Vol 7 Chapter 4 (1/2)

Chapter 4

Chapter 4: The Ladies’ Secret

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 s.h.i.+que, who ha

d 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 relations.h.i.+p. 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...” s.h.i.+que 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,” s.h.i.+que 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, s.h.i.+que 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 s.h.i.+que had been the first to leave the fortress, leading the Imperial Guards to search for him. s.h.i.+que had gotten a small boat to pull Orba out and, without lighting even a single torch, they had headed for the opposite sh.o.r.e. 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 Pas.h.i.+r'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 flas.h.i.+ng 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 relations.h.i.+p, 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 pa.s.sed, 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 s.h.i.+p 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 relations.h.i.+p. 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.

Part 2[edit]

“Let me help you,” Vileena said, full of enthusiasm. She was wearing high boots and looked like an energetic child whose eyes were sparkling at the thought of trying something new.

“You should stop,” Ran however, and in spite of this being their first meeting in a long time, was unfriendly from the start. “You’ll only get hurt. If you do things poorly, as soon as I take my eyes off you, you’ll only end in a dragon’s stomach, Vileena.”

Vileena was momentarily left speechless at her blunt words. The Princess’ personality, however, was not one to run away from threats. Nor did Hou Ran do anything else to stop her. Work began.

First, Ran started by cleaning the dragon pens. Inside it were cages in which a fixed number of dragons were kept, separated by species. When Ran unhesitatingly entered the cages, she took in buckets of water that the slaves had drawn and poured them out while shovelling away the dragon dung and stale hay.

Although the dragons, guided by Ran, moved out of the way, they did not leave their cages. They lumbered around with their ma.s.sive bodies and Vileena, who was learning by observation as she worked, inadvertently lost her sense of caution.

Since the pens were, of course, large enough to accommodate several dragons, it was labour-intensive work. In all honesty, even Vileena, who was fairly confident in her physical stamina, could tell that her mind and body would be worn down if she had to do the work while also remaining vigilant of the dragons. Additionally, the stench was ferocious. Even the dragon handlers who put the dragons through their military drills usually left this kind of work to slaves or subordinates.

Hou Ran moved around with light and practiced movements. She was taller than Vileena, but it was still a wonder how that slender body could hold so much strength.

Vileena was drenched in sweat in no time at all. The smell was getting worse and was making her feel like throwing up. But she grit her teeth and bore with it, wondering if she would eventually get used to it.

At that moment, she felt something behind her. She felt instinctively that it was not human. Suddenly, faster than the startled Vileena could turn around, something shoved her back hard and she fell, sprawling forward.

Ran had flown over before she fully realised what had happened. She stood in the way between Vileena’s back and the medium-sized dragon, a Baian, that was starting to bend over her. At first, the Baian looked like it was going to resist and bite, but Ran stared fixedly at it with eyes like gla.s.s beads, and it soon started to back away, giving off feeble cries as it did so.

The blood had drained from Vileena’s face as she looked back. Ran glanced at the Princess’ expression and said,

“This child really doesn’t like you. That’s because you were thinking of something else. Dragons can read the emotions of nearby humans. However, because they don’t understand human thoughts at all, when a human isn’t thinking about them, they end up wondering if it isn’t perhaps an enemy, and then they can’t help feeling frightened. On top of that, this child has been irritated for a long time and its mood is worse than ever. Even I might be bitten if I’m not careful. Now then, you should leave the rest to me and go back. You should be somewhere more appropriate for you, Vileena.”

Vileena remained silent. With hay stuck to her knees, she firmly sat down and did not move. Ran went back to her work. After a while,

“Is there something you want to talk to me about?”

“Can you read my emotions?”

“Even without being a dragon, that much isn’t hard.”

Following Ran’s movements with listless eyes, Vileena gave a single nod.

After having stood up and left the cage, Vileena kept Ran, who continued to work on the other side of the iron bars, at the edge of her vision and started to talk haltingly about her feelings.

Ran did not interrupt. She continued working without so much as glancing at the Princess, to the point where it was doubtful whether she was even listening, but Vileena continued talking.

“I –”

After returning to Solon, she had spent her time in inactivity. She did not have the energy to do anything and even though she had been aware that the people around her, starting with Theresia, had been worried about her, even that felt unpleasant and she had retreated into her sh.e.l.l. However, when envoys came from Garbera, the moment she heard them urge her to return home, the thought flared up in her heart that I can’t go back like this.

At that time, the doubts which had long been swirling around inside her took on a tangible form and rose to the surface of her mind.

“You know it too, Ran. That Prince Gil clashed with General Oubary’s Black Armour Division in a village near Apta.”

