Chapter 5 — A Step Outside

It was early afternoon, several days later.

“Knight Natalio. I hereby induct you as my personal knight. I have great hopes for your valor and loyalty.”

Zenjirou was standing in front of, and addressing, a young knight in a room within the royal palace, doing his best to maintain a certain gravitas with his words.

Natalio Maldonado was the name of the man kneeling before him. He looked to be in his mid-twenties, about the same age as Zenjirou, with dark brown hair and gray eyes—the prototypical coloring of a Capuan. He was genuflecting with a humble look on his face.

His tight expression might have seemed overly serious, but there weren’t many warriors who would feel relaxed at a ceremony whose sole purpose was to demonstrate their loyalty to a member of the royal family. Making any judgments on his personality from this first impression would be dangerous.

Zenjirou drew the sword he had received from Natalio smoothly from its leather scabbard. The well-maintained weapon’s blade shone in the light from the window. It’s about fifty, sixty centimeters long? he thought to himself. The length of the grip made it look like a one-handed sword, but its weight made him feel that it wouldn’t be easily wielded with a single hand.

Zenjirou took the flat of the blade and rested it on both of Natalio’s shoulders in turn before slowly returning it to its scabbard.

Then, he held the sheathed sword out whereupon Natalio accepted it in both hands, still kneeling, before answering, “My Lord, I shall never transgress or fail your orders or your principles. I shall fear no difficulty as I become an instrument of your will, Sir Zenjirou, hereby pledging my life to this.”

Thankfully, the ceremony of Natalio’s fealty concluded without incident.

Once the knight had departed, Zenjirou let out a tiny sigh of relief, inaudible to anyone else in the room. He’d somehow managed to pull through without committing any faux pas.

“Good work, Sir Zenjirou.” The voice of the slender-faced secretary, Fabio, made him reflexively tense up and jump slightly.

Theoretically, the man was here on loan from Aura, but unless Zenjirou’s estimation was mistaken, the look on his face showed no sign of that being the case. What Zenjirou could see was the look of a horse handler making sure the prize stud didn’t do anything stupid while it was gallivanting around.

I mean, he wouldn’t say that if he accepted me as a superior... wait, no. Gotta be careful, that’s not it. The soul of language might mean that I can understand the words well enough, but I sometimes forget that this isn’t actually Earth.

Since the first time they had laid eyes on each other, the older man had never shown any hint of a favorable impression of Zenjirou, so the prince consort had a less flattering impression of the secretary than was warranted. Words of appreciation were normally offered from a superior to a subordinate, and the other way around was considered rude. That, however, was a Japanese societal norm. Interpreting the older man’s comment as a sign of hostility was taking his distrust too far.

He considered the correct answer as a royal based on what he had learned from Octavia. “No, it wasn’t much. That was fine, then?” he asked.

The man agreed with his usual opaque expression. “It was. Henceforth, in addition to acting as a member of the Drake Marksmen, Sir Natalio will simultaneously carry out his role as your vassal. A royal vassal earns twenty large silvers each year, so it should be of great aid to the Maldonado family. While his wages will technically come from Her Majesty’s funds, you shall be the one paying them, so please bear that in mind.”

Zenjirou was somewhat surprised. “Oh, he gets extra pay?”

Fabio’s expression didn’t falter as he answered in the affirmative. “He does. A knight’s loyalty is bought with money.”

The words lacked the romanticism one might have expected from a fantasy-like world.

“It is?”

“Of course, the money is not the be-all-end-all. A liege’s words strengthen his vassal’s fealty, and his actions maintain it. However, fundamentally, at the root of it is money. Without that foundation, a knight’s fealty will not hold.”

The secretary’s blunt words were completely pragmatic and commensurately easy to understand. Yes, it lacked romanticism, but unlanded knights had only their wages from the kingdom to live off. Their valor and fealty were quite literally for sale, and they had to get the best price they could.

