IQBSA 24

Chapter 24

As the distance closed, I could see clearly.

A knight covered in dark red blood from head to toe lay unconscious on the ground.

“……Huff.”

I let out a startled breath and slowly approached.

It looked as though he had just come from battle—the knight’s condition was terrible. His armor was drenched in blood, and his entire body was covered in dust and dirt. Yet amidst all that, his golden hair, which had not lost its brilliant luster, was quite striking, I must say.

『Where have I seen that hair color before?』

After thinking it over, I thought I knew.

The Crown Prince Rirenzo I had just seen earlier had hair exactly like that.

『……A member of the Imperial family?』

That bright golden hair, shimmering like gold thread in the sunlight, was practically the symbol of the Aldrate Imperial family, so I found it puzzling.

As far as I knew, there were only two imperial men of that age group.

Crown Prince Rirenzo and Prince Enok.

But I had already seen both of their faces, so it couldn’t be either of them…

『Is there another member of the Imperial family I don’t know about?』

As I looked down at the face of the man with his eyes quietly closed, deep in thought, a voice I had heard many times before called out to me.

“Serpine.”

『Huh? Serpine is my name.』

I turned my head to find the owner of the voice, but the surrounding background was growing increasingly blurry. Along with that, a fierce wind swirled around like a vortex, forcing me to squeeze my eyes shut.

“Wake up, Serpine.”

Hearing my name called once more, I opened my eyes to find my vision flickering. I blinked repeatedly until my focus returned, and a distinct face came into view.

“……Roakin?”

Roakin was looking at me with an unpleasant expression.

“Pull yourself together. How long are you going to keep sleeping?”

“Ah……”

It seemed I had dozed off while reading without realizing it.

All those strange sights from before had been nothing but a dream.

“……I must have nodded off for a moment.”

I must have been tired from not sleeping deeply lately due to all the anxiety. I lifted my body from where I had been slumped over and stretched this way and that. Having stayed in one position for so long, my entire body was stiff and achy.

“Did you even read a single line of those books?”

“I finished almost all of them.”

I casually pointed to the stack of books I had finished and set aside, and Roakin tilted his head as if half-convinced.

“Every time I looked over, your eyes were closed… That’s quite impressive, I must say.”

『For your information, I’m an incredibly fast reader.』

Serpine, who normally consumed a substantial amount of written material, was a remarkably fast reader. Thanks to that, I had managed to get through several thick books in less than half a day.

“Don’t exaggerate. It wasn’t that bad.”

I said that, but I did catch myself doing a bit of head-bobbing while half-asleep…

Suddenly overcome with embarrassment, I started tidying the books scattered across the table for no good reason. Roakin glanced at me, then stood up and spoke.

“If you’re done, let’s get out of here. My whole body is itching like crazy.”

Through the window beyond Roakin’s shoulder, I could see the orange glow of sunset. It seemed more time had passed than I’d realized.

『……I’m tired.』

I returned the books I had read to their proper places and left the library.

By the time I came out of the library, it was early evening. The sun had set in the meantime, and the sky was painted a deep blue.

“Where are we going now?”

“Hmm……”

Truth be told, I hadn’t gained much from the library. It had merely been a process of reconfirming a story I already knew all too well.

I had skipped lunch and buried myself in the library, and now…

Along with a sense of deflation, hunger washed over me. When I placed my hand on my stomach, Roakin asked.

“Hungry?”

“It seems so—must be from using my head too much.”

“Then eat something.”

By now, Ramona might have appeared. I thought I should go find Charis again to check the situation, but I just didn’t have the energy. Deciding that I needed to eat something before moving, I chose to follow Roakin’s suggestion.

“Tower Master, how do you usually eat when you’re at the Imperial Palace?”

“I don’t know. I don’t recall ever eating anything specific here.”

Unless invited, one couldn’t have a meal inside the palace. I had asked because I thought Roakin, who frequented the palace, might know some good nearby restaurants—but as expected, it was pointless.

『Someone who barely eats even at home certainly wouldn’t eat at the palace.』

It seemed faster for me to find my own way rather than rely on the Tower Master.

“Let’s go outside and look for a place to eat.”

As we followed the corridor from the library, I noticed that the number of people bustling about had increased significantly.

“The meeting ended a while ago, but the palace seems quite busy, doesn’t it?”

“That’s because of the eve-of-the-festival.”

“Ah, right… There’s the eve-of-the-festival.”

I had been so focused on the Founding Festival that I’d completely forgotten about the eve-of-the-festival.

『……The eve-of-the-festival.』

My ears perked up.

The eve-of-the-festival was a banquet hosted by the Imperial Palace the day before the Founding Festival, primarily intended to entertain the feudal lords who had come to the capital from all over the country to attend the Founding Festival.

