Chapter 271: One Step (3)
Gary Beaufort, Prime Minister of Highland, boarded an airplane. Not a transport plane, but a passenger aircraft. It was the Prime Minister’s official aircraft, prepared by Highland.
Whiiiiiiii…….
He looked down through the window at Highland’s coastline receding into the distance.
An inexplicable tension gripped him, as though his insides were churning.
He briefly closed his eyes, and when he opened them again, they had already reached the Empire’s border.
“Prime Minister.”
“……Let’s go.”
Gary Beaufort disembarked at the airport in the Imperial capital with his aides.
He flinched. Halfway down the airstairs, he stopped for a moment.
At first, he wondered whether they had come to the wrong place.
Waaaaaaa──!
It was because of the unexpected crowd that had gathered to welcome him.
“…….”
Gary was taken aback. The aides beside him wore much the same expression, but soon exchanged glances with the Imperial security personnel.
“Prime Minister. Let’s go.”
Gary Beaufort followed the guards’ lead.
Waaaaaaaa─! Whiiiiiiistle─!
The crowd welcomed him with astonishing enthusiasm. It seemed discourteous not to respond, so he raised a hand and waved back.
Gary Beaufort climbed into the official car.
“……This is unexpected.”
He did not dislike it.
“Prime Minister. Perhaps this is proof as well.”
His aide spoke quietly, the words carrying a deeper implication. Gary turned toward him.
“The subjects of the Empire do not want war either.”
“…….”
Gary considered those words for a moment, then nodded with a faint smile.
“That may indeed be what it means.”
Just as Prozen and Highland wished to avoid war, so did the people of the Empire.
Sssshhh──
Meanwhile, the official car glided along the roads that had been cleared for its passage and arrived at a restaurant considered one of the finest not only in the Empire, but across the continent.
「Lilac Vita」
The street had been cleared of people.
At the restaurant, where curtains had been drawn across every window, Maximilian, Knight of the Empire, stood waiting.
“A pleasure to meet you, Your Excellency, Prime Minister Gary Beaufort.”
As the Prime Minister stepped out of the car, Maximilian extended a hand. Gary swallowed once.
“…….”
He had seen Maximilian in photographs, but this was the first time they had met in person. Gary privately admired the man’s strikingly handsome features as he took his hand.
“Does diplomacy fall under your duties as well, Sir Maximilian?”
It was a pointed question, given that a Knight had been sent to receive the prime minister of a nation.
Maximilian instead answered with an exceedingly gentle smile.
“Knights tend to perform quite a number of roles within the Empire.”
Prosecutor, lawyer, diplomat, soldier, commander…… As a Knight, there was almost no limit to the roles he could fill wherever Ebenholtz’s influence reached.
“There are unavoidable circumstances as well. Once an interpreter becomes involved, what is said inevitably has a way of leaking out.”
At those words, Gary Beaufort finally realized the source of the odd feeling that had been nagging at him all along.
The two of them were speaking in the Highland Language, completely naturally and without the slightest hesitation.
Maximilian had no need for an interpreter.
“First, this way.”
Maximilian led the Highland prime minister inside, where the two took their seats alone in a private room of the otherwise deserted restaurant.
A selection of small hors d’oeuvres was served first, chosen so they could eat comfortably without interrupting the conversation.
“Please, have some. I can vouch for the taste.”
Gary waited until Maximilian had placed an amuse-bouche in his mouth and swallowed it.
“……Sir Maximilian. I will come straight to the point. Does the Empire have any intention of entering talks with Volska?”
The Prime Minister had raised the real subject.
Maximilian studied him for a moment before speaking.
“You are a remarkably courteous man, Prime Minister. Despite having flown all this way, you show no sign of fatigue, and not so much as your collar or even your fingertips show the slightest disorder.”
Maximilian had begun with the customary first step of diplomacy, offering Gary Beaufort a measured compliment.
“That sort of refinement cannot be learned. It must simply be ingrained in you.”
That refinement was probably the result of having been born and raised an aristocrat. Gary belonged to the class of men called ‘gentlemen’: men who rarely lost their composure, who treated others with the same courtesy regardless of age or rank, and who believed that the respect they showed others was itself a reflection of their own dignity.
“When two parties capable of understanding one another meet across the same table……”
The warmth abruptly vanished from Maximilian’s voice.
