The cold, dry air greatly shifted within the darkness. The flames of a torch bravely fought off a part of the encroaching blackness, revealing golden hair that let you tangibly sense its softness and the face of a beautiful girl beneath.
Her name was Regin Estelle Loire Bastien do Charles, the princess of Brune and its current ruler. Despite her tender age of 17, she had earned herself the respect and adoration of the kingdom’s lords and citizens through her many achievements.
Right now Regin was descending a long stairway with a torch in hand. However, she wasn’t alone. Three men and women were behind and in front of her in order to protect her from any potential danger. Closest to Regin was Earl Mashas Rodant, a short and stout earl with his body wrapped up in traveling clothes. The two behind and in front of her, Claude and Selena, were serving as her guards, explaining their tense vigilance.
The group was in Artishem, a city in Brune’s north. Regin’s party was heading for the underground palace called Saint-Groel located beneath that city. Saint-Groel was said to be the place where the Founding King Charles received his divine revelation, making it an important place for Brunian royalty. However, two years ago Saint-Groel had been buried by rubble when its ceiling collapsed.
Regin had planned to have all the rubble removed someday to get back inside, but as the reconstruction of Artishem took priority, that project had stalled.
However, ten days ago a report from Artishem’s governor, Isidore, was delivered to her.
“A stairway connected to Saint-Groel has been discovered.”
Probably written up in a hurry in light of the extremely surprising finding, the handwriting was so messy that it actually shocked Regin.
Around the end of autumn, Artishem was attacked by a group of dragons. The dragons destroyed the wall, invaded the city, and selfishly went berserk inside the city’s bounds, blowing away buildings and devastating streets. Back then Tigre’s party had been staying in Artishem while on their way to Zhcted. Thanks to their combined efforts, the dragons were all killed, which restored peace in the city.
Following was written next in Isidore’s barely readable report:
“After we removed the debris, we found out that many of the buildings, which had been destroyed by the dragons, were in a state requiring them to be built back up from scratch. The same applied to the temple located near the city’s center, but when we removed all the debris over there, we discovered a long stairway leading underground.”
Considering this to be strange, Isidore had called the priests, who had lived inside the temple, and asked them about the destination of the stairway. The priests answered by shaking their heads with their faces colored by surprise and confusion, explaining that they hadn’t known about any such stairway.
At first Isidore suspected that they were trying to hide something from him, and had the priests look for the temple’s blueprint. However, once he checked the blueprint after it was found, it only recorded a wall where the stairway was located. Isidore considered the possibility that the blueprint was wrong, but it was accurate in all other places.
He boldly recruited volunteers from among his subordinates. Then he paid them a big amount of money in advance, telling them that he’d guarantee the livelihood of their families as governor of Artishem in case something happened. Five soldiers in total had volunteered. They fully armed themselves, and descended the stairs with torches in hand.
Around one koku later, all of them managed to return safely. According to their report, the stairway was a straight path, leading to a cave that had probably opened up beneath all the debris by coincidence. And they also reported that they had seen a portion of a huge, metallic door.
After finishing reading Isidore’s report in the royal palace of Nice, Regin immediately summoned two of her trusted chief vassals to her office – Mashas and Prime Minister Badouin.
As soon as the two had read the report, Regin informed them with a serious expression, “I’ll leave the capital by today and head for Artishem.”
The two elderly statesmen stared at the young princess in mute amazement. At this point the sun had already begun to sink towards the west. Even if they were to rush the preparations for her journey starting this very moment, she likely wouldn’t be able to leave the capital before the evening.
“When it comes to your leaving the capital, you would require an escort of at least a hundred guards, Your Highness. Departing before the day is over is simply not possible…” Badouin shook his head.
In his mind, the elderly prime minister actually considered even a hundred guards to be too few. Regin was this country’s ruler, and a successor didn’t exist at this point in time. If something happened to her, no one would be able to replace her.
“I won’t need any soldiers. Selena and Claude will be more than enough.”
Hearing this, not only the cat-faced prime minister, but even Mashas looked as if they had to endure a headache.