『Did the original work feature the eve-of-the-festival?』

As far as I could remember, I hadn’t seen any content about the eve-of-the-festival in the original story.

However, I had a hunch that even if it wasn’t anything major, something would happen there. After all, special events like the eve-of-the-festival inevitably involve the protagonist—so with luck, I might even meet our female lead.

“Tower Master, you received an invitation to the eve-of-the-festival this time too, right?”

“Probably.”

Roakin replied in a dry tone.

“Surely… you haven’t even checked?”

“Why would I check when I’m not going to attend anyway?”

“Still, you never know.”

“It’s been the same every year, so it’s probably arrived this time too.”

“…Wow.”

I clicked my tongue at his utterly indifferent attitude.

Since I was his secretary, I knew well that the Imperial Palace sent the Tower Master an invitation to the eve-of-the-festival every single year. This year, I’d been too busy running from the Empress Dowager to check, but considering they kept sending invitations even though Roakin never attended, it seemed likely that one had arrived this time too.

『If only the Tower Master agrees, there’s no problem with going right away.』

“Tower Master, would you consider attending the eve-of-the-festival?”

“Not particularly.”

“……”

He shot me down instantly. As expected of the Tower Master.

『Right, what was I hoping for.』

If he came easily, he wouldn’t be Roakin Arjen. Still, it felt like too good an opportunity to let slip by, so I wanted to try persuading him a little more.

“I’m curious what a party at the Imperial Palace is like—can’t we just go once? Actually, aside from the party at the Academy graduation ceremony, I’ve never been to a proper party before… And when else would I ever get a chance to experience something like this again…”

I even brought up my pitiful past, trying to inject as much emotion as possible.

“……Do you really want to go that badly?”

Had my earnest feelings somehow reached him?

Seeing Roakin react, I added with shining eyes.

“Yes! And there’s bound to be plenty of delicious food inside the banquet hall, so we wouldn’t even need to go outside to find a restaurant.”

“Then let’s go.”

At his answer without hesitation, it was I who was taken aback.

“……Really?”

“Yeah. If you want it that much, might as well go.”

……Just like that?

『You weren’t this kind of character, you know?』

Was I mistaken?

Perhaps he was pretending to be nice temporarily to secure the contract renewal, but lately the Tower Master’s atmosphere had become subtly more accommodating. It was certainly a positive change, but…

As I couldn’t shake off an uneasy feeling, Roakin checked the clock tower visible in the distance and spoke.

“It’s about to start soon. We need to get in on time, so hurry.”

Upon arriving in front of the banquet hall, I was once again struck by the realization that I had truly stepped into a romance fantasy novel.

The Academy graduation party had been quite grand in its own right, but it was incomparable to the Imperial banquet. The banquet hall, with its walls made of gold and a massive chandelier that looked like a miniature sun, was truly resplendent. And with nobles dressed in colorful attire and adorned with expensive jewels inside, I didn’t know where to look.

As I stood there with my mouth agape, taking in the banquet hall, I heard a confrontational tone right beside me.

“……What is this?”

It was Charis, her eyebrows raised in obvious displeasure.

She had disappeared earlier saying she was busy with the eve-of-the-festival preparations, but it seemed she had been overseeing security around the banquet hall.

Charis scanned me and Roakin—more precisely, Roakin—with a wary gaze and asked.

“Tower Master, surely… you’re not planning to go inside?”

“And if I am?”

At Roakin’s reply, Charis’s expression shifted to one of sheer disbelief.

“……Why?”

“I’m just responding to an invitation. Why else?”

Charis let out a snort.

“Are you the type to come just because you’re invited? You’ve always refused until the very end no matter how much we asked, so why don’t you tell me what you’re really up to?”

The Tower Master never participated in any social events other than the Founding Festival, which was stipulated as an obligation in his contract with the Imperial Palace. One might think he’d at least show his face at the eve-of-the-festival as a courtesy, but he had never even made such a gesture.

It was understandable that Charis would question Roakin’s sudden appearance and his true intentions.

“There’s no ulterior motive. I just came because my secretary said she was curious about the eve-of-the-festival.”

At that, Charis turned to look at me.

“Serpine, is that true?”

“Yes. I was curious about the eve-of-the-festival, and it also seemed like there had been some distance between the Magic Tower and the Imperial Palace for a while, so I suggested we come as a sort of joint purpose. Are we causing any trouble by attending suddenly?”

Charis seemed conflicted for a moment before speaking.

“What trouble could there be? It’s just a bit sudden… I wasn’t prepared because it was completely unexpected, but I’ll arrange seats for the two of you somehow.”

Charis stepped aside to clear the way for us and said.

“Please go on in.”

Finally entering the banquet hall, I felt piercing gazes and heard murmuring all around.

“Who are those people?”