“Or, to put it another way─ when a man with a gun sits across from another man with a gun.”
That was the relationship between the Empire and Highland. Neither could afford to dismiss the other.
“Then a conversation is possible. A proper, honest conversation.”
His voice was low, and every word he chose was refined. It was difficult to believe that all of it was being spoken in the Highland Language.
“However, if a person with empty hands sits at the same table as a person with a gun, then it can hardly be called a conversation. There is no reason for a conversation in the first place.”
Maximilian wiped his fingertips with a napkin.
“Furthermore, those who know how to make guns come to look down on those who do not even know what a gun is. They try to rule them, and they try to teach them. I trust Your Excellency understands this very well.”
The subject of Highland’s former colonies had been placed on the table. Gary Beaufort offered no reply.
“Laws and rules. Mutual respect. The universal values of humanity. Such things can only hold meaning when both sides stand on ‘equal footing’.”
The most elegant language, the most intellectual rhetoric.
“I do not think that is wrong.”
The unavoidable logic of an imperialist.
……The Knight’s monologue.
“It is simply how the world works.”
Gary thought deeply for a time before asking in a grave tone.
“Then…… what does the Empire want, with you as its face, Sir Maximilian?”
At that, Maximilian’s expression stiffened.
A faint trace of something resembling anger came over his face.
“……I cannot stand by and watch our compatriots be abused. The Empire will resolve the matter of Genson and see its will through, one way or another. Even if that means war.”
Gary Beaufort watched the man for a long while. He spoke their language with flawless ease and seemed more aristocratic than any noble of the Empire, yet his words made even a single bite difficult to swallow.
“……Personally, I can accept the principle of Cession.”
Gary Beaufort ate one of the amuse-bouches. He hardly noticed its taste.
“However, Highland’s cabinet, Prozen, and Volska all need time. So I would ask that you refrain from military action only until everything is ready.”
“…….”
Maximilian remained silent for quite some time.
Beaufort calmly waited for his next words.
“……I fear it will be difficult for us to wait for long.”
At last, the Knight pushed away the plate before him.
“We can remain at peace through this summer. I promise you.”
He smiled for the first time.
Gary Beaufort felt that Maximilian was someone who could be reasoned with. Once again, he became convinced that his instincts had been right.
The Empire could be persuaded through words.
They were already a great power even without waging war.
***
From that day onward, official diplomats, private envoys, ambassadors from various nations, and people from governments all across the continent came and went from my estate until they nearly wore down the threshold, all hoping to take home a single word from me.
Countless times, they went on at length about how earnestly their own countries were pressuring Volska, almost as though they were submitting progress reports to me.
Every troublesome matter arising within the Imperial Household was left to Chiron. As Knight Commander, he faithfully kept the promise he had once made to leave the ‘dirty work’ to him.
“The continent does not want war. For the Empire, that is welcome news.”
I was dining with the Imperial Princess. Every course on the table came from「Lilac Vita」.
“Do as you will.”
Across from me, she cut into her meat and brought it to her mouth. She ate truffles from Zerpha and beef. This was a woman who once would not even drink water in front of me.
“I have decided to entrust this matter concerning Volska entirely to you.”
It was a meaningful change.
“Whether it succeeds or fails, you shall bear it all.”
At her words, I gave a small smile.
“If it fails, let the fault remain mine. If it succeeds, let the achievement be credited to Your Highness.”
The Imperial Princess’s knife stopped dead. She stared directly at me.
“It is time Your Highness had accomplishments of your own.”
“……His Majesty does not approve. My father would sooner have war.”
“If we can obtain what we desire without bloodshed, there will still be time afterward to prepare for the next step.”
The Imperial Princess listened silently for a while, then handed me something.
“Take it.”
「In accordance with authority delegated by His Majesty the Emperor, in the name of Imperial Princess Justine」
The seal of the Imperial Household and her signature. Yet beneath them was nothing but a Blank Letter of Authority.
It meant I was free to invoke the name of the Imperial Family in whatever situation I wished, at whatever moment I chose.
“Maximilian. When do you believe the right time will be?”
The Imperial Princess resumed moving her knife as she asked.
“Soon……. It will not be long before that time comes.”
***
Diplomats and ambassadors from countless nations gathered in the Empire. The two most important locations were, without question, the Imperial Palace and Maximilian’s estate.
