It was March 27, and today, an important meeting would be held to decide upon the imperial faction’s plan of action. It was to be attended by the empress; Rodis, the head of the imperial faction; Shii, the next head of House Arkstoria; and for some odd reason, me. I guessed if you had to give me a position, it would be the representative of Goza Village or the voice of the common people.
“I’m heading out, Lia,” I said as I left home that morning.
“Okay. Take care.”
Lia was a Vesterian princess, so it was no surprise that she wasn’t allowed to attend; this was an important meeting for Liengard’s future.
But why me? I wasn’t proud of it, but I knew nothing about politics. I don’t have anything to add to this meeting… Shii had told me a lot about the current political situation, such as how the imperial faction and the noble faction were fighting, how the Four Powers couldn’t come to an agreement, and how there might have been a traitor…but most of that was beyond me.
I’ll just have to do my best not to say anything weird and throw off the meeting…, I thought as I walked through the streets of Liengard. Before I knew it, I had arrived at Liengard Palace.
“Hey, Allen! Over here!” Shii called out. She was standing before the palace’s large doors wearing her school uniform. It looked like she had been waiting for me.
“Good morning, President,” I said.
“Morning, Allen. Thanks for coming. You didn’t have to reschedule plans or anything, did you?” Shii asked.
“No, not at all.”
I’d had no plans beyond getting in my practice swings, and I’d already taken care of that this morning.
“It’s a little cold today… I had trouble getting out of bed this morning,” Shii admitted.
“Ha-ha, somehow I find that really easy to picture,” I said as the sight of Shii lazing in bed wrapped in her covers popped into my mind.
“Hmph… What’s that supposed to mean?” she asked.
“Ah-ha-ha, I was just joking.”
We continued to chat as we headed to the upper floor of the palace, where the empress was waiting. We went up a spiral staircase to the north, crossed a connecting passageway to the east, strolled down an outdoor ramp to the south, and climbed back up a large staircase to the west. This is crazy… It’s like we’re walking through a maze. The layout of the palace was probably intentionally confusing to throw off invading enemies. Reaching the empress was no easy task.
After walking for a while longer, Shii suddenly stopped.
“We’re here,” she said.
“Really…?” I asked.
We were in the middle of a long hallway. There was nothing resembling a room in sight.
“Hmm-hmm, just watch,” Shii said with a proud smile.
She knocked a distinctive rhythm on the right wall—one long knock, followed by two short, two long, then two more short knocks—and I heard a loud clunk. The large white wall on the other side of the hallway slid apart to reveal a huge set of doors.
“There’s a secret room here?!” I asked, incredulous.
“Hee-hee, isn’t it amazing? Liengard Palace has a lot of hidden areas, emergency escape routes, and shelters, all of which are unknown to the general public. I don’t know them all, either, of course,” Shii said, turning to face the room. “Let’s go inside. Her Majesty and Father are waiting.”
“Okay,” I responded.
We opened the stately doors to reveal a small, tidy room. The only furnishings were a round table with chairs in the center of the room, a few shelves, and lights. It was incredibly sparse and gave off the impression that it had never been used before.
The empress sat in an elegant chair in the back of the room. Rodis Arkstoria stood behind her.
“Greetings, Mr. Rodol. Thank you for taking time out of your busy schedule to come to the royal palace,” said the empress.
“Oh no, it was no bother. Thank you for your kind invitation,” I replied courteously. The empress was a problematic person, but she was the ruler of Liengard; I had to be as careful as possible not to be rude to her.
“Hee-hee. Please, don’t be so formal. We’re friends, after all.”
“But I must be formal. You are the empress of Liengard.”
“If you insist. Please, be seated.”
“Thank you.”
I bowed, pulled out a chair, and sat down.
“I apologize for the cramped room. I wish we could have met somewhere more spacious, but there are eyes and ears everywhere these days,” the empress said with a sigh.
“Then, this room is safe?” I asked.
“Yes. There are special soul crystals in the walls and rare blood diamonds in the pillars supporting each corner. Thanks to that, we are completely cut off from the outside world—no electronic signals can leave this room, nor can any flows of spirit power, however small. There is absolutely no chance of our conversation being overheard.”
“I see. That’s a relief.”
It sounded like they had taken every precaution to prevent a leak.
“May I ask you a question, Mr. Rodol?” the empress asked.
“Of course.”
“I heard you suffered grave wounds in your last battle… Have you made a full recovery yet?”
“I have. Thank you very much for all of your help.”
The empress and Rodis had arranged for us to be admitted to the hospital as soon as we returned from Cherin, which had allowed Lia and the others to rest and recover from their injuries. I was incredibly grateful for that.
“That’s good to hear.” The empress smiled softly and cleared her throat. She seemed ready to talk business now that we had exchanged pleasantries. “Okay… Everything we’re about to discuss is a state secret. Please don’t tell anyone of what you learn here.”
“Understood,” I said.
The empress fixed her sharp gaze on me, and I braced myself.
“There are three main topics I wish to discuss. The first is some good news,” she said.
“Really?”
“Yes. I assume you’re aware that world leaders suspected Rize Dorhein of Fox Financing to be the traitor who leaked the location of the top secret conference?”
“Yeah…”
Shii had told me about that when we were in Cherin. It was way too upsetting for me to forget.
“There has been a development… This morning, the Holy Knights Association sent a report that Rize Dorhein has been cleared of suspicion.”
“…Huh?”