Tearmoon Empire: Volume 8 (eBook)
250 Seiten
J-Novel Heart (Verlag)
978-1-7183-7162-0 (ISBN)
Mia reclines and flips open the Princess Chronicles, wondering what new developments it has in store, when her eyes leap to a certain line: 'Sion Sol Sunkland perished in his youth.' Needless to say, she does not remain recumbent for long. How could this possibly be?!
Though he may be infuriating at times, Sion is an ally, a classmate, and most importantly...a friend. She needs to warn him; if she can't save him personally-which, let's face it, is unlikely given her limited faculties-then he can at least save himself. But how? She only has a month before his impending doom. She can't exactly tell him he's going to die because a magic book said so. Heck, she can't tell him anything at all-he's currently in Sunkland, and she has no business there.
That's when an aggrieved Esmeralda shows up complaining about a marriage proposal her father insists she accept. Upon hearing that the suitor is a Sunkland noble, the cogs in Mia's brain begin to turn...
Chapter 12: The Royal Council
Inside Solecsudo Castle, the royal castle of the Kingdom of Sunkland, was a room with a rectangular table. Seven men sat around it. The one seated at the most central position was tall and firmly built with silver hair and sharp eyes. His ornate clothing marked him as King Abram Sol Sunkland.
Abram frowned as he listened to a report from his chancellor.
“A group of bandits unusually competent on horseback, you say...”
“That is correct, Your Majesty. They were able to outride our best cavalry and escape. Ordinary brigands, these are not. I suspect them to be agents of that roving Equestrian Kingdom.”
“Intriguing... Sion, tell me your thoughts on the matter.”
Sion straightened at his father’s gaze. “Yes, Your Majesty. I...believe we should avoid passing judgment too eagerly.”
“...And the reasoning for your caution?”
“Conflict between nations will cause much of the populace to suffer. It is premature to place the blame on the Equestrian Kingdom. I cannot imagine them attacking us for sport, and they have no reason to do so otherwise.”
“Ah, Your Highness is wise, but still young,” said Count Lampron, a noble whose pride for Sunkland and loyalty to his king exuded from every pore. He chuckled loudly. “Not all rulers are gifted with Your Highness’s wisdom. You should not expect other kingdoms to behave as sensibly as our glorious kingdom.”
“Mindless expansionism fuels the actions of many nations. There is no shortage of foolish rulers who will invade others without just cause simply to conquer more land.”
“Your language is a tad too provocative for these peaceful times, Count Lampron. To some ears, they may resemble the words of a warmonger,” added another participant.
“Oh? I didn’t expect to hear that from you of all people.”
The Royal Council was a meeting of nobility where members engaged in political fencing. Sion, who’d had no intention of engaging with the affairs of governance until graduating from Saint-Noel, had never felt much love for the assembly. His experiences at school, however, had slightly changed his perspective. Needless to say, he was most heavily influenced by the princess of Tearmoon who, despite being the same age as him, was actively pushing for reformations in her empire.
I wonder what Mia and the others are doing right now...
In his mind’s eye, he saw again her purple-clad figure. His ears, though, heard the voice of a different girl.
Tell her while I still can, or I’ll regret it, huh...?
Tiona’s words—so earnest, so urgent—reverberated against his skull. There certainly were words he wished to speak to her.
Judging by how often Mia occupies my thoughts, I’m probably... But do I, as I am right now, have the right to tell her how I feel?
His misstep in Remno haunted him to this day. Bitter regret, made harsher by the recognition of his own immaturity, pressed down on his chest like an anvil, keeping the words from reaching his mouth.
I’ll make up for my past failures, but I’ll earn the chance myself. I said that, and I still stand by it. But...
His rumination was interrupted by a sudden shift in the room’s atmosphere. One member’s comment had set the whole council astir.
“Recently, I’ve received reports about Equestrian troops roaming near the border. The two can’t possibly be unrelated. For the sake of the people living there, it is imperative that we deploy the army immediately, if for nothing else than to assuage the fears of local Sunkland citizens,” exclaimed an increasingly animated Lampron.
In terms of the political spectrum, he belonged to the conservative side, which valued tradition and espoused Sunkland expansionism. They asserted that rather than suffer under an incompetent king, it was preferable for people to be ruled by the King of Sunkland who, in his glorious wisdom, would bring them closer to prosperity. It was, incidentally, the very belief embraced by the White Crow, Graham. These expansionists were, by nature, frequently dismissive of the sovereignty of other nations.
Sion quietly sighed before speaking up in a commanding voice. “Your Majesty, at the current time, there is no need to get the army involved. With your permission, I shall organize a detachment of troops and personally lead them there to investigate the situation.”
