Editing Tales of Leo Attiel:Volume1 Chapter1 (section)

===Part 4===


Time passed. 

Leo turned seventeen years old. It had been six whole years since he had been sent over as a hostage from the Principality of Atall. Atallese messengers would occasionally come to visit to check on him, but no permission to return to his home country was ever issued.

These past few years, Allion had rapidly expanded its territory through force of arms. The conflict which had resulted in Leo becoming a hostage was rooted in the ambition for supremacy that the current king of Allion had suddenly started displaying. This, however, also caused rebellions to frequently break out within his domains. Even though troops were sent out at once to put out the fire, what remained of it immediately scattered as small, smouldering embers that were still connected to each other.

Allion needed to be cautious, so that even when he received news around the time of the New Year’s celebrations that his father, the sovereign-prince, was ill and had taken to bed, and although Atall was only a small power, Leo was not allowed to return home even for a short while.

Moreover, at that point in time, new embers were being lit, and they were not unconnected to Leo. 

The monk from Conscon Temple who had long been in charge of educating the sons of the Anglatt House suddenly stopped coming to the manor.

Leo heard from people swapping rumours that relations between Allion and the temple had apparently turned sour. Yet he never once imagined that this would bring about a huge transformation in his own fate.



The Anglatt brothers had been restless since the previous evening. A ‘ship’ was coming from the capital, and they intended to go see it.

Walter, the older brother, was coming up to twenty-two, and Jack, the younger, to twenty. Appearance-wise, they looked remarkably mature, but personality-wise, they had not lost their childishness.

The next day,

“My brothers apparently went to the waterfall before the sun had even risen,” Florrie, looking exasperated, informed Leo. “They said that since crowds of people were going to go have a look, they would go early to reserve a good spot. Don’t you think they’ve been a bit too unruly since Master stopped coming?”

Despite what she said, Florrie also seemed to be excited and, after breakfast –

“Leo, shall we go together?” she invited him to go see the ‘ship’.

A few days earlier, an envoy from Atall had arrived with books for Leo, so he had wanted to read them all in one go, but seeing Florrie look so lively, he couldn’t turn her down.

Ten days earlier, Florrie’s beloved horse had broken its leg and had to be put down. Florrie herself was not in the habit of going horseback riding, but she had always loved looking after animals, and she had, in particular, taken care of that mare, that she named “Princess”, since it was born. Florrie hadn’t shed a single tear in front of others. But every morning, when they met, her big eyes were red and swollen. Leo had seen how, in spite of her tell-tale eyes, she had smiled and pretended to be cheerful in front of her family. If it could help lift her spirits even a little, then he would go with her.

“Leo, look! There’re so many people!”

Just as Florrie had said, there were crowds of people on the hill from which you could see the front of the waterfall. Those gathered there were probably not only from the castle town but also from the nearby villages.

The River Bahré, which had once acted as the national border, coursed vigorously downwards and formed a small lake there. With the added sound from the waterfall, the area was already filled with noise. The Anglatt brothers were probably also somewhere in the crowd. 

Leo and Florrie stood together some distance away from the end of the line of people.

An improvised pier could be seen on the lake. Amidst the throng of sightseers milling around, it was the only place which was left clear. On the other hand, soldiers armed with spears and guns were positioned on either side of it. The castle lord, Claude Anglatt, would personally greet the messenger who was to alight from the ‘ship’.

“Look, your father’s there.”

“Where’s that, Leo?”

Florrie stood on tiptoe and lightly jumped up and down, but it looked as though she couldn’t see because there were too many people. Leo gave a small laugh.

“Want a piggyback ride?”

“Don’t be silly,” Florrie looked sulky.

At seventeen, Leo had grown very tall and had already overtaken Jack, the second son of the Anglatt House. However, since that was not matched by an increase in width, his lanky appearance gave an impression of frailty. He almost looked as though he might be blown away by a gust from the wind that blew from the waterfall, but as he imposed harsh daily training on himself, his legs were far steadier and sturdier than they seemed.

With that being said, from infancy onwards, he had always had delicate features that could be mistaken for a girl’s, and even though he had a sword strapped at his waist for self-protection, in no way did he look like a military man.