“Could you possibly tell us the reason as to why you must hurry so much, Your Highness?” Mashas inquired while stroking his gray beard.
Regin picked up a bundle of more than 20 pieces of paper that had been placed on her desk, and passed it to the elderly earl. The many short text passages written on the papers didn’t seem to follow any particular theme. Peeking onto them from the side, Badouin’s eyes widened.
“All of these have been written by the late king, haven’t they?”
“Yes. These are father’s…His Majesty Faron’s notes.”
These notes had accidentally fallen into Regin’s hand several days ago. Faron’s room had been left in its previous state after his death. This stemmed from Regin’s wish to at least keep the room like that until the next king had been decided, and the only person entering the room besides her was the maid in charge of cleaning it.
That maid dropped one of the books in the bookshelf by accident while she was doing her cleaning. As a result of that, a bundle of papers that had been stuck between the books was scattered on the floor.
Regin told the maid, who had reported her mishap and profusely apologized while kowtowing, to not mind it, forgiving her with a smile, and picked up the papers herself. Back then Regin believed this bundle of papers to be a book without binding or something along those lines, and intended to simply sort it back onto the shelf.
However, catching sight of a handwriting she clearly remembered, she immediately grasped that this bundle of paper wasn’t what she had expected it to be. It was a memorandum of the thoughts Faron had come up with during his breaks of governing the kingdom.
On the night of the same day, Regin looked through those notes, her heart filled with tension, faint curiosity, and remorse for selfishly looking through her father’s belongings.
Although the notes numbered more than 20 in total, not one of them was densely packed with letters. Rather, Regin had her fair share of trouble to guess the predicates and subjects that had been omitted in order to decode the meaning behind the sentences which consisted of arrays of abstract words. And yet, feeling her father’s thoughts as ruler being handed down to her through those words, Regin broke out in a smile.
──I’d have loved to talk so casually with my father while he was still alive.
Faron had written those notes roughly one year before he fell ill. Some papers contained writings that were added almost every day, others had blanks of more than ten days. Thinking that some of it might be of use to her for her current reign, Regin read the notes several times, just to notice a certain truth ─ apparently Faron had been a lot more vigilant of Ganelon than Thenardier.
Following was written on the note of a certain day:
“Thenardier is terrifying, but Ganelon is like a bottomless abyss.”
Reading that sentence reminded Regin of a certain incident. In the past, when Faron and Regin were having a chat during their meal (although she had forgotten the general flow of the conversation), Faron revealed following about Ganelon to his daughter:
“That man has the habit of talking about the past as if he had seen it with his own eyes. Sometimes I feel like I’m dealing with an old man who’s more than a hundred years old.”
Hearing this story from Regin, Mashas and Badouin carefully reread the notes. As a result, both felt that a significant number of descriptions concerned Ganelon.
“Having discovered these now might have been a stroke of good luck…” Mashas muttered.
Mashas believed that Regin wouldn’t have felt this nervous and vigilant about the contents of this memorandum, even if she had found these right after the civil war had ended.
Nowadays Mashas and the others knew a lot more about Ganelon. This included him faking his death, and his abnormality.
Fixing her eyes on Mashas and Badouin, Regin said, “Artishem belonged to the Ganelon Dukedom since the rise of Brune, and it always used to be a major strategic point of the kingdom. Saint-Groel had been managed by the Ganelon family for many generations. I feel there’s something to be found in that place, and I want to clarify what it is as ruler of this country.”
Mashas and Badouin looked at each other without answering the princess. You could call it only natural for Regin to be obsessed over Ganelon. Not only was he an enemy who had tried to murder her, but he also had remarkably shortened King Faron’s life span through poison. As someone who had served King Faron for many years, Badouin could fully understand her sentiments.
“But, Your Highness,” Despite perceiving Regin’s inner turmoil, Badouin still objected, “lately eerie rumors about sightings of fairies and monsters that seemed to be dragons have been making their rounds. Those rumors aren’t limited to just the castle town either. Similar reports have arrived from various places all over the kingdom. If possible, I would like you to spend your time in the palace without going out until these rumors die down.”
