also concerned about the confrontation between his grandsons. However, taking the country’s future into consideration, and given that he had retired, he could not carelessly get involved, since that was one action that was sure to divide the country.

“Oh,” as though suddenly waking up from a dream, her grandfather smiled at Vileena. “I ended up talking for a long time. I’ll have them bring you your meal. Rest well tonight.”

Not wanting to cause him any extra worry, Vileena abandoned the idea of any further conversation.

She finished her meal and laid down again in bed. Now that she was being still, her head throbbed dully to the rhythm of her heartbeat. As well as the impact from falling from her horse, she had probably reopened the wound to her head that she had received near the Mephian border.

''Again…'' Vileena suddenly thought as she touched the fresh bandage that was wound around her head. ''I’ll have made Theresia worry again, won’t I?''

She had been injured when she had flown from Apta and headed alone to Taúlia. She had been scolded by Theresia afterwards. This time too. Going together to Solon was one thing, but when she learnt that the princess was going to lead a military troop to meet with Salamand, Theresia had nearly swooned.

“Princess… Well, Princess. Princess!”

Maybe it was because her head was too muddled up, but she had only been able to keep repeating the same thing.

“Theresia, even if you object by saying that I’ll be going alone, the emperor has lent me a hundred soldiers.”

When the princess had announced that with deliberate pride, Theresia’s face had gone even whiter. Soon, she would have been saying “I will go too”. For Vileena, persuading Theresia was far more difficult than bargaining with the emperor.

“It’s alright,” Vileena had assured her with a smile. “Salamand has raised me up as his great cause. Even in the worst case, he won’t be able to kill me.”

Theresia had probably been feeling that her lifespan kept been shortened again and again. Thinking that it was her fault, naturally Vileena’s heart ached; but, strangely enough, every time they met again, Theresia looked rejuvenated. Maybe it was a case of feeling better afterwards?
Still lying down, Vileena smiled.

…

Her bedroom was surprisingly quiet at night. It was hard to believe that Zaim Fortress had once been the stage of so many fierce battles.

It was the profoundly memorable land where Princess Vileena herself had been led by Ryucown’s soldiers and had confronted Ryucown in person.

Just before that, she had vehemently disagreed with Crown Prince Gil. Although he had gone there at the head of the soldiers, for a long time, Gil had sat and done nothing. Even when the Garberan army and Ryucown’s forces were clashing against one another, he did not send reinforcements and simply spent some time watching intently. Vileena had criticised him for that. She remembered it well.

The crown prince had been allowing a situation that was costing lives to continue. “If you just let that pass like this, those soldiers will die in vain. Aren’t you the one who hated wasting their lives for the sake of the nation and its nobility?” When Vileena had cut into him however, his expression had clearly changed and he had been visibly shaken.

He, who always seemed to gaze at things with calm and detachment, had something about him that was boyishly fragile and childish – and surprisingly enough, that part of him was neither hidden nor far from the surface.

Gil Mephius.

She only had to lower her eyelids and there, on the other side of them, the figure of him, arms crossed and plunged in thought, appeared as though it were natural.

He was probably like that even now. Without revealing the inner part of his heart to anyone, he was definitely worrying about how to continue fighting Emperor Guhl from here on, or how to deal with Allion’s might appearing from the east, or about all sorts of other things.

''What Grandfather is to me – the prince doesn’t have anyone like that''.

The thought that had suddenly crossed her mind during her conversation with her grandfather had not left it since then.

Vileena opened her eyes several times and stared fixedly at the ceiling that she could just dimly make out.

Then, every time, she lowered her eyelids again.

Vileena Owell unexpectedly felt as though her heart was being tightly clenched. Why was it that when she closed her eyes, the figure of Crown Prince Gil, with his arms folded and his head bent in deep thought, now looked like a wretchedly lonely boy with nowhere to return to?

Unloved by his father, having lost his mother, and held in contempt by the retainers; the boy had risked his life, pushed forward with meticulous preparations, swept away the enemies before him, and had, little by little, increased his fame and influence. Yet wherever he went, he was still lonely.

''That’s exactly like…''

Like a gladiator, who spent every day killing today’s enemy as he had been ordered to, then sleeping in preparation for tomorrow’s fight, wreathed in the inerasable stench of blood and viscera.

