Editing Rakuin no Monshou:Volume9 Chapter1 (section)

=== Part 2 ===

''It's warm'', she thought.

Feeling somebody's warmth through their skin, heat seemed to permeate her cold body. She had never thought that human skin could be something so pleasant.

At first, Vileena Owell had not known who the owner of that skin - or rather, who the person who was holding her to their chest and gazing fixedly at her, was. That was because the area around their face was dim, as though a haze was hanging over it and the only thing she was sure of were two glittering eyes.

''So after all'' – the princess thought from the depths of her somewhat nebulous conscience – s''o after all, you really are a liar''. She had called out to them, but she herself did not know if her voice had actually come out.

However, she had the feeling that the desperation in the eyes of the man looking her way had imperceptibly softened.
 


The princess' eyelids fluttered faintly before she opened her eyes wide.

She blinked twice, three times. What she could see was neither the star-speckled sky nor the ceiling of a building. It was a cloth fluttering in the wind. After a moment, she realised that she had been left to rest in a tent.

The warmth of the skin she had felt was far away. The arms that had carried her, the chest that had held her, had all suddenly disappeared.

''So after all'' – she thought once more.

That had always been her experience so far. Time and time again, as soon as she felt relieved that that was just a bad dream, she would be hit with the reality that this was what was really only a dream. And every time, she regretted it bitterly, feeling as though someone had seen through her indulgent desire.

''So after all, I was just mistaken?''

Vileena had simply not been able to believe that Gil Mephius had vanished so abruptly. It was for that reason that she had left Solon, had deceive the people in Mephius, and flew an airship to Apta.

But what the girl who lived holding the pride of kings had been thrust into there was a harsh truth and the signs of a war that would engulf a great many people.

''A surprise attack.''

Vileena's efforts to stop the war between the two countries had been in vain and the opening of hostilities had cruelly unfolded. She had drawn fire to the airship she was piloting, had fainted along the mountain path she had crashed into, and had been rescued by a man named Rone Jayce. Along with his daughter Layla, he had taken great care of Vileena – of the girl who had been obliged to call herself by the false name 'Luna'.

The village that they lived in had been attacked by somebody. At first, she believed that it was by Mephian subjects. However, the assailant who had confronted Vileena clearly had Zerdian features and his aim appeared to be her own assassination.

Vileena’s consciousness, which had awoken only a moment ago, was struck with stabbing pain and a flickering sensation. The flames burned a brilliant red, Rone’s figure lay collapsed, his abdomen pierced through, Layla was crying out to him in tears.

Vileena abruptly tried to get up but, feeling a pain as though a blade was embedded in her own belly, she broke into a violent coughing fit.

“Princess!” She heard a young man’s voice. An armed Zerdian soldier knelt by her side. “Princess, have you woken up? Ah, please don’t do anything excessive. I will call a doctor immediately.”

The soldier seemed about to dash off at any moment, so in a faint, trembling voice, Vileena called out to stop him.

Taking a second look at things, there were only herself and the young soldier guarding the entrance inside the tent.

He was a Taúlian soldier and apparently belonged to a different group than the party who had come to the village in search of her. While on route to the Mephian border, they had noticed that something unusual was happening at the village and had rushed over.

Although the young man was covered in soot and sweat, his expression and his voice were bright. From that, Vileena was finally able to entertain some hope.

“Then, you saved the village?”

“Of course, we also fought,” the young man nodded proudly, “but it was him who did the most to save you, Princess.”

“Him?” Vileena slowly lifted her torso. The joints of her body ached, especially around her abdomen, but there did not seem to be any particularly severe problem.

“Do you not remember? He was the one who rescued you, Princess, from a dangerous situation. There were some alarming rumours going around in Taúlia but, in the end, he is definitely the hero who slayed Garda. Maybe there’s something in his nature that guides him to places where he can demonstrate his heroic abilities.”

“I’m afraid I’m not very familiar with the people of Taúlia…”

“No, while he is certainly a mercenary of Taúlia, he is originally from Mephius. He is a masked swordsman called Orba.”

“''Orba''.”

At that moment, on opposite sides of the border, and although their situations and personalities were of course vastly different, Nabarl Metti and Vileena Owell fell into a very similar state of mind. Even as she herself said his name, there was no actual feeling of reality to it.

Furthermore –

“He immediately headed for Apta. It might be at Master Ravan’s suggestion but I think it’s likely that he is going to hold talk with Mephius. Moreover, he also said that a ship will soon be coming from Apta to fetch you, Princess.”

“From Apta?” Vileena was falling into greater and greater confusion.

Mephius and Taúlia had only just clashed in battle. Vileena herself was in this land which had been turned into a battlefield. Yet even though that was the case, she was told that a ship would be coming from the Mephian territory of Apta to fetch her here in the western territory of Taúlia.  