The Royal Council was a place where myriad motives and interests clashed above and under the table. It was politics in its purest form, forcing its participants to weather sentiments both good and bad. To survive it, one had to swallow the honey with the bile. To harness it, swallow eagerly. Sion yet swallowed with difficulty, but he continued to do so, for he never lost sight of why he was here.
Was it his conviction? His commitment to upholding what was fair and right? No, it was not. The bitter events of that day had shifted the beam of his scale of justice.
What would Mia do?
Recalibrated by the Great Sage of the Empire—who neither intended nor knew how to do so—his scale now possessed a corrected set of values, allowing him to weigh situations against the philosophical masses to determine what was truly just.
“The sword of justice given to us royals is a sharp one. It cuts well and fast, but it cannot mend. Should we use it in error, many will suffer,” he declared as he held his father’s gaze.
“Is it not too dangerous for Your Highness to go in person?” asked an attending noble.
Sion shook his head at the call for caution. “Negligence of people who suffer chips away at the very base upon which the royal family of Sunkland stands. It damages our right to rule. However, we must also take care not to recklessly cause new suffering through our own actions. Finding the truth is imperative, and I ask again, Your Majesty, for your permission to do so.”
He rose, walked in front of his father, and dropped to one knee as he bowed his head. The king regarded him with a look of satisfaction.
“I see... Very well,” the king said, nodding firmly. “Your request is granted. You are now specially and formally ordered to lead a detachment of troops and subdue the bandits in question.”
Thus, it was decided that Sion would command a freshly organized military detachment tasked with eliminating the bandits.
“Another ten out of ten on the reckless scale. Have you ever considered walking away from danger every once in a while, milord?” said Keithwood with profound exasperation after hearing about Sion’s new appointment. “Have you ever considered the consequences to Sunkland if something were to happen to you? Actually, I’m sure you have, which only makes it more baffling...”
“Come on, Keithwood. Lighten up. It’s like they say: ‘the path to a benevolent king is paved with nervous attendants.’”
“They definitely don’t say that.”
Sion gave him a reassuring grin. It failed to have its intended effect.
The way he’s been behaving lately... thought Keithwood. It’s like he’s rushing to get something done. There’s a strange sense of anxiousness, even desperation...
Keithwood could even pinpoint the exact time when Sion’s behavior had changed. It was last winter. Specifically, after they’d attended Princess Mia’s birthday festival at the Tearmoon capital.
Did something happen that day? Nothing in particular comes to mind, but...
Just then, while they were preparing for Sion’s departure...
“Sion!”
A young boy not yet in his teens came dashing toward them. His neatly trimmed hair was the same shade of silver as Sion, but his body lacked the toughened musculature of regular training. Unlike the older boy, he exuded an aura of delicate fragility.
Echard Sol Sunkland, who was turning ten this year, was the second prince of Sunkland and younger brother of Sion.
“Sion, I heard the news. Are you really going to exterminate the bandits yourself?” asked Echard, eyes blinking with concern.
Sion smiled in an attempt to comfort his brother. “That’s right. And I’ll be accompanied by only the best of our soldiers. That’s not to say I’ll be letting down my guard either. Plus, Keithwood’ll be there. I’ll be fine.”
“But... But if something were to happen to you...”
“Ha ha ha, you worry too much, Lord Echard. When His Highness was your age, he was already besting grown men at swordplay,” quipped an aging knight nearby.
The comment prompted a round of praise about Sion’s ability from the surrounding soldiers.
“His Highness is a genius swordsman. No bandit will be his match.”
“You’d know if you learned from him, Lord Echard. Why don’t you ask His Highness for some lessons?”
Echard smiled uncomfortably at the chuckling knights.
That really isn’t doing the boy any favors... Glancing sideward at the exchange, Keithwood bit his lip. It was obvious to him that Echard was struggling with a great deal of stress, owing mostly to the crushing envy he felt toward his brother. Discord between the two princes could be exploited by politically-minded nobles for partisan gain. I can’t...
| Erscheint lt. Verlag | 4.7.2022 |
|---|---|
| Reihe/Serie | Tearmoon Empire | Tearmoon Empire |
| Illustrationen | GILSE |
| Übersetzer | David Teng |
| Sprache | englisch |
| Themenwelt | Literatur ► Fantasy / Science Fiction ► Fantasy |
| Schlagworte | Heartwarming • Light Novel • period fantasy • Princess • Reincarnation • rewriting history • school |
| ISBN-10 | 1-7183-7162-4 / 1718371624 |
| ISBN-13 | 978-1-7183-7162-0 / 9781718371620 |
| Informationen gemäß Produktsicherheitsverordnung (GPSR) | |
| Haben Sie eine Frage zum Produkt? |
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