The Unknown Princess (3)

This is difficult.

Even a princess couldn't seriously expect me to agree to a draw when defeat was staring her in the face. Could she?

Perhaps this was some fashionable joke from the imperial capital.

I summoned an awkward smile.

“Your Highness has quite a sense of humor—”

“I'm not joking.”

So much for that.

Did Benelia truly want me to alter the outcome of an ordinary chess game?

We hadn't wagered anything. Perhaps I was making too much of it. It might even be understandable if she simply couldn't bear to lose.

But…

A match is a match.

I couldn't declare an honest contest a draw when it wasn't one.

Besides, before we started, Benelia herself had insisted that I not go easy on her.

We had agreed to compete fairly. It would be wrong to abandon that understanding merely because she now wanted a different result.

“Forgive me, Your Highness, but I cannot accept a draw.”

“Why not?”

“Before the game, you asked me to use all of my skill. I agreed. If I now yielded because of our difference in rank, I would be breaking the promise I made to you.”

“Oh? So if you agree to a draw, you'll be a traitor who broke a promise to his princess?”

Benelia looked amused.

“But the woman who demanded a fair game and the woman who asked for a draw are both me. Both are Your Highness. Which one would you be betraying?”

“If I may speak freely, I would be betraying the princess who agreed to play fairly. More precisely, Your Highness when you made the rational decision.”

The corner of her mouth lifted.

“Are you suggesting I'm being irrational now?”

“In this matter, yes. Asking for a draw simply because defeat is certain, while relying on the difference in our status, is an emotional decision.”

“Then why was my earlier decision rational?”

“Because you asked for your opponent's agreement. You wanted a contest decided by skill, regardless of rank.”

People were inconsistent creatures. It was easy to remember the things that favored us and set aside what we had said when it became inconvenient.

And the greater a person's authority, the easier it became to indulge every side of that inconsistency.

This was only a chess game. But if someone learned to excuse small abuses of power, a far graver mistake might follow.

I wanted Benelia to see that.

“If I accept the proposal made by Your Highness in a moment of emotion, I betray the promise made by Your Highness when you were thinking clearly. In the opposite case, I betray the other. Since I must disappoint one of them, I choose to honor the rational princess.”

Silence followed.

Roylen stared between Benelia and me, his mouth slightly open.

Then the princess smiled.

“You really are…”

A soft laugh escaped her.

“You have a remarkable gift for making me feel humble.”

“Your Highness…”

“It's a compliment. Don't look so offended. I truly don't understand why a man like you has stayed in the county instead of advancing into the imperial capital.”

Benelia relaxed her hands on the chair. There was no trace of hostility in her expression.

“Very well. Betray the version of me that let emotion take over, and side with the one who made a reasonable agreement. Let the game be recorded as your victory.”

“Thank you for your generosity.”

“What generosity? I lost.”

She flicked her hand.

Roylen approached at once, produced his wand and murmured a short incantation. With a tap against the board, light burst across the table, and chessboard and pieces vanished without a trace.

The professor bowed and stepped back.

Benelia spoke as casually as though we had merely finished an afternoon diversion.

“Now that we've enjoyed ourselves, let's get to the point, Viscount Theorad. What do you think of the Empire as it stands?”

So that was only the prelude?

I didn't understand what she wanted from me.

But as an imperial subject, I couldn't simply refuse to answer a princess. I searched desperately for an answer I could defend.

“I don't believe the Empire is in a good condition.”

“Why?”

“His Majesty is caught up in the fighting, and fear among the people is growing. Rebels are exploiting the unrest, while the borders are becoming harder to keep peaceful.”

I gathered my thoughts and continued.

“Much of the imperial army is concentrated in the north under the pretext of watching the demons. That leaves us vulnerable if another country decides to invade.”

“Invade? Do you mean that the Republic of Isbald or the Kingdom of Agela might betray the Empire?”

“I hope neither would. But we can't rule out the worst possibility. Our forces are still weakened after the Orc Conquest War. Another war would inflict terrible damage on our national strength.”

“So the republic and kingdom may not remain quiet forever. A reasonable conclusion. The imperial ministers have probably considered the same thing. They aren't fools.”

The remark caught me off guard.

Even as a princess, Benelia had no business speaking so contemptuously of the ministers appointed by the Emperor himself.

They were among the highest officials of the state. Their authority was not something to dismiss lightly.

