“I understand how you feel. Even I hold my resentment... but, even if such is the case, what can we do? A commoner has but a commoner’s life to live. The fourth princess must live as the fourth princess.”
“That’s right. It’s already been decided... If I continue to wait, nothing will be accomplished.”
“That’s life for you.”
“Even so... I want to change the empire. I can’t just be complacent until I’m standing at the prison gates.”
Regis contained her just before she could get too worked up.
“Calm down, Altina... Prince Latrielle becoming emperor, your future, it’s all been decided by the unstoppable current called the empire. Are you telling me... you mean to oppose it?”
“...If I have to.”
While her tone was calm, her fiery passion was still clear for all to see.
“That’s reckless.” Regis shuddered. “At times, passion can narrow your field of vision... If you go through with this, you will very likely lose your life.”
Yet there was no hesitation in her crimson eyes. Her expression told the worrying tale that she had already made her resolve.
“I will change the empire. That is my goal in life. To give it up would be no different from giving up on life.”
“Ah...” Regis swallowed his breath. He never thought he would reunite with his own words here, of all places.
Why had Altina seen Regis as a kindred soul? He was finally beginning to see it.
“And to pursue these feelings, I must move forward.”
“Don’t be rash, Altina... You need to give it some thought...”
“I’ve already thought about it too many times to count, and in that time a great many people have suffered. There are countless things I’m lacking if I want to change the empire, but time is in short supply, and I can’t afford to waste any more!”
Regis stooped his shoulders. He knew he would never be able to stop her. The whole situation was a tragedy that pained his heart.
“Aah, Altina... You are too wise... You would have been able to live a far more comfortable life had you only been a fool. With your looks and lineage, the man who becomes your husband would shower you with all his affection. Enjoying wonderful songs; tasting expensive wine; immersing yourself in opera; visiting the hills in spring, the rivers in summer, the forests in fall, the castles in winter; adoring gemstones; dressing up in tasteful gowns. You would lack nothing to enjoy the happiness of a noble lady.”
“Yet no matter what luxury I live in, I can never escape from the sense of guilt that such a life has been squeezed from those suffering under tyranny.”
“Hah... I do remember saying something like that...”
“You gave an answer to the doubts swirling in my heart.”
“Good grief, I’m... the worst. ‘Knowledge does not bring happiness’—such is a quote from my favorite book.” At this point, Regis could do little more than watch her expression.
The resolution on her face was far too beautiful, far too dignified, clearly revealing the firmness of her determination.
Her faint pink lips parted.
“I will become empress. I need your wisdom.”
Regis forgot to breathe as he burned the form of the red-haired, crimson-eyed princess into his mind.
A declaration too heavy to bear for a fourteen-year-old girl. Far too many obstacles stood between her and her destination. Yet she said she would press on, fully aware of them.
Was this the emotion those around him felt when the first emperor of the Belgarian Empire proclaimed he would thoroughly crush the barbarians and form a nation?
If these hands have enough power to change the world, I want to grant her wish. He knew this from the bottom of his heart.
“But... Altina... I don’t think I’m the talent you’re hoping for.”
“Regis, I heard a rumor about you three months ago.”
“You mentioned... What was the rumor?”
“That you are an excellent strategist; an intellectual with rare insight.”
Who could have possibly said that? Regis was so embarrassed he wished for the floorboards to swallow him up.
“As I said then, rumors are always embellished, and in this case even aggrandized. The only other explanation is that you must have the wrong person.”
“Your timid parts included. When I met you, my hopes changed to certainty. Of course, I won’t say I understood everything, but I knew you were someone I could trust. Your ability, your personality and your ideology.”
“Such a hasty conclusion...”
“It wasn’t a hasty conclusion. Why do you think I went so far as to dress up as a coachman to hear your true thoughts? I had my own share of troubles.”
“I suppose that did happen.”
“I have my reasons for believing in you. Besides, wouldn’t you say that trusting another depends on more than just rationale?”
“Is that how it works?”
“Of course it is!”
“Yeaah... Still... You know...”
Regis didn’t know what to say.
Silence followed. For a while, the room was suffused with no more than the quiet whistle of the wind outside—until a violent knock shattered the serenity. It came in concert with a yell.
“Hey, Regis! Are you up!? We need to talk!”
“Sir Jerome...!?”
“Wha!?”
Altina went pale. She had just confessed a secret that put her own life at risk. With various forms of anxiety overlapping each other, she could no longer keep her cool.
Regis leaned in, lowering his voice so no one outside could hear.
“...Calm down, Altina... You need to hide.”
“...Do... Do you... think he heard...!?”
“...If he had, he wouldn’t have knocked.”
“...Ah.”
“More importantly, it’ll be dangerous if anyone finds out we were alone together at this hour. More specifically, my life will be in danger.”
“...Eh?”
“Don’t worry about it. Just hide.”
“...Hide where!? There’s no space behind the bookshelf or under the bed.”
“...It-It-It doesn’t matter where.”
This was followed by another harsh knock and a louder shout.
“Oi, Regis!? Hey! I’m letting myself in!”
“Aah, wait! Please wait. I was in the middle of changing so I’m buck naked, and...”
“Hah! Who cares? I’ve no interest in your twig of a body. I’m coming in!”
The door slammed open.
✧ ✧ ✧
When Jerome entered, Regis was in bed with the blanket pulled up to his chest.