The mysterious happenings occurring all over Zhcted naturally occurred in Brune as well. Mashas and Badouin also had both received reports about casualties. The elderly prime minister deliberately described them as rumors, but in reality he harbored the feeling that something ill was afoot.
“I fully understand what you’re saying, Prime Minister. But, now is the only time when I can leave the capital.”
What Regin was hinting at were the current movements of Brune’s neighboring countries. Although Sachstein and Muozinel had invaded Brune, both had to retreat after defeat. Moreover, Sachstein was fighting against Asvarre at the moment, and Muozinel was embroiled in a civil war over the throne succession after the previous king had passed away.
Regin had heard that King Viktor had also passed away, and that Prince Ruslan and Earl Pardu were currently handling the governmental affairs, hence she guessed that they wouldn’t have any time to meddle with a foreign country.
Badouin groaned. He was also quite aware of the circumstances Regin had mentioned. The princess further pressed on, “There’s no doubt that it’ll be a big help for my future reign if I can get approved at Saint-Groel.”
Regin had one weakness as ruler. Until two years ago, she had been raised as Prince Regnas. King Faron had explained it by using an oracle as an excuse, but unable to accept that, some folks, who were unhappy with the setting, had caused an uprising after being instigated by Melisande.
Saint-Groel was said to not open its door for anyone other than descendants of the royal family. Nothing else would work as a better proof for Regin’s legitimacy.
Badouin hesitated while carefully stroking his cat-like whiskers. Going by logic, he should stop her. But he knew from experience that good opportunities often arrived after going beyond logic. Before long, Badouin turned his eyes at Mashas.
“Could you accompany Her Highness?”
Mashas immediately understood from his words that Badouin intended to keep Regin’s trip as confidential as possible. Doing that would allow them to increase her safety somewhat. Mashas himself wasn’t the youngest anymore, but last year he had traveled through the wintry Zhcted to search for Tigre. It wasn’t as though Badouin couldn’t trust Selena and Claude, but he considered both as inexperienced because they were still young.
“Good grief, the cold winds of winter are going to take their toll on these old bones of mine, but if it’s for the sake of Her Highness, it cannot be helped.” Mashas said jokingly, thus accepting his old friend’s request.
And that was the reason why Regin, Mashas, Selena, and Claude were walking the stairway down into the underground right now. Beyond the stairway extended a long and narrow tunnel straight ahead. As this agreed with the report, Regin’s group silently proceeded.
“Although they received a big amount of money and knew their families safe, the soldiers did quite well to advance through such a terrifying tunnel, and come back afterwards.” Mashas caressed his beard with his sweaty hand.
His beard felt stiff and wet. Trudging onwards through this darkness that seemed to choke the life out of any living being, making it possible for anyone to break down at any moment, furiously gnawed away at his spirit. Even though he had heard an estimate of this straight path’s length in advance, his exhaustion was accumulating at an alarming rate.
As soon as the tunnel ended, they were faced with a steep slope, and after scaling it, they came out in a hemispherical cave. The stones and bedrock, which had likely formed Saint-Groel’s ceiling, lay strewn across the floor as debris, interestingly mingling with lumps of earth and stone pavings that used to be part of Artishem’s streets, and thus creating this cavity. In one part of the cave the party could see a gleam that could belong to a metallic wall or door.
Being accompanied by Selena who held a torch, Regin planted her feet in front of that door.
“Your Highness, is this truly a door as big as you can hear in the stories?” Selena inclined her head in doubt.
It was only reasonable for her to call it into question. Most of the door was buried by rubble, so it was hard to tell its full size. However, as someone who had seen it in the past, Regin nodded silently.
With her body stiff from tension, Regin touched the door. In the next instant, the door’s surface glowed up faintly. Selena and Claude reached for their swords, and Mashas rushed over in panic, but they couldn’t do anything. Regin attempted to get away from the door too, but she couldn’t move at all with her hand’s palm seemingly being sucked into the door.
