Chapter 41

Crows of the Night (1)

While Legina ignored the Emperor’s house arrest order and created new secret passages to go out every day, rumors about Legina and Aaron spread like wildfire throughout the capital. In the early stages of the rumor’s spread, the Emperor tried to suppress it, but it was impossible to catch an intangible rumor, and now it was spreading beyond the capital’s outer walls, reaching the Empire’s most remote and deepest corners.

“Rumors that Her Highness Legina B. Alpere of Ellias is unrequitedly in love with Aaron of Vestein are spreading endlessly. Do you feel nothing?”

“Haven’t you heard the rumor that she’s using her power to force dates with Sir Aaron, who is uncomfortable with her unrequited love?”

“Legina.”

“If you’re done speaking, I’d like to rise now.”

Legina, who had been summoned by the Emperor early in the morning and sat opposite him, replied indifferently. Since that day, the relationship between the Emperor and Legina had been deteriorating. The Emperor had realized his mistakes but didn’t know how to ask for forgiveness, and Legina had already cast aside every last speck of lingering affection for the Emperor. If Theore, caught in the middle, had a more amicable personality, he might have mediated between his father and sister, but that was merely a hypothetical. In reality, the young, growing troublemaker was busy creating new secret passages and joyfully enjoying outings, taking advantage of his father’s lax surveillance due to his concern for his sister.

“Annulment. Will you grant it as you wish?”

“I don’t know what whim prompted you to say that, but yes, please do as I wish.”

“…I will permit the annulment. However.”

“That ‘however’ must be the main point.”

“Vestein is out of the question.”

“Why? If I marry Vestein and become their strength, imperial authority will only grow stronger.”

“That is why it cannot be.”

At the Emperor’s firm words, Legina stared intently at his face. Was this the first time they had faced each other like this since Theore’s birthday banquet? The Emperor’s face, which had suddenly aged several months in just a few, was shrouded in gloom.

“Vestein and Slyveig must maintain their balance as they do now, going forward.”

“Because if one rises and the other is suppressed, there will be backlash?”

“Yes. If the balance is distorted, the Empire will also fall into disarray. Didn’t you say you would fulfill your role as Imperial Princess?”

Though she understood the Emperor’s words, Legina could not nod. If she didn’t know, it would be one thing, but knowing that Slyveig would rebel later, the Imperial Family and Vestein needed to hold more power and be prepared.

Where does this trust in Slyveig even come from?

How could the Emperor, who even knew the exact number of secret passages in the Imperial Palace walls, not be wary of Slyveig’s suspicious actions? Feeling questions arise again, Legina resolved to investigate this further and rose from her seat.

“That is my concern. Do not worry, I would never do anything to harm this Empire simply because I dislike His Majesty.”

“…I will trust you.”

“Please announce the annulment as soon as possible. I trust you will not say anything else. I will withdraw.”

“Legina, wait…”

Ignoring the Emperor, who seemed to have more to say and tried to stop her, Legina left the room. Trust her, now? Did he think she would fall to her knees with a touched expression and thank him?

…Come to think of it, I have prostrated myself and cried in gratitude before, haven’t I?

It wasn’t before she came back, but when she was very young, I think… She didn’t know. Legina shook her head and quickened her pace towards her room. Aaron’s birthday was approaching soon.

The morning after her conversation with Una, after being severely scolded by Selma again for unplanned overspending, Legina began to rack her brain, trying to decide on Aaron’s birthday gift. However, she had already bought all the possible gifts in the capital and had them delivered to the Vestein mansion. And there was no certainty that she could obtain special items not available in the capital before his birthday. She briefly considered raiding the Imperial vault, but no matter how much of a troublemaker she was, giving a stolen item as a birthday gift seemed disrespectful to Aaron, so she had put that plan on hold.

“On hold, you say… You mean you’ll do it if push comes to shove, don’t you?”

“If I truly can’t find anything, I’ll have to, won’t I?”

“Your Highness. This time, you might truly get a spanking from Madam Signy.”

“That’s why I’m only telling you.”

“…You mean you want me to help if push comes to shove?”

“Surely not. Una, would you just keep watch?”

“Oh my, Your Highness… You’re not saying you won’t do it in the end, are you?”

After giving a bright smile to the flustered Una, Legina, who had fallen back into thought, received unexpected advice from Johan, who had returned from his morning walk with Riga and Leon.

“At this point, Your Highness is supposed to be completely smitten with Sir Aaron, right?”

“Right?”

“Then, of course, a handmade birthday gift is the answer.”

“What?”