According to what the Prince had explained at the time, in the past, General Oubary had laid waste to several villages in Apta’s surroundings. He had s.n.a.t.c.hed their crops, money and goods, and a.s.saulted the women; in order to seal their mouths, he had slaughtered any villager, whether they submitted or tried to resist, before finally setting fire to the villages.

Gil, having become the lord of Apta Castle, had discovered this past, however while he was collecting information from the various villages, Oubary had deployed his troops to silence him. Gil had been quick to sense this and had laid a trap for him in one of the villages.

Vileena and Ran, who had gone searching for Gil, had been at the actual scene.

“I heard that the ones who shot Prince Gil afterwards were soldiers of the Black Armour Division. Out of revenge against him. But…”

Oubary, who was considered to have commanded the shooting, had fought with the Imperial Guards near the border. Although he had been injured, he had fled back to Solon where he had been captured.

“When the Prince ambushed the Black Armour Division, the General was with them. I saw him there with my own eyes. The Prince should have dealt with him one way or the other at the time, wouldn’t he? When he left the village, the Prince was neither irritated nor impatient. So I cannot imagine that he had let the General escape. And he would never have simply sent away a person who had turned their sword against him. Whether the General was captured alive or killed in the struggle, it contradicts both the later shooting incident and his arrest.”

Colour was returning to Vileena’s pale skin.

“From the various rumours that I’ve heard in Solon and in Nedain, it seems that somehow or another, the Prince’s fight with the Black Armour Division has been concealed. No, I do not even know whether it was concealed or whether it was never reported, but because of that, I cannot help but find things unconvincing. There might be something behind that contradiction. Since it’s the Prince, after all. Even though there isn’t the slightest doubt about the truth of his ‘death’, what if it wasn’t a truth but some kind of stratagem? …Of course, it may just be what I foolishly wish to believe. However, since there is some room for doubt, I cannot simply accept his death. If all my doubts can be dispelled, and if Prince Gil’s ‘death’ cannot be discredited, then I will accept it.”

“…”

She suddenly became aware that Ran had stopped moving. She was staring at the Princess with an unusually dazed expression.

“W-What is it?” Vileena wondered if she had said something so very strange while she was confiding her thoughts.

“Amazing.”

“Eh?”

“You’ve thought it out that far even though there was nothing to offer you an answer.”

Under Ran’s fixed gaze, Vileena felt embarra.s.sed to talk. Both of them felt equal admiration for the other Ran gently stroked the horn of a Yunion dragon that happened to walk by her.

“So, did you come here to check up on that?”

“Yes,” Vileena nodded,” I would have liked to meet with General Oubary in person; however, as was to be expected, I was unable to do so. I thought that perhaps you or Gowen might know something about it so I came here, but…”

“But?”

“If I plough through things, I will just stir up trouble. In the same way that I’ve caused for you, Ran, by trying to b.u.t.ter you up. So at the moment, rather than asking other people, what I really want is to go to Apta.”

I see, she thought after saying it herself. Talking to another person had allowed her to realise what she truly wanted for the first time.

“To Apta?”

“At the time, I was honestly anything but calm. So I want to have a second look at it. Who knows, maybe I’ll find a clue.”

“…”

She wanted to go to Apta.

Although it was a desire that had suddenly surged up, she wondered if she had not actually wanted to do so ever since she had been in Solon.

Maybe now, I will find some trace of the Prince. I might be able to notice it if he left something behind.

Viewed differently, if there was something important, she might perhaps never have noticed it if she had never left Apta. The more she thought about it, the more eager she was to go. She wanted to leave Nedain right this second, before the traces of the Prince faded with the pa.s.sage of time and disappeared.

However, this one-week stay in Nedain had been given to her to grant her last-minute whim. Once it was over, envoys from Garbera would immediately come to see her, she would also be pressured by those from Mephius, and she would be forced to return to her country whether she liked it or not.

Biting her lower lip and frantically trying to hold back the impatience and wishes that were welling up inside her, Vileena asked,

“How about you?” Her question was much softer than might have been expected from her words up until then. “Do you think that the Prince really died?”

“I…” Ran’s mouth remained open for several seconds. “I did not see his corpse with my own eyes.”

Noon.

A section of the landing area for air carriers was lined with warehouses. A slave woman named Krau had stretched her large body out on one of their roofs and was having a nap.

