Royal Dot (2)

“Who would win if they drew swords in the imperial palace?”

At Alicia’s question—

“The Empress.”

“Her Majesty the Empress.”

Josephina and Pauline answered at the same time.

“……”

Alicia set down a little of the worry she had been hugging to herself.

If the future changed, so what.

When she came back to the past, the future had already changed entirely.

There was no reason the futures of the Empress, the harem, or the palace would remain fixed.

Above all, Empress Eleanor was an excellent stateswoman and a strong mother.

Even when her health worsened and it was hard for her to move, the Empress protected her child.

Everyone had a battle that was theirs alone.

The Empress had the Empress’s battle.

Alicia had Alicia’s battle.

It was right after the first guests had left.

“Alicia, Sir Albert has arrived.”

Daisy immediately announced the arrival of a new guest.

Alicia usually took a short rest between seeing the previous guest off and greeting the next one.

It was to prevent any possible mistake.

She found it odd that Daisy had not asked her preference and had brought the guest in first.

Since Daisy herself had set that rule, Alicia assumed there must be a reason when Daisy ignored it.

Following Daisy’s guidance, Albert entered, and Alicia called to him lightly.

“Sir Albert.”

“Lady Alicia, forgive me for coming without an appointment. Please pardon my discourtesy.”

Albert spoke quickly as he stepped into the room.

Uncharacteristically for Albert, there was not a trace of hesitation in his speech.

“It isn’t discourteous at all.”

Alicia tried to observe the courtesies.

Without asking permission, Albert quickly set sample solutions on the tea table.

Whatever the rush was, he did not even take a seat.

Tak.

The last item he produced was a thinly sliced scented candle.

“Lady Alicia, have you by any chance used a candle decorated in gold?”

“No…”

“Excellent!”

Albert offered praise from the bottom of his heart.

It was the first compliment Alicia had received from him since they had met.

“Is there a problem with the candle, Sir Albert?”

Albert was a reserved man who almost never spoke about others.

“That candle must never be used.”

“Never?”

“There is no issue with the gilt decoration or the top and bottom of the wax. The problem is around the wick. In the center of the candle, there is a hidden component that induces miscarriage. If one uses this candle frequently, she will miscarry without even realizing why.”

The golden candle had been a gift from the Marchioness of Belz.

“A miscarriage?”

“M-my apologies. It is not a topic fit for an unmarried lady. But because it has an abortifacient effect, it could be very harmful to women…”

Albert faltered and let his words trail off.

“No need to apologize, Sir Albert. Thank you for telling me. I only spoke up because the intent hidden in the candle was so unexpected.”

“Ah… thank you for your understanding. And also…”

Smiling, Alicia waited for him to continue.

With a look of firm resolve, Albert spoke.

“It seems the perfumer who created the four perfumes you sent and the maker of the golden candle are the same person. The preferred base matches, and the order of creation appears identical. This needs further verification, but it is almost certainly the same maker. I will confirm it and report back.”

Having delivered his message, Albert awkwardly lowered his gaze.

“Thank you for telling me.”

“Not at all…”

“Please keep the samples confidential once again.”

“Yes, you needn’t worry.”

Alicia offered the uneasy Albert a parting courtesy.

“Thank you very much for coming today. I know it’s not quite proper, but I have things I must think through. I’d like to invite you again soon when I can make time.”

“Since I have conveyed what I came to say, I’ll take my leave. I will contact you again.”

Albert gathered his things and stood.

“Go safely.”

Knowing it might seem rude, Alicia still did not see him out.

The information Albert had brought was unexpected.

It felt as if a storm were raging in her head.

If the future changed, so what.

She had set the worry down, but assessing the situation was another matter.

The surprising news from the morning resurfaced.

The Empress was carrying twins.

An imperial concubine was with child.

It had changed a little from what Alicia remembered—and sped up a great deal.

At present, the direct imperial bloodline was small.

The Emperor had an oddly low number of heirs.

“Because of the Marchioness of Belz’s golden candle…”

The reason the Empress was carrying twins was hard to pin down.

But the fact that a concubine was pregnant much earlier than in the first cycle—that reason could be guessed.

It was thanks to the Marchioness of Belz being excluded early from imperial circles once Alicia became betrothed to the Grand Duke.

“More baby news will follow.”

Once she learned about the Marchioness of Belz’s golden candle, Alicia understood why the Emperor had had no children so far.

She also understood many of the schemes by which the Marchioness of Belz had thought to place her own son on the throne.

She had ensured the Emperor would have no heirs.

The Emperor’s first child had been conceived outside the palace.

Lady Maude had been able to get pregnant because she had not been exposed to the Marchioness of Belz’s golden candle.

The least-noticed concubine had conceived next after the Empress.

The Marquis of Lennox still had no child.

Pauline had conceived.

Whether one met often with the Marchioness of Belz—or did not—made all the difference.

Knowing about the Marchioness of Belz’s golden candle made everything make sense.

“No…”

Alicia shook her head.

The delay in imperial heirs and the small number of direct royals had been because of the Marchioness of Belz’s golden candle.

But even so, the delay in heirs was too long.

It was strange that no one had discovered the cause for the late pregnancies until now.

The Emperor’s and the royals’ reactions to the succession issue were suspicious as well.

No one in the imperial family pressed harshly or pushed extreme solutions, despite the lateness of children.

Was it because the imperial house cared little for succession?

Impossible.

“There’s another reason.”

After thinking it through, Alicia reached a conclusion.

