DGDITMIAE 25

Chapter 25

Fortunately, the Empress Dowager did not seem inclined to find fault with Isolric’s plain greeting.

She elegantly raised her hand, and only after he sat in the offered seat did she slowly open her mouth.

“To see a noble knight who serves God here in person… I suppose the gossips’ words weren’t entirely false after all.”

…Was that a compliment? Isolric did not readily show a reaction and kept his silence.

The noble way of speaking, which was even harder than swordsmanship, always required a moment of interpretation.

*Should I say ‘You flatter me’? Or ‘I am humbled’? Or should I just keep my mouth shut?*

While he was pondering hard, the Empress Dowager picked up her teacup, from which steam was rising, and elegantly continued.

“Ah, please do understand my rudeness in calling you here as soon as your confinement ended. There was something I was concerned about, and I simply could not hold back.”

“It is no trouble, Your Majesty.”

“I won’t keep you long, so let me get straight to the point of why I wished to see you. Sir Yennier, I heard you met the Grand Duke Inyument in the North?”

“…Yes.”

At the unexpectedly quick arrival at the main point, Isolric answered, suppressing his tension.

But the Empress Dowager merely wore that same inscrutable, peculiar smile.

“As you know, the Grand Duke—that is, Her Highness the Princess—is a rather unpredictable person.”

*She certainly seemed that way. The rumors said as much too.*

“When she suddenly left without a word for her northern domain one day, I was quite taken aback.”

*Well, that wasn’t just the Empress Dowager—everyone in the capital was bewildered and curious at the same time.*

*Just why did Terestia Inyument suddenly go north?*

But given the circumstances, even Isolric, who had met Terestia in person, hadn’t had the chance to confirm that.

Just as he was thinking that if the Empress Dowager was curious about that, he would answer that he didn’t know—

“Sir, as the commander of the Holy Knights, you might recall. A few months ago, traces of a demon summoning ritual were discovered right in the capital.”

“That…”

“The Imperial Family entrusted the investigation of that ritual to the Vatican and the Holy Knights. Of course, I heard at the time that there were no specific clues to identify anyone, but…”

*Is she trying to indirectly say the Vatican and the Holy Knights are incompetent?*

A shadow fell over the Empress Dowager’s face, and he hesitated for a moment—but surely she wouldn’t have sought a private audience with Isolric just to say such a thing.

“Ah, please don’t misunderstand. I just felt a little uncomfortable recalling that time… I wanted to hide the shame of being part of the Imperial Family, but I’m saying this because you have met the Grand Duke in person.”

“I’m not sure what you mean…”

“Actually, there was an imperial event that day, and the Imperial Knights were looking for the Grand Duke. But the Grand Duke disappeared on the very day that demon summoning ritual was discovered.”

Isolric, who had been listening quietly, furrowed his brow.

*So she’s trying to somehow connect that demon summoning ritual with the Grand Duke Inyument?*

Now that he was properly entangled in politics because of a Grand Duke he’d met only once, Isolric barely suppressed a sigh.

“There was testimony that someone saw the Grand Duke slipping away from the site of the ritual… but they were all just bizarre rumors. Until the rumor spread that the Grand Duke who went north was a demon.”

“Are you asking me whether that rumor is true?”

“Well, I am curious. Did the Grand Duke seem well?”

Her words were soft, but her gaze was sharp.

It seemed as if she wished the Grand Duke were not well.

No, to be precise… she seemed to *think* that she was not well.

After hesitating, Isolric couldn’t be sure if his answer was the right one, but he replied as he had seen.

“Yes, she seemed perfectly at peace and cheerful.”

“…Is that so? Was there anything unusual?”

“What do you mean by unusual?”

“Oh my, it seems you’ve never seen the Grand Duke while she was in the capital.”

Of course, Isolric, who lived a upright and faithful life, had never crossed paths with Terestia, the princess who—just from rumors—could make one’s face flush red. Their living environments were far too different; he’d only heard rumors, and his first time meeting her in person was in the North.

“How should I put this… The Grand Duke always showed herself in a manner completely consistent with her rumors.”

*She’s elegantly saying she’s a remarkable good-for-nothing.*

But it was hard to tell in that brief moment whether the Grand Duke was a good-for-nothing or not.

Terestia had left a very strong impression on Isolric, but it was in a direction entirely different from what the world expected.

“Sir, you must have heard the rumors about the Grand Duke as well? Could you tell me what she was like when you met her in the North?”

Isolric realized what words she wanted to hear from him, and what words he should say.

But his intuition warned him not to speak honestly about anything.

“…I’m sorry, but I have nothing to tell you. I only saw the Grand Duke for a brief moment.”

“Is that so? Didn’t you ask the Grand Duke to take you on as her knight?”

*Both the handmaiden and the Empress Dowager.*

*They must be quite curious about the news of the Grand Duke Inyument who went north.*

He knew there were families aligned with the Empress Dowager among the knights who had gone to judge the Okket tribe, but why did she bring this up in particular?

After thinking it over, Isolric explained what had happened that day as indirectly as possible.

“The Grand Duke aided us, and her bearing was so majestic that I made the request, but she refused.”

“She refused? You?”

For the first time, the Empress Dowager showed a face of disbelief.

Of course, he had been rejected for being a ‘Holy Knight’… but was it really that surprising?

As Isolric blinked silently, the Empress Dowager tilted her head slightly, thought for a moment, and then spoke.

“Sir, you may or may not know this, but the Grand Duke has excellent aesthetic taste.”

“…I see.”

*Why aesthetic taste all of a sudden?* He answered anyway, but was bewildered.

“She always surrounded herself with beautiful, handsome people who met her standards. For such a person to refuse you… The Grand Duke has certainly changed greatly from before.”

“… ”

“Isn’t it strange? Why do you think the Grand Duke is rumored to be a ‘demon’? Of course, she did have a cruel disposition, but rather than that, I suspect it’s because she feels like a completely different being from before.”

*Ah. So that’s her real intent. The Grand Duke Inyument must be a demon, must she?*

Given how urgent the situation had been at the time, he hadn’t sensed anything like that, but if what the Empress Dowager said was true, there were indeed some odd points.

When he had looked into it briefly after returning to the capital, Terestia was said to be someone with absolutely no interest in swordsmanship.

Could someone with no interest in swordsmanship wield it so skillfully?

That agile movement and that unbelievable monstrous strength were beyond the bounds of human capability.

Completely different habits, demeanor, tastes from before…

Unless a demon had devoured her and was pretending to be her, it didn’t make sense.

He didn’t want to get involved in political strife, but it was certainly suspicious.

However, she was far too good at conversation to be a demon, and besides, she had cut down monsters, hadn’t she?

*Ah, but the reason she couldn’t accept Isolric as a knight was because he was a ‘Holy Knight,’ so that was a bit suspicious too…*

After that, Isolric let the Empress Dowager’s words wash over him, falling into deep thought.

Even after she told him she had kept him too long and he should leave, even as he walked to exit the Empress Dowager’s palace—

He was focusing all his attention on contemplating the person named Terestia.

“Sir Yennier.”

“…”

“Sir Isolric Yennier.”

At the voice calling his name once more, he finally turned his head.

He wanted to decline getting involved in any more complicated affairs, but this time, a person he could absolutely not refuse was calling him and smiling.

“…I greet His Majesty the Emperor, the Sun of the Empire.”

A pale face, brilliant blond hair glittering in the sunlight, and violet eyes symbolizing the Imperial Family.

It was the Emperor.