What was she trying to tell me?

Benelia continued with an easy smile.

“Not everyone who lives on the Empire's coin is working for its good. And of all those who swear to serve the Empire, very few truly do.”

She leaned back.

“The Empire's former glory has long since been taken from it.”

“Forgive me, but what do you mean…?”

“There are more and more rats who would like to see the Empire torn into pieces. I suppose that's their own peculiar form of affection. They must love it very much to want so many little pieces of it.”

Benelia smiled.

I couldn't bring myself to smile back.

I had the terrible feeling she had just said something I was never meant to hear.

The princess, on the other hand, looked almost sleepy.

She was insulting imperial ministers with the same calm ease someone might use to discuss yesterday's lunch.

At best, it was remarkable frankness. At worst, it was arrogance without restraint.

Either way, it was difficult to believe this woman was a member of the imperial family.

“…Forgive me.”

Benelia had been watching my expression. She made a small motion with her shoulders, as though telling me not to take her words too seriously.

“I didn't mean to force you to choose sides or take responsibility for anything. I only wanted you to glimpse a little of what I think. If I've offended you, I ask your indulgence.”

“…Of course, Your Highness.”

“Good. It's late, so I'll be leaving. We can speak again tomorrow.”

“Tomorrow?”

Rather than answer at once, she rose and smoothed the creases from her military uniform.

Then she looked down at me as though the matter were obvious.

“More precisely, I intend to see you regularly while I'm staying at the count's castle. There are many things I'd like to discuss. And if possible, I'd like us to keep playing chess.”

“I have no objection, but won't that interfere with Your Highness's duties?”

“Leave my schedule to me. I'll deal with any conflict.”

She turned to go, then paused.

One hand touched the hilt of her sword, as though something had just occurred to her.

She gave me a sly smile.

“Viscount Theorad. Your fiancée… When we spoke, she had only the loveliest things to say.”

“The loveliest things?”

“You needn't know every detail. Just don't let her slip away. A woman that sincere and pure-hearted is rare. Treat her even better than you do now. Understood?”

What did she and Ashley talk about?

I was bursting with questions, but the princess had made it plain she wouldn't explain.

“I'll remember your advice.”

Benelia nodded, satisfied, and walked toward the door.

Roylen hurried to her side. The two armed knights followed them out.

---

Once in the corridor, Benelia set off quietly toward her own guest room.

The armored steps of her knights echoed behind her.

Honesty. Integrity.

She considered the man she had just met.

An imperial princess had burst into his room without knocking, flanked by armed knights. Anyone would have felt pressured by that.

If a person in such a situation were offered a draw by a powerful opponent, nine out of ten would accept. Few wished to make an enemy of someone who could ruin them.

Yet Theorad Deharem had refused.

He had judged the matter on its merits and even ventured to correct her.

That was not the Theorad she had imagined.

Is he hiding something from me? If not…

She had assumed he was ambitious.

After all, he had brought the artificial rain magic to completion only after his father's death. To Benelia, that timing had suggested a man carefully preparing to enter politics.

And yet…

Even after she had disparaged the imperial ministers—what she considered an opening for him to offer himself as an ally—he hadn't taken the bait.

Had he simply failed to understand what she was offering?

No. That was hard to believe.

She had already remarked that he belonged in the capital. It was practically an invitation to join hands with her.

He spoke well and thought quickly. Surely he had recognized the meaning beneath her words.

I can't tell what he wants.

The more she thought about it, the more her head hurt.

Benelia frowned.

Walking beside her, Roylen quietly reached into a pocket and produced a small wrapped piece of candy.

“You look tired, Your Highness. Have some candy. I brought it especially for you.”

“You needn't have…”

Benelia sighed, but she accepted the gift.

She unwrapped the sweet and put it in her mouth.

A moment later, she grimaced and spat it back into her white-gloved palm.

The damp candy lay there glistening with saliva.

Benelia turned a furious look on Roylen.

“…Is this cinnamon?”

“Yes, Your Highness! Cinnamon is supposed to be very good for you. Oh, if you dislike the flavor, I also brought some ginger candy—”

“Roylen.”

Benelia's golden eyes narrowed.

“If you commit an act of treason like this one more time, you may as well hang yourself.”

Roylen's hand, already reaching into his pocket for the ginger candy, sagged timidly to his side.