His chestnut-coloured hair that was swaying in the wind was worn long. Apart from around Allion’s capital city, neither the men in this region, nor in Atall had the custom of growing out their hair, and since it looked increasingly feminine, he had more than once wanted to cut it short. 

“Oh no, it would be such a waste,” Florrie stopped him every time. “Even the ladies in the capital would be jealous of such soft, fine hair. If you find it bothersome to have to take care of it every morning, then I’ll do it for you.”

True to her word, Florrie came to help every morning. Even if she had to drag him there before he could escape, she led her “brother” in front of the dresser and diligently combed out his hair. From time to time, when it needed it, she ran scissors through it. Occasionally also she would braid it into whatever shape her fancy dictated.

Claude Anglatt was from a line of hunters, but his wife, Ellen, came from a distinguished merchant family. She was also the only follower of Badyne within the family, so she was not pleased to see her daughter act that way.

“Florrie, an unmarried woman shouldn’t touch a man’s body anymore than necessary.”

Despite those admonishments, Florrie, who was usually extraordinarily obedient to her parents for a girl of her age, always became stubborn when it came to Leo. That morning as well, she had hastily braided Leo’s hair, which was now swaying in the wind, even though they had been running short on time before setting out.

The girl who was barely ten years old when Leo had come to Allion would now soon be sixteen. “I have a new big brother” – the child who had called him ‘brother’ ever since their first meeting, when she had welcomed him with an innocent grin, had grown up to be a girl so beautiful that whenever she went out, everyone who met her, regardless of age or gender, would unconsciously stop and smile, and think to themselves, ''Ah, the young lady from the manor''.

Even now, a lot of people were sending glances her way. Even Leo, who, by nature, disliked being exposed to people’s eyes, felt somewhat proud.

“Florrie, are you cold?”

“No, I’m fine. Leo… Ah!” Florrie exclaimed suddenly and pointed to the sky.

The people gathered there all looked up in the same direction and likewise pointed while exclaiming out loud. The ‘ship’ had finally come into sight. This ‘ship’ was not sailing down the river. While everyone, Leo and Florrie included, shaded their eyes to look up, it flew down from the sky. 
[[Image: Leo_Attiel_Den_v01_045.png|thumb]]
A dragonstone ship – commonly called an air carrier. By spewing out ether – a legacy from the Magic Dynasty – to repulse the earth’s magnetic force, the ship stayed afloat and, just as its name indicated, it flew in the sky. Since times immemorial, small, single-person airships had been used by messengers and scouts on the battlefield, but the ship which now appeared in the sky had a overall length of over twenty metres, from its curved prow to the end of its line of engines. 

Air carrier engineering was said to have accomplished remarkable advances in the past few years, and every country on the continent was now building ships that were able to carry several dozen people.

Even for Leo, a prince of Atall, this was his first time seeing such a large ship, and as for the people of what was aptly known as a backwater area, this was the first time they laid eyes on any kind of air carrier. Everyone, young and old alike, greeted the ship with cheers.

This region had not long been part of Allion’s territory, so there was no landing pad for air carriers. Therefore, when Claude received notice of the its arrival from the capital, he looked into using the lake on the River Bahré.

The ship’s slow descent made the spectators nervous, but it landed successfully on the water, sending up impressive sprays of water as it did so.

While cheers were raining down, a small airship appeared from inside the hold. Since it was the sort that the pilot operated while standing up, the design was very plain, with almost no cladding, and the seat was located directly above the engines. As it was a type of craft designed for when nobles had to travel short distances, this too was a novelty for the populace.

Given that the man aboard had alighted from the airship onto the pier, it seemed that this was the guest Claude had gone to meet. Even from a distance, he seemed young. Probably not yet thirty. Even so, Claude received him with great courtesy.

Apparently, he possessed a small territory close to the capital, while at the same time being a general with troops under his command. His name was Hayden Swift and he was a noble who had been chosen to act as a mediator with Conscon Temple, now that relations with them were breaking down. For that reason, he would be staying a while at Claude’s castle.

Leo narrowed his eyes to get a better look at him.

“I will be singing for him,” said Florrie. It appeared that her father had asked her to entertain at the welcome reception that would be held that night.

