Chapter 25

Chapter 25 — Gatess Trafviche (3)

"So your pair was Gatis. I must say, I am surprised."

Gatess lightly stroked his sharp jawline. That gesture—I knew it. A habit when he was flustered. Marina had teased him about it often. Of course, that was impossible for me to do.

It wasn't just Gatess who was surprised. The Emperor, Kanna, Colonel Kal Karamov, General Sate, Baron Otsuka—they all wore the same expression. The surprisingly composed one was Princess Riyan. That tracked with her character. Riyan was always gentle and smiling.

"In any case, what matters is the quality of the offering, is it not?"

Riyan settled the uneasy atmosphere. This was her first public statement. She, too, had been quiet, but she was still royalty. The charisma to command others was written in her DNA.

"R-right. Let us first see what was brought. Gatis?"

The Emperor, who'd bitten his tongue in his flustered state—how undignified—looked at Gatis. Gatis confidently pulled something from his leather pouch.

"Is that......?"

"...Wh-what?"

Murmurs rippled through the soldiers. Those on the platform murmured too. Because what he held was Tomi's cloth remnant—the soulless husk.

"What—this can't be... a joke, right?"

"Come on, Prince Gatis is a child. He could do something like that."

"Then why was that guard making such a big deal?"

Eyes brimming with hostility, as though demanding interest on their earlier shock. The Great Ancestor's Hall, which had been blazing with fervor, descended into confusion upon confusion.

The only one whose expression turned grave was none other than Gatess.

"...Gatis, I do not think that should be taken out here."

Gatess closed his eyes once, then opened them. His black eyes shifted to gold. I roughly understood that Skill by now. Eyes that pierced through lies.

"Gatis, answer me. Did you go to the underground dungeon?"

His quiet words reached only the platform, while those below could only multiply their confused murmurs. Gatis tried desperately to keep his mouth shut, but against his will, his lips were trying to part. The way they quivered was unsettling, so I stepped between him and Gatess's line of sight.

"...What are you doing?"

Gatess said coldly. At the same moment, Gatis's mouth opened wide and let out a deep exhale. One second from confessing.

I knelt before Gatess and paid my respects.

"Your Highness, I believe that however we obtained it and whatever we brought, it is for the Great Ancestor to judge."

"He speaks rightly, Gatess."

The Emperor stepped in to mediate. Below the platform, those who'd been faintly murmuring had sensed the gravity of the situation and were actually quieting down.

"It is for the Great Ancestor to judge. I may not know what that is, but you seem to. Place it on the altar and we shall see."

"It must not be placed on the altar."

"Can you tell us why?"

When the Emperor asked, Gatess lowered his head. I couldn't quite figure out what the issue was. If the Great Ancestor was going to receive it anyway, offering Tomi would be profoundly meaningful. Gatess clearly knew this was Tomi's remains.

"...Let us discuss this privately. This is not the place."

Gatess then looked at Gatis. Gatis was hiding behind me, clutching my clothes.

"Gatis, I am not trying to punish you. I merely know what that is. If you know as well, the conversation will be easier."

Gatess spoke with unexpected gentleness. A glance at Gatis showed he was on the verge of tears. I felt guilty, since it seemed like he was going through this ordeal because of me. That was the biggest reason I'd stepped in.

As I held my position guarding Gatis, Gatess sighed.

"Father, this ceremony's winner is Gatis and Guard Appari. Please announce it as such. I will explain the matter of that object later."

The Emperor seemed briefly taken aback. But his expression hardened soon after. He was not the protagonist, but he was the Emperor. He had enough charisma to command a crowd.

The Emperor strode to the front of the platform. The instant he did, whatever murmuring remained below was instantly silenced, and perfect rows formed.

"Warriors, today we have witnessed many achievements that will greatly please the Great Ancestor. It was a festival the Great Ancestor would be satisfied with, and I too am most pleased."

At those words, cheers rang out as though no one had seen a thing on the platform.

"I must say something that will surprise you all. The highest glory of this altar ceremony goes to the Third Prince Gatis and 2nd Prince's Guard, Appari, as a pair. That object is directly related to the Great Ancestor—a precious artifact the imperial house has long sought. How it was retrieved remains unclear, but that is not ours to judge."

Everyone fell silent at the Emperor's words. It was the kind of statement that should've provoked murmurs, but all remained quiet.

"Accordingly, we shall not burn that object but preserve it. This ceremony is hereby concluded."

"Long live, long live, ten thousand years!"

The rehearsed chorus echoed back. Other soldiers gazed at Gatis with awe, and the looks directed at me were a mixed bag.

Most were envious or jealous, and some looked disbelieving. How could they trust one half of a pair but not the other? At least Kanna was looking at me with genuine admiration. That was enough.

And so the altar ceremony concluded grandly. But we weren't finished. Gatess had led everyone on the platform into the inner palace.

I was the only non-royal here. You could survive a tiger's den if you kept your wits about you. With that thought, I walked toward the palace gates, yawning open like an alligator's maw.

***

This was my second time visiting the Emperor. The first had been the Emperor's Hall; now, the second time was his private space—the Emperor's study.

I was certain no one of guard rank had ever set foot here. The Emperor's study was less ornate than I'd expected.

