It happened sometime after the continent’s reorganization, once the world had finally settled down...
That day, I had summoned someone to the governmental affairs office in Parnam Castle. Liscia and I were waiting when a knock came at the door.
“Pardon me. You called for me, Your Majesty?”
“Yeah, I’ve been waiting. Thanks for coming, Colbert.”
“Thank you for your time, Sir Colbert,” Liscia added.
Before us stood the minister of finance, Gatsby C. Carmine. For some reason, he glanced about the room as if searching for something, or someone.
“Hmm? Is something wrong?” I asked.
“I was just wondering... Lady Roroa isn’t here, is she?”
“Roroa? Why?”
“Oh, no particular reason. It’s just that whenever you summon me here, it usually has something to do with one of her sudden ideas. Like when she wants to hold some grand event and expects me to ‘find the budget somewhere,’ or when she asks me to manage the loreleis’ performance schedules. I thought today might be another one of those times.”
“...”
He said all of that with such a straight face that I couldn’t even muster a retort. I glanced towards Liscia.
“Soumaaa?”
Her smile was...intense.
Ah. That smile means I’m looking at a minimum of thirty minutes of lecturing later. I’d have to make sure my coconspirator (well, the main culprit, really) Roroa, didn’t get away unscathed either. It wouldn’t be fair if only I got scolded.
Clearing my throat to change the subject, I said, “Ahem. Anyway, the reason I called you here today is that I plan to visit the Carmine Domain soon. I’d appreciate it if you could let Mio know ahead of time. It’d be rather inconsiderate of me to just show up unannounced.”
Colbert had married Mio Carmine, the current head of House Carmine. That was why I’d asked Colbert to pass a message to Mio, who was likely in Randel at the moment.
He blinked at me in confusion.
“You’re coming to our domain...? Um, is this an inspection?” he asked nervously.
It seemed he was worried that the royal family might have taken issue with something the Carmine Domain had done, hence my personal visit. Of course, those fears were unfounded.
“That’s not it,” I assured him. “I said I wanted to visit the Carmine Domain, but what I actually mean is a place within the domain, one that isn’t ruled by House Carmine.”
“You mean... Ah! Yumuen?” That was when Colbert caught on.
Yumuen, the capital of the former Lunarian Orthodox Papal State. It was home to the Grand Cathedral, the central seat of Lunarian Orthodoxy. Now that the Papal State had been dissolved, the city remained the sole holding of the faith, forming a small independent territory known as the Lunarian Orthodox Papal Domain.
Incidentally, the eastern half of what had once been Papal territory was now part of the restored House of Carmine’s domain, following its incorporation into the Kingdom of Friedonia after Souji dismantled the Papal State. During the war with the Great Tiger Empire, Mio had repelled the armies that invaded from the Papal State, then turned her forces around to fight in the final battle outside Parnam.
With Mio’s valor and her husband’s administrative skill, the Carmine family had proven ideal for overseeing the Lunaria Region and easing its assimilation into the Kingdom. As a result, Randel remained their capital while their holdings expanded northward, surrounding the Lunarian Orthodox Papal Domain.
“There’s no getting to Yumuen without passing through the Carmine Domain, right?” I asked.
“Well, yes,” Colbert admitted. “The surrounding territory is all ours.”
Much like the Vatican in Italy, the Lunarian Orthodox Papal Domain functioned as a city-state within Friedonia. Though most residents were clergy or their families, the city couldn’t sustain itself on its own. That was why Souji had permitted free movement in and out of the area except around the church facilities, and encouraged merchants and pilgrims to visit freely.
Public safety in Yumuen was maintained by troops from Friedonia’s National Defense Force. Since the Vatican was guarded by Swiss mercenaries, maybe some mercenaries from Mercenary State Zem or dragon knights from the Nothung Dragon Knight Kingdom would have been more appropriate, but Zem was no more, and Nothung’s dragon knights worshipped Mother Dragon, so they made a poor match for Lunarian Orthodoxy. That’s why we’d sent our guardsmen to maintain peace.
That being the case, though the city was nominally independent, the Lunarian Orthodox Papal Domain was strongly tied to the Kingdom of Friedonia, and in the minds of many, Yumuen was just another city in the Carmine Domain. That was why I was notifying Colbert of House Carmine before visiting the city.
“I see,” Colbert responded with a nod. “Will you be traveling overland? If so, I will need to arrange an escort...”
“No, I plan on flying directly to Yumuen by wyvern gondola. You just need to be aware we’ll be passing through your airspace that day.”
“Will you not drop by Randel?”
“Randel and Yumuen are at opposite ends of the domain. Besides, Mio’s on maternity leave, right? I don’t want to cause any more trouble for her than I need to.”
Mio was currently pregnant with Colbert’s child, and taking maternity leave in Randel as a result of that.
The pregnancy had been discovered right after she was assigned the Lunaria Region as part of her domain, and the double dose of good news had sent those tied to the former general of the army, Georg Carmine, into fits of glee. In preparation for the coming child, Colbert had redoubled his efforts in national government and managing his new domain.
I’d talked to Roroa about giving him time off, though.
“Thank you for being so considerate,” said Colbert, bowing his head. “By the way, sire, may I ask why it is you’re going to Yumuen?”
Colbert looked like he was trying to gauge my response, wary of some top secret goings-on of which he was unaware.
Even now that the world was at peace, the state intervening in religion the wrong way could still be the spark to set off unrest. His concern was not unreasonable. I smiled knowingly as I nodded.
“The main goal is to hold meetings with Souji and Mary. I was thinking it was about time I asked how things are going inside the faith since the change to the Lunarian Orthodox Papal Domain and to discuss how we’re going to handle things as we move forward. Also, I can’t help but be concerned about Anne, who was Fuuga’s saint.”
“I see. But couldn’t you just invite Sir Souji here?” Colbert asked.
“I could, but there’s a reason I need to go in person.”
His suggestion was sensible. If my only goal was an update on the faith’s affairs, summoning Souji would have sufficed. My trip, however, wasn’t merely procedural.
I let out a small sigh. “Souji told me they found the Lunalith beneath the main church.”
“The Lunalith...? You mean the monument that receives oracles from Lunaria, goddess of the moon? That actually exists?” Colbert’s eyes widened in disbelief.
We’d already known it existed. Merula had caught sight of it, and Mary, a former saint, had confirmed it was real. But to hear it straight from Souji, and now to have Colbert react like a child hearing there really was a Santa Claus, reminded me how strange our world’s relics could seem. Relics of overscience and arcane artifacts littered this world; their existence was improbable, but not impossible.
“They uncovered it recently,” I continued. “It’d been sealed away after Fuuga got hold of it. If the Lunalith issues another oracle and someone acts on it, it could plunge this newly peaceful world back into chaos. I don’t want to be manipulated by some prophecy. I need to see the Lunalith myself...to judge whether we should leave it be or destroy it.”
Silence fell between us. That was reason enough for the journey—I had to go to Yumuen.