The imperial house had a secret.

Returning from the palace to Luderne, Reichardt paused as he stepped down from the carriage.

“Who is it?”

“The young lord of Count McMahon is here.”

Alicia and Reichardt were preparing to depart for Tessen.

The Rua cycle was approaching.

Reichardt had advised Alicia to remain in Baden.

Tessen was too far to one side.

The House of Rain still had many matters to settle, and both Josephina and the House of Duke Lirin were relying on Alicia.

Whenever Reichardt tried to urge her to stay in Baden, Alicia silently interlaced their fingers.

Just as his brothers said, Reichardt became a fool helplessly smitten with a woman.

When Alicia called, “Rei,” and took his hand, he became able to do anything she asked.

“When did he arrive?”

“Only a short while ago.”

At the attendant’s reply, Reichardt nodded and quickened his pace.

At the same time, he focused his hearing.

He did not hear Alicia’s voice.

From the direction of the reception room and tea room, he heard a man speaking.

There was a hesitancy to the unfamiliar voice.

“…I heard you were made Baroness Ronoc. Congratulations.”

From the lack of unnecessary reverberation in his footfalls, the man was a decent swordsman.

But his speaking voice was awkward, overly cautious.

Daisy answered the man.

“I owe it entirely to Lady Alicia.”

It was a reply that was both polite and very Daisy— and one that left little room to continue the conversation.

Reichardt paused for a moment.

A breath full of indecision—unsure whether to speak or not.

A heartbeat racing fast.

The sound of someone swallowing hard, as if he had finally made up his mind.

Many sounds came clearly to Reichardt’s ears.

He had stepped into the hall, then turned his steps toward the window.

“T-the pot we watered together that day, Baroness Ronoc—there are sprouts.”

“Sir Albert. Please feel free to call me just Daisy. I’m not used to the title yet. It’s embarrassing. Did you bring the pot?”

“Y-yes…”

Reichardt did not like eavesdropping on others’ conversations.

He often suffered because, even when he didn’t want to, he heard them anyway.

But it was hard to tear his attention away from this one.

He felt sorry for Albert for answering awkwardly and cutting off the flow after Daisy spoke.

“I heard Lady Alicia is going to Tessen soon. If you go with her, I suppose I won’t see you for a while…”

“Yes, that’s right.”

“M-may we water the pots together again sometime? You mentioned you might have a day off—could I see you then?”

Even while stammering, Albert just barely managed to complete a date invitation.

“Lately, I haven’t had a moment to take a day off. But if things ease a little, I think my lady will give me days off again soon.”

Daisy answered with careful poise.

“Could we meet then?”

This time, Albert spoke without hesitation.

“Yes, let’s.”

Daisy agreed readily.

From what Reichardt had observed, it was rare for Daisy to give positive answers in a row.

Her voice remained composed, but for most people, it would have been like answering with a beaming smile.

Listening to the two of them descend the stairs, Reichardt turned back from the window as well.

Albert recognized him and offered a respectful greeting.

“I greet Your Grace the Grand Duke.”

“Sir Albert. It has been a while.”

Reichardt made good use of the name he had just picked up.

“Y-yes, it has been a while…”

Albert stammered, flustered that the Grand Duke of Tessen knew who he was.

Daisy, knowing how astonishingly well Reichardt remembered the names of those around him, let it pass as nothing unusual.

“Your Grace, my lady is in the tea room.”

“We depart as planned; make the preparations, Baroness Ronoc. I shall go to the tea room. Please see Sir Albert to the gate.”

“Yes, Your Grace.”

Hearing Daisy’s reply, Reichardt ascended the stairs as he was.

Albert, still watching for cues, and Daisy, tasked with escorting the guest to the gate, both glanced at Reichardt’s back, but the back climbing the stairs quickly receded.

Arriving at the tea room, Reichardt knocked at once.

“Yes.”

The voice from within was quiet.

“Alicia.”

Entering the tea room, Reichardt realized not only Alicia’s voice but also the air around her differed from usual.

Seated in the chair before the tea table, Alicia gazed at him, submerged in deep thought.

“Rei.”

A question was rising in Alicia’s violet eyes as she looked at him.

“Has something happened?”

Reichardt forgot what he had meant to say moments earlier and focused entirely on Alicia.

He carefully held out his hand.

Alicia took the offered hand and gripped it firmly.

“Rei. It’s strange how His Majesty has had no heirs until now. Not only the Emperor—his brothers, too, have been late to have children. The ministers and those outside worry and attack over it, yet you, Your Majesty, and the imperial family don’t seem to care much about succession. You are concerned that there are no heirs, but no one in the imperial family pushes extreme measures or hounds anyone harshly.”

As Alicia voiced her doubt, her face was guileless.

“Is there a secret the imperial house keeps regarding children?”

Yet the face asking the question was full of certainty.

It was framed as a question, but the voice already knew the answer.

Alicia had taken one step closer to Reichardt’s secret.

Suppressing the urge to flee, Reichardt sat beside her.

Alicia watched him in silence.

“Alicia, do you know the founding myth of the Rune Empire?”

Reichardt spoke like a gentle history teacher.

“Yes, I do. The predecessor of the Rune Empire was the Kingdom of Feirun. The last princess of Feirun, after losing her father the king and her brother the crown prince, prayed in grief. A winged man descended from the heavens, married the princess of Feirun, and they had a son—who became Otto the Great, founder of the Rune Empire. Am I wrong?”