“That’s great,” Leo nodded with a smile. Florrie, however, went sulky again.

“It’s not great at all.”

“Why not? Your singing makes people happy, Florrie. I’m sure Lord Hayden will enjoy it too.”

“You’re being mean to me when you say things like that, Leo,” Florrie glared reproachfully at Leo. “I’ve heard that he's closely related to the royal family. The royal palace has tons of orchestras and singers that only perform there. Rumour has it that since our king is especially fond of music, he invited them from Allion, of course, but also from other countries. I’m going to be compared to all those famous singers, so please show some sympathy. He’ll definitely snicker at me for having a weak and shabby singing voice.”

Florrie was a young woman in appearance only, and when she pouted, she looked just the same as when she had been a child.

“You just need to sing as confidently as you always do. If you worry about useless things, your voice will dry up in your throat and you won’t be able to show off even half of your talent,” Leo said soothingly.

That evening, Leo attended the welcome dinner held for Hayden Swift alongside General Claude and his sons. Hayden himself, incidentally, did not bring a single attendant with him.

From up close, Hayden Swift seemed old. 

It wasn’t a question of appearance. Far from it: his looks were the sort that probably sent the court ladies at Allion’s royal palace in a flutter, and he was every bit the young nobleman. The air around him, however, was dark. He spoke little, and although Claude talked about a variety of things, Hayden’s attitude did not reveal any interest in any of them. He was the very definition of expressionless and impassive, and in that, he did not seem at all like a young man, but projected instead an air of maturity.

Strangely, that caught Leo’s interest. He himself could not tell if what he felt towards the man was dislike or its exact opposite, sympathy.

Claude’s two sons sensed from Hayden’s manner that he looked down on their upstart father, and so they seemed to have disliked him from the start. Since he was who was, however, they couldn't say anything and morosely continued eating their meal.

As Hayden drank, first one cup of wine, then a second, the sombre expression that clung to his eyes like dirt grew darker. As bad luck would have it, he began at that point to take an interest in Leo.

“Honourable prince of Atall… how long has it been since you came to Allion?”

Although startled by the attention, Leo cleared his throat and answered, “It will soon be six years.”

“Six years… that’s a long time,” Hayden theatrically closed his eyes, as though to experience the six years that Leo had spent there. “I truly would not be able to bear it. I’m sure it would be painful.”

“No… The Anglatt House has received me well. To go as far as calling it painful is…”

“For someone related, even in the furthest degree, to a royal house, being forcefully separated from their native land and family, and being treated like a prisoner… I, for one, simply could not bear it. Or rather, not me myself: my bloodline, that unbroken flow of history that courses through me, could never endure the dishonour.”

“Dishonour… In terms of dishonour, I…”

“Why not go die in battle?”

Receiving that sudden strike, Leo was unable to breathe, as though he was moments away from meeting death.
After a short while,

“What… What is it that you mean?”

“Atall and Shazarn had an agreement to set Allion’s territory aflame. Although posterity will surely judge their actions to be those of foolish barbarians unable to think ahead, since they ''did'' take action, Atall and Shazarn had both the will and the enthusiasm. So naturally, they must also have had the resolve.”

“Lord Swift,” 

Claude was going to intervene between the two of them, but Hayden looked as though he did not hear what anyone else was saying. He continued to observe Leo closely. His gaze was like white flashes of lightning coming from behind rumbling, swirling black clouds.

“Take your enemy’s head, or have you own head taken... A noble should not hold a sword in hand without that resolve. And yet, as soon as they saw that the tide of war was turning against them, Atall easily sent messengers to broker peace. Their words and deeds are as insubstantial as air. That’s right, they’re as light as a whore who opens her legs for money.”

Leo furiously sprang up from his chair. His face was suffused with rage, which was rare for him. Claude’s two sons, who had simultaneously turned to look at him, drew in their breath when they saw his face.

Claude also started to get up. No matter how closely related Hayden was to the royal family, those words had crossed the line. Meanwhile, Hayden Swift, as though feasting on the boy’s rage, fixed his eyes on his face and tilted back his wine cup.
[[Image: Leo_Attiel_Den_v01_051.png|thumb]]
“Why are you getting angry? For the past six years, you’ve been enduring the shame of being a prisoner, haven’t you? The words I just spoke are the self-same words that everyone around you is silently thinking. You can’t tell me you hadn’t noticed.”

