Editing Rakuin no Monshou:Volume7 Chapter4 (section)

=== Part 1 ===

Glancing at Gowen as he returned to his room in the barracks, Ran asked,

“The Princess has arrived?”

She had, of course, been informed that Gowen had received the task of escorting Vileena. Her question was only by way of confirmation.

“Yeah,” Gowen answered with a somewhat bleak expression. Ran tilted her head to one side,

“You don’t look good. Shall I brew you some medicinal tea?”

“No,” with a thump, Gowen let himself drop into a wooden chair. Back when he was the overseer to the slaves, no one would have seen him look this tired. Ran however seemed to find it familiar.

“Your expression is the same as that time.”

''You might be right'', thought Gowen, but he did not say it out loud.

“Master Gowen, welcome back,” the boy who acted as their chamberlain appeared at that point.

He briskly tidied the pieces of armour that Gowen had removed and had already prepared a change of clothes for him.

“Reeno, could you run me some hot water?”

“Certainly,” the boy bowed, his adorable features set in an overly-serious expression.

Gowen felt even more exhausted and sighed. In truth, his body and mind were worn out from a threat unlike any he had experienced in either the battlefield or the gladiatorial arena.

During the journey, when he had been acting as the Princess’ escort, he had repeatedly felt a gaze on him. Princess Vileena had been watching him from the window of her carriage.

''This might mean trouble'', Gowen had braced himself every time. He had felt the same unease when he had initially heard that the Princess had informed the Emperor that she wished to go to Nedain.
The Princess’ personality was not one to wallow in grief. Since the Prince’s death had been so sudden, he had wondered whether she might be going to verify the truth of it.

Gowen of course knew the ‘truth’. It was only natural, since Prince Gil Mephius – or rather, Orba, posing as the Prince – had told him his plan in person.

When Orba had been explaining it to him, Gowen had not interrupted to say a single word.

“Is that alright?” Was the only thing that he had asked, checking the impulse to say far more.

He had known that they did not have much time. They had been on their way back from providing reinforcement to Garbera, and Apta Fortress was already so close it was almost in sight. Orba had given a small nod.

Gowen had responded with a nod of his own.

“Got it. I’ll help you.”

“I’ll be giving you trouble until the end, Overseer.” 

''Sure'', Gowen had answered then had said no more. Orba was not the only one who had felt dizzy from the constant changes in environment. There had been a lot that Gowen had been unable to get his head around in these past few months.

“Have you told Ran?”

“I’m planning to later.”

When he heard that, something must have shown in Gowen’s expression despite his intention to control it, since Orba immediately frowned in displeasure.

“Is something strange?”

“No.”

Considering how he had been up until then, it was unusual for Orba to confide in someone who was not directly involved in a plan. Gowen could understand Orba’s feeling of wanting to put off that conversation. And Orba, who was quick to catch on and who of course knew it too, had gotten irritated by it.

Afterwards, they had returned to Apta. Once he had finished various preparations, Gowen had headed to a room in the barracks. He had gone to call on Shique, who had apparently likewise completed his arrangements. It had been evening, but because it was cloudy, the room had already been plunged into darkness.

Thinking about it, theirs was a strange relationship. They were among the very few in all of Mephius who knew the terrifying secret that the Crown Prince had been replaced by a body-double.

“He hasn’t said anything yet, but...” Shique had said while watching the River Yunos flowing far beneath them, “I plan to go with him. Although since at the moment he’ll object when I tell him that, I intend to do so against his will.”

“I thought as much”

“What about you, Gowen?”

“Me… Yeah. At my age, I’m too old to start anew again. I’ll stay in Mephius. Along with Ran – well, that’s if she wants to.”

“Take care,” Shique said as he turned to him, then laughed cheerfully.

Gowen had understood the reason for that laugh. A sword-slave and an overseer. It was impossible that they would exchange "take cares" at parting. Gowen could only smile wryly at how just that alone seemed to demonstrate how wondrous and abnormal their fates had been in those past few months.

At the very last, Shique had said, "You know, about Orba... That evening when he first came to the Tarkas Group, you cracked down on him like an iron hammer. You kept on raging that you'd kill him. Yeah, this kid, he'll do it. He'll do it, but sooner or later, he's bound to run into someone who'll beat him at that game and he’ll end up dead. With his personality, I'm sure he won't live long, is what I thought." 

With that talk, which could not really be called happy reminiscing, they had left the room.

