After his return to the capital, Tigre headed over to Sofy’s mansion. Currently he was in a room equipped with green and light blue curtains and carpets, giving the whole place a calm atmosphere. A bright red fire was crackling inside the fireplace installed on one side of the room, providing more than enough warmth.
Tigre and Olga had arrived at the mansion around half a koku ago. They believed that they should inform Sofy and the other girls about what had pertained during today’s hunt. However, the three Vanadis still hadn’t come back from the palace, and since they were expected to return around sunset according to a maid, the two decided to wait.
Elen and Lim didn’t come to the mansion. Informing Tigre and Olga that they’d stay in Eugene’s mansion for the night, they had parted ways with them after entering the capital. Seeing how there had been an attempt on Ruslan’s life and since they didn’t know the identity of the assailants, it was more than reasonable that the two were worried about Eugene’s safety.
Gaspal and Damad went ahead to their lodging house, and Rurick also headed back to his inn.
Tigre sank back into the sofa, allowing himself to get lost in thoughts.
──Now that I calmly think about it like this, it’s definitely somewhat regrettable.
His thoughts were focused on the hunt.
The weather was fine, and as might be expected of a place run by a royal family, the hunting grounds were superb, too. The size of the hunting party was fitting as well since we’d have had no issue eating up everything even if we had killed some deer or wild boars. But then again, since the hunt only went on for a short time, I don’t really know whether deer and boar can actually be found on those grounds.
As he looked outside the window, he noticed how the sun was starting to glide beyond the horizon.
Sofy, Mila and Liza will be back soon, I think.
Looking up to the ceiling, Tigre sighed. Normally he would have been able to think about the hunt much more, but what occupied his mind now was the conversation he had with Eugene on their way back.
──Inheriting a will. Or, supporting someone who’s inherited a will. Not merely inheriting it either, but instead incorporating it into one’s own will.
Until now Tigre had always feared sitting on a throne as something terrifying. It felt to him as if being swallowed up by something mysterious. But Eugene had taught him that this wasn’t the case.
──I just need to use all the power I possess to support Her Highness Regin. Of course it wouldn’t be okay to leave the inheritance of King Faron’s will to Regin alone either. I must grasp King Faron’s will by talking with her, and also discussing things with Mashas and Prime Minister Badouin.
It’d likely be a thorny path, but just like Tigre had decided to support Regin, there existed many who would try to support Tigre. The same applied for Gaspal and Gerard, who had gone as far as accompanying him to Zhcted, and Olivier of the Navarre Knight Squad, who had actually put his support into words.
──Me, a king…
When his thoughts had reached that point, a knocking could be suddenly heard from the door. Once he fixed his sitting posture and stared in the direction of the door, Titta, wearing a maid uniform, shyly peeked inside the room.
“Do you have a moment, Tigre-sama?”
“I always have time for you, Titta.”
As soon as she heard the youth’s reply, Titta’s face lit up, and she entered the room with her ponytail swaying back and forth. In her hand she was carrying a round tray. And following behind her was Olga. The Vanadis with the rosa hair was likewise carrying a tray while still wearing the same attire she wore during the hunt.
“Me too?”
Tigre assessed her asking this after having entered as Olga’s very own way of acting spoiled. Seeing him nod, Olga became slightly bashful as befitted a woman of her age.
The two placed their trays on the table. A sweet fragrance drifted to Tigre from Titta’s tray, and he spotted steam rising from Olga’s. Titta’s tray carried a flat plate with variously shaped sweets. It was filled with plenty of bite-size sweets such as thin bread slices made out of buckwheat with a layer of jam, baked sweets with apple fillings, and honeyed cookies containing walnuts. Olga’s tray carried three porcelain cups, a small iron jar with a spout and handle, and something similar to herbs which were cut into small pieces and then dried.
Thinking back on it now, Olga didn’t follow Tigre around as usual when they arrived at the mansion, but instead headed to the kitchen – apparently for the sake of preparing this.
“Good work today, Tigre-sama.”
“We brought things that you should like, Tigre.”
As Titta thanked the youth with a smile, a gentle smile also formed on Olga’s lips.
“Thanks, you two.” Tigre smiled.
He wasn’t that exhausted, but it was a fact that he had traveled quite a bit today, and above all, he was grateful and happy about their consideration for him.
“Since it’s said that sweet things remove any tiredness, we borrowed the kitchen here to make various sweets.”
Next to Titta who explained this, Olga pinched some of the herbs off its small plate with her fingers, and sprinkled small amounts into the three cups. It reminded Tigre of how Mila had brewed black tea for him, but the aroma and color of the herbs was different.