Portraits of past emperors lined the walls, and the antique wood and tables evoked a corporate chairman's office.

"Shall we all sit and discuss? I believe Gatess should start."

The Emperor offered me a seat as well. We sat before a long, rectangular, natural-grain oak-brown wooden desk—the kind you'd find in a major corporation's boardroom. I took the far end seat next to Gatis. Never thought I'd be sitting in the Emperor's study.

"First, Gatis—take out Tomi. Or rather, what used to be Tomi."

So Gatess had known it was Tomi all along. Gatis had stopped crying and was back to being the confident Gatis I knew. That's right—children grew quickly.

Tomi was placed on the Emperor's desk. To anyone who didn't know, it was just a tattered cloth.

"...So this is Tomi."

Surprisingly, it was Princess Riyan who spoke first.

"Riyan, you know about Tomi?"

"Only from books. It is recorded in the Secret Annals of the Great Ancestor's Chronicles. It is written in archaic language, so you would not know."

As expected of the princess. Brilliant and composed. Riyan wore nothing but a smile. But her hands told a different story—they were stretching the cheek of Gatis, who sat right beside her.

"When did you break into the library? Hm?"

"Aaaaaagh! That hurts! Riyan!"

Riyan, being royalty, had apparently known about the library dungeon as well. She looked at me, still smiling.

"Appari? How did you get in?"

This wasn't ideal to discuss here. But Gatis's cheek was hurting too much, and he hastily fished a wire from his pocket. Riyan released his cheek, took the wire, and examined it.

"...So you wrecked my space with something like this."

"Riyan, I'm really sorry!"

"No, you need to be punished."

Riyan said coldly. The frightening part was the smile she maintained throughout. And when that smile turned toward me, I felt my first genuine chill since arriving in this world.

"Appari, I even went easy on you, and this is how you repay me?"

"I beg your pardon? What do you mean, went easy?"

"I let you use the library before you became a guard."

Riyan said with a sly smile. When I remained baffled, she reached somewhere and plunged her hand in deep. Ah—one of those Mana pouches common in fantasy worlds.

What emerged was a pink wig and round spectacles.

"...The librarian?"

"That is right. Do you recognize me now?"

Only after she put them on did I remember the librarian who'd so readily granted me library access. The impression had been so faint that I hadn't even recalled.

She removed the disguise and tossed it back into her Mana pouch. In hindsight, in an imperial household with rules this strict, I should've recognized the suspiciously easygoing person from the start.

"Riyan, that is not what matters here. Tomi, on the lowest floor of the dungeon, was still alive when I last saw it."

"...So you went there too, brother."

Riyan regarded Gatess with the same smile. Gatess met her gaze with composure.

"I did. I thought there might be a boon, so I went. And there was. That necklace you had been eyeing—I got it there."

"How audacious of you. The library is my space, you know."

"The dungeon beneath the library belongs to the imperial family."

Ah, what did it matter? Sibling quarrels were par for the course, but these people were characters in a romance fantasy. Please stop showing me your mundane side.

"Enough! So, Gatess, what is your point?"

"Tomi's death means the secret dungeon that has been passed down through the imperial line for a thousand years has been cleared. Am I correct, Appari?"

Gatess looked at me. Why was he suddenly asking me?

"Gatis would not have been the one to dispatch Tomi."

"Tomi was not dispatched. He simply reached the end of his life."

"How is that possible when Tomi was harboring the Great Ancestor's spirit?"

Everyone around us reacted with shock at our exchange. Even Gatis. He'd been unconscious during the crucial moments, so he wouldn't have seen any of it.

"After the Great Ancestor's spirit departed, he said he had fulfilled all the boons he had prepared and ascended. He left word that the people of the old era would now merely watch."

"Is that truly so......"

Gatess looked up at the ceiling and sighed. I'd stated the facts as truthfully as I could. The information about being an outsider from another dimension had to remain hidden. I was already under suspicion as it was. I couldn't afford to draw more.

"I can force myself to accept that."

"Then may I also ask something?"

I addressed Gatess. The Emperor and Riyan watched me with keen interest, while Gatos looked on in surprise. He probably hadn't expected a mere guard to pose a question.

"You may."

"If you knew it was Tomi, why did you not allow it to be offered at the altar? Would it not have been the most fitting offering for the Great Ancestor?"

"...If you can promise secrecy after hearing the answer, then listen."

Gatess said coldly. I nodded immediately.

"I am ready."

"Because that altar is something I artificially created to boost the Empire's morale."

Just as I'd suspected. Please—as if the Great Ancestor's spirit would actually consume offerings and sort them by grade.

"It rallies the warriors' morale, and adding a few visual effects makes the troops easier to manage. Plus, events like these clear out the surrounding monsters, so the capital enjoys peace for a while."

"Understood."

"The reason I have told you so readily is for one purpose alone."

Gatess said.

"Become my guard. That is an order."

I let my eyes wander briefly. The Emperor, Gatess, Gatos, Gatis, Riyan. All imposing members of the imperial family.

But my personality was one that obliged requests and refused coercion. And when the reason to refuse was also crystal clear, there was nothing to hesitate over.

My mouth slowly opened.

"No."