Chapter 51: There Aren’t Enough Words
THE next day, both Bertine and Cecilio sat in the first floor’s main cabin furiously working on various documents. Good grief, what workaholics, Ignacio thought when he stepped inside and saw them. Then he too sat down to do his own work. He read through a stack of petitions, dividing them into two piles—one he would turn over to Cecilio for him to handle and another he could manage himself.
For a while, only the sound of pens scratching busily on paper could be heard in the stateroom. Then Ignacio suddenly lifted his head with a gasp.
“Your Excellency, your mother’s death anniversary is almost upon us. We should be done with our work in time, so why don’t we head to the Callisto district after? We’ll take this boat down to visit her grave and make it back to the hinterlands in time for Bertine to return.”
“Hmmm…”
Cecilio contemplated Ignacio’s suggestion. Bertine interjected to reassure him that she didn’t mind the change in plans. She would inform the crew as well.
“Are you certain it won’t be a problem if we travel down south after our inspection is finished?” he asked to be sure.
“Of course. After all, the national government also funded this boat’s construction, so please don’t feel so reserved about its use. Would you mind if I accompanied you to Callisto as well? I would like to thank everyone there for their hard work,” she said.
“Please do. Thank you, I appreciate it.”
Did Cecilio’s mother die from an illness? Though Bertine was curious, she knew it would be impolite to ask him, so she concentrated on her work again. But it seemed Cecilio guessed what she was thinking because he began to tell her about his mother.
“My mother died from an injury. When I was five years old, my mother was in charge of providing meals to the miners. I was my parents’ only child. Both my father and grandfather were fishermen, so I would go with my mother to the mines for her work. I played outside, where I wouldn’t bother the others, and waited for her until she finished. That was my life every day. You know how my home is situated far from others’? It would have been difficult for our neighbors to watch me while the adults in my family worked. Back then, the mines were dug by the citizens of the Federation while imperials owned the companies and oversaw the operations.”
Cecilio’s tale helped Bertine understand even more now how he became this country’s leader.
“That day, my mother told the imperial supervisor something. He pushed her hard and sent her flying when he heard what she had to say. There was a massive rock jutting up behind her and she hit her head on it once she fell on the ground. She didn’t bleed, and she even said she was fine. Although she had a headache. A few days later, she died in her sleep.”
Ignacio nodded, his expression bitter.
“Both the mine’s owner and the man who pushed her that day didn’t visit her, much less attend her funeral. They refused to apologize too,” Cecilio continued. “The day after my mother died, one of our neighbors came to our home with a payment of five small silver coins from the company that owned the mine. I don’t know what they told him or how they convinced him. My father couldn’t even do anything about it since I was the only witness and no one would believe a child. Moreover, he didn’t have the means to wage war on an imperial company.”
Bertine didn’t know what to say at hearing such a tragic story.
“His face expressionless, my father tossed the silver coins out the window into the garden. But like I said, I was only five years old at the time. I searched desperately for each and every one until I found them all. I still keep them with me. Five coins. My mother’s life was apparently worth only five small silver coins. I couldn’t just leave it at that. A country’s lack of power cheapens the value of its people’s lives. I didn’t find out until much, much later that what happened to my mother was just the tip of the iceberg. Sometimes, I’ll take out those coins and stare at them. Every time, the sight strengthens my resolve. ‘Move this country forward every day, even if it’s just an inch.”
Stunned as she was, Bertine couldn’t even offer him any words of comfort. Cecilio continued speaking.
“I was five years old and all I had was the grief of losing my mother. But the older I became, the more I found the imperials’ treatment of us unforgivable. Then I started taking action, determined to protect my country and my people. A poor, ignorant country treats the lives of its citizens cheaply. Someone had to do something to change the situation. And I decided it would be me since no one else would. That’s how I’ve lived my life. I will never again allow this country’s people to be treated like cheap tools to be easily discarded once they’ve outlived their usefulness.”
Ignacio picked up the thread from there. “His Excellency’s uncompromising position on the reparations wasn’t just about the money itself. He wants to punish the Luennian royal family for their dismissive attitude toward our so-called uncivilized nation. They think they can just ignore their debt to us because they have no respect for those who gave their lives in the war.”