“I would like you to take them back,” the voice that came from him didn’t seem to Leo to have passed through his body, but rather to be reverberating from above his head.

“I refuse,” across from him, Hayden’s sneering face was as pallid as though the blood had receded from it, in sharp contrast to Leo’s face, which was flushed blood-red.

Leo started towards Hayden. He didn’t know himself what he intended to do. Or rather, in that moment, he could not grasp the true nature of his own fury.

There was of course no one who would laugh at hearing their birthplace being insulted. Yet Leo was someone who had once thought of abandoning the family name ‘Attiel’. It felt to him as though this time, everything he had secretly dreamed of without telling anyone, everything he had worked hard for, everything that had brought him comfort at that time had all been negated and denied.

''It’s hopeless, you’re an Attiel'' – the stagnant black ''sludge'' seemed to whisper to him.

Hayden meanwhile had raised his hand halfway to his waist, and made it clear that he was ready to fight back.

Just as Claude was about to step between the two of them –

“Oh, my… What’s all this commotion about?” Florrie Anglatt, all dressed up, appeared in the hall.



Florrie apologised, saying that it had taken time for her to get ready. But there was no need to hear how her breathing was already uneven, or to see how her cheeks were coloured as red as roses, to realise that she had not readily agreed to sing before the guest. It looked as though her mother had forcefully pushed her forward the whole way until they finally came in.

Regardless, Claude Anglatt was far from blaming his daughter, and, indeed, he looked profoundly relieved as he led her to give her greetings to Hayden.

Hayden Swift politely returned it. Gone was his earlier pallid face, and the maliciousness had, for the time being, also left it. Wearing an expression as though nothing had happened, he even went so far as to say:

“Lord Leo. It seems my words were a little excessive. I am often criticised for making mistakes when I drink. It was just a boorish man’s ridiculously bad habit: won’t you laugh it off?”

Leo had no choice but to back down. He returned to his seat with a sullen expression.

Florrie looked nervous as she gave a bow. She formed a circle with the index and thumb of her right hand, and brought it to the tip of her chin. This was one of the numerous good-luck charms of the believers of Badyne and was said to be effective for taking away nervousness. Florrie’s mother had been brought up in a community which had many Badyne faithful, which was unusual in Allion’s domains. She did not force her religious precepts on her husband and children, nor, for that matter, was she a particularly fervent believer herself. However, since Florrie had been interested in these good-luck charms, the mother had taught many of them to her daughter. 

The song started. It was a song of thanks dedicated to the spirits. Belief in spirits thrived in Allion, and not only among the nobles and the royal family. Even the farmers ploughing the soil, or the hunters tracking wild beasts, believed that spirits dwelt in their belongings, so even in run-down taverns on the outskirts of town, drunken, tuneless voices sang similar songs.

In short, it was an ordinary song.

After that, the dinner party peacefully came to an end, yet Claude was tearing his hair out.

''That was a strange turn of events.''

First of all, quite honestly, Florrie’s song had not been a success. In the past, when Leo had first arrived in their family, Florrie had cheerfully called out to him but, as she grew older, she had developed a shyness of strangers. When guests came, she would often hole up in her own room and refuse to take a step out of it.

Thinking that he needed to do something to remedy this, Claude had brought his daughter out for Hayden’s welcome reception but, predictably, she could not hide her nervousness. In front of her family, with her two brothers whistling and beating time with their hands, she would sing without a care. That evening, however, her naturally rich voice had been shaking, she lost her ease of modulation, and there were even a few times when she hadn’t been able to make a sound.

Florrie had probably also been self-conscious about it since she left the room as soon as she had finished singing. Claude felt sorry for his daughter but, contrary to expectation, Hayden was satisfied with the performance.

Except that was not what had happened.

Apart from when he had been making snide remarks aimed at Leo, Hayden had remained impassive and unimpressed at all times. Yet when Florrie had earnestly been singing, he had gone wide-eyed, his mouth had been hanging open, and he had gazed at her with heated admiration.