The plan was put into action at once. That evening, Orba had fallen headlong into the River Yunos to the accompaniment of gunshots. Gowen and Shique had been the first to leave the fortress, leading the Imperial Guards to search for him. Shique had gotten a small boat to pull Orba out and, without lighting even a single torch, they had headed for the opposite shore. So as to draw attention away from that, Gowen conversely had ever more torches be held high and had pretended to continue searching along the river.

From thereafter, it had been just as in Pashir's recollections.

Gowen had heaved a sigh of relief at that moment, as the plan had gone as expected; but since then, he had found himself in a bind that left him cursing Orba bitterly.

So much so that whatever happened from now on, he did not think he would ever resent someone else this strongly again.

Of all things, Orba had not told Hou Ran about the plan.

"You knew, didn't you? Gowen?" He had cringed when she had pressed him about it. Even though her expression had been the same as usual… no, because of that, the pale light flashing from her eyes had been all the more terrifying.

"Why wasn't I informed? Did he think I'd reveal the secret? Did he have that little faith in me?"

"I-It was probably tough," as he answered Gowen looked so terrified that anyone who knew him would think he was a different person. "Since you had a close relationship, bringing up having to say goodbye must have been tough. You can understand, right?"

It was lucky for Gowen that right after that, it had been the season for her to take care of the dragons while they laid their eggs. For awhile, Ran had devoted her entire energy to the them. Before long, she had calmed down.

"Gowen. I'm more or less able to 'judge'," she had said. That she raised her chin a little and smiled, showing that she was feeling boastful. Living together, Gowen had come to understand his adopted daughter's minute changes in expression.

"About what?"

"The link between those children and Orba, which also means the link between myself and Orba, is unbroken."

''Oh?'' He had never heard of Ran having a mysterious power, or that being exceptionally good at taming dragons led to precognition or being able to divine the future. But anyway, Gowen felt that she would be satisfied if he let himself be convinced.

With that, Gowen had thought that this unfamiliar threat had passed, but...

“Your expression is the same as that time.”

Just as Ran had pointed out, when he had been escorting Vileena, the former overseer of slaves had experienced the second coming of those days with his adopted daughter.

The Princess’ gaze has seemed to want to ask something. In point of fact, Gowen had been preparing himself for a barrage of questions. Don’t turn tail no matter what you get asked; he had prepared all sorts of answers beforehand.

But Vileena said little. When her eyes met Gowen’s, she gave him a slight nod in greeting. For some reason, he felt ominous chills.

Just as he was thinking that he might be worrying for nothing, only once and suddenly, as though on a whim, the Princess had approached him when they had stopped to eat.

“It must be hard for you too, Gowen,” she had smiled.

It had been so abrupt and he was so unsure of her meaning that Gowen had been left nothing but bewildered and unable to come out with a single one of the answers that he had prepared. By ‘hard’, did she mean his escort duty or something else?

''That Princess, did she come to Nedain for something?''

He had again and again been left astonished by Vileena’s ability to take action. She had guts too. Even Orba had been astounded when he heard that during the battle at Apta, when the soldiers within the ship that had been attacked were stricken by fear, she had issued an appeal and induced them to stay.

Gowen turned to look at his adopted daughter.

‘The Princess might come to talk to you. Be careful.”

“I’m not good at telling lies,” said Ran. “But I shouldn’t talk about the truth. I know.”

Gowen and Ran lived together in those apartments within the barracks. That was another strange relationship. After all, they had hardly ever spoken back in their days with the gladiator group. Because Ran hated the strict discipline within the barracks for the Imperial Guards, once Gowen was appointed as their commander and had received a detached house to live in, he had adopted her. At that time, they had been provided with slaves to take care of their everyday necessities, but currently, they only had the boy called Reeno to do so. This Reeno was not a page appointed by General Saian. Gowen had known the boy since some time earlier and had employed him at his own expense.

Ran spent all day taking care of the dragons. In Solon and in Apta, she had carefully looked after those that were attached to the Imperial Guards, among which were a species of dragon called Yunion, which had been presented as gifts when peace was concluded with Taúlia.

She only used the living apartments when she ate or when she slept, although Ran might also occasionally cook. She was a girl who was originally from a tribe of western nomads, so there were many things that left Gowen astounded, but her dish of fried Jijis insects – which was originally a kind of meal that she made for the dragons – went well with strong spices and he enjoyed eating it as a snack. 

Although when he had once invited Rogue Saian over, they did not seem to suit him and he had just continuously gulped down alcohol.

The next day.

That day too, Ran had gone early to the dragon pen, but there was someone who had turned up even earlier than her.

“It has been a long time.”

Vileena Owell.

For some reason, she was wearing a long peasant skirt and a thick blouse.

So slightly that you would not notice it unless you looked carefully, Ran drew her eyebrows together.