“These are medicinal herbs as they’ve been passed down within my tribe for many generations. It’s not the black tea Ludmilla brews for us.” Olga explained after noticing Tigre looking at her with keen interest.
“Medicinal herbs?” Tigre asked.
In response, Olga said while pouring hot water from the jar into the cups, “You soak several medicinal plants in water for several days, then you dry them for several days, and afterwards you chop them up finely. Next you add the entrails and bones of sheep to the herbs after drying and grinding them into powder. The aromas of the medicinal herbs calm your mind, and the sheep entrails and bones alleviate fatigue. That’s what I’ve been taught. In reality I had planned for us to drink it during the hunt.”
“Heeh, the entrails and bones of sheep, eh?”
Tigre had carefully listened to her explanation, filled with admiration. He also knew about medicinal plants that got boiled and drunk, but he had never considered adding something to the plants.
It doesn’t stink, and above all, Olga is recommending drinking it, so it should be fine, I think.
Tigre offered Olga to sit down on the opposite sofa, but she simply ignored that, sitting down on his right side. Since the sofa was rather big, there was no problem with that. Tigre revealed a wry smile, having accepted his fate. He believed that she had to also be disappointed about their quick departure from the hunting grounds, and thus he felt like going along with some of her selfishness.
Titta looked at Olga with an envy seeping out of her eyes. Then her checks took on a red tinge, and she fixed her eyes on Tigre as if expecting him to say his opinion. And as might be expected, even Tigre understood what Titta wanted to say but couldn’t. Even though she was the youth’s lover, she’d act reserved in situations like this. Then again, Tigre considered that part of her to be adorable.
“Titta, are you going to sit down over here as well?”
“Y-Yes. Please excuse me.”
Once Tigre patted the free space on his left with a hand, Titta replied with a somewhat excited, joyful voice, and sat down on Tigre’s left while curling up her shoulders. Now it had become quite cramped on the sofa, but because Olga and Titta had both small body builds, it didn’t go as far as them being unable to move altogether.
At once Tigre grabbed a cookie and tossed it into his mouth. The consistency of the walnuts and pastry stood out, blending with the honey’s sweetness spreading in his mouth. Once he honestly praised its taste, Titta’s face burst into a smile of happiness.
Next Tigre lifted one of the porcelain cups. Under the candle’s lighting, the medicinal herbs had a red color, but not as vivid as that of black tea. The herbs themselves had settled down in the cup. After tasting it with a sip, Tigre blinked several times. Going by the fact of Olga calling them herbs, he had expected for the tea to taste bitter and astringent, but instead it was gentle and mellow. Its fragrance also soothed his mind.
“How nice,” he muttered a short comment.
In response, Olga threw out her chest in pride. Just to shift her eyes to the sweets on the table in the next moment.
“Tigre, give me one as well.”
That childish naive but pleading way of speaking was very typical of her. Tigre grabbed a sweet, and passed it to Olga. But, the Vanadis silently open her mouth, apparently telling him to feed her. With a bitter smile, the youth put the sweet into her small mouth. Olga carefully enjoyed its taste with her cheek slowly grinding away while she blinked in surprise.
“Umm, Tigre-sama.”
Being addressed by Titta, Tigre turned his face in her direction. Holding a cookie in her left hand, Titta looked at the youth with a serious expression. She said, “Ah,” and after hesitating with a blush showing on her face, she continued saying, “Ahnn,” with a cramped smile. Startled, Tigre stared at her with a dumbfounded look, resulting in her saying “Ahnn,” once more. All the while, the blush on her face continued to deepen.
Smiling wryly yet again, Tigre opened his mouth, allowing Titta to stuff the cookie in her hand into his mouth. It was a different cookie from the one he had eaten moments ago, but this one was sweet and very delicious, too.
“This one tastes great as well. Thanks.”
Titta smiled cheerfully after hearing him say that, causing her ponytail to shake lightly. Next, Tigre grabbed a sweet and carried it over to Titta’s mouth. After looking back and forth between the sweet and Tigre, Titta closed her eyes and opened her mouth. And once Tigre put the sweet into her mouth, she smiled with an overjoyed face while chewing.
“Tigre, I’ll also reward you. Give me a sweet.” Olga badgered Tigre while pulling at the hem of his clothes with her left hand.
“The sweets and herbal tea are great, but it’s your presence that makes me feel at ease, you two.” Tigre said while passing a sweet to Olga.