In short, he had fallen in love at first sight.

Hayden was already married and his wife, who was of ancient and noble lineage, had borne him two children. Even so, the next day, when he went to see Claude alone in his chambers, he sounded him out.

“How about letting Miss Florrie receive an education at the royal capital?” he said. “Naturally, I will take responsibility for her so that her talent can blossom.”

He did not ask that she be given to him as a concubine. But it was as good as. He intended to place her beside him under the pretext of letting her receive an education then, after she had acquired some polish by serving as an attendant to some influential noble lady at court, he would make her his.

Such was the strange turn of events.

In truth, this was not a bad proposal for Claude. Allion had a long history, and a man like Claude, who had risen from being a simple soldier, was naturally the target of a lot of criticism. He had now been entrusted with a castle, but this was no more than one of the many unimportant fortresses along the border, and naturally, it was a poor territory that produced little.

Moreover, this territory was one that Allion had only just acquired, so it had been left to Claude until the situation within had settled down, but once the rebellions and banditry had been brought under control, and if the border line was fixed in position here, several fortresses would probably be combined into one large territory, and Claude would no longer be needed. It was the same for the family name ‘Anglatt’: when he had received the castle, the name of a famous historical figure had been handed over along with it.

In other words, Claude’s position was still unstable.

Hayden Swift on the other hand was a person who was close to the centre of power. He was descended from a royal bastard, so his title of nobility and his position as a general existed largely in name only, yet even so, his ancestry was a force to be reckoned with. Claude had also heard that he was a close personal friend to the king. It would certainly be no disadvantage to an upstart like Claude to have a connection to the seat of power, and Hayden himself had hinted as much.

He had gone so far as to say: “A man of your ability, Sir Claude, should be in charge of a division of troops at the royal capital.”

Claude’s heart wavered. The upstart that he was had not yet given up on his childlike dream of achieving the kind of success in life that you heard of in legends. He did not plan to end up as no more than the governor of a fortress far from the centre of power.

But… Hayden…

The way he had insulted Leo, or more correctly, Atall, had left a deep impression on Claude. He had also heard several rumours about him in the royal capital. Although it was a fact that he was close to the king, and although it was said that the king was unusually fond of him, there were also plenty of unsavoury stories among those that he had heard. Claude had a commoner’s love for his daughter, and his wish for her happiness outweighed his naïve dreams of success.

“As a parent, I really don’t know what to do about my daughter, seeing as she is that shy. Even though she is already sixteen, she is just no good at coping with strangers, as I am sure you realised from last night’s song. Your proposal of course fills me with so much delight that I could jump with joy, but would Florrie be able to fit into life at our resplendent royal capital? That is not something that she is ready for yet,” he gave a roundabout refusal.

Hayden Swift extended his stay to continue negotiating.

Even though neither Claude nor Hayden revealed a word about it, Leo and the others started to hear rumours of what was going on.

“You can’t, Father.”

“Of course you can’t.”

Walter and Jack protested vehemently. Although the two brothers sometimes made the gentle Florrie cry when they teased her, they very deeply loved their younger sister.

When Florrie herself heard about it, she flushed bright red and from then on avoided being anywhere near Hayden.

Yet Hayden was irritatingly persistent. Een though Claude did everything he could, choosing his words and attitude so as to not stir up trouble, he realised that Hayden’s passion was continuing to be enflamed. And so, he lied.

“The truth is, my daughter apparently already has someone in her heart, and she cannot bear the thought of going to the capital and being separated from him.”

Even so, Hayden was not going to give up so easily, but as the day of the meeting at Conscon Temple was drawing near, he was reluctantly forced to leave the castle.

On the day of his departure, Claude, his sons and Leo went to see him off. The lake on the Bahré was once again crowded with people. This time, they were there to see the ship take off.

Just as he had at the time of the banquet, Hayden Swift wore an entirely detached expression and, after having courteously given his thanks, he jauntily embarked on the air carrier.

It would be a long time, however, before Leo Attiel would forget the glance that Hayden cast towards him right at the end.

Even though he was smiling, he could not conceal the hatred smouldering in his eyes as he looked at Leo.



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