Volume 10 Prologue (2/2)
Jurome followed him, also in silence.
They halted their horses at the usual place.
They were at the top of a hill that commanded an unbroken view of the centre of Solon. Normally, several soldiers on watch would be stationed there, but Jurome had gone there a little earlier and had asked them to turn their posts over to him. Thanks to that, there was no sign of anyone around.
The 'Black Tower' rose tall in the middle of the twinkling lights from the houses.
”About that topic a while back…” Jurome said as he sat down beside Argos, who was lying sprawled in the gra.s.s.
”A while back?”
”About your bride.”
”Oh,” Argos pulled an uninterested face and turned on his side, half covering his head as he did so.
”Think about it seriously. It's high time. Since you became the crown prince, it's no longer your problem alone.”
”Do I have to?”
”Of course you do. For you who are going to be emperor, Mephius is a bit like your own child. There are parts that a father alone cannot see. For a child, a mother is obviously needed. You have strong arms to lift a child up, but you don't have b.r.e.a.s.t.s to give it comfort.”
”No, alas,” taking it as a joke, Argos stifled his laughter. ”If you're going to bring that topic up again, then all I have to say is, what about you? Do you have a woman in mind?”
”Alas as well.”
”If you get too annoying, I'll use the authority of the imperial family to push a bride onto you. But only after having picked all the most unattractive aristocratic girls and having drawn one by lots.”
For n.o.bles to get married, the permission of the Mephian imperial family was needed. Moreover, as Argos had mentioned in jest, the imperial family could decide on a n.o.ble's marriage partner, and even had the right to order a divorce. Thus, when n.o.bles got married, they needed to pay a heavy tax to avoid seeing them use those rights. In other words, since the whole point was the tax itself, just like the right to the first night, there were hardly any historical cases in which they had exercised those rights, so that you could say that this authority was purely nominal.
Jurome grimaced nonetheless, probably feeling that his old friend was capable of anything.
Argos laughed all the more. And then he once again fell silent.
”His Majesty has become a coward,” the crown prince said abruptly. ”I heard that back when he stood on the battlefield in person, at least he wasn't like that. And in this last war too, although it's true that for a moment, we were being pushed back by the enemy, but we should have held out. That war was winnable.”
”The enemy brought out an impressive amount of airs.h.i.+ps,” Jurome chose his words carefully. ”Whereas we didn't even have enough riders; the difference in mobility was huge. His Majesty had probably calmly a.s.sessed the situation. Don't be impatient. He foresaw that there would be a 'next time' once we've worked out enough counter-measures. We've only lost for now.”
”Once we're defeated, soldiers lose their morale. It can chip away at the country's unity.”
”Oh?”
”What, Simon?” Pulling an unpleasant face, the crown prince called him by his real name. ”Whenever you use that tone of voice, it means you really are going to act like an old man.”
”Well then, let me ask you something, Guhl,” Simon Rodloom shut one eye. ”You're saying that once you're sitting on the emperor's throne, you will continue to win, no matter what kind of war it is or who the enemy is?”
”Of course,” Argos - no, Guhl Mephius, immediately replied.
Oh - Simon hummed again. ”An emperor is not a G.o.d, Guhl. Even though he has the highest authority in the country, he cannot freely make use of the entire country, or of the people's lives.”
”No, he has to be a G.o.d, Simon.” Guhl suddenly stood up straight. Gazing straight ahead, he took the sword at his waist in his hand. ”Or at the very least, the retainers and the people have to think of him as a G.o.d-like existence. If they do so, their spirits will be united, and with the country as one, it will demonstrate a strength not to be defeated by anyone. And then there won't be any unnecessary victims, and nor will any needless fights spring up within it.”
”Of course, my father has his own Mephius, as I have my image of the nation. It's like your theory about it being like child-rearing. I'll make my child grow up big in my own way.”
”Your Highness Guhl…”
”I'll worry about a bride after that,” Guhl looked at Simon, who had also stood up, from the corner of his eyes. ”Honestly, I haven't even thought about it. Right now, you're basically my wife.”
He then closed his eyes. What appeared in the darkness that fell before his retinas was probably the same thing that Simon had seen in the cheap ale-house. As proof of that, Guhl said in a voice that was almost a whisper,
I'm glad you didn't die.
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