『A descendant of Charles, huh?』
Someone’s voice reverberated within Regin’s mind. Surprised and bewildered, Regin restlessly glanced left and right, unable to calm down. Selena hugged Regin closely, firmly holding onto her free hand.
“Your Highness, I’m right here with you.”
Regin tightly squeezed Selena’s hand back. After taking several rough breaths, she regained her composure to some extent.
“Thanks, Selena.”
After thanking her close retainer with a voice almost close to whispering, Regin pulled herself together, and turned around to the door again.
I’ve come for this. I mustn’t get frightened by something of this level.
──That’s right.
Regin answered inside her heart while closing her eyes and pushing her hand against the door instead. As soon as she did, the next words echoed throughout her mind in no time.
『Prove it』
Regin frowned.
Didn’t this door exist for the very reason of proving it? Even if it tells me to prove it myself, I don’t know what to do.
She still couldn’t remove her palm from the door, so Regin frantically brooded on how to go on.
‘What does it mean to be Charles’s descendant?
Probably because Regin had sunken into silence, Selena tightly squeezed her hand once more. The princess looked at her, and smiled with the intent to thank her.
“It’s alright, Selena. Please give me a moment.”
Those words might have been spoken faster than usual because anxiety was rapidly on the rise in Regin’s mind.
I wonder what’s going to happen if I can’t meet the door’s demand? Am I going to lose my qualification as royal?
That was a frightening possibility for Regin.
I’ve clawed my way all the way to where I am right now. But, if I’m told that anything and everything was insufficient as Charles’s descendant, I might be unable to object.
She clenched her eyes shut so as to brave her fear.
──Tigre…
The face of the youth she cherished surfaced in her mind.
I’ve been saved twice by him. Once when I got attacked by Muozinel soldiers in Agnes two years ago, and once when Melisande caused the uprising in spring of this year. No, if you add him widening my world during my childhood, it’d be thrice.
When he told me that he loved another woman, I did receive a heavy shock, but I managed to come to terms with it. I could confirm that my feelings for him haven’t changed.
──Please lend me your courage.
Tigre never avoided exposing himself to danger for the sake of those believing in him and for the sake of protecting those he loved. He challenged Duke Thenardier, and he challenged the Muozinel army. He didn’t falter away in front of the rebel forces, nor did he falter in front of Sachstein’s army.
Regin had been gazing at his back for a long time.
“I am──”
She opened her eyes, stared at the door, and tightly pursed her lips. There was no need to put it into words. She voiced her feelings in her mind so as to answer the voice that had spoken to her.
The me from back when I was Prince Regnas never did anything extraordinary. That me spent her days embracing a vague anxiety towards the future. The defeat at Dinant and the journey thereafter changed my mind little-by-little. When I was left all alone after Jeanne, who had protected me, fell, I thought that everything might be over many times.
I kept walking on my own feet while glancing at the villages and towns I passed. And then I was rescued by Tigre. Being able to consider this country of Brune as something precious that needs to be protected stems from that experience. It’s not just that I’ve inherited my father’s will, but I’ve reached a point that I feel I must do everything I can in order to protect the livelihood of my people.
I’m working hard at governmental affairs while being supported by Mashas, Badouin, Augre, Selena, and Claude. It’s definitely no lip service to say that my people’s happiness has become my source of encouragement. If they can lead a safe life, they’ll pay their taxes even while complaining about it, and they’ll also serve in the army. Once they become rich to a certain extent, they buy all kinds of things to improve their own lives. For this reason, a ruler must maintain the roads, repel foreign enemies, kill bandits, and rack their brain about flood control.
Regin brought up the things she had done after becoming the ruler in her father’s stead. She explained how she had made efforts and racked her brain for Brune’s sake.
──This is what it means to be Charles’s descendant for me.
Suddenly, the sensation of being sucked in vanished. The door withdrew towards the inside, accompanied by a grating that resembled iron grinding against iron. Once it opened fully, Mashas and Claude leaked voices of admiration.
Mysteriously, the debris forming the cave didn’t collapse. Mashas readied their torches once more, the group pulled itself together, and went through the door.