“……Haa.”
The reception room of Maximilian’s estate. People had practically camped out there as though it were an emergency room, with ambassadors from various nations seated as if each had drawn a queue number.
A queue merely to take away a single ‘word’ from one man.
Every word had to be chosen carefully here. There could be no lies, and even the truth was not entirely one’s own. Even something muttered under one’s breath in one’s native language would be caught by Maximilian.
“……Sir Laurent. How are things on the sun’s side?”
The Highland ambassador quietly asked the Prozen ambassador sitting beside him.
The two encountered each other several times every day, and by now they had gone beyond mere familiarity to the point where they almost felt like friends.
“Definitely hotter than the moon. The ambassadors aren’t sitting here for nothing.”
The Prozen ambassador answered.
The moon was code for Ebenholtz, while the sun referred to the Imperial Household.
The sun was hot. Not merely in the language it used toward Volska, but even in the way it treated ambassadors.
“Highland is in much the same position. The sun trusts the moon…… so for now, all we can do is rely on the moon.”
While the two quietly exchanged those confidential words, one of Maximilian’s servants approached.
“Is there anything you require?”
The ambassadors of Highland and Prozen merely smiled politely.
“We are fine.”
“As am I.”
The servant smiled and withdrew. Immediately afterward, another voice called out.
“Ah, yes. I would like some cola. And those, ah, cracker-like things were quite good. Crackers with cheese on them? Could I trouble you for some?”
“Of course. I will have them prepared.”
A voice could be heard asking for food without the slightest concern for the mood around him.
It belonged to the ambassador of the small nation of Mekerel. He was one of the ambassadors from impoverished countries such as Verkina and Daneric who came day after day despite never being called in, doing little more than waiting.
Maybe those fellows were only coming for the handouts, or so it seemed. Maximilian gave every ambassador who visited the estate a gift, after all.
“I heard Mekerel was granted an audience once.”
At the Prozen ambassador’s words, the Highland ambassador raised an eyebrow slightly.
If the man had managed even five minutes face-to-face with Maximilian, that still put him ahead of Volska’s ambassador.
“Oh? If he was granted an audience even once, then he’s receiving better treatment than that fellow.”
The Highland ambassador gestured toward the Volska ambassador with his eyes.
The poor man came here every day and sat tucked away in a corner, yet left without meeting Maximilian even once.
“Indeed.”
“I hear the Volska government is preparing for war. It does make one wonder what their ambassador is supposed to accomplish.”
The ambassadors of the two nations conversed in the Imperial Language.
“Yes. It truly is absurd…….”
Rumors were everywhere that Volska was preparing for war. Yet no amount of preparation would make the Empire an opponent they could hope to defeat.
“Ambassador Laurent of Prozen?”
──At that moment, someone from Maximilian’s audience room called for the Prozen ambassador.
Laurent stood and straightened his clothes.
“Then I will go in first.”
“Please share whatever you learn.”
“Of course.”
The Prozen ambassador entered the audience room.
“…….”
The room fell so silent that even the ticking of a clock could not be heard.
The Highland ambassador waited in near-total silence, with scarcely anything to hear but his own breathing. Perhaps an hour passed.
-Oh, it’s opening.
-Looks like Prozen’s done.
-……Go. Quickly.
Creeeak. Everyone’s attention was fixed on the door as it opened slightly.
The Prozen ambassador emerged after exchanging a brief farewell with Maximilian…… and he looked remarkably pleased.
Several people immediately crowded around him.
“Ambassador. Could you perhaps give us even a hint…….”
“What did you discuss-”
“This is confidential. All of you, stand aside!”
Laurent of Prozen sternly brushed aside the ambassadors from the smaller nations, then gave the Highland ambassador a meaningful look.
The Highland ambassador quietly rose and moved to Laurent’s side.
“Sir Laurent. How did it go?”
“……I told him that Prozen and Highland were putting tremendous pressure on Volska and that there had been clear progress. I even explained the specific measures we were using.”
Laurent lowered his voice and whispered into his ear.
‘──Then that is fortunate.’
That was what Maximilian had said.
The Highland ambassador’s eyes widened.
“……Truly? ‘Fortunate’?”
“Yes. He’s never used a word like that before.”
Fortunate.