“I see,” he nodded in understanding.

“Ah, speaking of such matters, have you any plans to take territories or titles of your own?” Fabio asked, as if the topic had jogged his memory.

Zenjirou started again at the sudden shift in subject but did his best to keep the discomfort from his face and voice. “Territories or titles? What do you mean?”

“Indeed, there are multiple areas under the direct control of the royal family even outside of the capital. They are currently under Her Majesty’s management, and there are magistrates installed there, but as royalty, you have a right to them as well. Of course, such a role would only last for your generation.”

A monarch and the royal family, in addition to their claim to the throne, often had their own lands and titles. In fact, it was rarer for someone of royal status to not have a single piece of land to their name. There were even more complicated instances where royals held rank in other countries.

“You are not likely to need them should you remain within the inner palace as you have done so far,” Fabio continued, “but if you are to become more active outside of the palace, you will need a title and freely accessible funds. To say nothing of the necessity for your own resources if you are to take on additional vassals.”

Right, I can definitely see where he’s coming from... Zenjirou thought, although regardless of the validity of the statement, it was a strange thing for “the queen’s confidant” to say.

While he was her husband, taking on titles and land even nominally, and acquiring his own funds, would lead to control moving away from Aura. Also, with those resources currently being unified under Aura, taking even a part of their earnings would mean lessening the money that Aura had easily available for herself. Furthermore, a consort gaining his own funding and lands meant that he gained military might. This was most certainly not something an ally of the queen should be suggesting.

Is he sounding me out? No, it’s way too blatant. It’s probably more of a warning, just put a bit indirectly.

As Zenjirou considered the situation, the secretary remained standing at attention, his narrow eyes watching every movement. If Zenjirou did show any signs of infidelity, this man would see it without a doubt. His loyalty to Aura was something that Zenjirou appreciated, but the cold, skeptical gaze on him was unpleasant and engendered a vague sense of fear.

If Zenjirou was on Aura’s side, there was no answer other than in the negative. He could tell that this wasn’t the time for a stubborn, uncooperative response and so gave an affected cough to clear his throat before declining.

“I don’t need it, and the unification of assets and power are necessary for the good of the royal family.”

“Yet did you not resolve yourself to leave the inner palace to aid Her Majesty? Pardon my bluntness, but despite being her spouse, and being seen as a member of the immediate royal line, you will be limited in your utility without such resources, no?”

His voice was flat and his face emotionless as he spoke provocatively. It naturally fanned the flames of Zenjirou’s anger, causing the emotion to temporarily override his wariness and fear of the man in front of him as he offered a heated reply.

“And if that comes to be the case, it is a matter that she and I shall discuss. You have no right to supersede her and suggest it to me yourself.” He regretted the words as soon as they left his lips, thinking that he’d gone too far, but it was too late.

Surprisingly, the harshness and undisguised anger seemed to satisfy the secretary.

“Indeed. My apologies,” the elder murmured, his mask ever so slightly askew and a hint of a smile about his lips as he gave a deep bow of his head.

◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆

Several hours later, when the light coming in through the window had taken on a slight sunset glow, Fabio entered the office where Aura was carrying out her lighter duties.

“Your Majesty, I have returned.”

Aura remained seated and merely glanced at him. “Good work, Fabio. You too, Alejandro; you may depart.”

The sober young man, second secretary Alejandro, responded by handing a sheaf of drake parchment to Fabio.

“Sir, the minutes from today.”

“Very well. I shall relieve you now.”

“Thank you, sir.”

The younger secretary gave a bow after handing over the document and left the room. As the door closed with a thud behind him, Fabio turned back to the queen where she sat writing.

“How was Alejandro’s work, Your Majesty?”

Aura’s ballpoint pen stopped and she moved her gaze from the page on the desk to the man before her.

“Not bad. There is a bit of life to him, unlike yourself. He still lacks ‘responsiveness,’ however, and while he would be tempered by assisting me were I well, he can currently only act as a substitute.”