What they were met with was a huge space. It was so gigantic that you might have easily stored Artishem’s biggest temple and mansions in here with ease. Each and every pillar that supported the ceiling was thick and very long. The ceiling itself was so high up that it was wrapped up by darkness.
Regin’s group proceeded further inside, and swallowed their breaths when they saw what was illuminated by their torches. It was the statue of a giant with three faces. It had a size that didn’t lose to Saint-Groel’s door. Three female faces silently looked down at the little group.
“Tir Na Fal, right…?” Regin mumbled under her breath.
Since she had heard about her from Tigre and the Vanadis, she could immediately recall the goddess’s name. Mashas and Claude slowly walked throughout the space with their torches, surveying the area. Long text passages were carved on the walls to the left and right in the letter of an ancient era. Below those text carvings were carvings of Brunian letters of old.
“It looks like it’s a translation of the text above into Brunish.” Mashas said full of admiration after looking up to the writings for a while.
Regin could roughly grasp the meaning of the text by just looking at it. Even though she didn’t understand what was written there. Looking at her palm, she found a strange tattoo that emitted miniscule amounts of heat engraved onto her skin. Regin guessed that this tattoo allowed her to grasp the meaning of the text passages. The blond princess read what was written on the left and right side, but she had to interrupt her reading many times because of the shocking contents.
When she somehow managed to finish reading after spending more than a quarter koku on it, Regin croaked with a hoarse voice, “This here describes the method how to let Tir Na Fal descend on the surface…”
Shock was written on the faces of the other three. Naturally Tir Na Fal was regarded as an evil goddess in Brune, too.
“It seems Charles killed the priests of Tir Na Fal, who had turned Saint-Groel into their base, in the past. Afterwards, once he realized that this place was one of the altars to allow Tir Na Fal to descend, he ordered a priest whom he trusted to seal it securely.”
“That priest was the first Duke Ganelon, wasn’t he?” Mashas commented.
Regin nodded, “Not destroying it and instead just sealing it off was apparently done in preparation for a time when making Tir Na Fal descend was the only option left. Though I don’t quite understand the part about calling her Human Tir Na Fal…”
“This is something I’ve heard from Tigre’s group, but actually…”
Once Mashas explained that Tir Na Fal possessed three personalities, Regin apparently understood.
“So that’s how it was, huh…? Charles knew about it. It’s written on this altar to make the Human Tir Na Fal descend if the need should ever arise.”
The other thing that caused Regin surprise was the reference to the Black Bow.
“The Black Bow that shares feelings with Tir Na Fal… Back then Charles carried it, but it’s written here that Charles discarded it in the eastern mountains after having it identified as dangerous by Ganelon.”
After having said all this, Regin exchanged a look with Mashas.
When taking an overview of Brune, the eastern mountain referred to the Vosges Mountains that had become the border with Zhcted. Not a few hunters lived within those mountains.
Hmm, it makes sense. It’s unlikely that the bow would have been picked up by chance if he discarded it in the Vosges Mountains.
In the past Mashas had entered those mountains many times together with Tigre’s father Urs, but he considered the area to be too rugged, and riddled with places inaccessible to not only humans, but also animals.
However, what if some hunter had picked up the Black Bow over there? The first Earl Vorn, who served as source for Tigre’s name, had been a hunter.
“──Earl Rodant.” Regin looked back at Mashas after having finished reading everything. “How do I get to Zhcted from here?”
Many words to stop her crossed Mashas’s mind. Regin having traveled all the way here was because she was the only one who could open the door of Saint-Groel. But, someone else would be able to pass on what Regin had learned to Tigre in Zhcted. In this regard, Mashas might as well ride on his horse to Zhcted himself.
But, in the end Mashas didn’t voice out a single of those words to stop Regin, only apologizing to Badouin in his mind.
Maybe this endeavor is bound to fail if Regin doesn’t do it herself, Mashas wondered. As long as it’s not her who’s been acknowledged as the one having inherited Charles’s will.
◎
——————– End of Part 2 ——————–
No Comments Yet
Post a new comment
Register or Login