She did not have a clue what was going on. Her brain was functioning so poorly that she herself was irritated by it. Still –

''Something…''

Right, something was starting to move. Orba’s name, what was being said about Mephius – while the “reality” she held in her head was being smashed into tiny pieces with each swing of the hammer, it also felt as though the indulgent desire that obstinately remained in the girl’s heart was finally taking shape.

Still, taken another way, Vileena was a girl who had seen many “realities”. She did not immediately latch onto the first sign. Afraid of having her hopes smashed again, she could not cling to the same hope twice.

Although the soldier repeatedly urged her to rest, she instead got him to help her get up.

She lifted the tent flap.

There was the village that Vileena had spent eight days in. Although saying so, not a single thing she had known of it remained.

Vileena almost collapsed in an instant for reasons that had nothing to do with her limbs being heavy and sluggish. The soldier hurriedly supported her by the shoulder. Although the Zerdian was caught in turmoil about whether it was appropriate for a young man of his social position to directly touch the skin of a young girl coming from royalty, Vileena’s heart was too torn to pay any attention to that.

Most of the houses no longer retained their original form and had been reduced to piles of scrap wood from which black smoke arose. In one part, the fire was still burning and half-naked men were working to extinguish it.

A crowd of injured people had lain on the ground to rest. There were men who had received injuries from swords or spears, women who had silently fallen prostrate, and young children who had been burned and whose dark-red skin lay exposed. The sobs and agonised groans were incessant.

Vileena hated herself for having been the only one comfortably sleeping in the tent.

At almost the same time, she took a shuddering breath. Among the injured who lay collapsed, she had spotted Rone Jayce. Lying next to him must be Lennus, the young man that Layla had been going to rescue. The front half of his right arm was gone. His expression was one of anguish.

The young soldier looked around them pityingly. “Medicine is being brought from the relay base even now. However, there aren’t enough doctors. We have requested that more be dispatched but in the current circumstances, who knows how long it will take for a sufficient number of doctors to arrive at the village.”

There were only two large-sized air carriers in Taúlia. Since a valuable ship had been downed during the counter-attack against Garda, they were currently forced to make use of older model ships. Given the present situation, it was uncertain whether the precious air carriers would really be sent out to provide medical care for the villagers.

Layla was also there, close to Rone and Lennus. Kneeling down, she was giving her father water to drink and wiping Lennus’ sweat.

Vileena almost ran towards her without thinking, but stopped before she had even taken three steps. It was her life that the assailants had been aiming for. Rone and the others had essentially gotten entangled in that. On top of that, she had hidden her identity as a princess of Garbera. Vileena could not think of a single word to say.

The princess savagely bit her lower lip. Time passed. Then, as though having reached a decision, she broke away from the soldier’s hand and took a step in Layla’s direction.

At the same time, the soldier raised a flustered voice. “Princess, over there!”

In the sky, which was growing light, the outline of a ship had appeared. It was fast approaching.

What halted Vileena's steps once again, as she looked up at the sky, was that it bore the crest of Mephius. It was a twenty-man high-speed battleship. It was somewhat larger than the models Vileena was used to. That was probably because Mephius' techniques for producing dragonstone ships was inferior to Garbera's.

Amidst the shrill noise of its ether engines, the battleship landed by the edge of the village, blowing wind and earth throughout its surroundings as it did so.

Several Mephians disembarked. To show that they were not hostile towards the Taúlian, they carefully laid their guns and swords on the ground, then waited for the Taúlian soldiers to approach them.

After a brief exchange, one of Mephians was led into the village by the western soldiers.

His face was as young as that of the soldier who had escorted her out of the tent. His eyes met Vileena's.

"Princess!"

The Mephian's expression suddenly turned to one of delight.

Vileena recognised him. His name was Neil Tonson. He had been the commander of the airship division within the prince's Imperial Guards. The princess had instructed them during flight practice. Also, he was the one who had gone to meet her when she had left Nedain for Apta.

"There is no greater joy than to see you safe and well, Princess. Please be at ease now. I have come to fetch you from Apta."

"Why?"

Contrary to the somewhat excited Neil, Vileena's tone was cold. Neil was bewildered.

"W-What do you mean by why?"

"I warned Taúlia of Mephius' invasion. I do not recall criminals such as myself being greeted with such courtesy when they are about to be bound in chains."

"A criminal you say," the young man's ruddy face grew even redder, "... Certainly, Mephius and Taúlia were at war. But the ones who brought that to an end were none other than you yourself, Princess, and our Crown Prince, Lord Gil Mephius."

"Lord Gil Mephius..."

Vileena repeated those words in a murmur. Her expression was wooden. Just as when she had heard Orba's name, she had the illusion that on some level, she was still dreaming.

Thinking about it, Nabarl should also have placed this young man, Neil Tonson, under restraint. On the groundless accusation of having taken part in the prince's assassination. Yet he had come from Apta by ship to fetch her.