She had served the wealthy Birac merchant, Zaj Haman, piloting air carriers for him, but, on her master’s orders, she had gone to work for Prince Gil. Now, after the Prince’s death, she had received a recommendation from Gowen and was employed by General Rogue Saian along with the Prince’s Imperial Guards. Since Rogue’s Dawnlight Wings Division was mainly an air force, it was the ideal position for Krau. However, all she was given to do were ch.o.r.es like servicing the s.h.i.+ps, or cleaning them or the warehouses. Unlike when she was working for merchants or the Imperial Guards, here, they would not leave the handling of a s.h.i.+p to a woman, and to one who was a slave at that.

Being driven into these various tasks made Krau’s head spin. Even for her, continuing with that same work for a year or even half a year, the excess fat would surely fall entirely away, but she was an obstinate woman who was very good at gambling, and who called in the debts of the labourers and slaves that she played against by having them do her work in her place, opening up free time for her to be idle.

Basking in the warm sunlight with her large arms for pillows, she wore a truly contented expression.

“So she’s here after all,” having climbed up to the roof, Ran laughed unintentionally at the sight of Krau. She turned back to look at Vileena, who was climbing up behind her, and put a finger to her lips, telling her to shh.

Softly and quietly, Ran crept up to Krau then let out the most incredible cry. It was a sound like the roar of a dragon and it made the surrounding air vibrate.

“Hyeee!” Krau sprang up and nearly fell from the roof. “T-That’s terrible! I thought I was going to jump out of my skin!”

“Then that would be perfect. Aren’t you the one who’s always saying 'I want to lose weight, I want to lose weight'?”

“Who wants to lose weight by dying? Honestly, you and…. Oh?” Krau noticed that there was a girl behind Ran. “Well that’s rare. Who’re you with? A new friend?”

“It’s been awhile, Krau,” Vileena bit back her laughter and curtsied, and for a second, Krau drew her thick eyebrows together, then suddenly and with astonis.h.i.+ng speed, she prostrated herself.

“I-I even showed such an unsightly scene to the Princess!”

“It doesn’t matter. Please raise your head.” This time, Vileena smiled then lowered herself onto one knee so that her gaze was level with Krau’s, “the truth is Krau, I have a favour to beg of you.” Krau did not say anything, but her expression turned stiff as she got a truly awful feeling about it.

Vileena was planning to stay a week in Nedain. During that time, she went to see Rogue Saian to express her grat.i.tude for his help towards Garbera.

“I…” Rogue was a little embarra.s.sed. He had originally intended to go with the Prince to Zaim Fortress, but he had been stopped from doing so by that same Prince. “He said that he alone should receive His Majesty’s reprimands. Such kind words… To think that something like that could happen... I never would have imagined it…”

Rogue was moved to tears as he spoke. To help cheer up the Princess who had just lost her fiancé, Rogue had prepared airs.h.i.+ps for her to use as she pleased during her stay in Nedain, but he was the one who ended up being consoled by her instead.

“There was no connection between the events in Apta and the sending of reinforcements to Garbera. General, there is nothing for you to feel bad about.” And so, five days pa.s.sed since the Princess had arrived in Nedain.

The local lord, Jairus Abigoal had invited her for a meal.

Jairus had returned to Nedain immediately after having taken part in the commemorative ceremony for the erection of the temple in Solon. He had, of course, been informed of Vileena’s arrival, but as his honest thoughts on the matter were that she was an annoying guest, he had claimed to be busy and had not yet seen her.

He took pride in being in a position which was somewhat closer to the Emperor in comparison to the other retainers. And he guessed that the Emperor had no intention of prolonging the alliance with Garbera.

At this point, why should I have to keep company with this Garberan princess while she decides to go sightseeing?

And thus, the Princess was nothing but an annoying guest. Still, he obviously could not ignore her to the point of not seeing her even once, and so he had arranged to have her for dinner one time only. Even so, Jairus would not openly display that att.i.tude in front of the Princess. He would do his utmost to create a welcoming atmosphere.

Meanwhile.

“Princess, this is repet.i.tive of me, but...” Theresia confronted the Princess right before heading for the meal, “you won’t forget your promise to me, will you?”

“Theresia, really,” Vileena smiled, looking as though she wanted to add, definitely repet.i.tive.

The ‘promise’ concerned Raymond’s affair. The young aristocrat who, had directly appealed to the Emperor about the current conditions in Nedain, had thus incurred Jairus’ displeasure, and had been thrown into a dungeon. Perhaps it was so that he could serve as an example, but he had still yet to be released. Theresia firmly reminded her that she was not to hound Jairus about the matter or to criticise him for it.

“Would a princess from the honourable and knightly Garbera break her word? Well then, let’s go. Is there anything wrong with my hair and clothes?”

The young girl gave a quick twirl. Theresia looked deeply suspicious, but she did not believe that after having brought up the name of her home country, the patriotic Princess would sully its pride by lying.