Chapter 24
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Chapter 24
"Many weapons must have been damaged when capturing the Bright Dragon."
"Yes, I was intending to report that, Your Majesty."
"Allocate additional funds. The money recovered from the recent investigation of the Southern Region should be substantial."
"Indeed, Your Majesty."
It was Soho who had traveled directly to Kidland Territory and returned.
He recalled the improved finances and remembered that this achievement had been accomplished under Adeline's leadership.
Thanks to her, an unexpected windfall had materialized. After experiencing this matter, Soho came to understand somewhat the Emperor's obsession with Adeline.
"However, Your Majesty, there is a slight problem with this weapons supply."
At his words, Dale looked up.
"There are components that go into the seams of armor. The more intricate they are, the better the mobility—but when the workshop caught fire, the technical documents were lost, it seems."
"Even if the documents are destroyed, the craftsmen remain, don't they?"
"That is... unfortunately, they are unable to work at the moment. Many craftsmen were injured due to delayed evacuation."
"What of replacement personnel?"
"The master craftsmen's apprentices remain, but their skills are inadequate. Since this is delicate work, there are limits to what can be transmitted orally. It is a difficult situation."
"Winter training will be difficult to conduct as realistically as actual combat."
"That appears to be the case. If we could find a dwarf and obtain answers from them, perhaps—but finding dwarves who vanished so thoroughly long ago is like plucking stars from the sky. Ah, but there is one other method."
"Speak."
"We could request consultation from Marquis Cassion Schultz."
"..."
"As the Master of the Magic Tower, Marquis Schultz is likely to know. Given the Magic Tower's long history, there should be texts documenting dwarven techniques."
"I see."
Dale nodded and rested his chin on his hand, lost in thought.
"Soho."
"Yes, Your Majesty."
He called back Soho, who was quietly withdrawing at the Emperor's silence.
"I've become curious about something recently."
"Yes, yes, please tell me."
Soho was inwardly astonished. The Emperor had become curious about something in this world.
He who always seemed indifferent to everything!
"What do you think might be the reason someone sneaks out at night?"
"At night, you say?"
"On the premise that this is someone who doesn't usually move about at night."
"Ah, yes."
As Soho listened intently, he began to speak slowly.
"From some point onward, this person suddenly began taking evening outings."
"Y-yes."
"You've been hiding something from me, and the moment you dropped a certain object, you quickly concealed it in your bosom."
"Indeed, Your Majesty."
"Then one day, a strong fragrance wafted from you, and you'd applied cosmetics. Moreover, it seemed someone was visiting you periodically."
"Ah, that is certainly suspicious...."
Soho, about to answer hastily, instinctively fell silent.
'Whenever His Majesty asks questions unrelated to state affairs, it's only when they concern Adeline.'
Soho considered the intent behind the questioner's words.
'His Majesty has something troubling him.'
And that concern was....
Soho's expression darkened as he slowly reconsidered the earlier questions.
Late-night outings, things being hidden, fragrance, cosmetics—in other words, behaviors that weren't done before.
What could the reason be?
...An affair.
Soho desperately wished the terrible conclusion wasn't true.
But no matter how he thought about it, it matched the pattern of infidelity.
Could it be that Adeline was unfaithful to His Majesty...!
"What are your thoughts?"
"W-well, in my opinion...."
Soho felt a pressure more severe than when he'd taken the Imperial Palace examination.
"It appears she is preparing a special gift for Your Majesty."
Soho resolved to speak nonsense for the sake of world peace.
"You haven't identified anyone specifically."
"For example, I speak under the assumption that it is Adeline."
Soho watched Dale anxiously, but surprisingly, he didn't seem displeased.
"All of this occurs when it must remain hidden from the other party."
"It gets discovered."
"Yes. For instance, a surprise birthday party, or a surprise gift, that sort of thing."
"...."
He listened to Soho's words with genuine attention.
"As I understand it, the Lockhart Family prepares gifts for those dear to them around this early winter, when the grain ripens and loved ones share warmth together!"
"That's odd."
"It's true, Your Majesty. Preparations to endure the harsh winter, something like that. But it's a surprise gift, you see. Hehehehe."
The Emperor's broad back remained still. He crossed his legs thoughtfully.
"Does House Lockhart have such a tradition?"
"Of course. I investigated Adeline by Your Majesty's command and learned many facets of the family, so you may trust me."
Soho was silently begging for his life. It was obviously an absurd lie.
But it was better than saying that Adeline seemed to be committing infidelity.
That was a matter of life and death.
Moreover, it could be a matter upon which the very survival of the nation depended.
Adeline's existence held such tremendous significance for The Emperor.
"Since we investigated it in House Lockhart's territory, it should be certain."
Soho performed his duty as an Aide.
Then Dale, who had been contemplating slowly, turned his head.
"That's absurd."
He picked up The Emperor's seal with an indifferent expression as if unconcerned.
However, the seal was directed not at the documents but at the back of his own hand.
"...."
Dale rubbed and wiped the back of his hand, then pressed the seal onto the documents again.
With a vacant expression, he picked up his pen and scrawled worm-like characters across the page.
"A gift, then."
"...."
"Perhaps that's the case."
The corners of his mouth lifted ever so slightly.
Though it was a cold day, cold sweat trickled down Soho's back.
'He's already becoming agitated. He's secretly anticipating this!'
There was no way to salvage the words already spoken.
Soho gazed at The Emperor, who appeared subtly delighted, and prayed desperately with clasped hands.
Was there any such tradition? This was a well-intentioned lie for the sake of world peace.
Please.
Please let it be nothing serious, Miss Adeline.
Let it not be mere wind.
'Please!'
* * *
"Do you have something to say to me?"
Today, Dale had been hovering around me all day long.
Why was he acting this way when he never did before?
Could he have noticed that I lost the ring?
Dale, who had been standing rigidly near me, pretended not to notice as he crouched down in the field.
"It's nothing at all."
Whether it was truly my imagination or not, Dale tilted his large frame and diligently tilled the soil.
'I need to find it quickly.'
I scanned the field where Dale was working, hoping the ring might appear, my eyes wide and darting about.
But it didn't seem to be over there.
'But why doesn't Dale look exhausted?'
He was doing fieldwork alongside me today, yet he didn't appear to be struggling.
Rather, he seemed to enjoy playing in the soil. Like a delighted farmer savoring the scent of earth, he tilled the ground with vigorous strength.
'It's enough if at least one person is enjoying themselves.'
I exhaled a sigh.
"Who on earth is eating them?"
I examined the traces—medicinal herbs had been selectively plucked while cleverly avoiding every trap.
The pattern showed that toxic herbs and those with bitter tastes had been avoided, with only the beneficial ones carefully extracted.
"This is someone who knows well what medicinal herbs to consume."
Judging by the rather large footprints, it was a man.
Certainly a man capable of moving his body with agility.
"Dale, besides you, is there another young man in this village?"
"There are approximately thirty men in their twenties among the villagers."
"Among them, is there anyone with extensive knowledge of medicinal herbs or who has received considerable education?"
"Not that I'm aware of."
"I see...."
If someone had eaten whatever they found out of hunger, they would have consumed herbs capable of causing toxic reactions in the human body.
In a small village like this, rumors would surely have spread about someone falling ill.
That meant the culprit was not a villager.
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