The three of them fed each other until all sweets were gone, and when they finished drinking the tea, they simply relaxed on the sofa.
“…It’s regrettable, the hunt.” Olga muttered disconnectedly while staring up to the ceiling.
Tigre cupped her small hand with his, expressing his agreement.
“Let’s ask High Highness once more once the situation has calmed down. His Highness also looked devastated about it. I’m sure he’ll happily go along with it.” And then he shifted his eyes to his beloved maid, “Then I’ll take you along as well, Titta. Please look forward to it.”
“O-Okay! Hunting with Tigre-sama…somehow it feels very nostalgic!”
Deep emotions blurred Titta’s eyes for some time as she dwelt in memories with a broad smile plastered all over her face. Afterwards she rubbed her cheek against Tigre’s shoulder, her highest expression of love.
Tigre thought back on Ruslan’s smile. He recalled the promise of grilling the hunted game, and offering it to the prince, all while following the fun daydream of taking down some big game.
However, Ruslan would never again hold another hunt.
◎
You couldn’t say that the hunt itself succeeded, but the ill feelings between Ruslan and Eugene had been resolved, resulting in a strong bond of trust tying the two together. Hence, you could at least say that this part of Tigre’s objective worked out well. The sight of the two walking through the corridors next to each other while chatting intimately with Eugene having actively started to serve the prince as advisor seemed to have blown away the anxiety that had infested the palace. However, this was no more than a temporary reprieve.
In the early afternoon around ten days after the hunt, Tigre was casually chatting with Gaspal, Gerard and Damad in the lodging house’s room they had borrowed as envoy delegation. Sitting on the carpet spread out on the floor while leaning against the bed or walls, the men were talking about everything and anything while chewing on the roasted beans that had been served on a large ceramic plate. But then again, their topics revolved too much around serious matters for it to be called a casual chatter.
“Midgets have been spotted. Fairies as well… It’s all the same stories, but they’re growing in numbers by the day.” Damad said to Tigre with a bored look.
The various strange phenomenons taking place in the capital showed no hint of waning at all. Gerard confirmed so as well.
“Thanks to His Highness Ruslan ordering the lords, the number of feudal army soldiers loitering around the city has decreased, but instead another disturbing rumor is gaining in strength. It says that the lords have obediently sent back their soldiers to cause rebellions all over the place…”
Gaspal couldn’t add any cheerful reports either, “The matter of the assassination attempt at the hunting ground is also spreading among the people. It’s being dramatized just like the case of the Vanadis battles.”
Listening to the depressing news of those three, Tigre groaned weakly.
Sofy’s group, who had been studying documents in the palace’s archive, didn’t manage to produce any outstanding results yet either. But then again, they knew from their experience in Brune that they had no choice but to tackle this patiently.
“Somehow it doesn’t really feel like we’ll be able to go back home come spring.” Tigre sighed.
In response, Gerard answered with a tinge of sarcasm, “Please go back once before spring. Just where would you find a hero who would attend the Sun Festival but skip the Circle of Light FestivalJeux Grâce for two years in a row? We’d also get scolded by Her Highness Regin.”
The Circle of Light Festival is the New Year’s ceremony in Brune. Tigre had spent last winter in Zhcted and attended the Sun Festival, Zhcted’s New Years ceremony, this year, but naturally he didn’t appear at this year’s Circle of Light Festival. And of course it’d be bad for him to miss another year.
“You might say so, but…”
Just as Tigre searched for the right words while looking up to the ceiling, the lodging house’s manager announced a visitor, a civil official working at the palace. Even though Tigre cocked his head in puzzlement, he still went out himself to receive the unexpected guest.
The official, who had been led to another room, finished some simple greetings, before announcing something surprising.
“His Highness Ruslan collapsed…?” Tigre’s face was white like a sheet with his eyes wide in shock. “How is His Highness condition…?”
Tigre’s voice was teeming with nervousness and anxiety. Although this would be already bad news under normal circumstances, Ruslan’s being bedridden now would accelerate the confusion already afoot all over Zhcted.
“It’s overwork. He’ll probably recover by tomorrow. Because Your Excellency has a close relationship with His Highness, Earl Pardu told me to inform you at once…” The official replied with a smile, but there was a stiffness visible on his face he couldn’t hide.
Tigre asked the official to pass on his best wishes for a speedy recovery to Ruslan, and also said that he’d visit the prince at a later date when things had calmed down since right now might be too hectic a time for that. Afterwards he could do no more than seeing off the official, who left after bowing, with gloomy feelings plaguing him.
◆◇◆
—————- End of Part 3 —————-
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