Fiarca lowered her gaze to her lap and sighed.
“I see,” whispered Elmira. “Ras Talion Veredica, son of Count Veredica.”
Following the untimely death of Crown Prince Auriol, Fiarca had chosen to fake her identity and manage the empire in his place. The deception had been proceeding smoothly until marriage talks surfaced concerning Auriol and Princess Tishna of the neighboring Charlgia Kingdom. Fiarca may have been a cunning schemer, but even she couldn’t keep her true gender a secret throughout all the rigors and duties of marriage.
And so, as a last resort, she turned to her former fiancé, Ras Talion Veredica. If he could win over the princess on her behalf, then Fiarca’s secret could remain hidden. As a bonus, their union would provide the empire with a clear successor, too.
However, if Ras refused to help, then both the empire and the kingdom were in trouble. In the worst case, imperial nobles might be emboldened to stage a coup, and the whole realm could descend into civil war.
“Securing Ras’s cooperation is of the utmost importance,” Fiarca said, “and yet there is very little we can offer him in return. The reality is, we must pin our hopes on his love for me—if any still remains.”
“How can it not?” asked Elmira. “You two were engaged, were you not?”
But Fiarca shook her head sadly.
“Until two years ago, perhaps. But Ras ceased being my fiancé when my death was announced. Perhaps he has forgotten all about me.”
“That is hard to imagine,” Elmira reassured her. “After all, it was to heal the wounds caused by your loss that he drowned his sorrows at the pleasure-houses.”
“Maybe in the beginning,” Fiarca replied, “but you are aware, aren’t you, of the truth behind ParadiasH, Ras’s favorite brothel?”
“That it is owned and operated by Fon Cigel, the Black Blade, under the auspices of the emperor, you mean? Supposedly, the staff are all trained aura knights who take on mercenary jobs in secret.”
“Yes, that’s right,” said Fiarca with a bitter expression.
The world knew Ras as the Stallion, a man lost to women and vice, but that wasn’t quite the case. Somehow, he had ended up a student of the Black Blade and been pressured into undertaking all kinds of jobs for Fon under the guise of “training.”
Still, that didn’t mean Ras didn’t take advantage of the services on offer while he was there. ParadiasH was home to some of the finest ladies whose company money could buy.
“But the real problem is, how are there so many pretty girls working there?! It’s ridiculous! There’s more than all the leading ladies in every acting troupe in Vif Arger combined!”
“Well, that’s why they call it the greatest brothel in all of Prouss.”
“And it’s not just their faces, either; some of those girls have the biggest melons I’ve ever seen! It’s no wonder Ras couldn’t tear himself away; he probably couldn’t even move for them!”
With tears in her eyes, Fiarca directed a rotten glare at Elmira. Her words were hyperbole, of course, but the fact remained that the ladies of ParadiasH possessed figures that put Fiarca’s to shame.
“Well, some gentlemen care less for the melon and more for the thin slice of prosciutto that is placed atop it.”
“Who are you calling prosciutto?! I’m not that flat, I’ll have you know!”
Elmira had meant to cheer the princess up, but it seemed her careless words were not to Fiarca’s liking. She let out a weary sigh, one that did not escape Fiarca’s keen notice.
“I bet you were just thinking, ‘What’s this got to do with me?,’ weren’t you?”
“I wouldn’t go that far. I was merely thinking what a moody little brat you are.”
“That’s way worse!”
“If it troubles you so, why not take it up with Lady Kanalayka instead? She will be the one accompanying you on this mission, will she not?”
Kanalayka Aluarche, first legate, was said to be the most skilled aura knight in the Imperial Guard. As the princess’s bodyguard, she would be meeting Ras alongside Fiarca. She would have made for a much better ear to Fiarca’s complaints than Elmira, who would be filling the princess’s shoes at the imperial palace.
However, when Elmira suggested this, the princess looked obviously downcast.
“That’s precisely the problem,” she said.
“Hmm?”
Elmira was confused. Kanalayka was one of the few close confidants who knew Fiarca’s secret. Fiarca herself even frequently praised the woman’s loyalty and dedication. The princess was behaving very strange today, acting timid around people she usually accepted. It was almost as though she was afraid of the legate for some reason.
“Kanalayka is a pretty girl; even I can see that,” said Fiarca. “And she’s got better hips than me, and she can talk to Ras about aura knight things, and she’s hardworking, and she doesn’t know how to say no, and she doesn’t have all the baggage I have. What will I do if Ras prefers her over me?”
At the end, Fiarca’s voice grew so quiet it was almost imperceptible. This was the true cause of Fiarca’s sudden insecurity. This was the real reason she was worrying about her looks and the size of her bust. She was worried Kanalayka was going to steal Ras away from her.
Kanalayka Aluarche was indeed an attractive woman. There was no doubt that, if she tried, she could have any man her heart desired. But she was also unshakably loyal to her mistress, Fiarca. It was impossible to imagine any circumstance that would cause her to betray that trust.
Fiarca obviously knew this as well, yet she couldn’t shake her worry. It was a fear that logic could not placate, because despite everything, Fiarca was still in love with Ras.
“You need not worry, Your Highness. You are plenty cute yourself.”
Saying this, Elmira wrapped her arms around the princess from behind. She could scarcely believe that Princess Fiarca, a woman so smart and wise when it came to politics, and so well versed in the art of scheming, could be reduced to such an awkward sight when it came to matters of romance.
“Oh, Elmira…… Are you sure you’re not just saying that to shut me up?”
“I am not,” said Elmira with a smile. “You are beyond charming, Your Highness, and I am sure Ras Talion thinks so as well.”
When she thought of what was to come, Elmira was a little saddened. Ras’s mission was to seduce a princess of the neighboring country. If Ras succeeded in his task, then Princess Tishna would become Fiarca’s romantic rival. If Kanalayka was already causing her this much stress, she shuddered to think what life would be like after a member of Charlgian royalty was added into the mix.
Would she pretend nothing was wrong on the face of it, and in secret complain to Elmira every day like she was doing now? If that was what it came to, Elmira thought, then she supposed hearing out the princess’s troubles was the least she could do.
Because she was the shadow that walked alongside her mistress, and she accepted her, warts and all.