“Understood,” the secretary answered with a slight shrug at the harsh review. “I shall redouble his training until his work is satisfactory.”

The younger man’s instruction was Fabio’s personal responsibility as the lead secretary. Considering their long association, Aura could imagine the zeal he would bring to his training and felt somewhat sympathetic towards the young secretaries. Yet it was a fact that Alejandro’s work had been insufficient.

“Please do. So, how did things progress on your end?”

Unflustered by the sudden change of subject, the middle-aged man answered “responsively.” “The ceremony affirming Knight Natalio’s fealty was conducted without incident. Sir Zenjirou has already returned to the inner palace.”

Aura let out a relieved breath at the report. “At least there is that. I would hear your impression of him. From your perspective, how did my husband appear?”

It had been nearly half a year since Zenjirou had arrived, and while the question was overdue, her husband had spent the majority of his time in the inner palace, so he’d had very little time to interact with Fabio. But as he had now decided to take on activities outside of the inner palace, even if only the bare minimum, she needed to know exactly what her ineffable retainer thought of him.

He appeared to have an answer already prepared. “Very well. He seems to have acclimatized to moderating his expressions and actions, so I would judge that you may leave public appearances to him without any major concerns. His etiquette is also passable, and while I have many instances that I would identify as lapses, they are all within an acceptable range. I would imagine there is only a small chance he would misstep on that front, even outside,” he said, the stream of thoughts cutting off promptly at the final word of the sentence. He gave a slight shrug and added, “He also rejected taking any of your holdings outright.”

Aura grimaced at his blunt admission and covered her face with a hand. “Yet again, you insist on provoking... Still, land and titles. It is indeed worth consideration when thinking about his future activities,” she mused, moving a hand to prop her chin up as she thought the matter over.

“Please discuss that in depth with Sir Zenjirou,” said her retainer, the slight lift of a smile twisting his lips. “After all, that is a matter a mere secretary ‘should not supersede his queen’ on.”

Fabio’s tone let her infer that Zenjirou had said as much and she let out a small laugh. “That does indeed sound like something my prudent husband would say. It does make things easier for me, though. It may be worth considering granting him a title to add some weight to his words in the public eye.”

Despite Aura’s favorable impression, Zenjirou hadn’t actively been trying to be prudent. He was just naturally aware that, while they were equals in private, there was a clear superior and subordinate in public. Three years of working in an office had shown him just how easily a group could be led astray if they lacked proper information sharing and a unified chain of command.

“With his position, inheriting the mantle of the duchy of Valentia should cause no trouble.”

Aura maintained her smile at his provocation even as she spoke in a menacingly low tone. “Fabio, refrain from testing me. Regardless of your concerns, I have no intention of granting him real power on that level. While I remain on the throne, the duchy of Valentia and the county of Potosi will remain under my control, and I shall not forfeit them.”

“A wise decision,” he answered, showing no shame at her rebuke.

Valentia had the most prosperous port in the kingdom, and Potosi housed the best silver mine. Having the assets under direct royal control strengthened their influence unlike in feudalistic states. Forfeiting those two great resources, even to her husband, would be a foolish move.

“However, you cannot rush back and forth to them while pregnant, and leaving everything to the magistrates carries risks of its own.”

Aura scowled at his point but nodded. “That is true. If my husband learns teleportation magic, then regardless of the title, I would like to entrust him with its administration.”

The reason their remote holdings, usually hotbeds for corruption and sedition, could be managed so easily was due to the teleportation magic the royals had access to. Carrying out such schemes under the nose of someone who could appear without warning to inspect you required a rather large amount of bravery and wits.

Currently, however, the only wielder of such a spell was Aura herself, thus the reason they wished for Zenjirou to learn that magic and have many children of direct lineage with her.

