Editor: Tseirp
The morning after Prince Ryun and the Darwei negotiation delegation arrived at the autonomous city of Kwebasa.
A swordsman was swinging his sword in the courtyard of the Freedom Breeze Inn.
A little further off, a robed magician sat on an ice chair and at an ice desk, reading a book.
Two won approached them.
“Duke Rondo, may I have a mont?”
“Princess Shio Fen, of course — please.”
Ryo said that and produced two chairs with ice cushions.
One for Princess Shio Fen, and one for her maid, Mifa.
“Please, call Shio.”
“And you can call Ryo.”
They had known each other for so ti now… but changes in their positions had pushed them to use the most formal forms of address until now.
“Ryo-sama, you’ve stayed here in Kwebasa before, haven’t you?”
“Yes. Before Bosuntar, this was where I stayed.”
Princess Shio Fen was from the Bosuntar nation.
“If I rember right, at that ti Kwebasa was annexed by the Grand Duchy of Atinjo?”
“That’s right. Kwebasa’s main fleet… was destroyed under various circumstances. The annexation went ahead with almost no resistance.”
“Do you think that the destruction of that fleet was a sche by the Grand Duchy of Atinjo?”
Princess Shio Fen asked lightly, as if asking whether pasta and spaghetti are the sa thing.
Her tone and the content of the question were so disparate that even Ryo, for a mont, failed to grasp what she was getting at.
But in truth, Ryo had thought about that matter many tis.
“Most likely it was the Grand Duchy’s doing. I don’t an they knew exactly what was there. But they knew sothing was off, and they maneuvered the pri minister to send out the Kwebasa fleet…”
“So even if the fleet had returned intact, it would have contributed to intelligence gathering.”
Ryo answered, and Princess Shio Fen nodded.
Either way, nothing could turn out badly for the Grand Duchy.
If the fleet had been wiped out, the Grand Duchy could acquire Kwebasa without paying a price.
The ‘free city’ of Kwebasa that they had tried to obtain for a century.
“Looking at it that way, the current situation is unfolding exactly as the Grand Duchy imagined.”
“It would seem so. They pushed to host this conference and offered Kwebasa as the venue. At this point, it even seems possible they knew about the Choouchi Empire’s southward advance from the start.”
Both Princess Shio Fen and Ryo nodded at that.
They didn’t go so far as to think the Grand Duke or Duke Helb were openly allied with the northern Choouchi Empire.
But they couldn’t accept that the Choouchi Empire’s move ca like a bolt from the blue.
“What this conference will discuss is uniting to face the Choouchi Empire. No country is likely to oppose that in principle. Geographically, Darwei will stand at the forefront. That’s acceptable. However…”
“I don’t expect the conference to proceed straightforwardly.”
After Princess Shio Fen and Mifa left, Abel ca over to Ryo.
“Were you having so complicated talk?”
“A gathering of schers.”
Ryo answered Abel’s casual question while pretending to push up his glasses.
Apparently, in Ryo’s mind, those called ‘schers’ wore glasses…
“Princess Shio Fen seems like she could handle that kind of thing, but Ryo — you couldn’t, right?”
“I’m aware of that. But if you say that, Abel, you’re the sa.”
“True. I’m not great at that sort of thing either.”
Ryo and Abel were probably the types farthest removed from schers.
At heart, they were decent, basically kind people…
“You do need people with scheming tendencies to govern a state, though.”
“In our kingdom that’s what Lord Heinlein is for.”
“Exactly. Abel, you should always be grateful to the Pri Minister!”
“I am grateful. Ryo, don’t cause trouble for Lord Heinlein.”
“I’m the model premier duke of proper conduct and behavior, so I’ll be fine.”
Ryo declared with a face full of confidence.
Abel tilted his head and gave a dubious look.
Confidence is judged entirely by the one who has it; the opinions of others don’t matter.
That afternoon, the two of them went out into town.
Went out is generous — they were just going to have lunch.
“Abel, we can’t embarrass ourselves two days in a row. We’re not naless adventurers; so people know us as the premier duke and his guardian swordsman of the Kightley Kingdom.”
“It would sully the na of the kingdom. If that happened, we’d owe our people back ho an apology.”
They said admirable things with their mouths…
But the way they sniffed and scanned for a good restaurant with their eyes and noses gave off a strong sll of impending failure.
Yesterday they had eaten at ‘Happy Eats’, a little shop down a side street.
Today, they were browsing places facing the square.
Nearby, a great deal of luggage was being brought in.
“An inn?”
“A large diplomatic delegation must have arrived, huh?”
Abel and Ryo watched from outside, where they wouldn’t be in the carriers’ way, looking around curiously.
“Is that sign the inn’s na?”
“‘Freedom Breeze Annex’? So this is the new annex of the Freedom Breeze Inn where we’re staying.”
When Ryo had asked the staff of the Freedom Breeze Inn, he had been told that the Suje Kingdom’s delegation would be staying in that annex.
“I see. Then these must be the Suje delegation’s luggage.”
“They sent Lord Protector Kabui Somal to Prince Ryun’s wedding ceremony. Now that the archipelago region has cald down, perhaps they’re extending diplomacy to the continent.”
“A nation can only put energy into diplomacy once dostic stability is secured.”
“Hearing that makes realize Abel actually did his duty as king properly.”
“I was never very good at it, but I did try at diplomacy.”
Abel gave a wry smile.
Ryo could imagine how difficult it must have been when the neighboring powers’ leaders included the Empire’s Rupert VI and Union Governor Lord Aubrey.
“Excuse , could you move a little?”
“I’m sorry, but a carriage is arriving — please don’t co any closer.”
Guards began securing space in front of the Freedom Breeze Annex entrance.
“Soone important is arriving.”
“It must be the head of the Suje delegation.”
“Who could it be? That Lord Protector Kabui Somal again?”
“He just returned from the Darwei capital not long ago, didn’t he? He couldn’t leave his country twice in a row like that.”
“In that case, it might be so foreign affairs minister like Jodaar, who we saw at the café earlier.”
“That would be plausible.”
The two weren’t in a hurry, so they watched from outside the area the guards had secured.
A carriage arrived and a woman stepped down.
“Oh…”
“So beautiful.”
“Is she so princess?”
The citizens of Kwebasa around them comnted as they watched the woman who had just gotten out.
The woman…Ryo and Abel both recognized her.
“No way…”
“Queen Iliaja ca personally.”
Indeed, it was soone they knew.
Iliaja, who had recently beco queen of the Suje Kingdom.
Queen Iliaja stepped down from the carriage, briefly waved with a smile to the circle of Kwebasa citizens around her.
And then her eyes paused on a certain point.
With a look of considerable surprise.
There, two n were standing.
One in robes; the other a swordsman.
The robed man smiled and gave a small wave; the swordsman smiled and nodded.
As Queen Iliaja passed through the Freedom Breeze Annex doors, she said to the butler Ronk, who accompanied her.
“Out front are Abel-san and Ryo-san, who helped us. Please bring them to my room.”
Ryo and Abel were led into the Freedom Breeze Annex.
TLN: Please read my translations at tseirptranslations, I did not give permission to any site to host my translations.
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