The candle’s flame flickered above the wooden table. His head bowed, the angle of Gil’s figure had changed somewhat, although Gil himself had not stirred in the slightest, his back slightly hunched and still plunged in thought.

''Can you find your answer?''

Vileena unconsciously asked the illusionary Prince Gil.

''Day after day, you’re racking your brains, thinking only about how to win the fight. It’s as though, if you lose – that one defeat will mean losing everything, and all that will be left afterwards is to prepare for death. What is it that you are looking for beyond that? You who doesn’t confide in anyone, who doesn’t share your heart’s secrets with anyone, who doesn’t walk in the warm sunlight with anyone, what kind of answer do you crave?''

She wanted to yell at that hunched up back. She wanted to kick the impassive Crown Prince from behind. And at the same time –

She wanted to hug his back close.

She wanted to bury her cheeks into it, and twine her arms towards his waist and tell him –

''It’s alright''.

''It’s alright to open your heart to me''.

In this world, no matter who else was, she was not his enemy. She wanted to tell him that even if you are completely defeated and come back covered in blood, mud, and tears, you will definitely find arms to embrace you and a chest to hide your tears against – that person definitely exists.

Tears slid from beneath her closed eyelids.

''Why?''

Why was she realising so many things only after there was so much distance between them?

It was only after she could not call out to him directly, after she could not go to see him, that these overflowing feelings appeared, deep, and many, and suffocating.

At long last, Vileena fell asleep, unaware of her own tears.

Ten days passed. Vileena’s health improved by the day and, by that time, she could get up normally and walk all around Zaim Fortress.

This was an area where, compared to Mephius, the climate remained relatively constant all year around, you could feel the changing of the four seasons, although it was not as marked as it was in the south – in the royal capital and at the detached palace. The season in which the winds blew fiercely had already passed, and a hint of autumn was slowly drawing closer.

Vileena spent her time looking up at the sky high above and at the mountain scenery. While doing so, she tended to become engrossed in thoughts of the prince. Each time that happened, she made a point of shaking her troubles out of her head.

Not surprisingly, she was extremely self-conscious regarding what had happened with Salamand. She was aware that if she were to do something unreasonable again now, this time, she would not only be putting herself in danger but would also be causing considerable trouble to those around her.

Of course, she did not feel that she should always be like this, but, to borrow the prince’s words –  ''now is the time to wait''.

Then, when ten days had elapsed, the fortress become somewhat livelier. It had received information from Mephius which said that “Nedain has fallen to Crown Prince Gil’s troops.” Moreover, by attacking in waves and joining forces with the populace which had risen in revolt, they had achieved complete victory with practically no loss of military resources.

The soldiers serving at the fortress were astonished at the tactics used, but from Vileena’s point of view, she would have been embarrassed if he had not done as much. Since that would have meant that her going especially to Solon, as well as pretending to be a warrior leading soldiers, would have been in vain. She couldn’t deny that she felt a bit proud at having thought up that farsighted action.

Strangely enough, even the Garberan soldiers congratulated her when they saw her. A single girl had risked her life for the sake of a country; they saw no contradiction between the fact that the country in question had once been their enemy, and their pride that the girl was a princess from their own land.

However, now that Nedain had been taken, Solon, the imperial capital, was right in front of the prince’s eyes, and there was a good chance that there would be even greater disturbances in Mephius’ future. Zaim, which was located at a key point near the national border, was enveloped in a greater sense of tension than usual.

Another two days later, an air carrier arrived from the direction of the royal capital. Contrary to what might have been expected, this did not herald the arrival of reinforcements sent to strengthen defence at the border, but was instead a single ship belonging to the Kotjun House.
Riding on board was Rinoa Kotjun, the daughter of the current head of the family.

“Has the young lady of the Kotjun House come to sell some new kinds of weapons because it looks like war is near?” Some of the soldiers growled, but when Rinoa disembarked at the port, she immediately requested a meeting with the previous king.

Jeorg received the information while he was chatting after lunch with his granddaughter Vileena.
“Oh, how unusual,” his mouth curved into a slightly exaggerated pout.