“Yes, I believe he would excel at such work. And yet his greatest ‘work’ is, as ever, expanding your bloodline.”

“I suppose. Fortunately, that is going well. I have yet to experience morning sickness today, and Doctor Michel says that I have passed the worst of it,” Aura announced with her happiest expression of the day so far.

“Heartening indeed. I believe you had an audience with the envoy from the Twin Kingdoms today. How was it?” he asked, changing the topic.

The diplomatic issues with the Twin Kingdoms concerned Zenjirou’s latent potential for enchantment magic and what to do about it. They had just begun private meetings to reach some form of compromise.

“As things stand now, there seems to be little likelihood of them trying to pose restrictions on our child. Although if he has children with another, they will certainly intervene.”

As she spoke, she leaned back in her chair and rolled her neck to combat the stiffness. It was roughly the outcome they had expected to begin with.

Agreeing, the secretary inquired further. “Regardless, your child will doubtless have remnants of blood from the Sharou royal family. Will they be satisfied with merely ensuring that Sir Zenjirou takes no concubines?”

Aura shrugged, shaking her head. “Likely not. Frankly, they seem to be intending to marry him into a branch line... with the proviso that any children from the union be taken in by them, of course. This is by no means definite, but my impressions suggest that rather than keeping enchantment magic away from our country, they are prioritizing the acquisition of space-time magic for themselves.”

Under such circumstances, the Sharous too would have a royal with bloodlines from both families, most likely aiming to be even with their Capuan counterparts. At least, that was their excuse. Aura’s kingdom had its own excuses.

It was not yet definitively known whether Zenjirou had inherited Sharou blood, so allowing things to move in that direction without question could potentially end with the flat-out theft of space-time magic. And even if it proved true, they had not stolen the bloodline purposefully, so there should be no obligation to make any more concessions than were truly necessary.

Furthermore, from a purely logical standpoint, the Twin Kingdoms had already “blessed” their marriage, and they had no right to now find fault with Zenjirou’s heritage. Aura, however, knew that international politics never ran smoothly.

“I wonder where the compromise will fall,” Fabio mused.

“I cannot say. It is hard to know at present. We will likely talk past each other for a while longer. With lineal magic on the line, we both have far too much that we are unwilling to let go of. The single saving grace is that they seem to agree that war is an absolutely final resort,” she replied, still sitting back and rolling her neck.

The Kingdom of Capua and the Twin Kingdoms of Sharou-Gilbelle were among the biggest countries in the region, reigning supreme over the Southern Continent. Both countries were well aware that playing with fire could cause more than some minor burns. The risks were far greater than an immaterial honor; however, their lineal magics, the foundations of their power, were on the line. It was unlikely that they would find an easy compromise.

“It might not even be resolved during your generation,” the secretary pointed out, voicing a realistic concern.

“I would rather put it to rest now. Such issues tend to seem increasingly valid from both sides as time passes, and we will have to surrender something. I would prefer to avoid a great war in my child’s generation.”

That said, she could not bind her country to a disadvantageous agreement, either; it would weaken her power base and risk future domestic conflicts.

“There is nothing we can do but acknowledge that it will be drawn out. My own body will hinder me until the birth, and rushing into an unfavorable settlement has its own dangers. The potential leaking of the secret will also be problematic. Can you imagine if Pujol or his like heard of this?”

Fabio gave a slight sigh of agreement. “They would gladly ply Sir Zenjirou with concubines, actively attempting to steal the enchantment magic.”

The ambitious general would never allow the opportunity to possess another country’s lineal magic pass him by. Even more troubling was that his suggestion would undoubtedly be supported by the majority of the kingdom’s nobles—that was how attractive the idea of a merged bloodline was. There was a strong possibility that the moderates, who were more conscious of the threat posed by a conflict with the Twin Kingdoms, would be overruled.

“So, our choice is to proceed carefully, right to the end,” Aura murmured, unconsciously stroking her stomach where her child grew.