“Isn’t it a romantic ideal to want to give a beloved person a gift you made yourself, filled with love?”

“Johan… you sometimes show a genius side, despite your appearance.”

“I’m not sure if that’s a compliment or an insult, but I’m glad if I could be of help to Your Highness.”

Taking Johan’s advice enthusiastically, Legina decided to make decorative knotwork for a sword and a handkerchief. She wanted to do something grander, but Una’s question, “Then how will you prepare the next gift?” proved helpful. It was better to start small and gradually increase the scale, she thought. For Legina, this method was possible because her romance had a defined end.

Making decorative tassels with knots that wished for health and safety was easy. Legina was confident in anything manual, except cooking. She experimented with various knot combinations, then chose the most beautiful one, made it, and carefully wrapped it.

Then there was the handkerchief. The embroidery itself wasn’t difficult. Sewing and embroidery were mandatory subjects during basic etiquette classes. The problem was the design. Legina, who decided to create her own design to make a meaningful gift, realized that the process of creation was this daunting and challenging.

“That was really hard.”

“Are you tired? Then how about taking a short break?”

“Hmm, maybe?”

Legina, setting down her embroidery hoop and needle for a break, clenched and unclenched her hands, massaging them as they had begun to tingle from holding the needle for a long time. Una, approaching Legina’s back, massaged her shoulders and glanced at the half-finished embroidery. The Imperial lion and red Danilan flowers, and the two crossed greatswords, the symbol of Vestein, caught her eye.

“I’d be too wasteful to use this, Your Highness.”

“Of course. It’s not meant for actual use anyway.”

“Then what is it for?”

“It’s for show. It’s also a warning, to show that I’ve claimed this man, so others shouldn’t covet him. Besides, if it were for practical use, you shouldn’t make a handkerchief out of silk.”

From a purely practical standpoint, a handkerchief should be made of cotton, as silk is impossible to clean if it gets dirty. However, as she mentioned earlier, this was a birthday gift made for a different purpose.

“How’s the cake coming along?”

“The Imperial Head Chef said he’ll do his best, so trust him.”

“Should I? Oh! Riga, you rascal! Needles are dangerous! Go away!”

Riga, who had been clinging to Legina, couldn’t suppress his curiosity and poked his nose into the box containing thread and needles. Legina quickly picked him up, and Riga, as if he had forgotten what he had just done, wagged his tongue and brightly licked Legina’s palm. It was fine that he had completely adapted to the Imperial Palace, raising his tail and running around causing trouble, but Riga’s inability to distinguish between dangerous and safe things was a bit concerning.

And Leon…

“Leon, stop growling and come here?”

Leon was engrossed in staring out the window, pretending not to hear, even though his ears were clearly perked. He used to at least turn his head when called, but lately, he didn’t even do that. The only consolation was that he would wag his tail whenever he heard Legina’s voice. It was a relief that he didn’t seem to dislike her, but…

“Can siblings from the same litter have such different personalities?”

“Wouldn’t it be a problem if they were exactly the same?”

“I suppose so? By the way, I’m seeing a lot of crows around the Imperial Palace lately.”

“The gardener was worried about that too, just now. I heard him complaining that crows are so intelligent, they’re hard to drive away.”

Lately, whenever she looked out the window, she often found herself startled by the black eyes of crows, staring into the palace as if monitoring it. Perhaps the only fortunate thing was that Riga and Leon disliked birds and were consistently driving them away? The only place in the Imperial Palace where birds couldn’t linger was near Legina’s room window.

“Theore is supposedly causing a commotion…”

“Ah, well… He was angry because the birds were looking at him unpleasantly, apparently.”

“Then what’s that sound?”

“It’s His Highness Theore, chasing birds with the soldiers.”

Legina, finally realizing the identity of the various shouts coming from outside the window, nodded. Well, he wasn’t doing anything bad, and the soldiers might be a bit tired, but this much was fine. Legina, who had decided to give the soldiers mobilized by Theore a bonus today, turned her gaze to Selma, who opened the door and entered the room at just the right time. Though a slight sullenness remained, Selma’s eyes, looking at Legina, were full of warmth, as if her anger had largely dissipated.

“Selma, still nothing today?”

“No.”

“That’s strange… Why isn’t the invitation coming?”

Only two weeks remained until Aaron’s birthday. It was a time when preparations for the banquet were in full swing, sending out invitations and confirming attendance, but no invitation had arrived for Legina.

“Could Sir Aaron… be doing this on purpose?”

Legina, placing Riga on the floor, muttered to herself as if realizing something.

– Mochinuna.