Jeorg’s connection to the Kotjun House ran deep. He was the one who had formally employed them – a family of miners and merchants – as Garberan retainers. Still, after Jeorg had abdicated from the throne, he and the Kotjun House had absolutely no contact apart from the messenger that they sent each year to present their congratulations on his birthday.

''How very like the merchant-minded Kotjun House'' – actually, that had left Jeorg with a rather favourable impression. He believed that, even while they used their outstanding cunning and keen noses to make more and more money and to befuddle the courtiers, they were helping to make Garbera into a stronger country.

And now, there was a messenger from the Kotjun House. Or not, rather, as it appeared that Miss Rinoa had said: “I am not here on behalf of the Head of the House, but wish to be granted an interview simply as myself, Rinoa Kotjun. This is both sudden and ill-mannered of me, but I am happy to wait as long as necessary for His Majesty, Former King Jeorg’s, convenience.”

''Rinoa. That young lady, was it?'' Jeorg smiled faintly. The year before last, she had been the messenger who had come to congratulate him on his birthday. At the time, she would have been about sixteen or seventeen, but the fox-eyed girl had already exuded a personality befitting of a daughter of the Kotjun House.

“Let’s see her,” Jeorg had her brought immediately to a reception room.

At the speed with which he dealt with it, Vileena, who was next to him, keenly felt that – ''that’s a lot like His Highness Gil''.

Or in this case, would it be better to say that Gil was a lot like her grandfather?

In no time at all, Rinoa entered the room, presenting her compliments as she did so. For a moment, she was unable to hide her surprise at finding not only the former king, but also Princess Vileena; but, just as quickly, she smoothly sent to her greetings as well. Vileena returned them.

They had never been particularly close. Vileena had received invitations to Rinoa’s parties, but there was not much compatibility between the princess, who was not good at handling the repartee at showy social gatherings, and the daughter of the Kotjun House, who shone brightly in that kind of setting. That didn’t mean that they had a bad relationship. They just did not have that much contact. Each was aware of the other as someone whom they could not ignore, but whom they did not need to get closer to.  

However, Vileena had learned that Rinoa had prepared the ship that Zenon had used when he was coming here to subjugate Salamand.

Rinoa claimed that this time, she had come all the way to Zaim because she was unable to endure the way that the confrontation between the two princes was paralysing the country, and so she had come to borrow Jeorg’s wisdom.

“I am mortified at exposing something to my family’s shame, but…”

“What is it then?”

“It is possible… no, it is certain that the one standing behind Prince Razetta is my father, the current head of the Kotjun House.”

“That Dudley boy?”

Jeorg stroked his beard. When, as King of Garbera, he had first employed the Kotjun House as retainers, the head of the family had been Rinoa’s grandfather, and he remembered the plump young man who had been at his side.

“Father has his eyes on an untouched vein of dragonstone lying within Mephian territory. It was largely thanks to the work of my father’s faction that Salamand had so many people to support him from behind.”

Dudley had wanted to stir up another war against Mephius, but his plan had been thwarted by Zenon and Vileena. Moreover, Zenon had been insisting on sending reinforcements to Ende. If Garbera’s attention were to turn in that direction, the situation with Mephius would be set aside. And if, during that time, Mephius discovered the existence of the vein, all Dudley’s plans of making a huge profit would come to nothing.

Therefore, this time, Dudley had approached Prince Razetta and imbued him with various ideas so as to start chipping away at Zenon’s influence at court. His aim was to, at all cost, once again turn the national mood against Mephius.

“I understand what you’re saying, but,” when Rinoa paused for a moment, Jeorg spoke heavily. “I’m retired. I can’t suddenly start meddling now, when I haven’t set foot at court in nearly ten years. I can’t go preaching on about things there as if I knew best.”

“But, Excellency…”

“King Ainn is the one in charge of steering the country. Miss Rinoa, I understand your concern for the country so much that it hurts, but don’t put too much faith in an old man’s meagre abilities.”

Vileena listened to their exchange in silence for a while.

''Has time already started to move? Should I help move it myself?''

She believed that she needed to be careful not to go overboard with her own actions but, nevertheless, she had been born into royalty. She had decided to become Mephian, but, for now, she was undoubtedly still a princess of Garbera.

“Grandfather,” Vileena interrupted. Her grandfather and Rinoa stopped their conversation and turned towards her. “I wish to leave at once,” she announced.