''It's, I see. No, but...''

A hundred, two hundred words that could not be expressed seemed to well up from within the depths of her heart and immediately fill up the tiny container that was the girl, threatening to overspill at any moment now.

"P-Princess?"

The young Taúlian soldier who was acting as the princess' guard and Neil spoke at the same time. They had expected her face to light up with joy but instead, her platinum hair abruptly fell forward and she hung her head.

After who knows how much time had passed and how many times they called out to her, Vileena raised her head and said something unexpected,

"How many ships of the same type as that one are there in Apta?"

For a moment, Neil mouth gaped open vacantly.

"General Rogue's air force is stationed there so there should be several such ships."

His words were somewhat vague as there were after all strangers nearby. Vileena paid it no heed and spoke quickly.

"Please have them send as many as possible here." She went on to explain that she wanted those ships to fetch the injured from the village and carry them to Apta.

Although normally it would be preferable to go to Taúlia, Apta was closer, however they would need to obtain consent from the Taúlian before Mephian ships were sent. But Vileena was loathe to waste all that time.

Naturally, both Neil and the Taúlian were startled.

"B-But, Princess..."

"There are no 'buts'. The people of this village protected me. I will not turn my back on the debt of gratitude that I owe them and unconcernedly escape by myself. Nothing will make me move from here without the guarantee of their safe arrival at Apta. But if you wish to tie me up and drag me away across the ground, by all means, please do so."

''She sure can rattle on'' – the one who thought that about the princess' caustic words was none other than Vileena herself.

It was no one else’s fault but her own that they had ended up in this situation so this was her responsibility. While keenly aware of that, Vileena deliberately adopted a high-handed attitude.

Neil excused himself for a moment and went to consult with what appeared to be the commander of the Taúlian side who was standing near the ship. In the end, it looked as though both sides accepted the condition.

Having come running back, Neil promised Vileena to bring a flotilla of ships from Apta.

“However, please return with us on board this ship, Princess. If you yourself are not present, the people of Taúlia will fall under suspicion.”

“I understand.”

After that exchange, the villagers were informed that Vileena was a princess of Garbera and the injured would shortly be transferred to Apta.

“No way.”

“Why somewhere like Mephius?”

Shouts rose up and there was not a man there who did not have complaints.

Many believed that it was Mephius that had attacked the village and the Taúlian soldiers had to go around convincing them one by one. Vileena Owell herself went towards Rone Jayce to express her fervent hope.

Layla, who was nursing him, noticed the princess approach and quickly averted her eyes.

“There are a lot of things I need to tell you,” Vileena could not conceal the stiffness in her tone. “However, right now, the most important thing is your father’s life and the lives of the villagers. Please, won’t you come to Mephius with us.”

Of course, Vileena did not know the circumstances surrounding the Jayce family. She did not know what it would mean for them to set foot in Mephius. Layla however recognised that she needed to prioritise her father’s life over anything else. Apparently, she had already strengthened her resolve after consulting with her mother.

“I understand,” she answered in a voice that seemed to fade away.
 


And so, the battleship that Neil had ridden on left.

Vileena, Rone, Layla, who was attending on him, as well as seven others who were particularly badly injured were also on board. The man whose entire body was wrapped in bandages was also among them. Rone had found him before Vileena and the man had been in the care of the Jayce family ever since. He gave the mistaken impression that he had been severely wounded in the recent attack.

The airship slowly travelled along the surface. That was unavoidable since it was heavier than on the way coming due to increased number of people. As she looked out of the window to the remains of the village below, Vileena felt the back of her eyelids grow hot.

At most, she had only spent eight days in that village.

''But, those eight days…''

She had spent them not as the princess of Garbera, not as the fiancée of the Crown Prince of Mephius, but as an ordinary girl of the people. There she had encountered manual labour, the unfamiliar songs of the Zerdian people, and the warmth of the Jayce family.

Unheeding of such sentimentality, the airship picked up speed and landed in Apta before noon.

Instead of having soldiers suddenly burst in and seize her, or denounce her as a traitor, the Mephians greeted Vileena courteously and invited her to board a carriage.

They travelled along the paved street. Peering out of the window over which a curtain was half drawn, Vileena knit her eyebrows at the sight of the townspeople running along the way. There seemed to be a large crowd. And everyone seemed as excited as if a festival were about to begin.

At long last, they arrived at the side gate to the castle’s main building. The princess stepped out of the carriage and once again set foot on Mephian land.

Her heart was beating wildly. On the way to Apta, she had strongly repressed her own feelings. She was almost at her limit. She barely saw the people who sent greetings her way, or heard their voices. Even so, the moment she reached the top of the staircase and stepped into the upper part of the hall –

''Ah!''

Only that clear-ringing voice reached her ears.

Without her realising it, Vileena’s feet, or rather, her entire body, came to a stop.