The Highland ambassador suppressed a smile for a moment. The Prozen ambassador composed his expression as well. The two exchanged nods, hurried out, and immediately cabled the news back to their respective governments.
The news soon spread throughout Highland and Prozen.
No, the stock markets rose before it even had time to spread.
The following morning.
The parliaments of Highland and Prozen publicly announced the Empire’s ‘fortunate’ remark.
***
[ Discussing “Fortunate”…… Hopes of Avoiding War Rise ]
[ Volska’s Intentions? Still No Movement ]
[ Highland Markets Rise Across the Board…… Common Hall Relieved by a Single Word from the Empire ]
[ Prozen Considers Partial Cancellation of Reserve Mobilization ]
[ Highland Editorial : We Do Not Even Know Where Genson Is, So Why Should We Be Dragged Around Over Them? ]
Everything I said spread across the world. A single word, ‘fortunate’, made the front page of the morning papers in two countries and influenced stock markets and policy.
Suddenly— a thought occurred to me.
I’ve climbed to a place I had never once considered, a place I had never even imagined reaching.
Everything I say and do is recorded and interpreted, and even traded.
It is frightening, yet there is also a strange sensation of slowly becoming immersed in it.
Had the Emperor felt like this from the moment he was born?
──Patter, patter.
Rain fell over the park at Sentinel.
“You seem to have a great deal on your mind lately.”
As I sat quietly organizing my thoughts, a man approached.
“Has something happened?”
Julian Ascar.
“……Preparing for the Imperial Grand Ceremony has been exhausting.”
It was to be the largest newly established state ceremony in the Empire. A Grand Military Parade and the Night of Light would unfold before the Emperor. A stage designed to display the Empire’s might both at home and abroad.
Ambassadors from nations across the continent would be seated in its front rows.
“And how are things with you, Sir?”
Julian looked up at the sky before sitting at the opposite end of the bench.
“It feels as though I’m chasing something invisible.”
Julian, Hannah, Royce, and Dare Tan had formed a team.
In order to strike at the ‘Veil’, the power behind the Revolutionary forces, the Knight Order was providing them with virtually unlimited funding.
“You’re hoping for results.”
I gave a bitter smile.
Shhhhhhh…….
Streams of rain descended from the sky. I stared blankly for a while at the droplets gathering on the leaves.
“Next week.”
I spoke to Julian.
“You…… don’t need to attend the Imperial Grand Ceremony.”
Julian turned toward me.
He hated events like that and found them difficult to endure. I did not want to burden him any more than necessary.
“Would that be all right?”
“Yes. I’ll say you’re in the middle of an important mission.”
“…….”
Julian fell silent. For a long while, he simply remained seated beside me without saying a word.
That was how he expressed his thanks.
…….
While Volska and Genson came under pressure from across the entire continent, preparations for the Imperial Grand Ceremony took shape.
The ceremony grounds had been built on the outskirts of the capital. A granite plaza stretched almost to the horizon, surrounded by stone grandstands.
A venue vast enough to hold hundreds of thousands.
At the far end of the plaza stood the Emperor’s dais, swathed in veils, and beyond it more than a hundred flagpoles pierced the sky.
A place where Imperial citizens and delegations from every nation would gather.
The Hall of Light that had illuminated the Prozen World Expo would be recreated here once again. Beneath that light, every diplomat, ambassador, and foreign correspondent would witness the sheer scale of the Empire.
“Ah, Sir!”
Behind the venue, I met once again with the people who had worked with me during the World Expo. The lighting technicians and designers had somehow become seasoned specialists in this field.
“Is everything ready?”
“Of course!”
“His Majesty will likely attend as well.”
The Emperor would be coming here.
And his daughter Justine would likely make her first official public appearance, as though deliberately presenting herself to the world.
“……We are aware.”
“Very well. Then I look forward to seeing it.”
“Yep!”
The people in charge returned to their work, and film director Lenny approached with a camera in hand and asked how I had been.
Nameplates were placed at the seats reserved for the ambassadors of each nation, while loudspeakers briefly played the Imperial Anthem as part of a sound check before falling silent.
Flags rose on every flagpole, while the floodlights at the far end of the plaza remained dark, their heads tilted upward toward the sky.
Yaken patrolled the grounds as guards, and citizens slowly began to gather.
“…….”
Standing in that vast plaza…… I felt an inexplicable tension.
~~~
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