“Now the Federation’s mines are owned and managed by our own people,” Cecilio added. “They do what they can to protect the lives of the workers who dig the shafts. We’ve also made it illegal for Federation landowners to lease their lands to imperials at such low prices it’s practically free. When I became the leader of our country, I was almost overwhelmed by how much work there was to be done. But I’ve made steady inroads. Though we may be moving as slow as snails, we are moving. And that’s better than standing still. So I have no intention of granting mercy to San Luenne’s royal family.”
Bertine remained silent. Any words she offered would be token ones in comparison to the pain of this country and its people. Cecilio smiled gently at her before he spoke again.
“If my mother were still alive, she’d be haranguing me to introduce you to her. Driven and frank as you both are, I think you two would have gotten along famously.”
“I feel the same,” Bertine said. “I would have enjoyed meeting her, Your Excellency. She must be so proud of her son as she watches over you from God’s garden.”
“Hm, I wonder about that. She might be angry at me, calling me ‘an undutiful boy,’ for leaving my father and grandfather behind in our village. Especially since I don’t even visit them that often.”
With that, Cecilio once more dedicated himself to his documents.
Meanwhile, Bertine recalled their meeting in her shop.
“Now you understand the depth and severity of the Empire’s exploitation of the Federation through its people’s ignorance… The Kingdom of San Luenne conducted business with the Empire and provided financial support for its armies… I want to restore my country through reparations… But it’s difficult for me to claim there’s a shortfall in the funds due to us because of your presence here…”
At the time, she had only been able to take his words at face value, but now she understood. Cecilio wanted to protect this country and its people from the bottom of his heart. He rescued those who had been deceived and enslaved, captured. He convinced the stubborn chiefs of each region to set aside their differences and unite as a country.
Then she remembered what his father had told her about him: “At this rate, makes me wonder if he’s plannin’ on going down with the country.”
“Your Excellency, please allow me to join you on your crusade,” Bertine said. “Though I lived as a Luennian myself, feeding off the Empire’s crumbs like the rest of my countrymen, I will do everything in my power to help you.”
“Thank you. But you’re already one of us, Bertine. And besides, you’ve done more than enough.”
Ignacio stood up then and with a, “I’ll prepare some tea,” left the main cabin.
Feeling strangely motivated now, Bertine’s penstrokes became ever more vigorous. When Cecilio noticed, he pushed up out of his chair and approached her, then gently pressed his hand on top of hers.
“Huh? What is it, sir?” she asked.
“Your fingers will be covered in calluses if you use so much force.”
“O-Oh, yes, thank you.”
She replied obediently and immediately loosened her grip on her pen. Her face flamed. Urk, I must look like a tomato right now. Despite being flustered, she did her utmost to affect a stoic expression. Cecilio stared down at her for a moment, his eyes soft, before returning to his own table.
Bertine lowered her head as deeply as she could to hide her hot cheeks without actually touching the table’s surface. If only he had told me all this long ago, I would have worked much harder to help him. Not only is he overly reticent, he’s terrible with words even when he does speak. Honestly.
“Your Excellency.”
“Hm? What is it?”
“You’re quite inarticulate, aren’t you?”
“…”
Having said her piece, she returned to her work. Cecilio looked flabbergasted. Bertine refused to look at him as she continued writing. Then he resumed his own work and silence reigned thereafter.
Ignacio was disappointed when he stepped back into the cabin. Here I was being thoughtful by leaving only to find Bertine going at her documents like a demon and His Excellency wrestling with his own. There’s no helping them. Birds of a feather, eh? With a rueful smile, he sipped on his cup of tea.
✦ ✦ ✦
SEVERAL days later, the Karina pulled into a port in the hinterlands. They had arrived much faster than a coach. Cecilio and Ignacio departed to conduct their inspection of the location for the proposed thoroughfare while Bertine and her servants headed for the hotel’s planned site in their own carriage.
The trio’s first stop was Chief Bruno’s home.
“Oh ho! Bertine, long time no see.”
“Yes, indeed, Bruno. I’m here to check on the hotel’s progress,” she said.
Upon hearing that, his face broke out into a huge grin.
“Oh, dear. Has something happened?” she asked.
“Go see for yourself.”
She obeyed and made her way to the site. Bertine took a narrow path winding deep into the lush forest. Once she neared her destination, she saw it.
“Oh, my.”
“My lady!”
“Well, well, well.”
Bertine, Dorothée, and Diego stood there, mouths agape in shock. She had expected to see only the foundation laid down. Or perhaps the bare bones framework, at her most optimistic. What she hadn’t expected was for the hotel’s construction to be almost complete.
“How is this real?!” she cried.